I dont disagree at all SL, my point on it is about the ones that arent the big/cheap hits. Using the QB position may be the extreme side of it, but you've seen the hands barely touch the head and its a penalty, thats what i'm talking about with the effects of the lawsuits. They start winning lawsuits and having to pay, it could get to the point that if you so much look at someones head and its a penalty....once the lawsuits are successful, they'll be coming out of the woodwork
Can't disagree with any of this. I mentioned that it had to be done right; I think we're on the same page there.
I'm sure everyone remembers when Dion Phaneuf caught Kyle Okposo "with his head down" ... Okposo only started getting his career on track again this year.
In all levels of football, a player will either be warned or penalized for an equipment violation. This should be done in hockey, specifically with mouthguards, and starting at the lowest levels. I don't understand why hockey mouthguards generally aren't tethered (for youth) the way that a football one is. Cages are generally used at the lower levels of hockey, and a tethered mouthguard shouldn't be an issue.
And of course, a couple years ago the NFL mandated and cracked down on minimum equipment. It was an open secret that the only pads most players wear is a helmet, shoulder pad shells (just the outer part), and that was pretty much it. They mandated the return of thigh and knee pads, then ordered officials to keep an eye on it.
The problem is that the NHL and other leagues don't have anything codified. And the other problem is that they don't have the same attitude about players using equipment as a weapon. In any level of football, a player with a hard non-standard pad will be warned that it's 15 and an ejection if he uses it as a weapon. In hockey, it's a bit different but players still need to be accountable for using the elbow and forearm as a weapon. My recommendation for years has been to use the international high-sticking rule, which would by its very nature keep the elbows and sticks down all through a hit.
I agree with all of this. As a young hockey player, we were policed about mouth guards until the cows came home ... all the way up until bantam age (around 13). Strange that they started letting up on us then, because that's when the hitting became hard for the first time. Then, it was intermittent, annoying lectures from an occasional official. Basically, as long as you had one tethered to your cage, you were fine. As I reached the midget level (15), it was a complete non issue anymore.
I still believe in it. To this day, as an adult hockey player, I wear a full cage. I don't wear a mouth guard because we don't check, and I'll occasionally get some idiot who wants to flip me crap about it, but my answer is always simple and to the point. I have a family (including two young daughters) at home who don't need to see me in the hospital, and I have too much to lose by missing work because I wanted to prove my masculinity. Most of the time, they let up. The rest of the time, our 6'3", 230 pound concrete foreman defenseman deals with them.
I cannot fathom why people playing at lower levels would have any interest in putting themselves in danger. I've seen several guys lose teeth, break bones in their faces, and have to have serious work to be done. Most of those guys still play, now gladly wearing the full cages.
I know the NHL will never get to that level, but what's the issue with mouth guards? It's a proven fact that they prevent some concussions...
. What is this world coming to????
... have to get to a Clippers game there before my time is up.
