Thursday, February 12, 2009

Yuppies, TSN, and the Concussion Summit...

It’s been a while since I’ve come through with a blog entry. A new son (in addition to a 22 month old son) quickly eats up your time.

That said, I can’t stand this fighting talk nonsense anymore. The yuppie media hasn’t missed a chance to ram the anti-fighting drivel down our throats. Forget what the players have to say. Forget what the fans have to say. The yuppie media wants changes; and by God you are going to hear about it.

Leading the charge as always is TSN. Their most recent (well I haven’t checked in a couple hours) article focuses on the little known “Concussion Summit.” Apparently this Summit wants to completely ban fighting at all levels of hockey. From TSN:

"Fighting should be eliminated from hockey at all levels of the game, according to recommendations released Tuesday from an expert panel dealing with concussions in hockey... Fighting is one of the known causes of concussion, and may result in the related long-term complications," the panel's summary statement says. "Fighting can cause needless death."

I have to ask, how long did it take the" expert panel” to come up with this Earth-shattering conclusion? May, can, might, could, would… let’s get them all in while we’re at it.

And before they concluded their "expert" research, did they ever take a look at crosschecking, tripping, slewfooting, highsticking, boarding, hitting from behind, shooting a puck over 80 mph, skating with razor sharp skates at breakneck speeds?

Because, my expert research concludes that the above actions too “may result in the related long-term complications [of concussions]… and [insert above actions] can cause needless death."

Why not eliminate those actions from all levels of hockey? Why not eliminate ice? May he rest in peace, but Don Sanderson didn’t die from a punch. He died when his head hit the ice.

Let’s not stop with hockey either. Last week, X Games winner, Jeremy Lusk, died while attempting a Freestyle back flip in San Jose. Ban Freestyle Motocross? In September of 2005, a record-setting motorcycle racer died after crashing at 239 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Ban Motorcycle Speed Racing? Dale Earnhardt. Ban turns in NASCAR? Pro wrestlers have died. Ban wrestling at all levels? NFL players have died in training camps. Ban training camp? Ray Chapman in 1920. Ban baseballs? Boxing. Ban boxing?

The list goes on and on. And so do the actions that caused the results. It’s an implied risk that every player is aware of when they play a sport.

And while some of these actions led to modifications of rules or protective gear, they never led to the removal of that action. But TSN would never mention that.

Now on to this "expert panel." Apparently the group is comprised of a couple of former players. From TSN:

“Panellists [misspelled – nice job TSN] on The Concussion Summit included four former players, three of whom were knocked out of the National Hockey League as the result of concussions - Eric Lindros, Jeff Beukeboom and Alyn McCauley - along with Canadian national women's team player Jennifer Botterill, who was sidelined for a protracted period with concussion.”

“Knocked out?” That would almost lead you to believe that their concussions were the result of a fight. NOPE.

Eric Lindros was notorious for skating up and down the ice with his head down. Just ask Scott Stevens and Jason Doig, players that contributed to two of Lindros’ eight concussions… not one of which was sustained from a fight.

Jeff Beukeboom, a player that only cracked the 20 point plateau once in his career, relied on his fists to stay in the NHL, protecting Mark Messier amongst others. Beukeboom sustained one major concussion, a sucker punch from Matt Johnson that cut his career short. Much like the Bertuzzi/Moore incident, this was not a fight… it was a mugging. And if fighting is ever eliminated, expect to see more of those cowardly acts as players frustrations boil over from having their hands tied.

Alyn McCauley sustained three major concussions in his career, one from having his feet kicked out from him, one from a puck to the temple, one from getting his head run into the boards in Toronto.

Jennifer Botterill’s major concussion came from a full-speed collision with her own teammate in practice.

Four players, numerous concussions… yet not one from fighting from this "expert panel" that I am aware of. So why aren’t we banning skating with your head down, tripping, slapshots or running into players in practice? Why fighting all the sudden?

Oh right, it may result in long-term complications or might cause death. Groundbreaking research I tell ya. I guess boxing hasn't taught us anything.

But let the yuppie media present it to us as "expert" information. Yeah right...

I can’t take it anymore. Time for a Starbucks coffee folks.

Wait a second, I better not go. I have to cross the DC streets to get to Starbucks… and that might result in me getting run over, which may result in long-term complications (in addition to the caffeine in the coffee) and could result in death.

Time to call Adrian Fenty about outlawing pedestrians from crossing his DC streets, right?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The question remains, why do some players become prone to concussion.
These experts offer no solution to reducing concussion. Its been found in boxers, NFLer's and NHL players, when a dime sized disc of cartilage becomes disloged from the jaw joint, you become more prone. www.mahercor.com has many stories, the Caps, Hurricanes, Panthers, Sharks and some Bruins have been fitted with a corrective mouth guard related to concussion.

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