Cabache's Corner

Player safety has always been a hot topic in the NFL. Be it regarding head injuries and long term damage, treatment options, protecting the quarterback or defenseless players, the NFL has taken steps to see the game become safer and keep their stars healthy, all the while claiming they take player safety seriously. However, far more needs to be done before the NFL can honestly say they truly care for their players’ safety. Week 4 saw at least three significant helmet-to-helmet hits, and under the current model the NFL didn’t do enough to protect these players. The issue isn’t the rule, it’s pretty clear and extensive when it comes to unnecessary roughness, the issue is its enforcement and consequent punishment. I’ll start with the hit I think they handled properly. Vontaze Burfict – surprise, surprise –  yet again showed complete disregard for anyone’s safety, including his own, in one of the most obvious headhunting displays in my recent memory.   This is th...

I have been fortunate as a Ravens fan. In that within a year of me choosing the Ravens they won the Super Bowl. It may have been in the early days of my fandom, and I didn’t know a lot about the sport that I do now, nevertheless, I got to witness my team win a Super Bowl. Something that only four other fan bases have experienced since the Ravens won in February 2013. However, having made the playoffs in the four years before I was a fan and the year I became a fan, the Ravens have gone on to make the playoffs just once since winning the Super Bowl. Two 8-8 finishes, a 5-11 finish, and a 9-7 finish last year has left most Ravens fans feeling pretty down. This isn’t the level of success we’re used to. After all, since their inaugural season in 1996, the Ravens have played in and won two Super Bowls, they have two first ballot Hall of Famers, with a third on the way, they have made the playoffs 10 times and they have an all-time win percentage of .539. That’s pretty good. H...

Nike are celebrating the 30 th anniversary of their famous “Just do it” campaign with a new message and it isn’t very subtle. On Monday 3 rd September Nike dropped an image and two sentences that sent a very powerful message to announce their 30 th anniversary campaign. A black and white photo of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick with nine words plainly typed across it: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Within minutes of being posted it had undoubtedly earned immense numbers of interactions, and can we really be surprised? Such a high profile company, the sole official uniform provider for the NFL no less, had just blatantly endorsed a man who had been kept out of the NFL, disgraced by the President of the United States and targeted with hate by millions of people in America, and even some around the world. In fact, Nike hadn’t just endorsed him, they had made him the face of their newest and celebratory “Just do it” cam...