Opening Day

That muffled thud you heard was the sound of my remote control hitting the floor, as it has finished useful purpose for the next few months. I switched over to the NFL Network, which is where you will find me most of the time for the next five months or so. I know: It's only training camp and exhibition games, but this is how it starts. There will be plenty of action to keep track of, both on and off the field.
Will Tom Brady be able to put concerns about his pool cover? Will Ray Rice play football again, or will he and Adrian Peterson throw in with a new Mixed Martial Arts crew that specializes in cage matches with little kids and women? Maybe Ronda Rousey could settle both their hash at once. I might pay to see that.
But that would mean changing the channel, and I'm not sure I am ready to do that, especially when I've got grown men beating on each other, and not always in any sort of sanctioned way. New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith got into a bit of a scrape with a teammate last week over a plane ticket. Apparently, Geno owed IK Enemkpali six hundred dollars for a plane ticket and told him that he wasn't going to pay him back. Smith punctuated his assertion with the words, "well, you're not going to do anything about it." And he waved a finger in his faace. I'm guessing that particular combination in the midst of a confrontation with a six foot four, two hundred forty pound professional linebacker, whose job is to pick quarterbacks up and put them on the ground, didn't help resolve things. That would explain Geno Smith's broken jaw.
This is where I start to switch my perspective, from NFL fanboy to elementary school teacher. What lessons could be taken from this series of incidents? The good news is that this was one football player hitting another, not a defenseless wife or child. The bad news is that the whole enterprise could have been avoided. Should have been avoided. Will the lesson that Geno Smith learns via sitting out six to ten weeks with his jaw wired shut be enough to get him to reconsider how he pays his debts and deals with his teammates? Will IK Enemkpali be happy with the consequences of taking his star quarterback out of the mix for half a season? Will the San Diego Chargers move to Los Angeles?
It's still early.