On Sports

Hello all! Now that school has started back pretty much everywhere, I hope everyone is settling in well. My local schools have gotten back into the swing of things and sports are picking up. Football's underway. Fall baseball is about to start back locally for the younger kids. Wrestling, bowling, and basketball start back within a couple of months. Finally golf and volleyball are finishing up. Lots to keep track of here.

With so much focus on sports, I think it's really important to keep other things in mind. Just like a business owner cannot afford to be lax, neither can that owner be so consumed by the business that other areas in life suffer. The same goes for students. I firmly believe moderation is key. We must all give appropriate time to God, family, and work.

Student-athletes have a large responsibility in that they need to keep up academically and those that are looking to progress to the next level are not afforded the luxury of just playing for "fun". They have to essentially treat it as a job in and of itself if they hope to get scholarships to the next level. If you are not involved in these sports you may not realize how much time outside of games and practices it takes to really perform at a peak level. Some factors include off-season conditioning, reviewing game film, working on techniques, and going to camps-- with these being all outside of normal practices allowed by each state. I can guarantee you that championship caliber teams are not filled with players that just show up for mandatory practices and barely make it to games or matches.

This also doesn't factor in the student-athletes that are also involved in other extracurricular activities. I would highly encourage all student-athletes, especially those just beginning high school, to avoid overloading with too many commitments. It's important to be active and participate in activities, but it's also very easy to get stretched too thin. Be sure you can do what you're committing to do and can do it well with the proper time commitment.

Good luck to everyone this year! Be safe, study hard, play hard, and have fun!

On Sports... Seahawks Step Up

First read
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24571643/seahawks-waive-draft-pick-with-heart-issue-still-give-him-100k-bonus

Compared to the bad impression given by league teams in my my last post, it's great to see the Seahawks step up for Garrett Scott. Instead of leaving him high and dry they went ahead and signed him so he could get the bonus at least. And with the team leaving the future open, it's good for him. Let me be clear, I don't know the extent of his heart condition, but even if it's extremely bad, they are staying positive which could help his morale in dealing with his newfound heart condition. I hope and pray that there is a relatively easy solution and that we will see Garrett Scott suit up someday for the Seahawks.

On Sports... Dirty Ball?

Here is some reading:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2014/05/21/drugs-information-and-football-assessing-culpability-in-latest-lawsuit-against-nfl/?ss=business

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/nfl/nflers-illegally-given-painkillers-to-mask-injuries-lawsuit-1.2648280

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10958191/nfl-illegally-supplied-risky-painkilling-drugs-former-players-allege-suit

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10971209

After reading these articles and, in particular, watching Linda Cohn interview Mark Schlereth, I believe there are some bad apples, so to speak, operating in medical matters for some of the NFL organizations. I also personally know at least one NFL team physician whom I trust and I believe would be one that informs the players of the pros and cons of treatment options.

I understand the concept Schlereth spoke of in regards to personal responsibility, but also I am well aware that many people take what they are prescribed by their family doctor with little to no understanding of what they are prescribed. I saw something a long time ago that said people spend more time reviewing their photos at the photo department than they do reviewing their prescriptions in the pharmacy. I've watched this a lot over the years and while it's not always true, it is more often than not. If the average person behaves this way, is it any surprise to see similar behavior in the players?

Schlereth offered a solution to the problem which was to guarantee contracts for the players so the teams would have a longer outlook on the players' health. I propose a second solution to be that the NFL Player Association (NFLPA) take over medical treatment management, while medical treatment costs are still handled by the team. Yet a third option would be for the the NFLPA to run an oversight committee that reviews/audits the teams medical records to ensure that it is all on the up and up.

While it is disheartening & discouraging to hear stories like these from the experiences of players like McMahon, Dent, and Van Horne, it was also encouraging to hear Schlereth's more positive experience in these matters. It drives home the point that while the NFL is comprised of 32 teams, each of those teams has a lot of leeway in how they run their operation.

It's high time the NFL as an organization steps up to address the situation. I hope and pray the NFLPA and good team organizations can work together to force the bad apples to improve.

On Sports.... Football's risks

Whether it's the NFL or NCAA football, there are more and more questions being raised on the safety of the players involved in the sport.

Check out:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/league-of-denial/

and then

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/16/us-football-players-brains-idUSBREA3F1VB20140416

and even more stunning:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10821995/russell-allen-former-member-jacksonville-jaguars-suffered-stroke

&
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2037874-former-jaguars-lb-russell-allen-discusses-playing-through-stroke-in-nfl-game

&

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/jaguars-linebacker-russell-allen-said-he-is-retiring-after-suffering-on-field-stroke-172422209.html

So here's a question, if we find that the sport of football is causing permanent brain damage, what's the next step?

Are we, as a society, willing to give it up? I'm a fan of the sport and I enjoy it. BUT- it's not worth it if it is causing this damage. We cannot, as a society, turn a blind eye to these risks. We need to be aggressive. We need to be looking for more and more answers with bigger and more exhaustive studies, both of active and retired players from all levels ( little league, high school, college and professional). 

It's disturbing on a number of fronts that a player can suffer a stroke from a normal, everyday play. It's disturbing that players don't seem to have adequate time to recover between seasons. It's amazing with what's been found so far that this isn't gaining more traction in the national media. It's seems to be getting swept under the rug. It's reported, and then forgotten.

I hope we don't look back at this time with regret later. I hope we are proactive in protecting these players, whether it be reducing number of plays allowed, number of games in  a season, better (or less) equipment, player size restrictions, or whatever it takes, even up to to banning the sport. Fans' enjoyment of a sport, as well as the NFL's great money making machine, are not more important than the players' health. What if it's a sibling, child, or grandchild playing?  We need to remember and consider it from that perspective when these discussions come up. 

On Sports.... to Unionize or not?

There's been a lot written over the last few months over whether or not college athletes should unionize or not. See the following for background:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/college-athletes-step-toward-forming-170258471--spt.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/qb-testifies-bid-form-college-163928455--ncaaf.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/college-athletes-unionize-federal-agency-192347319--ncaaf.html

 http://espn.go.com/chicago/college-football/story/_/id/10734087/pat-fitzgerald-urges-northwestern-wildcats-players-vote-union

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/10738559/mark-emmert-ncaa-president-says-unionization-attempt-grossly-inappropriate

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/10678393/nlrb-director-decision-follows-road-map-laid-northwestern-quarterback-kain-colter-legal-team

It's fascinating to me to read these articles, listen to podcasts that deal with the topic, and hear the talking heads on the radio & television discuss this matter. There are pros and cons to both sides of the issue, and to me, there is no clear cut answer.

Wanting to protect players' health and provide long term medical treatment is a noble goal. Not wanting to disrupt the lucrative business model that is college athletics is understandable, but at what expense? Would unionizing solve health and medical issues confronting college athletes? Would unionizing be a death knell for college athletics? Or would unionizing simply force a change that would be rapidly accepted and then back to business (i.e., playing the games) with little impact?

Questions abound, but until the appeals process is over and, if warranted, votes are counted, we won't know the direction college sports are headed. We have to be patient and wait & see.

On Promos.... Tax Day 2014!

Get a tax day discount of 10% on this, the last day to file your US Federal Taxes. Use coupon code 2014Tax to get the discount by midnight tonight!

On Promos.... March Madness 2014!

Hello again!

As the Sweet Sixteen is about to kick off, I thought I'd throw in a promotional offer. Use the coupon code MM14 on an individual highlight package and get a 20% discount in celebration of March Madness. Offer is good through the end of the tournament (4/7/14).

Enjoy the games!

P.S.-- My bracket is soooo busted!

On Sports.... Choices

Hello all,

I was listening to a podcast while driving yesterday and something was said that me think. I was listening to Ivan Maisel interview Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany on the ESPNU College Football podcast.  You can listen here if you'd like. 

At one point, Delany made the stated that  less than 1/2 of 1% of college athletes have the opportunity to go pro. He and Maisel were discussing cost of attendance and aid grants. It was by no means their topic of discussion and something that Delany was matter-of-fact about. That number was stunning to me. As I was thinking about it, it drove home the point that college athletes need to be realistic. 

How? By making a good choice when going through the recruiting process. Choosing a program solely based on athletics would be overlooking a key aspect of the process. Academics do matter. Does that mean that someone should only look at Ivy League schools? By no means! Instead, when assessing a program, I believe the potential student-athlete needs to review the academic programs offered. What courses are offered? Is there an area to major that's interesting? Could a career be made with it?

With Delany's numbers, less than 1% will advance on to the next level. Preparation matters, even if someone is the best athlete in a sport. Sometime occurrences happen outside of our control (injuries, accidents, illnesses, etc). It's good to have a plan B. Go for your dreams, but have a backup. Want a cliché? Don't put all your eggs in one basket. The scholarship pays for the education so thought should go into choosing the education too. It's a benefit that I am afraid is often overlooked by student-athletes.

Choices do matter.