Christine Brennan's column

[dooley_womack1]

Wow, you got PMs on this? I thought you only got ones asking what you were wearing. :D And I think fuschia is a nice color for straw.

 

[joe king]

It's true for men as well.
This isn't all about women's basketball, medical researchers have absolutely no idea what it means for long-term health on former athletes who have had had a joint surgically repaired.
Using Tommy John surgery as an example, maybe that former pitcher has to have his shoulder replaced at 50. He'll have to get another shoulder replaced at 70 since replacement parts don't last forever.
As a matter of fact people are having joints replaced earlier and earlier has caused a huge problem for the companies that make the replacement parts. They never envisioned joints having to last longer than 20 years, since the average age for a surgery was 70 and by the time they 90, if they did, it didn't matter since their quality of life wouldn't require another procedure.
It's actually very interesting. It is more pronounced in women's athletics since the propensity to ACL injuries, but you are also seeing it in the NFL players as they age. Those guys are walking train wrecks. Well, walking was a poor choice since they really can't. More like shuffling or limping train wrecks. Sad really.

So what exactly is your point on the subject of women playing basketball? Are you saying those pushing for 6-on-6 were right? Are you saying no one should play any sport because it's too dangerous? Maybe that medical research needs to improve replacement joints? I get the information, just not sure what your stand is, if you have one. It seems to be changing with every post.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Wow, you got PMs on this? I thought you only got ones asking what you were wearing. :D And I think fuschia is a nice color for straw.

Some of the PMs ripping Brennan also asked what I was wearing. It was all very confusing. I can only report fuschia was not represented.

 

[slappy4428]

Wow, you got PMs on this? I thought you only got ones asking what you were wearing. :D And I think fuschia is a nice color for straw.

Some of the PMs ripping Brennan also asked what I was wearing. It was all very confusing. I can only report fuschia was not represented.

Please, don't tell us what was represented

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

I should have said misrepresented. Everyone on the Internet lies about what they're wearing, right?

 

[outofplace]

It's true for men as well.
This isn't all about women's basketball, medical researchers have absolutely no idea what it means for long-term health on former athletes who have had had a joint surgically repaired.
Using Tommy John surgery as an example, maybe that former pitcher has to have his shoulder replaced at 50. He'll have to get another shoulder replaced at 70 since replacement parts don't last forever.
As a matter of fact people are having joints replaced earlier and earlier has caused a huge problem for the companies that make the replacement parts. They never envisioned joints having to last longer than 20 years, since the average age for a surgery was 70 and by the time they 90, if they did, it didn't matter since their quality of life wouldn't require another procedure.
It's actually very interesting. It is more pronounced in women's athletics since the propensity to ACL injuries, but you are also seeing it in the NFL players as they age. Those guys are walking train wrecks. Well, walking was a poor choice since they really can't. More like shuffling or limping train wrecks. Sad really.

I agree that this information is not out there enough, but to say women shouldn't be playing basketball because of the high rate of knee injuries is ridiculous. Injuries, sometimes severe ones, are a part of sports.

As you even said, football players are often a physical wreck by the time they retire and they pay in pain for the choices they made to compete. I don't think enough coverage is given to that, either.

And throwing a baseball the way a pitcher does is completely unnatural, so much so that it is amazing that we don't see even more torn elbow ligaments and rotator cuffs. If we're going to tell women to stop playing basketball because of the torn ACLs, shouldn't we have baseball pitchers start throwing underhand like the softball pitchers do? It obviously cuts down on the arm problems.

 

[JayFarrar]

I think women should play whatever sport they choose to play. Same goes for men.
Plenty of both go through their careers without any major injuries.
It just strikes me that when a columnist writes about women's sports, it is usually something cheerleady, like splitting hairs on calling it basketball or men's basketball, but if he or she really wanted to stir the pot, how about some columns on the bad things.
Like how much more athletic departments spend on healthcare for female athletes as opposed to the men.
Now that would get some attention.

 

[outofplace]

I think women should play whatever sport they choose to play. Same goes for men.
Plenty of both go through their careers without any major injuries.
It just strikes me that when a columnist writes about women's sports, it is usually something cheerleady, like splitting hairs on calling it basketball or men's basketball, but if he or she really wanted to stir the pot, how about some columns on the bad things.
Like how much more athletic departments spend on healthcare for female athletes as opposed to the men.
Now that would get some attention.

That I can agree with, but that is not what you were writing earlier.

 

[JayFarrar]

My position mostly has to do with I don't really care.
I have to write an upcoming package on some aspects of gender and healthcare. I've now convinced myself after poking around and listening to what others had to say on the matter that it should be the intersection of athletics, and the other two.
I've learned some things.
Thanks to Shotglass I've learned that parents of female athletes are counseled on knee injuries or at least told of the possibility. Some people think talking about it is taboo and that just makes me want to write on it. I like me some controversy. Good times.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

i'd like to hear more about the J_D subplot, please.