Word: nfl
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Even the most desperate football coaches understand that God isn't known to wear cleats, that Super Bowl rings and contract extensions are unlikely priorities in his divine order. Yet earlier this year, during the NFL draft, Minnesota Vikings head coach Dennis Green found himself dialing up his minister and praying that his controversial decision to draft a kid named Randy Moss would not be in vain...
...doubted that Moss, a wide receiver from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., was supremely talented: at 6 ft. 4 in. he was speedy and sure-handed. But 19 NFL teams had passed over Moss in the draft because of a record that included a couple of arrests, a probation violation and a one-month stint in jail...
...there. And no off-field antics. Then last week, on Thanksgiving Day, as the Vikings squared off against the Dallas Cowboys (which, having had enough player troubles of their own, snubbed Moss in the draft), the coach stood on the sidelines and witnessed a miracle. There was Moss, the NFL's persona non grata, catching one, two, three touchdown passes to lead the Vikes to a 46-36 victory. Hallelujah...
...embezzlement. A provocative new book, Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the N.F.L. (Warner Books; $24), depicts the Vikings as emblematic of a troubling trend in the league. Authors Jeff Benedict and Don Yaeger estimate that 1 in 5 players has been charged with a serious crime. "NFL teams are recruiting a new breed of criminal players the likes of which should disturb all NFL fans," the authors conclude. "Gone are the good old days of NFL recruits having rap sheets detailing merely drunken brawls and vandalism. In are the days of lethal violence, rape, armed robbery, home...
That's the hard lesson that this occasional betting man took away from a bizarre, woefully officiated Week 13 in the NFL...