Hall of Fame Game Cancelled

The NFL Hall of Fame Game was cancelled on August 7th, 2016. This was suppose to be the first preseason game of the year. The event didn't happen because of unsafe field conditions. This was the first time in 15 years that an NFL game was cancelled due to poor field conditions.  Pro football hall of fame president David Baker said "  I was notified at about 5:30 that there was a problem at midfield and in the end zones with some of the painting that it was kind of congealing and rubberized, which meant players might slip on it". They thought it was possible to make the field playable however, if the field conditions weren't 100% safe then the game wouldn't be played. Bottomline is the safety of the players comes before anything else. The painting of the logo was the major culprit because of it's rubberized surface. They attempted to put pellets on the surface to no avail. 

At the end of the day the NFL made the right decision in my opinion. Safety should never be looked over especially in an already contact heavy sport. I think people will understand after that get over the initial shock of what happened. All fans who were attending the game will receive full refunds. Additionally, the fields turf at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium will be replaced before next years game. This will help to ensure that the field won't be the reason why a game is cancelled in the future. This game was just an extra preseason game for the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts. One coach summarized the entire ordeal as a disaster.  The coaches weren't planning on playing to many starters in this game. The NFL will survive even though this event is cancelled. Fortunately, this game doesn’t take place until the end of the the Hall of Fame weekend. So most of the activities, ceremonies and speeches have already been done. Furthermore, most fans have already come to the city of Canton and spent money. Fans have already stayed at hotels, eaten at restaurants, and shopped local stores. This will give the city a nice boost in revenue. 

However, the fans will be the ones most upset with the decision. Many fans have planned or taken time out of their schedule. Especially, all of the Brett Favre worshippers who wanted to thank the Hall of Fame inductee one last time. Some fans are their just to watch football while many others are attending to show their appreciation for the new Hall of Fame inductees. It amazes me that with all of the money the NFL makes and all of the experts they have one simple detail derailed the entire event. This has to be one of the more embarrassing reasons that I recall in recent memory for an event being cancelled. This bothers me because I love watching football even if it is in the preseason. I guess we will all just have to wait another week to watch preseason football.

 http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000681448/article/hall-of-fame-game-canceled-due-to-field-concerns

Soccer Friendly Cancelled

Soccer Friendly Cancelled

On November 17, 2015 Germany and Netherlands game canceled due to terrorist threat. About an hour and a half before the kickoff police found a suspicious object in the stadium. The German media stated that police received and confirmed a valid bomb threat. Hanover police validated that threat saying there was an explosive device on site. However, in later press conferences there were conflicting reports saying that there wasn’t an explosive device found. German officials also deny reports about a truck with explosives disguised as an ambulance. Hanover police reached out to the public alerting them through Facebook that the game was cancelled. Fans were advised not to panic and return to their homes in a calm manner. For fans that were already at the game they were asked to evacuate by foot. All trains traveling away from the stadium were stopped. Fortunately, there weren’t to many fans at the stadium when this news was announced. At full capacity this stadium holds just under 50,000 people. This could have made for one extremely difficult and complex evacuation under those circumstances. Additionally, the teams weren’t at the stadium yet. They were instructed to reroute to an unknown location until further notice. The German Chancellor was supposed to be in attendance for this match. The Chancellor was going to attend to be a symbol of strength. Life would move forward regardless of the attacks in Paris a few days earlier. Some of the attacks in Paris happened right outside of the stadium where Germany and France were playing. Those attacks caused 129 people to lose their lives. Terrorism has many fans worried that the Euro 2016 events will be canceled. However, tournament organizers earlier in the day reported the event would proceed. This was reported before the incidents in Hanover. 

I tend to agree with the way this situation was handled for the most part. There are a few things in this article that left me scratching my head. First, they don’t say anything about this match being rescheduled or not. Second, why would Hanover police confirm that they’ve found an explosive device on location but the German officials deny the report. Finally, the police didn’t go into detail as to why the game was canceled only to say for security reasons.

 Ultimately, safety of human lives is the top priority for any event. I think the Hanover police exercised proper judgment in this situation. They received an early report and they were proactive about the ordeal before it could have turned into a disaster. They did a good job of alerting fans before the start of the game. They reached out through social media causing this news to travel rapidly. Furthermore, they made sure the teams were relocated that way none of the players were in danger. The Chancellor was also notified before attending. There wouldn’t be any way for terrorists to get away with the assassination of an official leader. Lastly, the biggest reason why I agree with the cancellation of this match because of the recent terror attacks in Paris. 

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/11/17/germany-netherlands-soccer-game-canceled-after-stadium-evacuated/

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NFL Rookie's Rude Awakening

The NFL minicamp for rookies opened today. Now that the draft is complete so is the partying. Over the course of the next couple weeks the rookies are going to be pushed to the brink. Rookies will be forced to run plays at a rapid pace and will have to make adjustments on the fly. It's time to see which individuals can rise to the challenge, whether it's physical or mental.

The mental aspect of playing in the NFL and learning the playbook has been referred to as "almost like learning a new language" said Jared Goff. Goff was the top pick of this years draft. The players will be given entire textbooks with all new schemes and terminology. The coaching staff is going to expect the players to comprehend all of this information in a very short time period. They will be examining these rookies intensely. Will the rookies be able to retain the knowledge gained in meeting and apply it accurately on the field? Anytime you incorporate something new there will be missed assignments. The coaches really want to see which rookies can adapt to the new playing style the fastest. However, the physical aspect of this game is another animal entirely.

For months now rookies have been training for the combine. There are pros and cons that come with preparing for the combine. Every player wants to have a lightning 40 yard dash or an impressive 225 bench max reps. Excelling in these areas are great for improving you draft stock. This leads to rookies being drafted earlier and signing deals for more money. The flip side is most of these rookies normal training routines have declined or changed. This means most rookies aren't in top football playing shape. Ultimately, certain players will struggle during minicamps. These rookies will need to get back in the weight room and on a proper nutrition plan. When rookies get tired the first thing to suffer is technique. Tired players are prone to making more mistakes with their bodies and mind. It's easy to lose focus with so many new adjustments being taught to you by coaches. The fact that you're so fatigued you may puke your guts up and collapse at any moment doesn't help the situation.

There aren't any breaks in NFL practice. Rookies move from one drill to the next until practice is complete. The pace of practice is extremely intense. The rookies that are able to overcome these huge obstacles will improve exponentially before the first game. That is if they make it through all of the roster cuts. It's no longer fun and games for the rookies. If rookie's are going to succeed at the pro level, they'll need to push their body past its normal limits.


http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15492105/inside-nfl-rookie-minicamps-where-sloppy-football-puking-norm

http://www.sbnation.com/2016/4/29/11536190/recruiting-draft-florida-ohio-state-miami-alabama