Trust, But Verify

In the mailbox this week, an advanced copy of a new book that looks fascinating: Tailgating, Sacks, and Salary Caps: How the NFL Became the Most Successful Sports League in History." It's written by our old friend Mark Yost, so it has to be good. Not available for sale until September, but advance orders are being taken on Amazon.

I've begun my skim review and it's very entertaining. But this excerpt jumped out as highly curious:

[Ben] Koster used to get annoyed when his cousin, Paul Happe, would come into Al's Bar and cheer for an opposing player to score against the Vikings simply because it was good for his fantasy team. "I'd scream what are you doing?" said Koster, "and he'd reply, 'I can win money."

Yost's journalistic ethics are pristine, I'm sure. But I must admit, that has a bit of a James Frey, A Million Little Pieces vibe to it. A guy ironically named "Happe" who apparently is a nihilist, with no soul. And he sublimates his love and loyalty to our home town heroes, all for a few filthy pieces of silver. Can a human being really be that cynical? As drama and the setting up of a villian, this story sounds too good to be true. I hope the editors checked to confirm that this Paul Happe character really does exist.

What is not in question is that Mark Yost continues his prolific and important work since his departure from the Pioneer Press Editorial Board. And that includes his blogging at Iraq Heroes. Don't miss the text of his recent speech to the Army-Air National Guard Surgeons Conference in the Twin Cities. Excerpts:

Yes, the enemy is inflicting horrific casualties on our troops and the civilian population. But thanks to a revolution in combat medicine that has gone largely unreported in the media, soldiers who just five years ago would have been killed are coming home and going on to lead prosperous lives. Some are even returning to active duty.

Another advancement in combat medicine is a bandage made of chitosan, a biodegradable carbohydrate found in shrimp and lobster shells that bonds with blood cells and helps form a clot. There's another new bandage that contains fibrinogen and thrombin, clotting proteins that can reduce blood loss by up to 85 percent."Both products have been highly effective and there are many reports from the field where they have been able to stop bleeding that normal bandages have not been able to control," according to Army literature.And we?re using this great medical technology to save the lives of Iraqis as well as our own soldiers.

Shrimp and lobster shell imbued bandages? It's news to me, but that I can believe. A Vikings fan named "Happe" selling out his dreams and his comrades for a few dollars at Al's Bar, preposterous!