30 replies to this topic

[X. Benedict]

"Rick Martin, the former Buffalo Sabres star, had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disorder caused by repeated brain trauma, researchers at Boston University said Wednesday evening."

http://www.usatoday....ease/50673424/1


Major respect to the Martin family for allowing this to help others.

And AP:

http://www.google.co...9816d8ed465d231

and Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobea...article2192489/

[Andrew Amerk]

I just wish I could have seen Rico play.

[weave]

Wow.  And you never heard talk of concussions back then.  Makes you wonder how many times he played fuzzy and how many others did the same.

[X. Benedict]

weave, on 06 October 2011 - 06:14 AM, said:

Wow.  And you never heard talk of concussions back then.  Makes you wonder how many times he played fuzzy and how many others did the same.

Him and others, The context was really that head injuries were never taken that seriously, he could have played concussed multiple times.  

What I really have hard time admitting is how much playing with no helmet and 'getting back out there' after a head blow was wrapped up with ideas of toughness. It was a common ethos.

[Glass Case Of Emotion]

It still is. I'm sure the scorers and top pay guys with big contracts are more careful now, but i can't imagine a borderline guy like Andrew Peters letting the medical staff know that he was having headaches or memory issues. I think the tough guys still live in the old world. I'm sure it's hard to admit to something that may end your career and cut your income by 90% or more, but I hope the tragedies of the past summer are a warning to these guys.

[Sabres Fan In NS]

Andrew Amerk, on 06 October 2011 - 02:31 AM, said:

I just wish I could have seen Rico play.

I did ... he and the other members of the French Connection were absolutely "poetry in motion".

[d4rksabre]

This doesn't bode well for Timmy...

[Sabres Fan In NS]

d4rksabre, on 06 October 2011 - 07:24 AM, said:

This doesn't bode well for Timmy...

Say what you will about Tim Connolly, but all those serious head injuries ...

If I were him I would retire immediately.  Most things are worth much more than millions and millions of dollars.  I am not certain, but if he were to retire due to injury (as Chris Drury did) I think the Leafs would have to honour (or the insurance ... not sure if someone in Tim's situation would be insurable) at least a portion of his contract.

[shrader]

LastPommerFan, on 06 October 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

It still is. I'm sure the scorers and top pay guys with big contracts are more careful now, but i can't imagine a borderline guy like Andrew Peters letting the medical staff know that he was having headaches or memory issues. I think the tough guys still live in the old world. I'm sure it's hard to admit to something that may end your career and cut your income by 90% or more, but I hope the tragedies of the past summer are a warning to these guys.

That's going to change.  They can't ignore this anymore.

[Spndnchz]

They had the story on CBC The National last night.

http://www.cbc.ca/vi...7/ID=2148669440

[Claude_Verret]

X. Benedict, on 06 October 2011 - 07:10 AM, said:

Him and others, The context was really that head injuries were never taken that seriously, he could have played concussed multiple times.  

What I really have hard time admitting is how much playing with no helmet and 'getting back out there' after a head blow was wrapped up with ideas of toughness. It was a common ethos.

They had a piece on HBO sports a few years ago where they now have tied some forms of ALS to repeat concussions without proper rest.  They went back to the newspapers and concluded that Lou Gehrig likely had played many times while concussed to keep his consecutive game streak going.  It's quite likely that the Iron Horse was done in by ALS largely due to the streak that gave him his nickname.

[shrader]

Claude_Verret, on 06 October 2011 - 09:41 AM, said:

They had a piece on HBO sports a few years ago where they now have tied some forms of ALS to repeat concussions without proper rest.  They went back to the newspapers and concluded that Lou Gehrig likely had played many times while concussed to keep his consecutive game streak going.  It's quite likely that the Iron Horse was done in by ALS largely due to the streak that gave him his nickname.

I don't doubt those results, but I don't think there's any scientific basis to that yet.  It would have gotten a large amount of press, but instead, this is the first time I'm seeing this.  It's just speculation at this point, but hey, it has to start somewhere.

[nucci]

I was at the game where he fell on his head and had convulsions right there on the ice. Pretty scary thing to see as a kid.

[Eleven]

This made Fark's sports page:  http://www.fark.com/sports/

[Claude_Verret]

shrader, on 06 October 2011 - 09:58 AM, said:

I don't doubt those results, but I don't think there's any scientific basis to that yet.  It would have gotten a large amount of press, but instead, this is the first time I'm seeing this.  It's just speculation at this point, but hey, it has to start somewhere.

There is no definitive link yet, but the work was published in a peer reviewed journal.  It definitely warrants more research.

http://www.cnn.com/2...ions/index.html

Quote

"Is there a possibility that Lou Gehrig did have this new disease instead of sporadic ALS?" said Dr. Robert Stern, co-director of Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. "It is possible but we really will never know. What's important to know is that Lou Gehrig, like so many athletes, went back to play over and over again with a repetitive head injury. We know that's not good."

McKee and colleagues took sections of the brain and spinal cord and excised very fine slivers, exposing them to stains that could reveal the presence of specific proteins. In this case, scientists were looking for TDP-43 and tau, a protein associated with head trauma. The three brains had copious amounts of both proteins littered throughout sections of the central nervous system.

Here is a link to the actual research paper if anyone is interested in the methodology of the study.

http://www.ncbi.nlm....nihms235985.pdf

[shrader]

Claude_Verret, on 06 October 2011 - 12:06 PM, said:

There is no definitive link yet, but the work was published in a peer reviewed journal.  It definitely warrants more research.

http://www.cnn.com/2...ions/index.html

I've never paid too close attention to the stories of old time baseball players.  How did he wind up having a series of head injuries?  It doesn't seem like that would be all that common for a 1B.  Beaned in the head a couple times?

[Claude_Verret]

shrader, on 06 October 2011 - 12:09 PM, said:

I've never paid too close attention to the stories of old time baseball players.  How did he wind up having a series of head injuries?  It doesn't seem like that would be all that common for a 1B.  Beaned in the head a couple times?

I know he was definitely beaned in the head a few times (no batting helmets then of course) and kept playing.  I believe they also cited a few times where he collided with fielders during close plays at various bases and was knocked woozy.

[Dollars 2 Donuts]

Sabres Fan In NS, on 06 October 2011 - 07:23 AM, said:

I did ... he and the other members of the French Connection were absolutely "poetry in motion".

Indeed it was.


Also, you know you are watching something special when you could watch a highlight reel of those guys...on plays where they DIDN'T score and still be impressed as all get out.

[nfreeman]

Well my family got our first dog today (my kids are ecstatic).  We named him Rico, after my favorite athlete in any sport when I was a kid.

Gone but not forgotten, and remembered well.

[DR HOLLIDAY]

Sabres Fan In NS, on 06 October 2011 - 07:29 AM, said:

Say what you will about Tim Connolly, but all those serious head injuries ...

If I were him I would retire immediately.  Most things are worth much more than millions and millions of dollars.  I am not certain, but if he were to retire due to injury (as Chris Drury did) I think the Leafs would have to honour (or the insurance ... not sure if someone in Tim's situation would be insurable) at least a portion of his contract.

At least Timmy has had proper time off and therapy for his problems, not like they did back in the day.

[TrueBluePhD]

Andrew Amerk, on 06 October 2011 - 02:31 AM, said:

I just wish I could have seen Rico play.

This is how I feel.  But I guess when I'm old there'll be kids saying "I just wish I could have seen Lemiuex play."

[deluca67]

nfreeman, on 28 July 2012 - 06:03 PM, said:

Well my family got our first dog today (my kids are ecstatic).  We named him Rico, after my favorite athlete in any sport when I was a kid.

Gone but not forgotten, and remembered well.

Congrats!

[bunomatic]

Sabres Fan In NS, on 06 October 2011 - 07:23 AM, said:

I did ... he and the other members of the French Connection were absolutely "poetry in motion".

  Its what drew me to the Sabres.

[thanes16]

TrueBluePhD, on 28 July 2012 - 07:00 PM, said:

This is how I feel.  But I guess when I'm old there'll be kids saying "I just wish I could have seen Lemiuex play."

Don't you mean Lepiuex? I get what you're saying. I teach/coach junior high and I hear so much of how Lebron is better than Jordan. Drives me nuts! Almost feel like the PE teacher, Jason Segel, in Bad Teacher. Couldn't tell you the number of "debates" I've had. ha Kids

[deluca67]

thanes16, on 28 July 2012 - 10:04 PM, said:

Don't you mean Lepiuex? I get what you're saying. I teach/coach junior high and I hear so much of how Lebron is better than Jordan. Drives me nuts! Almost feel like the PE teacher, Jason Segel, in Bad Teacher. Couldn't tell you the number of "debates" I've had. ha Kids

Like the WHO said 'talking bout my generation."

I never considered Jordan better than Larry Bird or Magic Johnson. I considered Jordan a creation of the NIKE marketing department. He was great, don't get me wrong there, just not the best of all time IMO.

[thanes16]

DeLuca67, on 28 July 2012 - 10:08 PM, said:

Like the WHO said 'talking bout my generation."

I never considered Jordan better than Larry Bird or Magic Johnson. I considered Jordan a creation of the NIKE marketing department. He was great, don't get me wrong there, just not the best of all time IMO.

I won't argue w/ the generation bit. The game changes over time. Really the only question that can be asked is who deserves to be amongst the talk of who may be the greatest of all time. There will never be a winner of that discussion. My argument against Lebron James is he needed to sign w/ Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to pull things off. Lebron couldn't bring things together on the court for Cleveland, so he opted for a "dream team" in Miami to get his NBA title. Jordan was a Bull. Bird was a Celtic. Magic was a Laker. They didn't switch to another team in agreement w/ other players to put together a sure thing.

[Bullwinkle III]

Andrew Amerk, on 06 October 2011 - 02:31 AM, said:

I just wish I could have seen Rico play.

I can recall the first time (I think) he played in Buffalo.  He was renowned for his shot and so everyone was revved up waiting to see it.

We were playing Pittsburgh.  Rico comes in over the blue line and lets it go.  Dennis Heron was the Penguin goalie.  The shot hits his glove which flew some ten feet into the air!  He stopped the shot, but everyone in the crowd was in awe.

[nfreeman]

Bullwinkle III, on 29 July 2012 - 06:10 PM, said:

I can recall the first time (I think) he played in Buffalo.  He was renowned for his shot and so everyone was revved up waiting to see it.

We were playing Pittsburgh.  Rico comes in over the blue line and lets it go.  Dennis Heron was the Penguin goalie.  The shot hits his glove which flew some ten feet into the air!  He stopped the shot, but everyone in the crowd was in awe.

Good stuff. Thanks.

[shrader]

Strange, I always thought of Jordan as a Wizard.  That or a Baron.

[Claude_Verret]

Bullwinkle III, on 29 July 2012 - 06:10 PM, said:

I can recall the first time (I think) he played in Buffalo.  He was renowned for his shot and so everyone was revved up waiting to see it.

We were playing Pittsburgh.  Rico comes in over the blue line and lets it go.  Dennis Heron was the Penguin goalie.  The shot hits his glove which flew some ten feet into the air!  He stopped the shot, but everyone in the crowd was in awe.

I saw Rico play later in his career, 78-79 time frame.  It was my first NHL game and the Sabres were playing the North Stars.  I can still see Rico flying down the wing into the zone and unleashing a blistering shot at Gilles Meloche, I just remember being impressed with how loud it was when it hit his pad.

[nfreeman]

Claude_Verret, on 30 July 2012 - 08:46 AM, said:

I saw Rico play later in his career, 78-79 time frame.  It was my first NHL game and the Sabres were playing the North Stars.  I can still see Rico flying down the wing into the zone and unleashing a blistering shot at Gilles Meloche, I just remember being impressed with how loud it was when it hit his pad.

The Sabres haven't had a guy since Rico who could bring it like that.  Van Boxmeer and Kotalik are the only ones I can think of who were in the ballpark, but Rico could blast it on the move, with accuracy, and he had much more game than either of those 2.