Must-See TV ... "Costas NOW" on HBO (Wed, 9/5) (1 Viewer)

[Raider Nation]

http://www.hbo.com/costasnow/

I saw the preview for this show during Hard Knocks last week. The interviews with Goodell, Upshaw and L.T. are sure to be interesting, but for anyone who saw the preview, Campbell's segment is the one not to be missed. Earl was one of my childhood idols - like many of you, I'm sure. He is now 52 years old, and can barely walk. It was hard to even watch the preview. He is often confined to a wheelchair.

I always want to remember him as the bulldozer who destroyed everything in his path. But all of that contact has taken its toll. I would suspect they'll air Campbell's segment before Upshaw's segment, so Costas can get Upshaw's reaction to it. Should be interesting.

Here is the synopsis for the program:

September's show focuses on the upcoming NFL football season, with the regular season kicking off the day after the debut of this edition of Costas NOW. Looking for stories and features that go beyond the headlines and scores, this program will include a profile of LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers, the leading ground gainer in the NFL last season; a visit with Hall of Famer Earl Campbell, who is battling health problems; a one-on-one with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, beginning his second season at the helm of the league; and a one-on-one with Gene Upshaw, the high-profile executive director of the National Football League Players Association.

GB Earl!

 

[Gr00vus]

I saw the preview for this show during Hard Knocks last week. The interviews with Goodell, Upshaw and L.T. are sure to be interesting, but for anyone who saw the preview, Campbell's segment is the one not to be missed. Earl was one of my childhood idols - like many of you, I'm sure. He is now 52 years old, and can barely walk. It was hard to even watch the preview. He is often confined to a wheelchair.

I always want to remember him as the bulldozer who destroyed everything in his path. But all of that contact has taken its toll.

GB Earl!

Even living in the L.A. area, being a Charger fan, I had an Earl Campbell replica jersey I wore as a kid.

Here's a thought: the collisions and physical impact of playing football have only gotten worse since Campbell's day. We're going to see ex-players deteriorate even faster and more dramatically as time goes on.

Skoal Brotha!

 

[Raider Nation]

Below is part of an article you can find here.

AUSTIN – While Tony Dorsett played with his kids and Archie Griffin and George Rogers played golf Friday at Barton Creek Resort, Earl Campbell was struggling to walk.

Wearing a burnt orange, Texas golf shirt, white knee-length shorts and new Nikes with a Longhorn logo, Campbell used a walker to inch down a window-lined hallway overlooking one of his favorite golf courses.

He took roughly six minutes to cover 40 yards – a distance he used to breeze through in less than five seconds as a punishing running back at Texas and during an eight-year, Hall of Fame career in the NFL, mostly with the Houston Oilers. Still wearing his trademark beard, now gray, he stands at a 45-degree angle, unable to straighten at his lower back. He can no longer straighten his knees, either.

When the walker becomes too much work, he uses a wheelchair that he travels with at all times. During a 40-minute interview with a few reporters on Friday, Campbell was totally lucid one second and struggling to recall names and prominent dates the next.

"The doctor says I'll be playing golf by October," Campbell said in eternal optimism, even though he hasn't swung a club in six years.

The subject of Campbell's health became a topic of discussion among the former NFL players gathered in Austin this weekend because of testimony before Congress on Tuesday by aging NFL retirees.

Those retirees told horror stories of endless surgery, dementia and even homelessness while fighting with the NFL for better pensions and health insurance. Retired NFL players receive health insurance for the first five years after their playing career and then are on their own, when insurance is often unaffordable.

The league and the players association said pensions are improving and that there's no need for Congress to step in.

"I stay focused and prayerful that I won't have to deal with the situation of Earl Campbell one day," said former Tennessee Titans and Cowboys running back Eddie George, who won the Heisman at Ohio State in 1995.

For Dorsett, Griffin and Rogers, Campbell's physical condition hits close to home. They are contemporaries who shared a position known for collisions akin to car accidents. Dorsett, who won the Heisman at Pitt in 1976, is 53. Campbell and Griffin are 52. Rogers, the Heisman winner at South Carolina in 1980 before an eight-year NFL career, is 48.

They all talk about ailments that still bother them today. Dorsett, a Hall of Fame running for the Cowboys, temporarily lost feeling in his left arm a while back. Rogers can't raise his right arm above his shoulder.

"Earl's an example of what can happen playing that game," said Ohio State's Griffin, the only two-time Heisman winner (1974-75). "He's paying the price for that today. But Earl never brings attention to himself. He's not going to complain. He still has a great outlook and is still bigger than life."

It's obvious to everyone but Campbell that his physical condition, on the decline for years, is the direct result of his bullish running style. Campbell repeatedly led with his helmet when taking on defenders, raising the question of concussions in addition to the toll taken on his neck and back.

 

[vegasrobb]

Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to TiVo it just in case.

 

[Penguin]

It's really sad, Cambell was a brutal force for the Oilers. I remember a Monday night game against the Dolphins where he just ran wild, on one run he was dragging two defenders and dropped his head into the chest of anither right in front of him. Earl was a beast from 1978-1983, really sad to see him like that now.

 

[CrossEyed]

Below is part of an article you can find here.

AUSTIN – While Tony Dorsett played with his kids and Archie Griffin and George Rogers played golf Friday at Barton Creek Resort, Earl Campbell was struggling to walk.

Wearing a burnt orange, Texas golf shirt, white knee-length shorts and new Nikes with a Longhorn logo, Campbell used a walker to inch down a window-lined hallway overlooking one of his favorite golf courses.

He took roughly six minutes to cover 40 yards – a distance he used to breeze through in less than five seconds as a punishing running back at Texas and during an eight-year, Hall of Fame career in the NFL, mostly with the Houston Oilers. Still wearing his trademark beard, now gray, he stands at a 45-degree angle, unable to straighten at his lower back. He can no longer straighten his knees, either.

When the walker becomes too much work, he uses a wheelchair that he travels with at all times. During a 40-minute interview with a few reporters on Friday, Campbell was totally lucid one second and struggling to recall names and prominent dates the next.

"The doctor says I'll be playing golf by October," Campbell said in eternal optimism, even though he hasn't swung a club in six years.

The subject of Campbell's health became a topic of discussion among the former NFL players gathered in Austin this weekend because of testimony before Congress on Tuesday by aging NFL retirees.

Those retirees told horror stories of endless surgery, dementia and even homelessness while fighting with the NFL for better pensions and health insurance. Retired NFL players receive health insurance for the first five years after their playing career and then are on their own, when insurance is often unaffordable.

The league and the players association said pensions are improving and that there's no need for Congress to step in.

"I stay focused and prayerful that I won't have to deal with the situation of Earl Campbell one day," said former Tennessee Titans and Cowboys running back Eddie George, who won the Heisman at Ohio State in 1995.

For Dorsett, Griffin and Rogers, Campbell's physical condition hits close to home. They are contemporaries who shared a position known for collisions akin to car accidents. Dorsett, who won the Heisman at Pitt in 1976, is 53. Campbell and Griffin are 52. Rogers, the Heisman winner at South Carolina in 1980 before an eight-year NFL career, is 48.

They all talk about ailments that still bother them today. Dorsett, a Hall of Fame running for the Cowboys, temporarily lost feeling in his left arm a while back. Rogers can't raise his right arm above his shoulder.

"Earl's an example of what can happen playing that game," said Ohio State's Griffin, the only two-time Heisman winner (1974-75). "He's paying the price for that today. But Earl never brings attention to himself. He's not going to complain. He still has a great outlook and is still bigger than life."

It's obvious to everyone but Campbell that his physical condition, on the decline for years, is the direct result of his bullish running style. Campbell repeatedly led with his helmet when taking on defenders, raising the question of concussions in addition to the toll taken on his neck and back.

With the kind of money players are making today, there is no reason that even one former NFL player is without proper healthcare and insurance. These guys should contribute a portion of their salary into a fund that would take care of that. The NFL was built on the backs of guys like Earl Campbell. The least they could do is make sure he is taken care of.

 

[Raider Nation]

Earl at UT

That is simply ridiculous.

 

[AcousticNut]

With the kind of money players are making today, there is no reason that even one former NFL player is without proper healthcare and insurance. These guys should contribute a portion of their salary into a fund that would take care of that. The NFL was built on the backs of guys like Earl Campbell. The least they could do is make sure he is taken care of.

I was talking to member of the famed Steel Curtain and asked what it was like to tackle Earl Campbell. The reply was "Take a Mac Truck at the top of that hill (which was a steep river valley), put it in neutral, and try to stop it at the bottom...... THAT was Earl Campbell."It's a shame to hear that he's in such a condition now, but great to see his optimism.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

I plan on watching this tonight. Campell was one of my favorite players as a little kid, sucks that his body just totally broke down.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Met him at the opening of a casino in KC back in 1998. Couldn't have been a more friendly man. Is one of my favorite players from that time.

 

[ack34]

GB Earl. He's the #34 in my name.

 

[Raider Nation]

Show is starting now, boys.

 

[Qtip Callahan]

I saw him last year at the Texas/Texas A&M game. It was hard to look at him unfortunately. Great player but football has left its impact..

 

[Addai's Adidas]

I saw the preview for this show during Hard Knocks last week. The interviews with Goodell, Upshaw and L.T. are sure to be interesting, but for anyone who saw the preview, Campbell's segment is the one not to be missed. Earl was one of my childhood idols - like many of you, I'm sure. He is now 52 years old, and can barely walk. It was hard to even watch the preview. He is often confined to a wheelchair. :(

I always want to remember him as the bulldozer who destroyed everything in his path. But all of that contact has taken its toll.

GB Earl!

Even living in the L.A. area, being a Charger fan, I had an Earl Campbell replica jersey I wore as a kid.

Here's a thought: the collisions and physical impact of playing football have only gotten worse since Campbell's day. We're going to see ex-players deteriorate even faster and more dramatically as time goes on.

Skoal Brotha!

Not with modern steroids and HGH.

 

[Wadsworth]

I started watching football in the 70s and if I could pick 2 RBs from that era that the younger people should go back and watch it would be OJ and Earl Campbell. With all the trouble OJ has gotten in it's easy to forget that he was an amazing RB. And Earl Campbell is on my top 5 RBs of all time list. If you didn't see him play the stats don't tell the story. Earl was Bo Jackson with a Larry Csonka mean streak. And the "Skoal Brotha" ad still cracks me up.