Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wednesday 09/30 Quickie: AL Central,
NFL Dementia, NBA Refs, CFB Injuries

There are "magic numbers" and then there are "reality numbers." (Damn, I should have started today's SN column with THAT line.)

And the reality is this: Because the Twins didn't sweep the Tigers yesterday, the Twins are in a must-win situation not just today, but tomorrow -- they need to head into the final 3 games tied for the AL Central lead. To go in 2 GB -- which is the scenario if they split today and tomorrow -- basically puts it out of reach. It's fuzzy math -- the Twins won't be eliminated from ANY possibility of catching the Tigers... just the most likely ones.

One of the big stories today will be this NYT front-pager about the study that NFL players are a lot more likely to suffer dementia than the rest of us, from all that clobbering. And while the study is powerful, there is a huge element of: WELL, OBVIOUSLY. I appreciate the increased medical-study certainty, but really -- we needed a study for this?

(As all of these things come back to Tebow for me these days, it certainly resonates as you think about the decision-making around bringing Tebow back -- a week from Saturday or beyond.)

Speaking of Tebow, I was thrilled to hear Urban Meyer talking about how Tebow is taking his rehab seriously -- what I'd like to hear more about is Tebow's willingness to sit for a few weeks to ensure he is as recovered as he can be. I'm still hearing a lot of hopefulness that Tebow can play vs. LSU. I hope that that is nothing more than gamesmanship by Urban.

If the Dolphins are so unsold on Chad Henne that they feel they need to bring in Tyler Thigpen, perhaps Henne isn't the solution. (More realistically, they see White as nothing more than a Wildcat specialist, and they needed a "pro-style" backup QB in case Henne struggles or gets hurt. But you get the sense that the rest of the season is a tryout for Henne -- if he struggles, and the Dolphins continue their pace for a Top 10 draft pick, I presume that Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy will be on the table as options.)

There's a ton more in the SN column today. Check it out here. More later.

-- D.S.

1 comment:

Steve Sprague said...

Shanoff,

Clearly Miami is trading for Thigpen since Pennington is done as a Dolphin. They chose to not extend him, his contract is up for the year, and they just put him on IR. You don't go into a game with only Chad Henne and a Wildcat QB. No team would only utilize one pro style QB. New England, Indy, Philly, Pitt nobody. This trade for a 3rd string QB on a bad team is merely insurance so that they don't spend a game with only Pat White if Henne gets hurt. It is not at all an indictment of Henne's progress. Don't try to start a story where there isn't one.