A new report released today shows that the Patriots "more likely than not" deflated footballs on purpose in order to get an advantage in their playoff game with Indianapolis last year. These findings show that the Patriots organization is one which values the "win at all costs" mentality that is detrimental to society given previous instances in which the organization has been in trouble with the NFL.
The Patriots completely outclassed the Colts that day 45-7, meaning they would have likely won whether they deflated balls on purpose or not. And, in fact, the Patriots did better after the balls in question were removed. However, the deflating of footballs gave Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady an advantage -- he could call plays knowing that he was handling a deflated football and knowing that his receivers would handle them. If they were using one of Indianapolis' balls, he could keep it on the ground. A football that is deflated is much easier to handle and catch, especially if thrown at high speed.
Given that this is not the first time that the Patriots organization has been in trouble, the NFL should penalize them with serious consequences. To do otherwise would send the message to other teams that the NFL rulebook does not mean anything and that rules are enforced based on who you are as a team. We understand that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is in a dilemma. If he comes down too harsh, he will be accused of caring more about deflategate than domestic violence, which was in the news last fall. If he is too lenient, he will be accused of damaging the NFL by sending the message that rules don't mean anything. This, in part, explains his muted response (so far) to the deal.
Back in 1919, following the Black Sox Scandal, baseball was in an existential crisis. Public confidence was undermined in the sport; after all, people could not be sure whether the errors that the local heroes committed were simply a result of a bad day or part of a prearranged outcome. The banning of the Black Sox for life, while harsh, was a necessary step to restore public confidence in the game, as was the banning of Pete Rose. We don't think that such a step is appropriate here, but the rules have to mean something. And the belief that "everybody does it" is not an excuse to circumvent the rules.
But one of the things that was not discussed in the NFL report was whether low wages were a factor. We know that the reason Eddie Cicotte got involved in throwing the 1919 World Series to Cincinnati was the fact that he wanted to pay off a $4,000 mortgage; in other words, he and other baseball players were underpaid.
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Merril Hoge Encourages Students to "Find a Way"
Former Steelers runningback and current ESPN analyst Merril Hoge encouraged Northwest students to "find a way" at a talk that he gave last Tuesday evening in Maryville. He said that he became successful by living up to his motto to "find a way" when one is struggling. He is a cancer survivor as well as a native of small-town Idaho who excelled at Idaho State and made it into the NFL. He played several productive years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and later the Chicago Bears.
When he was 8 years old, Hoge said that it became his dream to play in the NFL. He stuck with his plan despite what he called the Four Extinguishers -- people telling him to grow up, that it was impossible, that it was long odds, and that it was impossible. At the age of 12, he said he had what he called his "moment of truth" -- follow his wants or his fears.
In his room growing up, Hoge had a cork bulletin board filled with pictures of his idol, Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears as well as goals that he had pinned up. The odds were indeed long -- only .02% of all kids ever make it in the NFL, let alone star in it. The odds are even longer for someone playing football in Pocatello, Idaho, where Hoge grew up. He said that at one point, he got too consumed with negativity; then, he learned the motto "find a way."
To find a way, for Hoge, meant action -- figuring out what it would take to become a player in the NFL. So he went to his local library and looked for microfilms about Payton. While looking, he found a quote by Aristotle -- "We are what we repeatedly do." In other words, being successful was not about luck or connections; it was about mindset. Excellence was not an act but a habit and we work at being excellent. Then, he found a video by Payton entitled, "Winning in Life." In it, Payton talked about his mindset -- his goal was to want to win more than the competition every day of the week, not just Sunday afternoon. "There is not a person in this room that can't do this," Hoge said to his audience.
Later, when he was playing for the Bears, Hoge was constantly asking other players and Bears employees for stories about Walter Payton, leading to him being roasted by his teammates for it. But one story that stuck with him was told by a teammate who was a rookie and who decided that the best way to succeed in the NFL was to emulate Payton. So he asked Payton if he could train with him and Payton graciously agreed. So they stretched, warmed up, and then the young rookie found out to his horror that Payton's training involved running up and down this huge dirt hill. By the time they did one and a half laps, the rookie was puking and he walked to his car and left while Payton was barely breathing. "That dude wanted it more than I did," he related to Hoge. Hoge said that the one difference between the ordinary-sized Payton and others was his mindset.
Hoge said that he was fortunate to be drafted by the Steelers, who were still coached by the legendary Chuck Noll. Fridays were "polish days," in which the goal was to run the plays without any mental errors on either side of the ball. One time, Hoge was blocking an outside linebacker on one side of the field while the play was being run to the other side. Hoge said that Noll never stopped practice on those days unless someone made an error. This time, he turned to Hoge, who was a rookie, and asked him, "Hoge, what are you doing?" "Nothing," replied Hoge. "That's the whole point," replied Noll. "You did nothing. I didn't keep you on this team to do nothing. I need you to be an uncommon athlete."
Hoge said that he took that lesson to heart and that it came through for him as he played for the Chicago Bears several years later. The Bears coach was doing 40 yard sprints and suddenly stopped the drill and asked a rookie what his 40 yard time was. "4.2," said the rookie. Then, he turned to Hoge and asked him what his 40 was; it was normally 4.7 although the fastest he ever ran was 4.57 once. Hoge was wondering where the coach was going with this and thought that he was being disrespected, especially since he had played 121 straight games without having to come out with an injury. "That means you played hurt and everyone respected that in the NFL," Hoge recounted.
Once Hoge stated his time, the coach switched back to the rookie and asked his time again. "4.2," replied the rookie. "Well, how come he beat you?" was the coach's reply. "When we cut you next week, I want you to know exactly why we cut you."
On February 14th, 2003, Hoge was diagnosed with a three pound cancerous tumor which the doctor couldn't guarantee chemotherapy would treat. He said that chemo and dying consumed him during that stretch. For Hoge, it was a difficult pill to swallow seeing that he had kept himself in shape all his life and there was still much to do after football; he was a father and an ESPN analyst. He talked about coaching his son's football team and learning to remember to coach from their perspective, not from his. He was in a funk until an epiphany moment when his daughter crawled into his lap and encouraged him to "find a way."
Hoge would be fighting a battle much more difficult than any battle he fought on the football field and he would need to use an uncommon approach. But when his daughter gave him encouragement, he said that he had a moment of truth like he did when he was 12 years old. He found five other cancer survivors and learned from them what he would be going through; at 7 a.m., he went to his chemo for the first time. He saw all these chairs and treatments. The actual chemo chemical was nicknamed the "red death" because it would cause third degree burns if it comes in contact with skin. He said that it ripped through his body from head to toe. When going to the bathroom at the facility after his treatments, he had to flush twice so that the fluid would not corrode the toilets.
Most people simply try to recuperate after a chemo treatment; in his case, he had to go to treatments every 21 days. But Hoge figured out that if he kept up his physical training, his body would flush out the chemo fluids out faster, he would give the tumors that much less time to grow back, and he could have more frequent treatments. The approach worked and he has been cancer-free for the last 10 years.
Hoge concluded that everyone in the room has goals and then run across difficulties. "Do thoughts and challenges control your mind, or does your mind control your thoughts and challenges," asked Hoge.
He took questions from students following the talk. Asked about the Chiefs, he said that they were the real deal and that they would meet the Broncos in the AFC Championship this year. He told a story about playing against Joe Montana's Chiefs when his team was set back third and 20 and they called a play that he thought had no chance to work, a middle screen to him. However, he took it for 48 yards to set up a score. "We lost to Montana, but it was a great experience."
Hoge said that he had met Walter Payton once. In a pre-season game at Soldier Field as a rookie, the Bears were beating the Steelers 50-0 when he looked up Payton after the game and was surprised at how small he was. He told Payton a story for five minutes and Payton was gracious and listened the whole time and gave him his sweatbands and elbow pads and Hoge celebrated all the way back to the Steeler's lockerroom. Coach Chuck Noll's comment was, "I hope nobody walked across the field and thanked them for kicking our a----."
While he was a Steeler, Hoge talked about meeting Mike Webster and John Stallworth, the last two living links to the Super Bowl teams of the 1970's. Webster, Hoge said, was like a grizzly bear who played with an old beat-up helmet that he would never let the Steelers replace. He taught a lot of life lessons to Hoge and the rest of the younger Steelers. Joe Greene was a coach on the Steelers and one time, he picked up Hoge like a rag doll after he made one good run that got them a critical first down in one game.
After a bad loss or the end of the season, Noll would always tell his players to prepare for their life's work after they were done with football. Hoge took that lesson to heart, getting a five-minute radio show while still in Pittsburgh. It blossomed into a broadcasting career after he left football. "The more you can do, the more valuable you are," Coach Noll would say.
Talking about teammates, Hoge said that Charles Woodson was a "freak athlete," while Dwight Stone was "quick and fast."
Comparing playing in the NFL to what he did today, he said that "nothing replaces playing inside the white lines." The period after his playing days were over was a difficult adjustment period for him. He was forced to retire prematurely when two concussions knocked him out of the game for good; the first was from a hit by the Chief's Derrick Thomas. After the second one, sustained against Buffalo, he went into cardiac arrest and it took him two years to fully recover. He said that he had to learn to read and relearn basic life skills all over again. "That's why I'm passionate about protecting our kids. Do the right thing and get them evaluated before they play again," he said.
Hoge still goes back to Idaho regularly, where he loves elk hunting, water skiing, and the outdoors. After surviving his cancer, he was encouraged by his friends to share his story, which he is actively doing when he is not breaking down the NFL teams on ESPN or being a father to his kids.
When he was 8 years old, Hoge said that it became his dream to play in the NFL. He stuck with his plan despite what he called the Four Extinguishers -- people telling him to grow up, that it was impossible, that it was long odds, and that it was impossible. At the age of 12, he said he had what he called his "moment of truth" -- follow his wants or his fears.
In his room growing up, Hoge had a cork bulletin board filled with pictures of his idol, Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears as well as goals that he had pinned up. The odds were indeed long -- only .02% of all kids ever make it in the NFL, let alone star in it. The odds are even longer for someone playing football in Pocatello, Idaho, where Hoge grew up. He said that at one point, he got too consumed with negativity; then, he learned the motto "find a way."
To find a way, for Hoge, meant action -- figuring out what it would take to become a player in the NFL. So he went to his local library and looked for microfilms about Payton. While looking, he found a quote by Aristotle -- "We are what we repeatedly do." In other words, being successful was not about luck or connections; it was about mindset. Excellence was not an act but a habit and we work at being excellent. Then, he found a video by Payton entitled, "Winning in Life." In it, Payton talked about his mindset -- his goal was to want to win more than the competition every day of the week, not just Sunday afternoon. "There is not a person in this room that can't do this," Hoge said to his audience.
Later, when he was playing for the Bears, Hoge was constantly asking other players and Bears employees for stories about Walter Payton, leading to him being roasted by his teammates for it. But one story that stuck with him was told by a teammate who was a rookie and who decided that the best way to succeed in the NFL was to emulate Payton. So he asked Payton if he could train with him and Payton graciously agreed. So they stretched, warmed up, and then the young rookie found out to his horror that Payton's training involved running up and down this huge dirt hill. By the time they did one and a half laps, the rookie was puking and he walked to his car and left while Payton was barely breathing. "That dude wanted it more than I did," he related to Hoge. Hoge said that the one difference between the ordinary-sized Payton and others was his mindset.
Hoge said that he was fortunate to be drafted by the Steelers, who were still coached by the legendary Chuck Noll. Fridays were "polish days," in which the goal was to run the plays without any mental errors on either side of the ball. One time, Hoge was blocking an outside linebacker on one side of the field while the play was being run to the other side. Hoge said that Noll never stopped practice on those days unless someone made an error. This time, he turned to Hoge, who was a rookie, and asked him, "Hoge, what are you doing?" "Nothing," replied Hoge. "That's the whole point," replied Noll. "You did nothing. I didn't keep you on this team to do nothing. I need you to be an uncommon athlete."
Hoge said that he took that lesson to heart and that it came through for him as he played for the Chicago Bears several years later. The Bears coach was doing 40 yard sprints and suddenly stopped the drill and asked a rookie what his 40 yard time was. "4.2," said the rookie. Then, he turned to Hoge and asked him what his 40 was; it was normally 4.7 although the fastest he ever ran was 4.57 once. Hoge was wondering where the coach was going with this and thought that he was being disrespected, especially since he had played 121 straight games without having to come out with an injury. "That means you played hurt and everyone respected that in the NFL," Hoge recounted.
Once Hoge stated his time, the coach switched back to the rookie and asked his time again. "4.2," replied the rookie. "Well, how come he beat you?" was the coach's reply. "When we cut you next week, I want you to know exactly why we cut you."
On February 14th, 2003, Hoge was diagnosed with a three pound cancerous tumor which the doctor couldn't guarantee chemotherapy would treat. He said that chemo and dying consumed him during that stretch. For Hoge, it was a difficult pill to swallow seeing that he had kept himself in shape all his life and there was still much to do after football; he was a father and an ESPN analyst. He talked about coaching his son's football team and learning to remember to coach from their perspective, not from his. He was in a funk until an epiphany moment when his daughter crawled into his lap and encouraged him to "find a way."
Hoge would be fighting a battle much more difficult than any battle he fought on the football field and he would need to use an uncommon approach. But when his daughter gave him encouragement, he said that he had a moment of truth like he did when he was 12 years old. He found five other cancer survivors and learned from them what he would be going through; at 7 a.m., he went to his chemo for the first time. He saw all these chairs and treatments. The actual chemo chemical was nicknamed the "red death" because it would cause third degree burns if it comes in contact with skin. He said that it ripped through his body from head to toe. When going to the bathroom at the facility after his treatments, he had to flush twice so that the fluid would not corrode the toilets.
Most people simply try to recuperate after a chemo treatment; in his case, he had to go to treatments every 21 days. But Hoge figured out that if he kept up his physical training, his body would flush out the chemo fluids out faster, he would give the tumors that much less time to grow back, and he could have more frequent treatments. The approach worked and he has been cancer-free for the last 10 years.
Hoge concluded that everyone in the room has goals and then run across difficulties. "Do thoughts and challenges control your mind, or does your mind control your thoughts and challenges," asked Hoge.
He took questions from students following the talk. Asked about the Chiefs, he said that they were the real deal and that they would meet the Broncos in the AFC Championship this year. He told a story about playing against Joe Montana's Chiefs when his team was set back third and 20 and they called a play that he thought had no chance to work, a middle screen to him. However, he took it for 48 yards to set up a score. "We lost to Montana, but it was a great experience."
Hoge said that he had met Walter Payton once. In a pre-season game at Soldier Field as a rookie, the Bears were beating the Steelers 50-0 when he looked up Payton after the game and was surprised at how small he was. He told Payton a story for five minutes and Payton was gracious and listened the whole time and gave him his sweatbands and elbow pads and Hoge celebrated all the way back to the Steeler's lockerroom. Coach Chuck Noll's comment was, "I hope nobody walked across the field and thanked them for kicking our a----."
While he was a Steeler, Hoge talked about meeting Mike Webster and John Stallworth, the last two living links to the Super Bowl teams of the 1970's. Webster, Hoge said, was like a grizzly bear who played with an old beat-up helmet that he would never let the Steelers replace. He taught a lot of life lessons to Hoge and the rest of the younger Steelers. Joe Greene was a coach on the Steelers and one time, he picked up Hoge like a rag doll after he made one good run that got them a critical first down in one game.
After a bad loss or the end of the season, Noll would always tell his players to prepare for their life's work after they were done with football. Hoge took that lesson to heart, getting a five-minute radio show while still in Pittsburgh. It blossomed into a broadcasting career after he left football. "The more you can do, the more valuable you are," Coach Noll would say.
Talking about teammates, Hoge said that Charles Woodson was a "freak athlete," while Dwight Stone was "quick and fast."
Comparing playing in the NFL to what he did today, he said that "nothing replaces playing inside the white lines." The period after his playing days were over was a difficult adjustment period for him. He was forced to retire prematurely when two concussions knocked him out of the game for good; the first was from a hit by the Chief's Derrick Thomas. After the second one, sustained against Buffalo, he went into cardiac arrest and it took him two years to fully recover. He said that he had to learn to read and relearn basic life skills all over again. "That's why I'm passionate about protecting our kids. Do the right thing and get them evaluated before they play again," he said.
Hoge still goes back to Idaho regularly, where he loves elk hunting, water skiing, and the outdoors. After surviving his cancer, he was encouraged by his friends to share his story, which he is actively doing when he is not breaking down the NFL teams on ESPN or being a father to his kids.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Lawmakers Send Concussion Awareness and Brain Injury Prevention Act to the Governor
Students athletes must sit out of play after suffering a concussion until a doctor signs off on their return thanks to an awareness and prevention initiative the General Assembly today approved and sent to the governor. Several state lawmakers and the National Football League (NFL) championed House Bill 300 that would create the “Interscholastic Youth Sports Brain Injury Prevention Act” to educate and protect student athletes from the risks of concussions and other brain injuries.
Senate Leader Robert N. Mayer, R-Dexter, handled the bill in the Senate where it passed by a vote of 33 to 1.
“Today, we know that some brain injuries are the result of young athletes continuing to play a sport after they have suffered a concussion,” said Mayer. “By educating them, their parents and coaches, we can better protect these students from life-altering brain injuries.”
“With up to 18 percent of all high school sports being contact sports and with up to 19 percent of all the athletes in those contact sports receiving a concussion (over 62,000 of them),” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chuck Gatschenberger, R-Lake St. Louis. “I feel it is high time our coaches, athletes and parents know the symptoms of a concussion - when in doubt set them out.”
Under the bill, student athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion or brain injury must stop play for at least 24 hours and could not return without written permission from a medical professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussions. Plus, student athlete’s parents would be required to sign a concussion and brain injury information sheet prior to participation in any practice or competition.
The act also requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to work with school boards, the Missouri State High School Activities Association, and an organization that provides support services for brain injuries to implement educational information for youth athletes on the risks of concussions and other brain injuries. The department and organizations must develop guidelines, and forms to educate coaches, student athletes, and their parents or guardians on the nature and risks of concussions and other brain injuries by the end of the year. The materials they produce must include information on continuing to play after a concussion.
Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, sponsored a similar bill in the Senate and said the sooner these common sense guidelines are put in place, the sooner we will reduce the number of brain injuries stemming from contact sports.
“Education is half the battle,” said Schaaf. “The more our student athletes, their parents and coaches know, the better decisions they will make when faced with the symptoms.”
The NFL is supportive of the awareness and prevention effort, helping champion similar legislation in at least ten other states this year.
“The league has strict return-to-play guidelines that apply to some of the best athletes in the world,” Kenneth Edmonds, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy for the NFL, told a Senate committee earlier this month. “We believe a similar approach is necessary when dealing with some of the youngest athletes. This legislation does that.”
Former linebacker for the World Champion St. Louis Rams and current Lincoln University Head Football Coach Mike Jones also testified in support of the bill earlier this month.
“We are learning today that returning to play with a sprained ankle or a swollen knee is one thing; returning to play before being fully recovered from a concussion or other head injury is a great deal more serious,” Jones said to senators at a hearing. “Young athletes and their parents need to be educated on the symptoms and dangers of concussions and should not be allowed to return without medical clearance. That is what this bill is about.”
If signed by the governor, the bill would take effect August 28.
Senate Leader Robert N. Mayer, R-Dexter, handled the bill in the Senate where it passed by a vote of 33 to 1.
“Today, we know that some brain injuries are the result of young athletes continuing to play a sport after they have suffered a concussion,” said Mayer. “By educating them, their parents and coaches, we can better protect these students from life-altering brain injuries.”
“With up to 18 percent of all high school sports being contact sports and with up to 19 percent of all the athletes in those contact sports receiving a concussion (over 62,000 of them),” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chuck Gatschenberger, R-Lake St. Louis. “I feel it is high time our coaches, athletes and parents know the symptoms of a concussion - when in doubt set them out.”
Under the bill, student athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion or brain injury must stop play for at least 24 hours and could not return without written permission from a medical professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussions. Plus, student athlete’s parents would be required to sign a concussion and brain injury information sheet prior to participation in any practice or competition.
The act also requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to work with school boards, the Missouri State High School Activities Association, and an organization that provides support services for brain injuries to implement educational information for youth athletes on the risks of concussions and other brain injuries. The department and organizations must develop guidelines, and forms to educate coaches, student athletes, and their parents or guardians on the nature and risks of concussions and other brain injuries by the end of the year. The materials they produce must include information on continuing to play after a concussion.
Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, sponsored a similar bill in the Senate and said the sooner these common sense guidelines are put in place, the sooner we will reduce the number of brain injuries stemming from contact sports.
“Education is half the battle,” said Schaaf. “The more our student athletes, their parents and coaches know, the better decisions they will make when faced with the symptoms.”
The NFL is supportive of the awareness and prevention effort, helping champion similar legislation in at least ten other states this year.
“The league has strict return-to-play guidelines that apply to some of the best athletes in the world,” Kenneth Edmonds, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy for the NFL, told a Senate committee earlier this month. “We believe a similar approach is necessary when dealing with some of the youngest athletes. This legislation does that.”
Former linebacker for the World Champion St. Louis Rams and current Lincoln University Head Football Coach Mike Jones also testified in support of the bill earlier this month.
“We are learning today that returning to play with a sprained ankle or a swollen knee is one thing; returning to play before being fully recovered from a concussion or other head injury is a great deal more serious,” Jones said to senators at a hearing. “Young athletes and their parents need to be educated on the symptoms and dangers of concussions and should not be allowed to return without medical clearance. That is what this bill is about.”
If signed by the governor, the bill would take effect August 28.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Jack Remembers: A game with the Chiefs & Jets
Most avid sports fans would give anything to sit in the owners box and watch a football game with the two owners. My grandson said the ticket would be priceless, and he thought at an auction for charity a ticket would bring 20 to 30 thousand dollars. He said he would easily give a thousand dollars for the honor.
My best friend Bill McCoy and I sat in the owners box back in 1970 when the New York Jets played the Chiefs and I can’t even remember thanking Jimmy Jones for inviting me.
In 1970 I was the President of the Missouri Horse Breeders Association, which was formed to help legalize para-mutual betting on horseracing. Jimmy Jones, who with his father Ben trained seven Kentucky Derby winners including Triple Crown winners Whirlaway and Citation, at that time was manager of Monmoth Race Track in
Later that year, one Sunday morning I got a call from Jimmy wanting to know if I would like to eat lunch with the Jets, who were playing Kansas City at 3:00 pm. I picked up my best friend Bill McCoy and we headed to the Muehlbach Hotel. I handed out a buckeye to each player and to the owner Sonny Werblin who not only owned the Jets, but also owned Monmoth Race Track where Jimmy was manager, and good friends with Werblin.
We then headed to the stadium and the owner’s box seats where Werblin told Lamar Hunt that I had given him a buckeye, and that good luck symbol was going to cause the Jets, who were the underdogs, to win.
Jack can be reached at
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