Junior Seau

Damn, good guy...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/report-nfl-legend-junior-seau-dead-182120394.html

Jeez 8 members from the 1994 Chargers team are dead already? That's a little creepy.

Wow, eight of them. They are all probably just in their 40s too.

Post-concussion syndrome, I'm sure. This will increase the pressure on the NFL to do more to protect players from head injuries. They will do what they can, but the bottom line is that these guys are modern-day gladiators who willingly put their health and lives at risk to entertain us. Of course, they are richly compensated for it, too, but still. And I say this as a huge NFL fan.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Post-concussion syndrome, I'm sure. This will increase the pressure on the NFL to do more to protect players from head injuries. They will do what they can, but the bottom line is that these guys are modern-day gladiators who willingly put their health and lives at risk to entertain us. Of course, they are richly compensated for it, too, but still. And I say this as a huge NFL fan.

Or a shotgun blast to the chest. I hear those are fatal.

This is going to sound funny, but I'd like to see them go back to using leather helmets. These catastrophic head injuries only became prevalent once the helmets got much better, and could be used as weapons. If the helmet isn't as indestructible, the player is much less likely to fly into another player leading with his head.

If this keeps up, the nannies will make football illegal for kids to play. These type of injuries can ruin the sport. No one wants to see their childhood heros offing themselves because they can't cope with their injuries. Also no one wants this to happen to their children.

This is sad.....Seau was a great player, and a very well liked / respected man. It is a shame he wasn't able to get help before it was too late. Same goes for Dave Duerson.

How sad, really sad. He was such a great player, and at least on TV seemed like such a great guy.

Can't draw any line to concussions at this point. Did he have a concussion history? Even if he did, plenty of people commit suicide regardless of prior concussions. Look at how many celebrities have done so...

It says IN THE ARTICLE that he was SHOT IN THE CHEST.

How many of you guys played football and had a bunch of concussions in high school and college?

As a diehard Patriots fan I am greatly saddened to hear this news. I know he had his best years in San Diego, but he was loved in New England late in his career. Always a pro,and will be missed in his community I am sure. Wasn't there a story a few years ago where he drove his car off of a cliff in San Diego, or do I have that mixed up with another athlete?

Chris

Joe Gearin wrote: This is going to sound funny, but I'd like to see them go back to using leather helmets. These catastrophic head injuries only became prevalent once the helmets got much better, and could be used as weapons. If the helmet isn't as indestructible, the player is much less likely to fly into another player leading with his head.

People think I'm nuts when I suggest that letting NHL players play without helmets will reduce head injuries.

Very similar to Chicago Bears Dave Duerson - he shot himself in the chest so they could post-mortem his head for concussion related damage.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: How many of you guys played football and had a bunch of concussions in high school and college?

I was an offensive lineman all through high school but I never got any head injuries, possibly because I didn't want to use my head...in my day, the coaches wanted us to hit the other guy square in the chest with our helmets, which seemed crazy to me.

edit: I did get knocked out once, from a motorcycle accident in my 20s. I was only out for a few seconds but I was pretty woozy for a couple days afterwards.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: It says IN THE ARTICLE that he was SHOT IN THE CHEST.

Yes, he shot himself in the chest, leaving his head intact. The presumption is that he did so so his brain could be studied for long-term effects of multiple impacts. That's what everybody is getting at with the concussion talk.

I was speechless when I heard about this earlier. I've always liked Junior, and I was pumped when the Patriots brought him in a few years back. It really is sad. He seemed like a really nice guy that enjoyed life, at least on the outside.

Joe Gearin wrote: This is going to sound funny, but I'd like to see them go back to using leather helmets. These catastrophic head injuries only became prevalent once the helmets got much better, and could be used as weapons....

Not funny at all. The helmets and the pads are what are causing all these injuries. They just allow them to hit each other harder, something has to give. Sure they will get more cuts but that's a lot better then the brain and spinal injuries. They might still get all the knee injuries, but then again, smaller players might be more viable without pads. Rugby players are large, but not huge.

One of the things that is F'd up about the whole thing is that many of the old players are financially devastated by there injuries and the NFL does almost nothing. One of the reasons for that is that the players union has little interest in putting aside money for something! Why?, well, because all the members of the players union are players, they are young and indestructible, no need to set aside money for old age injuries.