Superbowl 50

[SteelCurtain]

Blasphemous.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I solemnly predict that whichever team scores the most points will be declared the victor.

Tremble before my awesome powers of prognostication.

Boru

[Minimalist]

And more players will continue down the road to brain damage.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/20...sease.html

Former NFL quarterback Ken Stabler had CTE brain disease

According to Chris Nowinski, the founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Stabler told his family he wanted to have his brain studied after learning that former NFL linebacker Junior Seau had been diagnosed with the disease. In 2012, Seau shot himself in the chest at the age of 43.

"What is interesting about Ken Stabler is that he anticipated his diagnosis years in advance," Nowinski told the AP. "And even though he's a football icon he began actively distancing himself from game in his final years, expressing hope that his grandsons would choose not to play."

[c172]

I've been to a Steeler training camp once, but I am very casual with the big four sports. I did once live in NC, though, so go Panthers.

[Tiberius]

The controversy over concussions and brain damage confuses me. I mean, it's a contact sport, there are massive risks even playing one game. Are players really not aware of the risks?

Boxing and other one-on-one fighting sports likely have a higher risk of brain damage, but those sports still exist. So where's the controversy?

[Ravenshire]

Tibs, you gotta root for the team that beat you. That way you got beat by the best.*

*(This rule does not apply when the Patriots beat you in the AFC Championship game.)

Screw that, I'll never root for the Denver Donkeys. I rooted for Seattle two years ago, and I'll root for Carolina this year.

Just 'cause we own you guys is no reason to be hatin'.

[Minimalist]

Much like the tobacco and lead industries the league tried to cover up problems which they knew about.  That's why they settled the lawsuit.

And while concussions were well known, CTE is a relatively recent discovery.  CTE does not require concussive-level hits.  Repeated sub-concussive hits will do the job.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_tr...n_football

CTE was first recognized as affecting individuals who took considerable blows to the head, but was believed to be confined to boxers and not other athletes.[25] In the early 2000s neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu worked on the case of football player Mike Webster, who had died following unusual and unexplained behaviour. In 2005 Omalu, along with colleagues in the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh, published his findings in the journal Neurosurgery in a paper which he titled “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a National Football League Player.” This was followed by a paper on a second case in 2006 describing similar pathology.

The problem with CTE is that it can only be diagnosed via autopsy and examination of the brain.  Some NFL players have committed suicide by shooting themselves in the chest so their brains could be studied.  The initial count of positive CTE diagnoses was 89 of the first 91 brains examined.  I think the count is now up to 92 out of 94.

Personal mea culpa:  When I coached high school hockey in the early 90's I told my players to "finish their checks" and "play the man" like everyone else did.  I would never give such an instruction now.

[Minimalist]

Here, Tibs.

http://uproxx.com/sports/2015/01/members...-football/


If you get HBO and can find this episode of Real Sports With Bryant Gumble it is well worth your time.

[drfuzzy]

I'll be rooting for the Panthers.  I just hope my family members in Denver don't find out.  

[Tiberius]

Super Bowl Sunday is here!!!

Go Panthers!

I'm predicting a 35 - 24 win for the Panthers. Manning will throw at least one pick.