Tag Archives: NFL

Houston Astros, Major League Baseball

Hinchcliffe Wreck Shows Risk of Injuries are Part of Everyday Life for Athletes

If one really stops to think about it, every day life is full of risks .

There is the risk of stubbing one’s toe while fumbling in the dark all the way to the risk that someone will run into the back of your car while you are stopped at a light.

For professional athletes, there are the every day toe stubbing risks that the average person faces along with the risk that in some cases they might be seriously injured or even die at work due to the inherent risks associated with what they do for a living.

James Hinchcliffe (shown in Winner's Circle after the 2013 Grand Prix of Houston) recently reminded people that driving Indy Cars is risky business. Photo R. Anderson
James Hinchcliffe (shown in Winner’s Circle after the 2013 Grand Prix of Houston) recently reminded people that driving Indy Cars is risky business.
Photo R. Anderson

Of course, police officers, firefighters, and members of the military are among the many professions who also put their life at risk.

So, in no way do I want to come across as saying that athletes are the only ones with risky professions.

There are countless men and women working tirelessly at dangerous jobs every day who deserve our thanks for keeping us protected.

Usually their jobs do not have them in arenas full of screaming fans while they perform the risky work though. In that way professional athletes really are in a league of their own when it comes to performing risky behavior in front of the masses.

One of those athletes who does risky work in front of the masses, Indy Car driver James Hinchcliffe, is in the Intensive Care Unit of an Indiana hospital following a violent crash during practice for the Indianapolis 500 Monday.

Hinchcliffe, or Hinch as he is known to many of his fans, suffered a puncture to the left upper thigh after a piece of the car’s suspension assembly pierced the driver cockpit, or tub, and went through his leg causing severe soft tissue damage and rupturing arteries.

According to some published reports, after his car’s right front suspension failed, Hinchcliffe hit the wall with a force of 125 Gs and was likely traveling more than 220 mph when he hit the wall. It should be noted that G forces above 100, even in short bursts, can be fatal in some cases.

Unlike in other sports the same safety team travels to all Indy Car races. It is the quick work of that team that is being credited with saving the life of James Hinchcliffe following a wreck Monday. Photo R. Anderson
Unlike in other sports the same safety team travels to all Indy Car races. It is the quick work of that team that is being credited with saving the life of James Hinchcliffe following a wreck Monday.
Photo R. Anderson

Were it not for the fast action of the safety crew, it is entirely possible that Hinch could have died from his injuries due to the blood loss associated with a ruptured artery.

While Hinch is alive thanks in part to enhanced safety features and procedures to handle injuries like his, it is likely that there will be new safety features added to the Indy Cars after the cause of the latest crash are revealed.

However Indy Cars will never be 100 percent safe any more than athletes in other sports can be 100 percent protected from the risks of getting seriously injured in their chosen fields.

Recent lawsuits from former NFL players show that injuries from playing sports can sometimes take years to manifest themselves; as is the case with players stating that they are suffering from the effects of head trauma long after their playing careers have ended.

In response to the lawsuits, the NFL has new concussion protocols in place to try to lessen the risk of injury to current players from head trauma.

In baseball there has been a rash of injuries the last few years with batters and pitchers getting injured after having their heads and jaws make contact with a baseball traveling at high velocity.

Former Houston Astros pitcher J.A. Happ was lucky and evaded serious injury in 2013 when he was hit by a ball on the mound while pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. Happ's hit and others like it have led Major League Baseball to look at ways to better protect the players. Photo R Anderson
Former Houston Astros pitcher J.A. Happ was lucky and evaded serious injury in 2013 when he was hit by a ball on the mound while pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. Happ’s hit and others like it have led Major League Baseball to look at ways to better protect the players.
Photo R Anderson

In response to the increase in head injuries, Major League Baseball is developing new protective head gear that can be worn by both batters and pitchers to help lessen the impact of a ball to the head.

The actions by the NFL and MLB to protect their players is certainly to be commended, but no system can totally prevent injury when it comes to sports.

This is not to say that all motorsports and contact sports such as football should be deemed unsafe and banned any more than I should have to bubble wrap my home to avoid injury from bumping into things in the dark.

The trick is to make things as safe as humanly possible for the athletes involved so that they can live to play, or in Hinchcliffe’s case, drive, another day.

Sports are much safer today than they were 10 years ago and 10 years from now they will be even safer. Innovations will continue to evolve in the world of sports as well as other fields.

As long as people learn and improve from each accident and injury, then they serve a purpose in helping the industry as a whole become safer. Failure to learn from the issues would be a far more devastating scenario.

In time the Mayor of Hinch Town will again be spraying the bubbly of victory after he heals from his injuries. Photo R. Anderson
In time the Mayor of Hinch Town will again be spraying the bubbly of victory after he heals from his injuries.
Photo R. Anderson

I had the opportunity to meet Hinch when I worked with the Grand Prix of Houston.

While platitudes are certainly thrown around a lot, I can say that James Hinchcliffe is one of the most easy going athletes I have encountered in any sport and is one of those athletes who seems to really enjoy what they are doing and understands that it is a privilege to get to do what they do for a living.

The road back to driving an Indy Car will not be an easy one. However, Hinch has shown time and time again that he has an ability to handle those turns with the greatest of ease. I would not count the Mayor of Hinch Town out just yet.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to move a few things so that I do not bump into them tonight.

Copyright 2015 R Anderson

Major League Baseball

With Football Done, I’m Ready for Some Baseball

The National Football League season came to a conclusion Sunday with the playing of the Super Bowl where the Seattle Seahawks lost to the New England Patriots, who depending on one’s opinion, are either led by the greatest duo to ever exist on the gridiron in Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, or are led be the evil emperor and Darth Vader who commute to their games in a death star and treat the NFL rule book like a collection of suggestions.

The path to Super Bowl glory for the Patriots was not without controversy. There were allegations that the Patriots cheated their way into the big game by having their balls a tad bit softer then the rules allowed.

However, regardless of how soft or hard the balls in Tom Brady’s hands were, the fact remains for the next year, like it or not, the New England Patriots get to call themselves World Champions.

Regarding those soft balls used during the first half of the AFC Championship game, the NFL’s investigation into just who let the air out is still underway.

While the tin foil hat society can continue debating whether there was one lone deflator, or a grassy knoll full of deflators, in the bigger picture, the end of football season means that the arrival of the baseball season is that much closer.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy football. However, after six months of Omaha, hut, hut, I am beyond ready for the sights and sounds of the National Pastime to arrive.

I think if the powers that be of the NFL were honest with themselves, they would also admit that they are ready for another sport to take the spotlight for a while so that the league can recover from a season where players were often making headlines more for their off field activities than anything they did on the field.

That is not to say that baseball players do not have off field problems as well. In fact, Major League Baseball is preparing for the return of Alex Rodriguez after a one and a half season suspension for getting caught putting things in his body that are not allowed to be inside the bodies of Major League Baseball players.

While MLB prepares for the headaches of A Rod drama, few can argue that the past season was one of the biggest public relations headaches for the NFL in its history.

Hopefully, the NFL can use the off season to better define policies and procedures to provide clear cut, consistent responses across the board when issues arise; instead of the shoot from the hip inconsistent approach that took center stage this year.

Speaking of inconsistent approaches, the advertisements in this year’s Super Bowl were all over the map with very few hitting the mark of viral success for making viewers laugh or cry for the right reasons.

It is almost like all of the other ad agencies decided that the beer company that is famous for spots featuring horses and golden retrievers was going to win the hearts of viewers regardless of what they did. So, they just phoned it in when it came to their ads.

Another item hurting companies when it comes to Super Bowl success, is the early release of their ads on the internet.

While one used to have to wait until Super Bowl Sunday to see the ads at great peril to their bladders, now many ads are released days and weeks before the big game. This early release means that any impact of the ad often already occurs before the game.

While this approach may lead to fewer full bladders during the commercial breaks, it does take a little out of the Super Bowl experience by changing the way the game is watched for many.

The commercials I enjoyed the most were the ones I did not have prior knowledge of. There is just something about seeing a Super Bowl commercial for the first time during the Super Bowl as opposed to seeing an ad that has already been trending for a week before the game.

Hopefully marketers will realize that the best ads are the ones that are a surprise to the viewer, and the trend of premature commercial release will be reversed faster than a bad call by a referee.

Ad agencies are now on the clock and have a whole year to figure out their ads for the next big game.

And with Super Bowl 50 coming next February, I am hoping for some truly epic commercials, as well as a game featuring some good teams with properly inflated balls and no Death Stars parked in the employee lot.

Whoever gets selected as the halftime performer also has a tough act to follow as by all accounts Katy Perry and her dancing sharks and roaring cat set the bar very high for all who come after her.

And while a pitcher shaking off a sign from his catcher does not provide the same sound bites as a quarterback calling an audible at the line, who knows, maybe one of the umpires will add “Omaha, you’re out” to his strike out call to help those fans who are going through football withdrawal until the start of organized team activities and spring games in a couple of months.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a baseball season to get ready for.

Copyright 2015 R. Anderson

Major League Baseball

Ready or Not, Football is Here

Last night was the official kickoff of the College Football season, and the final night of the NFL preseason.

No longer content to have all of their games air on Saturdays, the expanding television landscape for college football now gives fans games Thursday through Saturday.

The NFL gives viewers live game action on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays.

So for roughly the next five months there are only two days out of the week where live football games are not being broadcast somewhere.

And I am sure on those dark Tuesdays and Wednesdays there will be a replay of a game somewhere on the dial meaning that a fan could watch a football game every night of the week.

Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks kicked off the College football season last night with a game against North Carolina proving that Thursday night college football is here to stay. Photo R. Anderson
Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks kicked off the College football season last night with a game against North Carolina proving that Thursday night College Football is here to stay.
Photo R. Anderson

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy football but do I think that there needs to be five days a week of live games? Not really.

I think keeping the games Saturday through Monday would be a good mix but I know that I am most likely in the minority with that opinion.

While I know that there have been many weeks where I have watched a baseball game or two every night of the week that is different from wall to wall football.

For starters, while starting pitchers take four days off between starts the rest of the players on a baseball team can usually play night after night without the grind getting to them.

While football players would not play in a game on consecutive nights the staggering of game nights leads to scenarios where the time between games is not equal.

Whereas in the past players would have a full week to rest and take care of injuries between games, the new scheduling in college and professional football creates scenarios where a team could play games with 2-3 less days to recover.

While it is too soon to tell if this will lead to more injuries with players, it certainly stands to reason that players need as much time as possible between games to stay healthy due to the increased risk of injury in football compared to baseball.

And with college games now being played on “school nights” the NCAA is encouraging their athletes to stay out late which could impact their studies.

I almost typed that with a straight face. The NCAA has shown in recent years that the almighty dollar seems to take a front seat while student interests and ensuring academic accountability for football players seems to be lacking at times.

And one need only look at the situation with that sophomore quarterback in College Station, TX ole Johnny what’s his name to know that the NCAA is limited in its enforcement of rule violations.

Of course this conflict between class and football can be easily solved as one player for LSU accomplished by enrolling in a single online class for the fall semester thus ensuring that school work will in no way impede his football work.

In addition to competing with baseball on the airwaves for the next eight weeks or so, this is also the time of year when baseball will take a back seat on many of the sports pages and talk shows as the almighty pigskin season has arrived.

Right when baseball teams are ramping up their efforts for a run to the playoffs the gladiators of the gridiron have arrived to help ease the suffering fans have felt for the seven months without football.

I guess baseball fans are lucky in that we have seven months of season and only five months of off season to get through. I just wish that baseball coverage did not take a backseat each year as the season ramps up to the World Series.

Each year there will be those who say the baseball season is too long and they should hold the World Series in August to finish before football season starts. I have never agreed with that assessment.

Given the choice I would have baseball go year round since I enjoy watching the games and would certainly love a few extra months to head out to the Ballpark.

The potential for snow covered Ballparks is one of many things preventing year-round baseball. Thankfully football fills the five baseball free months of the year. Photo R. Anderson
The potential for snow covered Ballparks is one of many things preventing year-round baseball. Thankfully football fills the five baseball free months of the year.
Photo R. Anderson

Of course it is not realistic to have baseball go year round since even games in April and May have the chance to get snowed out. I can only imagine the risk of snowed out games in open air stadiums in the north during December and January.

Plus, all of those Ballparks with pools and other water features in them would turn to ice.

Although having the umpire call time so a snow plow can clear the field might be fun to watch.

So, since the logistics just do not support year round baseball, I guess it is good that we have football to keep us occupied during those dark months between the end of the World Series and the time that players report to Florida and Arizona for Spring Training.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to see how far back the box scores from last night got buried on the sports page to make room for the wall to wall football coverage.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson

Major League Baseball

Upon Further Review, Replay Coming to Baseball

Baseball is often a game that is slow to embrace change.

This can at times be both charming, as it harkens to a simpler time, as well as being frustrating to some when the old ways can shift the outcomes of games through blown calls that seem obvious to everyone other than the umpires making the calls.

This is not to say that umpires are to be blamed for all blown calls. They are often times having to make a split second decision between safe and out without the benefit of the high definition slow motion angles that the viewers at home have.

Managers and umpires have had a love/hate relationship for years. Some of the strain in the relationship comes from blown calls by the umpires. Starting next year managers can challenge three of those calls a game as part of an expanded instant replay. Photo R. Anderson
Managers and umpires have had a love/hate relationship for years. Some of the strain in the relationship comes from blown calls by the umpires. Starting next year managers can challenge three of those calls a game as part of an expanded instant replay.
Photo R. Anderson

That is also why a close call is never replayed in the ballpark. This is done to avoid further inciting fans who feel that a call was not made the way it should be.

Many sports already use replay to help with questionable calls. The NFL has replay on all scoring plays in addition to coach’s challenges on non-scoring plays.

A few years back Major League Baseball dipped their toes into the replay pool by allowing replay on whether certain balls that bounced back into the playing field were home runs.

When it was announced that home runs were now able to be reviewed there were those that were happy and felt that baseball was finally catching up with the times and others who thought that an already long game would get even longer through the inclusion of replay where the umpiring crew left the field to view a television monitor.

Both of those sides of the argument were given something else to cheer and/or jeer Thursday when it was announced that Major League Baseball will implement instant replay on virtually every play but the strike zone starting next season. And much like the NFL manager’s will be allowed up to three challenges per game.

While announcing the change Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig called the announcement “a historic day” for baseball.

Whether a pitch is thrown for a ball or a strike will still be the umpire's call despite expanded replay rules coming to Major League Baseball. Photo R. Anderson
Whether a pitch is thrown for a ball or a strike will still be the umpire’s call despite expanded replay rules coming to Major League Baseball.
Photo R. Anderson

While still giving the home plate umpire the final word on balls and strikes, mangers will be able to challenge up to three calls during a game.

The challenges will be broken down with one available during the first six innings, and two beginning in the seventh inning. There will be no additional challenges given for extra-inning games.

After a manager has used his allotment of challenges, an umpire crew can make a review of its own only to determine home-run calls.

The ruling on a challenge will be determined by umpires stationed in a central command center in New York and will not be determined by the on-field umpiring crew.

Time will tell whether the roll out of the type of instant replay that certain fans have wanted will improve the quality of the game or will just add another delay tactic for managers to use.

Time will tell whether the new power to challenge calls improves or strains the umpire/manager dynamic. Photo R. Anderson
Time will tell whether the new power to challenge calls improves or strains the umpire/manager dynamic.
Photo R. Anderson

There have certainly been some high profile examples of umpires making calls that have altered the outcome of a game. There was a blown call on a perfect game attempt a few years back as well as some other examples where human error led to a different outcome.

Personally I have always felt that an equal number of bad calls go against each team so that in the end they all sort of even out. But, I can certainly see where replay could be beneficial to help ensure the quality of the game and to avoid post-game press conference by umpires who after further review admit they should have made a different call.

While the reply roll out should help clear up game altering calls, I would much rather see a system that implemented a universal strike zone across all 30 Ballparks than a system that looked at whether a runner beat a tag at second base or not.

Pitch tracking software for years has shown subtle differences in how umpires call balls and strikes despite a defined strike zone in the rule book.

Much like the batters each manager will be given three challenges, or strikes a game. Once the challenges are gone a manager has no more recourse to dispute a blown call. Photo R. Anderson
Much like the batters each manager will be given three challenges, or strikes a game. Once the challenges are gone a manager has no more recourse to dispute a blown call.
Photo R. Anderson

It seems that maintaining control at the plate was one victory that the umpires were able to hang on to as it has been a point of debate for many years now. It just seems like Major League Baseball would want to enforce the same strike zone since getting called out on a ball that was called a strike seems to happen far more than a questionable tag out.

I remain hopeful that the next major change in replay rules includes the universal strike zone. Until then I guess we will just have to see how the managers manage their challenges and whether they will be given a red challenge flag to throw on the field like their NFL counterparts or will just run out of the dugout when they want a challenge.

Either way starting next year the game of baseball will be forever changed. Time will tell if it will be remembered as a good change or a bad change.

Now if you’ll excuse me, upon further review, I have a snack to go make before finding a game to watch.

Copyright 2013 R. Anderson