Nooooo!!!!!!!!

[RedTails]

Please shoot me. I would rather watch paint dry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftlfPb0gyxI

Rugby is the answer my friends. If football ever goes away (and I sincerely hope that day never comes), Rugby is the answer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-wiB...eature=related

I watched a little bit of Rugby over the weekend, but I doubt Rugby would explode after Football hypothetically dies from liability issues over injuries.

[Lexhead]

You're correct in using boxing of yesteryear as proof that despite the massive fan and money tied to a sport, a sport can die away. I'll even add that if football and head injury data start converging on an epidemic medical proofing, we'll see football disappear much faster than avid boxing did. It is a huge bummer, but I would not take this author's article lightly.

I fear that there is little that equipment, rules and/or modification (short of radical) of the sport itself can do to limit brain injury. If modern science and data starts to prove that not only do concussions create instant and permanent irreversable brain damage but even successive head blows are part of the suspected damage being studied... football could be in for a near instantaneous ending. Medical evidence is on the cusp of substantiating these claims. If substantiated, responsible parenting will kick in (just kidding)... lawsuits will ensue... and football will be knocked out overnight.

This is being given significant attention in the neurological medical community. We shall see where it goes.

I do wonder how it is that so many former football players that have climbed to the cognative ladder. Lawyer's, doctors, civic leaders all among the bunch. I can't help but wonder if the effects are not being magnified, or if there isn't an over reaction to the data. I get that any loss of brain function is a very big deal (especially where children are concerned), but why aren't we seeing anecdotal evidence to back up the alleged emperical data? Why aren't more footballers reduced to a stumbling stupor?

[anhil8tor]

Never happen... ever.

Boxing built their popularity on waiting for a knockout.. not the nuances of the sport. Football has built itself on both being there live.. and watching it on TV. To think that it would disappear because of litigation is silly.

[Lexhead]

I watched a little bit of Rugby over the weekend, but I doubt Rugby would explode after Football hypothetically dies from liability issues over injuries.

Completely different. The problem with football us the use of the head in collisions. The way that the game evolved, it is nearly impossible to play without some use of the head. We would have to go back to the pre-facemask days and tackle by throwing our ribcage at a runner's legs. Rugby is not the same way. Yardage is not a priority as much as possession is (away from goal, at least). As a result, it isn't necessary to stop a man dead in his tracks. Most rugby tackles involve one man dragging another to the ground. Even the roughest of rugby hits rarely involve the head. In fact, if memory serves, hits above the shoulders draw a penalty.

I have never understood why rugby isn't a big deal down here in the south. If football ever went away (God forbid), I would think that rugby may be an excellent alternative.

[Just1More]

I do wonder how it is that so many former football players that have climbed to the cognative ladder. Lawyer's, doctors, civic leaders all among the bunch. I can't help but wonder if the effects are not being magnified, or if there isn't an over reaction to the data. I get that any loss of brain function is a very big deal (especially where children are concerned), but why aren't we seeing anecdotal evidence to back up the alleged emperical data? Why aren't more footballers reduced to a stumbling stupor?

That isn't being overlooked in the studies. It isn't just football. It is a study of brain injury. First, as for initial cognitive function... the data on brain injury suggests that concussions and repetitive brain bruising causes latent brain disease. If the effects were immediate, it would be easier to pin the blame. If the effects are delayed, most people disassociate the pairing.

I just read what is reported. I don't get into the hysteria. I hope that medical science continues to improve and is able to either substantiate or eliminate the pairing... and provide effective treatment if necessary... or possible. I may need it.

Boxers... before neurology could prove the correlation... in very large numbers... exhibit vastly degrading neurological function years after they've left the sport... way above any other segment of the population. You've heard the term "punch drunk". That phrase was coined on the streets long before medical science validated the cause and effect. It applied, mostly, to older gentelmen that has previously boxed.

Concussions are a serious matter. There's a retired boxer in Lafayette that immediately gave up the sport due to the fact that he fought a guy in South Africa many years ago that ended up dying the next day after the fight. Brain swelling after fights is not a myth... it is a fact. If you knock someone out that has been "knocked out" recently... you stand a good chance of ending their life... or permanently damaging their brain.

[CajunAmos]

I think the huge money everyone's making on the sport would prevent its demise like boxing. I can see a player getting a private health insurance policy against brain damage, and I can see addendum 2 on the standard Team X contract saying "the NFL recognizes that initial or repeated hits to the head can/may cause permanent brain damage and severely limit your life expectancy and quality of life"

...............sign here

............. here's your 5 mil.

[CharlieK]

That isn't being overlooked in the studies. It isn't just football. It is a study of brain injury. First, as for initial cognitive function... the data on brain injury suggests that concussions and repetitive brain bruising causes latent brain disease. If the effects were immediate, it would be easier to pin the blame. If the effects are delayed, most people disassociate the pairing.

I just read what is reported. I don't get into the hysteria. I hope that medical science continues to improve and is able to either substantiate or eliminate the pairing... and provide effective treatment if necessary... or possible. I may need it.

Boxers... before neurology could prove the correlation... in very large numbers... exhibit vastly degrading neurological function years after they've left the sport... way above any other segment of the population. You've heard the term "punch drunk". That phrase was coined on the streets long before medical science validated the cause and effect. It applied, mostly, to older gentelmen that has previously boxed.

Concussions are a serious matter. There's a retired boxer in Lafayette that immediately gave up the sport due to the fact that he fought a guy in South Africa many years ago that ended up dying the next day after the fight. Brain swelling after fights is not a myth... it is a fact. If you knock someone out that has been "knocked out" recently... you stand a good chance of ending their life... or permanently damaging their brain.

Vice?

[axg8750]

Vice?

Yep

[CajunEXPRESS]

More long term problems with the head in soccer.

Least we forget football was at one time on deaths door because of the violence, yet survived and prospered. IMO, there will be a wavier or limit to damages by congress. Just as being a garbage truck collector man is one of the most dangerous jobs you still see them every morning.

Finally lawyers want to take the golden eggs from that goose not bake her. If this is a gold mine, it will be limited access and limited income. Really congress wants us in the football temples on Sunday, and Saturdays not the ones dedicated to God, and they sure do not want us paying attention to what they do. And we will if they let a bunch of lawyers have their way.

[bwallace]

decent disection of the article

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...h-of-football/

[Just1More]

Vice?

That is correct.

[CharlieK]

That is correct.

That was (is) a bad dude.