Former Card resigns because he refuses to 'cheerlead' for the sport which is linked to ALS, CTE, etc

[82CardsGrad]

Research actually is helping. It's just slow. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/12248483/nfl-says-concussions-25-percent-year

I guess I should further clarify that my comments were not solely directly at the topic of concussions as you brought up Eric Swann and his mangled fingers...
Also, while diagnosed concussions may be down, brain damage is still a major issue. There are increasing studies that show how CTE can be developed from repeated, non-concussed hits. In fact, there was a recent study I read (I'll try to dig it up) that show how boxing is more dangerous than MMA fighting, mainly because in boxing, fighter take several times more head shots over the course of the bout than they do in MMA, even though they often aren't diagnosed with a concussion. The same is true in football, where players, over the life of their football playing days beginning in Pop Warner, thru High School and College and into the pros, have taken massive amounts of head shots and may never have actually be diagnosed with a concussion...

Bottom line, while I am all for science and being smart, Football is a brutal, physical sport. And again, unless the NFL and the public are willing to buy into an entirely different sport (which they won't), ugly injuries that will impact the physical health of players for the rest of their lives, including brain damage, will still exist...

 

[Finito]

I think you made my point 3 all time greats in the 80s. Part of what you say could be true (my era), and Ill give you Joshua, but that is only one guy. Tim Witherspoon did beat Holmes, just the judges didn't see it that way. Weaver was the champ for quite awhile and took on all comers. In those days there was challengers and that made them great. Today whose going to challenge Joshua? Wilder maybe, he has a punchers chance, and Vladimir showed his chin is suspect. Who else?

That wasn't your point. Your point was top 15 contenders could be champions today. Tyson and Holmes were great champions not "top 15 contenders" and even in my response I said just that, that Holmes and Tyson were great. Holyfield was a cruiser weight in the 80s. Your argument was not hey great champions from past eras could be champions today it was anyone in the top 15 from back then could be champions today.

I don't think he's chinny at all. Wlad can flat out crack and he got right back up to win a great fight.

By the way take none of this as disrespect. I more than welcome the chance to talk boxing with someone that knows what there talking about

 

[WisconsinCard]

That wasn't your point. Your point was top 15 contenders could be champions today. Tyson and Holmes were great champions not "top 15 contenders" and even in my response I said just that, that Holmes and Tyson were great. Holyfield was a cruiser weight in the 80s. Your argument was not hey great champions from past eras could be champions today it was anyone in the top 15 from back then could be champions today.

I don't think he's chinny at all. Wlad can flat out crack and he got right back up to win a great fight.

By the way take none of this as disrespect. I more than welcome the chance to talk boxing with someone that knows what there talking about

No disrespect taken at all. Friendly conversation. The reason I say the top 15 in the 70s and 80s would be champs is partly because there are so many belts now. Holyfield moved to the heavyweight division in the late 80s.

 

[82CardsGrad]

That wasn't your point. Your point was top 15 contenders could be champions today. Tyson and Holmes were great champions not "top 15 contenders" and even in my response I said just that, that Holmes and Tyson were great. Holyfield was a cruiser weight in the 80s. Your argument was not hey great champions from past eras could be champions today it was anyone in the top 15 from back then could be champions today.

I don't think he's chinny at all. Wlad can flat out crack and he got right back up to win a great fight.

By the way take none of this as disrespect. I more than welcome the chance to talk boxing with someone that knows what there talking about

We should have a Boxing thread!

 

[WisconsinCard]

We should have a Boxing thread!

I second it, any objections? I see none...motion passes.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Cam Chancellor and Earl Thomas blowing up a few guys each week is "Rugby Tackling?" I have a few close buddies who played Rugby through college and beyond, and the style I saw them use looked nothing like what I see from guys like Chancellor and Thomas... In fact, didn't Thomas get completely knocked out last year (or two seasons ago) after he landed one of his patented blow-up shots?

That is because it is college rugby.

You take people who have played football all their lives, and tell them to stop doing what they have practiced for years, and do it another way.

1. Some will have a hard time with the transition.

2. Some will never change, or listen.


I had the same issue for a whole 2 games, and then after the second game when I walked off the field with an orange growing out of my head, I learned real quick to get your head out of the way.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

It might be less 'manly' in the old-school sense, but I guarantee you I'm not the only one holding my kids out of what is otherwise a great sport.

+1

I was the last of the "rub some dirt on it" generation, and when I was told that kids now are automatically taken out of a game and have at least a week where they are not allowed to play/practice after a head injury, my response was "Good! That is smart."

Now would the new information that is out about head injury, stop me from playing rugby and football ? No way, but it may for others, and that is also extremely good since people can make educated decisions about what they want to do with themselves.

 

[82CardsGrad]

That is because it is college rugby.

You take people who have played football all their lives, and tell them to stop doing what they have practiced for years, and do it another way.

1. Some will have a hard time with the transition.

2. Some will never change, or listen.


I had the same issue for a whole 2 games, and then after the second game when I walked off the field with an orange growing out of my head, I learned real quick to get your head out of the way.

You missed my point... which was that Seattle players like Chancellor and Thomas show no resemblance of Rugby style tackling...

 

[RugbyMuffin]

You missed my point... which was that Seattle players like Chancellor and Thomas show no resemblance of Rugby style tackling...

Gotcha, and a good point.

My explanation/assumption for what that is would be, It is their choice.

You can lead a horse to water, you can jump up and down on his head, and force that horse's face in the water. But, some would rather drown than drink. There is a point, to which there is only so much one person can do, in order to try and help another.

Educate people and let them decide what to do. Kam Chancellor's brand is built on the big hit, thus I think he will never switch how he tackles. One would hope he takes responsibility for that choice and is not complaining about the repercussions of it later in life.