It's all fun and games until a STAR gets hurt

Funny observation. So we have had players in the NFL and NHL go down with head injuries for years. Even stars like Steve Young and Troy Aikman had their careers end primarily because of concussions. But we paid no serious attention to it.

But it seems to me in recent sportsfandom, we don't pay attention to how bad these hits are until a superstar goes down or is involved. We all remember when a few years back, Bills Tight End Kevin Everett was paralyzed from a head shot. If I do recall correctly, I don't remember anyone freaking out about how hard hits are these days and the damages they cause.

Then this season we saw Eagles Wide Receiver Desean Jackson and Falcons Cornerback Dunta Robinson go down in what could have been used for a car crash collision sound clip. Both are known players and all of a sudden after those hits and people feeling the pain of Steelers' Linebacker James Harrison, we got ourselves a problem. That is the one good thing I will say about Roger Goodell is that he does somewhat look out for player safety(except for wanting them to play 8 more quarters a year and give them more of a chance to lose brain cells) and conduct. But this is not a new situation people.

Then hits become a big deal in the NHL once stars get involved. We have seen nasty ones over the year. Chris Pronger hands out concussions for brunch and Dale Hunter might as well had been process server for concussions instead of subpoenas. But when NHL's golden boy Sidney Crosby goes down with a bad hit, OH LORD someone call the cops. Then everyone has the nerve to want Zdeno Chara to be suspended for a hit he laid on Max Pacioretty. It was not illegal. He just happened to hit him right where the opening becomes a wall. It was a legal, yet unfortunate, hard hit.

What I am getting to is that there need to be concrete rules for hits in both organizations, instead of making them up when something comes along. You can't try and suspend someone when he made a legal hit, it just happened to be bad and like one that rarely occurs. I am glad they are stepping up for player safety because those guys go out there and put their safety on the line every time they play so that we as fans can clap or boo the night away. Let's get it in. Figure out exactly what is legal and what is not. Then let's play.

By Brandon Busick