JimH5

People really need to do more studying up on concussions before making broad statements about barbarism. There is mounting evidence that routine, non-concussive injuries that happen in the general course of football games (and other sports) can lead to CTE. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/sports/study-bolsters-link-between-routine-hits-to-head-and-long-term-brain-disease.html All sport carries varying degrees of different kind of risks but singling out football is an extreme disservice to the truth. If you want to continue to enjoy football, by all means, have at it. It's the most popular sport, with no indication that people are turning away. For many, the tradition and excitement and strategy are worth it. Players play knowing the risks, and if they want to take them, who am I to stop them? Right? That's the rationale.. But I just don't have the stomach for it. I've been to autograph shows and have seen old broken men hobble up to sign their names. Johnny Unitas was injured so severely that he couldn't hold a pen late in life. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/news/2002/09/11/wrecking_yard/ I went to elementary school with Jim Melka, a former Badger star and NFL player. His son was severely and permanently injured in a HS game some years ago. http://www.livinglakecountry.com/lakecountryreporter/policeandcourts/60002692.html When we lived in Jacksonville, a local kid was paralyzed in a HS game. http://www.jttownsendfoundation.org/about-jt/ We recently saw the story on Keith McCants and how his addiction to pain killers had him turn to street drugs before turning his life around. http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/only_on_fox10/the_interview/the-interview-keith-mccants If we saw a young woman cutting herself or doing drugs or engaging in other self destructive behavior, we'd try to help her to stop. But if a young man engages in self destructive behavior, like holding onto a football as he's being laid out on a crossing pattern, we cheer for more. We cared more about Michael Vick's dogs than we cared about his teammates. I just can't enjoy football any more. I know most of these guys, even if they have avoided brain trauma, will suffer pain in their backs and knees and shoulders the rest of their lives. I like Aaron Rodgers. He seems like a charming and funny and smart guy. How can I wish for him to do anything other than to retire now before he becomes broken like so many others? In case anyone is wondering, the simplest way to avoid concussions is to remain hydrated properly, recent studies have shown a link between dehydration and concussions. Do you have a link to support this? I couldn't find anything linking being well hydrated with avoiding concussions, only how being dehydrated could make a person give signals to others that might lead them to believe he had been concussed.

Isn't saying he could have brain damage also making a judgment? It's a judgment, but it is one that allows a medical condition to explain things. It allows for the ND Athletic Director to still hold Te'o's character in high esteem in the face of those who thought he might have made the whole thing up for sympathy or attention. And it could be an explanation to how gullible he was to fall for such a ruse. On his radio show podcast, Tony Kornheiser was talking with Mike Wilbon about Te'o's appearance on PTI, and how they were left with the impression that Te'o was much more "childlike" than they expected. Maybe his brain is injured. We keep looking to him for smart, well considered answers, and maybe because of injury, he is unable to provide them. I'm not convinced of that, mind you. I'm just saying the brain injury theory can be lumped in with the "he's gay and made up a girlfriend to cover his tracks" "he's a liar" "he was too dumb to see he was being played" group of speculative assessments on him. Plus it gave me the opening to rip on football. If you don't like football, fine but leave those types of statements out of it. I used to like football. It's a great tv event. It's full of history and excitement. It binds us together as a community where few things do. I like school spirit and cheering on athletic achievement. I think I would probably enjoy playing Madden. But it is just too devastating for those who play for real. And we get too wrapped up in the glory that we willfully ignore the gory. http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/30/nathan-stiles-kansas-high-school-football-player-dies-after-in/ http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/13/3179926/dan-le-batard-jason-taylors-pain.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/saints/2012/12/19/new-orleans-saints-tulane-devon-walker-drew-brees-macolm-jenkins/1781207/ http://theconcussionblog.com/2013/01/18/matt-chaney-tireless-worker/#more-6923 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/football/head_injuries/index.html I can't sit on the couch and cheer for action on the field, when I know what it has done to Jim McMahon, Jim Tyrer, Junior Seau, John Mackey, Dave Duerson, Al Toon, Wayne Chrebet and dozens or hundreds of others. My inability to shut up about that doesn't get me invited to many Super Bowl parties, but that's fine. I'm just waiting for pitchers and catchers to report.

He didn't say he has brain damage. He said it's plausible. It allows the pieces of the puzzle to fit together. It allows him to be truthful, but confused about the facts. Otherwise, we're making judgment on him that says he's either stupid or lying.

Speculation runs rampant on this story, but Keith Law tweeted something that is plausible, and allows us to still see Te'o as a complete victim. He raised the possibility that with all the football contact he's had, it's possible that he's had brain trauma that has affected his judgment. Brain issues affect people differently, so anything is possible. Plus, anything that I can add that is anti-football is fine with me. It's a meat grinder, people. We're watching people sacrifice their bodies and brains for our amusement. Stop watching!

I agree with the praise on Brewtank's post. But I'm 8 1/2 years into this parenting relationship, and I would advise (and my wife would agree) that you can't reduce the "me" time all the way down to zero. You have to have time for yourself, to read, to workout, to just sit for a few minutes with your own thoughts. It's not selfishness, it's a necessary recharging of your own energy, to make sure that you're great at all the other things. Otherwise you end up a resentful jerk, ruining it for everyone around you. You're not going to be able to watch every pitch of a Brewers game, but you shouldn't deny yourself the chance to watch parts of a game, or something else that you enjoy.

I agree with Bikeage77. If you like the item, keep it and display it. If you don't really care that much about it, I would sell it right away. I don't see it as something that will gain value over time.

My daughter is 8, so video monitors weren't really around for us. Thank God, one less thing to obsess about. . . This book was one of the things that was very helpful to us during the first several months of parenting: http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Basics-A---Z/dp/0060535482/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358197203&sr=8-1&keywords=the+new+basics+michel+cohen There are some critical reviews on it at Amazon, and undoubtedly those reviewers are genuine in their criticism, I'm also genuine in my praise. I really liked it and used it as a resource during times of stress early on. The one bit of advice I would give you is to find a pediatrician now, find out what schedule they like to follow for well-baby care, immunizations, etc. It's better to be prepared ahead of time than to have to scramble once you have an infant in tow.

If you're sophisticated enough to know what a PSA 8 is, don't you figure you're also going to know they don't come with clipped corners in a screwdown holder?

That seems to be the prevailing thought among many in the media. I'm pretty much on all sides of it, as I'm respectful of an electing body that wants to maintain the integrity of the character clause, and I'm willing to allow them to connect the dots where --even without hard evidence-- it is reasonable to suspect PED use. That said, I want Cooperstown and the HOF to be attractive to visitors, and I don't know who is going there if the greats of the game aren't inducted.

But what about the improvements in technology, nutrition, exercise science and sports medicine in the past 10 years? If Luis Gonzalez was not using steroids when that picture was taken, why do no players in baseball look like that today? Or better? Why is nobody putting up 57 HR seasons any more? And whether you think steroids are helpful in building better baseball players or not (Dan Naulty is certain that they made him a major leaguer instead of a washout), what about the players who obtained and used them unlawfully? Shouldn't that act alone bring their character into question? http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/magazine/05/29/baseball.steroids/index.html

If you're going to use Murray Chass as your moral compass, I simply cannot take you seriously. To sum up those 3 articles: 1) Stan Musial is a racist, because someone told Murray Chass that something happened once. 2) If someone admitted to doing any illegal drug they shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame 3) Statistics. Damn you for using them when talking about who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame Chass isn't my moral compass, but I do think he is capable of accurately reporting what he saw in the Mets locker room. He is a Spink award winner, and he worked for the New York Times for almost 40 years. When you combine his account with Jeff Pearlman's (Sports Illustrated) and Joel Sherman's (NY Post), it's damning information. If those accounts are untrue, then they would be libelous, and it would seem that an innocent Piazza would want some recourse. And yet there have been no actions by Piazza, or his agent, or the Players Association against those media companies or those writers. I don't think Chass is Bob Woodward, but it seems weird that we criticize the media for turning a blind eye toward steroid use, but then when some of them tell you what they saw, then we discredit them, too.

In the context of those seasons, there are some possible explanations for those outliers. 1945 was a war year with very depleted rosters. In 1946 and after, Holmes would face better competition. 1961 was an expansion year, also with an expanded schedule, and nearly 2000 more runs scored in the AL vs. 1960. 1977 was also an expansion year, it was in the prime of Foster's career, and one of the few times he played a full season. You're right that there will always be outliers, but do you really think Luis Gonzalez's 57 HR season was just a statistical anomaly?

Thanks to Louis Ely for the correction on Piazza's Univ. of Miami freshman year. I missed that in researching his pre-majors career. If only we all had our own Tommy Lasorda to open doors for us. . . As for the comparison to Pujols, remember that Piazza was drafted 900+ spots later in his draft than Pujols was in his. And Pujols has had the benefit of playing most of his career in the post-drug testing era of MLB. Here's something from Chass on Piazza: http://www.murraychass.com/?p=555 He clearly thinks Piazza was a steroid user who quit when drug testing began.

Was Juan Guzman not available?

So then should I assume that you think Gonzalez, Anderson, Green & Piazza were not using steroids? Or are you just unwilling to pass judgment on them absent more concrete evidence?

I hope that sometime within our lifetimes, the way the HOF chooses to put new members in is completely overhauled, and we look back at this period, and realize how completely ludicrous this witch hunt really was. It's not a witch hunt to deny someone a lifetime achievement award (on their first of fifteen tries, no less) when there is reasonable suspicion that those achievements were made in part by chemically altering one's body. Fair enough but a counterpoint is show me even a tiny shred of concrete evidence that they did steroids because most of these guys don't have anything. They have the court of public opinion condemning them with no real proof other than his head looked big or his back had acne. This is a pretty clear case of guilty until proven innocent. How would you explain Luis Gonzalez hitting 57 HR in 2001? Or Brady Anderson hitting 50 in 1996? Or Shawn Green hitting 49 in 2001? In the era when other players were known to be using steroids, does it seem likely to you that these guys were playing without drugs? Piazza wasn't drafted out of high school. He didn't play college ball at a major baseball school. He was drafted as the 1390th player in the 1988 draft. And he has a higher career WAR than any of the 1389 players taken before him. Do you think he achieved that just on his own? He went from 6 HR and a .390 SLG as a 21-year old to 29 HR and .540 SLG as a 22-year old. Doesn't that kind of progression at least raise suspicion in your mind?

We're all free to interpret information any way that we would like. I don't think it is unreasonable to suspect Piazza used steroids, based on his meteoric rise from the very bottom to the very top, when you consider the era that he played in, and the reports of his back acne, one of the commonly recognized side effects of steroid use. If I walk in the house tonight with slurred speech, it would not be unreasonable for my wife to wonder if I had been drinking. She wouldn't need an eye-witness account, or a receipt from a bar. Though I understand if you want more hard evidence before you reach the same suspicions as me. My post was really in response to Louis Ely's words that no spikes in power and a slow regression of power after age 31 suggest no PED use. My references to Murray Chass, Joel Sherman & Jeff Pearlman were to indicate that there are indeed suspicions. They aren't going to be enough to convince everyone, but they're out there.

True it's not a smoking gun, but back acne is well known as a side effect of steroid use. And it was an era when a lot of players were using steroids. And Piazza went from a nothing as an amateur to the best hitting catcher of all time, in that environment? It's certainly enough to raise doubts.

If the writers are going to be so self-righteous about PEDs, then they need to go figure out who's in that needs to be kicked out. Otherwise it's highly selective and subjective moralities being applied. To fail to apply the same standards consistently undermines ALL credibility and validity. The writers are only given the responsibility to vote for or against the guys on the ballot presented to them. They aren't in any position of authority to remove Hall of Famers.

Mike Piazza is arguably the greatest offense catcher to ever play the game. The fact that he spent his entire career in ballparks that were not known for being hitters parks (Dodger Stadium, Shea Stadium, one year in San Diego and one year in Oakland) definitely makes him one of the best offensive catchers in history. Makes you wonder what he would have done in more hitter-friendly parks. Twice led the league in OPS+ as a catcher. No spikes in power/HRs and a slow regression of power after age 31 suggest no PED usage. He should be in very soon. Joel Sherman & Murray Chass have written about Piazza's back acne. He was also a 62nd round non-prospect who developed into that greatest offensive catcher, something that is so unusual, it raises suspicion. Jeff Pearlman also wrote about Piazza & steroid use/suspicions. There isn't a failed test we can point to, or police charges, but it's not like there's nothing on the guy.

We have DirecTV and lost our signal Saturday night during the snowfall. It was strange, as there really wasn't much snow, though it must have loaded up our dish. I can't see the dish at night, and by morning it was fine. I've had DirecTV for about 10 years and have been generally happy, though I'm now 50, and have no interest in crawling around on the roof just to check out TV reception issues, should this happen again. We are just a 1 television house, and are going to probably add another one this year, and we'll see how much DirecTV wants to charge us for new equipment. It may be time to see what AT&T and Time Warner have to offer.

The one thing to take away from this is that the Brewers have very little in the high minors that projects to be MLB-ready in 4 years. If they had high quality prospects in the OF, they wouldn't project Gomez & Aoki to still be there. If they had high prospects in the IF, they wouldn't project Hart & Weeks to be there.

My ballot would be: Jeff Bagwell Craig Biggio Barry Bonds Roger Clemens Mike Piazza Tim Raines Curt Schilling Lee Smith Larry Walker Bernie Williams I don't have anything against those who would keep the steroid suspects out. I recently felt that way, too. But the Hall needs fan interest and induction ceremonies, and Hank O'Day, Jacob Ruppert & Deacon White aren't going to draw anyone by themselves.

You're right, Game05. . .I wouldn't trade it for anything. Though in my moment of self-pity, I found myself in a state of boredom while my family was content and engaged in their own worlds.

I like the white panel hat. The yellow panel ball & glove belongs on Ben Oglivie. My only complaint on white as a hat color is the inevitable sweat discoloration that makes you relegate the hat to yard duty.