There seems to be something to this repetitive head injury/concussion connection to dementia. I am always suspicious of the media´s ´scare of the year´ hyping but I have two friends with dementia they developed in their 60´s. They both played major college football and got their bells rung more than once.

Then again, you wonder how much of the hype is real and how much is provided by our hordes of ambulance-chasing attorneys.

#1 my thoughts exactly.

Really sad when you cannot trust the media to give you an unbiased reporting on the latest "study" or scientific finding.

But logically, this would make a lot sense.

Since the evolution of the hard helmet and harder hits in the NFL and college ball, more and more former players are suffering later in life.

Even high school football can have major repercussions later on. Apparently the hard helmets have encouraged more brutal and damaging play. It´s not a solvable problem short term, I´m afraid. It´s hard to imagine anyone saying "let´s go back to leather helmets and softer hits!"

Any doubts now about the underlying cause of Cassius Clay´s condition these days? Other boxers have been hit harder and are faring better, but getting one´s lights knocked out affects individuals differently.

This goes under the "duh" heading. Of course, ramming your head against a solid (or semi-solid) object is going to injure the brain. People are getting bigger, faster and stronger, too - but the brain isn´t a muscle or bone - it is taking bigger hits without added protection and there never will be a way to guarantee its safety. I suppose if you want to cut down on football injuries like this, make them play without pads. They will get the idea after about 1 head-first hit.

The helmet may not be the issue.

I am thinking of "shaken baby syndrome" where the shaking causes the brain to hit the inside of the skull and be damaged.

Look at the Latin root for "concussion":

Concussion, from the Latin concutere ("to shake violently") or concussus ("action of striking together"), is the most common type of traumatic brain injury.

"to shake violently"...

"They" like to make a comparison with, say, Australian rules football or football back in the leather helmet days. You didn´t lead with your head if you didn´t have a good helmet. Better equipment and larger, faster players has apparently led to more injuries, not fewer.

Watch Obama try to ban football.

Re #1 and #2, in this case " the National Institutes of Health told The Associated Press on Thursday. Results of an NIH study of Seau´s brain revealed abnormalities consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). "

Seems pretty straightforward to me. And the report is explained by the doctor who oversaw the study, Dr. Russell Lonser.

I don´t see an ambulance-chasing lawyer here. ???

Where are all the deranged rugby players? Ya know, the ones without the helmets!

Brain injuries are BAD. That sounds simplistic, but the brain simply does not behave like any other part of hte body when it takes a lick, and each person is different. There´s a reason it´s encased in protective bone. Not something you want to deliberately harm. We are steering our nephew towards other sports than football for this reason.

This may seem silly, but did it ever occur to the NFL or helmet companies that a helmet made out of softer material might be the answer? Instead of the padding only being on the inside...an exterior material made to absorb the hit more?

I think it´s only a matter of time before all the lawsuits put the sport of football out of business or it will be banned as we know it. I always thought it was a dumb sport. Boring to watch.