Author: John Paulsen (Page 922 of 937)

Former Cowboys WR Michael Irvin was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia in Plano, TX.

Irvin, an ESPN analyst and semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, told The Associated Press late Sunday that the drug pipe found in his car belonged to a friend of 17 years who left a Houston rehab center and came to Irvin’s house in Carrollton for Thanksgiving. Irvin wouldn’t reveal his friend’s name.

Irvin said he put the pipe in his car because he didn’t want it in his house where his children might find it. He said he planned to drive somewhere the next day, like a grocery trash bin, and throw the pipe away but forgot.

The article doesn’t say what kind of pipe Irvin had in his car, but the former wideout has had a history of using cocaine. If his story is true, one wonders how he could “forget” to throw the pipe away. If I were in his position, I would have immediately taken the pipe down to the nearest 7-11 and thrown it in the Dumpster out back. That’s assuming, of course, that I was still inviting my crack addict friends over for Thanksgiving.

A few things jumped out at me as I watched the Cowboys and Broncos today (which Denver won in OT, 24-21 after Ron Dayne’s long run set up a Jason Elam FG):

1. In the first half, Denver punted and the ball bounced around at the 1 yard line. The initial call was a touchback, but after a few commercials, we found out that Shanahan wanted to challenge the call. So we go to ANOTHER set of commercials and come back to find out that the call was overturned. A couple of years ago, the NFL changed the rules so that the clock would run, even if players went out of bounds, for a good portion of each half. This rule was designed to make the games shorter, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the games aren’t any shorter. They are still running 3+ hours. What we get are more commercials, and no one needs that.

2. Denver MLB Al Wilson stops Dallas RB Marion Barber on a 3rd and 1 at midfield and begins to celebrate. Only he didn’t stop him. Barber keeps his feet moving and neither of his knees touch the ground. His second effort gets the Cowboys a first down and Wilson looks like a fool.

3. In the 4th quarter, Dallas safety Roy Williams covers Denver TE Jeb Putzier on a pass play. Putzier makes the catch and Williams sort of runs past him, waving his hands to indicate that the pass is incomplete. As the replay eventually shows, the catch was clearly made and Putzier is able to get up and gain another six yards while Williams, who should know better, looks like a fool.

4. The Cowgirls’ short shorts are getting shorter. This one is not a complaint.

As I watch the end of the Lions / Falcons tilt (currently 27-0, Falcons), I am reminded of an op-ed piece I read a while back arguing that the Thanksgiving games should rotate around the league. The article stated that every year, the Lions and the Cowboys get a half game advantage over the rest of the league by getting a home game on Thanksgiving. Moreover, while the Cowboys have improved recently under Bill Parcells, the Lions are generally in the bottom half of the league, which sometimes makes for games like the one today.

Whoever represents each conference in the previous season’s Super Bowl should play a home game on Thanksgiving. The visiting teams should be non-division opponents that made the playoffs the previous year. I say “non-division” because the half game Turkey Day advantage shouldn’t be applied to a division contest. The other option is to pick a good rivalry in each conference, with each team alternating as host. How about the Packers / Bears and Raiders / Broncos? Or the Redskins / Cowboys and the Patriots / Jets?

I prefer the first option, but either would work and both would be better than the current setup. Let’s just hope that the Broncos / Cowboys can make up for a ho hum first game.