Saturday Studmuffins: Team USA

Words. So unnecessary.

(clip courtesy of The Lone Reader)
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Monday Mysticism: Complete Confusion

Back when this blog was awesome (Editor's Note: In theory), one of the sites I used to frequent for information was Awful Announcing. I hadn't visited AA in some time, and when I did this morning, I discovered that, well, they haven't either. I was shocked -- shocked! -- by this, but not as shocked as I was when I perused the content of their most-recently published post. Summary, post-leap:

There are 40 -- count 'em: 40 -- primetime NFL football games listed in that post, and only one of 'em features the Denver Broncos?

You kiddin' me?

This team commands its perennial 12 primetime games. What in the hell is going on here? Answers, I say! I demand answers!

You're going to give the Denver "sustained excellence" Broncos one lousy primetime game all season? And it's on the road? Heads are gonna roll, here. You don't treat the God-damned Denver Broncos like this. Hell, the Chiefs have just as many primetime games slotted, and theirs is a home contest. Someone had best look the fuck out. These Broncos have cock-grabbin', neck-bearded, Christ-infused signal callers on the roster. Expect maiming and death. Nothing less. This. Is an outrage.
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Thursday ThumbTubes & YouNails Stationary GIFs

TeamUSA takes the field again tomorrow. Meantime, this is a still shot of a new GIF over at With Leather. It's nerdy, yet funny, kinda like the House of Georges team.

U-S-A!
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Thursday ThumbTubes: ManCrush Elevated

Of course all of the taglines will call J.R. a crybaby, the moment awkward, but this was awesome. Got the waterworks fired up in my living room. #notashamedtoadmitthat

(clip courtesy of the StubTubes)
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Massive Tool Lifts 'Hawks to Cup Championship in OT

Tool. Massive, massive tool. Congrats to the Blackhawks. That is all.

(photo courtesy of Puck Daddy)
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Wednesday Whatnot: Hockey and TBI

Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. Central on NBC. The contest will take place in Philadelphia, and the home team will look to stay alive as they trail two games to three against Western Conference Champion Chicago. Keys to the game can be found here. Despite the continous adversity the Flyers have faced, some think Philadelphia is primed to take this to a game seven. Others, of course, think the Blackhawks get the championship on the road tonight. The Cup, nevertheless, will of course be on hand for tonight's game.

On a more serious note, however, we were contacted by a health professional, who was interested in writing a bit about some of the seriousness that can follow injuries in the fastest game on Earth. Hop past the leap, and read a bit about brain injuries affiliated with hockey.

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.

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 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 traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, spinal cord injury or medical complexities, such as neuromuscular or congenital anomalies.

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2010 NotY: Steele Sidebottom

All votes are in; the Name of the Year has been decided. Naturally, the voters have spoken differently than the committee, but that's nothing new.

Congratulations, Steele Sidebottom.
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Complete Randomness

Stumbled across this interview that's only eight years old, but I thought it was top notch, so there you go.

Tune in tomorrow for a review of the most recent Indiana Jones movie. Also, the Stanley Cup Final game three is on in 40 minutes, in case you lost your TV guide.
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