NFL Football season is here
 

Where is nikimcbee? Time for some football ... First game of the preseason this Thursday night ...

Check your local listing's

Thursday, August 3

Cowboys vs Cardinals
5:00 PM

Fall is on the way and football season is almost here. Are you ready for a rumble ? :D There are many questions such as, will the New England Patriots win another Superbowl ? the Patriots are heavily favored.

Oddly enough, it won't be all that long before Hockey season starts anew. It will be interesting to see how the next Olympic Hockey series fares. The 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games are a year away. In a new development, current NHL players are not eligible to play in the Olympics. A work around would be those players who retire from the NHL or remained unsigned and thus eligible to compete in the Olympics. Rosters for the Canadian and American teams without NHL players will be drastically different than in years past.

Jim Paek (Korean: 백지선, Baek Chi-sun, born April 7, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, who is currently the director of hockey for the Korea Ice Hockey Association and head coach of the South Korean national team. Jim Paek remains remains the only Korean born player to have his name on the Stanley cup,twice, having played for the Pittsburgh Penguins when the Penguins won the cup in 1991 and 1992. Jim Paek believes he can field a competitive team for the Olympics.

All in all, there is a lot to like if you are a sports fan.

Time for some football ... it seems like just the other day that the best Super Bowl ever played was on TV (Feb 5th or so).

Sure this is just preseason, but as good as the NBA playoffs were this year ... I'm ready for some football. :yep:

Just a few more hours :up:

Brain-jelly-making season again.

IMO if you die without ever getting a little busticated then you never really lived.

I can understand why you would make that comment. CTE or Chronic traumatic encephalopathy of the brain has been found in athletes who play sports where there is a prevalence of repeated blows to the head as in Hockey, football, boxing and other sports. It's manifestations are characterized by thinking, comprehension and memory issues and behavioral changes like chronic depression and aggression. The Pathology or neuropathological appearance are differentiated from other neurological diseases like Alzheimer's by a reduction in brain weight, associated with atrophy of the frontal and temporal cortices and medial temporal lobe.

People may not experience potential signs of CTE until years or decades after brain injuries occur. A definitive diagnosis of CTE can only be made after death, when an autopsy can reveal whether the known brain changes of CTE are present. Certainly, individuals who have suffered multiple concussions are in that high risk Category.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chroni...encephalopathy

Sadly, the early signs of CTE have been found in young children who also have played football and Hockey and sports where head injuries and concussions are prevalent. Some sporting combines in the U.S have taken steps to mitigate these injuries for example by not allowing children who play soccer ( football in the U.K ) to make ball blocks with their head.

Certainly, Boxers are at high risk for CTE. Mohamad Ali ( Cassius Clay )
In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome, a disease that sometimes results from head trauma from violent physical activities such as boxing. Questions remain at to whether Ali had CTE as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali

A good friend of mine that I went to college with played Rugby and loved it. Rugby is a pretty rough and robust sport and I'm wondering if any changes are contemplated or have already been implemented in the U.K, Germany or elsewhere in light of CTE diagnosis's in the U.S . Rugby is also a cherished game in the U.K. Rugby players don't wear helmets either like most early NHL and amateur hockey players.

I think that young children who play in sports with a high degree of physical contact are most at risk and parents should know the risks so that they can make an intelligent and informed decision as to allow their children to participate in these sports. Other things could be done such as rule changes and better engineered equipment or a combination of both.

It would be interesting to see what our Subsim Members in the U.K and elsewhere feel about these Issues.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia cost 1.5 billion dollars will be ready to open next month

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/W_...b2a32ef41d34e6

Rugby, while a contact game like Hockey and Football, is played a lot differently. Hockey's concussions are mostly due to players heads impacting the ice or the boards and there's been speculation that the pads and helmets worn by modern Football players actually contribute to concussions instead of preventing them. This is because their insulation and protection promote high speed hits whereas if you took that stuff away tackles would be mostly the pull down type which are far less dangerous with regards to head injuries.

A little off topic story

Saw the picture of the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. 10 min later I read an article in a Danish news paper, about a fastfood business Chick-fil-a had made a little mistake.

The mistake is that they have, since 1940 always closed on Sundays and Atlanta Falcons 7 of 8 home game will be played on Sundays.

The Stadium will be filled these 7 Sundays, while this fastfood will be closed. and be open other 6 days where there may not be so many at the stadium.

End of A little off topic story.

Markus

The rest of the story is that the owner of Chick-fil-A is a devoted Christian that closes all of his stores on Sunday, but the stadium is so big that it has two other fast food restaurants that serve chicken biscuits.

Another side of Chick-fil-A is that they don't serve any chicken with bones in it either. I ate at one back in Atlanta a long time ago and it was really good food.

Another funny thing about Chick-fil-A is that the owner even looks like a chicken, but he has good food. :D

http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/k...9_1280x720.jpg

Good point August. However, individuals can also suffer concussions without actual physical contact to the head. The contact can be a " jarring " one to the body. The contact is where the brain suffers " bruises " while coming into contact with the inside of the skull. If an individual is moving in one direction and their body is hit and suddenly is jolted and stopped, the brain will continue in the previous direction and make contact with the inside of the skull, thereby bruising the brain.

Quote:
What is a concussion?

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall, or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. Although there may be cuts or bruises on the head or face, there may be no other visible signs of a brain injury.


What causes a concussion?

Your brain is a soft organ that is surrounded by spinal fluid and protected by your hard skull. Normally, the fluid around your brain acts like a cushion that keeps your brain from banging into your skull. But if your head or your body is hit hard, your brain can crash into your skull and be injured.




There are many ways to get a concussion. Some common ways include fights, falls, playground injuries, car crashes, and bike accidents. Concussions can also happen while participating in any sport or activity such as football, boxing, hockey, soccer, skiing, or snowboarding.


http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/trauma...ion-overview#1


I also enjoy Hockey, football and baseball and was active in all of them. That being said, I'm not sure what the answer is to minimize or prevent concussions in sports.

I understand how it works but what i'm saying is that without helmets and hard pads the game of football would be played quite differently than it is with them.

Do you feel these games are safer without protective equipment ? Do you see any ways to make these games safer, especially for younger kids who are still growing and developing ? I had said before that I think the answers may well be a combination of better designed equipment and rule changes. I still feel that way.

Like you, I enjoy Football and Hockey games and such but they are after all, just a game. The players in the games and The lives involved should always be number one, especially for younger kids who might not fully comprehend the risks when they play sports.

I wonder if there are ways to better protect players while still retaining the essence of the respective sports they enjoy playing and that the fans enjoy watching.

Wake me when the regular season starts.

Does anyone have thoughts, ideas or predictions on who will do well this year, including new draft picks / choices ? How about which team will win it all this year ? We all Know which team August is for. :D

Will the Patriots and Tom Brady repeat as Superbowl winners ?