Hey all, again I apologize for the long stretch between posts, but life happened again, and things got really chaotic. Hopefully the lull of the holidays will help settle things down and give me more time to devote to this wonderful website! I will certainly be more present than the last few months, although I will hold off on giving timeframes in between posts for now until I sort some personal stuff out. Anyway, what a year it has been, huh? Lots to talk about, but only four points in which to do it, so without further ado, here we go!!!
- Concussions: This is something I have lived through many times, and while I don’t necessarily take the issue lightly, I think too much is being made of it at the professional sports level. I don’t personally believe there is an epidemic of concussions happening, I just believe we’ve gotten more rigourous at detecting them. We’ve essentially lowered the bar for what constitutes a concussion, versus what would have been called “getting your bell rung” only a decade ago. The names of concussed players in the NHL right now reads almost like the solid foundation of an All-Star team, with Sidney Crosby, Chris Pronger, Marc Staal, Marc Savard, Joni Pitkanen, Jeff Skinner, Milan Michalek, Claude Giroux, Zbynek Michalek, Kris Letang, Andy McDonald on top of many second-tier players… In the NFL, Detroit’s Jahvid Best is out with a concussion, as is Indy’s Kerry Collins, as was the Giants’ Mario Manningham, and many others. Is it really a problem, or just a risk associated with playing a physical game? In my opinion, it is the latter. You get paid millions of dollars to play a game, but the game comes with some risks. One of them is getting your brains scrambled, and the key is knowing when to quit! I know I’m in the minority on this one, but I maintain that the only real difference between now and former generations is our ability to detect and diagnose concussions. I can’t imagine there would have been fewer head injuries at a time when nobody wore helmets, including NHL goalies. It doesn’t matter that players have gotten bigger and faster, as concussions are the result of a violent collision between brain and skull. Changing the scale doesn’t really affect anything, unless we’re talking a realistic difference of about 200lbs per player. The bigger you are, the tougher you tend to be, so size gain counter-acts on both ends. Again, just my (non-professional) medical opinion.
- No more perfection: I am very disappointed after this weekend’s NFL games turned out to kill two perfection streaks. Green Bay lost to Kansas City and looked extremely pedestrian in doing so; while Indianapolis took advantage of the Tennessee Titans and thus snapped their 0-fer streak for the season. Does nobody have any pride to play for anymore? What the hell happened? I knew the Packers would eventually try to roll in their second team, but I assumed they’d do so only after having a comfortable lead in games as they will inevitably be top-seed in the playoffs (or at least that’s what I thought). With the San Francisco 49ers sitting on a 10-3 record, which is something that could change tonight against the Steelers, and the New Orleans Saints already at 11-3, the Pack is catchable. It would take a meltdown of epic proportion for Green Bay to lose both its remaining games, but it isn’t inconceivable, especially if they continue to rely strictly on offence to win games. I know they are the darling pick to with the Lombardi Trophy again this year, but I see some major flaws…
- Turning to soccer for a moment: Whenever a major international tournament has its group drawings, one can expect a “group of death”. Usually, my Czechs end up with Netherlands and Germany, or some other ridiculously over-matching countries. This time, we drew into the easy group, but if not for luck, we could have ended up in what might be the worst “GoD” ever!!! I can’t recall ever seeing a more potent group than that of Euro 2012′s Group B, which consists of Portugal, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Clearly Denmark is the minnow in the pool of sharks here, but I actually have watched many Danish games over the past few years, and they aren’t necessarily out of their league, especially if things go as I expect. My thoughts, to elaborate on what I just said, are that the powerhouse teams in that grouping will ultimately cancel each other out, while tiring each other out, leaving the door open for Denmark, who will certainly be overlooked by many. If the Danes can manage one upset victory, and draw at least one match, they may squeak into the knockout stage. But, don’t be a fool and bet money on it!
- 2012 Year Of The Tiger?: Well, folks, it happened. Tiger won an event in his final USA appearance of 2011. Sure, it’s his own event, on a course that he’s very familiar with, but many are speculating that his work with Sean Foley is finally paying off in spades, and that he’ll be back atop the golf world next season. To me, this is media sensationalism, and nothing more than an industry self-generating fan interest. Does Tiger get golf more in to the minds of the general public? YES. Does he help bring money to the table for the PGA Tour? YES. Will he be dominant in 2012? I don’t personally think so. The gap has been closed, and Tiger’s absence from the major stage has a lot to do with it, and I believe that this is actually a best-case scenario for the game. Tiger will still get the bulk of media attention, simply because he is such a polarizing figure in the game, but in reality, it is time for youth to shine. Rory McIlroy is one of my picks to win it all next year, and one can’t overlook Luke Donald (current world number 1). But there are plenty of players who showed their merit last year who should also receive consideration. Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Ryo Ishikawa, Keegan Bradley, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan and many others have risen above Tiger in the world standings, and most importantly, have gained some recognition on the Tour in the absence of Eldrick. Let’s hope they can keep this going, as it would be a testament to Tiger that he has indeed had success in elevating the play of those he competes against, even if only by necessity!
Until next time,
Na Zdravi, a Veselé Vánoce! (Cheers, and Merry Christmas!)
DR
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Written by Dan Rakusan
A huge Rangers (NHL), Falcons (NFL), PGA Tour and soccer fan, I have been writing semi-professionally for about 7 years now. I try to impart information with some degree of humour, and always have an opinion. PSB is another feather in my cap, and am really proud of the team assembled here, and look forward to the long-term journey PSB is embarking on in terms of establishing itself as the best sports blogging collective on the net! Look for articles such as 4-Play, Rangers blogs and PGA Tour updates, along with my NFL handicapping service!
