Das Forum » The change happened at some point after the Ezekiel

A wise man has said Chris Lindstrom Jersey , “Once is an accident, twice is a trend. Four, five, or six times is a clear indication of a strategic shift in overall policy.” (I may have added the last part.)It has become more and more clear and obvious over the past year or so that the NFL, reeling from sharp reductions in TV viewership during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, has decided to take a kindler and gentler approach to player discipline, in order to ensure that as many great players as possible are available to play in NFL regular-season and postseason games. which entailed (in my opinion) a Keystone cops investigation and a kangaroo court proceeding aimed at justifying that which the league office wanted to do: Suspend Elliott for six games.Those wheels were put in motion before the election-induced ratings drop of 2016 was followed by the unexpected anthem-induced additional ratings drop of 2017, and the end result was the team that has become the top TV draw in the NFL spending 37.5 percent of a season without the straw that stirs its drink. As ratings plummeted in 2017, someone at the league office apparently did the math regarding the impact of not having great players on the field versus the impact of letting great players play despite off-field baggage.The pendulum initially swung hard in the direction of taking a hard line with players after the elevator video emerged in the Ray Rice case. The Commissioner spent a couple of weeks genuinely concerned that he could lose his job in the uproar that ensued, and Roger Goodell undoubtedly resolved at that point that he would never, ever be accused again of going too easy on a player who misbehaves. That trend continued until Elliott’s suspension, which was followed by an all-out effort by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to get rid of Goodell.Forced to choose between an assault on his job by a mob of outsiders and an assault on his job by one of his 32 bosses http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/kaleb-mcgary-jersey , and concerned about the very real impact on ratings of star players not playing, Goodell has now nudged the pendulum in the other direction, far more subtly and gradually than it moved in 2014.It started with the league’s unspoken lenience for chronic substance-abuse policy violators like Josh Gordon, Martavis Bryant, and Randy Gregory. Although the trio currently is suspended, the league could have tossed each of them out of the sport early in 2018 under the clear terms of the policy. Instead, they each got extra chances until new suspensions were imposed, and the new suspensions weren’t for a minimum of one year (as they should have been). Indeed, there’s a chance that all three will be playing again this year.Why? Because no one cares about marijuana anymore, and no one will complain that the league is letting guys who smoke pot play football.The dynamic also has affected the league’s application of the Personal Conduct Policy. The investigation of multiple incidents involving then-Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt was in mothballs before video of him pushing and kicking a woman in the hallway of a Cleveland hotel emerged. Elliot, despite video showing him confronting and possibly shoving a 19-year-old security guard and notwithstanding Elliott’s status as a prior offender (which supposedly is a big deal under the Personal Conduct Policy), wasn’t punished. Now there’s Hill, who escaped any and all punishment with the league issuing a statement that doesn’t even address the menacing remark that prompted the Chiefs to send him away from the team’s offseason program.Two years ago Kendall Sheffield Jersey , Hill wouldn’t have been so fortunate. Now, as the league tries to build on momentum from 2018 TV numbers fueled by an offensive explosion about which the NFL privately bragged to reporters on a near-weekly basis, it’s better for the league to have Hill on the field than it is for the league to not have Hill on the field. Sure, there will be complaints and objections, maybe even a loosely-organized protest. But the potential impact on the league’s business from letting Hill play is smaller than the potential impact on the league’s business from not letting him play, and that’s ultimately all the league cares about.Football is business. They say “football is family” because it’s good for business to say “football is family,” but football is business. The NFL got into the business of policing the private lives of players for P.R. purposes. The NFL enhanced those efforts in the face of strong objections to the NFL’s failure to be aggressive enough with players who got in trouble away from work. Now, business interests require an approach that entails the application a deeply flawed in-house justice system (a system that isn’t about justice at all) in a way that enhances business.That’s why Hill wasn’t suspended, and that’s why players in similar situations will receive similar treatment, unless and until the league’s business interests once again compel a more aggressive approach to discipline. At that point, the pendulum will swing again, back in the direction of imposing overly strong punishments. After Houston fell into a quick one-run hole, Evan Gattis appreciated how the Astros came right back swinging.

Fences-clearing swings.

”It’s like let `em know we’re here http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/john-cominsky-jersey , you know?” he said.

Gattis hit a three-run homer and drove in five runs, Carlos Correa returned from a four-game absence and homered on the first pitch he saw, and the Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 6-3 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win.

Gattis has seven homers and 20 RBIs over his last 14 games.

”It’s been good for the last month,” he said. ”It’s easy to lose sight of that when you have a couple games where it’s like 1 for 8 or 9 or something like that the last couple games in Texas. It’s good to kind of sustain it a little bit.”

Lance McCullers Jr. (8-3) struck out five over seven strong innings, allowing two runs and five hits while winning a second straight decision. He surrendered Stephen Piscotty’s sacrifice fly in the second and then kept Oakland’s powerful order in check.

Correa was back in the lineup at shortstop after missing a series sweep at Texas with soreness in his right side after leaving last Wednesday’s game against the Mariners following an at-bat in the seventh inning.

Oakland scored on a wild pitch in the first before the Astros answered against Daniel Mengden (6-6). Correa homered leading off the second. Gattis hit his 11th homer three batters later, and then chased Mengden with a two-run double with two outs in the fifth.

”He’s obviously seeing the ball and he’s putting the barrel on it and coming up with huge hits, a lot of them doing damage,” manager A.J. Hinch said.

Matt Chapman hit three doubles before being hit by a pitch in the left hand in the eighth by Collin McHugh. X-rays were negative. Chapman’s three doubles matched the Oakland single-game record, done for the 28th time and first since Matt Joyce last Sept. 27.

”He’s using the whole field, seeing the ball early. Earlier in the season he was similar to this but right now I think he’s seeing the ball as well as he has all year,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. ”You’re seeing that the last few games.”

Ken Giles finished for his 11th save in 11 tries as the World Series champions moved to 6-1 so far this season against the A’s.

Both teams left the bases loaded in the fourth.

Mengden was charged with six runs and eight hits.

BIG-TIME PARADE

The A’s had some fun with the NBA Golden State Warriors’ victory parade through downtown Oakland on Tuesday.

”We’re back after a day off and Oakland even had a parade to celebrate us returning,” the A’s posted on Twitter.

SPECIAL NOD

Hinch is making a special addition to his All-Star coaching staff for next month’s game in Washington: Retired Astros first base coach Rich Dauer will be in uniform and assisting Hinch.

”Just like old times,” Hinch said.

Last November Qadree Ollison Jersey , Dauer was rushed to a hospital immediately after Houston’s victory parade to celebrate its first World Series title. He survived a difficult surgery on a blood clot in his brain.

Dauer played for the Baltimore Orioles from 1976-85, winning a World Series in 1983. Dauer was hired by the Astros after the 2014 season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: There’s no structural issue with RHP Joe Smith’s sore elbow that put him on the disabled list last week. Smith saw a couple of different doctors and for now it’s just going to take time to let the inflammation calm down, Hinch said.

Athletics: The A’s plan to make a decision as soon as Wednesday on whether RHP Trevor Cahill will need a stint on the DL, which seems likely given his Achilles injury is not improving. Melvin expects RHP Chris Bassitt would return from Triple-A Nashville to replace Cahill in the rotation. ”If we do this, he deserves another chance,” Melvin said. … LHP Brett Anderson is scheduled for his first bullpen session Wednesday as he works back from a strained shoulder that landed him on the DL on May 19.

UP NEXT

Astros: RHP Gerrit Cole (7-1, 2.16 ERA) totaled 21 strikeouts to just four earned runs allowed in his first two starts against the A’s this season.

Athletics: RHP Paul Blackburn (1-0, 1.50 ERA) makes his second start since coming off the 60-day DL after he was sidelined with a strained forearm.

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