The NFL released a video earlier this week in an effort to educate players and the public on what constitutes a “dangerous” hit. As if some other dude flying at you in a full sprint could be considered anything but dangerous. Anyway, somebody took the video and made a couple changes that apparently were necessary. So enjoy. Thanks to Mike for ripping the original vid. The fact that he was able to do that with a Mac really has me doubting my PC love. Hopefully this will stay up for at least half the time spent ripping it.

I don’t think we can overstate how big a deal concussions are in the NFL. Brain trauma suffered during violent tackles in professional football can have lasting adverse effects on a player’s live even after his career ends. You know, unlike all of those other injuries. The italics were for sarcasm, people.

So now the NFL is trumpeting out a new policy which will allow the league to suspend players for…well, that’s not exactly clear.

The NFL will announce by Wednesday that, effective this weekend, even first-time offenders face suspension for “devastating hits” and “head shots,” according to Ray Anderson, the league’s executive vice president of football operations.

“We can’t and won’t tolerate what we saw Sunday,” Anderson said Monday. “We’ve got to get the message to players that these devastating hits and head shots will be met with a very necessary higher standard of accountability. We have to dispel the notion that you get one free pass in these egregious or flagrant shots.” More from ESPN.com here, including an exchange between Matt Millen and Steve Young that will make your head hurt more than any concussion ever could.

I think we all know what a head shot is, and we can agree that we could do without those. But “devestating hits”? Lemme get this straight: the NFL is going to fine players for hitting too hard? This is a joke, right? Are you videotaping me? Is that a hidden camera? You can’t be serious.

This isn’t going to work. The NFL is the last big league left where everyone still plays hard, because its players have to play hard. These suspensions won’t be enough to change the behavior of a player that’s fighting week after week to keep his job. Think about it: If it comes to sitting out a week for mashing a dude’s skull inside out or cleaning out your locker after getting cut for pulling up on what might be a touchdown-saving tackle, which would you choose? Read the rest of this entry »

Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Asante Samuel does not like wide receivers. He wishes he could put all the wide receivers of the world into a pile and just blow them to smithereens. You know what he says about wide receivers? That they all look alike. One time he told Roddy White to go back to Alabama-Birmingham.

We’ve also heard a lot about Samuel’s dedication to bulking up and improving his tackling. The vicious hit on Dexter McCluster in Kansas City was a start. If Samuel smacks players like that during the regular season, it would be hard not to move him up higher on this list.

–Philly.com

That wasn’t very nice at all. Someday, Asante will learn to peacefully coexist with wide receivers, but until then, enjoy this clip of Samuel folding this Kansas City Chief in half. That’s not a hate crime. That’s just great football. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins destroying Boston’s Marc Savard. Video’s after the jump, but obviously people took issue with a guy elbowing another guy in the head while he wasn’t looking. So what is he supposed to do? Not hit him? Wait for him to look? This is what happens when you take fighting out of pro hockey. Instead of sending a couple of Bruins over to rearrange Matt Cooke’s face, you end up with a bunch of people aggrandizing after the fact about what a dirty hit it was after the game. Bitching and moaning is bad for hockey, not only does it sully the image of the game, but it dissolves the concept of immediate consequences. Yeah, hits to the head are bad, but punches to the head of a guy that just hit someone in the head restore balance to the universe. Thanks, “Röbert.” Read the rest of this entry »

Soon after the All-Star break, baseball fans in many cities realize that their team has no chance of winning the pennant (diamond devotees in Kansas City, Tampa Bay and D.C. come to this realization much sooner, around May Day).  When this recognition is made, one wants to hit another human being with the most force possible.  As there are laws against this, one waits in anticipation of the football season to experience the vicarious joy of watching feats such as this:

Wow, that video really was HI-FI, huh?  At least it's a hard hit you probably haven't seen a million times before, so just replay the goodness between the 15-20 second mark to your satisfaction.  Take as needed. -KD