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Injuries Crippling America’s ‘Game’
Feb 5th
One of the story lines going into this weekend’s Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers is how the Packers got so far with so many of their players sidelined. The team has 16 players out for the season with injuries, including its star tight end Jermichael Finley, running back Ryan Grant and a good portion of its defense. The team struggled with injuries all year. It barely qualified for the playoffs. But by the time it did, it had figured out how to get the most out of substitutes.
The Packers’ opponent, the Steelers, have been more fortunate. Even so, it could be missing four of the five offensive linemen who started the season.
In football, this triumph over adversity is greatly admired. It would be admired in other lines of work as well. But there are no others with a 30% attrition rate — which is what the Packers have suffered this year.
For all the NFL’s appeal, its playing fields almost certainly are the most dangerous workplace in America. According to the NFL Players Association, 352 players were placed on the season-ending injured reserve list this year. That’s 21%. Hundreds more suffered injuries of a lesser nature, from concussions to dislocations, that put them out for at least one game.
Each week, according the NFLPA, teams sustain an average of 3.7 injuries to their 53-man active rosters. About 1.4 require a player to miss at least one game.
Nearly all of this carnage is wrought even though the typical starting player is on the field for only about eight hours a year during the regular season. Yes, just eight hours. Add one or two more for playoff teams.
The demolition derby nature of the sport — not the length of games, the frequent stoppages, or the rowdiness of fans — is its biggest detraction. It adds a significant element of luck in a game otherwise ruled by athleticism, effort, strategy and tactics. Worse yet, it can mean a lifetime of impairment. There are many examples of ex-players in tragic circumstances either from a single blow or an accumulation of them. Darryl Stingley, who died in 2007 after being paralyzed by a collision three decades earlier, is the most iconic.
And what’s being done to slow the growth of injuries? A lot less than it might seem.
The league has instituted new penalties for certain hits and new rules requiring more convalescing for concussed players. But when push comes to shove — which apparently happens a lot in football, and not just on the field — money rules. The league is pushing to add two more games to the regular season.
The fans have never complained about a little violence. They even enjoy it. Not long ago, sports network ESPN had whole segments of their shows glorifying bone-crunching hits.
The Players Association, for its part, brings the issue of injuries up quite often these days. But the union seems to have discovered the issue only as it and the league enter a critical phase in trying to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.
The NFL’s new rules are a good start, and plainly there is no magic answer in a violent sport where players grow ever bigger and faster. Certainly, adding two games needs great thought, as does new equipment.
What’s most needed is a single-minded focus on injuries by someone. The Players Association would be the logical group. But it has to show that its interest in the issue is more than a bargaining chip.
Sunday’s Super Bowl is more than a game. It’s the demolition derby finals, and injuries are as likely as skill to decide the winner.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Should Retire
Feb 5th
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Should Retire to Save the Sport of Boxing
The sport of boxing is at a crossroad. Just a few short weeks ago, fans stated Devon Alexander was the next coming and deserved his shot at champions like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
However, as we all witnessed on January 29, a slightly more experienced fighter in Timothy Bradley made Alexander look very young and venerable.
It’s this vulnerability that I see in most of the young fighters like Alexander, Berto and Khan.
However, since the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world can’t seem to come to terms for a showdown, we are forced to push the envelope for opposition—even if it’s at the expense of a young fighter’s career.
Simply stated, the aforementioned fighters aren’t ready to face Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. and we shouldn’t expect them to.
In the meantime, Manny still wants to fight. It’s only fitting that Pacquiao face Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and possibly Sergio Martinez. They have certainly demonstrated they are wily enough for the perpetual punching machine that is Manny Pacquaio.
Meanhile, the young fighters continue to build their resume and experience to eventually challenge the “Filipino Sensation” and do so with a chance at winning.
So where does that leave Floyd?
Look it doesn’t matter who you are, everyone needs closure.
Absolution is the first step to rebuilding and the absolution boxing needs is to put the potential of a super-bout behind us.
While Sergio Martinez could definitely give Pacquiao some problems, Mayweather doesn’t possess an equal at welterweight outside of Pacquiao.
Since Mayweather Jr. won’t move up or down in weight, pitting him against anyone else would be redundant.
In fact, Floyd isn’t fighting for the challenge anymore; he’s in the check cashing business.
Floyd isn’t fighting for his legacy; he’s in the check cashing business.
Floyd certainly isn’t fighting for the fans; (say it with me) he’s in the check cashing business.
If Floyd won’t fight Manny, then for the sake of boxing, give him a severance check and tell him to cash that.
Retirement from boxing is the only solution. Floyd would then be free to pursue his other career in the movie production business—after all, they are used to fiction.
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