Sports. Know the score? Contact the editor at sports@theotherpress.ca Throwing it all away Hernandez charged with murder By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer ACen Hernandez had always been destined for the NFL. Coming out of high school, he was considered the top tight end recruit. After declaring for the University of Florida, Hernandez would put in two solid years before breaking out in his junior season and winning the John Mackey Award for top tight end in the country. All the hours in the gym and in film study was finally paying off. Forgoing his senior season, Hernandez declared for the draft in April, and was selected in the fourth round by the New England Patriots. Fast forward to early June and things were looking pretty good for Hernandez. He’d been signed to a five-year $37.5-million deal in August of 2012 and had just put an injury- troubled season behind him. He was considered one of the top tight ends in the league and was still playing with one of the finest quarterbacks in the game, Tom Brady. Hernandez was the definition of “making it.” And then it all fell apart. On June 18, police searched Hernandez’s home while investigating the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancé— the two were supposedly friends. It began to look grim for the star tight end when it 5 was discovered he had turned over his phone in pieces to police, destroyed his home security system, and hired some professional cleaners for his residence. On June 26, Hernandez was charged with murder. The Patriots immediately released him and the NFL pulled his jersey from their online store. It was also revealed that Hernandez was being investigated in connection with a double homicide in July of 2012 in Boston. CytoSport and Puma have since cancelled their sponsorship deals with him. There are millions of kids f who dream of playing in the NFL one day. A fraction of these kids will be stars in high school. A portion of them will be someone in college. A veritable handful of players will get a crack at the NFL. And of those who do make it to the big stage, the majority of them will be out of the league in three years or less. Hernandez’s case is a sad commentary on the extreme The physical price athletes pay By Josh Martin, Sports Editor hen it comes to injuries, it’s no secret that athletes tend to play through them. Nearly every player in the playoffs is battling through some form of physical pain, despite the future consequences to their health. This may be because of the need-to-win attitude grounded into their mentality, or it could be the lack of knowing what effects an injury can have long-term. But most likely, it’s the level of competitiveness among teammates and opponents that drive these players to the edge. Wherever it may be, there has to be a point where you say enough is enough. NFL Hall of Famer cornerback Ronnie Lott seriously injured his finger during the 49ers last regular- season game in the 1985 season. When faced with the choice of 22 either undergoing procedures to fix the finger and missing the playoffs, or amputating the tip and playing right away, Lott chose to amputate the finger. In 1956, Manchester City goal keeper Bert Trautmann suffered a neck injury with 15 minutes to go in the FA Cup Final. He played on and his team won the match 3-1 66 against Birmingham City. After a few days of prominent pain, an X-ray revealed that he had dislocated five vertebrae and cracked the second in two, an injury that could have cost the hospital in an ambulance in game five of the Stanley Cup finals a few weeks ago. He returned in game six to help his team win the Stanley Cup against the Boston Bruins. It was revealed the next day that he was playing with a separated shoulder, torn cartilage, a broken rib, and a punctured lung, speculated to have been probably wont make a difference. caused because of the broken rib that was left untreated. One might call these players heroes of the game. They’re warriors who will fight to the very end, but they’re keeper his life. also incredibly stupid. The More recently, Patrice aforementioned example of Bergeron of the Chicago Mr. Lott slicing off his finger Blackhawks was rushed to in order to play in the playoffs Recently arrested, ex-Patriot’s tight end, Aaron Hernandez short-sightedness of human nature. It’s impossible to understand what possessed Hernandez, or any star that spits in the face of their own hard takes the cake. It’s the individual's decision what to do with their health and body, but the league needs to lengthen the games in a regular season in order to prevent injuries. The Major League Baseball (MLB) season consists of 162 regular-season games in a span of approximately 180 days Ifa team is terrible after 120 games, then another 42 games between the months of April and September. One can make the argument that baseball isn’t as physically demanding as other sports, so they should be able to put up that many games in such a limited amount of time. But 162 games in 180 days is unnecessary and ridiculous. The MLB could slice 20 games (left) | Photo courtesy of Mike George/AP/The Vancouver Sun work. To have come this far, to have it all, and then to make it all disappear in the blink of an eye. Hernandez is only 23 years old. off the schedule easily and there wouldn't be much of a difference in terms of where teams rank in the standings. If a team is terrible after 120 games, then another 42 games probably won't make a difference. The same could be said for the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League—both leagues that withstand 82 games in a regular season. Decreasing that amount by five or more games would make a huge difference in terms of giving the players the rest they need, especially since the post-season is so physically and mentally demanding. Lessening the amount of games in a season may be the only possible way to prevent injuries from athletes. There’s no way these players are going to let their bodies get in the way of helping their team reach a championship title—it’s just not going to happen.