“Roy Halladay arrived (back) at the stadium around 8:45 a.m. Sunday, having slept for only a few hours. His phone was filled with messages from well-wishers, the Phillies tucked his cap and jersey away for safekeeping, and plenty of teammates were watching as TVs in the clubhouse kept showing the final out from the night before. When the Phillies’ pitchers headed out to the field for stretching and light tossing a little past 11 a.m., there was Halladay, working like nothing special had happened.”
—~ Tim Reynolds/Associated Press
May 2010
35 posts
Another reason I'm iffy about Chicago is that if they win, the Leafs gain the title of having the longest standing Cup drought.
I don’t know if I want them to lose so we don’t take that spot, or win because it might shame the Leafs organization into maybe getting us a decent goddamn team in this city.
We just want to see them with a Cup in colour, okay?
The only response I have to this is that most people already assume Toronto has the longest Stanley Cup drought anyway. When was the last time we heard chants of ‘61? Might as well make it official. Sigh.
ESPN: Female athletes often targets for rape
By Soraya Soemadiredja
Eudy Simelane was a well respected midfielder and captain of the South African women’s national soccer team, Banyana Banyana, passionate about the game. She was also gay and that’s why she was murdered. On the 28th of April 2008, at the age of 31 she was gang-rapped[sic] and stabbed while being subjected to “corrective rape”. Simelane’s teammate from the Tsakane Ladies football club, Girlie “S’gelane” Nkosi, aged 37, a lesbian activist actively fighting against hate crimes, was stabbed and murdered a year later in Kwa-Thema, where they were both from.
“The World Cup in South Africa is on the brink of chaos. Transport and electricity workers, realising the fabulous blackmail possibilities of tournament disruption, are either already on strike or threatening strikes during the event and other groups of workers are poised to emulate them. The state electricity company is so worried about the power supply that it is handing out warnings that it may cut power to many users in order to guarantee that the floodlights don’t go out on games. Householders have been told that they may need to switch off all appliances except their TVs (so that they can receive announcements of coming power outages). Sex workers have been making loud and angry declarations that security regulations are being invoked to cramp their trade. South Africa’s police chief has announced that he is hoping against hope that the US team will not get through the opening round since that will signal President Obama’s arrival and an enormous increase in the security load.”
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Musical Chairs « LRB blog (via ayjay) (via dlbrows)
I hate to be one of those condescending “I’m not surprised” outside observers, but South Africa is still beset with problems of inequality and discrimination. Forget the difficulties in delivering security to the event. When the country is suffering from widespread corruption and general disorganization in delivering law and order to many local communities, a World Cup is going to be merely a temporary reprieve to showcase the elites and the already rich. At the end of the day, this is a glorified international soccer tournament that will not solve or even address the numerous injustices ongoing in South Africa, even if FIFA claims that the World Cup is more than just sport. I’ll watch the games with fervoured interest as a sports fan, but any talk about the World Cup representing more than just revenue and promoting market brands will fall on deaf ears.
Paradise Circus feat. Hope Sandoval
Massive Attack
Massive Attack - Paradise Circus
I’ve only heard remixes of Massive Attack’s new-ish song. It will take me a bit of time to get used to a clean, simple version of this song (I still prefer the Gui Boratto remix), but the original isn’t too bad at all.
Hockey and Traumatic Brain Injury
Hockey is arguably one of the most physical professional sports. Hockey players are constantly getting body checked, slammed into boards, falling to the ice, slapped by a stick, hit by a dense, speeding puck or getting punched during a fight. If that isn’t bad enough, hockey players take part in one of the longest regular seasons of any sport, effectively taking on harsher pain for a longer amount of time throughout the year. Risk of injury couldn’t be clearer as you all too commonly see hockey players missing their front two teeth. With all of the injuries that can occur, one of the most dangerous is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A TBI is a silent injury that can cause harm to the mind and body of an individual. An injury to the head or brain can alter someone’s life and can even require long-term rehabilitation and care from a skilled nursing facility. These injuries are often far too common in the sport of hockey and if not properly treated can permanently leave a hockey player’s life challenging than the game they play.
TBI is an injury that Philadelphia Flyers player Ian Laperriere knows all too well. In game 5 of an NHL playoff game with the New Jersey Devils, Laperriere took a slap shot to the face that immediately caused him to bleed excessively from the wound above his eye and lose sight. Laperriere was diagnosed with a brain contusion after having a MRI a few days later. While Laperriere may have originally thought that losing sight in one of his eyes was the worst of the two injuries, in reality the bigger concern could wind up being the long-term effects of the brain injury.
A concussions have been dismissed as minor injuries because the physical nature of most sports causes them to occur regularly, but, frequently occurring or not, they are still head injuries where the brain is forced to move violently within the skull and the way it functions could change permanently. When the brain moves in such a manner, it can bruise, bleed, and even tear, which can cause irreversible damage to the victim. For a sport like hockey, this type of injury is very common and unfortunately at times ignored. Many hockey players don’t take into account the possible effects of the injury and because it might not seem like a serious problem exists at first, they keep on skating as if nothing occurred. Their unawareness of the injury makes the it so much more dangerous because a mild brain injury can turn into a life threatening injury in a very short period of time without seeking immediate medical treatment.
Studies by the National Academy of Neuropsychology’s Sports Concussion Symposium in New York have shown that since 1997, 759 NHL players have been diagnosed with a concussion. Broken down, that averages out to 76 players per season and 31 concussions per 1,000 games of hockey. That is far too frequent of an occurrence for such a serious injury. It’s a frightening statistic that should send up a red flag to hockey officials that actions need to be taken to further prevent this type of injury from occurring.
The best, and sometimes only, treatment for TBI is prevention. For the National Hockey League new rules are being considered that preserve the game but also help protect the players. Rule changes concerning blindside hits, rink size (which effects players space from each other and their proximity to walls), and stronger helmet requirements all have been considered to help curb TBI and its effects. This demonstrates that the NHL is aware of the seriousness of the injury and is taking proactive steps to help prevent it from happening.
Hockey is one of the most popular sports in North America and has millions of people participating in it every year. Unfortunately, the sport comes with the risk of a TBI. With the right awareness of the injury and the necessary precautions in place, the game should be able to continue with players excited to lace up their skates and enjoy it.
Written by Chelsea Travers
Chelsea Travers is an outreach representative for CareMeridian, a subacute care facility located throughout the Western United States for patients suffering from traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury or medical complexities, such as neuromuscular or congenital anomalies.
By the way...
Brandon League is still a sex muffin.
This post is for bkblades who pointed out I don’t update this blog anymore. Being done exams and my work contract for the last two weeks, I will admit I am out of excuses.
So. Yay.
Random fact: Though most players have their name on their glove, League has “43 Sasha”. Aww.
YES!!!! Hijacking a thread due to a singular line about a former love? So worth it.
Funeral
Band of Horses
Band of Horses - Funeral
As a self-affirmed over-exaggerator, this is one of most beautiful songs you will ever hear in the last decade. I’m not sure if that deserved an exclamation point. Where’s Elaine Benes when you need her?
