Thursday, April 14, 2011
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011
This is a comical article that presents the detrimental effects of playing Madden's video game endlessly. It can lead to lackadaisical tendencies and inability to perform daily activities. Enjoy the article.
Neurologists Paint Grim Picture Of 'Madden' Football's Long-Term Effect On Players' Brains
'Madden' players are finding their livelihoods endangered by the devastating neurological effects of the game. SAN JOSE, CA—In an alarming report that sheds new light on the dangers of the game, the Institute for Brain Injury Research published Wednesday the results of a five-year investigation into the long-term neurological consequences of playing Madden football.
"The situation is far more serious than we had previously thought," said Vincent Wu, head of neuropathology at the IBIR. "Playing Madden football increases one's risk for a wide range of cognitive impairments, from difficulty focusing, to a decreased awareness of one's surroundings, to a generalized inability to engage with society at large."
"Playing so many simulated seasons takes a devastating toll," Wu added. "The human brain was never meant to withstand the brutal impacts of this game."
Examining MRIs and PET scans of Madden football veterans, scientists discovered severely damaged neural pathways in parts of the brain associated with motivation and attention, malformations that might explain the common inability among players to perform such basic tasks as maintaining hygiene and preparing meals for themselves.
"Among current top-level Madden players, the vast majority suffered from profound personality and mood disorders," said Annette Crowley, an IBIR research fellow. "Our participants displayed irritability when presented with even the simplest commands—for example, to stand up from the couch or to interact with their own children for a while."
While cognitive deficiencies occurred among people who only played Madden football as youths and adolescents, the study showed an even grimmer outlook for those who continued playing the game into adulthood.
"Following a decade or more of intense play, these neurologically impaired individuals face incredible difficulty rejoining society," said Wu, who noted that a player's total game time was correlated with high levels of depression and an elevated body mass index. "They realize too late that they have done irreversible harm to their brains and bodies, and that they have no real skills to offer the world."
"It's all too common that they are forced to remain living with their parents for basic care," Wu added.
According to the IBIR, nine former Madden football players have agreed to donate their brains to scientific research after their deaths. Among them is 34-year-old Matt Curtis, who played every season from Madden 94 to Madden 09.
"This game took everything from me," Curtis said. "My fiancée left me, and I can't hold down a steady job. In college, I should have focused on my education instead of spending every waking minute playing the game. No one should end up like this."
In response to the study, EA Sports announced it would issue new safety guidelines for Madden 12 and urged individuals to refrain from play, even in Training Camp mode, if they experience poor balance upon standing for the first time in several hours or increased sensitivity to natural light after emerging from a darkened bedroom or basement.
However, many contend these recommendations fail to address what they call a pervasive culture within Madden football that ostracizes those who sit out games, particularly during online league play.
"Today's brand of Madden football is far different from the game of 20 years ago," said 34-year-old Dan Doyle, a former player turned safety advocate. "The style of play is much faster and far more aggressive. After 16 weeks of punishing games, you can see it in the dazed, glassy looks in the players' eyes. It's like they're not even there."
"These men—boys, really—have no idea what they're doing to themselves," he added.
Despite initiatives to educate Madden football players about such dangers, surveys show a majority of players object to measures that would slow the game down or limit playing time for at-risk individuals.
"The reason Madden football has so many fans is precisely because of its nonstop hard-hitting action," said current player Jed Ashbee, 26. "If you strip away the things that make the game so exhilarating, then all you're left with is Wii Family Fun Football, and nobody wants that."
"The situation is far more serious than we had previously thought," said Vincent Wu, head of neuropathology at the IBIR. "Playing Madden football increases one's risk for a wide range of cognitive impairments, from difficulty focusing, to a decreased awareness of one's surroundings, to a generalized inability to engage with society at large."
"Playing so many simulated seasons takes a devastating toll," Wu added. "The human brain was never meant to withstand the brutal impacts of this game."
Examining MRIs and PET scans of Madden football veterans, scientists discovered severely damaged neural pathways in parts of the brain associated with motivation and attention, malformations that might explain the common inability among players to perform such basic tasks as maintaining hygiene and preparing meals for themselves.
"Among current top-level Madden players, the vast majority suffered from profound personality and mood disorders," said Annette Crowley, an IBIR research fellow. "Our participants displayed irritability when presented with even the simplest commands—for example, to stand up from the couch or to interact with their own children for a while."
While cognitive deficiencies occurred among people who only played Madden football as youths and adolescents, the study showed an even grimmer outlook for those who continued playing the game into adulthood.
"Following a decade or more of intense play, these neurologically impaired individuals face incredible difficulty rejoining society," said Wu, who noted that a player's total game time was correlated with high levels of depression and an elevated body mass index. "They realize too late that they have done irreversible harm to their brains and bodies, and that they have no real skills to offer the world."
"It's all too common that they are forced to remain living with their parents for basic care," Wu added.
According to the IBIR, nine former Madden football players have agreed to donate their brains to scientific research after their deaths. Among them is 34-year-old Matt Curtis, who played every season from Madden 94 to Madden 09.
"This game took everything from me," Curtis said. "My fiancée left me, and I can't hold down a steady job. In college, I should have focused on my education instead of spending every waking minute playing the game. No one should end up like this."
In response to the study, EA Sports announced it would issue new safety guidelines for Madden 12 and urged individuals to refrain from play, even in Training Camp mode, if they experience poor balance upon standing for the first time in several hours or increased sensitivity to natural light after emerging from a darkened bedroom or basement.
However, many contend these recommendations fail to address what they call a pervasive culture within Madden football that ostracizes those who sit out games, particularly during online league play.
"Today's brand of Madden football is far different from the game of 20 years ago," said 34-year-old Dan Doyle, a former player turned safety advocate. "The style of play is much faster and far more aggressive. After 16 weeks of punishing games, you can see it in the dazed, glassy looks in the players' eyes. It's like they're not even there."
"These men—boys, really—have no idea what they're doing to themselves," he added.
Despite initiatives to educate Madden football players about such dangers, surveys show a majority of players object to measures that would slow the game down or limit playing time for at-risk individuals.
"The reason Madden football has so many fans is precisely because of its nonstop hard-hitting action," said current player Jed Ashbee, 26. "If you strip away the things that make the game so exhilarating, then all you're left with is Wii Family Fun Football, and nobody wants that."
Friday, April 8, 2011
Listen to internet radio with jzsports on Blog Talk Radio
Thursday, April 7, 2011
As a syndicated writer and featured columnist, my articles get sent to many sites and yesterday I hit it big. Got an email from sfgate.com telling me that my article, 25 athletes we'd like to sucker punch, had made the front page of their site yesterday. While it is no longer there, they sent me a screenshot of the page with my story on it. Over 30,000 reads on it, I wanted to share it with you. The story is on the bottom, with a delightful picture of Eli Manning looking bewildered. Enjoy. ZP
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Cam Newton is an exciting and intriguing draft prospect. He has the potential to be the next Michael Vick just as much as he has the potential to be the next Vince Young or Jamarcus Russell. His future, as well as the future of the team that drafts him, depends wildly on the situation he gets drafted into.
With a veteran mentor and some bench time, Cam has the potential to go far in the NFL.
For the full piece, see the link to BleacherReport.com
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/651245-cam-newton-future-star-but-not-a-band-aid-panthers-take-note
With a veteran mentor and some bench time, Cam has the potential to go far in the NFL.
For the full piece, see the link to BleacherReport.com
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/651245-cam-newton-future-star-but-not-a-band-aid-panthers-take-note
Friday, April 1, 2011
Listen to internet radio with jzsports on Blog Talk Radio
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
(A little satire I wrote after the drafting of Darrius Heyward-Bey by the Raiders)
“With the seventh selection in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders
select Darrius...Heyward-Bey? Wide Receiver, Maryland,” said an utterly
confused Commissioner Roger Goodell following the Raiders’ first round
selection this past Saturday. Dumbfounded, the audience and analysts
alike were left scratching their heads at the pick. Raiders fans were
found asking each other, “who the hell this guy?”
While the other 31 teams in the NFL celebrated the fact that top wideout
prospects Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were still on the board,
Raiders owner/General Manager (and suspected head minion of Satan
himself) Al Davis and his hell dwellers quietly laughed in the shadows at
their enemies’ naiveté.
Not all of Davis’s staff agreed with his choice of receiver. Head coach
Tom Cable sat quietly in a corner with his head buried in his arms, his
enormously fat frame shaking with sobs as he mourned his chance to
actually win a few games in 2009. Wide Receiver coach Sanjay Lal fell to
his knees before a life-size poster of Michael “Magic Hands” Crabtree with
tears streaking down his face, mourning his chance for advancement as a
coach in the NFL.
“I TRIED. I really did,” sobbed Coach Cable to the assembled media at the
draft. “I TOLD him we had to select a big-time playmaker, with good hands
and route running skills so we could have a chance to develop this
offense next season!” Cable grew more agitated by the second, pounding
the stand with his fist for emphasis. “But no, all he wants is speed,
speed, speed, speed, SPEEEED!!!!” At this point Coach Cable collapsed
into a heap on the podium, frothing at the mouth and convulsing
uncontrollably. He had to be carried off by NFL security personnel.
Reports are inconclusive, but apparently a Bloomin’ Onion, tub of Ben and
Jerry’s and more than a few women were brought to him behind the stage by
an assistant, causing an almost instant recovery.
As Raiders owner and GM Al Davis took the stand at Radio City Music Hall
in New York to explain their draft pick to the media, news reports began
to surface that the city of Oakland was up in flames, weeping Raider fans
were throwing themselves off buildings, and an angry mob of fans was seen
advancing on the team’s home stadium, known as “the Black Hole,” they
have yet to be seen again. It remains unclear exactly how different this
is from Oakland on your normal Saturday afternoon. Davis seemed unfazed
by the news, calmly looking up from his bucket of goat blood to tell
journalists that this wasn’t news to him, besides who gives a shit about
Oakland?
Davis’s press conference took much longer than expected due to incessant
need for a continuous supply of goat blood brought by his
assistant-coincidentally named Lucifer-between questions. He was
bombarded with a relentless attack of inquiries about why he passed up on
top prospects to draft somebody like Heyward-Bey. Davis dodged most of
these questions by ranting about “The greatness of the Raidas” and how
they needed a speedy receiver, not necessarily one who could “catch
anything.”
“Let me tell you about your Michael Crabtree,” drawled the ancient team
owner, “Michael Crabtree might be able to catch the ball and muscle the
defense, but can you tell me his 40-yard dash time? NO! Because he didn’t
run it! This clearly means he isn’t fast! If he isn’t fast, is he worthy
of Raida greatness? NO! Plus, he said he wasn’t very open to the idea of
selling his soul for greatness. Now, Do you know what Darrius’s time was?
4.3! That’s right! The fastest time at the combine! We need someone fast
for two reasons. One, so he can run away from the scores of angry fans
and relentless media. And two, so we finally have a receiver that can get
the ball where JaMarcus Russell throws it! We were tired of seeing the
ball sail ten yards past the receiver on every play!
One journalist stepped up the interrogation; “You’ve been drafting for
speed for several years, it doesn’t seem to have worked. Don’t you think
it’s time for a new strategy?” Al Davis responded by simply glaring at
the journalist for a few seconds before he burst into flames. This
brought a rather ugly end to Davis’s press conference, as disgruntled
reporters slowly filed out of the room muttering to themselves, unfazed
by yet another spontaneous human combustion around the team owner.
With the pick of Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Raiders have finally acquired
the last piece of crap in their piece of crap puzzle, and are sure to see
a whole lot of tremendous crap from their newest crap player. We should
all look forward to a craptastic Raider season in 2009. Settle in Raider
fans, it’s going to be a long one.
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