Welcome again to another Wednesday and an opportunity to share a few deep thoughts. Last week, I took a rare departure from sports to delve into the ending of bin Laden. This week, it is time to get back to sports.

If you have read my blog at all, you know that I am not a hockey fan. I enjoy reading Beeze, Hotch and others discuss the game, but I don't have a favorite team. I am a fan however of fighting bureaucracy at any chance. I don't know if there are HOA where you live, but the number in Austin has grown steadily in the past 10 years or so. The idea sounds good, but in reality it gives neighbors with time on their hands a chance to tattle on others in the neighborhood. The picture above is how a Lightning fan worked around the "rules' of his HOA.  I got a big laugh out of this and hope you do too. Here is the story:

How Lightning Fan Outwitted Petty HOA...

Somehow, I don't think that this was what HOA's were designed for. If you have a neighbor that refuses to mow their lawn or has cars on blocks in the front yard; that is one thing. What is happening to our country when you cannot put up a sign in your front yard celebrating your favorite team? My son's high school provides signs for members of the school's athletes and other groups. If I lived in this neighborhood, I would not be able to put one of these signs in my front yard. Really? All I can say is this is stupid...

Many of you probably do not recognize this guy. His name is Dave Duerson and he was an NFL player. Mr. Duerson killed himself earlier this year, presumably because he could not stand what he realized was ahead for him. Duerson shot him self in the chest, so that researchers could find out what was wrong with his brain. This week, it was revealed that Dave Duerson had CTE. For those who have not heard of CTE, this is disease that afflicts many ex college and professional football players. The symptoms of CTE are depression and dementia and are caused by a life of repeated collisions with the head. Concussions are certainly are a problem, but compounding the issue for NFL players is the thousands of other collisions that they have accrued since they began to play football. I would venture that most players begin playing football by age 9. By the time they reach the NFL, they are well on their way to potential health issues.

The timing of the NFL owners to extend the current season to 18 games is curious. With all of the information that has come to light regarding head injuries, it is easy to see why players are reluctant to sign off on an extended season. The plan to reduce the preseason to 2 games on the surface seems equitable. But, when you consider that most veterans don't play much of the preseason games, the logic fails. By reducing preseason to 2 games, teams would be forced to forego using the preseason games to assess talent and focus on preparing for the season. It can be argued that players are not forced to play, and are paid well for their time. But, with the NFL's recent focus to protect players on the field, it is odd that they would choose to ignore the same players long term health. I suppose you could say that when the players are through playing that they just don't offer any value any longer?

There is much that is not known about CTE, but hopefully we will not have to have sacrifice too many more Dave Duerson's before we figure out how to prevent a brain from becoming mush.

Baseball is a rather unique game. It is a game that demands that you allow a ball to hit you if it benefits your team. With the bases loaded in a crucial situation, you will hear fans and even teammates exhort a batter to "wear it"...
Last week a KC sports writer was critical of Wilson Betemit for not allowing an 81 mph slider to hit him with the bases loaded. To prove to himself that it did not hurt so much, he took a few hacks with the KC team and allowed himself to be plunked by a slder. As you will see, he issued an apology to Betemit.

Apparently horse racing is not too important in Albany, GA...or HD is something totally new? What am I talking about? Check out the link:

http://outofbounds.yahoo.com/?vid=25167258
 

Hilarious...

Speaking of hilarious...

Although Fan82 already discussed this, I could not help but add the video of the NBA tonight guys ribbing Charles Barkley. Kenny cracked me up when he asked if there was an earthquake. Watch Barkley's leg shaking...some funny shit! "I can't believe that Kenny"...damn that is funny.

I had a hankering to add a tune today and this is a truly great tune sung by a unique artist:

That's all that I have for today, but I will leave you a bit of Jack Handey to take with you:

"After I die, wherever my spirit goes, I'm going to try to get back and visit my skeleton at least once a year, because, "Hey, old buddy, how's it going?" 

"Contrary to what most people say, the most dangerous animal in the world is not the lion or the tiger or even the elephant. It's a shark riding on an elephant's back, just trampling and eating everything they see." 

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to add a few deep thoughts of your own...