The Sandlot

Way back in 2008, I discovered a TV show that I would faithfully watch all the way until the series concluded last week. This post, which I wrote at the time I unearthed this gem, doesn't even do justice to the show and I never really followed up on it. With the series now over, except for the April re-air of the last season on NBC, it seems like a good time to reflect and explore the best thing on TV that most people are probably unaware of.



From the very first episode until the very last scene, FNL takes your emotions on a mind-bending, soul-shattering roller coaster ride. On countless occasions , I found myself either Tiger Woods fist-pumping or getting misty eyed. The show did almost everything perfectly. The characters are so real, so easy to relate to and associate with yourself or some one you know. The acting, writing and directing are of the utmost quality and the score is breathtaking at times.

The show is a drama. It's also about high school football, about growing up and relationships. Its about life and it doesn't pull any punches. Seriously this show is not for the faint of heart as it will put you through the ringer. You will experience higher highs and lower lows than you would think a TV show would be possible of creating. I think that's a big reason why the show never really achieved mainstream success despite its critical acclaim. Most people just want mindless and empty entertainment out of a TV show. While FNL is certainly entertaining and laugh out loud funny at times, its also very heavy and deep.

The show ran for 5 seasons. if I had to rank them it would be as follows: 1, 5, 3, 4, 2. Season 1 is simply amazing and practically flawless. Season 2 has two major issues that make it the weakest of the five; the writers strike that happened that year an an ill advised story line that substantially derailed the first half of the season. Season 3 was brilliant in the sense that it rectified all the wrongs of the 2nd season, was gripping in its own right and set the stage for future seasons despite the fact know one knew if there would be more seasons. Season 4 saw a departure of the majority of the characters from the first 3 seasons and an influx of new ones. Season 5, while being the last season, is only rivaled by the first season in terms of greatness.

The center piece of the show is the Taylor family, specifically the relationship of husband and wife, Eric and Tammie Taylor. Essentially, the entire show flows through the two of them (a fact that is more fully embraced starting in Season 3), though there are many many other characters who play prominent roles in the show. Without the Taylor's however, this show would not be what it is and if you watch it you'll understand what I mean. They have a daughter, Julie, who also plays a major role in the series and provides many an interesting moment. I don't want to divulge really any other info about the cast and I'm not going to get into any story lines or anything else. My goal here is to get people to go watch.

The first 4 seasons are available on DVD and season 5 will be out on DVD in April plus its airing on NBC starting April 15th. If you haven't seen any episodes or season before, I really wouldn't recommend starting with the last season as your first experience because you won't have the proper perspective about anything. Go buy or Netflix the series. Its worth the time and you'll thank me when it totally consumes your life.

As an avid NFL fan, I've kept a close eye on the on-going labor talks and I'm sickened. At this point, I would guess there's a 95% chance there will be no NFL season next year, at least not as we know the NFL. We might get half a season or a full season with replacement players at best unless a new deal is magically forged by the March 4th deadline.


There exists a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL owners and the NFL Players Union, the union body that looks out for the wages and welfare of all players in the league. The CBA's are generally 3-5 years in length and cover issues like revenue sharing, player contracts, free agency rules, salary cap, the draft and pretty much all things related to keeping the NFL running. Owners or the Union can opt out of the agreement if they so choose. This happened in 2008 when the owners opted out of the previous CBA that was signed in 2006.


That made this past season one with no salary cap, as per the rules of the CBA. The NFL and NHL have a salary cap, or a maximum amount of money a team may spend on player contracts which is designed to promote a level playing field for all teams in the league. The MLB does not have a salary cap and clubs can spend as much or as little money as they want on their players. This is why the Yankees have a $200+ million dollar payroll and the Devil Rays spend just $70 million and the Pirates a mere $34 million. The NFL salary cap was $128 million before this uncapped season.


Oddly enough, salary cap is not an issue in preventing a new deal from getting done, but rather a consequence of their not being a deal in place. The real issues are as follows: Revenue Sharing, Rookie Wage Scale, Player Benefits and Season Length.


Rookie Wage Scale: Both sides want this to be implemented, but they've far different ideas on the topic. I also think this is a good idea for the NFL. Why should some fresh out of college-never-proved-anything-on-a-professional-level kid get a huge contract with a gigantic signing bonus? In 2009, the average salary was $1.9 mill a year for QB, $1.2 mill for DT and $900K for RB's. Matthew Stafford signed a 6 year $78 million contract with $41.7 million of that guaranteed before he even stepped out on the field. My idea is this: All rookie contracts are 3 years in length worth a maximum base of $5 million a year, minimum of $800K no guaranteed money. Work in various incentive clauses based on play time and performance factors. That way Mr. rookie franchise QB of the future only makes $5 mil his first season if he bombs out, gets hurt or sits the whole season to learn. If he starts right away and plays well then pay him accordingly. After his 3 years he becomes a restricted free agent, which will allow his current team to retain the player if they so choose.


Season Length: Currently the NFL season consists of 17 weeks of regular season (16 games per team) and 4 weeks of pre-season. The owners wish to remove 2 pre-season games and go to an 18 week regular season. Citing growing concerns about the rise of injuries the players are opposed to this idea. I do agree that the pre-season is too long, and often results in star players getting hurt. However, I think only having 2 pre-season games isn't enough and would create less competitive and competent games. A 3 game pre-season schedule thus seems reasonable. As far as extending the regular season to 18 games over 19 weeks, I do not think this is a wise idea. There's nothing wrong with the current schedule and as the old adage goes, is its not broke then don't fix it.

Revenue Sharing and Player Benefits: These are the real back breaking issues which will lead to there not being and NFL season next year. In short, money that NFL teams earn via TV contracts, merchandise/apparel and ticket sales go into a pool and are distributed among all the teams in the league. Again this is to ensure that all teams can remain competitive despite what local markets they may exist in. Right now, the owners with to gain a larger share of this pool than they currently command. The last CBA they agreed to give the players more money and now they want it back. Essentially, both sides are crying about how to divvy up a billion dollars. Just today, the players union proposed a 50-50 split and the owners walked out and canceled tomorrows scheduled negotiating session. Currently, the players get about 60% of the $8 Billion in total revenue. Seems to me they should split it 50-50 and be happy with $4 Billion a year.

This whole thing is starting to become a bad dream. There's 32 NFL owners and 1 stupid commissioner who are so greedy that they're willing to sacrifice and entire season and all the money that would come with it just to get a few extra dollars and more games. Like it or not, the owners need the players because the league can't exist with out the players. All these old ass men like Ralph Wilson need to get with the times. Sharing is caring. Pay your employees, give them protection after retirement and in turn you will make money off of them. A lot of money.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I present this little nugget for all the dreamers and singles out there.

There's no worse feeling, as a man, of liking a girl and not being able to do anything about it. While I've not been in this position for some time now, I can still recall with ease moments in my youth where I was struck with this floundering sense of helplessness. This isn't a case of a man being too scared to approach a girl, or having a crush on some movie/TV personality you could never realistically be with either. I am referring to a phenomenon knows as The Friend Zone.


For most guys, upon meeting a girl, multiple internal decisions are made almost immediately. The girl is first found to be attractive or unattractive. The next decision then is that at the very least he will make efforts to sleep with the girl, or possibly date her, provided she is deemed attractive to the guy. No guy meets a girl and decides, "she seems nice I bet she'd make a good friend." Important note before I go any further. This is pertaining to guys who are single. Guys in relationships, unless they're total scumbags, operate under a different set of rules and procedures.


If a guy has friends that are girls, its because something happened or circumstances already existed to prevent sex or courtship and now the girl views him as a total non-sexual entity. Say the girl already has a boyfriend or just broke up with a boyfriend but isn't ready to date again. Or in most cases, the guy just flat out bricks. As I've seen it, both first hand and through friends, you really only get one chance with a girl. If it doesn't happen, you either end up never seeing the girl again or you end up in the Zone. For clarification, not seeing the girl again is preferable to being in the Zone. If you're stuck in the Zone you may have to see the girl constantly and deal with the knowledge that you'll never date or sex her up while listening to her talk about other guys and watching her date other guys. But here is where guys are admittedly stupid. We still think we have a shot at getting out of the Friend Zone and being the boyfriend so we stick around. The thing is, you can't get out of the Friend Zone.


Girls for the most part, are oblivious to all of this too. They have no clue of the anguish and despair they are causing. So ladies, if you happen to be single and have a couple of male friends just know this. Every one of them wants to bang you, and a good portion probably also would like to date you. So if you're feeling lonely, give one of em a call on this holiday and have some fun, and do it in the butt.