Derek Boogaard found dead

Found dead in Minneapolis apartment. Was 28. Very sad news.

http://1500espn.com/sportswire/Former_Wild_forward_Derek_Boogaard_found_dead_in_Minneapolis051311

 

That's a huge shock. Wow. RIP.

 

28? Man, that's terrible.

 

You wouldn't think heaven would need an enforcer.

 

Nice tribute from Wes Walz: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2011-05-14/former-teammate-wes-walz-remembers-man-behind-derek-boogaard-myth

 

Didn't this guy and his brother have the world's only hockey fighting school?

 

"Reaper Gets Boogeyman"

 

Michael Russo of the Strib:

I don't know where I'm going to go with this blog to be honest. In fact, my cursor has been flickering in this spot for about three hours, it's 3 a.m. and I'm still sickened.

Even as I start typing now, my eyes are watering. So maybe that's my answer.

I'm supposed to be a professional, but I'm also human. In my role, you cover players professionally, but you get to know them personally.

Like many of you, I was floored and saddened by tonight's tragic news. But I've thought about this a lot the last few hours, and I want to do my best to not make this a tear jerker.

I want to give you a different perspective to Derek Boogaard from someone who covered him.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/121826023.html

R.I.P.

 

Great tribute. Just too bad it had to be written.

 

Boogaard's brain will be donated to the Sports Legacy Institute, who in 2008 teamed with researchers at Boston University Medical School to advance the study, treatment and prevention of the effects of brain trauma in athletes.

In March, it was announced that even though renowned hockey fighter Bob Probert died of heart failure, Probert also had the degenerative brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, the same disease found in 1960s enforcer Reggie Fleming's brain.

CTE is a progressive brain disease believed to be caused by repetitive trauma to the brain, including concussions. Reportedly, 30 of the 40 athlete brains studied have shown signs of CTE.

Boogaard suffered multiple concussions in his career, although the decision by the Boogaards should not lead to a presumption that their son died of complications from brain trauma

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/121840164.html

 

Someone shoot me about people trying to draw the possible CTE connection (less the article mentioned, more the general idiotic talking heads). We don't even know what he died of yet. For all we know, it could have been a massive aortic aneurysm or pulmonary embolism. Maybe he came down with a sudden, devastating case of staph or strep. A lot of things can kill people suddenly.

CTE research is ridiculously early in its lifespan. We don't even know that it doesn't occur in people without a history of head injuries or with only childhood experience with contact sports (geez, did I work enough negatives into that sentence?). We don't know how much impact it has on day-to-day life, if any. It is absolutely a worthwhile field of study, but there's a lot of hysteria around it right now that just makes me roll my eyes so hard.

I don't get why this is announced now, I guess. It turns the story from about him, his life and a tragic, untimely death to something that might not even be related.

 

Did you read the piece?