NFL

As one of the steps to make the Pro Bowl more interesting, NBC Sports is reporting that the NFL may pay out "incentives" over the course of the Pro Bowl for performance.  Plus plans to possibly make the game more "game show" like.  Hopefully one of those crazy Japanese gameshows where ten tons of exotic bugs are dumped on someone.  

What's odd of course is that any kind of incentive for play is basically a bounty and doubly so for defensive players if you are paying them per sack, ball strip, tackle for loss, etc.  It's why I find the NFL so interesting, a complete lack of morals by the management.  They go scorched earth against anyone involved in a team level bounty, but the following season they talk about installing a league supported system.

That being said, it is likely a pointless gesture, in that whatever pittance the NFL bounty is, it pales beside the contract of a veteran pro bowler and I can't see a smart player risking injury just to collect a trophy and 20k.  

Personally I love the NFL draft. I enjoy seeing the players dreams come true and I am hoping for my Lions to get this one right. Enjoy the event.

Didn't see that this had been posted but found it to be a great story. 

As previously posted on this blog (and news outlets everywhere), former USC commit Brian Banks, served a 5-year prison sentence for a rape he didn't commit, and was later exonerated. Now the Atlanta Falcons have signed him. Just awesome to see that his life has been turned around as he richly deserves.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/04/exonerated-football-player...

According to a tweet from Trey Wingo:

"@WingoZ: Former Michigan QB Denard Robinson joins us today on NFL Live at 7:00 on ESPN2"

I'll be on the road, but one thing Denard has gotten very good at over his last 4 years is media interviews. Here's hoping it's a good one.

The Washington Post has a long piece about how injuries in the NFL may not be treated the same way as they would outside of football. The injury to RGIII in the Skins' playoff game has been the subject of much debate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/nfl-medical-standards-prac...

Do no harm? NFL’s medical dilemma.

Sally Jenkins and Rick Maese

There is medicine, and then there is NFL medicine, and the practice of the two isn’t always the same — a conflict that was never more apparent than during a January playoff game.

Below is a link to a graphic in the article showing injuries by year, by position and by average weeks a player is on an NFL injury report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nfl-injuries-increasing/2013/03/16/...

The Daily has a fun piece about a competition between Denard Robinson  and Jordan Kovacs, with the winner getting a steak dinner.  The competition involves preparing for the NFL draft.

http://michigandaily.com/sports/03-robinson-and-kovacs-final-steak-dinne...