Monthly Archives: February 2011

Bell’s death comes after scary concussion background

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Last week was a tough one for Chicago Bears fans, or NFL fans in general, with two Bears former players passing away far too young. And sadly, both had their problems with concussions.

The suicide of former defensive back Dave Duerson – a member of the 1985 Super Bowl champs – has been well-publicized. While the extent of his concussion history is somewhat unknown, Duerson himself was concerned enough about the possibility that he decided to have his brain donated for research.

The other former Bears player – another former defensive back – who passed away was Ricky Bell. Bell’s death hasn’t gotten as much publicity in this country, since he spent most of his career in the Canadian Football League. He played three NFL seasons, and most of his time was spent with the Bears.

Bell died Feb. 17 (though it went mostly unreported until this weekend), and the cause of death was not released. He was just 36.

The Winnipeg Sun has a short write-up on Bell, and in it is a pretty chilling tale from a former CFL teammate:

Harold Nash Jr., who played with Bell in the Winnipeg secondary during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, remembers him as a tough competitor.

“This is an unfortunate situation, but I’ve got good memories of Ricky,” Nash said Friday. “Great football player, great person.”

Nash recalled a game against Toronto in which Bell took a head shot from teammate Maurice Kelly when they arrived to make a tackle at the same time. The wobbly Bell wanted to go right back in, so the trainers hid his helmet.

“Ricky found his helmet,” said Nash, now the strength and conditioning coach for the New England Patriots. “Ricky wouldn’t do any of the (concussion) testing. Rick was just, ‘No, I’m not doing the test.’ He finds his helmet, and he lines up in the box. He’s supposed to be out there covering a receiver.

“That was Rick. Rick loved the game. He loved to compete. He was a good team player.”

The part I simply can’t believe is that this was less than a decade ago when this occured. I believe concussion treatment has come a long ways, and I sure hope it’s come a very long ways from incidents like that.

Stories like that prove players can be their own worst enemies. Organizations HAVE to make these guys understand that it’s not about “being a man” and “shaking it off” when it comes to concussions. There’s so much more at stake.

Reports: Pistons boycott their head coach

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One story that’s gotten lost in the “Melodrama” saga – sorry, I had to use that term – was the boycott stand taken by many of the Detroit Pistons players Friday.

There were some pretty familiar faces involved in the reported boycott of a Friday morning shootaround prior to the team’s game that night against Philadelphia, including Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton. The Detroit Free Press was among the media outlets reporting that the boycott was to express dissatisfaction toward head coach John Kuester.

The Pistons played – and lost – Friday night to the 76ers. Kuester opted to play only the players that showed up for the shootaround on time, meaning only six players got into the game.

Kuester was ejected in the second quarter after receiving two techinicals.

But it wasn’t all negative, as players who normally don’t play much got some pretty healthy chunks of action on the court. I especially liked the quote by Pistons guard Will Bynum, who played all 48 minutes and scored 29 points.

“Man, I got DNPs for a month and a half. Do you think I was going to turn down 48 minutes?” Bynum said with a laugh. “I ain’t crazy.”

Sports not immune to the big bailout

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I understand how professional sports work. But if I take a step back, I have to admit that the sight of broke teams spending big bucks they don’t have just seems wrong.

First, it was Mark Cuban ripping the NBA for allowing the New Orleans Hornets – currently owned by the NBA’s other 29 owners – to take on salary at the NBA trade deadline. Now today, I read that the New York Mets received a $25 million loan from Major League Baseball.

And it was less than a year ago that a Texas Rangers team that had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy was able somehow to add all sorts of salary prior to baseball’s trade deadline en route to an appearance in the World Series.

I’m not saying anyone should have too much sympathy for Cuban. Obviously, the man has plenty of money.

How can a business that can afford to make millionaires of all of its players not have enough money? Well, that’s the landscape of pro sports.

But it just doesn’t seem right. I realize what’s going on with the Mets is a pretty unique and highly unusual situation. But when the Minnesota Twins or Oakland A’s or Tampa Bay Rays are spending more than they can afford, they have to trade away players. That’s life as a small-market team.

So why is it that when the Mets run a little light on cash, the rules aren’t the same? My guess is because MLB knows that the Mets – being a big-market team – can afford to pay back such a loan.

Or even the Rangers taking on salary after filing for bankruptcy. Shouldn’t they have been tightening their belts rather than spending more?

Seems like just another thing that separates the small-market and big-market teams.

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Four Twins prospects land in Baseball America’s top 100

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The Minnesota Twins minor league system lacks top-tier talent right now, but the organization did place four youngsters on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list, which was published on BA’s website Wednesday.

The highest-ranked Twins prospect was starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, who Twins fans might see as soon as this season. He placed 34th and was followed by outfielder Aaron Hicks (45th), infielder Miguel Sano (60th) and outfielder Joe Benson (100th).

Washington Nationals No. 1 overall pick Bryce Harper was ranked first overall. The Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays dominate the first 30 or 40 picks on the prospect list. The Royals had three of the top 10 and five of the top 20.

“Major League 4″ and Wainwright’s injury

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I had no idea until Charlie Sheen started talking earlier this week that a “Major League 4″ was in the works. However, this one is without Corbin Bernsen (aka Roger Dorn), who appeared in the first three.

My expectations will be pretty low considering the significant dropoff in laughs between the first “Major League” and the first sequel. But reportedly, Tom Berenger, Wesley Snipes and Rene Russo have been contacted about roles. Sounds like the movie still has a ways to go in terms of production.

No word yet on whether Pedro Cerrano will be back.

Second bit of news is a little less thrilling, as St. Louis Cardinals star pitcher Adam Wainwright has suffered a significant elbow injury.

If you’re having flashbacks to Joe Nathan‘s injury and the kind of talk that came from Twins camp prior to his diagnosis, you should. I hate to jump to conclusions, but the news doesn’t sound good. That’s for sure.

It’s been a tough past couple of weeks for the Cardinals, and that’s without mentioning the injury to Nick Punto that will keep him out of the lineup until May. With Albert Pujols now in his final season under contract, there’s plenty of uncertainty surrounding the team.

It’s always hard to count the Cardinals out though. Too early for any preseason predictions, but the NL Central should be tight with the defending division champion Cincinnati Reds still looking tough and the Milwaukee Brewers having made big improvements to their rotation (Zack Greinke and Shawn Marcum).

Speaking of Pujols, the brilliant Dave Cameron over at FanGraphs – a one-time guest of our since-canceled radio show “Sports Talk” – gives his take on White Sox GM Kenny Williams already pulling his team out of the Pujols’ free agency chase, despite the offseason being seven or eight months away.

Slam Dunk Contest memories

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In a few hours, my favorite part of NBA All-Star weekend – the only part I watch really – will get under way with the Slam Dunk Contest. Looking forward to it, though with tournament season going I anticipate an awfully busy night at work. Not sure how much attention will be paid to the dunk contest.

Here’s a look at some of the great Slam Dunk Contest moments:

Spud Webb

 

Dominique Wilkins

Michael Jordan

Vince Carter

And finally, Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Gerald Green and the famous cupcake:

Twins rotation banged up in early going

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It’s too early for Minnesota Twins fans to hit the panic button. But in the early stages of spring training, starting pitchers Scott Baker and Francisco Liriano are already a little behind.

Baker is coming off of offseason surgery and believes he’s about a week behind the rest of the rotation. Not a big surprise. Certainly understandable.

Liriano got a lot of attention after complaining of shoulder soreness. In mid-Februrary it’s nothing to get too riled up about. But hardly good news for a starter that’s just a couple seasons removed from Tommy John surgery.

The Twins rotation faces a big test this season, and these two guys are at the forefront.

Baker must return to being that dependable starter that he mostly has been over the course of his career.

Liriano had a monster year in 2010, and the Twins certainly would like to see another one of those this season.

And considering the bullpen departures in the offseason, Minnesota this season moreso than last year will be needing the starting pitchers to work deep into ballgames.

Ten years later, shock from Dale’s death hasn’t worn off

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It’s been 10 years to the day since Dale Earnhardt Sr. died following a car accident during the Daytona 500. And even today, I feel the same way as I did two hours after the crash happened.

Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s car crashes into the wall on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Associated Press photo

There’s confusion. There’s disbelief. The accident didn’t look that bad.

I remember EXACTLY where I was when Earnhardt’s car hit that wall on the final turn. At the time, I was a sophomore at Minnesota State Moorhead. I’m not a big NASCAR fan, but I wanted to watch the final few laps of the Sunday race before leaving my parents’ house and making the two-hour commute back to Moorhead.

To be honest – and I know most people say this – but I didn’t think much of the accident. As soon as the race got over, I hopped into the car and headed back to F-M thinking that Michael Waltrip had won and Earnhardt most likely got out of his car and walked back to his pit crew.

It wasn’t until I got back to my apartment that I realized “The Intimidator” had died. I was stunned. Completely stunned.

And I still feel that way to this day. Just didn’t seem like it was that bad.

But I think the fact that I still feel like that shows how far NASCAR has come since Earnhardt’s death when it comes to safety. Deaths in auto racing’s top two or three circuits were far more prevalent prior to his death. It’s just a shame it took something like that for NASCAR to make changes, but that seems to be the way things go in life.

NASCAR seems to be in a place where accidents like Earnhardt’s aren’t as life-threatening as they used to be. It’s just too bad Earnhardt isn’t here to see that.

Will Sheffield be a Hall of Famer? Probably not

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Gary Sheffield hasn’t played in a major league game since 2009. But he finally put an end to any speculation that he was mulling a comeback on Wednesday when he informed the players’ union that he was retiring.

Sheffield had an outstanding career. Waving his bat back and forth waiting for the pitch, Sheffield was considered one of the most feared hitters of his time.

He had a bit of a journeyman’s career, playing for eight different teams. The team that he spent the most time with was the Florida Marlins, which lasted parts of six seasons. He led Florida to its first World Series championship in 1997, hitting .320 with three homers in 16 playoff games that season.

With a .292 career average and more than 500 homers, his numbers look like that of a Hall of Famer. After all, the 500-homer plateau once meant guaranteed induction to the Hall.

But that was before the “Steroids Era” took place. Now, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro sit on the outside looking in. And my guess is Sheffield will join them.

As the ESPN.com story this morning points out:

McGwire’s and Palmeiro’s connection to performance-enhancing drugs has factored into their omission. Sheffield was named in the Mitchell report on PED use in Major League Baseball, but Sheffield said his inclusion in the report should not cloud his candidacy for the Hall of Fame.

On page 116 of the report, Sheffield is among the players who are alleged to have purchased “the cream” and “the clear” from BALCO founder Victor Conte. On page 136, a FedEx receipt from Sheffield to BALCO found during a 2003 search of trainer Greg Anderson’s condominium is referenced. On that same page, an excerpt from Sheffield’s book “Inside Power” where he acknowledges receiving a bill from BALCO for “vitamins” is mentioned. His testimony before the BALCO grand jury — he testified not knowing whether “the cream” contained steroids — is also referenced.

“The thing about the Mitchell report is that I cringe about it because the guy who wrote the report didn’t talk to me,” Sheffield told the New York Post. “If he talked to me I would respect that no matter what. But I cringe on that because he didn’t.”

Seems odd that Sheffield says nobody talked to him prior to the Mitchell Report being released, although since the players’ union discouraged its players from talking to George Mitchell, who knows whether or not Sheffield would have talked to him anyway.

But in the end, my guess is that if McGwire and Palmeiro are struggling to get into the Hall, Sheffield will struggle too.