Someone call the cops: Police are robbers

My wife and I were robbed at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday night.

No, not literally, but after enduring a two-hour ride there via the Bowl's "Park and Ride" program, which took turns, literally, that defied common traffic sense in LA, we were treated to one of the worst concerts I've ever seen.

I have long been a fan of the Police, but not the current incarnation. Wednesday night's show was about as half-hearted of a performance as I've seen. Yes, drummer Stewart Copeland was outstanding, and yes, guitarist Andy Summers was very, very good. The problem was the frontman - Sting.

Sting, who largely has been held responsible for breaking up the group in the mid-80s to launch his solo career, seemed lost at times, forgetting lyrics and intermittently adding bass lines when he so chose. After a strong start, his voice began to fade and he didn't seem to care.

All in all, there was little energy or cohesiveness despite the musical expertise of all three men.

Given what we paid ($55 for an upper level seat) and the enormous hassle to even get to the venue, the night could have been saved by a passionate, energetic performance, a la U2, Rush or Bruce Springsteen - all major acts I've seen live in the past three years for more money. But the Police, specifically Sting, didn't deliver.

I also take issue with the changes at the Bowl. Clearly they've muted the sound to appease the neighbors, and the result was less-than-stellar. It's hard to make Andy Summers - one of the finest axemen around - sound bad, but at times his guitar was muffled.

Adding insult to injury was this morning's review in the Los Angeles Times by a woman named Mary McNamara, who got a kick out of taking her kids to a rock and roll concert and clearly has a crush on Sting. An absolutely awful piece of work and further evidence of the decline of newspapers is available on the cover of the Calendar section.

After this experience, I will be hard pressed to both return to the Bowl and even entertain an idea of paying to go see a "reunion" concert, particularly if the band is fronted by an apathetic and arrogant frontman.

Taking a look around the NFL

Scouting the NFL after the draft ...

Spygate continues to generate a lot of headlines, but the real news in all of this is the NFL could be at risk of losing its federal anti-trust exemption, which basically allows it to be a monopoly. ...

There are more and more reports of unrest at the Players Association, and more and more signs that the league's labor agreement is on thin ice (can't resist a hockey reference). For a league that prides itself on its labor peace (one factor that makes it attractive to advertisers and networks), this is not good news. ...

The league also continues to have a multitude of off-the-field behavior problems with its members. ...

See where this is going? ...

It's no better on the money front. Giants DE Michael Strahan once again is playing the will he or won't he retire game. Reportedly he wants a contract upgrade to return to the Super Bowl champions.

Things aren't much brighter in the Second City, where Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is threatening to hold out if his contract isn't reworked, a contract he's less than halfway through
and averages more than $5 million per year.

Then there is Cleveland TE Kellen Winslow, who also has made references to missing minincamps, etc., because - you guessed it - he wants his contract reworked. I saw this one coming in February when for some strange reason the Browns decided to give WR Donte' Stallworth an outsized free-agent contract to leave the Patriots without regard to up-and-coming stars Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards. I'm not condoning Winslow's antics, but the Browns should have expected this. ...

If you're hoping for a post-draft analysis, look elsewhere. I believe it's pointless to evaluate teams' drafts before players have even played one preseason down. In fact, I think it requires about three years before one can objectively evaluate a team's decisions on the final Saturday in April.

Enjoy the offseason. Camps open in two months.