Former Notre Dame and Chicago Bear star Dave Duerson committed suicide last Thursday. I don’t (and will never) know the full story, but it seems that a main reason Duerson chose to exit this world was due to the brain damage he suffered because of his football playing career.

I will never agree with Duerson’s choice, but he showed his caring nature by asking that his brain be donated to research, in order to learn more about the degeneration suffered by athletes in sports (football, boxing) where hits to the head are common.

Yes, the athletes that play the sport we love most, can also pay a steeper price for their profession. They are more at risk to suffer “quality of life” issues down the road due to the nature of the sport they play. The collisions break down the body, and do lord knows what to the super computers that reside in a human’s skull. Duerson couldn’t live with the wreckage anymore.

Players know the risk, and the best get paid handsomely for the risk they take, but this sort of story is why you will never here me complain about the money football players make, or why it wouldn’t bother me if college players got paid too. Call it hazard pay if you want to. It is also why you will never here me complain about rule changes for player safety. These guys basically get into car wrecks multiple times a game, and there is nothing more sickening than seeing a player get his head bounced off the turf like a basketball.

Duerson was wrong, and he was right. He was wrong to give up on his life (Granted I have not walked in his shoes, but countless people are able to rise above their struggles, so why not him?), but he was right to give very smart people a resource to study, and possibly help those with brain trauma down the road.

Scientists, I hope you can do your part.

Valentine’s Day. A holiday made to make women feel special (because it’s not like they crave that the other 364 days of the year.) But, even though most of the day is for the ladies, at least you can get some nookie out of it.

Notre Dame quarterback. The face of college football’s best brand, made to make fans that can’t play football at a high level feel special as they cheer on the Irish. But even though you work mostly for us, at least you can get some nookie out of it.

New York City. They want safe sex. So they launch a SmartPhone App that tell you the nearest place to pick up some condoms. It’s an App that could be used for Valentine’s Day in the city, or by Notre Dame quarterbacks in the city.

Unfortunately, Notre Dame (projected starting) quarterback Dayne Crist doesn’t need it yet. Because he hasn’t played well enough to be invited to New York (Heisman), where he might need to use that App in order to please a young lady. Hell, he hasn’t played well enough to be a sure thing starter next year (it could be Tommy Rees or the rocket-armed Andrew Hendrix).

Dayne, you were once a 5-star quarterback with a ton of potential. I am asking you today, on Valentine’s Day, to live up to that promise, so that you may one day have to use the aforementioned App that was made for Valentine’s Day. And New York city. And good Notre Dame quarterbacks.

Paul Hornung, ND’ original “golden boy”, is the namesake for college football’s newest honor: “most versatile player” (a player that can help their team the most in a large variety of ways).

Hornung is one of college football’s all-time greats (think the original Rocket Ismail, plus he could throw, and play defense), the only player special enough to win the Heisman on a losing team, so his name belongs right up there with the Biletnikoffs and Nagurskis.

However, he might have even more fame for the statement “ND must lower admissions to get the black athlete and win”. Technically, he may be right on lowering admissions, he just made the mistake of using the qualifying term “black”. (That’s what we call racial profiling.)

So, occasionally in his honor, the Blarney will bring you Hornung’s Words of Wisdom, or technically true statements that are worded wrong, and perhaps show some prejudice or some kind of political incorrectness.

Paul Hornung’s Words of Wisdom For 2-10-11:

“A lot of people are bashing A-Rod for the Super Bowl incident where his girl Cameron Diaz was hand-feeding him popcorn. Not a surprising reaction, but I’ll bet that what they really wish is that Cameron Diaz was actually hand-feeding them. What guy would argue with that? In fact, I’ll bet there are eleven coaches in the SEC (and Lane Kiffen out west) that have already promised the next 5-star recruit that Cameron Diaz will ditch A-Rod, and feed him (grapes this time, and by the bushel) if he would just sign with their school.”