NFL: PACKERS LOSE TO SEAHAWKS; BRONCOS & COLTS ON SUNDAY; THE NFL'S UGLY SIDE // MLB: CURRENT STANDINGS

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner . . . NFL: PACKERS LOSE TO SEAHAWKS; WILL THE BRONCOS DFEEAT THE COLTS?// THE LEAGUE’S UGLY SIDE, CAN IT GO AWAY? MLB: CURRENT STANDINGS . . . LAST night, the Green Bay Packers had the distinction of scoring NFL-2014’s first touchdown, but soon after came a Seahawks demonstration of overmatch as the Seattle franchise and last season’s SB winner constructed a 36-16 victory against an actually improved QB Aaron Rogers-led offense. The Seahawks defense shut down the Packer’s perceived drive opportunities via blocks, tackles, ball stops at wide angles and during crossovers, and from pass rushing that could remain unequaled throughout the season. And, the Packers defense, far from being slow and wimpy, just couldn’t spoil the Russell Wilson/WR Percy Harvin and RB Marshawn Lynch connectivity, each rushing for more that 100 yards, nor could the Packers come close to interfering with Wilson’s second period 33 yard throw to WR Ricardo Lockette for a TD rush that began the Seahawks substantial lead. While defense seems to dominate the Seahawks skills-power equation, the Wilson-led offense isn’t by any means little brother carried by the big. QB Wilson’s offense drove forward from 25 first downs, compared with the Packers 19, accruing 398 total net yards vs. the Packers 255. Next up for the Seahawks, the S.D. Chargers on Sep. 14, and the Denver Broncos, Sep. 21. The Packers will face the N.Y. Jets Sep. 14, the Detroit Lions Sep. 21. . . BRONCOS VS. COLTS---IF Broncos QB Peyton Manning still has thoughts about the Indianapolis Colts letting him go two years back, the thoughts are 500 miles behind Manning’s primary motive for beating the Colts come this Sunday, which links across 17 weeks and 16 games to February’s Super Bowl, for which the Broncos must obtain a 2014 win/loss record that’s as good as, if not better than last year’s. Of course, winning an opener matters, it spells “winning team,” something to hold onto instead of to reach for, an edge if not a giant leap forward. Yet adversity never goes on holiday---Manning’s Broncos have lost star WR, Wes Welker and top kicker, Matt Prater, to suspensions, and so from first possession forward on Sunday the Broncos offense will need to quickly break away from the tense awkwardness that can result when a QB and replacements are teamed beyond practice hours and pre-season games. This could be a first period downside for the Broncos unless pass protection is such that Manning can obtain “early” the time and space needed to adjust to new receivers and to the options they can provide. This said, Broncos replacement WR, Emmanuelle Sanders, has shown that he has the speed and catch skills for the Manning drive via the pass, and RB Montee Ball has already been a Manning go-to guy for the rush and breaking through walls. With that freedom for Manning in the pocket, sufficient receiver and RB speed and their obedience to the receiver-crossovers + catch-positioning, and/or rushes, that Manning prefers, a second period could end with the Broncos ahead by seven, providing that the Broncos defense lives up to the improvements shown in training and during the pre-season “with consistency,” especially from a pass rush unit, read: Von Miller. However, for the Broncos the D has to be in hard and accurate play consistently, in that Colts QB Andrew Luck has the skills and speed for passing and rush TD’s almost comparable with that of Manning but he hasn’t had the offense’s line defense, nor the close-in pass protection, nor the deep and wide angle receiver connectivity, that could complement his skills/speed value, which the Broncos defense will surely attempt to exploit on Sunday. A likely take, Broncos winning by as many as 17, largely from a Broncos defense getting that ball back to Manning more than the Colts D can provide that for Luck. . . the UGLY---EXAMINE any American institution, not just sports but also local and national politics, law enforcement, big business, the entertainment industry, education, and you’ll find corruption of the ideal, behaviors considered immoral by the general population. Capturing headlines recently inside the NFL are behaviors that seem to re-occur---drug abuse, and off-the field violence. How to look at this, and figure out what to do to reduce, if not eliminate the behaviors? Well, the process shouldn’t be easy, that is, it shouldn’t be a rush to judgment, especially when an act is short of obvious venality. Yes, the NFL has an advantage; it is not fully a democracy and can impose stiff fines and game suspensions at will, that is, without a trial, but there is no NFL rule saying that a franchise owner must order the perpetrator of, say, drug and alcohol abuse, or of assault and battery, into therapy of one kind or another along with a ruling that requires statements of “perceived proof of correction post-rehab, or repeated rehab must be enacted,” which could never be full guarantee of correction but as close to that as could be delivered after, say, a 12-step rehab along the lines of AA, or from whatever the most reliable rehab procedurals of the hour happen to be, whether psychological, spiritual or intellectual. In other words, serious and not sham rehab, not that of the Hollywood genre. It usually takes the best moral strategy available, even if that strategy is flawed some, to put the moral back into any person and into his game. . . MLB---EXCEPT for the NL East’s Washington Nationals and the AL East’s Baltimore Orioles, no other MLB Division first place franchise has a commanding lead for being where they are in the standings last day of the current MLB season. The NL West’s first place 78-62 L.A. Dodgers can feel the 76-64 S.F. Giants right behind, and the NL Central’s 77-63 St. Louis Cardinals are just four wins ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. In the AL, the 84-55 L.A. Angels are but four wins above the Oakland A’s, and the 77-61 K.C. Royals are only one win up on the Detroit Tigers. When July ended, the Brewers were ahead of the Cardinals, the Nationals had only a one win advantage over the Atlanta Braves, the A’s were two above the Angels and the Tigers were five above the Royals, so in less than 10 days time, and with around 20 games left for most MLB clubs, a lot can happen to alter the rankings. But what hasn’t changed has been the bottom of the pile. The same last place teams of the six MLB divisions haven’t budged sine July except to accrue more losses, the NL West’s Colorado Rockies falling from 61 losses on July 28 to 84 as of today, the AL West’s Texas Rangers from 64 to 87. . . . Leading both leagues today are the Angels, 84 wins, next the Orioles, 82 wins. Best within the NL are the Nat’s, 79 wins. END/ml