Musings

Last time out I wrote they are dropping like flies. NFL Players who are sustaining tough injuries are all too common. Today a recently retired player from the NFL said that if the season is increased to 18 games, people would lose their lives and get even more time taken off their time here on the third stone from the sun.
These players have to bulk up in size more than ever. When they are done the smart/lucky ones drop the weight. Others keep on eating like they were when they played and their bodies balloon. That coupled with the collisions make for some real damage. Check out poor Earl Campbell . He can barely make it down the stairs. That's just sad.
A friend wrote the following. I hope he wasn't talking about me in the last few sentences. Check out our writer below.

Maybe the solution is to go back to leather helmets with no face masks.

I remember my dad telling me when I was in HS that he believed the increase in head injuries was actually due to the evolution of helmet design. When they went from leather and no face guards to plastic ones with cages, the head became a weapon. Kids used to be taught to tackle by sliding their head off to the side and letting their shoulder take brunt of the impact. By the time I was in high school, we were taught to lead with our heads and plant our face in their chests, and wrap up. The result was an increase in neck and head injuries. With leather helmets and no facemasks, you might see a rise in broken noses, but they will be more likely to think twice about leading with their head in a violent collision.

At least they are making spearing and helmet-to-helmet tackling illegal. But there is still the problem of QB’s as sitting ducks being drilled by 300-llb lineman onto their backs while their heads bounce off the artificial turf. Not much you can do about that. Ever look at Danny White’s eyes? Something not right there. And we had a classmate who got a severe concussion in HS who was never the same after that. And, sadly, there were other HS classmates who never changed . . . . but that’s for a different blog, eh?
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If you are looking for an article about a boxer you may never have heard of but will exemplify courage and get to your heart, click the story below by Jerry Crowe, a fantastic writer. Click to Page 2 when you are done with the first page of the article. Click below

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/01/sports/la-sp-crowes-nest1-2010mar01

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Artis Gilmore is connected in many ways with a few of us. Click below for a great article on how he is being shafted for the basketball Hall of Fame. Again, Jerry Crowe picks up the human side really well. Click Below

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/14/sports/la-sp-crowe-20100311