SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Apparently the FDA has approved a blood test that can detect whether someone has suffered a concussion: https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/15/fda-approves-blood-test-severity-concussions/. This article pulls from the NYTimes article. Neither mention how long the blood test takes to get results, so I have no idea whether it would be practical for sports sidelines.
posted by opel70 at 03:52 PM on February 15, 2018
An ode to Sebastian Janikowski: After 18 seasons, 268 games, one rumored nether-piercing, nine head coaches, and more than a few bumps in the road, Oakland is parting ways with the Polish Cannon
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:26 PM on February 15, 2018
Between playing for the Bowden regime and the Davis regime, Janikowski's entire time in this country is like a long running mash up of Smokey and the Bandit and Dirty Harry.
I don't know why Janikowski stayed in Oakland so long. Surely he must have had chances to go elsewhere at some point. If he had gone to the Bears or Packers he would have become the king of the upper Midwest. Bigger than Ditka.
I will say this: the sound of the ball being struck during his field goal attempts was truly remarkable. I never heard another kicker produce a sound with as much presence and ferocity. I used to watch Raiders game highlights on NFL.com late on Sunday nights just to listen to his kicks.
Hell, when Goodell decided he wanted to get into the deflation business, the first thing he should have done was to check the psi on the Oakland K-balls after Seb J had bludgeoned some of the air out of 'em.
posted by beaverboard at 09:17 PM on February 15, 2018
Helluva an ending for the USA v Canada hockey game. Can't wait for the gold medal game next week.
posted by NoMich at 08:03 AM on February 15, 2018