It has been over 48 hours since Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest in Monday night’s football game. The latest report indicates he remains in a coma and is in critical condition but is showing positive signs.
As anyone knows who has played the game at the high school level or above, football is a violent game in which severe injuries happen in the blink of an eye. It is a risk that anyone who plays the game knows is possible. Injuries are a common thing and there is a next man up philosophy. The reaction of the players on the field, will always tell you when something happened to a player that is out of the norm and it is no longer a next man up situation.
In watching the video of the play in which Hamlin made a tackle, got up and then collapsed, the players’ faces told it all. By the expressions on their faces, you could tell this was not an injury. This was something much more serious. They were no longer players; they were human beings who were watching a life and death event take place before their eyes on the field where they were playing just a few seconds before. The football game meant nothing to them at that point. Team meant nothing. The only thing that mattered to them was Damar Hamlin. The big tough football players were brought to tears and were filled with emotions just like a normal human being. We saw it Monday night and we saw it in October when Michigan coach Mike Hart collapsed on the sidelines during the Michigan/Indiana game.
Sometimes we forget that professional athletes are human beings who have the same emotions that we all have. Sometimes we forget that professional athletes players are young men and women who are still growing as human beings. Unfortunately, it takes an incident like what happened on Monday to remind us that they are more than just athletes. They are humans with the same range of emotions we all have.
Every person on that field will remember what happened for the rest of their life. Hopefully the story of Damar Hamlin will end as positively as the story of Mike Hart. In the meantime, all we can do is pray for Hamlin’s full recovery.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Republicans continue to make history; however, I am not sure it is the kind of history they want. If they cannot get it done by Thursday, they should consider asking Fred Upton to be Speaker. Upton is a Reagan Republican who knows how to work both sides of aisle. With his 46 years of experience in the House, I am sure he would be able to get things done based on a history of working for what is best for the country.
Let’s face it, the Republican members of the House are in disarray as they are split between the MAGA supporters, the right-wing extremist, and true conservatives. Even the former president’s support of McCarthy cannot get him enough votes. Some holdout Republican members have been voting for Representative Jordan, even though Jordan has expressed his support for McCarthy.
Per Heather Cox Richardson in her blog today, one House Republican said to Jake Trapper of CNN on Tuesday, the holdouts want “procedural trickery that no one in America gives a damn about, but that might give these few loudmouths just a little bit more of the attention and power they crave…. None of these narcissists—and that’s what they are, pure narcissists—did a damn thing to help us win the majority. Nothing. If anything, many of them were liabilities, requiring outside help from Kevin McCarthy, ironically. So they contribute nothing to the team, and then have the audacity to demand outsize influence and power.” No wonder this Republican member of the House wanted to remain anonymous.
Quote of the Day
I loved B1G basketball analyst Steven Bardo when he was a player on Illinois’ 1989 team, when he won the B1G defensive player of the year award on a team that was the best in the country. (Yes they were better than the Michigan team that won the national championship that year) I also like him as an analyst because he is not afraid to say what he is thinking. In tonight’s game between M and Penn State, he said something that really points out the craziness that is going on with players in today’s college basketball game.
Michigan backup freshman center Terrance Reed. Jr. a five star recruit, was playing some productive minutes in the first half when Bardo said the following. “I hope his support staff and the people around him are patient and allow him to develop into the ballplayer he can be.” Bardo then went on to say that Reed will benefit by continuing to play for Juwan Howard so he can become the best big man he can be and then stating “Who better to learn from than Juwan Howard?”
Five years ago, prior to the transfer portal, NIL, and one and done, transferring to another school or leaving early to enter the pro draft would not even be a consideration for a back-up freshman center.
Feel free to share my blog or to sign up to receive it directly in your email. See the sign-up
Quote of the Day: See above
Orchid of the Day: The referees, coaches and the NFL leadership who showed empathy and caring by cancelling the game on Monday after Hamlin collapsed. All of those involved knew that the players, coaches, and officiating crew would not have had their heads in the game after experiencing such a traumatic event.
Onion of the Day: Per the Detroit News, former Wayne County Road Division Manager Kevin Gunn on Tuesday admitted he stole more than $1.7 million in county money during a scheme that involved buying and liquidating generators and other power equipment. Gunn faces up to almost six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program theft. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith has set sentencing for May 31.
Question of the Day: Will Kevin McCarthy eventually win out and become the Speaker of the House?
Video of the Day: Another player who suffered an injury on the field that was out of the norm and brought his fellow players to tears.