Fallout

It's been a busy week since the tragic suicide of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson. Reactions to his untimely death have sent shock waves throughout the NFL. Former teammates, coaches, media pundits, and even the Commissioner himself Roger Goodell, have all expressing reactions of shock and sadness on Duerson's passing.

The Chicago Tribune had a fabulous piece on Duerson's final days which you can read here. Other random things about Duerson have come up too this week, such as the accusation Duerson made himself three months ago, that former defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan used the N-word to Dave during his rookie season. While it's well documented that Duerson and Buddy strongly disliked each other, which lasted during and after Super Bowl XX mind you, I find it highly dubious that Ryan used that term with Dave. Duerson had over 25 years to tell that story, and he never did until 3 months ago. If something like that did happen, Dave picked a rather odd time to share it. Then again, there may be another more pertinent reason why Dave chose to share that story now.

That reason is, Dave's mind might have been damaged enough by Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, that the early symptoms of dementia which arise from CTE may have convinced Dave that Ryan used the N-word in front of him, even though Ryan probably didn't say it. According to the Tribune article, Duerson was more than aware of what CTE is, and how his brain (specifically mentioning the left side of it) may have developed it. The article also gives light to how Duerson suddenly had difficulty doing the most mundane of things, and his mind slowly began to betray Duerson, as his life swiftly fell apart around him.  

I've already covered my feelings about CTE and Duerson last posting, but I couldn't help but revisit those feelings often during the week and this past weekend. As I watched the NFL Combine, I couldn't help but get a feeling that I was watching something reckless and nefarious. I couldn't help but wonder if this would be one of the last times I would see kids from middle class backgrounds playing football again? I know it's going to take years-if not a decade or two-from that ever happening, but I just couldn't help but let my mind imagine what road we're heading down?

I love the game of football. I love the violence on the field that's associated with it and judging by the television ratings I'm far from alone. The players generally know the risks they're taking when they step on the field. They know there's a chance they could end up paralyzed, or severely injured every time they step go out and play, and they accept it as part of the game. That aspect of football has always been there.

This is a different and new risk for them to consider however. Players are used to taking risks for what could happen to them ON the field. It seems to me that they didn't sign up to play football with the understanding that ten to twenty years after they finish playing, their minds will be turned into mush via CTE. That is a completely different animal for guys to have to consider, and more importantly, it's a risk that PARENTS will now have to consider the moment their son comes home from school with a permission slip asking them to play football.

So while people like Cam Newton, and Julio Jones make headlines about their 40 times, and while DeMaurice Smith makes headlines at the negotiating table, I'm hoping that all of them have a little bit of increased foresight with them. It is my hope that they understand that the decisions they make now, could also have their brains as well as others, being studied in a lab at Boston University someday.

Sad...

I was planning on celebrating what an enormous season the Chicago Bulls have had thus far now that we've reached the All-Star Break. I anticipated finally having the opportunity to point out what a remarkable improvement Derrick Rose has made in his game, and how the Bulls offseason acquisitions plus head coaching decision, have paved the way for what is sure to be an Eastern Conference Finals Appearance, bare minimum. Friday morning however, I was violently reminded that there may be more important things to pontificate on this week, courtesy of the late Dave Duerson.

Dave Duerson, for those who haven't heard, randomly decided to end his life. "Double D's" death has been deemed a suicide and Duerson (ever the pragmatist) decided to shoot himself in the chest rather than the head in order to aid in the study he requested be done on his brain to determine if he suffered damage from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

There's more than a few different directions to go with this for me. The most obvious being a reference to Duerson beating the crap out of his then-wife in a South Bend hotel room 5-6 years ago. Once that incident took place, like many, my perception of Dave Duerson changed dramatically. Duerson went from being seen as a player and a man who combined affability with integrity, to one of despair and isolation. Judging from those that knew him, Duerson seemed acutely aware that people would forever remember him as the former NFL player that beat his wife, rather than the charitable, philanthropic individual that succeeded both on and off the field.

Look, I can't in good conscience pretend I knew Dave Duerson. I can't sit here and pretend I knew his family, his wife, or his children. I can't pretend I knew his teammates, his coaches or his friends. I can tell you that I did meet him once at Brandt's in Palatine, IL and he was as nice as I could have ever hoped he would be. I can tell you he was a very good player as evidenced by his four Pro-Bowl appearances, Two Super Bowl Rings, and his long standing record for most sacks in a season by a defensive back (7). Unfortunately for us there might be a huge difference between the man he was, and the man who died.

The reason I say that is because the man who died may be an individual who had severe brain damage brought on by Post Concussion Syndrome. According to the reports, Duerson himself may have suspected he was subject to brain damage since reportedly before he died, sent text messages to his family requesting that his brain be studied by Chris Nowinski. Chris Nowinski as you may remember has been written about before on this blog, as well as received national attention as being one of the forerunners on CTE research. Nowinski's group through exhaustive research, has brought tremendous awareness on just how dangerous Football is for the human brain.

It would not surprise me in the least if Chris found that Duerson's brain has also received tremendous damage due to Post Concussion Syndrome.

The results will be discovered in time. For now, we are left to speculate. Was Dave Duerson yet another casualty of CTE, or was he just another guy with financial problems who lost all his money and thusly decided life wasn't worth living? For me, I'm guessing it's the former but I'll let Chris Nowinski decide for sure.

Either way, it's another shocking reminder of just how bad things can get for former NFL players and how rapidly "bad" can come. As morbid as this may sound, I'm actually (ahem) hopeful Duerson's brain had suffered damage, in the hope that we can truly understand just how dangerous football is while concurrently providing Duerson some salvation.

*as a side note, I wrote this while watching MLB Network replaying the 2002 Home Run Contest. It was just another shocking reminder of what a fraud the Steroid Era was as I'm watching Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Richie Sexson, Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, and a severely out-gunned Paul Konerko do battle. Listening to Chris Berman and Joe Morgan sycophantically kiss the collective ass of all these players who had needles in their asses as their standing in the batters box goes to show how A. The Steroid Era was such a joke, and B. Just how much ESPN should be avoided.

Starting To Get The Itch

For those who may not have noticed, barely a week after the Super Bowl and a week before the NBA All-Star Game, Spring Training is about to begin. For the Cubs pitchers and catchers report tomorrow 2/14, while the White Sox pitchers and catchers report Thursday 2/17. You can find a complete list of all the other teams report dates here. It's hard to believe in many respects for us baseball fans, but it's that time of year. Both teams have plenty of questions heading into the regular season, and spring training can provide some answers to those questions. On the other hand, Spring Training can also provide new questions to be asked, due to possible injuries or poor performance. Here's a list of things I'll be keeping an eye on for both teams :

CUBS :

• New Faces : The Cubs weren't too splashy this offseason, but made interesting moves nonetheless. The Carlos Pena rental is intriguing. Even in a down year last year he still hit 28 home runs and still nearly drew 100 walks. Pena's teammate in Tampa Matt Garza is an interesting move too. While not popular in the clubhouse, Garza can be effective with flashes of dominance. Really all he needs to be is a better pitcher than the recently departed Tom Gorzelanny, and the Cubs rotation should improve. While not technically a new face, Kerry Wood took a huge discount to re-sign with the Cubs. Wood pitched very well in an 8th inning role with the Yankees last season. All three players are worth watching this spring.
• Looking For Comeback Years : Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano were huge disappointments for the Cubs. Zambrano had a roller coaster of a season, but I'll say this for him, he finished really strong. If the Cubs get the Zambrano they had from August 9 on, that will be big....but honestly that's nothing new. Ramirez however is a bigger worry, as he posted one of the lowest OPS' since his Pittsburgh Pirate days. He was flat out awful last season, much of it blamed on a slow start and an injured thumb. Ramirez is going to have to have a huge comeback season for the Cubs lineup to work. I will be watching Zambrano's velocity, and Ramirez's bat-speed this spring to see where they're at.
• Tyler Colvin? Hey, he's earned a spot. .816 OPS in 358 At Bats is nothing to sneeze at. Colvin looks like a good hitter, but there's nowhere to put him as long as Pena is at first and Fukudome is in right field. This will be fun to watch Mike Quade handle this situation this spring.

White Sox :

• New Faces : The White Sox were shockingly aggressive this offseason. The most splashy move the White Sox made was the signing of Adam Dunn, but they also signed Jesse Crain and Will Ohman to bolster their bullpen. Dunn is expected to be a Jim Thome type of hitter only much younger and much more of a free swinger. My main concern with Dunn is his ability to hit American League pitching. Will Ohman will be the "loogy" (Left handed relief pitcher that gets one out) while Crain's goal is to be what the Sox hoped Scott Linebrink was going to be when the signed him in 2008. The expectations being a solid 7th inning option with occasional closer duties. Crain has done that throughout his career, and we'll see if it continues. Dunn's ability to recognize pitches, and Crain/Ohman's pitching location are what I'm looking forward to seeing.
• Lineups and Staff : I'll be very curious to see how Ozzie handles the bullpen, and mildly curious to see how Ozzie will stack the batting order. If he has Chris Sale closing games, it looks like they've made up their minds that Sale will enter the regular season as the closer. If he tries Sergio Santos as closer, that may indicate that Sale will be the 5th starter. Lineup wise, I'll be curious to see how Ozzie stacks 3-4-5. Rios-Dunn-Konerko, or Konerko-Dunn-Rios, or some other combination? It'll be interesting to see what Ozzie does this spring in terms of him tipping his hand.
• Paul Konerko : Paulie came off an incredible season. A career season quite frankly. A season which I personally thought priced him off the White Sox. He thought so too judging by certain interviews he's given recently, but here he is ready to finish his long career with the White Sox. I'll be interested to see what kind of shape he's in this spring.

So there you go. Spring Training by in large is pretty nebulous, and unless you're at the games it can be pretty boring. More than anything it serves as a way to slowly get our minds ready for baseball while concurrently decompressing from football, and I say "VIVA"!

This Sucks

First of all let me start out by saying, Charles Woodson quit on his team, period. There's no question about it. Woodson isn't tough enough to play this game. Broken Collarbone? Please. You would have to paralyze me to drag me off that field. According to the Deion Sanders, Mark "I don't care what the truth is" Schlereth, Jason Whitlock, and Mike Ditka's of the world, that clearly is the case. They all went out of their way to say that despite whatever injury happened, a player is not allowed to be removed from the game by the doctors/trainers/coaching staff during the postseason. If he does, he's quit on his team. If the same standard is true for Jay Cutler, then it HAS to be true for Charles Woodson right?????? Do you finally see how STUPID that sounds?!

As for the actual game itself, I'm sorry, but I refuse to call this game "Great". I really can't. Even the objective part of my brain can't make that commitment. "Very Good"? Sure. "Entertaining"? Absolutely. "Physical" definitely judging by the amount of injured/quit on their team, players in the game. But "Great"? Nope. Great is reserved for monumental achievements like Super Bowl III, Super Bowl XXXVI, or Super Bowl XLII. Great is for once in a generation games and signature moments like Montana to Taylor in Super Bowl XXIII. The only record broken in this one was fewest combined rushing attempts at 36 for both teams. YAWN.

Forensically, this game came down to turnovers. Three for the Steelers, none for the Packers. The big play was Clay Matthews forced fumble on Rashard Mendenhall for the first play in the fourth quarter. That play paved the way to another Packer TD that made the game 28-17, and effectively made the comeback hill too steep to climb for the Steelers. With regard to the Field Generals, Aaron Rodgers played exceptionally, and would have had even better numbers if his receivers didn't drop certain passes. Ben Roethlisberger had two costly picks despite good numbers. Oh and before I forget, the Steelers shouldn't bitch about the no-call at the end. That was awesome coverage, period.

As to the rest of the pomp and circumstances, this Super Bowl also sucked too. Jerry Jones must have a tremendous amount of egg on his surgically altered face. The weather was absolutely lousy all week. About 800 fans with tickets were not allowed seats because the Fire Department would not approve the temporary seating to accommodate them. The Black Eyed Peas are being called one of the worst Super Bowl Halftime Shows ever and I'm in complete agreement. This was only the 4th largest Super Bowl crowd ever, not number 1 as he'd hoped, and it's pretty much a done deal that you'll see the Super Bowl in New Orleans again WELL before North Texas.

In closing, I can't help but feel cheated in a sense simply because I still believe that while we're not a better team than the Packers necessarily, we can still beat them. Again you know I don't blame our NFC Championship loss on Cutler at all. I just think our defense showed that the way to beat the Packers is to rush four, and force the Packer receivers inside.

Now the real fun begins as we will now get to see if this lockout talk is for real, or just noise. My prediction : There will be missed games this year. How many will be missed will be up to the league.

Vanilla Ice Cream?!!!!??

Anybody who knows me, knows my disdain for the Washington Redskins. Ever since 1986, the Redskins have served as a open sore on my football heart, as they knocked the Chicago Bears out of the playoffs in back to back years following the 1985 Super Bowl title. The passage of time, accumulation of knowledge, and gaining of friends that happen to be Redskin fans that has taken place since those games were played has not softened my animosity for the Redskins. They STILL piss me off to this day, and I openly root for them to lose any chance it can happen.

Thankfully, for the past ten or eleven years, I have not had to seriously worry about the Redskins thanks to their jerk-wad owner Daniel Snyder. It is pretty safe to say that everything Daniel Snyder has done with his franchise has been incorrect. From the rotisserie of bad coaching hires, to the retention of Yes-Man Vinny Cerrato, to the AWFUL money spent on over-the-hill-has-been players, Snyder's tenure has been an absolute joy for me to watch while concurrently serving as torture for long time Redskin fans.

Still I had no idea just how deep Snyder's incompetence, ego, and self-denial goes, until today with the news that Snyder wants a writer fired for writing an less than complimentary piece on him recently. My first response was "Good Luck Dan", which then became, "how bad could the piece be"? So I decided to read it, and boy am I glad I did.

You can read the piece for yourself here. For as much as I've followed Snyder's multitude of failures from afar, this one surprised even me. I applaud the writer Dave McKenna for structuring and alphabetizing everything Snyder has done over his tenure.

I have a feeling you'll find this as absolutely hilarious as I do!!!!