To follow-up on earlier posts about concussions, they are not limited to
football or even hockey.  From Sunday's St. Paul Pioneer Press, Charlie
Walters writes about the University of Minnesota "roundball" team:
 
<quote> While the basketball Gophers won't say it publicly, privately they
are concerned whether 6-10 redshirt freshman Kyle Sanden, who hasn't been
able to have contact in practice because of three concussions, will be
medically cleared to play next season. <end quote>
 
It's been my experience over the years that University of Minnesota coaches
abide by the trainers/doctors recommendations regarding the
availability/health of a player (particularly when I was student manager of
the men's basketball team in the early '70's).  I've seen trainers/doctors
be extremely emphatic about not allowing a player to compete, even when the
game was extremely important with regards to a successful season (be it an
ankle problem, concussion, etc.).  While not always the "popular" decision
from a coaching perspective, when emotion is removed from the equation, the
trainers/doctors prevail.
 
I would hope that this is the norm at the college level, maybe I am being
naive.  At the professional level, where millions of $$$ are at stake, this
may not be the case depending on the severity of the injury, but that's
another issue.
 
 
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 [log in to unmask]         John J. Feigal           Go Gophers!
 
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