The things people say

Apparently, Mohammed Ali has come out of seclusion to pen a touching tribute to a man he considers a living legend. For most of his boxing career, Clay/Ali was only concerned with drawing attention to himself. "I'm the greatest", he was known to thunder to those that would listen, and there were many, though yours truly never bought into that. Excuse me, but when he got whupped fair and square in his prime by Leon Spinks, of all people, all that "greatest" stuff went out the window in my humble opinion.

Nevertheless, who could inspire Ali to confer the accolades of "one name, one man, one mission"? Turns out it was Nelson Mandela.

Well OK. From his point of view -- I can understand that. Had Ali bestowed that honor on, say, Rush Limbaugh or Dick Cheney, we'd be talking some serious shock and awe value indeed.

Just before they clash on Thanksgiving day in Detroit, some offensive lineman from the Green Bay Packers has publicly stated the Lions are a bunch of scum bags. As in dirty players that are out of control. He went on to imply head coach Jim Schwartz was of the same mold.

This will likely be "bulletin board" material in the Lions' locker room. As I write this in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, I have little doubt the Detroit area newspapers will jump all over it and fan the flames in the editions that will start being delivered in a few hours.

But you know what? It really doesn't matter. It's a rivalry game between two teams in the same division with playoff implications at stake. Besides that, it's the NFL, as in professional players. They're getting paid big bucks to perform at their highest level in any given game. And with or without players taking pot shots at the other team before they lock horns on the gridiron itself -- guys on both sides work themselves into a frenzy in their locker rooms just prior to ANY game.

After both offenses and defenses have been on the field for a series or two, cracked pads/helmets. etc., and the initial adrenaline has worn off -- do you really think any of them are dwelling on what some guy from the other team might have said a couple days ago? Somehow, I seriously doubt that. If they are, they're not acting like professionals -- with their heads in the game -- and that works in the other team's favor.

Then again, that lineman from Green Bay might have a valid point. The Lions certainly haven't been above cheap shots here and there, particularly with a couple members of their defensive line. Further, as a team, they seem to have an ongoing penchant for taking stupid penalties. This responsibility ultimately rests on the shoulders of head coach Jim Schwartz. Now in his fifth year with the Lions, if Schwartz had wanted these shenanigans to stop -- they WOULD have stopped -- years ago. It's almost like he tacitly condones it.

Good grief, Schwartz himself has been known to be a loose cannon here and there. A while back, he all but challenged San Fran 49er head coach Jim Harbaugh to a fight on the field after a game. Good thing security was there to prevent it from happening or Schwartz might STILL be in rehab. This is the same guy that threw a challenge flag last year on Thanksgiving against a game with the Houston Texans, that wound up costing his team the game. Schwartz later said he knew the rules prevented his challenge -- but he did it anyway. How loose of a cannon is that?

Players pick up on this sort of behavior. If their head coach is running around out of control, they likely figure they can do the same sort of things. And in the long run, that simply won't get it done in a highly competitive environment like the NFL. The "zebras" seem to see things quite differently. And they're right when they keep tossing those yellow hankies in the direction of the Lions.

Finally, yours truly had the pleasure of meeting a beautiful woman earlier today. She actually said she thought I was quite a handsome guy. Yeah, I know. The poor thing likely needs to be checked for some sort of concussion syndrome. Obviously, she was delirious.

But hey. Crazy or not, every once in a while even a blind squirrel finds.... well... you know the rest.

Perhaps the late Art Linkletter said it best. Sometimes people say the darndest things.....