NFL Weekend Injury & Early Cuts Round-Up:

• Nice work, Mark Sanchez – Trevor Siemian has been named Denver’s Week 1 starter. Luke Kuechly is listed as day-to-day due to blood loss from his hard-on.
  • kudos to ESPN for going the extra mile and pondering if Siemian might be the worst Week 1 starter of all time.
  • …and now the trade rumours have begun.
• Bryan Stork failed his [*Redacted] s physical, so the trade with New England has been voided. I guess things have changed since the Shanahan era.
• Either the Browns are that bad or they’re not that desperate, but the Cowboys say they have no interest in trading for Josh McCown.
  • interesting sidenote – the Jets have been taking calls about their half-dozen remaining quarterbacks.
• Proving necessity and desperation are two sides of the same coin, the Chargers and Joey Bosa finally figured things out.
• Get ready for the combo of Mike Tirico and Doug Flutie, because that’s who NBC is putting together for two games when Al Michaels isn’t available due to his Haematomania.

Finally, so many HAWT TAEKS about Colin Kaepernick.

Ron Rivera, because it’s not about his quarterback, gave a First Amendment response. Jim Harbaugh had words about his former player. ESPN asked Steelers tackle & former Army Ranger Alejandro Villenueva for his thoughts, and he gave a suitably company man response:

“I don’t know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that’s providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year … when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year,” Villanueva said.

USA Today asked former teammate Alex Boone for his thoughts, and he didn’t hold back:

“It’s hard for me, because my brother was a Marine, and he lost a lot of friends over there,” Boone told USA TODAY Sports. “That flag obviously gives (Kaepernick) the right to do whatever he wants. I understand it. At the same time, you should have some (expletive) respect for people who served, especially people that lost their life to protect our freedom.

Robert Klemko of the MMQB provided some nuance by framing Kaep’s stance as a function of how he was raised to be his own man. Peter King, in true Wichita fashion, let his readers pass judgment. And – surprise! – a Facebook & Twitter poll found that someone was acting anti-American. Shockingly, ol’ PK actually picks a side:

A postscript: I like Kaepernick’s action. We want players to speak freely and tell the truth—until they do it, and then we want them back in the same boring mold. Good for Kaepernick to exercise his First Amendment right of free speech, which you rarely hear a current player do.

At this point, he doesn’t seem as much of a shill. I’m sure that’ll change by the time he takes the mic opening night later in the article. Included at #1 in his “Quotes of the week”:

“Regardless of how you feel about things that are going on in America today, and the things that are going on across the world with gun violence and things of that nature, you’ve got to respect the flag, and you’ve got to stand up with your teammates. It’s bigger than just you, in my opinion. I think you go up there, you’re with a team, and you go and you know you pledge your allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem with your team and then you go about your business, whatever your beliefs are.”
—Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, on Colin Kaepernick.

If you tacitly support someone, you don’t kneecap them later in the piece, even if you try and blameshift by having the quote be from someone else.

______________________________________________

I wonder if people realize that it’s things like this that make non-Americans shake their heads. Of course it’s a false equivalency, but why does it seem like Americans get more upset about a song than mass shootings? Every sporting event I’ve ever been to involved the phrase “Please join us and rise for the national anthem.” It’s never been a demand, but a show of respect. I’m a guest; I stand.

Remember how Canadian-upset people got when Dwayne Wade kept warming up during the Canadian anthem? He gave a suitably Canadian apology and we got over it.

Gabby Douglas won a gold medal, and all some people could do was complain that she didn’t stand “properly” for the anthem. At a Seahawks game once, some Trump voter tapped me on the shoulder because I didn’t have my hand over my heart while standing. When I ignored him, he did it again, so I told him “IT’S NOT MY FUCKING SONG!”

I’m not going to claim to understand simply because I’ve seen “Fruitvale Station”, or claim I don’t get upset when someone disrespects an anthem’s performance (Canadian or otherwise), but it comes across as attacking the messenger to avoid dealing with the real issue. I’m sure it’ll be an election topic by Thursday.

Oh wait – it’s here already. (Via Deadspin)

https://soundcloud.com/buzzfeedandrew/trump-criticizes-kaepernick

Back on August 4th, I posed this scenario in the open thread:

With Kellen Moore hurt and Dak Prescott nowhere near ready, the Cowboys need a backup quarterback.

Well PRAISE BE TO BLEERGH! we now have part of this prophecy already come true.

Cliff Avril has done BLEERGH’s work and sidelined Tony Romo for 8-10 weeks of pie eating rehab. Based on the first half in Seattle, it appears Dak Prescott appears cromulent enough for the Cowboys to start the season with him. Now they have to find him a backup. WHO WILL BACK THE DAK ATTACK?!

/wishes he had photshop skills

Also enjoyable is the dredging up of a name from the past, and turning it into a verb. “Will Romo be Bledsoe’d?” highlights coverage at both Florio’s Word Deli and Petey King’s Sampler Pak. Helping the analogy is actual history on the Cowboys, but failing to bring up how it’d happened to him twice really feels like a shortcoming.

Happiest camper of the day? Dan Snyder, who can actually imagine a second consecutive division title. Just thinking about a home playoff date and all those surcharges to prices gives him a mighty boner. Why, he can’t straighten his leg he’s so excited.

Tonight’s sports:

• Tennis – US Open – ESPN2 – 5:00
• MLB: Mariners @ Rangers – 7:00
• WWE – RAW – 8:00
• OLN – “Manchester Mondays” – 10:00
  • for EPL fans who love or hate equally strong

Alternative Programming:

• NBC:
  • American Ninja Warrior – 8-10:00
  • Running Wild with Bear Grylls – 10:00
    • tonight, he tries to kill Shaq

Lastly, RIP Gene Wilder. He’s finally reunited with Gilda.

If the comments aren’t filled with “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein” gifs, I DON’T KNOW YOU PEOPLE!