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Former Bear Dave Duerson takes his own life, still finds a way to help others

February 20, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Dave Duerson, a key member of the Super Bowl-winning 1985 Bears team, committed suicide on Thursday by shooting himself in the chest. As NFL Fanhouse wrote, it was a sad end to a life of a man who was troubled after leaving football.

But while this story has a tragic ending, Duerson managed to leave a generous gift before leaving this world.

In a suicide note he sent to friends, Duerson asked that his brain be donated to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine. The Center has been leading the way in research into how brain damage — including injuries suffered in collisions on the football field — can lead to health problems later in life. One theory is that people who have a history of repetitive brain trauma are more likely to experience depression, and studying Duerson’s brain may help researchers determine whether brain damage suffered on the football field led to the depression that ultimately caused him to take his life.
Chris Nowinski, a former Harvard football player turned professional wrestler turned co-director of Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, said Duerson had indicated he wanted to be studied in the hopes that some day, we’ll know more about how to protect football players from suffering brain damage on the field.

These are the stories that many fans acknowledge but quickly forget because we don’t want anything bad to be associated with a game that is so cherished. But Duerson’s story is just one of many involving former football players that have been affected by a sickness after their playing days are over. Whether it’s depression, addiction to painkillers or serious brain trauma, there are many, many examples of former players that are dealing with serious health problems.

Football is a nasty sport. It always has been and probably always will be. The game has come a long way since leather helmets and no shoulder pads, but more research must be done. These players are human beings first and foremost and it’s difficult to hear stories like Duerson’s. Hopefully his final gift can provide researchers insight about what can be done to protect current and future players.

External Sports, NFL

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Your Sunday morning Carmelo update

February 20, 2011 / John Paulsen

The Nets had their chance to pitch Camp Carmelo on their plans for the future when the two sides met at a Los Angeles restaurant, per ESPN.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and minority owner Jay-Z spent the 40-minute session informing Anthony of the club’s short-term and long-term vision, centered upon their scheduled move to Brooklyn for the start of the 2012-13 season and their confidence in building a championship-caliber team around him, largely through free agency.
Sources said Anthony was noncommittal after hearing the Nets’ presentation, declining to say whether or not he would sign the three-year, $65 million contract extension that New Jersey has established as a prerequisite for completing a trade with Denver.

According to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets were not confident after the meeting.

After Carmelo Anthony sit-down with New Jersey ownership, “The Nets didn’t come away very confident,” a source briefed on meeting tells Y!

Wojnarowski also published a column early Sunday morning that outlines the growing influence that Isiah Thomas — yes, Isiah Thomas — has over owner James Dolan, who has taken over the Knicks’ trade negotiations with the Nuggets.

“Isiah is calling the shots for New York,” said one front-office executive with knowledge of the Anthony trade talks. “It’s a disgrace. Donnie should walk.”
Dolan has overruled Walsh in these trade talks and undermined his authority. Walsh has never wanted to give away Raymond Felton for an aging Chauncey Billups and throw Danilo Gallinari into the package, too. This is all Isiah, all his influence.

This all comes down to Carmelo. While most stars wouldn’t want his future team to be gutted in order to acquire him — remember those Kobe-to-Chicago rumors from a few years ago? — Carmelo just wants the Knicks to give the Nuggets enough to get this deal done before Thursday’s trade deadline. He wants to play for the Knicks and he wants his three years and $65 million in security. A supporting cast is a distant third on his wishlist, apparently. Unless he’s suddenly willing to re-up with the Nets, he’ll be a Knick by the end of the week.

As for the reemergence of Thomas as the de facto GM in New York — well, that’s just disturbing. Isiah can evaluate talent and had a pretty good run of drafts when he ran the Knicks, but in every other area of the job he was a complete disaster. Knicks fans have to be troubled by these recent developments.

Ric Bucher says that any deal won’t get done until Monday because the league does not want the awkward situation of Carmelo playing in Sunday’s All-Star Game for the West, when he actually belongs to a team in the East.

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Three reasons why Carson Palmer will remain a Bengal

February 20, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

The National Football Post is reporting that Carson Palmer is still serious about his request to be traded this offseason. Teammate Andrew Whitworth even went as far as to say that the quarterback “wouldn’t speak out unless it was something he was serious about.”

But a trade or outright release still seems highly unlikely at this point. Things can change rather quickly in the NFL so I’m not suggesting that there’s zero chance that Palmer could play elsewhere next season, but here are three reasons I believe he’ll remain a Bengal.

1. His contract.
Palmer signed a six-year, $118.75 million contract extension in 2005. He’s set to make $11.5 million the next two years, $13 million in 2013 and $14 million in 2014 before he becomes a free agent in 2015. He’s 31 and hasn’t been the same quarterback since he suffered that knee injury in the 2004 playoffs. How can the Bengals convince any team to take on his salary and part with a draft pick(s)? Unless Palmer were to take a significant pay cut and/or the Bengals were willing to accept less value for a starting quarterback (which Palmer still is, regardless of his struggles the past couple of seasons), he won’t be moved. Releasing him is still an option, but keep in mind that the Bengals are the ones that want to retain him. It’s Palmer who wants out.

2. Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco will be gone.
When Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell were his starting receivers the last two weeks of the season, Palmer put up his best numbers of the year and actually looked like he was having fun again. Maybe the having fun part is a misconception but it’s not hard to believe that Palmer is worn out from playing with guys like Ochocinco, T.O. and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. They’re always open, they always want the ball and they’re always in either Palmer or Marvin Lewis’ ear. But Owens (a free agent) probably won’t be back and Houshmandzadeh is long gone, which only leaves Ochocinco. There have been conflicting reports about whether or not the Bengals want to keep the Ocho for next year. But when you consider he’s 33, his production has started to decline, he’s scheduled to make $6 million in the final year of his contract and he can be a headache, it would appear that there’s only a slim chance he’ll return next season. If the Bengals can guarantee Palmer that he doesn’t have to deal with some of the distractions that he’s had to put up with his entire career, it stands to reason that he would give Cincinnati another try.

3. Jay Gruden.
The Bengals fired Bob Bratkowski as offensive coordinator and hired Jay Gruden to provide a spark to the offense. In Bratkowski’s system, the receiver’s routes took time to develop, which meant Palmer had to sit in the pocket and was seemingly always under duress. But Gruden’s system is designed for the quarterback to get the ball out of his hands quickly and is much more quarterback-friendly (as was Jon Gruden’s West Coast Offense in Tampa Bay and Oakland). Thus, if the Bengals could rid themselves of T.O. and Ochocinco and provide Palmer with a more quarterback-friendly system, it may rejuvenate him. (Then the team doesn’t have to worry about drafting a signal caller at No. 4 when they have so many other needs to address.) Of course, the Bengals still have to part ways with Ochocinco and convince Palmer that things will be better, but hey, it’s a long offseason. They have some time.

Comment Starter: Will Palmer remain a Bengal or will the team look to trade or release him this offseason?

External Sports, NFL

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Blake Griffin wins the Sprite Slam Dunk [video]

February 20, 2011 / John Paulsen

Here are the highlights:

JaVale McGee, DeMar DeRozan and Serge Ibaka also put on a good show, but McGee wasn’t going to beat Griffin in a fan vote in the finals. McGee’s two-ball and three-ball dunks were impressive, but it took him a while to make them, which lessened their impact, at least with the fans.

I think this will be the ‘forgotten dunk’ of this contest since DeRozan didn’t make the finals and the dunk (somehow) didn’t make the NBA highlight: