While many of us were out enjoying our father’s day, wherever we may be, Ray Lucas was recanting a dark time in his life. The former New York Jets quarterback stood before his church body speaking about his addiction to painkillers. Former Giant Roman Oben shared the stage with Lucas, acting as an interviewer; allowing him to share these deeply personal moments.
After being cut by the Baltimore Ravens in 2003, Lucas was unable to overcome the physical pain caused from an NFL career and fell into an addiction to pain killers. Battling depression and suicidal thoughts, he reached out to ‘Pain Alternative, Solutions & Treatments’ in New Jersey. The center took on his case and performed neck surgery to help alleviate some of his pain. Lucas, currently an analyst for SportsNet New York, then spent 42 days rehabilitating in Florida.
“It’s 10 times harder than I thought it was going to be,” he said afterward, discussing life after in-patient rehab. “Addiction is a cunning disease. Your mind is always trying to play tricks on you. On days I’m in pain, my brain will say, ‘You’ve been clean for so long, all you have to do is take a couple, you don’t need 500.’ I have to realize I don’t need anything.”
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Our team’s season opener is FINALLY here. The wait is over. No more contract talk. No more Hard Knocks reactions. No more obsessing over Tweets (for now, maybe). Just straight up Jets football. The summer’s heat and drama was irritating enough, and now it’s time to take in the relief.
I’ll be attending Edge Shaving Gel’s Anti-Irritation Zone Monday Night Football event tonight in New York, where I’ll be relieved to see our team on the field. Edge’s Anti-Irritation campaign has been taking place all summer. In fact, one of my interns wrote about the campaign’s “most irritated” cities campaign back in July. Guess which city is the fourth-most irritated? Baltimore! As for New York, the Big Apple has the most irritating commute (so someone let us know how the whole rail commute to the stadium is, please).
Before I return later tomorrow to share some snapshots and notes from the event (which will feature comedian John Caparulo, PS3 competitions and incentives for every Jets TD), I’d like to hear from readers what they are most relieved about today.
For instance, I am going to be sooooooo relieved to see Big Jinx out on the field. As much as I was hoping to see David Harris get a contract extension this summer, I am going to be sooooooo relieved when I see him deliver a big hit that sends a message to the league that he’s a tackling machine no matter what contract he has.
With all the drama behind us now, what are you relieved about now that the season is here? I want to hear from you.
It’s not Monday yet and it feels like it will be forever until we see the Jets take the field for the first time for the 2010 regular season. Why do I have the feeling that, like Thursday night’s NFL opener, the Monday Night Football premiere will take FOREVER to kickoff because we’ll have to watch Jay Z perform, then John Mayer, then Lady Gaga, then Fall Out Boy and so forth?
So here we are on Sunday, and there’s still not Jets to watch. Those of us that are in fantasy leagues have our reasons for paying attention to today’s games or remaining concerned about specific performances (my conundrum: in a league that starts two QBs per week, I have Brees as one and I must choose between Delhomme or Henne for the other). But, as Jets fans, there are obviously other reasons to care about the result of other games across the league. If we’ve learned anything from the past two seasons, where we fell short of the playoffs in one and stumbled in but before steam rolling in another, one game can make a difference.
So let’s take waste some time today and take a look around the league for Week 1 of the new season to discuss who we would like to see triumph in which games.
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I’ve lived in the NYC metro area for more than 25 years have spent the last 5 years in Manhattan, now known as REVIS ISLAND! I’ve never seen so many Jets hats and memorabilia in the streets of the Big Apple as I have this week which, yeah, bothers me in the bandwagon perspective. But as I look from my window and see the Empire State Building in green and white, I appreciate the sudden plethora of Jets gear even more. For tonight belongs to the Jets, and I know this won’t be the first time I see that green and white beacon of light outside my window.
You know this season’s different when we’re sitting solo atop the AFC East in the second week as opposed to in November as we did last year. With that in mind, I’d like to reuse a celebratory video I included last year after beating the Pats on that Thursday night in overtime to seize first place in the division, and bask in our glory as it’s good to be king… for now.
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But as we saw last year, a hold on first place is never definite. There’s still that Titans team we have to beat this weekend and a few games going our way on Sunday will sure help. Let’s take a look around the league…
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Is it Monday yet? Nope, we still have a few more days until Jetipus Rex (any Greek drama fans out there?) returns to his former home and, hopefully, destroys his former family– but preferably not in as disturbing a manner as Sophocles’ Oedipus messed up his clan.
So until Monday, it’s time to take a look around the league and see what we and Gang Green can learn from other matchups this week.
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Greetings all you gofers of the Gang Green gaggle. It’s been awhile since I posted something at TJB, primarily because my main shtick is looking at matchups that do NOT include our boys and analyzing how such games affect potential playoff berths. But after reading Dan Shipper‘s intuitive pieces on the paranoid vs optimistic Jets fan in all of us, I’ve realized that exploring postseason expectations so early on may make our readers heads’ explode.
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And we can’t have that. So let’s take it easy for starters by looking at this week’s preseason games and noting which ones may be worth following and why…
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Just like another administration’s first 100 days, so too TJB will be keeping watch over the Rex Ryan administration for the first 100 days … playing it by the numbers if you will. Each day, we’ll try to keep the associated day number in play.
Day Forty
Years in the Desert — We’ve wandered, like the people of Moses, for 40 years in the desert. Is Rex Ryan our Joshua?
40 Yards to Freedom — How useful is the 40 yard dash? Vernon Gholston & Laveranues Coles had fast times, while Stuckey & Lowery had slow times … how much does it really matter once the pads are on?
With the 40th Pick — The Jets picked both Lester Lyles and Darrol Ray with the 40th pick in the NFL Draft.
40 Million Dollar Man — This was the value of Faneca’s five year deal he received last year for the Jets. This year Faneca will make $7 million per year, and continue to devastate would be tacklers when he pulls.
As Worn By — James Hasty, Bobby Jackson … most recently by boy wonder JoeKo!
Add your forties in the comments ..
