Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger, Ryan Clark, James Harrison, Mike Wallace at the 2011 Pro Bowl

The NFL Pro Bowl is on life support.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson, Commissioner Roger Goodell is unhappy with the quality of the event and is considering putting it on ice for this season – and possibly forever.

All-Star games are an interesting problem for professional sports leagues.  Even Major League Baseball, the sport that has what is considered the best all-around product in the genre – “The Mid-Summer Classic” – has had its share of issues over the years.  The NBA treats their All-Star Game as a festival-type event, with skills competitions and celebrity games filling up a full weekend of basketball goodness.  The NHL has tinkered with several different formats, including the USA vs. The World game, and also utilizes skills competitions to enhance their show.  All three of those games are played mid-season, and supply a much needed break over the course of their long regular seasons.  The NFL runs a tight ship in regards to their schedule, and in a 17-week season it would be nearly impossible to schedule the Pro Bowl for a mid-season game.

Player commitment to the game is another issue.  The players scheduled to play in the Super Bowl will never play in an exhibition game the week before, nor should they even be asked to do so.  Players with even minor injuries bow out, making the voting process a sham.  Numerous players voted in to start sit out the game, allowing the alternates to take their place.  The game becomes nothing more than a poorly played scrimmage game, and playing it in Hawaii provides nothing but a nice vacation for players who can afford to take whatever vacation they want.  Real football fans are who gets the shaft with the Pro Bowl.  Hawaii is expensive, and a Pro Bowl trip for the average fan is out of the question.  Therefore, you have an exhibition game being played in a tropical setting 2,000 miles away from the nearest NFL city, with players who are only there because it is in their contract and they have incentives built in for their attendance.

How does the NFL save the Pro Bowl?  Here are five easy steps the league can take to preserve their All Star game, while creating an event that real football fans can attend.

1.  Play the game Two Weeks AFTER the Super Bowl – playing the Pro Bowl two weeks after the Super Bowl will give the league a chance to involve all players from all teams, making the Pro Bowl a season finale that caps off the league year.  Players already have economic reasons to play in the game, built into their contracts as incentives.  We will get into player selection shortly.

2.  Rotate the Pro Bowl through different NFL cities – Since 1979, the Pro Bowl has been played in Honolulu, with the exception of 2009 when the game was played in Miami – the host city for the Super Bowl that season.  Prior to 1979, the game was played all over – from Texas Stadium to The Kingdome to Tampa Stadium to the Superdome – even Arrowhead Stadium got a game in 1973, drawing 66,918 fans on January 20.  The NFL should look into a rotation that would be similar to the MLB All-Star Game, with cities vying for a chance to host the game.  The Pro Bowl could become a Fan fest-type weekend in that city, drawing fans from around the country and injecting solid revenue into the region that hosts it.  Hall of Fame displays, autograph signings, and fan-friendly events that would entice families to attend could be added.  The NFL could market it as a “give back” to their loyal supporters and market it as an end-of-season “thank you” to NFL Nation.

The NFL currently has ten domed stadiums available for hosting the game – Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, The Metrodome in Minneapolis, Ford Field in Detroit, Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Reliant Stadium in Houston, Georgia Dome in Atlanta, The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, and Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.  The league also could consider hosting the game at Rogers Centre in Toronto, keeping their eye on the prize that is the Canadian fan base with potential for a franchise in Toronto within the next decade.  Other stadiums that could host the Pro Bowl based off of weather conditions are Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Candlestick Park in San Fransisco, LP Field in Nashville, EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, and Oakland Coliseum in Oakland.  All of those stadiums would provide sufficient weather conditions for an outdoor Pro Bowl in February.  If the league wanted a truly diverse game, they could even consider hosting it in cold-weather cities with traditional fan bases such as Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Lambeau Field in Green Bay, M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Lincoln Financial Field in Philly, Gillette Stadium in New England, and Soldier Field in Chicago.  Those stadiums would obviously provide cold weather for the Pro Bowl, but in a sport lauded for its roots in bad weather – why not give a cold weather Pro Bowl a shot?  The league could incorporate the host city into the uniforms for the teams, maybe adding a bit of local symbolism to the uniforms and fan gear for the event.  They could create a new logo for each game that utilizes a local monument, in the shade of what MLB does for each All Star Game.

Similar to the Olympics, MLB All-Star Game, and even Wrestlemania, cities would place bids on hosting the game five years out, giving each city a chance to win the bid and have time to adjust scheduling conflicts and arrange for the influx of fans to fill hotels and spend their money at local establishments.  It could be a vital event for smaller NFL cities that would “spread the wealth” around in a league that is built on the ideology to do so.  Moving the game around would create a “big game” atmosphere that the Pro Bowl is missing and allow the NFL to showcase the cities that may never be in line for a Super Bowl bid.

3.  Create an incentive for the teams to compete to win the game – MLB instituted a rule a few years back that the winner of the game would get home field advantage in the World Series for their league.  The rule has created a buzz for the game and has turned what was always a competitive exhibition game into a meaningful battle.  It has also affected the World Series, with home field advantage allowing teams to host an extra home game in the Fall Classic – a certified advantage over the competition.  Since the NFL does not use a “home field” for the Super Bowl, another incentive could be considered.  What if the winner of the Pro Bowl was given the opportunity for their league representative to choose home or away in the Super Bowl?  This is traditionally rotated, but if used as an incentive for the Pro Bowl it would basically allow the winning conference the chance to have their representative Super Bowl team declare themselves the home team in order to wear the uniform of their choosing, or declare themselves the away team and control the opening coin toss.  It is the best possible scenario to add incentive to the game, without delving into some type of preferred scheduling for the following season.  Another possibility could that each squad chooses a charity of their choice and the winner of the game is allowed to present a $1.0 million check form the AFC or NFC to their charity at games end, another gesture of gratitude and an easy way to gain instant credibility for the contest.

Incentive would be the first step to turning the game into more than a walk-through scrimmage.  If played two weeks after the Super Bowl, teams and coaching staffs would have two full weeks of game planning and perhaps be able to treat the game more like a regular season game.  This would amp up the caliber of play, and in turn create a better on-field product.

2.  End the voting and turn the Pro Bowl into a Fantasy Football Draft, televised the week prior to the Super Bowl – Each conference would employ a team of five former Pro Bowl MVP players for their conference.  Those players would go on TV and draft their teams in a televised event that would create a buzz in the ever-growing fantasy football community.  Imagine a team of AFC Captains (say, Bruce Smith, Jim Kelly, Marshall Faulk, Warren Moon, and Rich Gannon) picking their team against an NFC Team (how about Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice, Phil Simms, Joe Theismann, and Derrick Brooks) in a one-hour televised fantasy draft?  Fans would tune in in droves to see what players would be representing their teams and conference, and it would create rivalry between the conferences in a sport where the lines between the AFC and NFC have been blurred over the years.  Rivalry is good, it creates a buzz.  Players would take to social media to pull for their teammates, as would the millions of fans for each team.  The Pro Bowl would become the biggest fantasy football game of the year.

1.  Put the game on in Prime Time as the final Monday Night Football game of the season – Taking the game out of Hawaii gives the NFL the chance to take the Pro Bowl to prime time on a major network.  Advertisers would line up to be a part of the newly crafted game and overall, the Pro Bowl would become another major event on an NFL calender that has a large break in the action post-Super Bowl and pre-NFL Draft.

It is a long shot that the Pro Bowl even exists after this season, but if the league would consider some of these ideas they could have a potential major event to end their calender year.  Giving the Pro Bowl its own personality and getting away from the generic uniforms and generic play calling would make it a real NFL game.

So, fellow NPC readers….what do you think?  Can we save the Pro Bowl?

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Don’t forget to check out NPC all week long as we delve into the 2012 NFL Draft from the Black and Gold colored glasses all weekend long!

Anybody watch the EliteXC MMA show on CBS last Saturday?

If you’re a proud yinzer like me, you probably spent the night watching the Detroit Red Wings put the kibosh on our beloved Pittsburgh Penguins. Sadly, our quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup was fruitless as they went down to ultimate defeat last night. As an aside, I don’t want to sound like a whiny bitch, otherwise known as a Seahawk fan, but I’ll never understand NHL officiating no matter how many games I watch. However, giving credit where credit is due, Detroit was the better team and a deserving champion. If not for the heroic efforts of The Flower, Marc-Andre Fleury, the Pens would’ve been swept in 4.

Anyway, back to big sweaty tattooed men beating the snot out of each other. I posted that clip because it might be of interest to Steeler Nation. Last Saturday night, on that MMA show, a familiar name fought in an unaired prelim. Anybody remember Carlton Haselrig?

C’mon, people! Haselrig was one of the most gifted offensive linemen we’ve ever had. You think Barry Foster, Bam Morris, and Eric Pegram gained all those yards by themselves? Haselrig served up more pancakes than IHOP. What’s amazing is he never played ONE down of college football. He was an amateur wrestling star at Pitt. While there, he even beat future TNA Champion/WWE Champion/Olympic Hero, Kurt Angle. Three years later, he was in the Pro Bowl.

Unfortunately, Haselrig was a, how to put this nicely, FREAKIN’ NUTCASE. He once locked his keys in his car. Instead of using a coathanger to jimmy the lock, he decided to break the passenger window WITH HIS BARE HAND.

And that wasn’t even his manliest incident ever. He was once arrested for driving his motorcycle. Yep, Big Ben’s two-wheeled hijinks weren’t the first time the Steelers have run afoul of the Chopper Gods. Poor Carlton also had a motorcycle-related incident, although he was wearing his helmet…

BACKWARDS. But he was wearing it because, hey, if you’re going to cruise through McKee’s Rocks completely blind while on top of a 500 cc instrument of death, it’s best to remember safety first. Upon being questioned by the fuzz, he reportedly said he did this because he “wanted to see if he could.” That’s the best reason to do anything, folks.

So it should come as no surprise that Haselrig has decided to move on to manly pursuits which actually pay him money. Namely Mixed Martial Arts.

Sure he’s 42 years old. Sure he just started his new career in April. But this man is a 6 time NCAA wrestling champion. Even Angle admits he would’ve won a Gold medal had he pursued the Olympics. Instead he turned to football and dominated at something he had zero collegiate experience at. So I wouldn’t bet against him. If he puts his mind to it, I truly think he can accomplish anything, athletically-speaking.

UFC President Dana White, are you listening? I hear Brock Lesnar could use an opponent on a future card. Make it so!

When did Pittsburgh become the new Cincinnati?

This week saw yet another tally added to the litany of off-season woes when Steely McBeam, our much beloved reviled mascot, was arrested and charged with a DUI. Acting swiftly, the Steelers Cedric Wilson’d his ass before the ink on the police blotter dried. Whether his firing means that we have now lost our second cartoonish figure with an absurdly large chin in as many seasons is not known. What is known is sadly, this is not the worst Pittsburgh mascot related scandal in city history. That honor would go to the Pirate Parrot, who was once busted for selling blow to players back in the early 80’s.

In other Steeler related legal proceedings, Najeh Davenport was found not guilty of all criminal charges in his domestic violence case. The Dump Truck can breathe easy, secure in the knowledge the only black brown mark on his otherwise spotless record will continue to be the incident where he was busted for shitting in his ex-girlfriend’s closet.

This brings me to the topic of the recent controversy over the release of Cedric Wilson on the heels on a similar domestic abuse case being filed against Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison. It seems like there are a number of columnists, both local and national, who are using the situation to expose the Steelers as hypocrites or the same as any other team when it comes to character issues. Mark Madden, a popular local talk show/self-promoting fool, has been particularly vocal about the perceived double-standard.

Well, there is no double-standard. If you spend thirty seconds to analyze the situations and if you know anything about Steeler history, you’d know their behavior this off-season is no different than it has been any other off-season. The Steelers have never, NEVER, been the type of team who cut a player at the first hint of trouble. As noted, Davenport was arrested for domestic abuse and he wasn’t cut on sight. Current wide out Santonio Holmes was arrested for disorderly conduct three weeks after he was drafted. Cedric Wilson was arrested on a prior charge of domestic abuse and he wasn’t cut either.

The Steelers have always shown they are willing to let the legal process play out before making a judgement about a player. The only reason their hand was forced with Wilson was he went into a PUBLIC place and, in front of dozens of impartial witnesses, smacked the taste out of his girlfriend’s mouth. At that point, there is no grey area. At that point, there is no benefit of the doubt.

This has nothing to do with one being an All-Pro and the other being the #4 wide receiver. Pittsburgh has consistently shown that they have no problem cutting talented players if they feel their personal issues or conduct reflects poorly on the organization. We had a fantastic Pro Bowl offensive lineman named Carleton Haselrig. The Steelers cut him when his problems with alcohol and love for driving his motorcycle through McKees Rocks wearing his helmet BACKWARDS left them no choice. Anybody remember Bam Morris? He was our star running back, 1,000 yard rusher, and almost single-handedly won Super Bowl XXX when our quarterback suddenly lost his ability to distinguish black jerseys from white. The Steelers cut him loose when he was caught in Texas with approximately ten pounds of marijuana in his trunk. Guess he got a discount for buying in bulk.

The point is, the Steelers have not tarnished their reputation in any way this off-season. They are simply continuing to employ the standards and policies for personal conduct they always have. As a respectable organization, to even put them in the same category as Cincinnati or Baltimore is beyond laughable. Those organizations have players who’ve been arrested dozens of times and/or actually served jail time for their involvement in shootings. Pittsburgh would never tolerate that which is why we’re still better than them.

I applaud the Rooneys for their fair and even-handed approach to running their organization. Unlike what the pulpit-thumpers or publicity seekers would have you believe, professional athletes are at a greater risk for exaggerated charges and false accusations simply because of who they are. Remember Randy Moss had a restraining order slapped on him the week before the Super Bowl? That went away, didn’t it?

To err is human, to forgive is divine. Except in the case of Steely McBeam. Good riddance to that buffoon. Besides, I hear Dallas is interested in a new mascot. He should be expecting a phone call from Jerry Jones any day now…

The Pittsburgh Steelers used to consider themselves to be a classier organization than the other clubs in the National Football League. The Pittsburgh Steelers used to pride themselves on not having players on their team who were beset by the bad behavior and problems with the law that seem to follow some other clubs. They can’t possibly think that anymore, can they?

Recently, the Steelers had two players arrested and charged in connection with domestic violence incidents: linebacker James Harrison and backup wide receiver Cedrick Wilson. Harrison was the first to be charged, and the Steelers responded by doing nothing to their Pro Bowl player and team MVP. Then Wilson was arrested, and the team responding by cutting him immediately. For the record, let me state that a person is innocent until proven guilty, it is very easy to make an accusation, and current domestic violence laws give little consideration to the rights of the accused. But Harrison confessed to the police, and Wilson apologized in the media for his actions. Steelers chairman Dan Rooney then insulted the intelligence of me and every other football fan listening by making a statement to the media that Wilson was dropped to make an example because of the domestic violence charges, while Harrison was not dropped because his incident stemmed from a dispute over getting his baby baptized.