The hits keep right on comin'

Jonny Wilkinson got through half a game with the Newcastle Falcons, which is such good news they're now talking about putting him in for England against Scotland this weekend. There are bound to be hopes that he'll be back to his best. Then there'll be the inevitable disappointment. I'm just glad for his own sake that he's back. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for a guy like that to spend years on the treatment table, prevented from doing the one thing you were put here for. Meanwhile I read in The New Yorker that a running back in the NFL can now anticipate a career of just four years. Something has to be run about the hits in both sports until we get to the stage where it simply won't be worth the time spent putting in the preparation.