"I know [Obama] has got new energy and ideas and I think that's something our government needs," Moon said. "Whether he wins or not, I just think he's a fresh new approach that people need to hear and hopefully that'll make whoever he's going against a better candidate. I think he's got something that relates more to the younger generation."
The young are also the most vulnerable to concussions.
In April, Steinberg spoke at the National Summit on Concussion in Los Angeles, where several neurologists presented alarming findings to bring awareness to concussions in sports. Steinberg, who saw Young and Aikman get many concussions during their playing days, said concussion baseline testing, a cognitive test, is needed before someone starts an athletic career.
"When he suffers a concussion, he's retested and there's a way to see how much his faculties have been degraded," Steinberg said. "It's largely in place in the NFL. The reason the NFL is key, and we were very gratified that within a week after our conference the NFL convened and they also passed a whistle-blower edict where they told players they should be encouraged to report other players they thought were suffering from concussions.
"Baseline testing is not so widely done at the collegiate or high school level. Here's the problem: the high school brain is not fully developed. A concussion can be much more devastating to a developing brain. It takes longer to recover and the damage can be more serious."
Another startling finding Steinberg learned came on a trip last November to Lausanne, Switzerland. The discussions at the United Nations Environment Program for Sport and Environment were about the rising temperatures associated with climate change.
Steinberg said he spoke about his efforts to help the NFL combat the issue, such as using solar panels to power scoreboards and going with waterless urinals. At the time, the U.S. was not onboard with the United Nations Kyoto Protocol, not ratifying the amendment to the international treaty climate change that mandates emission limitations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The country is considered one of the top emitters or carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.
Steinberg recently fielded a call on the topic.
"I was just talking to a team owner about greening up his franchise," Steinberg said, not wanting to name the owner.
Look at Steinberg now, sitting up and grinning. Owners still ask him how much green is needed to improve a franchise.
DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.
