Today's Sports

By Art Lander Jr.
Ky. Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources
For many firearms deer hunters in Kentucky, the tool of choice is the bolt-action centerfire rifle.
With a little gunsmithing work and the right ammunition along with pre-season shooting practice, deer hunters will be ready to close the deal when a shooter buck walks into range this November.
The first step is to find a competent gunsmith who can accomplish three procedures: adjusting the trigger pull, free-floating the rifle’s barrel and bedding its action.

Nearly anyone who has attended even a few football games has experienced that scary moment when two players collide full speed and one does not get up or, at best, gets up slowly and groggily.
For years, fans and media passed it off as just a temporary problem with no long-term effects.
While a knee or shoulder injury causes visible problems, a head injury or concussion was simply passed over.
Research over the years has identified the dangers of concussions in many sports, prompting the Kentucky High School Athletic Association to act.

Mark Peach remembers the day he got a concussion playing football.
At least he thinks it probably was one.
One day, while playing offensive tackle for Campbellsville University about 20 years ago, Peach was a bit woozy after taking a hit.
But there was no blood. No broken bones.
At the time, it was considered a minor thing. He’d “gotten his bell rung.”
“I remember one of the coaches was over on the sidelines and told me just to walk it off,” Peach says. “I went back in that game.”

It might have been the defining moment of my football career.
As an eighth-grader, I was a member of the Anderson County High School freshman team, listed well down the depth chart as a defensive tackle but was getting some work in a live practice session.
When the center snapped the ball, a huge hole suddenly opened in front of me. Eager to make an impression, I shot through the hole looking to hit some ball carrier in the backfield. The problem was the offense had other ideas.