FIFA, others defeat U.S. football concussion lawsuit

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit by football players and parents seeking to force FIFA and other governing bodies to change the sport's rules to limit the risk of concussions and other head injuries, especially for children.

In a decision on Thursday, Chief Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the federal court in Oakland, California, said the plaintiffs could not use the courts to change FIFA's "laws of the game," noting it was their decision to play football.

"Plaintiffs have acknowledged that 'injuries' are a 'part of football,'" Hamilton wrote, citing the complaint. "Those who participate in a sporting activity that poses an inherent risk of injury generally assume the risk that they may be injured while doing so."

The judge also said FIFA was not a proper defendant because there was "no connection" between the lawsuit and any activity that the sport's international governing body, which is based in Switzerland, undertook in California.

Claims against FIFA were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be brought again.

Hamilton said claims against bodies such as the United States Football Federation and various youth and club football organizations can be brought again if the plaintiffs show they have standing to sue, including by demonstrating injury.

"We will amend the complaint to satisfy the court's order and appeal the FIFA ruling," Steve Berman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an email.

FIFA said in a statement that it welcomed the decision, and through its medical committee would continue monitoring issues affecting players' health. Lawyers for the other defendants did not respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit is not related to the ongoing corruption scandal at FIFA, whose full name is Fédération Internationale de Football Association.

Hamilton's 46-page decision is a setback for efforts to make football, considered the world's most popular sport with roughly a quarter billion participants, safer to play.

The proposed class-action lawsuit was brought on behalf of seven players, including four under the age of 17.

They sought a variety of rule changes, including limiting headers by players under 17, and making it easier to substitute during games for players experiencing head trauma.

The plaintiffs also sought medical monitoring for people who have played the sport since 2002. Money damages were not sought.

THOUSANDS OF CONCUSSIONS

According to the complaint, 46,200 U.S. high school football players suffered concussions in 2010, more than from baseball, basketball, softball and wrestling combined.

At least 30 percent of football concussions come from heading or attempting to head balls, the complaint said.

But only one of the seven plaintiffs claimed she suffered a concussion from playing football, and Hamilton said this appeared to be a one-time injury that ended with a full recovery.

She also called it "too speculative" to assume the other plaintiffs might suffer concussions in the future, and thus they did not deserve standing to seek rule and protocol changes.

Other lawsuits over concussions have been filed in recent years against the National Football League, the National Hockey League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

A recent settlement between the NFL and roughly 5,000 retired players could reach $1 billion.

Though the football lawsuit was dismissed, "this is not the end of the day for claims against the football federations," said Michael Kaplen, a lawyer specializing in traumatic brain injuries who teaches at George Washington University Law School.

"Groups are trying to market these sports as safe, when they are not," he said in an interview. "Unless and until officials and medical professionals testify under oath, the truth will never come out."

The case is Mehr et al. v. Fédération Internationale de Football Association et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 14-03879.

The 7 Oldest NFL Quarterbacks of All Time

Nearly all sports, when played at the highest level, are pursuits for the young. Professional careers overlap with athletic peaks, which tend to occur early, and the aging process will eventually force everyone, no matter their skill level or determination, to retire. That said, retirement comes at different times for everyone, and for every Rashard Mendenhall, who retired at 26 to travel the world and write, there’s a Brett Favre, who, well,couldn’t stay gone.

The game of football isn’t easy for anyone, and it’s particularly difficult for quarterbacks, who spend the start of every possession staring down 11 guys who are being paid to take him off his feet with extreme prejudice. When we look at the already injury-riddled careers of guys like Sam Bradford and Robert Griffin III, the idea that anyone could play as long as someone like Favre, who retired, for the last time, at 41, seems absurd. And that’s in the modern-day NFL, which is routinely dressed down as “touch football” or “flag football” by those in the fandom who don’t see why making a game safer is probably a good thing.

What’s really wild about Favre is that he doesn’t even come close to the oldest quarterbacks ever to suit up in the NFL. Using information gathered by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, here are the seven oldest quarterbacks in league history.

The 10 Greatest NFL Quarterbacks of All Time

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Second only to the U.S. President, the NFL quarterback is the most glamorous, if not important, job in the country. In addition to the hopes and dreams of his team, the quarterback carries the flag for entire cities, regions, and metaphorically, ways of life. The pressure is unreal, considering the fact that sports-obsessed Americans look to the gridiron gladiator for strength, controlled violence, and an escape from the routine fare of the daily grind. The quarterback is viewed as the one member of the entourage that combines leadership, intelligence, and strategic thought alongside brute force to control games and emerge victorious.

NFL teams sell their collective souls to trade up at the draft, or wheel and deal at the free agent marketplace to land that once-in-a-lifetime franchise quarterback opportunity. Certainly, today’s NFL fanatics are privy to the circus atmosphere that has surrounded Cleveland Browns’ rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel. The outrageous hype is largely based on potential — for now, Manziel is the solid number 2 behind incumbent veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer.

Sports fans, of course, recognize that the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time emerge as icons that define cities, dynasties, and eras. In order to be defined as great, the signal caller must combine top-shelf mechanics with game-time smarts and decision making. Beyond the nuts and bolts of execution, the quarterback must have “it.” Best described as the ability to win, “it” is the poise to lead comeback drives, refuse to back down from raging linebackers, and inspire offensive linemen and teammates to lay it on the line and go to war, day in and day out. Further, “it” is a style and flair that matches success on the field, with the ideals of a nation off the field.

Indeed, the term “quarterback” entices the imagination to personify “all that is right” with America. Let’s introduce the top ten greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time after the jump. All stats are from Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Which College Football Conference Has Won the Most National Title?

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Which College Football Conference Has Won the Most National Titles?

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In the constantly evolving world of college football, it has become difficult to keep track of which schools are in which conferences. What’s even more difficult is tracking national championships through the years in the division that is now known as the Football Bowl Subdivision. Prior to the Bowl Championship Series, and now the College Football Playoff, there were numerous outlets that crowned national champions, which has convoluted college football’s history books.

Using only national championships that are recognized by the National Collegiate Athletics Association, I compiled a list of the conferences with the most football national championships of all-time. It is important to note that the Ivy League no longer plays at the FBS level, but their national titles that are included were won when they were playing at college football’s highest level. Also, this list reflects current conference alignment and some national championships may have been won when teams were members of other conferences.

So, which conference has the most national championships of all-time? Here is a look at the total number of football national championships won by each conference.

Read more: http://www.cheatsheet.com/sports/youll-never-guess-which-conference-has-the-most-cfb-national-titles.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3ai84e7BY

Football star Bobby Bell to get Minnesota degree at age 74

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Most people in the University of Minnesota's college of education and human development class of 2015 will be pondering their futures.

Bobby Bell's lifelong goal will be reached by walking across the stage.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker will graduate Thursday from Minnesota, 52 years after his college career was done. The 74-year-old Bell recently returned to the school he left 13 credits short of a degree in recreation, park and leisure studies. The university guided him toward fulfillment of the promise he once made to his late father in North Carolina.

Bell helped lead the Gophers to the 1960 national championship and a 1962 Rose Bowl victory, before a 12-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs that included a Super Bowl title and six All-Pro selections.

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Tom Brady Suspended 4 Games

Tom Brady has been suspended the first 4 games of the 2015 NFL season for his role in Deflategate ... TWICE the suspension the league initially gave Ray Rice for beating a woman. 

The NFL just issued a statement saying, "Tom Brady will be suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL."

"Brady may participate in all off-season, training camp and pre-season activities, including pre-season games."

The league also dropped the hammer on the New England Patriots -- hitting the team with a $1 MILLION fine ... and taking away their 1st round pick in the 2016 Draft and their 4th round pick in 2017.  

The two locker room attendants who are believed to have deflated the balls have also been suspended indefinitely without pay. 

In a letter to Brady, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent explained the league found "substantial and credible evidence to conclude you were at least generally aware of the actions of the Patriots’ employees involved in the deflation of the footballs and that it was unlikely that their actions were done without your knowledge."

"Moreover, the report documents your failure to cooperate fully and candidly with the investigation, including by refusing to produce any relevant electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information, and by providing testimony that the report concludes was not plausible and contradicted by other evidence."

"Your actions as set forth in the report clearly constitute conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football."

So far, no comment from Brady. 

Magic Johnson just spoke out on the suspension -- saying. "The Commissioner came down hard & fair."

Eli Manning told Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News ... "It is about integrity and you have to follow the rules. If someone’s breaking rules they’re going to get punished."

He added, " "In no way am I glad to see this happen."

Will Smith tweeted ... "Tom Brady suspended 4 games, Thats Interesting!!!!"

Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount  -- "THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!! SMH 😡 #PATSNATION STAND UP!!!!!" 

Donald Trump -- "They had no definitive proof against Tom Brady or #patriots. If Hillary doesn't have to produce Emails, why should Tom? Very unfair!"

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz3ZsMKS8bP

American Football Positions

The following diagram shows you football positions in Big Picture mode.

For the moment, forget about the individual labels on our football positions. Just notice that the players on the field are broken up into two teams of eleven men each, the offense (who are trying to move the football down the field into the end zone) and the defense, who are trying to stop them.

Between them, as you can see, is the line of scrimmage. Although indeed there arelines drawn across the football field, the line of scrimmage is not one of them. The line of scrimmage is, in fact, an imaginary line that is used to indicate where each play will begin, with the offensive football positions set on one side of the line, and the defensive football positions set on the other. All lined up and ready to rumble!

Except when the play is begun by kicking the ball to the opposition (at the beginning of the game, after the halftime break, after points have been scored, and when the offense has failed to make the required ten yard minimum in their series of downs). Then they have a longer way to run before the . . . errr . . . rumbling can begin.

Okay, then. The first breakdown of football positions is into the broad categories ofoffensive team versus defensive team.

Within these two broad categories of football positions, there are, for both offense and defense, two more broad categories: line and backfield.

For the team on offense (i.e., the team with the ball), the responsibility of the linemen is to protect the backs so that they can get free to move the ball down the field.

The 'head back,' by the way, is the quarterback. He's sort of the general of the offense. He 'calls plays,' which means he yells out a code at the beginning of each play that tells the rest of the team what the game plan is, and what their individual assignments will be.

The responsibility of the backs is to move the ball forward either by running with it, or 'getting open,' i.e., free from the defense, so that they can catch the ball if it is thrown to them (usually by the quarterback).

Since only one player can have the ball at a time, the backs without the ball can also help protect the back with the ball, or they can be used as decoys to confuse the defense, a common ploy in American football.

Of course, the defense has the opposite assignment, i.e., they are trying to break through the offensive line and stop the backs from moving the ball.

The defensive backs are pretty much the 'opposite number' of the offensive backs, and may try to stop them by being assigned one man to 'cover' (i.e., control or stop), or by setting up zones of coverage so that the assignment passes from one defensive back to another as the offensive back moves down the field.

Now, you probably noticed that all the little players in our diagram have been labeled. But did you notice that there are a few labels left laying around (like 'Nickel Back' and 'Defensive Tackle') that haven't been stuck on any of the players?

The reason for this is that sometimes football positions are given names unique to the specific formation being used.

Formations, for future reference, are designed plays, rather like choreography in the dance world, in which positions are moved around in an attempt to gain strategic advantage.

And yes: we'll get to that. But we said we'd give you the basics first, and getting into plays and formations now would be like trying to master a souffle before you learn how to boil an egg.

Bu don't worry. You can watch a whole game without knowing if someone's a nickel back. So for now, stay with learning to recognize offense, defense, line and backfield. Unless and until you're hankering to coach the Dallas Cowboys, that's really all you need to know about football positions.

And remember: understanding the game is just a stepping stone. You'll see. Jumping from football positions to football for lovers is really gonna be a breeze!