WASHINGTON - Leonard Marshall endured thousands of brain-rattling hits during his football career, the legacy of which includes a damaged frontal lobe, a broken marriage, mood swings, depression and the suicide of a former teammate. Eric Dickerson Jersey .The Super Bowl? Of course hell be watching. Ditto Mondays first-ever college football final.I watch as a fan, says the now-retired defensive lineman.I watched the LSU game... I watched Alabama-Ohio State which I thought was a great ball game. I watched a little bit of (the lopsided) Oregon-Florida State until I couldnt take it anymore, and had to turn the TV off.Despite the toll taken by 12 seasons in the National Football League, most of them with the New York Giants, Marshall still loves a good football game.Hes not alone: even in this annus horribilis for the sport off the field, America cant quit football, either.In a season marked by domestic-violence scandals, coverup accusations, the suicide of a concussion-suffering college player and a potential US$1 billion brain-injury settlement process between the NFL and former players (Marshall is among the plaintiffs), football is smashing ratings records:— College games twice set records for American cable-TV viewership — both in the same day. A pair of Jan. 1 bowl games each drew more than 28 million viewers, about 40 times the typical audience for Canadas university final, the Vanier Cup. Even more are expected for Mondays inaugural final, featuring Oregon and Ohio State.— The 2014 Super Bowl had the biggest-ever network audience in U.S. TV history, with more than 111 million viewers. The biggest audience in Canada for a Stanley Cup game was in 2011, when the Vancouver Canucks faced the Boston Bruins: 8.76 million.Its a full-fledged cultural phenomenon that extends beyond sport itself.Tailgate parties arent just full-day affairs that prompt people to carry generators to stadium parking lots so that they can power their sound systems and TV screens. Theyve even evolved into a cuisine genre, as immortalized in the Food Networks Tailgate Warriors show.The pulsing heart of Americas love affair beats mightily in Texas high schools, as famously documented by the book, film, and TV series about Texas high schools in Friday Night Lights.There were more than 52,000 people at one of the Lonestar States high-school championship games this year — still short of last years record 54,347.The passion is also palpable in big eastern cities, including the toniest tracts of the U.S. capital. One night last spring, in the midst of the hockey and basketball playoffs, the noisiest crowds at a sports bar near Capitol Hill huddled around screens showing the NFL draft; fans of other sports discreetly took in their own playoff games in quieter corners of the bar.Try striking up a conversation about most sports and youll get a polite response at a barber shop on 18th Street. But bring up football, and the shop springs to life with the sound of barbers bantering with cape-clad customers.Many still remember Marshall for the sternum-bruising smash that helped end Joe Montanas legendary stint with the San Francisco 49ers.These days, however, Marshall wants the game to change.I was told as a kid, Hit what you see and see what you hit.... Plant that (helmet) in the centre of his chest. And if you rupture his spleen or you rupture his chest as a result, oh well, thats part of the game, said the two-time Super Bowl champ.And if you see the brown spots and things seem to start moving a lot slower for you, just rub a little dirt on it and get back in there.Hes spoken with many retired players about the cognitive and emotional problems theyve been having: Its your ability to recall. Its your ability to make good decisions. It controls your emotions — or lack of emotions. Your mood swings. Your inability to sleep... Depression. Anger. A short fuse. You hate feeling like this. One of the people he talked to was a former teammate, Dave Duerson. Duerson later took his own life by shooting himself in the chest and leaving a suicide note requesting that his brain be sent to a lab for analysis.Duerson was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Marshall has since been diagnosed, too. Suicidal thoughts are a rampant problem for former players suffering from CTE, he says.Marshall now works with a new organization, Brain Unity Trust — co-founded with Pittsburgh lawyer Jason Luckasevich after the pair met through their landmark class-action suit against the NFL, now being settled out of court. He hopes to educate young players, coaches, and researchers about new approaches to tackling and head injuries. Luckasevich describes how he had to keep repeating himself in a recent conversation with a forgetful ex-player. He tells the story of two others who got into trouble because they forgot they were carrying guns — one on the grounds of a school.And he marvels at their devotion to the sport that has dealt them such damage.These guys get so hostile and talk about how their team let them down, and their union let them down, and the NFL let them down, he said. And the next thing you know, theyre like, Oh, Ive got a Hall of Fame meeting Ive got to go to. Despite the fervour, there are signs that footballs problems in the U.S. are beginning to take a toll.Attendance has dipped in recent years — not only in the pros, but at the college level too. Youth entitlement has also seen a decline these last few years, with fewer kids playing in Pop Warner leagues.The question of whether to register a kid for football is the theme of The United States of Football, a documentary directed by Sean Pamphilon, a big fan who also happens to be a dad.In the end, Pamphilons son opted instead for baseball and guitar lessons. But his father still cant shake the habit.I feel like a complete hypocrite when it comes to this, Pamphilon said in an interview with SB Nation following the films 2013 release. Because Ive been exposed to an incredible amount of human suffering... But then I went to Seahawks training camp. And I saw Russell Wilson and it was, like, pretty much love at first pass. Deacon Jones Jersey .She struggled with a hacking cough, she was sick, and she twice celebrated too early, but she held her composure in a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory on Saturday.On her third match point, she let her racket go before hearing a let call to what she thought was an ace. Joe Namath Jersey . Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season. http://www.cheaplosangelesramsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-jack-youngblood-jersey . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position.MILWAUKEE -- A short jumper off the glass. A stutter-step shot that drew a foul. An easy layup after a teammate sealed off a defender in the middle. After a bruising tussle with Marquette in the first half, Shannon Scott helped energize No. 10 Ohio State early in the second half for a big win on the road. Scott scored 13 points, including the three buckets during the 12-4 run after halftime, and the Buckeyes pulled away for a 52-35 win Saturday over the cold-shooting, 17th-ranked Golden Eagles. Sam Thompson also scored 13, while Aaron Craft added 10 points and 10 assists for the Buckeyes (3-0), who ended Marquettes 27-game home winning streak, second-longest in the nation. It was the schools first loss at home since Vanderbilt beat the Golden Eagles 74-57 on Dec. 29, 2011. Only South Dakota State (30) had a longer winning streak in the country entering Saturday. Didnt look like they could pull it off after shooting just 27 per cent in the first half. But things opened up after halftime, when coach Thad Mattas team was 15 of 26 from the field (58 per cent). "Eventually, its got to go in the basket," Matta said in recounting a halftime talk. "Fortunately we had that run. It was the difference in the game." Scott, Craft and Thompson were the sparks, while Marquette (2-1) came out flat in the second half in front of a full house of 18,700 friendly fans in the BMO Harris Bradley Center. "As I told our guys, I dont feel sorry for us at all. They beat us," coach Buzz Williams said. "They beat us straight up. They beat us at home before a sellout crowd." It certainly didnt help that the Golden Eagles had 20 turnovers and shot just 10 of 53 (19 per cent) for the game, including 4 of 24 (17 per cent) in the second half. Tied at 19 at halftime, the game opened up with Ohio State going on the run and finding room to manoeuvr inside. Centre Amir Williams started the spurt by muscling out Chris Otule in the post for a basket. Then Williams sealed off Otule in the lane to allow Scott to go in for an uncontested layup. After forcing a steal of Jake Thomas,, Scott sped down the court and drew a foul on Thomas on the stutter-step jumper. Marshall Faulk Jersey. Lenzelle Smith Jr. lowered his head driving the baseline and flipped up a tough shot around Marquettes big men for a 31-23 lead with 16:21 left. "Defensively, we just didnt get back in transition, and from that point on they had the advantage," point guard Derrick Wilson said. Coach Williams called a timeout that briefly settled his team before the Buckeyes pulled away again. Ohio State had just three turnovers in the second half to 10 for the Golden Eagles, who are breaking in a new backcourt with last years starting trio of Vander Blue, Junior Cadougan and Trent Lockett all gone. Wilson is the new starter at the point. Todd Mayo, helping to fill the minutes left by Blues departure at shooting guard, led the Golden Eagles with 11 points. Whatever the reason, Ohio State found its rhythm on the fastbreak, with a 16-0 edge, including 12-0 in the second half. "The biggest thing we wanted to do was get out in transition," Craft said. "If we could get rebounds and run, we could get lay-ups before they could set up. And thats what we wanted to do." It was another momentous day in Crafts career after he eclipsed 1,000 career points, to become the first player in team history to have that many points along with 500 assists and 200 steals. The bruising first half featured tussles under the bucket, plenty of rebounds and lots of missed shots. The teams combined to shoot 13 of 55 in a half that ended in a 19-all tie on Buckeye forward Marc Lovings 3 from the corner with 7 seconds left. The Golden Eagles had briefly taken control with an 8-0 midway for an 18-14 lead with 4:47 left through the half by making tough shots in the lane, mainly with Amir Williams on the bench. Marquette managed to outrebound Ohio State 50-34. Davante Gardner had 10 points and six rebounds. The teams were scheduled to meet last year in the Carrier Classic in Charleston, S.C. aboard the USS Yorktown, but the game was called off because weather conditions caused a slippery court. 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