Week Two Recaps
09/20/2006
There are several stories that have dominated the football landscape early in the season: T.O.’s broken finger, Atlanta’s running attack, Washington’s inept offense, and the officiating scandal at the end of the Oklahoma/Oregon game. But there’s one story that could shake the football world at its bedrock, and it’s getting no publicity whatsoever. The story I’m talking about is the point-shaving scandal taking place at Briscoe H.S., which is the subject of those Nike ads. Quite simply, Briscoe H.S. is the most stacked team in the history of high-school football. On offense they have Vick and Tomlinson, and on defense they have Urlacher and Polamalu. But despite having 4 pro-bowlers at crucial positions, they are trailing in the final seconds 14-10 against a team that boasts no NFL pro-bowlers, and may only have 2-3 potential scholarship players. A H.S. team with Vick, Tomlinson, Urlacher and Polamalu should win 194-0 without trying, and yet, inexplicably Briscoe is trailing 14-10 with less than 10 seconds left, and need a half-back option pass to win the game. Briscoe Head Coach –Don Freaking Shula- can’t lead this talented bunch to a dominating victory over a bunch of guys who are more worried about the homecoming dance than they are worried about zone-blitzes? Please. The only answer is that Briscoe H.S. is involved in point-shaving, and this story needs to be uncovered and investigated before point-shaving reaches higher levels of football.
