Random Rabble: May 16

For those who can't get enough of me -- and I can't imagine there are many of you -- I'm covering Chicago-Detroit for SBNation's NHL hub. I'll have stories throughout the series. My take on Game 1 is here. At this point, I'm not sure I see anyone beating Chicago. The Blackhawks are playing at an exceptionally high level, and they have gotten the kind of goaltending championship teams need to get, no matter how well they're playing.

As for the Wild, anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I'm somewhat conflicted on what I've seen from head coach Mike Yeo. That said, he had to stay, for a number of reasons. I'm not sure it's totally fair to judge a second-year coach after a shortened season like this. The Wild made a slew of big changes over the summer, and the young players GM Chuck Fletcher set out to start acquiring when he arrived are just now starting to make a real impact.

That said, improvement is a must now for Yeo. I didn't think the personnel was handled exquisitely. It seemed too much faith was put in veterans, even when they were struggling. Not enough lineup changes were made during the playoffs when things were clearly going south. The power play never really got going, and it was 0-for-17 in the five-game series loss to Chicago.

Wisconsin racing legend and former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle died Thursday of an apparent suicide. I don't quote Wikipedia often, but here's the lowdown on Trickle's short-track career, much of which came in the Badger State.

A big turning point in Trickle's career happened at the National Short Track Championship race at Rockford Speedway in 1966. Trickle said, "The cars in that area were fancier and looked like they were ahead of us. The didn't treat us bad, but they sort of giggled at us kids with the rat cars. After two days, they look differently at those rat cars. I won and pocketed $1,645. Before, I questioned spending the money to travel that far. But if you could win, that was a different story." Trickle started the 1967 season by winning at State Park Speedway and ended the season with 25 feature victories including wins at Wisconsin Dells Speedway (now Dells Raceway Park) and Golden Sands Speedway (near Wisconsin Rapids).

He toured on the Central Wisconsin Racing Association (CWRA) tracks in 1971. The circuit consisted of larger asphalt track racing on most nights of the week.[9] CWRA regular drivers were able to run over 100 events in a year, and most did the tour with one car and one engine. Drivers would drive on Wednesday nights at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, Thursday nights at State Park Speedway near Wausau, Friday nights at Capitol Speedway (now Madison International Speedway) near Madison, La Crosse, or Adams-Friendship, Saturday nights at Wisconsin Dells Speedway, and Sunday nights at Griffith Park. Tuesday nights were available for special events.

On Thursday nights at the quarter mile State Park Speedway, he won seven features and lowered his July 1 14.27 second track record to 14.09 seconds on the following week. On Friday nights he raced primarily at Capitol Speedway, winning most nights that rain or his car did not break. Trickle went to Adams-Friendship on July 23 and won the feature after setting the track record. He held the track record at six tracks: Adams-Friendship, Capitol, Wausau, Wisconsin Dells, and La Crosse. He raced at the newly opened third mile Wisconsin Dells Speedway on Saturday nights. By the end of the year, Trickle had won 58 feature events.

Trickle started his 1972 season by winning at Golden Sands Speedway near Wisconsin Rapids. Wisconsin's short track racing season starts in April. By May 13, he had twelve wins in thirteen events. He got this fifteenth win in twenty starts on May 27. Trickle became the winningest short track driver that year when he won his 67th race.

Trickle won numerous special events outside of Wisconsin in 1973, including a 200-lap feature at Rolla, Missouri in April, following by winning a 50-lap feature the following day at I-70 Speedway near Odessa, Missouri. In May he won a 50-lapper at Springfield, Missouri and two more features at I-70 Speedway. Trickle used his purple 1970 Ford Mustang to win at the Minnesota Fair and at Rockford Speedway in September. He had a total of 57 wins in 1973.

Trickle became well-known nationally during his NASCAR Winston Cup career. The old ESPN SportsCenter pair of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann always made a point to mention where Trickle finished. Maybe they liked his name or something. Olbermann noted the following on Twitter upon word of Trickle's passing.

Awful news: Dick Trickle is dead ... No sports figure Dan + I had fun with took it more graciously. In fact, gratefully.

Olbermann went on to credit Trickle for helping increase NASCAR's visibility on SportsCenter. He said the attention they gave Trickle eventually trickled down (pun intended) to the races themselves, whether Trickle raced in them or not.

His name probably made him famous more than his driving, but Dick Trickle was one hell of a race car driver.

Junior Seau's Death Comes With No Immediate Answers

The video of Junior Seau's distraught mother -- not long after learning of her son's death by suicide -- pretty much says it all.

(This isn't graphic in any way, but it is extremely emotional, so keep that in mind before you hit the play button.)



It's a mother who now has to bury a son. And in front of the world, she's trying to come to grips with that and find some reason why.

So are the rest of us.

Junior Seau, a feared linebacker and one of the all-time greats in the NFL, died Wednesday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 43, and leaves behind three kids and an ex-wife to go along with his poor, grief-stricken mother.

Seau is the latest in a line way too long. A line of pro athletes who have lost their lives too soon. He's the eighth member of the Chargers' 1994 team that went to the Super Bowl to die.

(He's the first of that group to take his own life. Three of the eight died of heart issues, one of a drug overdose, one from a lightning strike, one in a car accident, and one in a plane crash.)

Cue the speculation, because there are no definitive answers. Seau left no note, and no one has indicated there were any signs of depression.

Seau’s death has fueled speculation that a 20-year pro football career inevitably included head injuries that took a permanent toll.

Recent studies have found higher rates of cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression among former players with a history of concussions.

A 2007 study by the University of North Carolina found a threefold increase of depression among retired NFL players who had three or more concussions.
Getting help

Depression can be treated and relief is within reach. Here's how to get help.

“There is an association between TBI (traumatic brain injury) and mood disorders, depression being one version of that,” said Dr. John Reed, chief executive of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, which is researching the mechanisms and possible treatments of traumatic brain injury.

“It’s important to remember that it’s also entirely possible he could have had an unrelated mood disorder,” Reed said. “One in four Americans sometime in their life will develop clinical depression.”

We may never know anything definitive. Because Seau shot himself in the chest, there is at least a lingering hope that his family will allow CTE researchers to look at his brain, searching for the signs of CTE, a concussion-related brain disease that is still a mystery to many. To this point, it can only be discovered after death by an examination of a person's brain.

In a piece for Esquire, Chris Jones examines this part of the issue.

Because Seau apparently shot himself in the chest, his death will be inevitably compared to Dave Duerson's, the former Chicago Bear who also shot himself in the chest last year, better to preserve his brain for science and lawsuits. There is no doubt that over his twenty brutal seasons in the NFL, Seau suffered his share of brain damage. There will be dark shadows found inside of him. And everyone will talk about how something has to change and how terrible this all is and, gee, is it really worth all this for a game? And then everyone will buy their tickets and popcorn and get ready for some subtly altered version of football.


... Why do football players kill themselves? On the surface, at least, they do it for the same reason hockey players like Rick Rypien and Wade Belak do. And for the same reason taxi drivers and ballet dancers and poets and construction workers and janitors and teachers and doctors do: They do it because they are depressed, because they are in such a dark place that they choose death. It's a hard thing to think about, but if you do anything in the memory of Junior Seau today, please think about this for a moment: How bad would your life have to be for you to put a gun to your chest and put a bullet into your heart? How deep would be that despair?

And he's right. It's not a fun thing to think about, but just ponder for a moment how bad you things would need to be before you even consider something like this. And how sickening is the thought?

You can't rationalize suicide, no matter what. Even if researchers declare that Seau was a puddle of a man compared to a "normal" 43-year-old, it doesn't solve everything.

After all, it's easy to ask why someone wouldn't get help in such a situation? And it's a reasonable conclusion. If your life is this bad, your thoughts this irrational, why wouldn't you ask someone for some help?

None of it will answer every question that comes up. At the end of the day, depression is an illness. It can be treated effectively, but someone has to recognize the symptoms and warning signs first. Please don't ignore them in yourself, or the ones you love.

It will be a long summer of discussion about the impact that contact sports have on the people who play them. Seau's death won't be forgotten, and hopefully it can be taken as a sign that depression can happen to anyone, no matter their status in society.

Derek Boogaard Found Dead

Awful news to relay, as former Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard was found dead Friday in his Minneapolis apartment by members of his family. Boogaard was only 28 years old.

I've been following sports for most of my 30-something years on this planet, and I've covered them since I was old enough to cover sports. You become desensitized in a way to a lot of things, but death is not one of them.

When an active athlete is taken from the world, you react. You're probably floored at the thought of someone this young who is obviously in decent physical condition passing away.

But sometimes, it hits harder than others. This is one of those times.

Boogaard was a special figure in Minnesota sports during his time with the Wild. Not only was he a fan favorite because of his antics on the ice, but he was one of the team's most visible and liked figures off it. His community service was second to none, and tons of youngsters grew up looking up to Boogaard in ways much more meaningful than the physical sense.

A statement from the New York Rangers ...

The New York Rangers are very saddened to announce the passing of Derek Boogaard.

“Derek was an extremely kind and caring individual,” said New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather.  “He was a very thoughtful person, who will be dearly missed by all those who knew him.  We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends and teammates during this difficult time.”

Boogaard began his NHL career with Minnesota and appeared in 255 career games with the Wild from 2005-06 – 2009-10.  He joined the New York Rangers on July 1, 2010, appearing in 22 games in the 2010-11 season.

Throughout his career, Boogaard sought to make a difference in the communities he played in, taking part in numerous charitable endeavors.  Boogaard was a supporter of the Defending the Blue Line Foundation, a non-profit charitable foundation whose mission is to ensure that children of military members are afforded every opportunity to participate in the great sport of hockey.

While with the Rangers, he created “Boogaard’s Booguardians,” hosting military members and their families at all New York Ranger home games.  In addition, he made multiple appearances with partner organizations of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the non-profit charity that works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden, including the New York Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, MSG Media, MSG Entertainment and Fuse “to make dreams come true for kids facing obstacles”.

The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native was originally Minnesota’s seventh round choice, 202nd overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. 

And also from the Wild ...

The Minnesota Wild organization sends our deepest sympathies to the family of Derek Boogaard.

Derek was a fan favorite during his five seasons with the Wild and will be greatly missed here in Minnesota and throughout the NHL.

I don't have any words, outside of the requisite sympathies to Boogaard's family, friends, teammates, former teammates, and the gaggle of others who got to know and appreciate him over the years.

Instead of trying to muster up words I just don't have right now, here are some favorite on-ice moments over the years. We'll cap it with his infamous goal against the Capitals last season, which was made infinitely more entertaining by the fact Joe Beninati was calling it for Versus. And who can ever forget David Koci trying to run like a scalded dog while Boogaard was beating the hell out of him?

Farewell, George Steinbrenner

I'm not going to pretend to have ever really liked the New York Yankees. However, it's hard not to respect them.

This has been an iconic franchise in pro sports for nearly 100 years. They win championships, they house legendary players, and they respect the history of their team and the game more than virtually any other organization in pro sports.

For more than a quarter-century (37 years, to be exact), the center of the Yankees has not been a player or manager.

It's been The Boss.

George Steinbrenner died Tuesday morning, just nine days after he reached the age of 80.

He owned the Yankees, buying players (and championships, according to many critics, myself included), firing managers when he felt like it, and going about his business in a very unorthodox manner.

Of course, he was also an innovator. He built the Yankees into a global brand, taking advantage of their popularity to rake in money that was used to sign free agents when his organization couldn't develop top-level talent fast enough. He also built his own sports network, YES, one dedicated to carrying his team's games and helping increase their reach.

(YES also carries New Jersey Nets games, and they have dabbled in college football on fall Saturdays, too.)

Many of his ideas have been copied by other franchises, in hopes of achieving even a small fraction of the Yankees' success.

Beyond that, Steinbrenner's bombastic personality was famous. Check out this piece from 60 Minutes back in 1987.



Oh, and his name also made an appearance on Seinfeld back in the day. We'll never forget that, either.

In the end, Steinbrenner was a truly iconic figure in baseball. He did it while owning the sport's signature franchise, and he never was satisfied. Part of what made Steinbrenner great was also what drove everyone else crazy. He never stopped trying to make the Yankees better, whether it be on or off the field.

This is truly a sad day for baseball. It doesn't matter if you're a Yankee fan or not. It's hard not to look at what George accomplished in this sport and be quite impressed.

Farewell, Bob Probert

On Monday, we lost longtime NHL enforcer Bob Probert, who collapsed and died while boating with his family. Probert will be remembered by many as one of the most feared players of his time.

He was a rarity, a player who lasted 17 years, persevered through drug problems, was a consistently great fighter, and who was loved for a long time in both Detroit and Chicago.

As Red Wings and Blackhawks fans come together to remember their former player, the rest of the hockey world looks back on what made Probert great. While the big man scored nearly 400 points in his career -- not bad for a tough guy -- and he will always be the guy who scored the last NHL goal at Maple Leaf Gardens, Proberts fists were the stars of the show.

Here is a legendary fight he had with fellow fighter extraordinaire Tie Domi.



Probert was fishing with his four children, father-in-law, and mother-in-law when he was stricken by what his father-in-law called "severe chest pain."

Bob Probert was just 45 years old.

Farewell, Ernie Harwell

One of the true legends in the history of radio has died.

Ernie Harwell, the longtime voice of the Detroit Tigers and one of the iconic voices in baseball, died Tuesday at 92 after a long battle with cancer.

Harwell worked baseball games for 55 years, starting with Atlanta in 1946. He worked for four teams total before starting with the Tigers in 1960. Outside of a controversial firing after the 1991 season, he worked continuously as the Tigers' voice until his retirement in 2002.

For me, there were four voices I grew up listening to. As you might expect, Bob Uecker was and still is No. 1 when it comes to baseball on the radio. I listened to as many Brewers games as I could, sneaking the radio under my pillow when the games ran late. When the Brewers didn't play or were on too late, I flipped up the dial and listened to Herb Carneal call Twins games. Harwell did a handful of national games, enough for me to understand how great he was (remember, we didn't have MLB.com streaming all the games when I was growing up in the 1980s). The other guy I always listened to when I had the chance was Dodgers legend Vin Scully.

Uecker and Scully are still with us doing games, though Uecker is out until later this summer because of heart surgery, and Scully rarely travels anymore.

Harwell announced last September he had inoperable cancer, and he was honored at a Tigers home game in the middle of that month. Here is video from that game.



Harwell's spring training ritual -- a Bible verse -- will likely be remembered most by many Tigers fans.

For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

Beautiful words used annually by Harwell to describe a wonderful time of the year for baseball fans.

Michael Jackson Will Only Die Once

A shocking assertion from an MSNBC reporter as news broke of Michael Jackson's death last week.

SHOCKING!

Saw this bit on The Daily Show Tuesday night, as Jon Stewart awesomely made fun of the media for being the media.

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In case you think that was somehow doctored, here you go.



Obviously, there are tabloids that fundamentally disagree with this notion, and they'll prove that in the future. It shouldn't be too long before some random publication accuses Jackson of faking his own death.

We must be horribly short on people who are willing to take jobs working as television reporters. It's the only way to explain the sometimes self-serving and more often completely incompetent nature of today's reporters.

THE NICK ADENHART STORY

By now, you're probably well aware of the story surrounding last week's death of Angels' pitcher Nick Adenhart, along with two other innocent, young people.

The reality is that an incident like this one affects many, many lives. Three people lost theirs forever, but they all leave behind families and friends who will be forever impacted by what happened. Two men in the vehicles struck survived, and must live with the harrowing events.

Amy Nelson of ESPN.com has an outstanding piece (kinda long and very sad, mind you) that breaks down the events of the evening. It's amazing to think about how small a chance it truly was that Andrew Gallo would meet up with that particular car at that particular intersection.

It's a little after midnight when Nick, Jon and Henry pile into Courtney's car, a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse, and set out for In Cahoots. At about 12:20 a.m., Courtney, with Nick sitting beside her in front, Jon behind her in back and Henry behind Nick, approach the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue, heading northbound. Courtney is on Lemon Street, in the right-hand lane, seeing a green light all the way. She's less than a block away from the bar, or as Lt. Kevin Hamilton of the Fullerton PD said, "a tee shot away."

Another driver, Estevan Quiroz, is on Lemon Street heading in the opposite direction, facing Courtney, and inching out into the intersection, preparing to turn left onto Orangethorpe.

In the corner of his left eye, Quiroz catches a red blur, which in Quiroz's estimation a vehicle is traveling at about 90 mph. He wisely stops because, as he sees the blur, he can tell it has no intention of stopping.

Andrew Gallo, driving recklessly, not knowing why he's almost 20 miles south of where his night started in Covina, slams full speed into the passenger side of the Mitsubishi, where Nick Adenhart and Henry Pearson are sitting, according to police. Andrew doesn't even tap his brakes, T-boning the Mitsubishi, the force of the crash spinning the sports car across the intersection and killing Courtney and Henry instantly.

"A half-second before or after," Hamilton says, "and there's no impact. That's like taking one more brush of your hair."

As I mentioned, it's a very sad story, but one I'm glad Nelson was able to tell.

I'm pretty sure I don't have to mention the lessons one can learn from this story. Please give it a read.

FAREWELL, COACH BAGGS

I remember the first time I spoke to John Baggs. He was so proud of his St. Scholastica baseball team, which was playing in NAIA at the time. In that season, they would earn the right to host an NAIA Super Regional. They lost the series, but it was a sign this program was unquestionably moving in the right direction.

For the Northland, having a high-quality baseball program was kind of a new thing. UMD has a tradition of being competitive, but they were rarely a threat to win a national title.

Under Baggs, the Saints became an elite small-college baseball program. He won over 500 games in 17 years, and his teams won 12 straight UMAC baseball titles, and they had their best-ever finish in an NCAA regional (second) this past season.

Baggs lost his battle with a rare form of cancer Tuesday morning. At just 42, far too young to be taken from us. He is survived by his wife and two young children.

John had his son Maddux (yes, named after Greg) penciled into the CSS rotation for 2019. And why not? If he could teach other people's children how to pitch, he surely could teach his own.

He was a devoted Cub fan who loved to taunt me with stories of how much my Brewers stunk. And what could I say in response, since they were usually true?

There was the day John called me and pitched an idea for a radio segment. He wanted to interview me. Got tired, I guess, of me asking him questions, which was normally how the radio thing worked.

He asked me over 30 questions. I had to answer all of them, or he was going to drag me out for a round of golf. Since I hate golf, I was happy to oblige.

John was a joy to know, because he had such passion for baseball. He understood the game like so few people do. In an area where baseball is not a high priority, and where it can be hard to develop a great program because of the limitations put on you by the weather, the success Baggs enjoyed had a great impact.

Not only did it give fans an elite program to follow, but it also raised the proverbial bar for everyone else. Baggs disciple Eddy Morgan is the third-year coach at longtime doormat UWS now, and there have already been signs of life. A program that won just three games the season before he arrived won 17 last year, for their most wins since 1974.

It's fitting that a guy who wasn't just a baseball coach would be able to - even indirectly - help a neighbor program get on its feet. Ask any of his former players, and they'll tell you about what kind of man John Baggs was. Same for St. Scholastica faculty, local media, and any fans who were fortunate enough to meet him.

Please take some time to leave your thoughts here. And if you are the type who prays, please do so, for John's family, as well as the St. Scholastica family.

FAREWELL, CHARLIE JONES

You know what I find strange?

Charlie Jones was a tremendous broadcaster for almost 40 years. He died today at age 77. And despite the long, wonderful career he enjoyed, this is the best video I can find of Charlie Jones on YouTube.

Odd.

Farewell to another great voice from my childhood.



Jim McKay, Tim Russert, and Charlie Jones. All in one week.

I don't know how much television is done in heaven, but the quality of it just went up by an immeasurable amount.

FAREWELL, TIM RUSSERT

"Big Russ and Me" and "Wisdom Of Our Fathers" were brilliant. His work on "Meet the Press" was influential, even for those not involved in politics.

While his background was in politics, the Buffalo Bills would be remiss not to pay a tribute to Tim Russert this fall. They didn't have a bigger fan anywhere. Russert was famous for chatting guests up about his beloved Bills and Sabres, and he was also insistent on getting home after "Meet the Press" tapings, so he wouldn't miss kickoff of the Bills games.

I was struck by the statement from Senator John McCain, who will officially become the Republican nominee for President in a couple months.

"I am very saddened by Tim Russert's sudden death. Cindy and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the Russert family as they cope with this shocking loss and remember the life and legacy of a loving father, husband and the preeminent political journalist of his generation. He was truly a great American who loved his family, his friends, his Buffalo Bills, and everything about politics and America. He was just a terrific guy. I was proud to call him a friend, and in the coming days, we will pay tribute to a life whose contributions to us all will long endure."

I'm not a political expert, and I'm not a media expert. I'm simply in the media. However, I find it hard to believe that you are going to find anyone in this or any other business who is more prepared for work than Tim Russert was. From that standpoint, he will always be revered in the media business. You don't manufacture the kind of passion or work ethic he possessed. It's either there, or it isn't.

Farewell, Mr. Russert, and condolences to Big Russ, who loses his son on Father's Day weekend.

FAREWELL, JIM McKAY

A pioneer and a legend in this wonderful sports broadcasting business has died.



Jim McKay, the voice you hear in the above video, was 86 years old.

Thank you for all you've done in paving the way for us.