When I was reading your post, competing for 17 years, history 27-44 years ago, I started to wonder if you might be being generous in your definition of middle age... then I stumbled across the spleen comment (this is TBD... everything affects the spleen. It's the most important organ in a football players body. Many players have had season ending spleen injuries, with several of them not living to tell the tale) and I have to ask, respectfully, are you sure you're not knocking the the door of old-mandom?