Football is a game of brute force Jachai Polite Jersey, high intensity, prolonged passion, and all-out aggression – at any level of competition. unless you're playing two-hand-touch or flag football. The football field is an unmerciful place where boys quickly become men and must soon adapt to their surroundings or sooner surrender to the harsh realities of life on the gridiron. The weak and the worrisome are no longer welcomed by those strong enough to survive.For any young man who plays football, the dream is always the same: to play in the National Football League – where the best come to play. Nobody grows up wanting to play in a Canadian or European football league. These young pigskin dreamers are striving for the mountaintop, not the valley below.If you take an in-depth look at any professional sport, you will find that each has its own scale of ugliness but football could very well top that scale. The life of a football player could be a brutal and belligerent existence.The United States is unquestionably the most fanatical country when it comes to football. To many Americans, a football field is just as sacred as a church. Sunday's are not just for the Lord but for glorified beasts and attempts at slaughter.Football players are often afforded special privileges in high school and at the university level. This kind of lure is enough for young men to take a less serious approach towards their education as they become swept up in the promise of NFL greatness – a sad circumstance for optimistic youth.The uneducated mind is left to wander in a world of loathing and laughter when football dreams fall through and there is nothing one can do about it because all hope was placed squarely on shoulder-pads. What becomes of such a football player?Then there are those who achieve the dream – make the NFL and become a star only to disgrace themselves with violent acts and misappropriate behavior. The years of pampered bliss have become far too common thus clouding the thoughts of common sense.Of course, there are those who suffer from their years of football prowess and not just physically but emotionally and psychologically as well. The hits come hard and leave a lasting effect on many players who graced the gridiron.In the following article we will take a look at some sad situations that have made headlines, become horror stories, caused heartache, and some that even inspired. However, of all the stories being told, each is marred with the same underlining themes: sadness and professional football. James Shields of the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds play in opposite leagues and rarely see each other Chuma Edoga Jersey , yet they currently have much in common. Now that they’re starting to make something out of what appeared to be a totally lost season, they’d like to keep it going. The Reds got off to the worst start in baseball at 8-27, one so bad that getting to .500 looked to be as much of a challenge as winning a division title would be for most teams. But when the Reds (36-48) take on the right-handed Shields and the White Sox on Monday night at Great American Ball Park, in the teams’ first matchup since 2015, they’ll be one of the majors’ hottest clubs. They’ve won 11 of 14 after taking the final two games of a four-game weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers, and interim manager Jim Riggleman now has a 33-33 record for a last-place team. Considering that Riggleman took over a Reds team that was 3-15 under former manager Bryan Price, that’s something of an accomplishment. And the Reds own a 6-1 record in interleague games. “We know we can play with these teams that are in first place in their division,” Riggleman said. They’re winning now in grand fashion, too. Jose Peraza hit the team’s major league-leading ninth grand slam Sunday in an 8-2 win over the Brewers, their second in two games (pitcher Michael Lorenzen hit a pinch-grand slam Saturday) and sixth in 17 games. They’ve already tied a club season record. “We’ve been getting better at-bats … and we’ve happened to have men on base,” Riggleman said. Cincinnati starter Matt Harvey pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings before being lifted after a rain delay, and the Reds dealt Brewers rookie Freddy Peralta (3-1), who gave up three runs in five innings Trevon Wesco Jersey , his first major league loss. Peralta allowed only one hit in seven shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals in his previous start. “That’s probably the best I’ve felt since 2013,” said Harvey (4-5), who won his third straight start. Shields (3-9), likewise, is beginning to see a ray of sunshine in what previously was a gloomy season. He’s coming off his best start of the year, pitching seven shutout innings and giving up four hits Wednesday in a 6-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. It was his 12th quality start of the season, or five more than he had all of last season. Shields still isn’t the pitcher that won 13 or more games seven times from 2008 to 2015, but it hasn’t helped that he’s pitching for a team that’s off to the second worst start in franchise history. He has allowed a respectable six earned runs in his last four starts, and twice yielded one or no runs while lasting at least seven innings. At age 36, Shields is making adjustments to compensate for his decreased velocity, yet has pitched at least six innings in 12 of his last 13 starts for a last-place team. “My body’s feeling really good this year, and this is kind of what I’ve done my whole career,” Shields told reporters after the game against the Twins. “I strive to go as deep as I possibly can in games and so far it’s been good. “I’m not throwing as hard as I used to. If I were to throw over the top Shareef Miller Jersey , I’d still throw a little harder than I am right now. (But) at the end of the day, I’m feeling really good with my delivery right now, my mechanics. It’s been a lot of fun making these adjustments.” Shields goes against Reds right-hander Luis Castillo (5-8), who was 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five June starts. He retired the first 11 batters he faced Wednesday at Atlanta, only to give up four quick runs on a walk and five consecutive singles, although the Reds came back to win 6-5. Castillo is 0-1 in two starts against American League clubs this season, giving up eight runs in six innings. He has never faced the White Sox. Shields is 18-18 with a 4.57 ERA in interleague play and 0-2 in two career starts against the Reds, the last of which was in 2015. The White Sox (29-54) ended a three-game losing streak Sunday by salvaging the final game of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers, winning 10-5 as Avisail Garcia went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI. The Reds have won five consecutive interleague games but are facing the White Sox at Great American Ball Park for the first time since 2009. The White Sox are 16-4 overall against the Reds and 10-2 in Cincinnati, though that success there predated any of the current players.
