Archives for January 4, 2023

‘Hamlin went down at 8:55 p.m. Eastern time. For the next 66 minutes, as medics rushed him from Paycor Stadium to a hospital and NFL officials scrambled to make the decision to suspend the game, the sport did not matter. This game — one of the most anticipated of the season, a Week 17 showdown with major implications for the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC — could not be played. With Hamlin fighting for his life, there was no “next man up” mentality on this night. There would be no next play.’

‘In addition, most cases occur in younger individuals. One NCCR analysis of 188 commotio cordis fatalities of athletes found that the average age was 14.7. One explanation is that the chest wall muscles are less developed in younger recreational players than in professional athletes. This might explain why commotio cordis has not been documented in Major League Baseball or, previously, in the National Football League.’

‘Hamlin’s family said in a statement Tuesday: “On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time. We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country. … Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us. Please keep Damar in your prayers. We will release updates as soon as we have them.”’

‘As Hamlin continues to fight for his life and the NFL’s machinery lurches ahead, the frantic hour between Hamlin’s injury and the postponement of the game will linger. It rattled the league and prompted support from all corners of the sports world. No one present had seen anything like it.’

‘“That hit had to occur at a certain point in time that was only five milliseconds long,” said Dr. Marc Cohen, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Newark-Beth Israel Medical Center. “If that hit occurred one millisecond after or before, this may not have happened.”’

‘Dorrian Glenn, Hamlin’s uncle, told a CNN reporter on-site Tuesday night that Hamlin was resuscitated twice — once on the field and once at the hospital. He also said Hamlin has lung damage but called it “a good sign” that Hamlin is breathing using only 50 percent of a ventilator, down from 100 percent Monday, according to a Syracuse.com report.’

‘A different decision was made 50 years ago. Why is not clear. Maybe it was because there were only 62 seconds of play remaining. Maybe it was because we had become culturally desensitized to loss in general because of the accumulated toll of the Vietnam War. Or perhaps resuming the game was just an extension of what it meant to be a man in those times. The top movies in 1971 included James Bond and introduced us to Dirty Harry and Shaft. The following year we met the Godfather. Four iconic characters renowned for their superhuman invulnerability and emotional detachment. That was the model of men at that cultural moment.’

‘“You look around and you see the medical staff doing their job, and you know when it’s something minor like somebody is down, but they’re sitting up, the guys are moving at a nice pace,” Dawkins told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday night.’

‘The NFL announced Tuesday that the Bills-Bengals game, which was halted Monday night after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest during the first quarter, will not resume this week, and that the league’s Week 18 slate will continue as scheduled.’

‘So what we do know is that football doesn’t matter on this Wednesday any more than it did at 8:55 on Monday night when Damar Hamlin, 24 years old, collapsed from cardiac arrest and could not breathe on his own and fans and players in every sport cried and everyone prayed. And should keep on praying.’

‘The toy drive has become an annual event, with Hamlin and the foundation posting video from 2022 on Instagram last week. The toys are distributed through Kelly and Nina’s Daycare Center — which is co-owned by Hamlin’s mother, Nina Hamlin — in McKees Rocks, Pa.’

‘But that’s just it — there is nothing routine about the NFL. Trust me, what seems to be relatively benign contact between a safety and a receiver from room-temperature conditions in your living room is anything but.’

‘“My natural instinct at that moment is not to talk,” Buck said on the phone. “That’s the last thing I want to do is to put my words to this serious situation. It’s very counterintuitive as the football play-by-play guy about somebody having CPR administered to him in the center of a stadium with 65,000 people in it and a national television audience. It’s just a weird place to be.’

‘While discussing the play and NFL rules during a Tuesday appearance on ESPN’s “First Take,” Scott explained that Higgins lowered his helmet, causing Hamlin’s chest to be exposed during the hit. His comments didn’t go over well on Twitter, with some people accusing him of blaming Higgins for the tragic incident.’

‘The Bills, Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs are in the mix for the No. 1 seed in the conference, which means a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason remain up for grabs.’