NFL players-From a Florida mall to Uganda

With a possibility of no NFL season next year, the players need to do something with their spare time. According to the article here, the football have some pretty different ideas. 10 players, including Roy Williams, Adrian Peterson, and Santonio Holmes, spent a week in Uganda doing a variety of different tasks. They helped to dig water wells at schools, helped to fit hearing aids, and also passed out "mislabeled" super bowl championship shirts that were made if the Jets had won. I think it is really cool that they are spending their time helping others. I also found it interesting that they actually got to hand out the shirts. I had already know that the shirts were given to poorer countries, but I did not know that on occasion actual players distribute the shirts. Chad Ochocinco is staying in shape by spending his time on the reserve team for a soccer club in Kansas city. He is very excited that he made it on the squad, and he says he will be in great shape, because soccer is a lot longer time period, without the breaks in between. His action is not as great as going to Uganda, but it's always good to stay in shape. Then, with an entirely unproductive story, is Dez Bryant. Now Dez Bryant is one of my favorite players as far as skills go, but as an NFL player, he needs to make sure he behaves well in public, which is the opposite of what he did. In a Florida mall, Dez Bryant and his "posse" had been kicked out after violating the dress code by having his pants too low. He was asked to pull up his pants, but being who he is, he argued with the security, and then was kicked out of the mall.

-Los Spurs

Flying Fish???

While vacationing in Florida with her family on tuesday, Jenny Hausch was attacked by this 200 pound stingray. But Jenny wasn't in the water. Sitting in their tour boat, the stingray jumped out of the water and struck her in the chest. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission team tied a rope around the fish to pull it back into the water. Jenny was apparently unharmed, but another man was stung and got the barb stuck in his chest. Surgeons on Wednsday and Thursday were able to remove it without any further damage. The stingray is protected in Florida waters and is considered to be a non-aggressive species and of little danger to humans. I guess for one stingray, flying under the sea just wasn't good enough.

Link for more information.

Kathy H.

Why Baseball Will Never Escape Performance Enhancing Drugs

Barry Bonds is back on trial, this time for perjury and obstruction of justice. A recent article by ESPN is showing us once again how Barry Bonds has become the poster boy for one of the darkest parts of Major League Baseball: Performance Enhancing Drugs, or PED's. Steve Hoskins, a business partner and friend of Bonds, is now testifying that he had seen Bonds and his trainer Greg Anderson walk into a room with syringe and needle in hand at least 2 or 3 times each spring training from 2000-2003. PED's are arguably the most controversial part of Major League Baseball, with the records of todays most famous pros tarnished by accusations and court cases. With so many pros now admitting that they used performance enhancing drugs at one point, the questions about the Hall of Fame remain. Should players who admitted using PED's at one point during their career even be considered for Hall of Fame. I dont think so, considering how they have greatly damaged the face of baseball for a long time to come. When people look back, they'll wonder why great players such as Andy Pettite, or stars such as Alex Rodriguez aren't in the Hall of Fame.The amount of players violating the rules has made it so this era of cheating will never be forgotten. Comment on whether or not you think players who cheated should be allowed in the Hall of Fame, or anything else you want to let us know.
-Jrod

Michael Vick- Winning?

This past weekend Michael Vick went to a prison in the Tampa area and spoke to the prisoners there. The article here says that he talked to them about his experiences, and how he learned from his time in prison. He hoped to "be an example to somebody" and let them know that they could always change. Michael Vick committed his crime, and for a long time he was despised by many different people. When he was finally released from prison, he slowed tried to work his way back up again. He went back to playing football, and had an extremely successful season. After a lot of work, he ended up earning some respect back. He had once again become a beloved football player. There are still people who will never forget what he did, and still despise him from it, but there are also others who think the exact opposite. The question is, does he deserve to be forgiven? Everyone admits that what he did was wrong; however, he has not shown any signs of doing anything similar ever again, and on top of that, people think he's amazing because he is good at football. I personally don't have much of an opinion either way. I don't despise him because he did it, but I don't necessarily think he's an entirely good person and everyone should just forget that it ever happened. I definitely wouldn't make my decision just because he had a good football season, but that could just be because I don't like the Eagles. (GO COWBOYS!)

-Los Spurs

SHARK ATTACK!!!

For the second time in just two weeks, a man on Crowdy Head Beach, Newcastle was attacked by a shark. Dave Pearson, 48, of Coopernook was attacked while surfing at about 6.30 last night. His friend Aaron ‘‘Noddy’’ Wallace was also surfing with him. Aaron reported watching Dave as he paddled back out after catching a wave when the shark hit him from underneath. It launched out of the water and tossed Dave off his board. The shark bit Dave on the forearm, causing him to lose lots of blood. Aaron and some other guys on the beach rushed to bring Dave back to shore and call an ambulance. Intensive care flight paramedic Alan Playford treated Mr Pearson on the beach and said that their quick actions saved Dave's life, and his arm.
There have been a number of shark sightings over the past few weeks. Just last week wakeboarder Lisa Mondy was attacked by a shark off Jimmys Beach. A man commented a reminder that the sea is home to sharks and that we are tresspassing. Another man reminds us that "if you're sensible (and don't surf on dusk in sharky places)sharks aren't a big risk." Besides, you are statistically more likely to be killed by a cat than a shark.

Link for more info.

Kathy H.

All heads are created equal

According to an NBA article, the NBA is working with a neurologist to try and create a league wide policy for how to handle concussions. I was not aware that there was not already a policy in place. Concussions are more rare in the NBA then some other sports; however, just this past Sunday New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul suffered a concussion this past Sunday (picture above). The head is one of the most important parts of the body, and it needs to be protected. The majority of concussions that I have seen in the NBA are always treated with extreme care. However, I was shocked to find out that the Milwaukee Bucks have had four people with concussions or concussion like symptoms, yet only one of them was identified as actually having a concussion. A league wide policy would be a good way to ensure the safety of the players. The NFL and NHL have already established ways to deal with concussions, and the MLB is also looking into creating a policy to handle concussions. The policy created could be something that says how long a player must be examined for before ruling out a concussion. The policy could establish a time period that a player would have to wait before they would be allowed to play again. Some teams may not like this policy, because it could mean losing a star player for an extended period of time. However, the player's safety needs to be ensured, or they could be losing the player for a lot longer.

-Los Spurs

Offseason Injuries? I don't think so.

If you were being paid millions of dollars to play your favorite sport, don't you think you'd be a little more careful during the offseason? ESPN addresses this issue in a recent article about pitcher Zack Greinke. Greinke was completely unconcerned about his health, despite warnings, as he played a game of pickup basketball with his friends in the middle of spring training. As the new pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, he is projected to be a key player in the Brewers' race for the NL Central Title. Now, with a broken rib, he will be starting out the season on... the Disabled List.

This brings up an interesting question. What if professional athletes want to play other sports for fun during the offseason? These players are naturally athletic and active, and surely want to enjoy other sports besides what they're getting paid to do. Should teams ban players from playing sports other than their profession? Unlikely, but maybe. Should players be fined, and if so, how much? Another possibility. The fact is that these players are being paid WAY too much to be hurt during the season, especially not from playing a pickup game. Also,post your comments and let us know what you think.

- JRod

WOAH! Check out these stats!!

CRAZY JET SKI STATS

This is totally wicked!! Jet ski accidents are almost three times that of open moterboats and like, 50 times the canoe/kayak. CRAZY!!!