Your NFL news: Week 6

The big story in the NFL this week seems to be the growing concern over violent hits. The more research that is done on concussions, the scarier some of these helmet-to-helmet collisions become. There were at least three concussions on Sunday and a number of other head injuries as well. In response the NFL has announced that it will unveil new head protection rules in time for next week’s games. As usual this has led to a flurry of commentary about whether this is long overdue or an affront to football’s nature.

A sample of the reporting on each side:

“Sunday, we had the ghastly spectacle of an NFL in which it is completely forbidden to jump around happily after a touchdown -- but perfectly fine to make a sadistic helmet-to-helmet hit that can cause lifelong harm…. [E]ach year about 1 million play football, most of them high school boys. The NFL not doing everything possible to prevent head injury sets an awful example for the high school players who model themselves on what they see in the pros.” [from Gregg Easterbrook, "NFL must enforce rules, hit back"]

“I loved and was completely enthralled by every one of those violent encounters and I'm not afraid to admit it. That is the essence of this sport we all adore called football. My guess is that deep down the vast majority of people out there feel the exact same way, whether they would confess to it publicly or not.” [from Ross Tucker, "Hard hits will keep coming"]

We’ll have to wait and see what exactly the NFL proposes, and of course whether or not it does anything to protect the players.

James Harrison, fined $75,000 for a violent hit on Sunday

Dunta Robinson, was fined $50,000 for his hit 

Brandon Meriweather was also fined $50,000 this week

Jenn Sterger

Finally, to follow-up on last week’s story, Brett Favre had a meeting today with the head of NFL security. Not sure what exactly they discussed, but apparently the woman at the centre of this controversy doesn’t want to cooperate with the NFL (whatever that means), so the whole thing may end there - at least as far as the NFL is concerned. His wife may not move on so easily.

You may have noticed that we did not have a Monday Man yesterday. Given that Your NFL news will be posted on Monday or Tuesday, this feature will be moved to Wednesday.

You know in your heart what's right

Major League Baseball has a bit of a unique structure. It was originally made up of two leagues: the American and the National. The National League was around first and the American League was initially its competitor. Though the leagues are now legally one entity, they still have slightly different rules. For example, in the American League there is a player whose job it is to hit for the pitcher (called the Designated Hitter) while in the National League, the pitcher has to bat.
We’re now into the second round of baseball playoffs, meaning that there are only two teams left in each league. In the American League the Texas Rangers (who knocked out our Monday Man’s team) are facing the New York Yankees. And in the National League- the Philadelphia Phillies are up against the San Francisco Giants.

xoxo Roy

The National League series is posing a bit of a conundrum for me: I hate the Phillies and always have, but a former Blue Jay (and the best pitcher in baseball), Roy Halladay, is on the Phillies and I love him. (Read more about his awesomeness here.) So what do you do when your heart is pulling you in two different directions?

I’m watching the Phillies game as I write this, and they are losing 4-3. Every time the Giants get a hit on Halladay I feel sad. And when the Phillies get a hit, I don’t. So I guess I have my answer. I love Roy more than I hate the Phillies – so GO PHILLIES GO!

Your NFL news: Week 5

What with turkey and houseguests, football was not on as much as usual in my household this weekend. My round up is correspondingly a little bare, but a story that I couldn’t avoid is the one developing around Brett Favre.



Glory days

Favre is the 41-year old quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He’s had a long and illustrious career – highlights of which include a Super Bowl championship and a cameo in There’s Something About Mary (he was Mary’s ex-boyfriend, refresh your memory here). He’s also very married, Roman Catholic, a father and yes, even a grandfather.

Now in Tiger-esque fashion, some sleazy voicemails and texts (not to mention some –ahem– little penis shots) have been made public and the NFL is investigating. Favre had allegedly been harassing a couple of women who work for his former team the New York Jets and doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. (Incidentally, the Vikings played the Jets last night - Favre's team lost).



Favre's post-game press conference



Now as of yet there’s no hard proof that it is actually his voice on the messages (though it sounds an awful lot like him) or his body parts in the photos (and I certainly can’t vouch for their likeness). If someone is stupid enough to risk their reputation, family and endorsement deals in this way though, there’s probably a whole lot more dirty laundry waiting to be aired, and we’ll probably find out the truth eventually.

You have to wonder when these guys will learn that recordings and photographs last forever, but I guess they do hit their heads a lot. At any rate, I think we can now safely say that Mary picked the right pony with our boy Ben Stiller.

Much to be thankful for

October is not only the start of hockey season, but also the month that baseball playoffs begin. The playoffs got started last week and there has been no shortage of drama thus far. One of the most exciting series to watch right now is the one taking place between the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rangers seemed to have the series under control after they won the first two games. But the Rays didn’t give up and came back to win the next two. So they are now tied 2-2, and since the first round of the playoffs is a best of five series, whichever team wins the next game will advance.

One player who has been a big part of the Rays comeback is first baseman Carlos Peña. Born in the Dominican Republic in 1978, he moved with his parents and three younger siblings to the US when he was nine years old.

He grew up in Cape Cod and then attended Northeastern University where he studied electrical engineering. In 1998 he was drafted by the Texas Rangers (the team he is now facing in the playoffs). He bounced around from team to team for quite awhile and spent a good deal of time in the minor leagues before having a breakout season in 2007. That year he was named the Comeback Player of the Year by his fellow players, and donated the $20,000 prize money to underprivileged Dominican youth.

He’s since signed a three year, $24-million contract with the Rays. He’s also continued his charity work, acting as a spokesperson for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and getting involved in relief efforts after the earthquake in Haiti.

Peña’s attitude towards his success (and his great smile!) made him a natural choice to feature this holiday Monday. When his club was behind two games to nothing Peña called a meeting and urged his teammates to relax and remember how much they had to be thankful for already. “This is a ballcub of guys that love to play baseball and have gone through many difficulties to get to this point, so all of us appreciate where we're at,” said Peña. “[This is] what I dreamed of as a kid…. To be able to live the dream, I'm just extremely grateful.”

It's always nice to see an athlete who appreciates all that he has. And in a few weeks - if everything goes well - he may have a World Series championship to add to his list of blessings. But first he has to get through tomorrow with a victory. Good luck to Peña and the Rays, and Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

 

The start of another hockey season

Henrik Sedin is named the Canucks'
new captain in a ceremony before the game

Last night my team, the Vancouver Canucks, played their first game of the year against the Los Angeles Kings. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks and was trying to think of a way to describe the feeling of anticipation that opening night invariably brings.

Remember how you used to feel as a child when the new school year started? You had your brand new pencils and school clothes all ready to go, and everything felt so fresh and full of possibilities. As we get older we tend to lose that – jobs continue day after day and seasons slide into one another and everything can just kind of blur together.

Becoming a sports fan is one way to recapture that September feeling. The beginning of a new season for your team gives you that fresh start that we all crave so much. You look at the schedule and see limitless potential for your team. Injuries, heartbreaking losses and losing streaks have yet to happen. And a new season washes away the pain of the year before – yes, the Chicago Blackhawks threw my Canucks out of the playoffs last year and went on to win the Stanley Cup, but that doesn’t matter today. All that matters now is what happens in the weeks and months to come – and ultimately what happens next April. A fresh start, another chance, the opportunity to write a new story…that’s what we all looked for at the start of each school year. And that’s what keeps sports fans coming back for more year after year.

Anze Kopitar scores in a shoot out on his team's way to
victory. Kopitar had returned to the game with a few less
teeth after being hit with a stick in the mouth earlier on. 

The Canucks lost last night. In sports as in life you quickly learn that there is no such thing as a perfect year. A new haircut or a new defenseman is not a magic pill. There will be ups and downs. But I still believe that come next summer I will be looking back at a truly great year. Yes, this will be a year to remember.

Your NFL news: Week 4

Today we start a new feature: Your NFL news. Every week I'll be posting about a couple of interesting or noteworthy things that happened in the NFL so that you can participate in the watercooler conversation if you so choose. First up, Week 4.


Cutler and Cavallari

Remember Jay Cutler, the Chicago Bears’ quarterback who is dating Kristin Cavallari? Well, he had a rough game on Sunday, when his team lost for the first time this season to the New York Giants. Kristin’s new man was sacked (meaning he was tackled while trying to throw the ball) a record 10 times and he left the game with a concussion. Apparently it’s not serious (is it possible for a head injury to not be serious?) and he’ll be back playing next week when his team meets the Carolina Panthers.



Speaking of the Carolina Panthers, one of their players, DeAngelo Williams, was one of those responsible for all the pink – pink gloves, pink shoes, pink hats - you may have noticed if you caught any of the games this weekend. No, the players didn’t call each other before the game and coordinate outfits junior high style; the NFL is actually honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. The NFL’s participation was championed by Williams, who lost three aunts to the disease and whose mother is a breast cancer survivor. Doing good must have given him some good karma: he scored his first touchdown of the season on Sunday.



Speaking of karma, Michael Vick – you know the guy, the one who went to jail a few year ago for his role in a dog fighting ring – got squished between two opponents and had to leave the game with a rib injury. He's damaged some cartilage and will find even basic things like breathing quite painful until it heals. No word yet on when exactly he will return as quarterback to his team the Philadelphia Eagles, but it sounds like it may be a while.

Vick getting sandwiched

So there you have it: three little tidbits to get you through a football conversation. So much happens every week that there's no point trying to keep up with it all, but this will keep you going - at least 'til next week.

Starin' at Darren

Today's Monday Man is Darren McFadden, a 6'2", 210-pound running back. The 23-year old was born in Little Rock, and after playing football for the University of Arkansas was drafted fourth overall by the Oakland Raiders in 2008, who promptly signed him to a $60.1 million contract.

McFadden had a rough road to the NFL. The tenth of twelve children, he grew up in one of the most gang-ridden neighbourhoods in the country (it was once featured in the HBO documentary Gang War: Banging in Little Rock). In fact, one of his brothers was in the Crips, while another belonged to the rival Bloods. His mother was addicted to crack (her supplier was another one of her children) and has said "Drugs were a way of life for us." 

McFadden credits sports for keeping him clean and out of gangs in high school, but he did have some difficulties in college, including some arrests and injuries in bar fights and several paternity suits before his 21st birthday. Those who know him, however, insist he's a gentle soul who loves making people laugh.

Since starting his professional career McFadden has had some ups and downs on the field, but this year he was off to the best start of his career. Before yesterday's game against the Houston Texans he was one of the leading rushers in the NFL, meaning he had been playing very well indeed. Unfortunately he injured his hamstring in the game and there's no word yet on how long he'll be out. He's listed as day-to-day, so hopefully he'll be back lighting up our TV screens by next weekend. Until then, enjoy the pictures!

Bye-bye Cito

This afternoon the Toronto Blue Jays are playing their last game of the season on the road against the Minnesota Twins.  Not only is it the end of another year for the Jays, but it is also the last game for their manager (or coach) Cito Gaston, who's retiring after today's game.


Cito Gaston



Cito is a big deal in Toronto, having led the Jays to two World Series championships in 1992 and 1993.  He left the team in 1997, but was brought back in 2008. 



Alex Anthopoulos



Since I didn't grow up in Toronto and wasn't a baseball fan in the early 90s when the Jays were dominating, I don't have the hero-worship for Cito that many people have and tend to be a little more critical of him than others I know.  Despite my reservations, he is leaving the Jays in a better position than he found them.  As the announcers during today's game mentioned, he's also a big enough name and well-respected enough that he can bring other good baseball people to the Jays organization. 

 

I have no idea right now who will be the Jays next manager.  Our GM, Alex Anthopoulos, seems to be content to take his time with this decision and keep his cards close to his chest.  Anthopoulos certainly has a lot of work to do in the off-season.  As for Gaston's winter plans?  The Jays gave him four first-class tickets anywhere in the world as a farewell.  Not a bad parting gift, huh?