Every day there are three things, none worth devoting an individual post to, but each worth at least mentioning.
1) Marvin, the enabler. Marvin Lewis spoke at the NFL Owners Meetings yesterday, and as is custom for men who have his job, said nothing of major consequence. This from Paul Dehner Jr., however, caught my eye....
Despite the felony charge against Adam Jones being dropped by Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters, Lewis continued to avoid a dive deep into the cornerback’s situation as three misdemeanor charges and NFL action are yet to conclude.
He called any move regarding the corner an "organizational decision," but briefly hinted at his opinion before stopping himself.
“As time has come out, other than his language what did he do?” Lewis said. “But that’s up to whatever happens. The case is still under review, we’ll see how it plays out.”
Other than his language, what did he do? Well, he allegedly created two public disturbances, and showed blatant disregard for authority, much less another human being. Those things, to me at least, seem kind of important. He again put his employer in the difficult position of having to prepare for how his behavior will affect how they assemble their team. As one of the most famous and accomplished, Bengals, he continues to make them (perhaps unfairly) synonymous with things like lack of discipline, and he generally acted like a jackass.
Other than the language, that's what he did.
There's a perception about both the Bengals and the man who coaches them, that they aren't able to win big, in part, because of a lack of maturity and discipline. They talk about how Marvin's players walk all over him, that the things that happen to this team happen because of how Marvin enables immature on and off field behavior from a select few guys.
His statement yesterday will do nothing do dissuade people who believe those thngs.
2) Edmond Sumner. The XU guard is entering the draft and hiring an agent. Good luck to him. I just wonder, in a 2016 draft class loaded with point guards, and with a skill set that's promising but unrefined, is he better off playing whatever part of his junior season he can, then being healthy enough to work out for teams next spring?
NBA teams draft-and-stash players all the time, and Ed seems a likely candidate - if he is taken in the draft - to be stocked away for future use. But coming off of ACL surgery, he won't be able to showcase himself at pre-draft camps and individual workouts. What his stock is now is likely to be what is it in late June.
3) The NFL's new rules. The NFL will have some new rules in 2017. They're outlined here. The eyebrow-raising measure involved the NFL passing a rule for automatic ejections for egregious hits to the head.
In theory, this is great. In practice, well, we'll have the same officials who have a tough time interpreting rules that are already on the books trying to determine which hits to the head are the most egregious, and deserving of an ejection.
Am I the only one who doesn't think that they'll be able to do that effectively?
ICYMI: Questions About Bronson Arroyo, And What The Reds Are Doing With Their Young Pitchers.
Radio Show: I'm back at it after yesterday's sick day. We have the Reds rotation decisions, Marvin's quote from the owner's meetings, why John Calipari is the best, and much, much, more today, starting at 3:05 on ESPN1530.