Ok, So I am sitting on the couch watching football Saturday night and I look at the t.v and just shake my head. What do I see but the lime green jerseys being worn by the Oregon Ducks, just absolutely horrible looking. Then I flip the channel because I can't take looking at them, and what do I see but the bright orange shoe's and large white pony's on the helmets of Boise State. And if that wasn't enough the Georgia Bulldogs had a glitter shine to their jersey's and their helmets were sectioned into part gray and part red.
Instead of watching the games in enjoyment, I couldn't help but keep looking at the horrible gear and wonder what these schools were thinking. I wasn't going to waste my time and write about it. But then last night came along and the Maryland Terapins strolled onto the field. I mean talk about disaster. I really don't know how to describe what they looked like, other than something out of the circus. The bumble bee like yellow and black checkers on one side and the hot red and white on the other. It made me immediately root for Miami...It was that bad!
Please excuse me here, but I am going to get on a little bit of a soap box here. What are these Universities thinking? They think because they are going to be in the national spotlight they have to make a fashion statement. It seems to me that some of these coaching staffs and who ever else runs the asylum cares more about what new look they can show the country, rather than show how good of a football team they have. It sends the wrong message about what college sports are about and to me, makes the schools look foolish.
Ok, enough nonsense, lets talk about some hockey. I have read all over the place that Sidney Crosby is to meet with the press tomorrow and address his health status. I think this is a good move. All summer long we have been hearing how he has been working out and getting ready for the season. Only to have reports come in that he has had a set back and that his status for the season is unclear. Well finally we will get it from the horses mouth. Whether it's good news or not, it will be positive to see him addressing people and putting his face out there for the fans. The game desperately needs Sid the Kid. He needs to take every precaution before he steps back on the ice for another game. The last thing the NHL wants is another Eric Lindros case. We all know how fast he went from the best player in the world, to just another big guy out there one hit away from his career being over.
Concussions, what can you say, in every sport they have become the most dangerous injury to a player. They are so unpredictable. I can go back to my playing days and recall having two concussions, with two totally different outcomes. The first came from a blind sided check in open ice, an elbow to the head. I completely blacked out and don't recall anything until I woke up in a hospital bed the next day. The amazing thing about it was that I felt back to normal in days and a week and a half later I was back playing in a playoff game.
The other instance came a year later. I had just got into my one annual fight per season and my helmet had come off. As we tumbled to the ice I smacked the back of my head against the ice. That didn't feel great and I had a bad headache but felt much better right after the incident than the year before when I blacked out on the ice. I figured that since it wasn't as bad a hit that I would be back in days. Well as it turned out, it ended up taking me over a month to get back to 100%. The headaches would just kind of hang around and I couldn't pass all the tests to get cleared.
So that's what makes it such a scary injury. There isn't any physical therapy for a concussion. You really cannot set a timetable for recovery. You just wake up everyday hoping that you feel better and that you can turn the corner. Sidney Crosby is waking up everyday now hoping that today is better than yesterday. That's all he can do and the NHL and the fans wait at the edge of their seats to hope for the best. That's all anyone can do.
I want to close things out with a little college hockey and a school that kind of gets on my nerves. There football program does as well but I will stick with the hockey team and that is Notre Dame. Since Jeff Jackson was hired, the program has done phenomenally well and it is a credit to them for turning that corner and becoming an elite program. But why do they feel as if they have a right to hold a couple of conferences hostage. The new NCHC and Hockey East seem to both covet having the Irish and they know it.
What is the hold up? Make a decision already. Everyone is waiting for that ball to drop so that teams like Western Michigan and Bowling Green can make a move. It's like they are waiting to see who will drop to their knee's first and beg the most. They are being bullies and if they could only remember where they were 10 years ago, a middle of the pack, underachieving program. They would realize that it's in the best interest for all of college hockey for them to make a move and allow all of the pieces to fall for the '13-'14 season. Nobody is larger than the game itself!
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