My comment on an article "will pro-football fade away"

The boxing "Palooka" and ban on bare-knuckle boxing goes back a century.  I recently watched the entire 40 hours box set of the 1980's HBO series "1st and Ten" which frequently dealt with debilitating and crippling injuries in pro-football.

The concept of latent brain injuries like these was not discussed in the HBO series but the idea has rapidly caught on.  I've heard it discussed a number of times in commentary during NFL games this year.  The case of
local wrestler Verne Gagne has brought more awareness locally so we are ahead of the curve here.

That said, this seems low on the list of threats to pro football.  Topping the list is the threat of labor unrest and the US Supreme Court ruling against revenue sharing.  http://www.minnpost.com/derekwallbank/2010/05/24/18428/sports_armageddon_supreme_court_issues_landmark_ruling_favoring_vikings_and_individual_teams_over_nfl

I have tried to watch several soccer World Cups including last summers and am convinced that viewing that can cause someone raised on US TV brain damage .  I could write an essay on why soccer won't become mainstream entertainment in the US.  I watched for World Cup entertainment tie ins in the outer ring suburbs where our local "soccer row" started in the 1980's (and the original "soccer kids" are now adults) and couldn't find anything.  Even 1st and Ten" had an episode about pro-soccer and empty stands.  (For starters soccer plays something like 45 minutes without a break which does not allow for commercials or instant replays)

By contrast, during this NFL regular season eighteen of the twenty top rated network (and Fox) TV shows were NFL games.  The ESPN NFL games also did very well.  I heard a figure that the US pro football is an eight billion dollar industry.  That is around $25 per capita in the US.  More than two thirds is from broadcast rights.  Contrast that with gymnastics, which had relatively weak broadcast appeal outside of the Olympics. (the Beijing Olympics were said to be a financial and ratings disaster for NBC.)

Our pro football is also adaptable.  Pro football has already instituted rules and tends to be very adaptable.  Also, our best and brightest tend to be fans and offer suggestions.  People like me also do.  My suggestion for late/hard hits.  Besides the down and yardage penalty have an immediate game time penalty of five or ten minutes clock time for the hitter if refs make the call.  The NFL has a premium "all games" cable/dish option so a "judgement committee" can review the plays and vote on additional team penalties and potential removal of the player from the rest of the game if they deem the charge legitimate.  This can easily be done in five minutes of playtime.  If I can figure that out the NFL can.

The "legislation through litigation" strategy has never been popular in the polls.  The tobacco litigation, is something I consider mostly a "charade" (I quit smoking in the early 1970's)  This involves the withholding of
"informed consent" as a legal claim.  Heck, if an NFL player tapes or Tivos a game and watches it they will hear discussions on the head injury issues.  Union reps and agents should be aware of this and suggest reasonable adaption in the game.

In the early 1970's, before his foray sheltering the Symbionese Liberation Army during the "lost year" Jack Scott" was a very vocal authority on the alleged dangers of college and pro sports.  Most athletes he cited in articles and his book "The Athletic Revolution" were deemed "sour grapes" who didn't make the cut by the public.

The public support of the NFL might, in large term be a "backlash" response to the forces of "political correctness" and the Nanny state.  This won't go away.  Also there is "low hanging fruit" if someone wants to take this on.  One prime example is cable wresting.  Lot's of alleged brain damage there!

For what it's worth I didn't watch much pro-football until the Brett Farve era of the Vikings.  I want our sports gladiators to "live long and prosper".  We need creative adaption, not litigation in pro-football rules.

Powerlineblog.com: WHO'S CRAZY?

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/12/027991.php

This bizarre news story struck me forcefully because the events described took place just a few blocks from my house:

[Rhonda] Arkley's husband, Stuart Arkley, said he was resting in a lower-level bedroom when his wife entered and threw gasoline on him, hurled a lit oil lamp at him and hit him in the head with an exercise weight. ...

The two struggled at the front door as Stuart Arkley attempted to flee and his wife, holding a steak knife, yelled, "I only want to kill myself."

Rhonda Arkley then grabbed a 5-gallon can and spread gasoline around the house, saying, "I don't want anyone else to see this house." He tried to stop her, but she threw more gas on him and lit a piece of paper. He fled out a back window to a neighbor's home and called 911.

When police arrived, they found the home ablaze and Rhonda Arkley in a locked car in the driveway, stabbing her chest with a screwdriver.

Arkley drove off. Eagan police put down stop spikes on Pilot Knob Road near Cliff Road, disabling her vehicle. Officers approached and saw her again stabbing herself in the chest with a screwdriver, using a hammer to drive it in.

The events described are sad, if not tragic. Mrs. Arkley's son had recently died of a heroin overdose. One can only have sympathy for her and her family. It is noteworthy, however, that Mrs. Arkley is not a random Minnesotan--rather, she was the Democratic Party's candidate for the Minnesota Senate in 2002 in District 37, my district. In that race, she received an "A" rating from the National Organization of Women. She is a prominent member of Minnesota's atheist community. And she ison record as believing that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is "nutty."

That last, of course, is an article of faith among liberals. But the contrast is a striking one: Congresswoman Bachmann is, in fact, a woman of great serenity, substantial professional accomplishment, invariably sunny disposition, and almost unnatural energy; she is the mother of five and foster mother of 23 children. This sad anecdote from my neighborhood illustrates a commonplace of sociology: scratch a conservative and you will almost always find a happy person; scratch a liberal and you are likely to encounter a seething cauldron of disappointment and rage.

AOL JOBS: My Unemployed Life: The Forgotten Woman

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/11/17/my-unemployed-life-the-forgotten-woman/25#comments

MY COMMENT:

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/11/17/my-unemployed-life-the-forgotten-woman/?ncid=webmail

I came at this from a different perspective. After a 33 year career, the last 30 years night shift I retired at the end of 2007. Good solid pension, good medical, paid off house and zero debt. I was am and set pretty well.

The first year after retirement I worked in the construction field and was very busy. A lot was my office and computer skills but I was also a "gopher" with a four cylinder "stick" mini-pickup when gas was $4 per gallon. The extra money was nice and but I also got the meet a lot of people who worked in construction.

After the late 2008 economic crash the construction business totally collapsed. I was involved the the non-union remodeling, garage building ect.

part but across the board new work decreased by 75% or more after that.

My work is down to very near zero. People who have worked a long time in the field need the work and the money and I have my pension. Yes, these people will do almost anything legal for money. I got some going in Craigslist repair and resale but even this is crowded.

Even there, the secret is to specialize, know the specific material and market and act very quickly when some lists something at a good price "just to get rid of it" or when it needs certain repairs. I have the time, money and truck so I can jump on these. Even these are becoming more scarce lately.

http://fifthestate.net

Al Gore: U.S. corn ethanol "was not a good policy"

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE6AL0YT20101122?sp=true

Redrant: I've read that Al Gore is now invested in cellulistic ethanol so this might be a "crazy as a sex poodle" ploy to pump that investment. Greg Lang

* U.S. ethanol consumes about 40 pct corn crop (?)

ATHENS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore said support for corn-based ethanol in the United States was "not a good policy", weeks before tax credits are up for renewal. ......

He (Al Gore) explained his own support for the original programme on his presidential ambitions. (READ FULL ARTICLE AT LINK)

Facebook peeks spark asthma attacks in dumped boy.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jpuLl5N_ciX9sEQ7xsOk061frUmg?docId=952d4968c7db4221a0878ef5970b0551

LONDON (AP) — Beware unhappy asthmatics: Italian doctors warn that Facebook could trigger an attack in some susceptible users.
Gennaro D'Amato and colleagues treated an 18-year-old man whose asthma attacks were apparently sparked by logging into Facebook and seeing how many men his ex-girlfriend had friended.
The man had been taking two inhaled steroid drugs several times a day to control his asthma. But when his girlfriend dumped him — and worse, unfriended him on Facebook — his condition deteriorated. (MORE AT LINK)

Interesting post I found that tends to reflect my views.

http://comments.startribune.com/comments.php?d=asset_comments&asset_id=105062649&sort=E&section=/local&start=30

What about the content??

I watched this 'documentary'. It had a lot of big unproveable claims about nitrogen and farming causing damage etc. but very short on actual scientific PROOF of the alleged connection. Don't believe me? Watch the film again, and see how many times they use 'weasel words' to make their claims such as 'it is believed that'... and 'scientists think.. and so on. In watching that film, you would think that every farm in the state is somehow dumping nitrogen right into the river, but few farms are directly adjacent to the Mississippi. Bottom line? This film is suspect in its claims, and Himle was correct in giving pause. Unfortunately, all the 'politically correct' 'green police' types are out in force whining about censorship. The film was not balanced, and it had a slanted viewpoint. End of story.

posted by minn12 on Oct. 15, 10 at 7:03 PM |

What surprised me was the total lack of comments on the film itself after the Sunday theater and Tuesday TV release.

http://comments.startribune.com/comments.php?d=asset_comments&asset_id=104599514&section=/opinion/editorials

I tend to be in the Global Warming/Climate Change/Global Climate Disruption "deniers"> I have viewed it twice (TPT/taped) and give it a "B+". ...... What amazed me was the lack of comments either in the media or online after the film was actually shown. The sellout early Sunday Theater showing would constitute a "public release" so comments would have been "fair game" even for those who had an advanced screening. .....

I posted a spiel before and after the TPT viewing. It is at my http://FifthEstate.net in case anyone wants to read it. ........

On second viewing I picked up that the captioning was sloppy (when text is white on a white background backmask) and a bit heavy on the plugs for the grass-fed beef. .....I didn't know the status of the "nitrogen detector". Clever device but there may be alternatives. It is either a sniffer or a color detector. Either should work.....

I didn't see it as a "anti-capitalist propaganda film. Perhaps a bit with the "organic" part but most of it suggests very cost effective solutions. I especially liked the tile drain tube "floodgates". Cheap to make. If they reduce nitrogen runoff by 80% that is fertilizer (and aquifer water) not needed. Both cost the farmer money. The high tech stuff looks like it can be cost effective. .....

I have no dog in the federal agriculture fight. .......

As for ethanol it seems a good sop for corn surpluses but a mandate seems stupid. The original ethanol policy was devised when oil was under $20 per barrel and corn was under $2 per bushel. (Them days seem gone). I'll repost this at my http://FifthEstate.com in case the Strib censors are at it.