A Boston College sports blog capturing the highs and lows of being a BC fan living 1,000 miles from Chestnut Hill.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Nothing new from Addazio's trip to ESPN
ESPN hosted another group of ACC coaches Tuesday and Addazio made the rounds. He went on SportsCenter, the podcasts and met with ESPN's CFB writers. It was all fine and good exposure, but there was nothing revelatory about any of it. I know this is part of reaching beyond the BC diehards, but it would be nice to hear something beyond the dude and defense. Maybe he could discuss how he is tweaking his offense or how he has changed the roster in five years.
The podcast did allow Addazio to credit Pasqualoni for Landry's development. I do appreciate the role Coach P plays. I wish Addazio could find an offensive version of Coach P.
This may not be the post for this, but given today's CTE news, how long until Catholic High Schools start abandoning football? The study only took brains from people who already exhibit problems, so it isn't a random sample, but I imagine the clock has to be ticking until schools outside of the HS football hotbeds abandon the sport and the subsequent talent drain upwards.
@Goberry: Good question. The sample was a bit wider, slightly, than you suggest. The numbers were 110 of 111 brains donated had damage. The brains were a cross section of the various levels of football participation. The study could have been broader but it is still scary. There was also a companion study on "helmets" and how they are doing no good and are actually part of the problem. Some time ago, there was a study which said that leather helmets were safer than the modern because they were not being used as weapons.----There is also some experimentation being done for "football without helmets". It is lots safer but has little support. To be sure, your point is well taken.
Football without helmets...it's called rugby. I wonder what the median age was of the brains being studied. Those brains probably played in the 60's and 70's, no? If you get a chance to read the story on Nick Buoniconti (SI.com May 9), I would recommend it. I don't think the sport or the problem is going away.
The new rule in College/NFL will be no rushing by the defense 2-3 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. It will keep QB's and RB's from getting knocked around.
The issue with the sample is that they were from people who were thought to have brain damage. You don't have your brain donated unless you think there is something wrong with it. Getting confirmation of CTE probably helps the lawsuit.
CTE is like second hand smoke and the effect on disease. A little science and a lot of smoke. Frank Gifford's family gave his brain to the study. He was 85 and a little demented, same as at least 30% of 85 year old people.
Family announced he had CTE- gotta say it to get the settlement money. But at 75 he was making millions and seducing women half his age. .
IMO that means that the CTE findings on post mortem mean nothing. Look at my arteries at 85 , atherosclerosis caused by eating pizza from Pino 's as a college student. But Pino's does not have billions to be shared with the trial lawyers , They do not sue Pop Warner because there ain't no money there. CTE is BS.
I think the point is that NFL players are no different than people who played football in high school or college. Can TGS's sister sue her high school now because she was unknowingly getting CTE after snapping the ball to TGS and taking a shot(no not that shot) to the head each down from the opposing defense when they played together at (insert white-trash high school name here)?
What a tandem TGS. Tell me about the equivalent Flutie Trapillo moment you two beaters had?
Working, I must respectfully disagree with you about your CTE post. CTE is very real and for those who have it, it is devastating. Not every football player has CTE and clearly the study was not a representative sampling (families donated the brains because they felt there was already an issue. If you randomly picked 100 brains of former players, my guess is the incidence of CTE would be much lower). Still, if CTE effects even 10% of football players, that is a huge and costly disease.
I love watching football and I don't know how they can change the game to prevent CTE. But the empathetic side of my soul does feel a bit like watching the Christians being fed to the lions in the Roman Coliseum. I hope they conduct more research to figure out why some players get CTE and why some don't and what can be done to make the game safer.
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This may not be the post for this, but given today's CTE news, how long until Catholic High Schools start abandoning football? The study only took brains from people who already exhibit problems, so it isn't a random sample, but I imagine the clock has to be ticking until schools outside of the HS football hotbeds abandon the sport and the subsequent talent drain upwards.
@Goberry: Good question. The sample was a bit wider, slightly, than you suggest. The numbers were 110 of 111 brains donated had damage. The brains were a cross section of the various levels of football participation. The study could have been broader but it is still scary. There was also a companion study on "helmets" and how they are doing no good and are actually part of the problem. Some time ago, there was a study which said that leather helmets were safer than the modern because they were not being used as weapons.----There is also some experimentation being done for "football without helmets". It is lots safer but has little support. To be sure, your point is well taken.
Football without helmets...it's called rugby. I wonder what the median age was of the brains being studied. Those brains probably played in the 60's and 70's, no? If you get a chance to read the story on Nick Buoniconti (SI.com May 9), I would recommend it. I don't think the sport or the problem is going away.
@CT: I believe that Buoniconti has a crippled son. What started this discussion was why can't BC develop an offense. Why?
The new rule in College/NFL will be no rushing by the defense 2-3 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. It will keep QB's and RB's from getting knocked around.
The issue with the sample is that they were from people who were thought to have brain damage. You don't have your brain donated unless you think there is something wrong with it. Getting confirmation of CTE probably helps the lawsuit.
Ask TGS his "son" is having his donated.
I understand that. The real news I thought was how high the incidence rate was for those who only played through high school.
I guess this should stick to the topic of the post. In other words, brain disease is more compelling than our HC's approach to 21st century scoring.
CTE is like second hand smoke and the effect on disease.
A little science and a lot of smoke.
Frank Gifford's family gave his brain to the study. He was 85 and a little demented, same as at least 30% of 85 year old people.
Family announced he had CTE- gotta say it to get the settlement money.
But at 75 he was making millions and seducing women half his age. .
IMO that means that the CTE findings on post mortem mean nothing.
Look at my arteries at 85 , atherosclerosis caused by eating pizza from Pino 's as a college student.
But Pino's does not have billions to be shared with the trial lawyers ,
They do not sue Pop Warner because there ain't no money there.
CTE is BS.
I think the point is that NFL players are no different than people who played football in high school or college. Can TGS's sister sue her high school now because she was unknowingly getting CTE after snapping the ball to TGS and taking a shot(no not that shot) to the head each down from the opposing defense when they played together at (insert white-trash high school name here)?
What a tandem TGS. Tell me about the equivalent Flutie Trapillo moment you two beaters had?
Working, I must respectfully disagree with you about your CTE post. CTE is very real and for those who have it, it is devastating. Not every football player has CTE and clearly the study was not a representative sampling (families donated the brains because they felt there was already an issue. If you randomly picked 100 brains of former players, my guess is the incidence of CTE would be much lower). Still, if CTE effects even 10% of football players, that is a huge and costly disease.
I love watching football and I don't know how they can change the game to prevent CTE. But the empathetic side of my soul does feel a bit like watching the Christians being fed to the lions in the Roman Coliseum. I hope they conduct more research to figure out why some players get CTE and why some don't and what can be done to make the game safer.
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