‘Spider-Man’ Lead Actress Leaves Exits Play After Sustaining Concussion

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Posted on 31st December 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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The lead actress of the troubled Broadway show “Spider-Man: Turn Off  The Dark,” who suffered a concussion during a preview, is leaving the production with a large exit package, according to several press reports Wednesday.

Natalie Mendoza, who played the spider villainess Arachne, is still recovering from the head injury she sustained Nov. 28. She was struck in the  head with a rope while standing offstage during that performance, which was the musical’s first preview.

During the past few days, she has been negotiating and nailing down an exit deal from the $65 million play, according to The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/29/theater/29spider.html?ref=arts

Mendoza, 30, is one of several actors who have been injured while performing in the show.

She had returned to the stage on Dec. 15, according to The New York Post, and her last performance was Dec. 20. She was replaced by an understudy after getting nauseous and having headaches. Mendoza has also written on Facebook about her recovery from her concussion, talking about her “brilliant” neurologist and the fact that now she was only taking four painkillers and two pills for nausea a day.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/bowing_out_of_spidey_GbwMSZv1XCAoO1x41nIWCO

“Nice to be almost back to normal,” she wrote.

 

 

 

    

NFL Considers Socking Players With Suspensions For Helmet Hits

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Posted on 19th October 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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After a spate of player concussions and injuries this past weekend, it looks like the National Football League is poised to crack down on players who made hard head hits during games.

Several press accounts, including one in The New York Times Tuesday, reported that the NFL would mete out tough penalties and possibly even suspend players who inflicted dangerous blows to the heads of other players. NFL executive vice president of operations Ray Anderson warned of the coming actions Monday. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/sports/football/19hits.html?_r=1&ref=sports

 The NFL should take action after the long list of shenanigans last Sunday. After being hit in the helmet Detroit Lions linebacker Zack Follett was hosptialized overnight. Pittsburgh Steelers player James Harrison “knocked two Cleveland Brown players out of the game with head injuries,” according to The Times.

And the topper seems to have been New England’s Brandon Meriweather, who was penalized for his hit on Baltimore’s Todd Heap.

The Times quoted Anderson as saying that the league didn’t want another Darryl Stingley incident on its watch, referring to the New England Patriots player who was paralyzed in a 1978 hit and died in 2007. 

There is even talk of suspensions for helmet-to-helmet hits, a suggestion made on-air Sunday by former NFL player Rodney Harrison, who had a reputation as a hard-hitting — even dirty– player during his career. According to The Times,  Harrison said that that suspensions, not fines, “got his attention” when he was playing.

 The NFL competition committee might even consider barring all hits that invovle using a helmet, The Times reported.

Baseball Player, Beaned By 93-MPH Ball, Sues MLB, Helmet Maker

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Posted on 21st July 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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An up-and-coming baseball player who was hit in the head with a 93-mph fastball has filed suit against Major League Baseball and his helmet’s manufacturer, according to the New York Post. As in many traumatic brain injury cases, it’s a tragic story.  

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/player_beans_helmet_firm_with_lawsuit_8YjjJoLtJcAhAzFO1yNROP

Jordan Wolf , 25, was playing for the Baltimore Orioles Class A farm team when the accident took place. In 2008 Wolf was beaned in the head. He suffered a skull fracture that went from his ear to the top of his cranium, according to the Post. 

The young player with lots of promise got a brain hemorrhage. He can no longer speak and his has no feeling on the right side of his body. His baseball career is over.

In addition, Wolf has now been diagnosed with epilepsy and has had a number of seizures, the Post wrote.

In his suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, Wolf is asking for unspecified damages from Rawlings sporting goods and MLB. He alleges that they failed to make sure he had enough protection while he was playing.