NFL News:

• Take it as you will, but the League reports concussions were down from 2015.
  • According to ESPN, there were 244 reported concussions during practices and games in the preseason and regular season, down from 275 in 2015.
    • But the number is still higher than it was in 2014 (206) and 2013 (229), a trend the NFL attributes in part to an increase in self-reporting by players as awareness of symptoms grows.

• According to reports, the NFL had to extend 123 Pro Bowl invitations in order to obtain the 88 players necessary to fill out the rosters.
  • I can’t imagine why fan interest is down.
    • Luckily, dodgeball can fix anything!

• Former Ottawa Rough Rider Tom Clements is leaving the Packers to pursue “other interests”.
  • he spent 11 years as a Packers offensive coach.
    • he probably got frustrated with providing rejected 4th-down options that didn’t rhyme with “field goal from the 6”.
  • Dom Capers is reportedly staying.
    • much to the chagrin of Packers sports radio callers & meme generators everywhere.

• Doing his best to quell enthusiasm for the move, Roger Goodell said the League would not be amending its gambling policies ahead of the Raiders move.
  • Yeah, that’ll change. $$$
  • Question: How broke would Ken Stabler have been on a 70s Vegas Raiders?

Canada 150:

Jaqnuary 26, 1924: The “Red Ensign” becomes Canada’s “official” flag.

Technically, until that point, Canada’s flag was the British flag, and the colonial Red Ensign design was the unofficial symbol. There were several versions over the years, including one with provincial coats-of-arms added to the Red Ensign upon entry into Confederation.

However, in 1924 an order-in-council was passed making the version with the official Coat-of-Arms the “official” flag to be flow outside government offices. This design would stay Canada’s flag until 1965, when the current maple leaf design was passed into law.

As a young lad raised in a (arms-up singing; gay-pride protesting) Baptist household, one of the few non-sports hobbies I was allowed was stamp collecting. For about a 5-year period, I was all-in: books; conventions; trading. Then I discovered rock music, girls & alcohol, and my philatelic interests suitably waned. But I still have the old collection gathering dust in the garage storeroom, and I can still appreciate the art. I even have some framed sheets on the wall.

So imagine my joy when I came across the story that the Royal Mail was going to issue two sets of David Bowie stamps.

Look at these beauties.

These are the album proofs. There will also be a set of four, using concert images as their inspiration.

I ordered a set of these and the Pink Floyd issue from last year. I’ll substitute them into some IKEA frames that currently contain postcards of a trip to New York 15 years ago. Finally – art I can identify with.

Mary Tyler Moore died yesterday. Everyone knows she was a genius, and ranks with Carol Burnett in terms of comedy pioneers. In memoriam, as referenced everywhere, here’s the “Chuckles the Clown’s Funeral” scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92I04DkMEps

Watch it, then go slap a millennial who says they don’t “get” what’s so funny.

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Blues at Wild – 8:00PM | NBCSN

• NBA:
  • Mavericks at Thunder – 8:00PM | TNT / TSN
  • Lakers at Jazz – 10:30PM | TNT / Sportsnet1
• NCAA: highlighted matchups
  • Xavier at Cincinnati – 7:00PM | ESPN2
    • there was a brawl last year
  • Indiana at Michigan – 9:00PM | ESPN2
  • Oregon at Utah – 10:30PM | FS1

• Pro Bowl Skills Showdown – 7:00PM | ESPN
  • Events include:
    • Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball
    • Power Relay Challenge
    • Precision Passing
    • Best Hands

Oh thank Cthulhu, THE PRO BOWL IS ALMOST HERE!