Columns

SCAZZERO | Super Bowl About Much More Than Just Football

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Even the most artsy, indie, sports-hating recluse would be aware that one of the most beloved sporting events in America is coming up. I am, of course, talking about the Super Bowl. It’s a huge staple in American culture and has become such a spectacle that it’s almost not even about the football anymore. It is about the football to some degree, obviously, but the main draw doesn’t seem to be loyalty for the two teams playing. If you’re a fan of a team that isn’t even in the game, do you honestly care about which team wins?

Arts & Culture

Concussion: A Hard-Hitting Look at the NFL

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“Let’s say you run a multibillion-dollar football league. And let’s say the scientific community — starting with one young pathologist in Pittsburgh and growing into a chorus of neuroscientists across the country — comes to you and says concussions are making your players crazy, crazy enough to kill themselves, and here, in these slices of brain tissue, is the proof. Do you join these scientists and try to solve the problem, or do you use your power to discredit them?”

This is the opening of a GQ article called “Game Brain” by Jeanne Marie Laskas. “Game Brain” serves as the main source material for the sports drama Concussion, a film that describes the controversy surrounding the NFL’s attempt to ignore the danger of the title injury. Directed by Peter Landesman, the film focuses on the major findings of Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), who noted the severe damage that concussions can cause professional football players.

Columns

SHATZMAN | Stan Kroenke, the NFL and Deception

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In April 2010, the late sportswriter Bryan Burwell wrote a foreboding column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Rams were for sale and Shahid Khan —a businessman with a rags-to-riches story who was perceived to be trustworthy — and Enos “Stan” Kroenke were both interested in purchasing the franchise. Burwell’s blistering piece, titled “Rams minority owner not to be trusted,” referred to the latter of the two. Kroenke, who already owned the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, had a reputation as a cunning businessman whose every move was done only to benefit Stan Kroenke.

Columns

BERKOWITZ | The Gilded Age of the NFL

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By ETHAN BERKOWITZ
“Football and community are the twin pillars of the NFL … There exists a powerful NFL-wide commitment to giving back. This commitment is year-round- there is no offseason to the NFL’s multi-tiered, ongoing work to strengthen America’s communities.” This is the NFL’s official stance on their role in the community. Clearly the NFL can talk the talk, but do they walk the walk? While the NFL claims to take a prominent role in bettering the community on a range of social issues, critics have argued that the NFL simply takes advantage of cause-based marketing such as their A Crucial Catch campaign to overshadow bad publicity, to generate public good will or simply to attract new fans and thereby more revenue.

Columns

SHATZMAN | Coming up in the NFL

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This week is a crucial point in the NFL season. With five weeks remaining and the majority of teams still in the playoff hunt, the next few Sundays will feature do-or-die games across the league. Below I will examine the position of all 32 teams through 12 weeks. Panthers (11-0): Through 12 weeks, Cam Newton is the frontrunner for MVP. Even with the weakest receiving corps in the league, I like Carolina’s chances of finishing 16-0.

bryan walters

Bryan Walters ’10 Brings Ivy League to the Big League

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When Bryan Walters ’10 was a punt and kick returner and wide receiver at Cornell, the offensive game plan was simple: throw the ball in Walters’ general vicinity and he’ll somehow be able to come down with it and make something special happen. After four years of stat sheet stuffing numbers and highlight reel plays, Walters got a call from the San Diego Chargers that changed his life. “[I saw] some random number on my phone,” Walters says. “I answered it and they said ‘hey, how would you like to be a San Diego Charger?’ That was very cool to me, it made me realize the dream is possible.”

Now a wide receiver on the Jacksonville Jaguars, Walters has played for four N.F.L. teams and has been to two Super Bowls. This year, he’s had more opportunities at receiver than ever before, and he’s accumulated 228 receiving yards in six games for the Jaguars.

Columns

LEWIS | Last Week in the NFL

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I have some apologizes to hand out this week. First of all, I offer my sincerest condolences to fans of the Dallas Cowboys. Not only do you have to suffer the pain of being a part of the most obnoxious fan base in America, you also will have to endure a plummet to the bottom of the NFC East, after your darling Tony Romo broke his left collarbone this past Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. But the saddest sight in that Cowboys-Eagles game wasn’t Romo’s injury, it was the Eagle’s offense. Honestly Philly, you guys are awful.

Uncategorized

N.Y. Jets Set to Train in Cortland Over Summer

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Cornell was a stone’s throw away from hosting the New York Jets for their summer training camp, but officials announced yesterday that the National Football League team chose to spend the summer at SUNY Cortland instead, according to the Associated Press.
Apart from Cornell, Utica College and Marist College in Poughkeepsie were also on the shortlist of possible summer training camp for the football franchise. The team may also plan some public sessions at their Florham Park center in New Jersey and former preseason home on Long Island, the A.P. reported.
“Cortland acted quickly and had all the ingredients to make it really doable here,” Jets owner Woody Johnson told reporters at a news conference.

Uncategorized

Wounded Pony

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The Denver Broncos traded Jay Cutler and a third round draft choice to the Chicago Bears in exchange for two first round picks and quarterback Kyle Orton. The most striking aspect of this deal is that it never had to happen. Cutler’s actions were reprehensible to the umpteenth degree, but he still had three years left on a 6-year $48 million contract. Cutler forfeited $100,000 when he skipped an off-season workout, but he wouldn’t have walked out on millions no matter how much he despised coach Josh McDaniels. When Broncos owner Pat Bowlen announced that his team would put Cutler on the trade block, Cutler expressed disappointment.

Uncategorized

Morris Takes Helm for Bucs

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Raheem Morris, a former Cornell defensive backs coach and special teams assistant, was named head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Saturday. Morris, who spent the past two seasons as the Bucs’ defensive backs coach, has been with the team a total of six seasons in two stints. Under Morris, Buccaneer defenders have been named to the Pro Bowl 16 times and the defense has finished in the top-5 in the NFL in five of his six seasons.