I will laugh my fat butt off when Dennis Dixon leads the Steelers to a win. Remember Cleo Lemon? And the Dolphins were 0-13 at the time. The Steelers are reining Super Bowl champs.

6 rings; how many of those rings were you a fan for? We will be OK.

Pete, I just read your article and see that the NFL has instituted some changes in the way it evaluates players, but I'm wondering if that's enough.

At what point does it say to a player that it's time to retire? Four concussions? Six? Eight? Ten? Never?

The leading medical evidence about brain tramas is more compelling to me than a self-interested league that will do everything it can to keep its top money makers on the field, even to the extent of downplaying the magnitude of that evidence.

That is unfortunate, especially to the players whose lives are shortened or the quality of their lives in later years is needlessly impaired because the powers allowed them to become "punch drunk."

The question shouldn't be will Big Ben be alright in a week or two or even in time for the playoffs, but whether he should ever set foot on a field again. Unfortunately, that question doesn't seem to be addressed by the new changes.

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Pete's reply: I agree to a degree. They had to be pushed by Congress to get independent medical clearance. I'm not sure you can tell somebody they can't play anymore. If that was the right thing to do, you'd have to start with boxers and MMA guys, who are at far greater risk than guys wearing helmets.

Pete, I'm a 7th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo and coached the NYU Taekwondo Team for 20 years. I have seen a vast number of KO's in my time and also suffer personally from Post Concussive Syndrome (although most of my concussions came from childhood mayhem without a helmet). In Taekwondo, if you are knocked out, it is a MINIMUM of 30 days without competition, and athletes can only return after a neurological scan has cleared them. Concussions add up, whether they are small or not. The potential risk from competing too soon are lethal. A Taekwondo athlete from Europe a number of years ago, competing here in the USA, kept the fact that he'd been KO'd in practice the previous week a secret, and fought in the U.S. Open in Colorado Springs. A good friend of mine was the Center Referee in the next ring (and is a former EMT) when this athlete was kicked in the head (from what I've been told by those that saw the match, it wasn't even a solid blow). My friend was the first one at this athlete's side and saw that he was already brain dead. His brain was still swollen from the first concussion, so far more of the impact was transmitted to the brain than would have normally been the case.
I hope the NFL and other professional sports start enforcing much higher safety standards. I think an athlete (especially an NFL player) should not be able to play for at least the 30 days we use in Taekwondo.

ml

What a surprise, a Steelers fan on a Baltimore blog. Maybe they don’t have one in Pittsburgh. Real mature 6 rings.

I wish Ben well--I have had a few consussions (one diagnosed).

Having played football for more than 10 years, I know consussions are a part of the sport. Whether from a direct hit, or the infamous hitting one's head on the ground, these are not the best thing for the brain.

Anyway, in those days, we were taught to follow the head, to play helmet-to-helmet, and of course, to lead with our head when making a tackle.

All of these activities, I am certain, have led to frontal lobe damage (and accompanying loss of memory) for many former players.

I was glad to see that Ben's not playing and not just because he kills the Ravens.
The last thing the NFL needs is a major name player suffering a fatal injury on the field.
One thing though, when I clicked on your link to see your column, it took me to a short piece about you whining that CM didn't know much about Cheez Whiz.

Six Rings = Reining spelling bee champ.

We will miss Ben, but Dixon has one hell of an arm, but doesn't have the experience.....it all rests on our d.......without troy.....yikes..

No Polamalu, No Big Ben and they still can't beat the Steelers. I think they could put a high school team out there is Steeler unis and the Ravens would lose. Is it Orioles season yet?