- 06:09 AM
- 04/20/24
| Name: | Bill Morrison |
|---|---|
| Member since: | April 21, 2006 |
| Last visit: | January 07, 2010 |
wmorrison27 has posted 0 links and 7 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 0 comments to the Locker Room.
bdaddy,
Actually it does matter that it was a concussion. Just went to a talk last week by the medical researchers who convinced the NFL to change their mind about concussions. Ankles heal. Brains don't - at least not very well. After one concussion, the changes of more concussions are exponentially greater especially if not given sufficient time and rest to heal. After some number of concussions (as yet unknown), serious brain damage shows up. Symptoms appears typically when patients reach mid 40s. The researchers showed former athletes with mind numbing headaches, depression, behavior problems, suicides, and/or serious mental impairment. Google "Ted Johnson" formerly of the New England Patriots (Craig James' team). One video showed one former NFL player unable to recall the months of the year. The concussions cause build up of proteins in the brain very similar to Alzheimer's. Tissue damage can only be physically proven by autopsy - won't show up on a CT or MRI scan. It is called CTE. And it's not just NFL players. One case involved a teenager football player (who had died) with permanent damage from concussions - a brain that showed serious protein scarring. This is going to affect all impact sports - hockey, football, soccer, etc. As a former player, a coach and a father, this was a chilling talk. It was no wonder to me that the NFL reversed course so quickly. That Mike Leach missed the biggest issue in sports today shows a huge disregard for the long term health of his players and incredibly poor judgment.
posted by wmorrison27 at 06:01 PM on December 30, 2009
Whether or not the spectators "should" have them to enjoy the game, TV viewers should not be accosted by the noise. TV audio engineers ADD background sound to the telecast to give viewers the feeling of being at the game. While it would be awfully sterile to have only the announcers voices and no background sound, the balance could be adjusted. There's no reason why the TV audio engineers couldn't compensate for the annoying buzz. Even creating a digitial filter would not be all that difficult. The broadcasters are trying to give us the feeling of being at the game, but it the constant buzzing adds nothing to the viewers experience.
It's like a rock concert broadcast. If you attend the live event, you're likely to have a drunk guy singing off key at the top of his lungs in the row behind you. On TV, audio engineers make sure the the concert audience is at best a dull roar of applause between songs.
posted by wmorrison27 at 09:19 PM on June 29, 2009
The NFL, and its coaching in particular, is a small fraternity. The chance of being an NFL coach is smaller than the chance of being a US Senator. Belichick's staff has gone on to become members of many other teams and have come from many other teams. In the entertainment industry, they say you can always get to Kevin Bacon in 6 degrees of separation. In the NFL, Belichick is probably no more than 2 or 3. Mangini was Belichick's assistant among many others. The players at the edge of the roster switch teams on practically a weekly basis. There aren't any secrets in this league. Is it any accident that this happened to come to light after Mangini's Jets were stomped by the Pats and his old boss in a highly touted game? There was bad blood between them Bill and Eric before. Remember the build up before the game was "Is Mangini the next Belichick?" Not so much after the Jets were mauled. I think somebody was looking to deflect criticism and broke an unwritten rule by yapping to the commissioner. If the Pats wanted to keep it secret, there were a thousand places you could hide the kid with the video camera in the stadium other than RIGHT BEHIND THE BENCH pointed right at the Jet's coaches. Belichick, like many coaches, has a distain for the bureaucrats at the NFL. Injury reports. Dress codes. And, yes, video filming rules. He puts Tom Brady on the injury report almost every week just to thumb his nose at the NFL (he hasn't missed a game in how many seasons?) As he very genuinely says repeatedly in last press conference, he just wants to talk football. Did he do something wrong here? Absolutely - and he's paying for it - literally. Did you do anything that any other team either doesn't do or doesn't know about? I really doubt it.
posted by wmorrison27 at 07:20 PM on September 18, 2007
It was closer to the former ($10K/drug) than the latter ($10K for whole thing). He was paying out a ton of money for illegally buying drugs. But, if you are extending your career at $20M a year, it's chump change.
posted by wmorrison27 at 08:18 PM on July 30, 2007
So now the Celtics have an aging Big 3. One of them even has bad ankles with bone spurs surgery (but will be fine - really he will, right?). Seems like the Celtics tried this play before and learned that they should trade the OLD talent for the chance to get younger. I felt better about the original trio because they had actually shown they knew how to win the big ones. Seems like Ainge is doing an awful lot to try to satisfy Paul Pierce. And is it even enough? Do they have a big man in the center or any left on the bench who can help? Is this just frustration out of losing the #1 or #2 pick they thought they "earned" with last year's misery? I'll be withholding final judgment until I see what the Celtics left themselves in the cupboard after the trade.
posted by wmorrison27 at 08:06 PM on July 30, 2007
"I guess it's possible that Barry had never tasted flaxseed oil and said, 'Well, I guess this is flaxseed oil.' But it's pretty hard to believe." I've never tasted flaxseed oil. I have no idea what it should taste like. Why is it hard to believe? I'd be surprised if a significant percentage of people have tasted flaxseed oil. According to Game of Shadows, Barry was paying $10K for whatever he was taking. I never bought flaxseed oil. And granted that Barry probably doesn't spend much time comparison shopping at his local Vitamin Shoppe store, but I find it hard to believe anyone thinks flaxseed oil is that expensive.
posted by wmorrison27 at 12:56 AM on July 30, 2007
E-mails in support of Mike Leach
While the punishment might have been ill-advised, I find it hard to see where it was medically harmful to the kid.
graymatters, Physical rest is one of the factors cited in helping to minimize concussion damage.