The Price That's Paid

"Although the house is cool, he is sweating profusely and can't find a position, seated or prone, that doesn't cause him grotesque pain. Every so often his huge body jerks in spasms of head-to-toe agony. The fits, when they come, turn him as white as the walls and send unself-conscious tears down his cheeks. It's [Brian] DeMarco at 35: dirt-poor, broken, and in a headfirst spiral, taking his wife and children down with him."

Men's Journal isn't exactly known as a bastion of hard-hitting journalism, but in their online edition there is one of the most compelling articles -- this one about former NFL player Brian DeMarco -- about the physical toll that playing in the National Football League exacts on its players. The article mentions Cy Smith, the attorney who successfully battled the NFL on behalf of Mike Webster's children, indicating that he is now assisting Mr. DeMarco.

So, during this Thanksgiving weekend let's give thanks to the men who are willing to wreck their bodies for our entertainment; and hope that the National Football League (and the owners who make up the league -- Mr. Rooney) can find it in their corporate hearts to do the right thing for those who have given so much