The Friday Show Prep

Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers

Last night's 41-39 shootout won by the Los Angeles Rams over the San Francisco 49ers was probably not the result many of us had scripted.

A combined 80 points from two teams that put up a total of 53 points in two prior games just wasn't in the cards.

The Rams scored as many points last night as they had in their first two games this season, while San Francisco scored more than three times as many points last night as they had in their first two losses.

The NFC West may not be a pretty division, and they may not produce a team this season that makes a significant push in the postseason, but they are interesting to watch. And I fully expect all the Jared Goff haters to be a bit more stifled this weekend after his 3-touchdown performance last night.

Also not to be overlooked in last night's result is the performance of Rams running back Todd Gurley. Too many of us "experts" were quick to write him off after a subpar season in 2016, but he has appeared to bounce back with a vengeance, last night gaining nearly 150 yards in total offense and scoring three times.

In fact, through three games in 2017, Gurley has as many touchdowns this season (6) as he had all of last year.

I said it before the season started, and I'll repeat it as long as it holds true. The Rams are the class of the NFC West. So far, so good. 

Aaron Hernandez Court Appearance

The National Football League -- and in particular the New England Patriots -- will always be linked to headlines suggesting their careless, reckless attitude towards Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a cause and effect for bad outcomes.

And while there is a plethora of scientific research suggesting the effects of repeated head injuries by football players is leading to sometimes tragic conclusions, I'm curious as to why the lead attorney for the late Aaron Hernandez didn't use this tactic in the trial which led to Hernandez being convicted of murder in the 2013 death of Odin Lloyd.

Baez is a smart guy, and he is oftentimes well ahead of the curve as far as using sensationalism in his trial work, so it would have made for a smart defense in the Hernandez case. Baez could have gathered all sorts of medical documentation, he could have sought testimony from just about anyone in the field of brain-related research, he could have presented mountains of evidence which may have either exonerated his client, or at the very least suggest Hernandez was mentally or emotionally unstable at the time of Lloyd's death.

A recent report published by the American Medical Association and reported by the New York Times suggest that 110 of 111 brains subjected to repeated head trauma found signs of CTE. 

Baez didn't have that particular report at his disposal during the trial, but he had enough to work with. 

Baez had the 2006 suicide of Andre Waters, the 2011 suicide of Dave Duerson, as well as the 2012 suicide of Junior Seau -- all which were believed by medical experts to be connected to the effects of this disease -- at his disposal during the defense of Hernandez. 

So far as we know, Baez wasn't planning to do that during Hernandez' appeal of his life sentence, a decision which later was voided because he took his own life in prison before his appeals were exhausted, though that ruling is itself being appealed.

Now Hernandez' family wants to sue... They want to sue the league and the Patriots after evidence came out this week that Hernandez did in fact suffer from what Dr. Ann McKee of the CTE Center at Boston University released a report suggesting Hernandez' brain showed signs of a man suffering Stage 3 (out of 4) status of the disease.

This is a developing story, with obviously many different directions in which we'll unravel in the coming weeks. There are going to be a variety of differing reactions, and I'll be curious how the league will address this issue in the coming days.

So far, the league has been quiet, declining comment.

Baez has already fired the first shot (OK, bad analogy), stating this week that the NFL "led Hernandez to believe it was safe to play football."

Stay tuned.

Yes, I feel bad someone was injured at a baseball game.

I feel bad that a little girl was injured at a baseball game.

We all feel bad that a little girl was injured at a baseball game because a line-drive foul ball off the bat of New York Yankee Todd Frazier smacked her in the head while she and her grandfather watched a game at Yankee Stadium.

No one would ever suggest otherwise.

For the record, the pair were in lower-level seats behind the third-base line, just beyond the far side of the dugout. Protective netting at the stadium only extends between the home plate sides of the dugouts, although the Yankees said in a statement last month that they “are seriously exploring extending the netting prior to the 2018 season.”

The little girl was rushed to a nearby hospital where is still remains unclear whether she will need surgery, according to her father.

Following the game against the Minnesota Twins, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi told reporters that members of the team’s security staff had informed him that the girl was doing all right.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the Yankees said in a statement that, because of federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the only information they could release about the girl is that she received first aid at the stadium and was taken to a hospital.

We all feel bad for the girl and her family, and I'm sure that everyone will do whatever is needed to assure the little girl will make a complete recovery.

But does that mean we need to child-proof every ballpark? 

Does that mean that the protective netting around every ballpark clearly isn't enough and that more needs to be added to protect the fans?

And I get it. No one is going to call out the little girl or her grandfather for not paying attention, or for being a nuisance or a distraction in the stands... Because we just won't do that.

But now we're gonna protect everyone, we're gonna overreact and point fingers and make bold accusations that any team or stadium property that doesn't immediately do this or that are monsters and they don't want to protect fans and they don't care about anything except their billions of dollars.

You're either a snowflake or a monster. There is no middle ground.

And yes, again, our "thoughts and prayers" are with the little girl.

It would be absurd to suggest our "thoughts and prayers" would be with the baseball.


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