Colts QB Anthony Richardson ruled out for the game with a concussion against Texans

HOUSTON (AP) — Indianapolis quarterback Anthony Richardson sustained a concussion Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Richardson was taken to the locker room early in the second quarter to be evaluated and the team later announced that he was out with a concussion.

Richardson ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter to help the Colts build a 14-7 lead. He went to the medical tent after a drive to start the second quarter and was soon escorted to the locker room.

It was unclear when he was injured, but he left after a series where he didn’t appear to take any big hits.

Richardson, the fourth overall pick in the draft, was 6 of 10 for 56 yards passing. His touchdown runs were for 18 and 15 yards.

He was replaced by Gardner Minshew.

-Associated Press

NFL: Tom Brady admits concussions, vows not to be forced from NFL

Tom Brady admitted Wednesday he has suffered concussions during 20 NFL seasons with the New England Patriots but says that won't stop him from chasing a seventh Super Bowl crown.

The 42-year-old quarterback, who signed a two-year contract last month with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said on "The Howard Stern Show" on Sirius XM radio he has sustained major head injuries but rejected the notion he needs to quit playing because of it.

"I've definitely had concussions, yeah," Brady admitted.

"I could sit here and stop playing football so I could worry about what's going to happen or worry about this or that instead of saying, 'Why don't I live my life the way that I want to and enjoy it?'

"For me, it's doing what I love to do. You don't tell a musician to stop singing at age 42. You don't tell a great painter to stop painting at 42."

But those artists generally don't suffer severe head injuries in their creative outlets.

"If you want to stop, stop, go ahead," Brady said. "But for me, because I feel like I can still play, doesn't mean I should just stop playing because that's what everyone tells me I should do."

The NFL has tightened rules to protect players who might have head injuries, but Brady has notably not been diagnosed with concussions, although his wife -- supermodel Gisele Bundchen -- said in May 2017 he had suffered concussions.

"He has concussions pretty much every, I mean, we don't talk about, but he does have concussions," she said. "I don't really think it's a healthy thing for anybody to go through."

An NFL statement said all reports from unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants and certified athletic trainer spotters at 2016 Patriots games showed "there are no records that indicate that Mr. Brady suffered a head injury or concussion, or exhibited or complained of concussion symptoms."

Brady told Stern that while he didn't make a "final, final decision" until March 16, he was fairly certain the 2019 season would be his last with the Patriots even though he wanted to continue his career.

"I would say I probably knew before the start of last season that it was my last year," Brady said. "I knew that our time was coming to an end."

Brady said he realized "it was just time" to find another club.

"I don't know what to say other than that," Brady said. "I accomplished everything I could in two decades with an incredible organization... no one can ever take those experiences or Super Bowl championships away from us."

No Belichick resentment

Brady said he had no resentment toward Patriots coach Bill Belichick at not keeping him after winning an NFL record six titles under his guidance.

"I think he has a lot of loyalty," Brady said. "So many wrong assumptions were made about our relationship or about how he felt about me. I know genuinely how he feels about me.

"What his responsibility as coach is to get the best player for the team, not only in the short term but in the long term as well. So what I could control is trying to be the best I could be in both of those situations.

"I got into uncharted territory as an athlete because I started to break the mold of what so many other athletes had experienced, so I got to the point where I was an older athlete and he's starting to plan for the future, which is what his responsibility is.

"I don't fault him for that. That's what he should be doing."

Agence France-Presse

Concussion linked to erectile dysfunction in ex-US football pros

WASHINGTON - Former American football players who suffered concussions are more likely to develop low testosterone levels and erectile dysfunction in later life, a study reported Monday.

More than 3,400 former National Football League (NFL) players were asked about their history of concussion symptoms by a team of researchers at Harvard University, and whether they were taking or had been recommended medication for low testosterone or erectile dysfunction (ED).

After controlling for other variables including hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and so more, they found that former players in the "very high" concussion symptom group were about twice as likely to report low testosterone and ED compared to the group with the fewest concussion symptoms.

"We've found a really strong relationship between reports of concussion symptoms, and the likelihood that the guys reported erectile dysfunction, low testosterone," Rachel Grashow, lead author of the paper that appeared in JAMA Neurology told AFP.

Among all the ex-players, whose mean age was 53, indicators of low testosterone and ED were about 18 percent and 23 percent respectively.

The authors wrote in the paper that a possible explanation was concussion associated hypopituitarism, a disorder of the pituitary gland found at the base of the brain which regulates hormone production.

Limitations included that the researchers did not directly measure low testosterone or ED but instead relied on self-reported indicators that were then used as proxies.

The researchers also initially tried to contact more than 13,000 ex-players but only got responses from 25 percent.

Grashow admitted that "probably a lot of healthy guys don't sign up because they don't think need to" but she believed the most impaired players were also missing, leaving a relatively good set of data.

Grashow said the study built upon prior work in smaller studies exploring hormonal dysfunction in boxers and military personnel who had sustained head injuries.

Nevertheless, she added the team considered the work to be "more of a gateway study, with the hope of following up with this population and others to dig into how severity of ED plays a role in this story."

ia/ft

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ellie Day defends Jason and King James after courtside crash

Ellie Day, wife of Australian world number two golfer Jason Day, was battered and bruised but spent Friday defending her husband and LeBron James as she recovers from a heavy collision with the NBA great.

Ellie suffered concussion symptoms and bumps and bruises after James accidentally crashed into her while diving for a loose ball during the Cleveland Cavaliers' win over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

After being stretchered away from her courtside seat in a neck brace and admitted to hospital before being released on Friday, she received an outpouring of support and concern.

"I am okay!! I am incredibly sore and exhausted. Being tackled by that large man I would compare to a minor car accident. My head and neck hit pretty hard so it was really scary. My whole body feels like it was hit by a truck," Ellie tweeted on Friday.

But there were also factions blaming James and her husband Jason, who was sitting next to her, for not doing more to protect her, and Ellie went on the offensive defending them.

"It was so fast. I didn't remember until 2 am seeing the ball come toward me. It was a blur," she said.

"To the crazies that think Jason should have protected me - if he had had time to react, so would have I. Also, I would not have liked both dudes landing on me. LeBron is huge and had such momentum he could not have stopped!!

"Third, people are saying it's a money grab or some crap which is obviously absurd. Much like attending a golf event and risking getting hit with a ball, sitting court side you risk getting run into."

Just five weeks removed from giving birth to the couple's second child, daughter Lucy, Day was mainly thankful her children were not at the game.

"I am truly touched by the insane outpouring of support and those of you covering me in prayer," she said.

"It could have been so much worse. I am thankful for so many things. One, that I didn't have Lucy on my chest in her carrier, and that I wasn't still pregnant.

"Also that Dash (their three-year-old son) wasn't with us."

After the game, four-time NBA MVP James apologized via twitter and privately.

"Ellie Day I hope you're doing okay! My apologies! Hope u guys come back to another game soon. Love LJ!," he tweeted.

The Days live just outside Columbus, Ohio and the PGA Championship winner has attended Cavaliers games in the past.

Cavs head coach David Blatt said after the game that James "made an honest attempt" at the basketball, suggesting the fault lay with the court-level seats.

"It's always concerned me, the sideline seats," he said.

"When you're talking about players of this speed and physicality and effort level, it's not a simple thing."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Studio denies 'Concussion' film softened to appease NFL

LOS ANGELES -- Sony Pictures on Wednesday hit back at a New York Times report saying it had "softened" the upcoming Will Smith movie "Concussion" to avoid antagonizing the National Football League.

"Today's New York Times article and headline, written by individuals who have not seen the film, contains many misleading inferences," a studio spokesman said in an e-mailed statement.

"As will become immediately clear to anyone actually seeing the movie, nothing with regard to this important story has been 'softened' to placate anyone."

The movie due for release in December tells the story of Nigerian-born forensic neuropathologist Bennet Omalu, played by Smith, and his diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of deceased NFL players who suffered multiple concussions.

Omalu's work was first widely publicized in the 2013 Frontline documentary "League of Denial".

Concussions have become a major injury concern for the league, which agreed to pay $765 million to retired players to settle concussion-related health claims after accusations it long ignored evidence that head injuries posed long-term risks to players.

The New York Times, citing internal Sony emails that were made public in last year's cyberattack on the studio blamed on North Korea, reported that the studio was concerned not to condemn the NFL -- a financial juggernaut that boasts an estimated $10 billion (7.6 billion euros) in annual revenues and a combined value for its 32 teams of $45.76 billion.

The NFL's place as steward of America's most-watched game and it's links to various television networks and corporate sponsors make it an entertainment as well as a sports juggernaut.

However, in addition to Sony's statement on Wednesday, "Concussion" writer and director Peter Landesman told Deadline.com that it seemed to him the New York Times "is working for the NFL".

"It seems like a hatchet job has been done here, and came out of the NFL's offices," he told the entertainment news website.

Although the film is slated for a Christmas release, Sony released a trailer on Monday, and has screened it for some prominent figures in the sports world.

That includes sports broadcaster Bob Costas.

"I have seen the movie," Costas said in a statement issued through Sony.

"As one who has followed, and commented on, this issue, it doesn't appear to me many punches were pulled."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Thompson diagnosed with concussion, will be out indefinitely

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, who had taken a knee to the head in Wednesday night's series-clinching win over the Houston Rockets, was diagnosed with a concussion after seeing a neurologist Friday.

The team said Thompson has been ruled out indefinitely. He will not practice until he has been cleared.

Thompson threw up and experienced other "concussion-like symptoms" late Wednesday night after he was unintentionally kneed in the head by Rockets forward Trevor Ariza in the fourth quarter of Game Five, his father, Mychal Thompson, told ESPN.

Thompson was initially cleared to return to the game by team doctors. Thompson was originally diagnosed with a right ear laceration and needed stitches, though he never returned to the game. He started developing symptoms after the game.

Coach Steve Kerr said Thompson was at the Warriors' facility Friday.

"He didn't practice today, obviously, and we'll just fall on the doctor's advice. He'll practise when he can practise," Kerr said. "We're going to practise tomorrow. We have Sunday off, and so he'll have the next couple of days and we'll re-evaluate."

Thompson could miss the start of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers when the series begins Thursday night in Oakland.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Paul George's fitness in question after concussion

The Indiana Pacers' hopes for an NBA championship suffered a setback when All-Star forward Paul George was diagnosed with a concussion on Wednesday.

George had said on Tuesday he had "blacked out" after being kicked in the back of the head by Miami's Dwyane Wade in an 87-83 loss to the Heat in Game Two of the Eastern conference final.

The Pacers ordered a follow-up evaluation on Wednesday and George was diagnosed by the team's consulting neurologist with a concussion.

There was no immediate word on whether he will be available for Game Three on Saturday in Miami. The best-of-seven series is level at one game apiece.

George will begin the NBA-mandated protocol for return-to-participation after a diagnosed concussion.

He was examined by medical staff after Tuesday's game but exhibited no symptoms of concussion and denied feeling any dizziness, nausea or issues with his vision, said the Pacers in a statement on their website.

Pacers coach Frank Vogel told reporters after the game that he did not believe George's injury was serious and that he had been cleared to return to the court.

"The only information I got during the game was that he was good to go," Vogel said.

Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, director of the NBA concussion program, said, "The Indiana Pacers medical team followed the NBA concussion protocol and there was no indication of concussion during the game.

"This case illustrates that concussion evaluation is an ongoing process and manifestations of the injury may not always present immediately."

Pacers guard Lance Stephenson was fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league's anti-flopping rules during Game Two.

Stephenson, who had a game high 25 points, becomes the first player to be fined for flopping during the playoffs after embellishing a collision with LeBron James during the third quarter on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Steve Keating in Indianapolis, Editing by Gene Cherry)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com