[Saint Elistan]

Source

One step closer to two hand touch.

[Joey Gladstone]

I was totally expecting that to be a link to the Onion. Goodell is out of control and needs to be taken out. Seriously, I want his car blowing up like the Godfather!

Sweet Jesus

[MTSkiBum]

With how tough the media is acting towards concussions, it would be career suicide for Goodel to say that he would not even give it the slightest consideration.

Taking the quote in context, i do not think that Goodell wants to, nor will he ban 3 point stances anytime in the near future.

[surferskin]

MTSkiBum, on Feb 8 2010, 07:34 PM, said:

With how tough the media is acting towards concussions, it would be career suicide for Goodel to say that he would not even give it the slightest consideration.

Taking the quote in context, i do not think that Goodell wants to, nor will he ban 3 point stances anytime in the near future.

It would be career suicide for Goodell to answer a ridiculous question honestly? Talk out of your ass much?

Seriously, I couldn't imagine a worse commissioner. He's as bad as it gets.

[Cstriker]

what is the 3 point stance .. sorry i am ignorant about some of these rules.

[urban1]

Gary Bettman says hi.

surferskin, on Feb 8 2010, 09:37 PM, said:

Seriously, I couldn't imagine a worse commissioner. He's as bad as it gets.

[RaiderHater's Revenge]

Cstriker, on Feb 8 2010, 07:12 PM, said:

what is the 3 point stance .. sorry i am ignorant about some of these rules.

think racer in the starting blocks

[taxicab823]

i hate Goodell, players should go on holdout until he steps down

[WhiteWonder]

surferskin, on Feb 8 2010, 09:37 PM, said:

It would be career suicide for Goodell to answer a ridiculous question honestly? Talk out of your ass much?

Seriously, I couldn't imagine a worse commissioner. He's as bad as it gets.

total validity in what skibum said.

what is one of the most highly debated aspects of the game today? player safety, specifically concussions.

no way Goodell simply blows this off. He has to at least act as if he is looking into it / considering it, even if he has no intent to change it.

[mgs316]

If they improved and total redesigned the helmets, all of this would be a non-issue.

Some place did a study and said helmets need padding on the outside, not just on the inside with a hard shell. The hard shell is what creates the jarring effect. Padding on the inside, then a thin shell to hold everything together, then more padding. Obviously they don't want to do this because the sounds of collisions makes for good TV and they probably wouldn't be so pretty.

[pimptastic69]

mgs316, on Feb 10 2010, 09:12 PM, said:

If they improved and total redesigned the helmets, all of this would be a non-issue.

Some place did a study and said helmets need padding on the outside, not just on the inside with a hard shell. The hard shell is what creates the jarring effect. Padding on the inside, then a thin shell to hold everything together, then more padding. Obviously they don't want to do this because the sounds of collisions makes for good TV and they probably wouldn't be so pretty.

Maybe the networks could add a "crash track". When you're watching a movie with a fight scene, it doesn't really sound like that when someone gets punched. If the networks can add the yellow first down line, I'm sure they could handle a sound effect on the replay of a big hit.

[parrot]

mgs316, on Feb 11 2010, 02:12 AM, said:

If they improved and total redesigned the helmets, all of this would be a non-issue.

Some place did a study and said helmets need padding on the outside, not just on the inside with a hard shell.

Explosive reactive armor is the obvious solution here as far as optimal protection AND fan enjoyment.

[jerryskids]

RaiderHater's Revenge, on Feb 9 2010, 03:36 AM, said:

think racer in the starting blocks

That's a 4-point stance.

[9-Route]

this is a very serious topic that has been undervalued and poorly attended to over the past decades. however, with the rash of head injuries this season to high profile players, it finally has been addressed and come to the forefront of importance and even being addressed by the fed govt. one really needs to understand some of the science before making judgments and evals on this topic. it may get wordy and boring and advanced, but trying to gain some knoweldge is always a benefit.

those alluding to helmets and helmet technology are misinformed. in regards to recurrent head trauma and injury, helmets are garbage, period. helmets do not prevent brain trauma or injury. helmets prevent skull fracture and facial lacerations. helmets do not prevent brain injury. [the science of this fact is that the brain remains in a literally free floating state inside the skull, bathed in the cerebrospinal fluid. helmets prevent skull damage during impact injuries to the head, but do not prevent the brain from sustaining injury and trauma within its space.]

nfl commissioner goodell indeed has a tough responsibility and task to balance the machine that is the nfl, and its owners, franchises, dollars, and policies against the health and perceived treatment of its main product component, the players.

i recently had the opportunity to attend the february 1st congressional meeting regarding the head trauma issue, led by committee chairman john conyers [michigan, judiciary committee], congressman steve cohen [tennessee], and hosted in houston by congresswoman sheila jackson lee [texas]. the hearing was paneled by several experts, among them dr stan herring [team physician of the seattle seahawks, and expert in sports concussion]; the most notable panel member, whom i actually went to see, was dr bennet omalu, one of the directors of the BIRI, brain injury research institute. his interest and body of work in this field is tremendous. some of the highlights and conclusions of his research include:

---coining the term chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, to describe these head injuries we normally regard as concussions. [recently highlighted in the nytimes and time magazine]

---noting that more head injuries actually occur at the high school level than at the collegiate or professional levels. this is due to the lack of proper training and teaching of how to play/hit and lack of qualified personnel to diagnose injury.

---noting that injury to the younger player is more dangerous and a more critical time to diagnose and treat due to age and biology. the developing brain of people under the age of 18 is at far more risk after traumatic injury to have damage and show or not show signs of this damage; furthermore, if the player is not removed from all contact or re-injury possibility for at least months, not days or weeks, there is greater probability of longterm damage as opposed to the average aged person/player. recall: when a player injures a bone to fracture, we sit him out 2-12 weeks to heal; yet, when a player injures the brain, we want to only sit him out 2-3 weeks to heal?? the soft brain and it micro structures on a cellular level need far more time to heal. remember the old adage," you only have a certain number of brain cells" ? it is true. brain cells [neurons] do not replicate. you have a finite number of them, once you damage or destroy them, you do not get them back.

---the science of brain proteins, particularly the tau proteins [notable in discussions of dementia based diseases such as Alzheimer's] which have been shown to be present and build up in patients with CTE. the BIRI worked with the ex player mike webster, and his post death brain showed these data. furthermore, brain scans of players with CTE show activity in parts of the brain where these proteins build up and begin to manifest in patient changes.

---lastly, the addressing of the 3-point stance is in attempt to cutdown on the opportunities for unnecessary head to head collisions.

this may be seem long and boring, but i urge readers to educate themselves to have a better understanding of this epidemic. it will better help to evaluate the viewpoint of the players versus the establishment.

link for dr bennet omalu and the brain injury research institute [BIRI] http://www.braininju...hinstitute.org/

link for dr stan herring, team physician of the seattle seahawks and co-director of the seattle sports concussion program

http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Patient-C...x?clinicid=3844

http://medical.washi...CentralId=12041