Buccaneers

The NFL and NFLPA had better make sure that Tom McHale didn't die in vain.

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Fryingpan Sports

The NFL and NFLPA had better make sure that Tom McHale didn’t die in vain.

By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: NFL,NFL Football,NFLPA,Upshaw,McHale,Ditka,Bears,Eales,Buccaneers,Dolphins,CTE,chronic traumatic encephalopathy

You may not recognize the name Tom McHale. He played as an offensive lineman in the NFL for 9 seasons with Tampa, Philadelphia, and Miami from 1987-1995 starting 23 of the 87 games in which he played. He died last May at the age of 45 from an accidental overdose of oxycodone and cocaine according to police. Tom was one of a large number of NFL players that suffered multiple concussions during his career. He was one of six players examined by researchers as part of the Sports Legacy Institute for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — and the sixth whose diagnosis was confirmed by a postmortem study of his brain.

McHale had his own demons including three stints in drug rehabilitation. His wife told the New York Times that he was in constant pain and was taking pain killers all the time. But his death along with the deaths of the other 5 players all have been in vain unless the NFL and the NFLPA do something about the problem. The larger issue is … Read more at FryingPanSports

Gruden and Allen forced to walk the plank.

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Technorati Tags: Buccaneers,Tampa Bay,NFL,NFL Draft,Gruden,Allen,Morris,head coach,McKay

Fryingpan Sports

tGruden and Allen forced to walk the plank.

By Bill Smith

Yesterday, the Glazers who own the Buccaneers fired both GM Bruce Allen and head coach Jon “Chuckie” Gruden. Reports from Tampa indicate that both were at work yesterday and were “blindsided” by the move. Gruden becomes the second head coach with a Super Bowl win on his resume to be let go this year. Denver fired head coach Mike Shannon earlier this month.

While Gruden was shocked, perhaps he shouldn’t have been. He won his Super Bowl with the team that built and trained by his predecessor Tony Dungy and the former GM Rich McKay. Gruden was obtained by Tampa in a trade for 4 high draft choices (2 1st round and 2 2nd round) and 8 million in cash with the Raiders before the 2002 season. In 2002 Tampa went 12-4 and won the Super Bowl beating the Raiders. That got him some time. In 2008, the team was playing well and got to December with a record of 9-3. Then Tampa lost to consecutive games to Carolina, Atlanta, San Diego. After the team lost a humiliating … Read more at FryingPanSports