Redskins' Doughty thriving despite hearing loss

Football Betting Lines

09/08/2010 -

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - ``Reed!'' ``Reed!'' ``REEEEEEED!''

Jim Haslett kept yelling Reed Doughty's name, trying to get the safety's attention at a Washington Redskins practice this week.

Doughty didn't respond because Doughty couldn't hear. Finally, several teammates went over and tapped him on his shoulder, making him aware that he was wanted by the defensive coordinator.

``The communication between us is not great,'' Haslett said. ``Because when I yell, I get louder - and he still doesn't hear.''

Beginning his fifth season in the NFL, Doughty is one of the great survivor stories of pro football, having overcome several gut-wrenching physical and psychological setbacks - any one of which might have caused a weaker athlete to throw in the towel. Yet the 27-year-old with the boyish face is still plugging away, and he is expected to be in the starting lineup Sunday night when the Redskins open the season against the Dallas Cowboys.

``Perseverance is one of his strongest traits,'' safeties coach Steve Jackson said. ``You can't knock a good man down, and he's a good man. He's had a lot of things try to knock him down.''

Consider the hurdles listed in the Reed Doughty bio:

- He was a sixth-round pick from Northern Colorado, a Football Championship Subdivision school that averages about two draftees per decade.

- He's had hearing loss his entire life, inherited from his father. It gets worse as he gets older. It stumped the coaches when he was a rookie in 2006.

``For a guy to be so smart, he used to always make a lot of mistakes. And no one knew why. You look at him, and every time you say something, he's really looking at you, at your face and everything. And you're like, `Gah, he really pays attention. Why doesn't he know anything? He must be a dumb son of a ...,''' said Jackson, his voice trailing off into a laugh.

``But he was looking at you,'' Jackson continued, ``to read your lips.''

Jackson realized he should no longer talk while writing on the whiteboard during meetings - because his back was turned to Doughty. Jackson therefore developed a whole new rhythm: Write something, turn to speak, write something, turn to speak.

``His play picked up,'' said Jackson, snapping his fingers, ``like that.''

- Also in 2006, Doughty's son Micah was born six weeks prematurely and had chronic kidney failure. After long days of practice and meetings at Redskins Park, Doughty would go home and help his wife hook up their son to a dialysis machine. When Micah was 19 months old, he had finally grown enough to accept a kidney transplant. The donor was Doughty's wife, Katie.

Micah turned 4 last week. Doughty beamed with pride at the mention of the milestone.

``He's doing phenomenal,'' he said.

- In 2008, Doughty had a serious nerve problem in his back. It spread, causing numbness in one foot. He was placed on injured reserve in early October and had surgery. Not too many people were expecting him back in 2009.

``It was scary,'' Doughty said. ``There were a lot of doctors saying this was something you may never come back from, but the surgeon that did it told me I think this is something you'll come back from and do quite well. So I just trusted God that no matter what happened I'd be healthy just so I could play with my kids. And if I could play football on top of it, that would be awesome. And I just worked hard in rehab and it worked out.''

Doughty is returning the favors as much as he can. It takes nearly a full column in the media guide to list his volunteer work with groups such as the National Kidney Foundation and the Spinal Research Foundation.

While Micah is doing well and the back injury is firmly in the rearview mirror, Doughty and his teammates and coaches still have the daily challenge of dealing with his hearing loss. He now wears a hearing aid in meetings, but it doesn't work on the field because it can't filter out all of the background noise from the crowd.

When Doughty is in the game, he often stands near middle linebacker London Fletcher to hear the defensive call, then relays a separate call to the rest of the secondary. The Redskins can trust Doughty with that role because he's studious and knows the play book well.

Doughty and fellow safety LaRon Landry have also become adapt at using hand signals to communicate, but messages don't always get through. Landry says there have been times he's tried to alert Doughty to a change in plans before the snap - but to no avail.

``I try to call him and he's over there - he's in tune (to the play) - so I just let him play that side and just adapt,'' Landry said.

But it usually works out because of Doughty's smarts and toughness - not to mention a strong faith that has seen him through all his trials, plus enough humbleness for him to realize his role.

``The coaches trust me,'' Doughty said. ``I may not be a flashy player, but I'm going to make good tackles, make good decisions and execute the game plan.''

Doughty also offered this well-grounded assessment of his hearing loss and hair loss, both genetic and inevitable.

``I'm bald. I'm going to be deaf,'' he said in a matter-of-fact tone. ``And I've got a great family with two great kids, so I'm not worried about it.''

Doughty has started 16 of his 45 games over four seasons. A natural strong safety, he is now working with the first team at free safety only because Kareem Moore is out with a sprained right knee.

Yet, considering all that he's been through, Doughty has accomplished quite a bit. After all, how many players can sum up their career like this?

``Stuff happens, and they trust me to play,'' Doughty said. ``And I'm still here because of that.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

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Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.