Miami Dolphins head coach Nick Saban has made the news recently for politely declining President Bush's dinner invitation when our Commander in Chief was in south Florida.
As football fans know, late July commences NFL training camp when hundreds of tough, young warriors battle one another to catch the eye of the coaching staff for a spot on a professional roster.
Paul Jacobs recently wrote a column at Townhall which asserts that Saban's one-track devotion to his profession is not only admirable, but represents the unique American work ethic.
Saban explained his reason for declining the invitation is nothing political, rather he's currently too preoccupied with making football decisions to visit with the President for an evening.
Hall-of-Fame Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, a member of the Dolphins front office, enthusiastically accepted his invitation, and did attend the Presidential dinner with the lovely Mrs. Marino, as did Cuban-American actor Andy Garcia.
I don't doubt that the MSM are attempting to color Saban's no-show as an implicit example of a 'Cindy Sheehan-like protest' against the President & the war, however, Coach Saban's reputation as a super-intense, workaholic coach precedes the President's dinner invitation by decades of testimonials from over-worked coaching staff, and exhausted players.
Nonetheless, if the President cannot successfully divorce Coach Saban from an evening of work, I don't suppose there are many other scenarios capable of eliciting his undivided attention.
Here are the Top 9 other invitations which Miami Dolphins Head Coach Nick Saban would surely decline :
9. an invitation to appear in one of those amusing Campbell's Chunky Soup commercials which typically stars someone from the NFL.
8. an invitation from his wife to attend their wedding anniversary dinner
7. an invitation by his divorce lawyer to attend the divorce court proceedings prompted by his failure to attend # 8.
6. an invitation by former NFL quarterback/Vice Presidential candidate Jack Kemp to discuss how lowering the capital gains tax will improve the Dolphins' pass rush.
5. an invitation to be Eva Longoria's partner in the West Palm Beach County Picnic's three-legged potato sack race.
4. an invitation to debate the NFL's new rules on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes."
3. an invitation by Hank Williams Jr. to sing a duet of Monday Night Football's theme song, "Are You Ready for Some Football !?"
2. a dinner invitation by the general manager of the New Orleans Saints to discuss a possible trade for that "other Bush guy," Heisman Trophy winner, Reggie Bush.
1. an invitation by Vice President Dick Cheney to go quail hunting.