Ex-Patriot Kevin Turner battling ALS

By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com

In news that really sucks, former Patriots fullback Kevin Turner is battling ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

Speaking to The Boston Globe's Kay Lazar, Turner - who played for the Patriots from 1992 to 1994 - said, "Playing NFL football was a dream come true. I just never thought in 20 years I would be fighting for my life."

Turner was a third-round pick out of Alabama and was a nice combination of toughness and soft hands. In his best year with the Patriots, 1994, he had 52 catches for 471 yards. He caught the overtime touchdown pass from Drew Bledsoe against the Vikings. It was Bledsoe's 70th pass attempt and 45th completion of the day.

The information and research proving that repeated blows to the head and concussions drastically shorten and worsens lives continues to pile up. This week, Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk detailed an upcoming HBO piece that looks hard at the football-ALS connection.

Meanwhile, a New York Times piece this week looked into research that says repeated blows to the head and concussions may not cause ALS but a disease which mimics it. The piece has speculation that Gehrig himself may not have had ALS.

It's not all-around good news.

Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tomecurran