Look, we can joke about Fooch being away and how that leads to bad things happening as much as we want, but if any of you were paying attention Thursday afternoon and didn't assume that some unfortunate San Francisco 49ers player was next in line for the suspension bloodbath, you're a lot more stable than I.
If you don't follow, the NFL suspended four players on Thursday, for various violations. The first was New York Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, who got four games for a violation of the league's substance abuse policy. Then Dallas Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain was given a four-game suspension for the same kind of violation. The third player to go was Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Datone Jones, who got just one game for a substance abuse violation.
Finally, San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates was suspended four games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy.
Naturally, I was on the news desk for all four of those suspensions (while covering Wimbledon as well), and had to fire off four posts on the matter and now I can't feel my wrist but hey. Throughout all of this, I was absolutely certain that a 49ers player was going to be next on the list. It wasn't until about 30 minutes after Gates' suspension came through that the various reporters suggested that the suspensions were done for today, and only then did I exhale.
I won't say I'm happy any player got suspended. It sucks that players have to miss time, it sucks that players cheat and it sucks that so much time is wasted for something so silly in the first place. But hey ... better them than the 49ers, right? I'd say the 49ers suffered enough this offseason. Of course, now that I've said this, the NFL will probably suspend a 49ers player out of principle.
Rough day.