Can you imagine being wrongfully convicted for a crime and sentenced to years in prison?  The mere thought would give most of us nightmares…but it’s a nightmare Brian Banks lived.  7 years ago…Banks was a stud linebacker who had just received a scholarship to play football at USC.  Then a girl accused him of rape…and his life changed in the blink of an eye.  Scholarship gone….replaced by shackles and a cell. 

Fast forward to today.  Brian Banks is a free man after his accuser admitted….because of guilt….that she made the accusation up.  So what’s a man to do now that he’s 26 and out of prison?  Well Brian Banks is trying to pick up right where he left off…but not at USC.  No…..Banks is trying to make it in the NFL.  The other day….he tried out for the Seattle Seahawks….who are coached by the guy who recruited him to play at USC (Pete Carroll).  Banks was honored by the invite and thankful to Carroll….calling it “the second best day of his life” following his exoneration.   

Now Seattle isn’t the only team interested.  Minnesota and San Diego have sent out feelers….and I can only imagine Banks will jump at the chance any team is willing to give him.  Afterall…he’s been training hard and says he’s ready to go…and who can doubt him.  He’s 6’3 240 pounds with a 40 inch vertical and a 4.6 second 40….all very intriguing numbers to say the least.  So can he make it?  Can Banks prove he’s worthy of a roster spot?  I don’t know….but I do know this:  I guarantee you can’t find one human being who’s heard of this story who isn’t pulling for Brian Banks to succeed.  Americans love comeback stories….and this would be the ultimate.

The fire that destroyed St. Mary’s Church in the small town of Lafferty, Ohio (pop.280) is a tragedy for the parishoners….some of whom had been attending the small church on the hilltop since the early 1900’s.  It also hit home for me because I was an alter boy/reader at this church since the age of 8…..and all 3 of my boys were baptized there.  So when I received word it had burned down from unknown causes….my heart ached as if a close friend of mine had perished.  In essence…one of my friends had.

People who didn’t grow up in a small town might not be able to fully comprehend the loss of a church like St. Mary’s to the people within it’s community.  In a small town….residents have a post office…a gas station….and their church.  Those 3 entities become a part of their life…just like kids and friends…because those 3 places are where people intermingle…swap stories about their kids…their wives…their life adventures and so on.  The post office…gas station…and church are the lifeblood of small towns….the “pulse” of that communities heart.  That’s why there’s so much outrage over closing rural post offices across the nation….because in essence….the heart is being ripped out of these small communities.  The same goes for St. Mary’s Church.   

The first public speaking I ever did took place in that church.  I was an alter boy….8 years old…and the reader for that nights mass didn’t show up.  I remember the priest wondering aloud what he was going to do.  That’s when I looked at him and said “Father….I’ll do it.”  Father Borosh just smiled and said “Thank you David.  And you will do well.”  It’s the place where I peered from the alter at my now deceased grandmother smiling at me.  The place where I attended weddings….birthdays….and other community gatherings. 

So when I heard this church burned to the ground…..my heart ached.  I had lost a friend….a family member….and a treasure trove of memories in the span of 2 hours and 25 minutes.  Decades of memories and warmth lost to the flames.  Some gawkers will go by to look at the ruins and see what remains of a building.  To those who called that church home…we will look at the ashes as that of a fallen friend….one who can never be replaced nor forgotten.

The apparent suicide of former NFL star Junior Seau brings to the forefront...once again...the possible effects of head trauma in the NFL.  Seau's situation is very comparable to the suicides of former NFL stars Dave Duerson and Andre Waters...both of whom shot themselves in the chest after suffering from depression, dementia and other symptoms related to constant head trauma.  In Duerson's case...he even left a note indicating he shot himself in the chest so as not to damage his brain so it could be studied for possible injuries sustained while playing the game he loved dearly.

The NFL has a very real problem on their hands and it continues to snowball with a ferocity rarely seen.  Lawsuits by former players claiming head injuries as a result of playing the game are mounting...former players continue to take their lives....and lawyers are lining up to take a shot at a $3 billion dollar a year industry trying to stay in front of it all.  But can they?  I don't think so because the bottom line is there is nothing to protect a human beings brain from being sloshed around inside their skull when colliding with a 300 pound of granite...period!  Helmets protect against contusions...broken noses...and jaws...not brain injuries.  On top of that....human beings are just to big and fast anymore.  Blame it on performance enhancing drugs or evolution...or both....either way when you have 280 pound men running 4.7 40's colliding with each other....something has to give...and in most cases....it's a player's mental state.  I just read a recent report where playing in one NFL game would be the equivalent of 20 low impact car crashes a day.  Can you imagine?

Junior Seau will be in the Hall of Fame someday.  He had a magnificent career spanning 2 decades...but how many times in those 20 years did this warrior step back on the field after suffering a concussion?  We will never know the answer to that question but I think we all know why this 43 year old man decided to put a gun to his chest and pull the trigger......brain trauma brought on by years of playing a game that can break down even the strongest of it's participants.

I want to take this time to apologize to those in the coal industry who were offended by my blog. This blog was done "tongue in cheek"...basically to make fun of a sticker....but I realize now I did a poor job of writing since so many of you took my comments to heart. That was never my intention. I now realize I'm not as funny as I thought I was. Anyway....nobody made me write this....I took i...t upon myself because what I said....even though meant in a joking manner....was wrong...and for that I'm sorry....I really am....and hopefully you will accept my apology. My mom also screamed at me and reminded me I come from a family of coal miners...and you know if you make mom mad....you really screwed up...and I did. Sorry.