This may come to no surprise to many of you that have read my work as a financial writer, but I am what my wife calls a "walking head injury." I played football from the age of six until 19, when I was told my college football career had to end -- more on that in a minute.

Having gotten my bell rung many times in my youth, I was taken aback by a recent article in The Wall Street Journal suggesting it may be time to retire the football helmet as we know it. Leagues overseas have been trying this as a way to -- this may sound counterintuitive -- reduce concussions and other injuries. But I don't see playing helmet-less as a solution for the National Football League (NFL).

In Dole Food Co.'s (DOLE) initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange today, shares came in below their forecast range. The fruit conglomerate raised $446 million, selling 35.7 million shares at $12.50, giving the company a value of $1.09 billion, but the an October 9 filing had anticipated an IPO ranging from $13 to $15.

Dole plans to use the proceeds to repay $451 million in debt, along with a $17 million prepayment penalty. Dole also priced $300 million of convertible securities at $12.50 each.

One of the worst teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is now going to cause wailing and gnashing of teeth overseas, as the New Jersey Nets are about to be purchased by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

On Wednesday, Prokhorov announced that he has a deal to purchase 80 percent of the Nets, along with almost half of a project to build a new basketball arena for them in Brooklyn. The deal would make Prokhorov the first non-North American owner in the NBA.

Things are about to get real interesting up in Connecticut. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has announced that CEO Linda McMahon is resigning in order to run for Connecticut's U.S. Senate seat. Yes ladies and gents, it appears that the McMahon family is aiming to add a senator to its roster. Her husband, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is going to take over the CEO position. Perhaps this will keep Vince out of the wrestling action and behind the cameras a bit more.

Linda McMahon believes that Washington is "out of control" and that Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd has "lost his way and our trust." Considering that Linda McMahon is going to fight with three other Republicans for the seat, we could see a bit of a battle royale shaping up -- or is it a cage match? If she wins, can you picture her acceptance press conference? Imagine: lowered lights, a smoke machine, strobes, and Mrs. McMahon emerging from behind a rhinestone-studded curtain to the rampaging strains of some heavy metal song. That would sure make things a bit more interesting. Perhaps the Rock will walk out and announce, "Finally, the McMahons have come back to Washington." Or Shawn Michaels and Triple H could come out and do their typical D-Generation X introductions (which are a bit too risque to go into here). One thing is certain, this is going to be fun.

Sports business reporter Darren Rovell at CNBC reported on September 15 that the New York Yankees are releasing their ticket prices for season ticket holders. The report notes that more than 80 percent of the tickets at Yankee Stadium will remain the same, but those able to afford the most expensive seats at the stadium are going to get a bit of a break.

Rovell reports that some of the most expensive seats will see as much as 40 percent reductions -- with seats behind home plate being cut to $235 or $250 from their current $325.

The financial sector is well on its way to recovery, right? After all, it has been a year since Wall Street almost collapsed, and the government is now ready, willing, and able to stop such a situation from happening again. President Obama and Congress are telling us that everything is moving in the right direction -- so Americans must be feeling more confident about the economic future, right? Wrong.

According to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, seven out of 10 Americans do not believe the government has taken the proper safeguards to keep last September's horrors from repeating. Furthermore, 80 percent of those polled feel the economy is in poor shape -- and members of this group worry that they may not be able to keep their heads above water.

So, what did you do on your summer vacation? This benign question is sure to be asked of students throughout the U.S. as they head back to school from their summer vacation. Well, Tom Siebel has a more interesting story than, "We went to the beach."

According to a yarn that Siebel spun for the San Jose Mercury News, he and a tour guide were attacked by an elephant during a safari in the Serengeti last month. Siebel and his guide were observing the elephant on safari when it decided to charge, attacking Siebel and his guide. Siebel, who created Seibel Systems software company, state, "It was all happening so fast. There was no place to hide, no place to run."

Looks like it is going to be a rough week for former baseball great Lenny "Nails" Dykstra. For those of you not familiar with the situation, Nails was a star outfielder for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies who, in retirement, became an entrepreneur and investment guru of sorts.

Unfortunately, last month, thanks to what he called "bogus lawsuits," Dykstra declared bankruptcy. At the time, he listed less than $50,000 in assets and between $10 million and $50 million in debts.

A former mainstay of childhood, baseball cards have long since become a meaningless historical footnote, occasionally garnering some small mention in the media when a family finds boxes of rare baseball cards hoarded in a deceased relative's attic. Personally speaking, the last time I purchased baseball cards I was upset because I kept getting Frank Pastore (1982 Reds) cards and not the Davey Concepcion I needed to complete my team collection.

In this context, today's announcement by the Major League Baseball (MLB) smacks of total irrelevance. The organization has announced that The Topps Company will become the exclusive manufacturer of baseball cards for the league. Topps signed a multi-year deal in order to end competition between card companies and potentially jump start the slumping industry. MLB hopes that having one official cardmaker will end the confusion caused by the multiple card manufacturers and seemingly endless series clogging up stores.

Plenty of job news is in this morning, starting with the Challenger Gray & Christmas layoff data. The firm announced that layoffs from major U.S. corporations increased by 31 percent in July to 97,373. This increase is the first since January, indicating that corporate layoffs are picking up after hitting a 15-month low in June. During the first seven months of the year, 994,048 workers have been laid off -- which is 72 percent higher than the same time last year.

So, how is that market rally coming? In this backwards economic climate, this report could be the impetus for a market rally; but it shows that the job picture is worse this year than it was at the same time last year -- when our economic situation was much worse, right?