My long-term memory, especially from my childhood, stinks. I remember nothing but flashbacks before Super Bowl XXX in 1996, which I count as my first full memory. I’m ashamed to admit I cheered for the Cowboys in that game, though I attribute that to bad parenting rather than the conscious choice of a 6 year old. But, with the news of Junior Seau’s death this past Wednesday, my childhood memories stirred.
Seau, for lack of a better term, played defense like a monster. He made 12 Pro Bowls and the powers that be selected him for 10 All-Pro teams. Oh…I forgot to add 12 straight Pro Bowls and 6 consecutive All-Pro teams. Seau dominated the 90s at the inside linebacker position, the defensive player most often required to call the plays in the huddle. His 56.5 career sacks, 1,849 tackles, and 18 interceptions don’t necessarily jump off the page. And yet, most people remember the Southern California native with a distinct hairdo and unbridled intensity. To look at Seau, he often reminded me of a tribal warrior, striking fear into the hearts of his opponents who didn’t know how to match his intensity. His face paint may have been eye black, but Seau brought that kind of ability and drive to the field, deserving the nickname “Tasmanian Devil”. When Chargers president Dean Spanos referred to Seau as an “icon,” he accurately summed up Seau’s impact on football (the fact he led a team with Stan Humphries at QB to the Super Bowl requires a place in Canton by itself).
Believe it or not, we are witnessing one of the biggest changes in contact sports. Concussions, previously acknowledged but never taken too seriously, are beginning to bring down the athletes we love so much. While many football players retired from concussions (Troy Aikman, Jim McMahon, Kris Dielman), very few have died as a result. Dave Duerson, a former player for the Bears, committed suicide in February 2011 after receiving multiple concussions during his career. Former Falcons safety Ray Easterling also killed himself last month, with his wife testifying he suffered from depression and dementia.
Hockey has seen similar patterns. Few remember Derek Boogaard, but as the main heavyweight in the NHL for his career, Boogaard suffered multiple concussions, found dead in his apartment at age 28 while recovering from a concussion. In his brain as well as that of Duerson, researchers found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma. The first finding of CTE in a deceased NFL player occurred in 2002 after an autopsy of former Steeelers center Mike Webster who, though dying from a heart attack, displayed erratic behavior leading up to his death. The NFL largely ignored the claims from the coroner’s office.
According to many former players, however, the NFL hid knowledge of links between concussion-induced brain damage and football. Almost 100 former players have sued the NFL in that vein, especially given the known linkage between concussions and contracting ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. While I know Saints fans are outraged at the bounty penalties handed down, the preponderance of concussions, the pending lawsuit, and the very real causes of death mean the NFL had to send a message about any organized attempt to compromise player safety. I would rather Jonathan Vilma lose a whole year than hear in 5 years that another NFL great killed himself after concussions.
And, make no mistake, Seau was a great. While he played 6 more seasons with the Dolphins and Patriots, Seau brought life to San Diego. The deaths of Easterling, Duerson, and Webster remain tragic, but those players did not attain the transcendent status of a Junior Seau. Bob Probert, the enforcer for the Red Wings and Blackhawks in the 80s, comes closest of all athletes dead from CTE to Seau’s status and impact. Even then, he falls short. Now that a true icon has died from this injury, the NFL must move aggressively. New concussion rules in both the NHL and NFL started last season, to mixed reviews and success. The NFL’s current system, where an observer upstairs calls down to a special phone on the team’s bench, sounds great in theory but the true progress needs to come from the teams. Coaches like Norv Turner, who coached Seau at one point, need to take concerted action to bring players off the field that show signs of a concussion. Kris Dielman, now retired, clearly wobbled after a play but never came out of the game in 2011. While I certainly don’t have the medical opinion to fully know such things, I bet playing the rest of the game exacerbated his concussion symptoms.
Sports brings out the best in many of us. We learn to be competitive, attaining higher pinnacles of success with strength and style. And, while it might be “all about the game”, concussions may serve to rob us of some great players before all is said and done. In the heat of battle, winning the game seems like the ultimate goal. Junior Seau’s case, however, proves to us that returning too quickly or, heaven forbid, ignoring concussion symptoms, can have a truly lasting effect on football and, worse, prematurely end lives. The NFL and other sports should start listening, devoting more and more time to these subjects before another iconic athlete dies in tragic fashion.
Bit #1: Calm down Saints fans
In Baton Rouge, people remain outraged that Jonathan Vilma lost a whole season and Will Smith lost four games. Anthony Hargrove and Scott Fujita, previous Saints players but now with other teams, will lose eight and three games between them. In Louisiana, you would think crawfish went extinct based on all the vitriol flying towards the NFL New York headquarters.
I have already given my opinion on the Vilma suspension, which while extreme seems justifiable given the NFL’s context. But, there’s a further wrinkle: Roger Goodell could have hammered the Saints players, and didn’t. Originally, the NFL investigated as many as 27 players, with only 4 actually being suspended, two of which currently play for the Saints. If anything, the NFL could have further tanked the Saints season, taking away their roster and coaching depth. As much as Roger Goodell has made mistakes in the past, the man clearly knows he did enough damage to the Saints organization, reserving player suspensions for only the worst offenders. I expected at least 10 suspensions of some kind or another, as did many. All this harping about the injustice of the bounty scandal should give some credit to the NFL for showing restraint where the players were concerned. As I wrote initially, the coaches truly dropped the ball on this one and deserve to be punished accordingly. Given it all, I’d say the NFL did well to hold off on wide player suspensions, preferring to target ringleaders and using them to send the message.
Bit #2: Mariano Rivera may be done
Sometimes I think I live to hate Mariano Rivera. Every year in the early 2000s, Rivera led the Yankees to championships. His entrance into the game all but spelled doom for his opponents invariably the team I supported each year. Most aggravating, he continued his dominance with one pitch, a cut fastball that seems to do something different each time he throws it. And while he had hiccups like everyone, Rivera’s staying power separates him from all other active closers. Like Trevor Hoffman and Dennis Eckersley before him, Rivera continues to pitch into his 40s, bucking the trend of flash in the pan closers (hello Eric Gagne).
For that reason, I hope the torn ACL he suffered on Thursday will not end his career. A player of his caliber and ability deserves to end his career on his own watch rather than the doctor’s. As much as I cannot like Rivera, I must respect his ability as the greatest closer to ever play the game.
Bit #3: Do the Flyers care about goaltending?
With the loss last night to the Devils, I’m amazed lots of blame seems to go towards the Flyers players and not their excuse for a goaltender. Ilya Bryzgalov, after receiving a huge contract from the Flyers, boasts a 3.54 goals against average and .878 save percentage in the playoffs. Just so NHL diehards go, those numbers are bad. Are they Charles Barkley’s Emmy award bad? No, but pretty close. While teams the past few years have proven stellar goaltending doesn’t equate to Cups (the opposite might be true based on past champions, except for Boston), having stability in net cannot be emphasized more. The Caps Braden Holtby and the Kings Jonathan Quick are unquestioned starters, and play that way. Bryzgalov, ridiculed all season by Philly fans, knows the back-up might be better than him. If the Flyers look to lose this series, coach Peter Laviolette will have to make a change.
(I really want to discuss the Caps-Rangers triple overtime marathon in Game 3, but I don’t type well through tears. Sorry.)
Bit #4: The random assortment (and the lamest) Bit
1. The Kentucky Derby is this weekend. If you care, watch it.
2. The Knicks really stink, down 3-0 and out of it
3. Tough luck for the Mavs, but if they had kept Tyson Chandler this wouldn’t be so embarrassing.
Bit #5: May 4, 1993 – Dale Hunter suspension
Yes, the same Dale Hunter who coaches the team now. I added this video of his hit on Pierre Turgeon when I first wrote about the coaching change for the Caps. Hunter played well and gritty when in the NHL, but the astounding thing about this video is the 21 game suspension. Twenty-one games for that but bashing heads into the boards merits no suspension, an elbow to the head garners three games? Turgeon did separate his shoulder after the check, a vicious one for sure. What I find interesting is the long suspension for something Steve Ott does every single game now. Thankfully, the NHL’s current policy eliminates the ambiguous suspension length that was applied to Hunter, but as the sport gets faster, hits get harder, and suspensions get trickier. Interesting trend to watch.
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