Bobref

You mean, in addition to all the tests they are already doing now? He’s no doubt already had serial MRIs of the brain, constant monitoring of his ventilation status, round the clock testing of kidney & liver function, blood chemistry, and probably 20 other parameters we don’t know about. He’s almost certainly had an echocardiogram to see if there’s damage to the heart muscle.

It’s going to be difficult to assess whether there’s been brain damage until they wake him up. And they likely won’t do that until he’s making an effort to breathe on his own. As long as he’s got a breathing tube in place, they’ll keep him sedated. Very difficult for a patient to tolerate an endotracheal tube while awake. And no real way to assess his cognitive function while he’s sedated.

OK, you’ve got a test group and a control group. Now what? Start hitting them in the chest to see who arrests? The only way I can think of would be autopsy.

Either that or global warming. Perhaps fluoride in the water supply.

Medical malpractice lawyer for 35 years. Lots of cases involving cardiac arrests, arrhythmias, CPR, etc.

Sure. He could have had an undetected rhythm disturbance which just chose that moment to manifest itself. Remember Hank Gaithers, the basketball player?

Since I posted that, I’ve spoken to a highly regarded athletic trainer I know. He related that there are a number of case studies of “commotio cordis” resulting from football contact. This is a condition where a sharp blow to a specific place, at a specific point in the heart’s rhythm, results in cardiac arrest. I was aware of cases involving baseball pitchers struck in the chest by a line drive, or a hockey player by a slap shot. So, it’s entirely possible that this routine looking tackle is what caused his arrest.

Last night was a sobering reminder that there are things more important than football. One thing to keep in mind. There has been an awful lot of conversation in recent years about the effects of violent contact on the health of the players, short and long term. But this horrific incident had absolutely nothing to do with the nature of football. This was a sudden cardiac arrest, almost certainly from an arrhythmia, and there was no trauma involved. It could just as easily have happened when he was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store. The outcome will be determined by how quickly and effectively they got chest compressions going while they used a defibrillator to restore a normal sinus rhythm and get blood circulating effectively. Without circulating blood, brain tissue starts to die in just a few minutes. The fact that they were able to restore a heartbeat while he was still on the field is a positive sign. People recover well from cardiac arrest followed by CPR … on TV. In real life, recovery without some type of damage is, unfortunately, uncommon.

When all is said and done, they’ll determine his collapse was almost certainly caused by an arrhythmia. Hope they got the defibrillator to him in time.

Always nice to see USC gag one up. 🤮

Guy walks into the library and says “I want a book entitled ‘Pavlov’s Dog & Schrodinger’s Cat.’” The librarian replies “That rings a bell, but I don’t know whether it’s in or not.”

Driver’s Ed?

Time to turn the page to 2023. This article suggests that, despite what appear to be fine recruiting classes for 2023 & 2024, the Irish risk falling behind in future recruiting wars if they don’t change their practices relating to NIL and the transfer portal. Currently, ND uses NIL to help roster players, but they do not use NIL to recruit high school kids. Similarly, ND only recruits the transfer portal for sophomores to be and grad transfers. https://slapthesign.com/2023/01/01/notre-dame-football-adapt-left-behind/ Notre Dame football: Adapt to NIL or be left behind The Notre Dame football program is on a different playing field than the biggest programs in the country regarding NIL and the transfer portal. If the Irish want to be playoff contenders, they must adapt or be left behind. The first issue the Notre Dame football staff faces is being outbid for high school recruits looking to secure early financial benefits. While the Irish are helping their current players with NIL income, they’re not using it to pursue high school recruits. Though Marcus Freeman is genuinely one of the best recruiters in the country, even he can’t compete with the promises and money being thrown around by the big-time NIL players. Name, image, and likeness is becoming a pay-for-play workaround for many big-time schools. Notre Dame football has already lost multiple major recruits to the new NIL rules. For example, according to 247Sports recruiting insiders with Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Oregon, NIL was a significant factor in Peyton Bowen’s commitment to first Oregon and second Oklahoma. But, to be fair, can you blame a high school kid for wanting immediate financial security? (These are notes listed on premium message boards by various recruiting insiders. Check them out at 247Sports with a VIP subscription to see more.) If the Notre Dame football program wanted to become a significant NIL player, there’s no question they could do so with ease The problem becomes two-fold when you look at their academic standards for recruits and transfers. Many teams not consistently landing top recruits can secure them in the transfer portal. Thanks to their transfer academic standards and regulations, Notre Dame doesn’t have that luxury. Not only will they fall behind in initial high school recruiting, but it’ll be tough to make up for it in the transfer portal. Not to mention, NIL will still be a factor in the portal as well. The fact is that Notre Dame will either have to adapt to the new landscape of college football or be left behind. Were Marcus Freeman a head coach ten years ago, Notre Dame may already be a perennial championship contender. While it’s not impossible to create a playoff contender with the new rules, it doesn’t help when you’re playing by a different set of rules than everyone else. No doubt, should Notre Dame change their ways in these two areas, it’d be a powerhouse in college football. However, given how volatile the situation is, don’t expect changes from the university anytime soon.

Great games … but generally unsatisfying outcomes.

I didn’t mean to suggest that only defenseless players can be the victims of targeting. Only that it is much easier to “target” a defenseless player than one who is not.

By rule, a runner is only defenseless when his forward progress is stopped and he is being held up, or when he’s already on the ground.

Keep in mind the critical fact that the runner was not a defenseless player. That makes all the difference when deciding whether to call targeting.

This is the controversial replay overturn of the Michigan TD. The Wolverines coughed it up on the next play in what might have been the pivotal play sequence of the game. This is an unbelievably close play. It embodies several fundamental concepts about catch, possession, etc. Call on the field by the back judge, who was in pretty good position, was a TD.

That’s what everyone says … until the call goes against your team. People need to understand there are limits to human performance. Perfection is not attainable.

That play was really, really close. Controversial either way. If Michigan had taken care of business, no one would have said anything. Having said that, I don’t think the crew is having a great game. The roughing the passer call against TCU was not a strong call.

I thought Buchner played like a QB of immense talent … who hasn’t seen game action in 16 weeks, About what I expected.

You’ve got to admit — Michigan vs. Ohio State for the National Championship would be the biggest college football game in memory.

You’re absolutely right that the Bears don’t need to use the #2 pick to get a high quality WR. All the better. Trade down with that #2 to some QB-starved team for additional draft capital.

So, you’ll be rooting for Georgia to beat Ohio State? You know, a real cynic might say you were ducking Ohio State because if the Buckeyes were to avenge their earlier loss by winning what would be the most significant game in the long history of the rivalry, it would erase all the progress the Wolverines have made in the last couple of years. Glad I’m not that cynical. I know it’s just because you hate the Buckeyes with an unquenchable fire.