Columnist Dean Juipe: When will NFL owners wise up?

Dean Juipe

Friday, Aug. 4, 2000 | 10:26 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

It never fails.

Year after year, absolutely without exception, National Football League teams lose countless players to season-ending injuries in meaningless games. To no one's surprise, it's happening again and it's still only the first week of August.

It's beyond belief that the league still has its teams playing four and five exhibition games every summer; the NFL prefers to call these "preseason" games, but they were known as exhibitions in the old days and they're still exhibitions today.

Of course football players are always going to get hurt, be it in game situations or scrimmages. It goes with the territory.

But from a player's perspective, let alone a fan's, to have someone get hurt in a game that means nothing and is of no interest to anyone is absolutely stupid.

The NFL's collective payroll this season is certain to top $2 billion; it was $1.988 billion last season. With all that money invested in talent, you would think team owners would be more protective of their players (and product).

You would also think those same owners would look at the present situation and make this enlightened decision: Let's cut the exhibitions back to two per team and add two games per team to the regular season.

For monetary reasons alone, it's a wonder the league hasn't already made that move. Exhibition games wouldn't attract crowds if season-ticket holders weren't obliged to purchase preseason tickets as well, and TV ratings for the practice games are routinely abysmal.

For all the hoopla concerning Dennis Miller's debut on Monday Night Football this week, many of the sport's staunchest fans skipped the broadcast of the San Francisco vs. New England game because it was little more than mindless filler. Same thing with every other exhibition game.

Most fans share that indifference. It's like, "Wake me when the games count in the standings."

The players are bored with the length of the exhibition schedule and not one of them in the history of the league has ever come out and said otherwise. Thursday in USA Today quarterback Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers took his turn, saying, "I personally think the preseason is too long. In college, you practice three weeks and you play. To go six or seven weeks of training camp, you're going to get a lot of guys hurt."

Among the many, many players who have already been sidelined for the season is linebacker DeShone Myles of Seattle, who attended Cheyenne High School in Las Vegas and who is out for the year with a knee injury.

New England was so strapped for healthy bodies after the game with the 49ers that it canceled a scheduled workout Wednesday with the New York Giants; the Patriots listed 16 players who couldn't practice, including seven offensive linemen.

It's one thing to go down on your sword in the heat of an important battle, as is the case in the regular season when players make physical sacrifices and give their all for their team's success.

But to blow out a knee in a glorified scrimmage disguised as a "preseason" game is not only unfortunate but offensive.

The league needs to wise up and trim its exhibitions.

No one would object.