Sports Legends who have Passed

Whilst we are on the subject of heads and sport, soccer players frequently 'head' the ball downfield. The impact weight of this is the equal of a very large punch to the top of the head, or the frontal lobes.

'Heading' the ball should be banned for it's effects, but of course it isn't. Sports people will put up with anything in the name of their precious game.

Sports injuries are the ultimate in a waste of time and resources to fix them. They gum up the operating theaters of the countries concerned, and lots of injuries that I'm aware of are caused by massive over-training. It's a myth that sporting people are any fitter or more 'vital' than the rest of us. Their lifespans are not longer, and the amount of funding they tie up that could be spent on other, more serious areas of health care is far too much. This increases the overall cost of health-care, creating a 'bullshit' shortage of surgeons who should be treating real patients, rather than one healthy individual after another whose stuffed their own body up playing too much bloody sport.

When sporting organisations receive funding over and above organisations like the Guide dogs or the Flying Doctor, it's time to reassess the so called 'benefits' of sport. Austral;ia spends far too much money on it's Olympic Team, and what do we really get thats tangible out of it? Precious little in the way of imorts or exports, and it most certainly costs far too much to keep all these stupid athletes running around a bloody field at our expense.

If we trained the minds of our people with anything like the zealotry that they run around a useless sporting field, we would be much better off. Sport wpould be relegated to it's true place, as an appendage, rather than as the center of society. For me, watching a prominent English soccer club being shown around Buckingham Palace and having to be 'informed' that Rembrandt was "....a very influential painter..." was an indication that these lads needed to be doing something other than running around a field, falsely influencing our kids with the 'lifestyle'.

Sport and sporting people are useless and expensive apendages to modern society. Lets follow the Canadian lead and just cut the funding. If you want to play sport, pay for it yourself. I make a point of walking past sporting groups raising money for their next useless trip overseas.

 

Boxers don’t deliver anywhere near the g-forces of NFL and even collegiate American style football.

In pro-football the normal g-force experienced by a two step “push” on the line is 20 g’s, but the impact g’s generated by tackling as measured by accelerometers in helmets can go as high as 150 g’s, and between 75 and 90 is very common.

An oft-cited 1985 study of Frank Bruno, who'd go on to be WBC heavyweight champ, showed he could punch with a force of 920 pounds in the lab. Researchers extrapolated that to a real-life blow of 1,420 pounds, enough to accelerate his opponent's head at a rate of 53 g -- that is, 53 times the force of gravity.

Goto:

The true force of a boxer's punch

(Virginia Tech) VT researchers gather data with the Head Impact Telemetry System, which employs sensors and wireless transmitters in helmets. "We see 100-g impacts all the time," says Stefan Duma, director of the university's Center for Injury Biomechanics, "and several over 150 g's."

Goto:

Football Physics: The Anatomy of a Hit - Popular Mechanics

Car crashes don’t generate as many g-forces as one would think, and of course all the variables (your own weight for example) are not included here. 92 g’s is roughly normal for 100 mph car crash, and deceleration for the human occupants. This however, is what the CAR experiences; If your car is traveling at 27.78 m/s (100 kmph) and comes to rest in say 0.2 seconds, your deceleration is 27.78/0.2 = 138.9 m/s². This is 138.9/9.8 = 14.2 g. (bold mine)

Goto:

How many g's do you experience in a car crash...? - Yahoo! Answers

In my own opinion, and I played both High school and college football, it was the very existence of the protective gear which increased our "impacts". Nobody would run into a brick wall naked at full tilt with your head or shoulders, but that was the very tactic coached even at those levels. It only gets worse as you move into the pro ranks. The players are bigger and faster, and the most aggressive ones make the big bucks. Jr Seau left the ranks of players, with a well funded foundation in his name, financial security, and popularity/acclaim as a former player. His and Deurson's suicides don't seem tofit the norm of "lost funds, loss of attention, or other losses" which do seem to contribute to suicides among non-pro athletes. I.e. the rest of the world.

 

I was truly saddened to hear this today, but he had a great run did he not? The master of stuffing huge power into small cars and making them work so well:

Carroll Shelby, an international automotive icon who rose from a bed-ridden childhood in Texas to build one of the most iconic sports cars ever and become a world-champion racer died Thursday at the age of 89 after a lengthy illness. His cars will live forever.

Goto:

Carroll Shelby, legendary car builder and racing champion, dies at age 89 | Motoramic - Yahoo! Autos

 

RIP..... A true legend

Oh that GT500 !!!

 

You guys said it well.

 

RIP Mr. Shelby......

 

I got a real shock when I saw this thread - as a schoolboy in the 60s, I daydreamed about Shelby Cobras, GT40s, GT350s and 500s......

A true legend in his lifetime, and I'm glad that he had a long innings. RIP.

 

Here is a link to a slideshow of Shelby's finest!!!

Goto:

The legacy of Carroll Shelby | Photo Gallery - Yahoo! Autos

 

That is proof an American with a certain taste for balanced horsepower can market himself to such delight of his fans to bring us a production line of vehicles we cherish so deeply. RIP with the knowledge we liked and appreciated the arts he practiced with the automobile so many times. Besides his production line, think of all the look-alikes that were also inspired by the existence of his cars....he left a mark that will never be replaced in the same way his style of power, looks and performance provided us.

 

Here is a short video clip honoring Mr. Shelby and his racing life. It is a bit dated of course since he was still alive and working, but still an interesting run-down of his accomplishments up to that time.

Goto:

WheelsTV IPTV - F1 Pitstop Ep 86

And here is a second link which has all the Carroll Shelby themed short clips in one place. Enjoy.

Goto:

http://wheelstv.tv/iptv/tags/Carroll

 

Dude I really hate to hear this. Carroll Shelby built my alltime most favorite car, the Shelby Cobra. RIP Mr. Shelby, I'll think of you everytime I see one of your cars.

 

Yeah, really beautyful cars! RIP!

 

R.I.P. Mr. Shelby. Rich A. in Pa.

 

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Ben Davidson, the hulking defensive end who starred for the Oakland Raiders in the 1960s before becoming a famous television pitch man, has died. He was 72.

Goto:

Ben Davidson Dead: Former Raiders Star Dies At 72

 

Steve Van Buren, but he was a super running back in his short career.

PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Van Buren, the square-jawed Hall of Fame running back who led the Philadelphia Eagles to NFL titles in 1948 and 1949, has died. He was 91.
The Eagles said Van Buren died Thursday in Lancaster, Pa., of pneumonia.

Goto:

Steve Van Buren Dead: Hall Of Fame Running Back Dies At 91

 

Steve Sabol, President of NFL Films died from an inoperable brain tumor which was discovered in 2011. Rest in Peace Mr. Sabol, I was always and remain a big fan of both you and your father who founded the company NFL Films.

Goto:

Steve Sabol, president of NFL Films, dies - NFL.com

 

Brings back memories, watching their game recap's. RiP

 

Rest in Peace Steve Sabol....not sure but just something about watching that old NFL footage and the Sabol voice that will be with me forever....quit enjoyable.