Gladwell on brain injuries in football
Smart Football — Is a game that exacts such a toll on the human brain worth the risks? From the New Yorker. Read the whole thing. . . . He knew all the stories about former football players. Mike Webster, the longtime Pittsburgh Steeler and one of the greatest players in N.F.L. history, ended his life a recluse, sleeping on the floor of the Pittsburgh Amtrak station. Another former Pittsburgh Steeler, Terry Long, drifted into chaos and killed himself four years ago by drinking antifreeze. Andre Waters, a former defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles, ...

Malcom Gladwell compares and contrasts dog fighting with the NFL
SportsFilter — Malcom Gladwell compares and contrasts dog fighting with the NFL : "A dog that keeps charging at its opponent is said to possess “gameness,” and game dogs are revered. In one way or another, plenty of organizations select for gameness. [.....] This is why Michael Vick’s dogs weren’t euthanized. The betrayal of loyalty requires an act of social reparation. Professional football players, too, are selected for gameness" . ...

Concussions and the Possible Future of Mixed Martial Artists
Bloody Elbow — ... Malcolm Gladwell's latest piece for the New Yorker, while focusing primarily on Football and Boxing (with some dogfighting as well; ignore that part for our purposes) could be a frightening look at post-fight life for mixed martial artists. ...

KYLE TURLEY IS NOT A HUMAN DOGFIGHTER
With Leather — ... hit on behalf of his team. He was then left to pass out in the cold tub, and to deal—ten and twenty years down the road—with the consequences. No amount of money or assurances about risk freely assumed can change the fact that, in this moment, an essential bond had been broken. What football must confront, in the end, is not just the problem of injuries or scientific findings. It is the fact that there is something profoundly awry in the relationship between the players and the game. via. ...

Mamas, don’t let your babys grow up to be linemen
Sportsfrog.com — Malcolm Gladwell addresses the dangers of brain damage in football in the latest edition of The New Yorker . While the issue is completely legitimate, and one that the NFL and others have been researching extensively, Gladwell sensationalizes it by likening it to dogfighting. And while the comparison to dogfighting feels like an inaccurate and unnecessary distraction, that doesn’t mean his larger point on concussions isn’t valid. Because it is. One of of the most interesting points in this article is that even by eliminating the uber-violent plays – illegal hits, ...

This is your brain on football...
Behind the Steel Curtain — ... Bumped from the fanposts. Good stuff. And as a follow up, read Malcolm Gladwell's latest piece in the New Yorker titled 'How different are football and dogfighting?' Excellent, interesting stuff as well. Thanks to pola-gona-malu for the contribution. -Blitz- (Michael B.) ...

Malcolm Gladwell on Concussions in Football
Watch Kalib Run — Malcolm Gladwell on Concussions in Football This is absolutely a MUST READ for any sports fan in the entire world. Gladwell eloquently ties together recent research, regarding brain trauma from football, with personal stories of former ...

Football, brains and dogfighting
The Phoenix Pub — ... to cope with the question of if it’s legitimate to watch and enjoy the game. Many would dismiss this right off, but it deserves some serious consideration. Football players are often referred to as gladiators, and there are some similarities between them and those who took to the arenas of ancient Rome; both participated in violent contests of skill for the enjoyment of a mass audience. Moreover, as Malcolm Gladwell looked at in The New Yorker this week, there are more similarities between football and dogfighting than we might like to think about; both ...

Link Dump! Brought To You By Sarah Shahi
Rumors and Rants — Sarah Shahi is relaxing. I could really use some relaxing right about now. The Mike Zimmer story is really, really sad. And no, the Bengals beating Baltimore on Sunday does not make it better - Shutdown Corner Jonathan Crompton is your SEC player of the week. You read that right - A Vol Voice How different are dogfighting and football? - New Yorker No, they just sucked. Both of them - Not Qualified to Comment How to grow a beard - Strait Pinkie Dre Bly, you’re fired ...

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 10.13.09
Double-T Nation — ...   Brain Injuries in Football:  New Yorkers' Malcolm Gladwell has a very interesting look at brain injuries in football (Hat-tip to ...

Tuesday Morning Dump
Ballin' is a Habit — ... Not a bad starting five. - Watch out for Arkansas's Rotnei Clarke, who was named the best shooter in the country by FOXSports. - Would it be hypocritical for Pitino to suspend his players? - Big East considering a move from Providence? - Mark Cuban is not in love with ESPNDallas. - Forbes profiles Hannah Storm. - Baseball's umps have had a rough postseason. - New Malcolm Gladwell. Required reading as always. - Not exactly the best headline. - Jim Zorn's ...

It's Not Plagiarism If You Link To It Can't Believe All This Traffic
Black Heart Gold Pants — ... Speaking of concussions, The New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell pens a disturbing article on the effect of repeated concussions on athletes, comparing retired football stars to Michael Vick's pit bulls with horrific effect.  It's longish, but it's completely worth the time. ...

Headlinin': Tate Forcier's brain will go on
Dr. Saturday — ... about long-term dementia in players and Malcolm Gladwell's frightening New Yorker piece on the cumulative toll of the game on the brain, Michigan fans no doubt felt the hairs on their bodies rise in unison Monday when the team reported quarterback Tate Forcier had ...

Headlinin': Spaced Forcier's brain will go on
Dr. Saturday — ... about long-term dementia in players and Malcolm Gladwell's frightening New Yorker piece on the cumulative toll of the game on the brain, Michigan fans no doubt felt the hairs on their bodies rise in unison Monday when the team reported quarterback Tate Forcier had ...

Tuesday Bullets
ESPN.com - TrueHoop — ... some of the good times as well as the team's demise. OKC didn't celebrate in June 1979, and they didn't cry in May 1994. We did, and we deserve this document to remind us of that. Also, to get the issue back in people's mouths here in Washington with the primary goal of getting an NBA team back. Ultimately we have to convince our politicians that a 50% privately funded arena deal will create jobs and boost the economy while allowing us to regain this cultural asset." Malcolm Gladwell on the ethics of a gladiator mentality.

Reporters Notebooks
The Wiz of Odds — ... Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker: Are concussions and brain-related injuries incidental to the game of football or inherent in it? When you break it down, is football any different than dogfighting? ...

The Surprising Parallels Between Football and Dogfighting
New England Sports Blog — ... , investigates in his newest New Yorker article . As more and more data comes in regarding the long-term effect of concussions, it's becoming increasingly clear that something must be done to make football safer and protect participants against future disabilities. Assuming that multiple head traumas and concussions are an inherent part of the game, it appears that football will eventually face a dilemma--either design rule changes to make the game safer, or potentially face its extinction. But it might not even be as easy as rule changes. As Gladwell writes, What if you ...

Bevo's Daily Roundup - October 14, 2009
Burnt Orange Nation — ... regular season. Tom Starr, who has been working with Dallas officials on the game, said late Monday night that the date would be sometime around New Year's Day. He did not indicate the name of the bowl or who would play. ESPN speculated that game would involve the No. 7 team out of the Big Ten against an opponent from the Big 12 or Conference USA. Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, looks at football, dog fighting and brain injuries. We are all in a state of denial. ...

A leader emerges in race out of town
Sox Machine — ... . *Malcolm Gladwell wrote a scary piece on NFL players and brain damage , which only makes me more confused as to why MLB gets hammered for steroid usage while NFL transgressions go largely unnoticed. Almost all enhanced strength in baseball is used on the ball, whereas football players use their increased size, speed and strength to launch themselves into each other.

Ghosts of H.B. Blades
Bleed Scarlet — ... What is getting a lot of attention is the new Malcolm Gladwell article about football concussions. Reading that is one of about a zillion things I really need to get to soon. ...

Don’t Let Your Kids Grow Up to Be Football Players
The Big Lead — ... Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. “McKee is a longtime football fan. She is from Wisconsin. She had two statuettes of Brett Favre, the former Green Bay Packers quarterback, on her bookshelf. On the wall was a picture of a robust young man. It was McKee’s son—nineteen years old, six feet three. If he had a chance to join the N.F.L., I asked her, what would she advise him? “I’d say, ‘Don’t. Not if you want to have a life after football.’” It’s Gladwell. It’s good. [New Yorker] ...

Morning Roundup, Thursday
bigeastsportsblog.com — ... in college basketball: six from the Big East, one from my alma mater… Malcolm Gladwell compares football to dogfighting. An outstanding read… Rush Limbaugh’s Rams-buying friends ...

Excellent Read on the Violence of the NFL
Music City Miracles — Excellent Read on the Violence of the NFL

Headlinin': Cincinnati braces for its (briefly) Pike-less future
Dr. Saturday — ... I don't know that Batchelor subscribes to the New Yorker, but after reading Malcolm Gladwell's frightening piece on brain trauma in football players -- especially linemen, who may go through the equivalent of a couple dozen car crashes per practice -- and the ...

Horse Tracks 10/18/09 - A Lazy Sunday in Broncos Land
The Mile High Report — ... Cable dodge ax? - Tim Kawakami NFL News NFL - FBI investigated threats against Edwards after alleged incident NFL - Titans will be without both starting cornerbacks against Patriots NFL - Browns downgrade Dawson, Heiden NFL Opinion NYT - More Roughing Penalties in N.F.L. - Protection or Overkill? - Judy Battista NYT - Malcolm Gladwell on Concussions, and the Gagliardi Solution NY - Football, dogfighting, and brain damage - Malcolm Gladwell PFW - ...

On Concussions
Rams Gab — ... Research has been published in an article by famed author Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker magazine.  The full article is available here. It is worth reading the whole thing.  Gladwell uses dog fighting as a spot-on comparison, but the important facts are with the concussion discussion. ...

Daily Links: Gameday Edition
thejetsblog.com — I’m back! And let’s hope we can soon say the same about the Jets’ winning ways. Really phenomenal article by Malcom Gladwell in the New Yorker about the issue of football and head injuries. Manish Mehta previews today’s game. As if last week’s loss wasn’t bad enough, it came on the same day when Tom Brady seemed to make his return to form. Oh, that pesky West Coast with it’s weird time and long travel requirements. Mark Sanchez is trying to rebound ...

Headlinin': Let Dez Bryant be an example to you
Dr. Saturday — ... though, and wherever that line is, Nebraska linebacker Blake Lawrence crossed it a ling time ago Four concussions in 18 months is nothing to joke about. That’s why Lawrence, a junior on the Nebraska football team, won’t play again. When a normally jovial, goofy player finds himself standing motionless, staring at the ground 10 yards in front of him, it’s time for some soul-searching. I would say so, yes. Preserve your brain, kid. • As long as he's not throwing chairs, we're ...

Jahvid Best, concussions, and the future of football
California Golden Blogs — ... So with these scary possibilities, it was a strange relief to find out that Jahvid 'only' has a concussion, his 2nd in as many weeks.  But recently there's been lots of talk about the science of concussions and the long term impact of repeated head trauma.  Malcolm Gladwell wrote the original article that helped jump start the discussion.  ...

Science Break! How to make Eric Decker weigh more than a ton
Dr. Saturday — ... to Earth and more than twice what the body can typically withstand for any sustained period (in a fighter jet or roller coaster, for example), but in football terms may be fairly tame: In Malcolm Gladwell's much-discussed New Yorker article on the debilitating long-term effects of head injuries, linemen are routinely recorded sustaining hits well above 60 g, and the general threshold for concussions seems to be ...

Video: Joe Adams meets Chad Jones, and lives to tell the tale (and catch the touchdown)
Dr. Saturday — ... against hits like this, but maybe because of the increasingly frightening news about concussions over the last few weeks, vicious hits at full-speed don't leave me thinking "He got jacked up!" anymore as much as they leave me thinking "He needs immediate medical attention and a careful consideration of his long-term future." I guess it's a good thing for Arkansas (and for the sake of a dramatic finish) that Joe Adams wasn't in that state of mind. ...