New England Patriots Middle Linebacker Tedy Bruschi has a new book coming out entitled "Never Give Up," in which he writes about overcoming a stroke to continue his career in the NFL.ESPN posted an excerpt today. While I don't think Bruschi is necessarily writing the whole thing himself, it sounds like an easy read and I like how conversational it reads.

There was Bettis in my dream, running toward me. And there I was getting ready to wrap him up and make the sure tackle. But this time there was no playful trash talking at the end of the play. This time my muscles contracted and there was tightness in my neck. My fists were clenched and my arms were in the air, as if I were bracing for something big. That's how I awoke at 4 AM. It was no longer a dream; there certainly was something odd about my left arm and left leg.

When you play pro football, you get used to playing in pain and waking up sore.
You really do develop a threshold for pain and, when you're on the field, you tell yourself that the pain will go away soon. (You hope "soon" is the 20 seconds or so you get between contact and the next play.) So I stayed in bed for a few minutes, trying to make a fist and regain the strength in my arm. It never occurred to me that something was really wrong.

Full excerpt can be found here.