Not sure if anyone saw the HBO Real Sports segment on concussions recently, but in it they discussed new research that showed a scientific connection between ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and head trauma. Some excessively high number of athletes in sports dealing with concussions (football, boxing, soccer to name the ones they used in the program) as relatively frequent event have come down with ALS - a disease previously with no known causes other than a 10% heredity population. They even did their own investagatory work to uncover documentation of at least six significant head traumas that Gehrig himself sustained over the course of his career. I think this news is yet another step in the direction that drastically alters the game of football sometime soon. Here's an intro clip from the segment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8tUBF7PR1Y If anyone has a link to the full segment, that would be cool. They spend a lot of time with Steve Smith, former PSU star who is almost dead from the disease. The news over the past few years about concussions needing proper rest and evaluation before the resumption of play made me view football slightly different. It was more of a "ok, make sure that guys good and healthy before he comes back" reaction from me. This news is really disturbing though - NFL players seem to be literally giving themselves Lou Gehrig's Disease due to the constant head trauma, and it kind of take a little out of my excitement over a kid like The Terminator.
Saw it. It was disturbing. Especially seeing Steve Smith in his current condition. (although I do want one of those computers that allows you to type with your eyes.) I imagine if you're Kevin Turner's wife and you just watched that show, you must collapse onto the floor and assume the fetal position. That poor family. The difficult days ahead of them. Wayne Chrebet might also be crapping himself these days. He's the perfect candidate to be next up the list.
they say player safety is #1, but by adding these two extra games, they are not only going to shorten careers, but increase the chance for severe injury, and extensive head trauma.
A)Go back to leather helmets, no facemasks so nobody is leading with their head. Also, the shoulder pad arrangements they wear today are more like fully integrated body armor. Has to go. Throw your weight around like a maniac all day and you'll end up hurt. This will improve tackling and blocking technique. B) cut roster sizes by at least a third, if not more. Stamina will be more valuable than specialization. Players that have to be prepared to actually exert themselves physically for 3 hours a pop will be fitter and smaller, less likely to hurt one another. There is no reason on earth that wide receivers today should weigh 100 lbs more than Don Maynard did in his prime. C) return to the 12 game season. All of which is about as likely as you praising Obama for anything, but it is the answer.
My solution: HFL Homeless Football League. That way if any of them ends up with brain damage, nobody really cares. Plus you could make the ball a time bomb.
I like it myself... all the "protection" really does is give a false sense of security. It'd never happen though.
Not many people have mentioned the possible effects of head injuries when combined with steroid abuse. I can't be naive enough to think that steroids and performance enhancers somehow didn't take over a sport that physically drains its players even more than baseball, track, etc. I have no clue how the brain works but I do wonder what role if any PED abuse plays for people who also suffer serious head injuries.
