Month: January 2020

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NFL Doctor Calls Carson Wentz ‘Heroic’ for Reporting Concussion

Wentz was injured when Seattle’s Jadeveon Clowney hit him helmet-to-helmet  in the first quarter of a 17-9 loss in an NFC wild-card game Sunday.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) The NFL’s chief medical officer called Carson Wentz “heroic” for reporting his concussion during Philadelphia’s playoff loss and disputed the notion the league’s system failed the Eagles quarterback.

“I think what Carson Wentz did is heroic and should be highlighted as an example of how an unbelievably skilled and competitive athlete understands the seriousness of concussion injury and is willing to honestly report it and receive the care that he needs independent of his desire and drive to continue to participate in the game,” Dr. Allen Sills told The Associated Press on Thursday. “Having a concussion and playing through it is not about toughness. That’s demonstrating a lack of understanding of the severity of the injury. So I applaud Carson Wentz for understanding how serious this injury is and for getting appropriate care that he needs.”

Wentz was injured when Seattle’s Jadeveon Clowney hit him helmet-to-helmet from behind in the first quarter of a 17-9 loss in an NFC wild-card game Sunday.

Wentz stayed in and threw a couple passes before reporting symptoms on the sideline. He was examined in the medical tent and went to the locker room for further evaluation after failing the concussion protocol. He was not allowed to return to the game.

“It’s a great example to players at all ages and levels that you only have one brain and you shouldn’t take chances with a brain injury,” said Sills, a neurosurgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “Brain injuries are different than other injuries. Anytime someone has a sprained ankle, you can see their ankle swell up or they dislocate a finger and you can see the finger pointing in the wrong direction. You can’t see a brain injury from the outside, but that does not make it any less severe or any less dangerous to the recipient than any of those other injuries.”

Because the independent spotters and the neurotrauma consultants monitoring the game did not see Wentz exhibit behavior or symptoms suggestive of a concussion and he had to tell the team’s medical staff, some media and fans have argued the league’s system for concussion detection is broken.

“I would vigorously disagree,” Sills said. “Video identification of (symptoms) is one part of a concussion identification. You’re not going to see things like amnesia or confusion on video, and that’s why all the other elements of detection are really important.”

Those elements include players being open and honest about their symptoms. Also, the team’s trainers and medical staff are relied upon to notice and report symptoms. So are coaches, teammates and game officials.

“You have to have people talking to the players,” Sills said. “You want to make the players and their officials and coaches and everyone aware of the symptoms because you’re not always going to see it on video, but yet there will be signs there if you’re looking at everything.”

The Eagles had an instance earlier in the season when linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill didn’t report symptoms after taking a blow to his head and played the entire game. He later admitted lying to the medical staff about his symptoms and missed the following game because of a concussion.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson called it a “selfish act” and promised to remind players about the importance of reporting symptoms immediately.

Wentz missed the playoffs the two previous seasons because of injuries and watched Nick Foles lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl title two years ago. He led an injury-depleted team to four straight wins in December and was excited to start his first playoff game.

However, Clowney’s shot knocked him out of it after only two series. Clowney wasn’t penalized for a late hit and the league still hasn’t determined whether he’ll be fined.

“I just applaud him for setting the example that we want all players to follow,” Sills said of Wentz. “The Eagles medical staff acted immediately and appropriately as soon as they were aware of the diagnosis. They didn’t treat this player any differently than they would have a backup or if this was a preseason game. Our concussion protocol and our care is the same in every single game, no matter who the player is or what the situation or what the implications are.”

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Predators’ Pekka Rinne Scores First Goaltender Goal in Six Years

Predators goalie Pekka Rinne became the first goalie to score in a regular season game since Oct. 19, 2013 and only the 12th ever to score a goal.

Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne entered Thursday night’s game looking to stop the Chicago Blackhawks from scoring. Instead, he ended the game by tallying one of his own.

With less than 30 seconds to play in the Predators’ 5-2 victory over the Blackhawks, Rinne fired the puck from behind his own net, watching it travel down the entire length of the rink and into the Chicago goal.

In doing so, the three-time All-Star became the first goalie to score in a regular season game since Oct. 19, 2013 and only the 12th ever to score a goal.

Rinne’s teammates mobbed the goaltender in celebration following the goal.

On the season, the Finnish goaltender is 14-9-3 and has a .894 save percentage and a 3.06 goals against average.

Rinne’s goal comes just days after the Predators fired head coach Peter Laviolette and hired former Devils coach John Hynes.

Following the win, Nashville sports a 20-16-7 record but remains toward the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

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City of Oxford to Honor Late ESPN Reporter Edward Aschoff on Jan. 18

Oxford, Mississippi has declared Jan. 18, 2020 as Edward Aschoff Day, in honor of the ESPN reporter who died on Christmas Eve.

The city of Oxford, Mississippi, has declared Jan. 18, 2020 as Edward Aschoff Day, in honor of the ESPN reporter who died on Christmas Eve, his 34th birthday. The city’s Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the proclamation earlier this week.

“The people who loved him watched in awe the past month as the entire country has come to know him for his talent and drive, yes, but mostly for the way he lived his life,” the proclamation said. “We should all aspire to be remembered that way.”

Mayor Robyn Tannehill presented the proclamation to the Board after the suggestion of honoring Aschoff was made to her by writer Wright Thompson, one of Aschoff’s colleagues at ESPN.

“Wright asked if we would consider proclaiming January 18 as Edward Aschoff Day and I told him we would be honored to,” Tannehill told the Oxford Eagle. “I did not personally know Edward, but to see and hear and read all of the different stories and the accounts of not only what a talented person he was, but the time that he took to mentor others.”

Aschoff died after a battle with pneumonia. In the wake of his death, Katy Berteau, Aschoff’s fiancée, shared a touching thread on his Twitter page.

“I want to say thank you to everyone who has expressed their sympathies, condolences, and prayers for me and his family and friends,” Berteau wrote on Aschoff’s feed.

Berteau and Aschoff were set to be married in New Orleans in April.

Aschoff joined ESPN in 2011 as part of the SEC blog network, which covers the NCAA Southeastern Conference. Through his time covering college football, Aschoff had gotten to know many people across the sport, bonding with LSU head coach Ed Orgeron and a number of Tigers, among others.

Born in Oxford, the 2008 graduate of the University of Florida previously covered recruiting and Florida football for The Gainesville Sun.

The proclamation honoring Aschoff was presented to Berteau as well, Tannehill noted.