Austin Collie is not concerned about his oft-concussed head

Austin Collie, Colts wide receiver and sufferer of multiple concussions, spoke to KHTK in Sacramento today about his multiple head injuries.

Host Grant Napear asked Collie if he was concerned about the concussions; a very reasonable question since Austin Collie suffered (at least) two of them (one, and two) last season. According to Austin Collie, Austin Collie can still suffer six or seven more and might still be as right as rain. The Q and A:

You're 25 years old. I mean don't the concussions scare you at this point in your career?

"Not really. If it was one of those things that I had a history of concussions and now I'm getting worse or more-and-more frequent then it would definitely be a worry of mine in the near future, but I've known players who play with 9 or 10 concussions and who have lived on to have successful careers and haven't had any symptoms later on in life, so again everyone is different. Everyone handles each injury different and hopefully down the road it'll be perfectly fine."

"Hey, maybe I'll be just fine if my head keeps getting beaten like a�pinata" seems like an awfully cavalier attitude, but it also might be the only attitude that makes sense.

A guy can't go out onto an NFL field and play scared. Not only will it make him ineffective, but it's also likely to get him killed. When a fellow is given a clean bill of noggin health, going out and playing as if it never happened is probably the safest thing for him to (aside from retiring, of course, which I assume Austin Collie is not ready to do).

A player moves quickly, decisively and aggressively, lest some other angry gentleman scrambles his eggs for him. It always seems like trying to play in a way that won't get you hurt is a pretty good way to ensure that you will be hurt.

But that doesn't mean that Collie shouldn't be concerned, or that it's a good idea to get to nine or ten concussions and just see how things work out. Fine Colts blog Stampede Blue does a nice job of citing research at which Austin might want to have a peek. At this point, ignoring the damage done by concussions is kind of like saying, "You know, I really don't think cigarettes are bad for you."

Collie's comments raise some tough questions. When a guy does suffer multiple concussions in a season, what's the right response? Rejecting the science and assuming your safe is silly, but in practice, what's the difference between that and just going back out and doing your job? Either way, you're inarguably putting yourself in more danger, and either way, you won't know what amount of danger is too much before it's too late.

There is no safe, half-speed option. Whatever is the right balance of awareness, caution and safety, you just have to hope that Austin Collie finds it.

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Wait, Kevin Bieksa is still going to be Canucks? target of scorn?

The smoldering remains of the Vancouver Canucks' Stanley Cup Final loss have obscured many of the positive aspects of their playoff run. But if you were to list the encouraging developments, Kevin Bieksa would have been near the top.

The defenseman went from being the most popular trade-bait for cap relief to the team's playoff leader in average ice time (25:40), plus/minus for defensemen (plus-7) and a player that was getting Conn Smythe consideration entering the championship round. Along with being the guy who scored one of the most [expletive] wacky goals in recent playoff history to win the conference finals.

He committed to re-signing with the Canucks and didn't even make it to July 1 as an unrestricted free agent, inking a $23 million over five years deal that caused rejoicing among Canucks fans.

Like any NHL team, there are certain Canucks over the years whose play has been scornfully targeted by some fans; Bieksa being one of them, to varying degrees of scorn.

To an outsider, his playoff performance was an image rehabilitation, with thoughts of Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis uniting to form one of the best shutdown duos in hockey at the forefront for hopeful Canucks fans in 2011-12.

And then we read Gordon McIntyre of The Province today:

No one this side of Roberto Luongo is a more divisive figure on the Vancouver Canucks than Kevin Bieksa. Fans often want his head. Local reporters and club supporters, those are the friendly critics.

OK, but didn't the playoffs change ?

It seems impossible Bieksa would have been on the Canucks this past season had Sami Salo not ruptured his Achilles tendon last summer. But he's here now, locked in for five years with a no-trade clause, with the only pro organization he's known since being drafted 151st overall in 2001.

Still, the criticism won't go away. It will only intensify with his new contract. You just can't satisfy everybody.

Shouldn't the criticism have gone away after his postseason effort though?

It's not unprecedented that a playoff hero can't escape past criticisms; hell, Marc-Andre Fleury won a Stanley Cup and still has fans calling him a liability. But out of all the Canucks who deserve to be targeted by fans for their effectiveness vs. their cost, shouldn't Bieksa have tumbled down from the top of that countdown?

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Detroit Tigers: Potential Answers at Second Base

The Detroit Tigers have a glaring hole in at second base this season. 

Will Rhymes, Scott Sizemore, and Ryan Raburn haven't fared well in their time at second.  The Tigers' front office suggests that they will address the position internally (likely with the return of Carlos Guillen from the DL) rather than with a trade. 

There are not many big names on the trading block at second base this season anyhow.  But these are a few possibilities should Detroit decide to go the trade route.

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Predators make four RFA problems go away, but not Kostitsyn

When Dale Tallon and the Chicago Blackhawks made their titanic restricted free agent qualifying offer blunder in 2009, the NHLPA filed a grievance in an attempt to help eight players go unrestricted.

Rather than leave their fate in the hands of an arbitrator, the Blackhawks proactively signed all eight to new deals ? some getting market value, and others like Kris Versteeg hitting the jackpot.

The Nashville Predators have a hearing scheduled to begin on Friday for their own RFA qualifying offer goof, as the NHLPA is arguing that the team didn't send out offers to the players by a 5 p.m. deadline on June 27. Like Tallon did two years ago, GM David Poile has decided to get ahead of the issue by re-signing four players at issue:

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed forwards Matt Halischuk and Nick Spaling to two-year contracts, and forwards Chris Mueller and Cal O'Reilly to one-year deals.

Halischuk's contract is worth $1.425 million, paying him $600,000 in 2011-12 and $825,000 in 2012-13 while Spaling's contract is worth $2.1 million, paying him $1 million in 2011-12 and $1.1 million in 2012-13. O'Reilly's contract will see him earn $1.05 million in 2011-12 and Mueller's two-way contract will see him paid $550,000 at the NHL level and $65,000 at the AHL level.

The one name missing here is the one name Predators fans should be most concerned about: Winger Sergei Kostitsyn, 23, who led the team with 23 goals and 50 points last season, his best offensive year as a pro. He's filed for arbitration, should his restricted free-agent status be upheld.

Josh Cooper of The Tennessean isn't optimistic about that, given today's news:

By signing these players, you have to wonder about Nashville's confidence in regards to this hearing. Signing them before the hearing gave the players' agents more leverage, though their raises weren't that astronomical. Maybe Nashville wasn't confident about its case. And if so, then what does that mean for Sergei Kostitsyn. If the arbitrator sides with the NHLPA, Kostitsyn will become an unrestricted free agent. We all knew Kostitsyn was going to cash in on his 2010-11 season, where he led Nashville in goals, and he appears poised to do so.

Considering the UFA market is down to guys like Alex Kovalev and J.P. Dumont, who was on the Preds' fourth line last season, an unrestricted Kostitsyn would garner heavy interest; and he wouldn't be the first player this summer to turn one solid offensive year into a payday. This case is one to watch, for sure.

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Pittsburgh columnist: The Steelers are the new Raiders

When you think about the Pittsburgh Steelers, you think about an organization with a large pile of Lombardi trophies, and you think about a solid, family-owned, homespun organization that's fully interwoven into the larger Pittsburgh community.

Depending on which NFL team is your favorite, you might also think some other things, but historically, championships and community have always been the bedrock of what the Steelers are about. They've been an exemplary franchise. Perhaps even the seventh-best in all of sports.

Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wonders if that's all gone out the window. The winning is still there, sure, but any kind of moral high ground? Perhaps not. Maybe the Steelers have moved into a seedier neighborhood.

Here's a snippet from Starkey:

Truth is, this franchise has become the modern-day version of the 1970s Oakland Raiders. Outlaws of the NFL. Some might view that as an insult (especially if they grew up in these parts hating those Raiders), others as a compliment.

It is undeniably true.

Now, the Steelers clearly remain the NFL's model team in the most important category: winning. They do that better than anyone. But those still pointing to this franchise as some kind of moral beacon? They're flat-out delusional.

This stems, of course, from pistol-wielding linebacker James Harrison unleashing his big bag of crazy in Men's Journal. But there are other incidents cited by Starkey, too, including Ben Roethlisberger's history, Hines Ward's DUI, Rashard Mendenhall's bin Laden tweets, some of Santonio Holmes' behavior as a Steeler, and numerous Steelers blasting Roger Goodell and the league.

I wouldn't lump all of them into the category of bad guys -- Troy Polamalu, in particular, seems to be an absolute prince of a man -- but when you list everything together like that, it does look bad. And it seems like the Steelers definitely see themselves as the league's outlaws, and they feel like the league is out to get them. That's all pretty Raider-y.

What do you think? Are the Steelers indeed the NFL's new batch of bad guys? Do they still retain their wholesome image? Or are they just like any other team in the league?

Feel free to vote (and Like us) on Shutdown Corner's Facebook page.

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2011 British Open Leaderboard: Don't Look Now, but Tom Watson Is a Contender

Tom Watson is Creeping Into the 2011 British Open Leaderboard

The last two days I thought I had been watching British Open Golf. But, as I turned on my TV Saturday morning, I realized that what I had been watching was most certainly not British Open Golf. This thought occurred to me when I found myself looking for something to wipe off my TV screen.

Had it not been so ridiculously early in the morning, the thought probably would have dawned on me that it as not rain drops on my TV I was looking at, but rain drops on the TV cameras.

Anyways, as common sense flowed back into my head, I was flooded by memories of past British Opens. It is not the British Open until you try in vain to squint through the blurriness and pixalating rain drops on the lenses of the TV cameras. 

It is not the British until golfers look miserable as they shiver, wipe rain from their brows and struggle to remain upright in the high winds. It is not the British until the galleries are wrapped in plastic like the furniture at my grandparents house. It is not the British until the only golfer on the course under par for the day is Tom Watson.

And that is exactly what we have on Saturday at the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George's. Well all except the Watson part. That part has faded to the past tense. Watson was the only golfer under par for the tournament, but now no one is. Watson has slid to 1-over through 16 holes, which is still a remarkably amazing score for this three W's day at the British Open: wet, windy and wild.

Watson's success at the British is well documented and amazing. Once he gets to the links courses of this major tournament, the man is ageless. This has turned him into a huge fan favorite. Tom Watson loves the British Open and the British Open loves Tom Watson back.

Watson is currently seven shots back from the leaders, but his 3-over for the tournament is starting to look better as he is about to hit the clubhouse.

The rain is expected to stop, but the winds are expected to increase, which means we can expect the scores to go up, up, up. This is going to bring the field back to Watson.

If Watson can hold onto that 3-over par, it is very likely that Watson will begin the day within five shots of the lead. That is still a big deficit to make up on the final day, but with even worse conditions expected on Sunday, you have to like Watson's chances. He is the only golfer that seems to play better as the conditions get worse.

Golfer	Score
T1. Darren Clarke	-4
T1. Lucas Glover	-4
T3. Chad Capmbell	-3
T3. Thomas Bjorn	-3
T3. Martin Kaymer	-3
T3. Miguel Angel Jimenez	-3
T7. Pablo Larrazabal	-2
T7. Charl Schwartzel	-2
T7. Davis Love III	-2
T7. Tom Lehman	-2
T7. George Coetzee	-2
T7. Tom Lehman	-2
T7. Dustin Johnson	-2

For continuous coverage of the 2011 British Open and all things golf keep it locked toBleacher Report's Golf Page.

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Mustachioed Mannings are up to something on DirecTV

Pictured above are Peyton and Eli Manning playing dress-up in some kind of campaign for DirecTV. Here's how Monsters and Critics describes "Football Cops":

...an action-packed drama about two former pro football players (Peyton and Eli Manning) who bring their unique brand of law enforcement to one of the country's toughest neighborhoods.

That's about all I can tell you about it. It looks like a commercial, but reportedly, it is not. Which might mean that it's an actual show, and if that's true, well ... I'll be asking someone who has DirecTV if I can come over and watch it.

I'm also in complete agreement with Big Blue View: The handlebar lady tickler is a look that works for Eli. He should make that happen permanently.

More here.

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