Not long ago, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was named the most powerful man in sports, a title he loves and refuses to give up. Despite desperately fumbling the Ray Rice situation, the NFL dictator insists on being the judge and jury for the league and will continue to be a disservice to the league.

Goodell is a hypocrite and a liar. He’s always preaching about player safety but yet he wants to add regular season and playoff games which would ultimately add more opportunity for the players to get hurt. Let’s call it how it is; more games means more money and as long as his wallet is being filled, he’ll say whatever he thinks the public will want to hear.

If he seriously thinks a team in London would work, he’s only fooling himself. I’ve yet to hear a single individual other than Goodell support the idea.

Think about it; let’s say a current NFL team moved to London, say the Jacksonville Jaguars. You’d have a team in the AFC South flying across the pond to play a game the London natives aren’t familiar with. The Texans, Colts and Titans would travel there every year and battle jet leg amongst many other things.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as why a team in London wouldn’t work and really is an entire different discussion. All in all, Goodell needs to be stripped of some of his power, if not all of it. It’s getting to his head.

It was hard enough to see Nelson Cruz (along with many other Rangers) leave Texas but it’s going to be even stranger and harder to see him return to the American League West where he’ll play for the Seattle Mariners.

Pending a physical, the slugger is expected to sign a four-year, $57 million deal which also includes a signing bonus of $1 million.

Cruz, 34, spent the 2014 season with the Baltimore Orioles where he hit 40 home runs and finished third in the A.L. with 108 RBIs. Prior to that, in 2013, his final season with the Rangers, he was suspended for 50 games due to his involvement with biogenesis.

Cruz made his MLB debut in 2005 with the Milwaukee Brewers. A year later, he joined the Teas Rangers where he spent the next seven seasons. In his 10-year career, he has 197 home runs, 597 RBI and a batting average of .268.

The addition of Cruz adds a significant threat to the Mariners’ roster. Last season, Seattle tied for the 11^th best offense in the A.L. with 634 runs scored. They were reportedly involved in trade discussions for Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes and others before signing Cruz who will help them compete with the other A.L. West teams.

Historically, Tony Romo has not done so hot in December where he has a record of 11-15. This year, Cowboys fans are optimistic that this year will be different, at least some of them are. In order for good tidings to come to Big D in December though, the Cowboys will have to rebound for an ugly Thanksgiving loss at home to their divisional rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

If there’s one thing Romo has shown this year is the importance of a solid offensive line. Up until the Thanksgiving game, he had just that, as the line, at times gave him up to six or seven seconds in the pocket. Unfortunately for Romo and the Cowboys, the veteran quarterback has had scary moments where and his bad back has forced him to miss some time.

Romo’s offensive line isn’t just the key to his success. It’s no doubt the key to the success of Demarco Murray who has broken NFL records and became the first running back to rush for 100 yards in eight straight games. He could also potentially break Eric Dickerson’s record for most rushing yards in a single season.

Roma and Murray aren’t the only ones relying on production from the offensive line either. As strange as it may sound, the defense is also relying on the O-line. The defense was one of the worst in league history the worst in franchise history in 2013. They lost big names like Demarcus Ware and Sean Lee and yet managed to surprise people early and shut down offenses like the Seattle Seahawks. However, when all said and done, that production all starts on the offensive line.

When the offensive line produces, Romo has time in the pocket and Murray racks up yards on the ground. When that happens, the Cowboys are able to eat up the clock and control the pace of the game and thus keeping the Dallas defense off the field longer to where they’re not so winded and are able to perform.

However, it looks as if teams might have figured out the weak spots for the Dallas defense and if it doesn’t step up, teams will rack up yards all over the place, forcing Romo to do more than he would like. Hopefully he and his O-line are prepared for that because if not, it’s going to be another long December.

It has been years since I read The Hobbit but it was a childhood favorite of mine. So when the first movie came out, it was probably the only movie I had any interest in seeing in the theater that year so I went, but I was unaware of the fact it was broken into three parts. As the movie progressed, I was trying to recall everything from the book and figure out how in the world the movie was going to fit in different scenes without making it a 12-hour-long movie.

In my opinion, they could have easily made it one movie but I understand it’s about money and making a trilogy of it brings in a lot of it. I didn’t see the second movie and unless I decide to do that, I likely won’t see the third.It’s not that I dislike The Hobbit, I just didn’t and don’t have the interest I had for the first one. Of course, to be honest, I don’t have a ton of excitement to see any movie in the theater these days but that’s an entirely different topic.

At any rate, The Battle of the Five Armies, Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarves are under attack by a legion of Orcs sent by Sauron as they must fight for their own lives and the lives of each other as they unite against in the Battle of the Five Armies.

The movie is set to be released into theaters Wednesday Dec. 17.

Remember how good the John Tyler Lions football team was in the ‘90s? They popularized the term, “Cujo” on their way to a state championship. They took part in the famous game against Plano East in Texas Stadium in 1994.

I’ve thought a lot about those Lions teams as the current Lions is making yet another run at a state championship. They are coming off a 49-21 win over Rockwall-Heath and will take on McKinney North Friday at University North Texas’ Apogee Stadium.

This season, John Tyler is averaging 209.7 passing yards per game and 173 rushing yards per game and have an overall record of 12-2. The defense has forced 35 sacks and 21 interceptions on the season.

Starting quarterback Geovari McCollister is currently 199-of-305 yards for 24 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He’s joined in the backfield by guys like running back Jeremy Wilson who has 190 carries for 1,521 yards and 23 interceptions.

On the defensive side, Jaylon Reese leads the team in tackles with 100 while Pierre Leonard has 10 sacks on the year, doubling the next closes on the team. They’re joined by Bryston Gipson who has six fumble recoveries while Tony Johnson has four.

Friday night, they will attempt to take the next step in bringing another state championship back to the Rose Capital.