SuperbowlorBust retweeted
Alex Smith says he was ashamed of his leg and bitter toward football until rehabbing alongside wounded service members changed his life
“In my rehab process, I'm so thankful I got this thing called the Secretary of Defense designation, which is this deal for civilians that are deemed to have what's called a warlike injury. And so I got access to military medical care because there were no athletes for me to look to that had gone through something like this at that point. When I had half a leg and they're moving body parts down and it was like, hey, so and so did this and came back to play. There was nobody. The only examples of any positivity were people in the military through the decades of wars in the Middle East and roadside bombs and IEDs that there were a lot of servicemen and women that had severe lower leg injuries, severe tissue loss, severe breaks. Which through the infection and the hit was kind of like where I was at”
“So I got to go down and do my rehab at this military center. It doesn't matter what branch of the military you're in. If you have a severe limb injury, this is where you go. And it's in San Antonio, Texas. And it's called the Center for the Intrepid. And it changed my life. Again, I was super ashamed of my leg. It was grotesque looking and I kept it covered. I was ashamed of it. It represented everything that I had lost. I was really kind of struggling with my new normal. And I'll never forget going down there from day one. The military believes in this thing called group suck. Doing hard things, it's better to do them together. And so when you go down to this rehab center at the Center for the Intrepid, there are no private rooms. There's just one great big open room and it's surrounded by windows and everybody does their rehab together”
“I'll never forget my first trip there again. I couldn't even stand on my leg. I got it all wrapped up. I've got this steel cage bolted keeping it together. And there's double amputees, there's triple amputees, there's terrible burn victims. And nobody is hiding behind their scars. Everything's out in the open and people are moving forward with their life. And the physical therapist, Johnny Owens, walks behind the desk and gets a football and comes back to me and he has me get down on my good knee. And again, mind you, I'm very bitter towards football at this point, and I got three young kids, two boys that love to play catch with their dad, and I have not touched a football from the day of my injury. And now this is four months later”
“He brings out a football, throws it to me again. I'm on my one good knee on the ground, and he has me start playing catch. And this is from 10 feet away. And I'll never forget the light bulb going on of like, I can still play catch. Like, what else can I still go do. And it was the only place in the world where those guys were egging me on and goading me into you can do more… And that's the first day I said I wanted to play again was that day”
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
How common is CTE among NFL players? A new study out today puts it at about 3 in 4.
Researchers estimate that 75% of NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had CTE, a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated hits to the head. It’s linked to memory loss, depression, violent mood swings, impulsive behavior, and eventually dementia. It gets worse over time, and right now it can only be diagnosed after death.
A 2017 study found CTE in 110 of 111 donated NFL brains (99%). A study in August said “at least 25%.”
Both were off in opposite directions. The 99% only counted donated brains, and families of struggling players are far more likely to donate. The 25% counted every player who didn’t donate as CTE-free.
Today’s study is the first real attempt to estimate the actual rate across all 2,362 players who died in that window, not just the 396 whose families donated. The researchers measured the donation bias directly: families of players with cognitive symptoms were about 5x more likely to donate. They adjusted for that, and the estimate still came back at 75%. Under the most conservative assumptions, it’s 64%. Even if those families were 20x more likely to donate, it would still be over 40%.
For reference, CTE shows up in only 1% of brains in general-population brain banks. This means being an NFL player turns one of the rarest brain diseases into the expected outcome.
The risk also scales with exposure. Earlier research from the same group found the odds of CTE roughly doubled with every 2.6 years of football played.
Important caveats: CTE on autopsy doesn’t always mean symptoms, though an estimated 27% of these players also had dementia. And a 2012 study found former NFL players were 3x more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than the general public, and nearly 4x more likely for Alzheimer’s and ALS.
The study was led by Boston University and funded by the NIH and the Concussion & CTE Foundation. Co-author Chris Nowinski co-founded that foundation and advises the NFL Players Association.
The NFL points to Guardian Caps as progress, but the case for them is thin. They’re only required in practice. In lab tests, one cap absorbs about 10% of impact force, and that roughly doubles only when both players wear one. Only about 20 total NFL players wore them in games last season. And Chris Nowinski, one of the study’s authors, has said they won’t protect against CTE anyway, because CTE comes from years of repeated hits, not just concussions.
[links to source material in replies]
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
I learned this when I traveled to Italy and had the best chicken of my life!
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
Phil Mickelson owed money to his Las Vegas gambling buddy, Billy Walters. Billy gave him a secret stock tip, Phil made $931,000 in a week and paid him back. Billy went to prison for 5 years. Phil was never charged.
When Billy got out, he wrote a book about Phil.
More than $1 billion in bets, by Billy's count.
In the video below, Billy tells ESPN what would have kept him out of prison.
Billy spent decades as one of the biggest sports bettors in America. Phil was his golf partner, his friend and a man who owed him money.
July 2012. Phil owes Billy gambling money. Billy calls him and tells him to buy Dean Foods.
Billy's information came from a Dean Foods board member. He owed Billy money too.
A week later, the stock jumped 40%. Phil sold with more than $931,000 in profit. In September, he paid Billy back, partly with that money.
The money went in a circle. Only one man went to prison.
In 2016, the SEC named Phil a "relief defendant." That means he wasn't accused of anything, but he was holding money that wasn't his to keep. He paid back $1,037,029 and never admitted or denied a thing.
In 2017, Billy was convicted and got 5 years. Phil never testified.
"All Phil had to do was publicly say it. He refused," Billy wrote.
While Billy was inside, his daughter died. He wrote that he still believes he could have saved her if he'd been on the outside.
In 2023, his book came out. At least $1 billion wagered. At least $100 million lost. More than 1,115 bets over $100,000. Phil denied one claim: "I never bet on the Ryder Cup."
$931,000: what Phil made on the tip.
5 years: what Billy got.
$1 billion: what Billy says Phil bet.
Phil kept his silence, his career and a reported $200 million LIV deal.
Billy kept the receipts.
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
90 DAYS WITHOUT POWER, RANKED
You are not leaving.
The roof is fine.
The grid is just gone.
No power, no water pressure, no store deliveries, for 90 days.
In each category we will go from most important to least important.
The categories are ranked too.
The roof is covered, so water comes first, then food, then everything that keeps those two usable.
90 days is what you should be prepared for. Most official lists say 3 to 14 days. Those are minimums, not plans.
WATER
Without it you have days. One gallon per person per day.
90 days is 90 gallons per person. A family of 4 needs 360.
Water filter (a gravity filter is the best buy)
Food grade barrels or water bricks
Unscented bleach to treat stored water
Your water heater tank holds 40 to 50 gallons. Know how to drain it.
Rain collection (check local rules)
FOOD
Rice and beans are the backbone.
If you cannot afford freeze dried meals, load up on rice and beans.
Rice has about 1,650 calories per pound. Dry beans about 1,570.
2,000 calories a day for 90 days is about 110 pounds per person, or four 5 gallon buckets.
Cooking oil, salt, sugar, spices
Peanut butter
Canned meat and vegetables
Powdered milk
Multivitamins
Freeze dried meals if you can afford them
Eat the fridge first, then the freezer, then the pantry.
COOKING AND FUEL
Food you cannot cook is just weight.
Camp stove plus fuel for 90 days
Extra propane or butane
Lighters and matches
One pot with a lid
Never run a stove or heater indoors without ventilation.
HEAT
Cold is the quiet killer.
Wood stove or a safe indoor rated heater
Fuel for it
Wool blankets and sleeping bags rated below your coldest night
Pick one room, close it off, and live in it
Carbon monoxide detector with batteries. Not optional.
SANITATION
This is what ends up killing people in long outages.
5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat lid
Heavy trash bags
Kitty litter or sawdust
Bleach
Soap and hand sanitizer
Toilet paper, a lot of it
MEDICAL
Prescriptions. Ask your doctor about a longer supply.
First aid kit
Pain and stomach relief
Any glasses or contacts, plus a spare pair
A printed first aid manual
LIGHT AND POWER
Headlamps and lanterns
Batteries, rotated
Solar panel with a power bank
A generator is a bonus, not a plan. Fuel goes bad and it is loud.
INFORMATION, CASH AND NEIGHBORS
Cards stop working when the power does.
Battery or crank radio
Cash in small bills, silver and gold if you have it
Paper copies of IDs and contacts
Know your neighbors. Trade skills, not just supplies.
MORALE
Books, cards, games, something for the kids.
Boring beats hungry. Bored beats panicked.
THE FIRST 72 HOURS
Fill the bathtub and every container you own before the water stops.
Fridge and freezer stay shut. A full freezer holds about 48 hours.
Charge everything while you still can.
Cook and eat what will spoil first.
Obviously we could add security and it is important but depending on where you are, what your aloud to have/own I'm not going into great detail on that.
What I can say is have a plan, talk it over with your family, everyone has a job. Don't be afraid to talk to your neighbors you know as well to make sure they are doing their part if you plan on working together.
Feel free to add anything I may have missed. Anything you may think would be of added value for others to read and share.
Book mark this, come back to it, create a check list.
To be clear, I am not a survivalist. This is not survival advice. This is only my setup that I am following with my family. If nothing else maybe just a reminder.
ISO Ledger 🛡
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
This is interesting!! Although those values on Monopoly never seem to go down...rents are always stable...and you never need repairs. So, not entirely the best thing to follow...but it's not too far off from sound advice.
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
“Is Klemmer fuckin retarded?!” -@lilsamsquanch66
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
“Halloween is next Saturday. The number of adults I know who went to Halloween parties in costume this weekend makes me fucking astounded in a bad way. What the fuck are we doing?” -Francis Ellis
“I agree. It’s a holiday for infants” -Lol Sas
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
According to Packer fans, only two results can occur in a Packer game: Packers win, or refs screwed Green Bay.
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
I keep thinking about Dan Campbell's aggressiveness last night and his decision to to go for it on the fourth down attempt.
Then I thought back to Campbell's comments on the @StBrownPodcast.
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
The tribute to Beef in episode 1 of the #InternetInvitational made me super emotional so I figured I’d share a story about Beef:
In February 2025 I asked Beef for some putting advice and he responded almost immediately with a drill for me to try. (1/4)
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
The night after WrestleMania XIV Triple H declared himself the new leader of D-Generation X saying Shawn “dropped the ball.” He formed the DX Army and immediately brought out the returning Sean Waltman.
X-Pac cut one of the most memorable promos of the Monday Night War.
“Kevin Nash and Scott Hall would be standing right here with us if they weren’t being held hostage by World Championship Wrestling. And that’s a fact Eric Bischoff… so put that in your pipe and smoke it.”
That line got him sued by WCW. In the deposition when asked why he said it he admitted he’d talked to Nash the night before and Nash told him it would be a good idea.
When the lawyer asked what “suck it” meant… Waltman simply replied “What do you think it means?”
SuperbowlorBust retweeted
The PlayStation 2 launched 26 years ago today.
For $299, you got a console that played PS2 games, original PlayStation games, DVDs, and CDs. The launch lineup included SSX, Tekken Tag Tournament, and Ridge Racer V.
What an incredible console to grow up with.




























