NFL News:

• Bills wideout Sammy Watkins is scheduled to get his walking boot off Thursday. In response, God has scheduled the lightning strike for Saturday afternoon.
• Cowboys 2016 3rd-rounder Maliek Collins broke his foot in OTAs. He’s expected to miss all of training camp. The impact on Tony Romo is uncertain, much like his accuracy.

  

• Florio’s Felches is reporting that there were three fights at Raiders OTAs on Tuesday. IS THAT TOUGH ENOUGH FOR YOU, GEORGE ATKINSON?
• SB Nation has a projection story on QBs who didn’t get the glorious sendoff robots like Elway & Manning received.
• In a legal battle that should be fun to watch, the Broncos are intervening in the bankruptcy proceedings for The Sports Authority chain. Due to missed payments, the Broncos are challenging attempts to make the stadium naming rights an asset for potential liquidation, which could force them to have to accept whatever name the purchaser chooses to hang on the walls. If they win, it’ll revert to simply “Mile High Stadium” until the Broncos find a new sponsor.
  • If one of us wins the Powerball, may I suggest “DFO Commentist Field at Mile High Stadium”? In fact, tonight’s mock draft topic:
    • “Which real company would you like to see sponsor Mile High, and what name should they choose?”

Finally, there is an excellent, will-cost-the-author-his-media-pass story on the “corruption rotting the NFL from within” over at si.com. Something this accusatory couldn’t have come from PK’s hand-picked drones over at the MMQB. Some of the choice quotes:

Put simply, the NFL has forfeited its credibility on just about any issue within an area code of morals and ethics. Its sense of civic responsibility has atrophied to almost nothing, and its public conscience is largely vestigial.

Its commissioner, Roger Goodell, has been worse than incapable of handling the crisis. He’s actively constructed a Potemkin village of concern around it, an edifice of denial and deceit that is now crumbling inevitably to dust.

The difference between what the East German officials did to their athletes, and the NFL’s stonewalling on what it knew to be the truth about what repeated concussions were doing to its players, is a difference of moral degree, but not of moral kind.

It’s a bit of a slog, but take a look before Peter King tries to get his Allagash-stained fingers on it and kill it on behalf of his master.

This is for fellow educator Wakezilla, after reading his comment about report cards and parent-teacher interviews:

I feel for you. I switched to an adult division to get away from the – “But my precious snowflake has been raised to believe failure is not an option, but your problem. Fix it; I’ve got Pilates at 8:00. Don’t make me call your principal.” – issues. God forbid they should ever say “no” to their child, or take an interest beyond writing cheques. Or, my personal favourite:

• We’re assigning your child a learning assistance aide.
  • Why?
• Because there are some topics they need more time to understand.
  • Isn’t that your job?
• Yes, but I have 28 kids in this class.
  • What does that mean?
• I can’t afford to slow down the others until your’s can catch up. Not every kid gets every idea at the same time.
  • MY KID’S NOT RETARDED!11!!1

I don’t miss that shit at all.

June 1 means a lot of things to a lot of people. But for teachers, it means only one thing: SUMMER VAY-KAY IS NEAR! In some American states, it’s already summer vacation; problem is, they have to return in mid-August. That just seems mean, especially in places like Texas where it’s still a million degrees. Canadian schools don’t have AC, so I hope they do in warmer climes. Most Canadian schools let out around the second week of June; BC schools “officially” finish on June 29, the day after Provincial Exams conclude, but most will finish on June 24.

For myself, summer officially starts at 3:01 on June 16. It then ends at 8:15 on July 4, when summer school begins. But it resumes 6 weeks later and goes until Labour Day. It still adds up to 5 total weeks of vacation. AND THEN IT’S FOOTBALL SEASON!

In fact, final payment on those Hawks season tickets goes through tomorrow, so let’s check on that exchange rate:

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/exchange/

Latest USD/CAD Rates:

DAMMIT! That means probably $1.34 once Mastercard gets its hands on the rate. But that’s what summer school pays for, so it’s all worth it. Plus, who knows who’ll be the Rams QB on September 16th? Probably not Jeff Fisher.

I hope Russell has a functioning O-line by then, or he’s gonna get killed.

Tonight’s Playoff Action:

San Jose @ Pittsburgh – 8:00 (NBCSN). Game 2; Penguins up 1-0

Alternative broadcasting:

• NBC: American Ninja Warrior – 8:00
  • I guess we know what NBC thinks will track higher in the overnights
• A&E: Roots – Part III – 9:00
• IFC: Revenge of the Nerds – 9:30
  • Ted McGinley’s finest role
• FX: The Americans – 10:00

The Americans has been renewed for 2 more seasons, and will wrap up after that. And for those of you who’ve forgotten about Keri Russell,

SHE’S GIVING AUNT BECKY A RUN FOR HER MONEY!