Random Thoughts: Super Bowl, 'Melo, Yankees' Signings, and Cano

I had my first experience taking transportation other than a car to or from Boston this weekend and I can tell you it's not so much fun. But while I flew there, I'm taking Megabus on my way back and being blessed with spotty WiFi, I felt it a good time to blog. I know I've been absent from the blog for a while but I've been transitioning to a new [day] job and haven't had the time I would like to pump out great blog posts for the NYaT audience. So here's a bunch of random sports thoughts as I figure out how to get this guy's job as a ticket broker (H/T Zack):

I'm rooting with the rest of the Cheeseheads for Aaron Rodgers (NYP)

My Super Bowl Team

I don't think I'm alone rooting for the Packers tonight in the Super Bowl. I think while most of the time people root for a team, this battle is a battle of quarterback personalities. While Big Ben has become a hard-to-root-for quarterback with his off-the-field issues, Aaron Rodgers is about as easy to root for as a QB can be. He sat on the bench and didn't complain while Brett Favre did his annual retirement dance and the year that Favre had his personal downfall as a person and player, Rodgers is about to assert himself among the best QBs in the NFL. And if you look at the past 5 Super Bowls, the better story always won, though none will top the Drew Brees taking the post-Katrina Saints all the way last year. I think the Packers are going to win but I'm truly just rooting for an entertaining game.

Carmelo Anthony

I've been pretty adamantly against the Knicks double paying for 'Melo (in prospects and then in money) knowing that he's probably going to sign with the Knicks no matter what in the off-season. But after the Cliff Lee saga, I know that something like that is never certain and if the latest rumored offer (Knicks only giving up Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph, and Eddy Curry's obese corpse) is really true, I say go for it. They could go small and have a starting 5 of Amare, Raymond Felton, Landry Fields, Gallo, and 'Melo or move Fields to a super 6th man and start Ronny Turiaf or The Mozgov Cocktail in his place. Carmelo may not make the Knicks that much better (he plays even less defense), but for three players who won't be here next year, I think it's a steal. 'Melo has used his leverage and now the Knickerbockers need to take advantage of it.

Yankees' Latest Signings

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Ask a Doctor: Does SI's Big Ben Frontal Lobe Argument Hold Water?

Yesterday Ben posted a story from Sports Illustrated on the blog about how Big Ben's "deviant" behavior may have been caused by frontal lobe injury. I decided to ask our resident blog expert, neurologist Cynthia Brown, MD, who we had consulted previously on Ben Roethlisberger when his concussion issues popped up during the season and the question is whether he should play or not. So we borrowed Cynthia from her DynaMed obligations for a few minutes as she tells us her feelings about whether Roethlisberger's head injuries could have caused his behavioral issues:
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There is not an easy answer to this complex situation. The circumstances of Ben Roethlisberger's 2006 motorcycle accident indicate that he was riding without a helmet and that he suffered enough of an impact to cause multiple facial fractures and loss of teeth (riding without a helmet on that day would indicate bad judgment even before the documented head trauma). There is also documentation of other sports-related concussions.

The article by David Epstein does address the issues well. At first blush, it is difficult to differentiate what may be adolescent-type behavior in a young man with fame and fortune and irresponsible behavior, from that of someone with frontal lobe damage. The acceleration/deceleration head injuries that Ben has experienced can cause brain damage on a cellular level which can result in frontal lobe damage manifested by poor judgment (loss of executive function) and the loss of ability to filter speech and behavior in order to behave in a socially appropriate fashion (disinhibition). Damage to the temporal lobes (which can also occur from acceleration/deceleration head trauma) can also result in certain deviant sexual behaviors, but this would be highly unusual. I agree with the comments of the neurologists and neuropsychologists that determination of his behavior patterns earlier in life as well as extensive neuropsychological testing will be able to determine whether this is the behavior of an egotistical man or inappropriate behavior of a brain-damaged individual.

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Thank you to Cynthia for once again providing us with some expert opinion here at NYaT!