It's time to stop whining about safety

So it looks like we're going to find out what kind of brain injuries Junior Seau may have had, if any, and, as Dave Zirin puts it, the NFL "holds its breath" about the results, it's more than just the league hierarchy that needs to take a long, hard look at itself.

It would be nice if players like James Harrison who insist that hitting with their heads or hitting guys in the head is just the way they play the game could give it another thought now that one of their heroes is dead.

But if would also be nice if fans quit bellyaching over how the NFL has gone "soft" if it tries to actually, you know, keep players safe. Will Bunch wrote a terrific article the other day about the toll football takes on the body and the mind, and it contained this paragraph about the attitude among fans that needs to be overcome.

"Some folks say that these players knew what they were getting into, that they understood they were risking their future health for glory and riches in the present, and that there's nothing that can be done about this problem short of closing down the National Football League."

Which is easy for people like Jobe Morrison to say when they're commenting on stories like the Harrison one above. After all, it's not their lives.

"Harrison is grown up. It's the NFL that needs to grow up and understand fans want smashmouth football. Not pansy football. Not flag football. Football as we kno (sic) it is becoming too soft."

"players and the nfl need to UNDERSTAND this.... Once you sign the contract to step onto the field and play, you UNDERSTAND the consequences. You can't protect players from injuries, it is GOING to happen....... it's your risk. Don't like it? no one wants you around. LEAVE."

But some of the guys whose lives have been affected by the game understand what's at stake.

"Those who are saying the game is changing for the worse, well, they don't have a father who can't remember his name because of the game. I'm pretty sure if everybody had to wake with their dad not knowing his name, not knowing his kids' name, not being able to function at a normal rate after football, they would understand that the game needs to change. If it doesn't there are going to be more players, more great players, being affected by the things that we know of and aren't changing. That's not right."

Who was it who said those words?

One Junior Seau.

No, not Junior Seau

If you think a Yankee fan in Boston is rare, try be a San Diego Chargers fan anywhere on the East Coast.

Trust me. I'm both.

I was in Los Angeles in 2008 when the Chargers played the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and I loved that when I wore my jersey, people gave me the thumbs-up and talked to me like I was one of them, not some weirdo.

But it was nothing compared to when I went to San Diego last year, especially after I learned that Junior Seau's restaurant was a couple miles from our hotel. And the food was great. I walked out of there hoping that one would open in the Boston area.

And then came today, when one of my co-workers yelled over, "Hey guys, did you hear Junior Seau committed suicide?" As I sat there with my mouth open, it took a minute to sink in. My favorite player, a guy whose replica powder-blue jersey hangs in my closet, was dead ... 43 years old.

I wasn't exactly sad on a personal level. After all, I never met the man. I was just a fan, but he was part of my life ... the guy you couldn't take your eye off of, who gave you a reason to watch the Chargers whether they were good, bad or average.

Then the people in my office started buzzing over the news, but they all kept taking about him as a Patriots player. I wanted to yell, "NO! HE WASN'T A PATRIOTS PLAYER! YES, HE PLAYED FOR THEM, BUT HE WAS A CHARGER! HE'S ONE OF THE GREATEST CHARGERS EVER, AND HE WAS MY FAVORITE PLAYER BECAUSE OF IT!"

But I didn't, and eventually another thought came to mind, one I couldn't get rid of.

Junior Seau's not supposed to be dead at 43 years old.

Actually, no one's supposed to die at 43, but especially Junior Seau. He's supposed to count his money, surf, prepare his Canton speech and be the king of San Diego.

Instead, he's dead. There's lot of time to speculate about what led to his death, and we'll eventually find out something, but it's still hard to fathom.

Junior Seau is dead.

Oh, Philip

So I find out this morning that the quarterback for my favorite NFL team supports Rick Santorum.

Joy.

Philip Rivers said: "I am supporting Rick Santorum for President because of his stance on issues that attack vital Christian values our country was founded upon: no abortion, upholding traditional marriage, defending religious freedom, no euthanasia.  Rick Santorum will also fight to create jobs and expand opportunities for all Americans.  I am proud to endorse Senator Santorum and do what I can to help him secure the Republican nomination for President of the United States."

Personally, I'd like to find out what the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution -- you know, the two main documents in the founding of this country -- have to say about "traditional marriage," and I'd bet any amount of money that "defending religious freedom" is really "defending the right to use my religion to tell you how to live your life."

If Philip Rivers ran for office, I wouldn't vote for him. But he's a quarterback for the team that I like, so I'll root for him anyway.

After all, I'm sure he's not the only one who feels that way.

Why, Philip? Why?

If only the Chargers had a unicorn that shot ice cream out its nose

A friend of mine had this question on Facebook this morning:

"I ask this of any San Diego Chargers fans out there -- how much would you give to have Drew Brees and Darren Sproles back in San Diego?"

He later added "with Sean Payton as your head coach?"

Given where we both live, I'm going to assume by "San Diego Chargers fans," he meant me.

In a way, what he says makes sense, since the Saints are going to the playoffs with Payton as coach, and Brees did set the single-season yardage record last night on a pass to Sproles. Of course, if a runner gets thrown out stealing and the batter then hits a home run, it also makes sense in a way to cry out, "If only he hadn't gotten thrown out stealing, it would have been a two-run homer!"

In other words, it makes sense if you're into overly simplistic thinking.

First, Brees. After the 2005 season, Brees was a free agent, and Philip Rivers was waiting on the bench for a chance to play after having been acquired in the Eli Manning trade during the previous year's draft. Brees was also injured, having torn his labrum in the final game of the season.

So the Chargers let Brees go to the Saints, and made Rivers the starter.

Before Brees left, I would have been OK with the Chargers auctioning off Rivers in order to maximize the Manning trade, which also netted Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding for a whiny child with a whiny father who never wanted to play in San Diego, anyway. But what would have happened if the Chargers kept Brees, traded Rivers and then Brees couldn't come back?

Yeah, that would have been a disaster.

Side note: How much would Dolphins fans give to have Brees in their lineup? They were interested, but traded for the washed-up Daunte Culpepper instead, although you have to give them a certain benefit of the doubt because of Brees' bad shoulder.

As for Sproles, I loved him for what he was -- a terrific return man and pass-catcher out of the backfield. However, in spite of moments of brilliance, he was never going to be the lead running back, but if the Chargers kept using the franchise tag on him, they would have needed to keep paying him like one. So they let him go to New Orleans, where he plays pretty much the same role he did with San Diego.

Turning to Payton, he got the Saints job after the 2005 season, a season in which the Chargers finished 9-7. It wasn't great, and they missed the playoffs, but it's not usually the kind of record that causes a team to fire its coach (who, by the way, was Marty Schottenheimer, not Norv Turner).

Furthermore, the Brees/Sproles discussion misses an important point.

The Chargers lost both of them (along with running backs Michael Turner and LaDainian Tomlinson), but are doing OK at those positions now.

Granted, Rivers hasn't had a particularly good season this year (in spite of the Pro Bowl selection), but he has been a high-level NFL quarterback. Ryan Mathews has also had an excellent year, Mike Tolbert provides another quality option at running back.

What I would give, however, is to see Clay Matthews in a Chargers uniform. It could have happened, but he fell to the Packers with the 26th pick in the 2009 draft, 10 picks after the Chargers chose Larry English, who has the grand total of seven career sacks playing the same position.

But Matthews didn't do something exciting on "Monday Night Football" last night.