Second Thoughts

Lacy dreads thought, but shave on way

Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy got a bit of a surprise Friday against San Francisco, when a
last-ditch tackle attempt left him with a sore scalp.
Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy got a bit of a surprise Friday against San Francisco, when a last-ditch tackle attempt left him with a sore scalp.

Hair today, gone tomorrow. Sort of.

Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy had a flashback to high school during Friday's 21-10 exhibition victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif..

Lacy, running free down the right sideline with his trademark dreadlocks streaming behind him, had one man to beat, veteran safety Gerald Hodges. Hodges, trying to make the stop, reached out, trying to catch hold of anything to slow, or hopefully stop Lacy.

What he got was a fistful of dreads.

"It definitely hurts," Lacy, whose dreadlocks are long enough to cover the top of his number, told USA Today's Ryan Wood. "The first thought in my mind was a word I can't really say."

According to NFL rules, hair long enough to reach a player's jersey is considered part of the uniform and it's perfectly legal to grab it.

Lacy, along with every other long-haired NFL player, knew this, but until Friday never had a reason to be concerned. Lacy told Wood a defender hadn't tackled him by his hair since he was a high school junior, eight years ago.

Lacy also admitted he was scared.

"For my legs," Lacy said. "They're important. Because that's how most guys hurt their knees, because you get pulled from the back. Which is why the horse collar rule thing [exists]. So luckily that didn't happen."

Lacy went to say that his hair, which he hasn't cut in a year, is "longer than I want it."

After Friday's game, Lacy said, he's "debating" getting a haircut when he goes home to Louisiana during the Packers' bye week in late September.

"I don't know how many more of those I'd like to experience," he said, of hair pulls. "We're in camp. So I've got to wait until I get out of camp, and then I'll assess it."

On Saturday, Lacy clarified his plans, tweeting that he's "not cutting my hair completely off just trimming it."

Judging by Friday night's game, just a few inches could mean another touchdown for the Packers.

Call him 'Sir Chips'

Charles Barkley thinks Ezekiel Elliott may not be the smartest cookie in the bag.

The TNT broadcaster and former NBA superstar called his old friend, Howard Eskin, host of the the WIP-FM, 94.1, morning show in Philadelphia on Friday to chat.

Barkley and Eskin engaged in friendly banter about Barkley's recent hip replacement and his need to use a walker for about six weeks -- "I can't put my foot up your [butt] like I want to," Barkley told Eskin. Then, their conversation turned down numerous avenues, including Olympic basketball, Barkley's new show on TNT, The Race Card, and anything else that came into his head.

Eventually, they came around to Elliott, and the Dallas Cowboys rookie's visit to a Seattle marijuana shop -- Herban Legends, which gets high marks for its name, if nothing else.

"That's just stupid," Barkley said. "Come on, man. You gotta be smarter than that.

"I'm not a marijuana guy. I smoked pot like five times in my life. All it made me want to do was eat potato chips. It was like a waste of my time. I didn't feel no euphoria, it didn't take me to no special place. I just said, 'Do we have any more potato chips in the state of Alabama or Pennsylvania.' "

Now there's a truly exciting thought, at least to convenience store owners -- the "Round Mound of Rebound" with the munchies and an NBA paycheck.

Extra innings

According to the New York Post, Bruce Springsteen broke his own record for his longest U.S. concert Thursday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., coming in at just under four hours.

Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times put it this way: "In other words, they scheduled a concert, and a Yankees-Red Sox game broke out."

Sports quiz

Charles Barkley averaged 11.7 rebounds per game during his 16-year NBA career. How many points did he average?

Answer

22.1 points per game, for a total of 23,757 total points

Sports on 08/29/2016

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