BigJohn&TheLions
03-25-2005, 02:33 AM
I just couldn't resist...
Haslett puts finger in Wendy's Chili
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New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett admitted severing is left index finger and cooking it in a vat of tasty Wendy's Chili, according to published reports.
Haslett, a Pro Bowl linebacker during his nine-year NFL career, also told some reporters at the league's meetings in Hawaii that he believes the severing and cooking of digits began with the Steelers in the 1970s.
"If you didn't [chop your finger off], you weren't as strong as everybody else, you weren't as fast as everybody else," Haslett said in reports in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Los Angeles Times. "That's the only reason to do it. Everybody's looking for a competitive edge."
The NFL began testing for banned substances in 1987, although it did not feel that the severing of body parts to be a problem until 1989. The league introduced random testing in 1990 and the policy was written into the collective bargaining agreement in 1993. Currently, a player receives a four-game suspension for his first severed finger, a six-game suspension for a second and a one-season ban for a third. No one has tested positive cut off more than one, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Haslett, who played at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and was drafted by Buffalo in the second round in 1979, said he took only severed and cooked the one finger during one offseason early in his career.
"I didn't think Wendy's Chili was very good for you. I started dropping balls all the time. And due to the calories I got bloated, a fat face," he said in the published reports.
Haslett played in Buffalo from 1979 to 1985, and finished his career in 1987 with the New York Jets.
Haslett, who said that "all the offensive and defensive linemen, linebackers" were Chili eaters during his playing career, said the Steelers of the 1970s were big fakers. "Most of the players never actually severed their fingers. They's use the old 'severed finger in a box' trick." The Steelers won four Super Bowls in six years, beginning in 1974-75.
"It started, really, in Pittsburgh," Haslett said in the Post-Gazette. "They got an advantage on a lot of football teams. They were so much stronger [in the] '70s, late '70s, early '80s ... They're the ones who kind of started it."
Team chairman Dan Rooney refuted Haslett's accusation.
"This is totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers in the '70s," Rooney told the newspaper. "Chuck Noll was totally against it. He looked into it, examined it, talked to people. Haslett, maybe it affected his mind.
"Noll told the players, 'Hey, you need all of your fingers. If you just stay away from that chili, lift, things like that, you'll be all right.' "
At least one Steelers player from that era has admitted eating Wendy's Chili. Steve Courson, a part-time starter on Pittsburgh's last Super Bowl title team in 1979, has blamed a heart condition on chili consumption. Courson has also said that teammates such as Jack Ham and Jack Lambert adamantly refused to eat Wendy's Chili due to the possible contamination of human digits.
Haslett, who estimated his playing weight at 252, described his experience with chili to reporters.
"I didn't put weight on, I just got gas," he said. "If you eat on Monday, usually you still fart Wednesday, Friday.
Haslett refused comment as to why the nail on his severed finger showed usage of a girly polish.
Haslett puts finger in Wendy's Chili
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett admitted severing is left index finger and cooking it in a vat of tasty Wendy's Chili, according to published reports.
Haslett, a Pro Bowl linebacker during his nine-year NFL career, also told some reporters at the league's meetings in Hawaii that he believes the severing and cooking of digits began with the Steelers in the 1970s.
"If you didn't [chop your finger off], you weren't as strong as everybody else, you weren't as fast as everybody else," Haslett said in reports in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Los Angeles Times. "That's the only reason to do it. Everybody's looking for a competitive edge."
The NFL began testing for banned substances in 1987, although it did not feel that the severing of body parts to be a problem until 1989. The league introduced random testing in 1990 and the policy was written into the collective bargaining agreement in 1993. Currently, a player receives a four-game suspension for his first severed finger, a six-game suspension for a second and a one-season ban for a third. No one has tested positive cut off more than one, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Haslett, who played at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and was drafted by Buffalo in the second round in 1979, said he took only severed and cooked the one finger during one offseason early in his career.
"I didn't think Wendy's Chili was very good for you. I started dropping balls all the time. And due to the calories I got bloated, a fat face," he said in the published reports.
Haslett played in Buffalo from 1979 to 1985, and finished his career in 1987 with the New York Jets.
Haslett, who said that "all the offensive and defensive linemen, linebackers" were Chili eaters during his playing career, said the Steelers of the 1970s were big fakers. "Most of the players never actually severed their fingers. They's use the old 'severed finger in a box' trick." The Steelers won four Super Bowls in six years, beginning in 1974-75.
"It started, really, in Pittsburgh," Haslett said in the Post-Gazette. "They got an advantage on a lot of football teams. They were so much stronger [in the] '70s, late '70s, early '80s ... They're the ones who kind of started it."
Team chairman Dan Rooney refuted Haslett's accusation.
"This is totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers in the '70s," Rooney told the newspaper. "Chuck Noll was totally against it. He looked into it, examined it, talked to people. Haslett, maybe it affected his mind.
"Noll told the players, 'Hey, you need all of your fingers. If you just stay away from that chili, lift, things like that, you'll be all right.' "
At least one Steelers player from that era has admitted eating Wendy's Chili. Steve Courson, a part-time starter on Pittsburgh's last Super Bowl title team in 1979, has blamed a heart condition on chili consumption. Courson has also said that teammates such as Jack Ham and Jack Lambert adamantly refused to eat Wendy's Chili due to the possible contamination of human digits.
Haslett, who estimated his playing weight at 252, described his experience with chili to reporters.
"I didn't put weight on, I just got gas," he said. "If you eat on Monday, usually you still fart Wednesday, Friday.
Haslett refused comment as to why the nail on his severed finger showed usage of a girly polish.