Orlando Sentinel columnist George Diaz says NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is doing the right thing by sitting out the rest of the Sprint Cup season because of concussion-like symptoms.
"Dale Earnhardt Jr. has spent much of his life making introspective left-hand turns that have been probed and prodded as the son of a NASCAR icon," Diaz wrote.
"That's good prep work for his current situation: Living in a Petri dish.
"It is defined as 'something (as a place or situation) that fosters development or innovation,' in this case the evolving discussion about sports and concussions and the brutal anecdotal evidence.
"Today dovetails into tomorrow, and then the rest of the season. Earnhardt Jr. is following doctor's orders and shutting it down for the rest of the year. He still is dealing with concussion-like symptoms from earlier this season and perhaps the cumulative effect of multiple concussions in 2012.
"This is a seismic and courageous call in a world of sports, where testosterone rules and injuries tend to be avoided by all parties involved. It's an understandable dilemma, given the vested interests.
"You don't play, you don't get paid; you lose your job. On the flip side, teams and organizations prefer to look the other way because there are games and races to win, and the turnstiles need to keep bustling.
"In a sport made famous largely in part by the feisty and competitive drive of his father, Junior is his own man.
"Dale Earnhardt would likely have insisted on driving against doctor's orders, rubbed some dirt on his head and charged on, oblivious to science. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is taking an even bolder step: Walking away, however long it takes.
"Bravo, son."
Bold move
When the Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, it signaled the start of the Carson Wentz era for the NFC East franchise.
Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer calls it the true beginning of first-year Coach Doug Pederson's tenure with the Eagles.
"It took a while, but with their trade of Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday, the Eagles finally completed their journey back to 1999," Sielski wrote. "They have invoked that year, a transformational one for their franchise, often since April, when they acquired the No. 2 pick in the draft with the intention of selecting quarterback Carson Wentz. The situations, 17 years apart, stand as perfect mirror images, Andy Reid-Donovan McNabb the model for Doug Pederson-Wentz. Bradford, for all the lip service the Eagles played to competing for a division title this season, was merely an obscuration to that vision. Without him, the Eagles can try to actualize it now.
"[Pederson] is tethered to Wentz just as Reid was to McNabb, and as of the instant that the Eagles' public-relations staff sent out that news-alert text message to confirm the trade was official, the pressure on Pederson to develop Wentz, to coax excellence out of him over time, became more immediate and more intense. It became real, tangible in a way he hadn't been before. Everything he does or might do as the Eagles' coach now matters more to his future with them."
SPORTS QUIZ
How many Super Bowls have the Philadelphia Eagles played in?
ANSWER
Two. The Eagles went to the Super Bowl in the 1980 and 2004 seasons, but lost both times.
Sports on 09/06/2016