NFL gurus and former players and coaches always talk and preach about "protecting the shield".

What they mean is to hold up and dignify the NFL as a league or a sacred entity and to do everything not to make a mockery of it.

Well, to protect the shield, first they should take the Pro Bowl out back behind the billion-dollar shed next to the NFL headquarters in New York City and shoot it right between the eyes.

The Pro Bowl is embarrassing to every circus or carnival freak who ever dressed up in funny pants and allowed crowd members to throw pies at them.

Nobody cares about the half-baked exhibition game, nobody tries, and the usually gentle Hawaiian audience is booing.

If Joe Thomas doesn't want to block, why should I watch? If defensive backs don't want to cover anyone, why should I care who is named a Pro Bowl player? It doesn't add weight to a resume anymore. It is just a title, associated with a complete trainwreck.

It is so ridiculous any more that there is no sense to suggest changes. Just end it, and spend the week before the Super Bowl doing meaningful things like rearranging your sock drawer or campaigning to have Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless deported to an island with no microphones and no TVs.

- BTilton@News-Herald.com