GEEQUE PALACE MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2012 | Page 10

GPS/GEEQUE PALACE SPORTS

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THE MAYORS says…….the NFL season is at the quarter pole and we have not figured out who wants to be in the game or not. The referees returned to a delighted and relieved fan base. And trust that the players were happy about it as well. Roger Goodell says in a letter he penned (or probably dictated from his cave on Park Ave) “I regret we were not able to secure an agreement sooner in the process and avoid the unfortunate distractions to the game." Really, I think that this unfortunate situation should not have happened at all. Because the NFL said after the Seattle –Green Bay Monday night fiasco that the referees were correct in their ruling, even though it seemed as if none of the referees knew the simplest of NFL rules, all of people’s worst fears were confirmed on one play. But we are done with the past and let’s move on. The NFL is missing that stand out team, that one team who will rise up when it is supposed to and makes all the other 31 teams cringe in

Fear. The top teams in the league right now are the undefeated Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans. Three great teams for sure but can anyone truly expect all three of them to be in the Super Bowl Tournament??? Maybe but history has shown that the majority of teams that start out well don’t usually end that way and it is still very early, it is a great number of teams that are in the middle of the pack or just breaking even at this time. The funny thing is that there are only three teams with 3-1 records in the AFC , Baltimore Ravens , Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers, the rest of the teams are 2-2 or below. In the NFC, there are a few teams at 3-1 on the season Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco Forty Niners and . The rest of the conference is trying to figure out who they are at this point. The next time we talk we will be at the halfway point of the season and then a clearer indication of who is going to be on top can be made.

No playoff spots have ever been clinched in the fall months, but positioning is very crucial at this point and time. The Giants have lost two NFC East matchups (Dallas, Philadelphia) which puts them behind the eight ball early, and the New Orleans Saints are past panic button mode, they have to go

undefeated for the rest of the season just to finish at 12-4. The faith that was had in the Buffalo Bills is slowly starting to turn in to sad expectations. Mario Williams has not showed up yet, maybe their defense is on the same cereal box as the Detroit Lions. Whatever happened to Ndamukong Suh anyway ?

THE MAYOR CONTINUE......