In a pro football world where wearing high-top cleats to honor the passing of Johnny Unitas can earn you a $25,000 fine, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that players hoping to wear red, white and blue gear on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 is a punishable offense. Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs tweeted about his new patriotic Reebok gear and how he expects to be fined for wearing it. So did Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. So did Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley and Tennssee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and most of the San Diego Chargers. So whether or not the league approves, they can’t fine everybody for supporting their country … can they?

Briggs:

Reebok great job on these gloves and shoes..looks like I’m getting fined this week. Lol! By far the best fine I will ever have to pay. Thanks…Fines for gloves could be as much as 5k..the shoes 8-10k I think. not 100% on the shoe fine.

Is wearing 9/11 commemorative gear “showboating”? Is it being done to draw attention to the players who choose to break the rules? To give them more media coverage? I’m blogging about them. I think it’s a valid consideration, but when your talking point is “do I or do I not want to show respect and reverence to my country’s worst tragedy in my lifetime” I’d hope the simple gesture of fellowship and patriotism would not go hand-in-hand with the Lambeau Leap. At the same time, what are Never Forget gloves accomplishing, and isn’t there probably a better way for rich people to show their support to the victims of the attacks?

Regardless, don’t assume the league is totally heartless: the NFL and NFLPA will donate $1 million to related charities and memorials. Of course, the average NFL team is worth about $1.04 billion and ESPN just completed an eight-year extension worth as much as $1.9 billion annually with the NFL for the rights to Monday Night Football, so the issues of “how much can we give” and “how much can we take away from you” sort of go hand in hand.

[h/t Shutdown Corner]

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel led his team to an AFC West title last season. Not bad for a guy that never started a game in college. When K-Swiss had their four-day shoot to restart their awesome Kenny Powers “MFCEO” campaign, With Leather’s Josh Zerkle was invited to check it out and spend time with the athletes supporting the California-based shoe brand. Cassel was reached via phone on his way home from relief work in Joplin and asked about his experiences with the K-Swiss campaign.  Portions of this Q&A were edited for clarity and space.

How did you fare on camera for the commercial shoot in Wilmington, NC?

To be completely honest, I have no idea how I fared on camera, because most of the first day I was there, Patrick [Willis] was there and he had his shirt off the entire time, and I just…I don’t think he had a shirt on the entire day. Let’s just put it that way.

[Laughing]

I told them, “Look, I’m wearing a shirt, okay?” I, for some reason, was not genetically blessed with the six-pack and that whole deal. So as you watch the video, I think you’re going to recognize, one, that I was overshadowed from the body standpoint, but that’s okay. I told them, “Maybe you could play around with the special effects, hook me up, ya know?”

[Laughing]

But seriously, it was a blast. We had a lot of fun. K-Swiss is a great company, and to go to Wilmington and do a photo shoot and commercial shoot with Danny McBride or Kenny Powers was totally cool because I’m a Kenny Powers fan.

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Back in May, Miami played host to the annual Exxxotica convention, which is basically Comic Con for porn enthusiasts. The event draws freaks, pervs, strippers, fetishists and porn stars from every corner of the world, and one entertainment event promoter would even have us believe that it brings in NFL stars. Athletes at a sex convention? Not in my America.

Alas, it might be true, because Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry is one of five NFL players in hot water after it was discovered that they may have been promoting a party during Exxotica. A promotional image for the party, known officially as TITS Official Miami Launch/Pornstar Exxxtravaganza, showed Berry, Brandon Flowers, Kareem Jackson, Major Wright and Jacoby Ford in their respective team jerseys, which violates the NFL’s infringement policy.

Say it ain’t so, Eric! Say it ain’t so!

“In an effort to leave no doubt about my involvement, I did not attend this party,” Berry said. “I wasn’t even in Miami on May 20th. I did not have knowledge of, or consent to my name or image being used to promote any party involving porn stars. I’m upset that somehow my name has been attached to this, and am currently considering legal action against the club and event promoters. I also support any legal action the NFL is considering.

“On May 20th I was actually in Kansas City promoting a book signing with my friend and mentor Inky Johnson and raising funds for my foundation. Let’s end this lockout and play football. Go Chiefs!” (Go Vols Xtra)

If the man says he was with Inky Johnson, he was with Inky Johnson, dammit. Also, Inky Johnson sounds like either a Tyler Perry character or a horrible venereal disease.

As for the flyer, I’ve included it below and while it seems to be a case of an ambitious promoter with basic Photoshop skills, it’s also a bit odd that those are the 5 players he’d pick. I mean, at least say Jay Cutler was there autographing his new chindo.

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I receive a lot of emails from readers, happy or angry fans of this or that team, and mostly bill collectors who wonder why we don’t write more about a sport, or why I hate on certain athletes so much, or why I won’t pay my student loan, and I mostly ignore them because none of them are nice enough to include nude pics of their sisters. But every so often I receive an email that is so touching and heartfelt that I want to share it with everyone. Today is one of those days.

This email was sent by 9-year old Timmy Jenkins from Townsville City, Iowa…

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If anyone was watching the Ravens-Chiefs game Sunday, you might have noticed that the Chiefs offense wasn’t as good in the second half than the first. How’s that for good analysis? Then again, they scored their only seven points in the first quarter and had some bad turnovers, but the second half offense was somehow worse.

It’s now being said that Todd Haley, head coach of the Chiefs, took the mic away from offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and chose his own plays. Keep in mind that Weis is heading to Florida after this season, so he probably didn’t have much patience with Haley. At least, I know I wouldn’t.
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When it comes to powerhouse sports rivalries, us East Coast media elitists tend to concentrate on the big names, meaning that timeless rivalries like the Cleveland Browns and the Kansas City Chiefs go largely unnoticed and unloved. That is, unless their games involve groin-grabbing accusations and near-brawls on the sidelines. So as long as the Browns and Chiefs keep this behavior up, there will be plenty of room in the spotlight for all zero of their stars.

Anywho, Browns center Alex Mack is accusing Chiefs defensive lineman and former Brown Shaun Smith of yanking his crank while the two were matching up on Sunday. Mack claims that mutual trash-talking led to Smith giving him an unprovoked hernia test during a play, and his anger from having his horn swaggled led him to commit a personal foul call a few plays later, at which point the Chiefs went up 3-0, and eventually won 16-14, thus destroying hundreds of thousands of suicide pick leagues across the U.S.

You gotta be gentle with it, Cleveland Plain Dealer, you’re biting it:

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