Consider the advantages watching golf provides over watching the NFL -- serene surroundings and pace, beautiful scenery, excellent sportsmanship, no fear of serious injuries, the outcome determined by the player's skill alone rather than the subjectivity of judges and referees, and a high respect for the rules of the game.
No scantily-clad cheerleaders. No distractions of marching bands, goofy mascots or raucous crowds. No confusion about who is now playing for which team.
And hardly ever do you hear about PGA players being busted for cocaine, weapons violations, beating up their women, driving drunk, and so on.
But NFL players? Sometimes it seems that they're known better by the local cops than they are by their coaches.
You want some really disturbing proof? SignOnSanDiego.com has created a searchable database of arrests involving NFL players since 2000. And, yes, we're not talking parking tickets or citations for not recycling your plastic bottles. Three journalists from the San Diego Union-Tribune reviewed hundreds of news reports and public records in compiling the database. And even though they are quick to say they probably missed a few, what they did find was truly alarming.
The Chicago Bears "scored" 17. New York Giants: 11. Kansas City: 24. New England: 11. Indianapolis: 16. Shamefully, my hometown team, the Denver Broncos, had 23 cases on record.
If you want to check out your favorite team, here's the database. And for more detail, if you need it, you can check out NFL Crimes Newsblog.
Of course, be careful. Scanning through these sites just might make you into a golf watcher too.
