PITTSBURGH - Midweek news and commentary: n Terry Bradshaw says he's having problems with short-term memory.
Bradshaw links the memory issues to the six concussions he says he sustained while playing quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Because of Bradshaw's history as an attention-seeker, some people are quick to dismiss this story.
But there may be something to it.
Bradshaw took some frightening hits to the head during his career, and the NFL wasn't exactly enlightened in the treatment of head injuries then.
There's an internal public address system in the press box to provide information during games. That includes injury information.
Sample announcement: "[Player] has a sprained left knee. His return to the game is questionable."
Back in Bradshaw's day, if a player left the game with a head injury, it was announced as, "He had his bell rung."
Sounds cute and non-threatening, but head injuries were just as serious then as they are now.
They just weren't taken as seriously.
Given that, it wouldn't be unexpected if Bradshaw's current claims are valid.
n Chris Kunitz is suspended for a game.
It's well-deserved. Kunitz, one of the Pittsburgh Penguins' top forwards, inexplicably hit Tampa Bay's Simon Gagne in the head with an elbow during Game Three of their current series.
Blows to the head have been a hot issue in the NHL, and the Penguins have been at the forefront of the charge to eradicate them.
Given that - and given teammate Matt Cooke's lengthy suspension for aiming an elbow at the head of an opponent - what was Kunitz thinking?
The simple answer is he wasn't thinking.
It shows how ingrained this type of shot is in the culture of hockey, and why it will be so hard to get that out of the game.
Kunitz has a full game to think about it now.
n The NFL schedule is released.
Does the NFL even think these things through?
The Steelers have dome and warm weather road games (Indianapolis, Houston, Arizona) done by Oct. 23.
They play four of the last five at home in frozen Heinz Field, including one Thursday night game. The only road game in that stretch is a Monday night in San Francisco, which gives them a short week in advance of a Christmas Eve home date with St. Louis.
Worst of all? New Year's Day in Cleveland.
Bet no one calls that a "winter classic."
Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com
