Sports Redux: Is Bill Belichick Satan?

Is the hoody a Yoda thing or a Darth Vader thing? It all comes down to that hoody. Pats coach Bill Belichick uses it to woo women, but the hoody might also empower him to treat his players badly.

Former Pats linebacker Ted Johnson has gone public with accusations that Belichick made him get back into the game when he hadn't fully recovered from a concussion. Johnson feels Belichick's decision to put him back on the field has led to myriad physical and emotional problems.

Johnson has had other issues besides a concussion - ugly domestic violence accusations, for starters. But Johnson's statement has alerted the NFL to a potential health problem and lawsuits. (And any time a Patriot gets within a hair's breadth of a lawsuit, you know what happens - see Bostonist's many "Your Ligitious Pats" stories.)

The NFL is responding with the obligatory "exploratory committee," but the charges leveled by a doctor at the Neurological Sports Injury Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital are disturbing and may call for more than a committee. The doctor mentioned early brain damage in the Globe piece, potential Alzheimers', and suicidal impulses, as suggested by the death of Andre Waters.

Oh, and there's also the emotional instability that puts so many NFL players on Matt Taibbi's sports blotter.

For all y'all football fans, keep those concussions in mind as you watch tomorrow's Super Bowl. We fans want our players to be superhuman, but, if they do need to sit on the sidelines, please refrain from calling them softies.

Speaking of coaching, maybe Doc Rivers should don a hoody and get in touch with his inner Darth Vader. He's clearly disappointed in the Celtics, but the disappointed routine isn't enough. The Celtics lost to the Clippers last night, setting a ghastly 14-game losing streak.

Kendrick Perkins said that Coach Rivers "harps every day." Hey, Perkins, the coach isn't someone nagging you to get up off your butt and take the trash out. The coach ought to be yelling at you to just win a game, for crying out loud. It isn't as if you guys are helpless - you do have it in you to win one, otherwise, your losses wouldn't be so close.

Now, where in the heck is that Red Sox equipment truck?