Ouch.

This is the time of the year when a lot happens. Leaves fall, the holiday messages start to pop up everywhere, and many sports come to a crescendo.

What?

Think about it. We are in the midst of the fall classic in baseball; it’s the time when after a 162 games (unless you are a Twins or Tigers fan) you know if you are in or out. For some teams, they are in. For others, you guessed it, “Wait till next year.”

Then you have football. An interesting off-season season where you have Brett Favre back in yet another uniform, Michael Vick out of one and into one he enjoys wearing much more, and Placido Burress sporting one he’s not going to like very much. Good thing the Bears are on a bye this week---there’s just too much happening.

This is actually a time when broken hearts are a plenty. If you are an NFL fan you are pretty sure that even though the season is only a few weeks old, that an 0-4 start could spell “draft pick.” So fast and so soon. But there have been miracles in the past, for some teams it appears to be their best hope.

Then you have injuries. These athletes are in tip-top shape, but all it takes is one hit, one bad pitch, one shot that goes the wrong way and things change. Your star player is done for a day, week or season.

The picture above was one that caused the crowd to take a deep breath. Prince Fielder, although a large man, was hit in the elbow with this pitch. I did not feel the pain, I saw it on his face. That ball hurt. I have been fortunate, for the better usage of the word, to catch photos of players being hit; whether it’s with a puck, ball or elbow. I have seen a lot through the lens. No matter how you see it, you can be sure, there is real pain and you can never get used to it.

From my vantage point, I am going to stay behind the lens; I constantly make sure however that I am not in the line of fire because like some players, I don’t want to be carried off on a stretcher.

Thanks for stopping by.