Remember last week, when the Blob presented a doomsday scenario that foresaw the demise of football based on football's inability to keep players from serious head injuries?

Well, now comes this. And suddenly that doomsday scenario isn't nearly as implausible as it seemed even last week.

Think about it: If you're a parent of a second-or-third-grader, and you're reading this, do you let your kid play football? Or do you steer him to something else -- knowing that there are, after all, a myriad of something elses out there these days?

Sure, some parents, raised on football themselves, will always put their kids out there. But a lot might opt for the "something else." And thus the pool of future high school, college and NFL players grows incrementally shallower. And at the same time, the lawsuits start to get filed. And pretty soon the dwindling talent pool and the rising legal costs of football start to make schools and sports organizations begin to think the unthinkable: That football just isn't worth it anymore.

I'm not saying that's how it goes down, based on one report. But every avalanche starts with a single snowflake.