It's not relationships with teammates Kap needs to worry about

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As a once-promising journalist, I read with fascination Adam Kilgore'sWashington Post version of the machinations surrounding Fox’s decision not to broadcast the news of the death of Edinson Volquez’ father during Game 1, particularly the role played by Ken Rosenthal, the bow-tied watchfob who doubles as ground-level eavesdropper on game telecasts.

With this knowledge, buttressed by the fact that we’re still not sure precisely when Volquez was told the news about his father, I have decided to feel both ways on this subject, and don’t judge me.

That said, Rosenthal comes off in the piece as thoughtful, ethical yet properly aggressive, which means I can’t say anything particularly bilious or venal about him. But hang in there. Maybe I can come up with something before the end of today’s screedlets.

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Colin Kaepernick says he has a great relationship with his teammates and says he doesn’t concern himself with “reports.” This is all well and good, but that’s not the problem he has. It’s the relationship he has with whomever is whispering that he DOESN’T get along with his teammates, and if the whisperer is in a position to do something about his future.

But we’re guessing he (or his people) already knows who the mysterious source is, and has decided not to pursue it. Yet.

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Now that Pittsburgh Steeler William Gay has been fined for commemorating his dead mother by wearing purple cleats to raise awareness and discussion about domestic violence, thus joining teammates DeAngelo Williams and Cameron Heyward as men who have lost money for commemorating people the National Football League used in public service announcements, the solution is clear:

Players should stop participating in any such league-based promotions until the anomaly of being punished for doing something its employers are trying to advance. They should raise the issue, absolutely, but should do it away from the field and without the team or league logos getting any benefit. The players union should make it a collective bargaining issue, and fight for it like it was a pension contribution.

I mean, the stupid meter on the subject is well in the red at this point –- not pink, to be sure, and not purple either.

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Argentine soccer power Independiente will be playing at 8,000 feet when they travel to Bogota to play Colombian side Santa Fe, so they’ve done what teams are starting to do when confronted by thin air.

They’re tossing down Viagra like it was butterscotch candies.

Independiente is planning to have its players take sildanefil tablets (Viagra’s generic alias) before the match to stimulate blood flow and combat the effects of the rarefied O2. The team’s doctor cited the results seen in players from fellow Argentinian side River Plate in their last trip to Colombia.

No word, though, on whether Independiente is accustomed and comfortable to playing with distorted shorts.

Now that last remark was completely uncalled for.

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Because LSU football coach Les Miles is a national treasure, here is how he described how Bayou Bengals Brandon Harris and Malachi Dupre helped a woman and her diabetic son after their car got caught in floodwaters.

“Apparently the car was consumed by water,” Miles said, according to the lovely and charming Ryan Nanni (a.k.a. @celebrityhottub) of Every Day Should Be Saturday. “She apparently had all of her personal belongings in the car and traveling and ran right into what was a submerged area of water.”

Let the congregation sing, “Huh?”

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And finally, I gave the Rosenthal matter all the consideration it merits, and I cannot unclog my nostrils on his reputation for your amusement because he chose to be aggressive yet honorable. I apologize for failing you all at this important moment.

But maybe this will help: Until he wears a fez and ascot, drops the bowties and introduces himself to the viewers as Morocco Mole, I don’t know how we as a nation can take him fully seriously.

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