Monday Mash: Processing Week 1 & Ray Rice Saga

Welcome to the return of the Monday Mash, a weekly recap of Sunday's NFL action. Well, at least typically it is. After all that's gone on today regarding Baltimore running back Ray Rice, I think it's best to start with the sports topic that's gripped the nation all day Monday.

For starters, it's hard to believe this fiasco started all the way back in mid-February. Since then, the missteps from everyone involved (NFL, media, Rice, fans, etc.) have been nearly incalculable. A bare-bones timeline of events:

• Feb 15- Ray Rice and his fiance Janay Palmer are both arrested on simple assault charges in Atlantic City.
• Feb 19- TMZ releases a video from the incident, in which Rice drags a limp/unconscious Palmer out of an elevator.
• Mar 27- Rice indicted on third degree assault.
• May 20- Rice accepts a pretrial treatment program and thus avoids prosecution.
• July 27- NFL Commish Roger Goodell suspends Rice for two games.
• July 27 through Aug 27- National outcry over the light suspension
• Aug 28- NFL strengthens penalties for domestic abuse cases.
• Sept 8- TMZ releases second video from inside the elevator. Overwhelming additional outcry nationally, Ravens cut Rice, Goodell suspends Rice from NFL indefinitely.

(courtesy: http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11489146/a-timeline-nfl-ravens-reactions-ray-rice-incident)

Of course, I don't know all the details and facts. Not even close. So instead of unqualified preachings, here are just some outward wonderings:

1. Where is all the power in the NFL?? There is no more "four major sports" in America. Football has blown away all other athletic leagues, and it's not even remotely close. The league essentially poops billions. I find it outrageously strange that TMfreakinZ seems like the captain of this ship throughout. The Rice situation created a big problem with an employee in this colossus of a business. How could the NFL continually act like the confused, timid child in the corner of the room rather than Head Honcho?
2. Following the release of today's video, Goodell has come under fire. Accusations are now abound as to whether the commissioner had already seen what was revealed today, and was simply hoping this thing would blow over and/or nobody else would see it. It's very hard to believe that such a powerful man could be so dumb. But at the same time, it's equally tough to absorb that when it comes to uncovering the truth of an NFL player, the pecking order appears to be 1. TMZ and 2. NFL.
3. At the end of the day, what was the ultimate significance of today's video release? More importantly, why didn't the first video do enough in terms of shock value? Clearly, the NFL has an "out" in that it can claim Rice wasn't truthful in his description of events. Maybe Rice claimed it was a terrible accident of he was acting in self-defense. Well, today it was revealed it certainly wasn't a instantaneous brush with insanity (Rice hits her once, and then strikes back again), and perhaps the most chilling parts of the video was the 30 seconds following the knockout, with Rice nonchalantly standing there...not a care in the world.
4. Rice and Palmer got married on March 28, in the midst of all this. Just another tidbit that makes it seem almost like it's not real-life.

Whatever the case, Ray Rice is no longer in the NFL after what he did to his fiance/wife. Which seems to now be a universally approved decision. But why it took so long for Goodell to first make a suspension announcement...why that first suspension was so lenient...why TMZ was always the driving force...and why Goodell continues his silence now (12 hours and counting)...these are the disturbing questions that linger. 

Ray Rice has come and gone. And unless there is some well-articulated (and not insultingly ridiculous) explanations from the NFL soon, many wonder whether Goodell may be next to go.