Monday Moaning

Well, that weekend went by too quickly...I had a bad week on my College Pick'em, going 2-3...Oh well...Bad weeks happen...And honestly, I didn't even watch any college football...We had friends over Saturday night, so it was eating, drinking and shooting the shit...

And of course, Sunday I watched no NFL football...And felt even better about my hatred of the NFL when Sunday morning I read THIS...The NFL has bought in, and paid for studies that explain away CTE ( chronic traumatic encephalopathy ) as ex-players being unhappy/sad/depressed that they are no longer famous superstars...Really....Really? What a fucking joke...This coming out, the same weekend as another high school football player in the U.S. dying after a game...All of these high school players deaths caused by the hits they have taken playing/practicing the game and/or practice conditions...

I'm glad my son doesn't like football...I'm glad he has no interest in playing...If he did, I wouldn't let him...Not with what I have been seeing...And I have no faith that these new, lighter weight helmets help prevent head injuries...Plaxico doesn't like the new helmets...




But besides all the helmet talk, the game is being taught wrong on too many levels...I watch high school football games every week...One live, in person...And a couple on TV...More and more kids are looking to make the BIG, highlight hit...The big hits that gave John Madden a boner...The ones ESPN loved showing during top plays...Guys just getting blown up...Linebackers and safeties flying like bullets, head first into a wide receiver or running back...

So many kids I see today are leading with their head...Even the ones not being that stupid, are trying just to blow a guy up with a forearm or shoulder...Why the hell aren't these kids wrapping up and tackling the right way...It's horrible....It's aggravating to watch...And terrifying because the injuries and deaths are starting to pile up...This isn't the football I was taught starting in 5th grade at St. James...It isn't what my dad and and brothers taught me in the backyard with our Hutch equipment before that...Football today sucks...And the NFL, really sucks!

Andre Smith 
Cam'ron Matthews 
Tyrell Cameron
Ben Hamm
Evan Murray
Kenny Bui
Rod Williams
Collin Kelly
Jayvon Quarles 

Those are all names of teenagers...Teenagers who died from injuries playing football...the last two names died in "practice accidents"...This shit shouldn't be happening....


-In other stupid ass football news, "the U"...That's so fucking gay...Do you Miami fags realize you sound like douchebags when you say "the U"?  Anyway...Miami made fans and idiot alumni happy Sunday evening when the fired head football coach, Al Golden...Not surprising after all the noise big name alumni made...Especially after the Hurricanes got thrashed 58-0 by Clemson...Golden while trying to clean up a messy, dirty, program had a 32-25 record in 4 and a half seasons....He'll land on his feet...While hopefully, the stupid fucking "U" will continue to circle the drain...


-The World Series is upon us...While I respect the small market Royals getting back there, and they have some quality, gritty ballplayers, I hate a couple of their big-mouth young pitchers...Besides that, there is something about the Mets...They continued to prove people, including me, all season long...And they have some arms...I'll take the Mets in 5...

That's it for now...

Have a week!

This is Why My Son Won't Play Football

Seriously!?!  What the fuck!?!  I knew Texas was football crazy, but this is over the fucking top...And I know it's not just Texas...Here in Ohio their are pockets that are insanely football crazy...Just like there are parts in Pennsylvania, and Florida, and all over the country...

This shit is just flat-out nuts...My wife saw this clip, looked at me, and said, "Tommy is never playing Football!"  And you know what, I can't blame her...These fucking ass-hat coaches in this clip are what is wrong with youth football...1. They are taking the fun out of it for the kids, so these kids will burn out on it in high school...2. They're telling kids to go at the head...You can also see these kids leading with their helmet, so clearly they aren't teaching them to not use their head...So by the end of high school these kids' brains will be scrambled...3. These fucking coaches are clearly just miserable fucking assholes, and some of the parents are clearly fuck-tards!

And Roger Goodell and his crew at the NFL offices have to be cringing as they see this...With all they are trying to do, to finally protect players brains, then they see 8-9 year old kids going helmet to helmet...Yeah, they're fucked...If we aren't going to teach 8 year old kids to not lead with the crown of their helmet, and it's wrong that their coach is saying, "put it in his helmet, I don't care if he doesn't get up," then kids will do it through high school, then college, and take it with them to the NFL...If they make it there...If they aren't already fucking brain-dead...

So yeah, my son isn't allowed to play football...And as much as I love the game, I'm not crossing my wife on this one.

The Beeze.

Monday Moaning

So this past week started with taking Molly to  Dentist...We'll be dropping even more money into repairs to her baby teeth...The teeth grinding she does has done more damage...It seems her bottom teeth kick her upper teeth's ass...10 upper teeth need repairs...She has ground the enamel away and weakened them seriously...Can't wait for that fun in January!

After the dentist office Monday morning, we had a great day together...It was just great having some quality, one on one time...Oh, with Finnegan the puppy in the mix...Damn dog kept stealing her hash browns!

Wednesday He was dropped off at the Vet's to get his Cleft lip/nose/pallet fixed...He also got his nuts chopped...We picked him up after 5 in the evening...And the poor guy is stuck in a cone until Tuesday, to make sure he doesn't rip out his stitches...

He hates that fucking cone...Been at war with it all weekend!

The rest of the week was crazy...Just a blur...By Friday evening my ass was dragging...Just in time to get up another Saturday morning before 7:00AM to take my oldest daughter 45 minutes away to her Honor band rehearsal...Followed by morning concert...Then back there again for the evening concert...Then the snow started falling...Of course! 

-I had little time for college football...But I did get to enjoy the UCLA / ASU game...The PAC-12 is for real people...Lots of good talent, lots of good teams...Unlike the Big-10...And yes, unlike the SEC that actually has just a few good teams...

Hey Florida how does losing to Georgia Southern taste!?! Georgia Southern won 26-20...They completed zero passes for zero yards, yet they racked up 429 yards on the Gators defense...Florida, you gave up 429 yards to Georgia Southern, a team that can't pass...That didn't pass...You knew they were going to run the ball, and you gave up 429 yards...They should just burn "The Swamp" to the ground...Fire everyone...Take away all the scholarships...That is the definition of sucks!

-Now let me move onto rankings...We all know college football has some serious flaws...None more then the whole ranking system...I'm a die-hard Notre Dame fan, so let me use the Irish for this example...

Notre Dame isn't even ranked, yet they beat USC, ASU, and Mich State, all ranked well ahead of them...They lost to ranked Oklahoma...They lost to Pitt (horrible loss)...They lost to then ranked 17 rival Michigan...Yes, Michigan fell apart after that game...They really suck!   And watching every game, I can say this, ND could have beaten Pitt, Michigan, and Oklahoma...If played again, they could take MSU again, but it would be tight, as usual...They could Take USC again...ASU would take them...

Notre Dame is just one of many examples that prove the theory of, on any given day, any team can beat another...Which makes pre-season rankings idiotic because until two teams take the field you really have no idea what you are getting...Even with a so-called playoff, you still have to have a system to rank teams...But it's clear the current formula is crap...Michigan State plays great defense...But they also play a weak-ass Big-10 schedule...Ohio State is undefeated and has hung around the top 4 all year...But their Big-10 schedule, combined with their non-conference schedule is an embarrassment...

I have already lost any passion for the NFL...Now I find myself the most frustrated I have ever been with College Football...And I have always loved Saturdays in the Fall...

-Let me change gears to a bit of Hockey...We have heard and talked a ton about head shots, and brain injuries in Football...Now finally a hockey player is speaking up, and making a bit of noise about it...

New York Rangers winger, Rick Nash returned to the lineup this week after missing over a month from a concussion after a head shot...This one just months removed from a late season concussion last year...

“We’re all in this together.” Nash said...

“I understand how it happens,  the game is so fast, things happen quickly, and I know that I’ve had some hits that have been close calls, but we all have to take responsibility for changing some of the things we do out there." 

Nash continued...

"I understand that we don’t want to have huge suspensions for plays that are spontaneous and I’m OK with that, but the players as a group and the union have to take more responsibility for stopping these kinds of hits.  It’s up to the guys to have more respect for each other and our careers.”

“Headshots are a serious problem in the game. You see them all the time, something has to change.”

I have to agree, and I'm glad he said it...Yes, I'm a Rangers fan...And yes, I've always been a fan of Nash...But that has nothing to do with it...We have seen plenty of evidence of how concussions, and head trauma have affected football players...Hockey needs to realize they are looking down the same barrel...

That's it for now...I gotta start planning Thanksgiving dinner!

Have a week,

The Beeze.

Dave Duerson's Last Statement

Dave Duerson was an old school, hard-nosed, smart, Football player, who had earned 2 Super Bowl rings during his NFL career...He was also a standout at Notre Dame...Since he retired he had been a very vocal advocate for NFL player's rights...Past and present...In the last few years he lost his business, his home and his wife...Recently he had told friends he was having issues with the left side of his brain...

I guess it got to be too much for for him...Friday Duerson was found dead after a self inflicted gunshot wound to the chest...Before doing so, he texted his family, saying he wanted his brain donated to be studied for CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease caused by repeated blows to the head...

Duerson's brain has been donated to Boston University...They have studied 14 other former NFL players brains there, and 13 of those had CTE...

His son has said "He was looking for an answer, and he's hoping to be a part of an answer."

In a letter to his ex-wife Alicia, he described blurred vision and pain, "on the left side of his brain."

Alicia Duerson said, “I think it’s just an example of the type of person he is...In his time, he put the future in front of him...future generations of football players in front of him. I’m just so proud of him at this moment.”

Personally, I'm kind of blown away by this story...It's seems like such a strong and courageous statement...Yet, how much of him killing himself was based on just stopping the pain...I guess, in the end, it's just sad.

Later, The Beeze.