It came and then it went. This past weekend marked the 100^th day of the NFL’s ongoing lockout against its players. Is it time to worry? The NBA playoffs ended. The Stanley Cup Champions crowned. The US Open declared its winner. Baseball is closing in on the All-Star break. Usually, it is about this time when anticipation and excitement begins as fans look toward the return of NFL Sundays. This off-season, as we all know, has been anything but stimulating. Rather 100 days of uncertainty and for most, putting the CBA issue on the back burner. Until now that is…

When you look back, and I mean about a 100 days back, I don’t recall ever panicking, much less ever caring. As a fan, I didn’t think issues concerning the CBA mattered in my life. In a way, I was naïve to think these issues were a quick fix for all involved, but as March flew by, then April, May and now June… I am starting to feel a sense of urgency.

Normally this time in the year, any football fanatic would be caught up in the latest free agency rumors and rookie settlements. Fans would be stocking up on tailgate gear, new player jerseys, and eagerly picking the EXACT games they wanted to spend their weekly pay on. However, with the current circumstances, it feels foolish to get excited knowing nothing is promised around the corner.

We’ve been shaking it off, turning the page about the CBA discussions for months now, but more than ever it is important to pay attention and for those involved to push selfish dollars aside and to secure and promise the wonderful game of football to fans, players and franchises across the country.

A Positive or Two..

It’s hard to believe anything positive could come out of a summer full of uncertainty and argument. However, I believe this lockout period won’t be entirely worthless. For one thing, it’s allowing veteran players to focus on rest and healing their older bodies. This may just provide them the edge they need to keep up with the youthful players and upcoming rookies.

Along with rest, I have felt a sense of team camaraderie from the articles I have read regarding the self-assigned team workouts. Captains, quarterbacks, and so on must become true leaders as coaches and trainers are forced off the field. It takes true leadership, responsibility and teamwork to show up for volunteer practices and mini-camps, listen to those leading, and follow through with hard work and effort.

All in all, I think some players may take away some quality lessons about accountability, leadership and being a team player. Only time will tell if they have learned anything. Egotism is never too far in professional sports.

Players View..

We’re all thinking it. Just come to a decision already!!!, but the truth is when someone is deciding to split 9, who gets 5 and who gets 4? No one wants to lose and no side has shown enough willingness to move forward.

The talks are supposedly secretive and behind doors, so I cannot really decide which side is being realistic. I do see where the players are coming from though.

Players have been compared to employees in some people’s opinions. I guess in a broad sense they are, but the NFL and its franchise is unlike any other. These players are not JUST employees. They are the franchise. Owners can threaten players, but at the end of the day, is it really that easy to replace a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? No. These players dedicate a lot to the teams and the NFL and demand to be seen as less of an employee and more as a partner. They are the most essential tools to the multi-million dollars that accumulate for the NFL.

I believe their lawyers and representatives just want to remind the owners of how much the players perform and how little the mega million dollar bosses do.

Owners View..

I am not exactly sure of what the owners are after. I know they believe the players make too much money. They want to slice the pie a little differently. With some of their decisions, I shake my head. There are a few owners on the list who are a bunch of greedy white-collared men who will threaten football in its entirety to put more green in their own pocket. Again, that’s only a few on the list. Most are thinking positive as they try to work toward an agreement that will suit their needs and desires, but also move the season forward.

I support the talks of rookie salary cap 100%. It is ridiculous how stubborn and entitled some rookies enter the league. Before ever playing a game, they are debating their checks and contracts as if the have already won a Superbowl or let alone a Conference Championship. You aren’t entitled to anything. Being an all-star college athlete doesn’t always translate to all-star pro. Ever heard of  “busts” or second-string. I’m just tired of the Crabtrees and the Brandon Marshalls, etc. who cause a media field day over their rookie contracts. A good solution for Goddell and the NFL is to have a first year money contract that becomes under further discussion AFTER their first season in the big leagues. Hopefully, that season will be enough to hint at the promise and progress they will make as a professional and justify the millions of dollars they were gushing for right out of college.

Now or Never…

This upcoming week is arguably the most important in the entire lockout season. Goddell and his team will meet with player representatives in Chicago Tuesday and Wednesday to get the deal done. Will the chains be locked forever if a decision isn’t reached at this meeting? No, but it will translate to a major set back and confirm a lot of loss hope for a 2011 NFL season. Goddell basically needs to take control and do something. Yes, there are some stubborn owners who will not get what they have been fighting for, but many others are willing to come to an agreement. If he pushes urgency on all involved, representatives on both sides hopefully will begin to look at the big picture and less at the individual wishes. Owners want football. Players want football. Fans want football. They are officially on the clock after day 100 hit. If Goddell can’t get them to reach a decision this week, I’ll begin asking myself why is he the commissioner?

We are all tired of fake signs of optimism. Articles and bloggers ranted and raved about how the lawyers were brought back into the discussion room a few weeks ago, but we were definitely fooled. The people in the decision room are stubborn. No one wants to be the losing side of a summer long battle over the CBA.

I am hoping by Thursday morning, ESPN and SC will be talking about the season because maybe by then the 2011 season will be confirmed. I guess we shall see, but the timer is definitely running out. Why the urgency now? We need a confirmation and the lockout to end to be able to fit in enough time to allow the free agency process to begin along with training camps under coach and trainer instruction as well as the four pre-season games. If an agreement is not reached, pretty soon there won’t be enough time to get this in.

Yes, 100 days have passed and still no confirmation. The most important two will be this week. The clock is ticking…

Edinson Volquez, pitcher for the Reds, jumped on the juice bandwagon. However, his tumble off the back wasn’t too hard. Volquez received a 50 game suspension from the league that can start during his already long rehabilitation from elbow surgery. (How convenient) So, basically Volquez walks away from this without any true retribution. He must only suffer a few unhappy tweets from Reds fans and of course, an angry PR rep.

I began betting that this scandal will probably be shorter than Britney Spears’ first marriage. In fact, the topic pretty much already has been put on the backburner. I mean next to the Roethlisberger press this looks like a middle school playground humiliation.

So, Volquez’s fire will be put out as quick as it started and the smoke will blow over. In the end, don’t they all? Sure, we saw Alex Rodriguez’s remorseful face in numerous press conferences for weeks. We’ve heard the rants from bitter baseball fans that believe roids won the Red Sox their World Series. The truth is, however, sports fans do move on. They forgive and force themselves to forget.

For example, Dodger fans have looked beyond it. They come to home games for two reasons: to see Manny and to hit a beach ball around. Mark McGwire is now an applause worthy legend in St. Louis. The Yankees, well you know they’ll condone anything to win.

The truth is that everybody eventually gets a “pass.” All eventually were dealt their “get out jail free” cards. Luckily for Volquez, he happened to win his before he rolled the die.

Say it with me Urban “Deep breaths. Deep breaths.”

As I was flipping through the channels the other day, Sportscenter grabbed my attention with a video of an angry Urban Meyer digging into Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler. Something about Fowler doing his job directly quoting Wide receiver Deonte Thompson and the rest of the world taking it the wrong way.

Meyer, in his ignorance, was convinced Fowler was bullying up on his precious Timmy Tebow. How dare Fowler state in the press that Tebow is not a real quarterback! Well, before you publicly make a fool of yourself Meyer, double check your sources. Shoot, ask Thompson himself. Meyer even stuck his finger out and pointed at the innocent reporter. Did anybody ever tell him it is rude to point?! He essentially threatened and scolded Fowler while making himself look like a class one idiot.

His rage can be seen as he grabs his daughter after the incident and turns around and looks back at Fowler. With a dramatic exit like that, someone needs to get this guy an Oscar.

Turns out Fowler’s quote of Thompson was him simply explaining the differences in playing style between Tim Tebow and new Florida Gators quarterback John Brantley. Sounds fair enough. Urban came to his senses and realized his stupidity. After locking himself in the film room and replaying the video of his hissy fit 10,000 times, he decided to make a private apology.

Perfect Urban. Embarrass the man in front of what has become millions, but just apologize to him on the down low. As we see Meyer try to quickly move on from this PR nightmare, his doctors may want to remind him that going insane on a reporter will not help keep his stress level down.

I think it’s about time NBA Commissioner David Stern schedules a lunch date with Ty Pennington. I would like to see Extreme Makeover: NBA Edition. While they do a mediocre job of hiding it, the NBA is in trouble. Stern’s quick fix to put a maximum salary cap and limit the number of years with a single contract appears as a slap in the face to individual NBA players.

So, what is wrong with the NBA?

• Too many games – Sometimes I feel like my attempt to follow the NBA as a whole is a hopeless battle. There are just too many games. I feel like my Cavs play every other day. Maybe we should look at the old adage, “Too much of a good thing…” Individual games have started to mean nothing. A loss doesn’t tear me up like it does in the NFL. Shoot, we have 100 other games to make the L up.

• Too many teams – The strong teams are getting stronger and the weak ones are falling even more behind. There is no question the same teams sit on their high throne for years. No crystal ball will show the Lakers switching places with the Clippers. We have a dilution of talent. Too many teams, not enough talent. If this were soccer, the struggling teams would drop down to a lower league instead of getting bullied on game after game by the top dogs.

• Tickets are too expen$ive – One reality that never escapes is the failing economy. The fans are losing money while owners are demanding more. The idiotic ideology of owner’s has thus caused them to lose out on money as well. Now, no money is flowing through the NBA’s checkbooks and we must look to the players to give back some. We’re talking about all-stars. Most with a mindset along the lines of the typical egotistic, money-hungry, “I am the best to ever hit the NBA” attitude. We want to ask them (6’8 265 lbs raging men) for their money back? Good luck Stern. You’re screwed.

• Too much entertainment – Lets face it. The NBA has taken the focus from the court and onto the big screen. They spend millions of dollars in the marketing and entertainment aspects of game night. After accepting reality #3 listed above, the ROI (return on investment) becomes low because nobody can afford to come. The silly between periods gimmicks, dancing girls, and Team DJ’s take you out of the intensity of the game. From personal experience, they distract me. “Did you see Lebron’s dunk?!” “Oh, no I was trying to catch a T-shirt.”

• Dunk or die attitude – The NBA has placed itself in a position now that fans are demanding spectacular plays. This is no longer college. Forget teamwork, pride, or fan loyalty. Fans want to see 360 dunks, ali-oops, or blocks flying into the nosebleeds. I notice intense defense only matters in the final quarter for NBA teams. Offense is selling tickets and when there is no flare, the stubs stop selling. If the NBA wants a concrete, solid fan base across the nation, they need to focus more on loyalty and pride and less on trying to get the “made for Top 10 ESPN Plays.” That is what all-star weekend is for.

Taking all of this in has Stern thinking… “Oh, sh*t”

Alright, now that I have shown you my puppy dog eyes and asked for your forgiveness its on to much more important topics. I am an official CSF blogger (www.CollegeSportsFeed.com)! It is exciting . While I typically write about professional sports on here, I found myself saying “Oh my god, I’ve had the old bull now I want the young calf” and have temporarily moved on to college sports. My goal, however, is to consistently blog for both CSF and myself. Cross your fingers I manage because my selfish political science teacher seems to have his own assignments he wants to throw into my mix.

So, here I am with good news telling you all to Stay Tuned! for a blog in the near future. It is that time again that you can put my site back as your home page or at the top of your “favorites.” Hell, make it an Ap on your blackberry! (I wish haha)

http://www.collegesportsfeed.com/author/meganhickok/ Follow me on CSF as well. Thank you!

Dunking never gets old.  Whether your team performs the spectacular 360 dunk or the opponent does, everyone’s jaws drop in the arena. Impressive dunking is what separates the players who go on to the NBA and the ones that live their professional dreams through their XBOX dynasties. In fact, dunking entertains me to such an extent that I prefer to play the dunk contests on NBA 2k9, than the actual games.

This excitement and awe over impressive dunking always gets amplified when the Slam Dunk Contest rolls around during All-Star Weekend.  We all remember Dwight Howard coming out as the “Superman” he self-claimed himself to be. Rumors were flooding around that Lebron wanted in, but also was asking for competitive dunkers to join him.

To my sad surprise, the following were voted in for the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest: Gerald Wallace, Nate Robinson, Shannon Brown and both DeMar DeRozan and Eric Gordon are competing for the final slot. Nate Robinson? Again, really?  You’re a short guy who can dunk. We got it by now.

Word on the street is DeRozan can dunk with the best of them, so whether he claims victory to the last spot in the lineup might impact whether I watch the contest at all. No big names…no interest.  All-Star Weekend is about the best of the best coming together. The NBA must of overlooked that memo.

Another shocker to All-Star Weekend was Allen Iverson’s entrance into the All-Star game for the east side.  He has racked up a total of 19 games, none which attracted much of my attention. While his return to the game is a compelling story of a player who loves to play, that will never change the fact that he is no longer the stud he once was.  Iverson doesn’t rack up 28 or more points a game anymore. I believe there could of been a better choice for the east side than Iverson. However, no matter who they team up with Lebron, he will surely get the job done. Simply, he is god…in a basketball uniform.

No, I do not believe this because I am a bitter Bengals fan who was hoping for more than dozens of high passes and lack of receivers in this post-season run.  (A run that ended way too close to the starting line).  The truth is the Wild Card round was a complete joke.  Every game was a blowout.   As hard as those announcers tried, nothing was going to make that round appeal to any sports fan.  There was an exception with Green Bay and Arizona’s overtime frenzy, but of course that was the game I didn’t bother tuning in for.

Wild Card: Zzzzzzz.  My expectations for the Divisional round were better.  I had some hope that the playoffs were going to start giving me the entertainment I have been anticipating since September.  My beloved Bengals were out, so I decided it would be time to focus and pick a new team to follow (for the time being).  Something about the Peterson-Farve duo made me excited to watch football, so the Vikings were a good fit for my pom-poms as I finished the playoffs.  Their game was bittersweet with a blow out victory over the Cowboys.  However, there is not much better in sports world than watching Tony Romo lose.  Like the Packers-Cowboys game, the rest followed with boring, one-sided games.  Again, there was one exception: The Jets and Chargers reminded me of why I always have enjoyed post-seasons.  While finally seeing a close game in the playoffs was a gift from sports God, I was mad New York walked away with a win.  They are the reason my Bengals are at home.  Still bitter?….Always will be.

Now it is time for the Conference round and seeing the two impressive teams of 2010 season still alive seems appropriate and well deserved.  As a new and temporary Vikings fan, I will be decking out in purple and yellow for the occasion.  I am certain this game will keep me on my toes,  unless the boring spell, which has been cast upon the  2010 playoffs, doesn’t die.  The Colts and Jets game has potential to be a blow out, but the Jets ruthless defense vs. the Colts talented offense could make for a great match up as well.

What is in store for the Superbowl?  God only knows.  I am crossing my fingers it is an exciting gridiron battle because that government test is coming up and I don’t want any reason to stop watching the game and start studying.

2010 Playoffs… Get better!

My Christmas Wish List:

1. Santa, please let the BCS season be destroyed.  Refurnish it to look something like March Madness.  We had numerous undefeated teams this year and all but two were sent packing when attempting to reach the National Championship.  It is time the white collars, sitting up in their offices drinking coffee, to take a long hard look at whats going on here.  Let the true best team in college football be decided on the field.

2. Santa, Lakers vs. Cavs…Xmas day.  So, I am asking you to kidnap Kobe and stuff him in your big red bag and put him on your sleigh and fly back to the North Pole before the game.  Make him your elf and force him to wear an embarrassing green suit. Please send pictures!

3. Give Ohio State wide receiver Duron Carter and defensive end Rob Rose’s teachers big lumps of coal and maybe a pile of dog…haha. They are the reason those two players will not be venturing to the Rose Bowl.  That’ll teach them not to flunk Stanta’s favorite team’s players before a huge game.

4. Whatever Wheaties the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints eat for breakfast, send to Cincinnati.

5. Please end Throwback Uniform Night. Make it happen!

6. Sneak me a few extra Fantasy points in my stocking.

7. A life size poster of Tim Tebow.

8. I think Santa also needs to advise the NFL on changing their overtime format. In my opinion, they do not give each competitor a fair shot. They should imitate college style.

If you do this Santa, I will give you the Antidote to the poison I put in your milk you just drank. haha.

PS…Very exciting news! My favorite Shawnee State Bears (MARK!) officially have their box score up on ESPN.com.  They look very cute when broadcasted.  Maybe Santa can make that happen again too. ( http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=293502335 )

—-> http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4749360
please read..hahah Chad at his finest!!