Posted on May 23rd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Considering the speed and violence of NFL football and the size and strength of players, it’s amazing that many participants eschew certain pads. You might think that players would protect their bodies through every available means. But that’s not the case, particularly at the so-called skill positions like halfback, wide receiver and defensive back.
Look at the San Francisco 49ers’ Frank Gore, among the league’s top runners. His knees are totally exposed during games, not even covered by his pants. If he wears any thigh pads at all, they must be paper-thin. The NFL doesn’t like that and did something about it Tuesday, when team owners approved a rule change that makes knee and thigh pads mandatory, beginning in the 2013 season.
Players across the country immediately spoke out in protest.
“Personally, I won’t be wearing them,” Oakland Raiders cornerback Ron Bartell told the Contra Costa Times. “So I’d better put some fine money away. It takes away from the speed of the game. Hip pads, knee pads, thigh pads. They’re not going to stop you from tearing an ACL. It may stop a couple of soft-tissue injuries, but a knee pad isn’t going to stop a guy from blowing out a knee.”
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Posted on May 22nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
We interrupt the stream of reports about athletes falling on hard times — and/or forced to sell valuables such as championship rings — to share the story of Dmitri Young. A two-time All-Star who played 13 seasonsin Major League Baseball, Young recently turned his hobby into seed money for a good cause.
In terms of profit-loss statements, Young’s interest in baseball cards didn’t pay off. He estimates that he spent roughly $5 million in building a collection during his playing career. But he didn’t do it for investment purposes as much as to relieve stress and amuse himself. So the fact that he just auctioned his collection for $2.5 million shouldn’t be the focus here.
His plans for the money are more worthwhile to discuss: A portion will fund the new Dmitri D. Young Foundation, which will help underprivileged kids in Ventura County, Calif., excel in life by learning to make good decisions. Among the areas he’ll emphasize is healthy living, particularly important since he has Type 2 diabetes.
“You come to a time in your life when it’s time to do other things,” Young told CBSSports.com when asked why he was selling. “When you have something as massive as that and that was 12 years in the making, it wasn’t like I inherited it. I started it from scratch. The collection was with me through the good times and the bad times, and now I’ve started a foundation …
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Posted on May 22nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Champions don’t pass the torch when an up-and-comer nips at their heels, eager for a taste at the summit. Contenders must snatch the crown and pry it away from seasoned winners.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, once isn’t enough. The NBA’s most exciting young team just vanquished the mighty Los Angeles Lakers, but it’s only halfway through the Western Conference gauntlet of trophy-wielding legends.
It almost seems unfair that the Lakers, one of the league’s most decorated teams of all time, were merely a precursor to the San Antonio Spurs, one of the league’s most decorated teams of recent vintage. If Oklahoma City reaches the NBA finals, it will set a record for former champs in its wake.
The Lakers and Spurs have won nine of the past 13 NBA titles combined. And their respective longtime mainstays, 33-year-old Kobe Bryant and 36-year-old Tim Duncan, are very much alive and kicking.
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Posted on May 22nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The Washington Redskins didn’t have a second-round selection in this year’s draft, having packaged it in the bounty for the No. 2 overall pick. But you could argue that Washington had a second-round draft pick in the bag – defensive end Jarvis Jenkins.
His return to good health could dampen the sticker shock in landing Robert Griffin III.
Jenkins participated Monday in his first full-speed, 11-on-11, drills since tearing the ACL in his right knee last preseason. A black brace was the only reminder of the fateful play Aug. 25 against Baltimore, when he tried to change directions while pursuing halfback Ray Rice and heard a loud pop.
“I’m just getting used to this brace, keeping it on me,” Jenkins said after the team workout at Redskins Park. “It’s not heavy on me; it’s just a matter of knowing it’s there. It keeps sliding up.”
Jenkins was moving up in everyone’s eyes before his injury, impressing coaches and teammates with his power and speed. There was talk that he might have been the team’s best defensive lineman in camp, and he figured to play a prominent role in his first year out of Clemson. At 6-feet-4 and 309 pounds, he had everything the Redskins wanted along their defensive front.
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Posted on May 20th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Their early-season success was sputtering out as the Washington Nationals entered Sunday’s series finale against Baltimore. The Orioles were looking for a sweep in the Battle of the Beltways, which would continue Washington’s downward trajectory after racing to a 14-4 record April 25.
Losers of three in a row and five of their past seven, the Nats were running on fumes, a measly 9-13 since the high-water mark. They needed a win badly, not just for pride along the Washington-Baltimore corridor, but also to put a good taste in their mouths entering a brutal stretch of 18 division games and another 13 against the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays.
But that’s the purpose of having phenoms on your side, guys who can make things happen when the team is dying for a pick-me-up.
Thankfully for Washington, it has two of the game’s best in Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, both of whom played huge roles in a soothing 9-3 victory at Nationals Park.
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Posted on May 18th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
A funny thing happened on the way to resolution of the New Orleans Saints’ alleged bounty program: The matter didn’t go away when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended four players earlier this month, after previously sanctioning the team and management.
The NFL had spoken, and that was supposed to be that. Goodell reinforced his reputation as an iron-fisted ruler who liberally doles out sentences, serving as judge, jury and executioner. The Saints’ players would take their medicine, just like the coaches and general manager took theirs, and the issue would die.
But Jonathan Vilma didn’t get that script. The linebacker and so-called ringleader, who received a yearlong suspension, has gone rogue. He slapped Goodell with a defamation lawsuit on Thursday, claiming that the commissioner made false statements that trashed Vilma’s reputation and hindered his ability to be hired as a pro-football player.
The suit claims that Goodell “relied on, at best, hearsay, circumstantial evidence and lies” when he made comments about Vilma regarding the NFL’s investigation. According to the league, Vilma offered $10,000 in cash to any player who knocked Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner out of a 2009 playoff game, and he pledged the same amount to anyone who knocked Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre out of the following playoff game.
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Posted on May 18th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
And then there were two. Mark Turgeon replaced Gary Williams as Maryland’s men’s basketball coach last May. Exactly one year later, only two players from the old regime remain at College Park. So let’s hear it for the sole survivors, rising senior James Padgett and rising junior Pe’Shon Howard.
The housecleaning was unplanned and a bit unsavory. But it actually works out well for Turgeon, whose first recruiting class now has more space to make its mark.
Would-be junior guard Terrell Stoglin and his ACC-leading 21.6 points per game won’t be back to alternately carry and bury the Terps. That should keep Turgeon’s gray patch from expanding further. Stoglin’s ability to exasperate and exhilarate — often on the same possession — was unparalleled.
But his off-the-court decision-making was as questionable as when he had the ball, considering the one-year suspension (reportedly for marijuana use) that prompted his entry into the NBA draft.
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Posted on May 17th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Prior to Game 1 of the Miami Heat’s series against the Indiana Pacers, LeBron James accepted his third NBA Most Valuable Player award. Then he went out and showed why, delivering a brilliant performance Sunday with 32 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a victory. The Heat endured the entire second half without injured forward Chris Bosh, one of the team’s three best players and its most important big man.
Game 2 was a different story Tuesday, but mainly in the fact that Miami lost. James had another fine outing, finishing with 28 points, nine rebounds, five assists and six steals while carrying the team in the first and fourth quarters. But he missed two crucial free throws that would’ve tied the game with a minute left. And he failed to take over down the stretch, passing the ball to teammates instead.
I could’ve told you what would come next. Commentators claiming that James was more coward than king (again). Armchair psychoanalysts pondering whether James is too unselfish or too insecure at crunch time. A chorus of fans flooding James with criticism and “LeChoke” hashtags on Twitter.
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Posted on May 15th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The fans who wildly cheer the team wanted Dale Hunter back. So did the players, firmly convinced that his way is the right way. Officials in the organization wanted Hunter back, too, enamored with his firm hand and no-nonsense approach.
And all of those folks were overjoyed Monday because Hunter decided to return … to London, Ontario.
More than the London Knights‘ fans, players and employees, Hunter thrilled his closest loved ones as well. Ultimately, the Washington Capitals‘ coaching gig was no match for Hunter’s connection to his family, farm and Ontario Hockey League franchise about 57 miles from the Hunters’ hometown.
“It was a tough decision to make but it’s still the right thing for me and my family,” Hunter said Monday. “It’s a family business, and I’ll do anything that’s best for the business.”
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Posted on May 14th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The hits keep on coming in the NFL. Not the brain-rattling, bone-breaking blows that can occur during the season on any given Sunday, but wave after wave of negative publicity, mounting lawsuits and critical commentaries. It’s all part of our ongoing wrestling match, which pits our love for football against the game’s regretful consequences.
When former NFL linebacker Junior Seau committed suicide with a gunshot to his chest earlier this month, it reminded us of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who took his life in similar fashion in February last year. Duerson wanted his brain to be studied and researchers discovered the same trauma-induced disease – chronic traumatic encephalopathy – found in more than 20 deceased players.
Last week, Hall of Fame receiver Art Monk joined the growing group of former NFL players who are suing the league for allegedly failing to protect them against the impact of concussions during their playing careers. According to NFLConcussionLitigation.com, approximately 2,023 total plaintiffs are named in 73 complaints against the NFL.
All of that led New England receiver Chad Ochocinco to write an open letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, stating that we’ve reached “a crucial point in the history of football.” Ochocinco, who said “the foundation of the game is in jeopardy” and Goodell is going to shape the future, suggested that marketing is part of the league’s problem.
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