Posted by Joe on June 13, 2006 at 09:15:16 (PST):
In Reply to: Re: BIG BEN posted by jp on June 13, 2006 at 07:29:18 (PST):
: : : I was actually surprised to see no comments on the motorcycle wreck of Big Ben,the Pittsburgh Steeler quaterback. I wish him a speedy recovery but I hope he learned his lesson and starts to wear a helmet.
: : We're all praying for you, Ben. Football seems so unimportant at this point. Just get well.
:
: THE WRECK WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WITH OR WITHOUT THE HELMET!!! granted the injuries would have been less severe.. but accidents happen.
Accidents do happen but there is no reason to make them easier to happen, motorcycles are dangerous, wit:
Earlier this year, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to the NFL title, giving the team the fifth Super Bowl win they had been chasing since 1980.
Risky ride
Athletes and motorcycles can be a dangerous mix. Here is a list of incidents and injuries involving athletes and motorcycles - some severe, some minor - during the past few years:
-- Three months ago, Jerome Mathis of the Houston Texans, a Pro Bowl kick returner, sustained scrapes on his wrists and hands in a motorcycle dust-up. One message board poster on a Texans fan site noted that Mathis' injuries were minor and wrote, "At least he wears a helmet, unlike Ben Roethlisberger."
-- In January, former bodybuilder and current California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut his lip, requiring stitches, when his Harley Davidson smacked into a car on a residential street. Schwarzenegger later admitted he did not have a license to drive a motorcycle.
-- Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow missed the 2005 season while recovering from injuries to his right knee and shoulder. Winslow was learning to ride a motorcycle in a parking lot and hit a curb at about 35 mph. He was wearing a helmet, but it was unstrapped and flew off while he was in midair.
-- A month after winning the E1 Tour de Phoenix, cyclist David Young lost his left leg in a motorcycle crash. Fitted with a prosthetic, Young competed in the Tour de Tucson six months after his accident.
-- The day before the start of the 2004 Olympics, Greek sprinter Ekaterini Thanou missed her scheduled drug test because of what she said was a motorcycle accident. Thanou, who was uninjured, later was charged with making a false accident claim.
-- In April 2004, LaKisha Gentry of North Texas University died of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Gentry was the Sun Belt Conference champion in the javelin.
-- On March 30, 2004, Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner flipped over the handlebars when his Harley Davidson collided with a moving car in Colorado Springs, Colo. Gardner, who suffered some scrapes on his left side, said his training as a wrestler helped him land safely and avoid serious injury.
-- Indy Racing League driver Dario Franchitti broke his back in a 2003 motorcycle accident and missed several races, including the Indianapolis 500.
-- Jay Williams, the second overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, has not played since he lost control of his red and black Yamaha sportbike and rammed a utility pole June 19, 2003. Williams severed a nerve in his leg, fractured his pelvis and tore three ligaments in his knee.
-- In 2002, San Francisco Giants second baseman Jeff Kent injured his wrist when he ran into a curb while popping wheelies. At first, Kent told team officials he was hurt while he was washing his truck.
-- Olympic champion skier Hermann Maier shattered his left leg in August 2001 when a car hit his motorcycle on a road in Austria. Maier had a titanium rod inserted in the leg and sat out the 2002 Games. But he made a dramatic comeback last year by winning two medals in Turin, Italy.
-- Major-league pitcher Steve Howe, who in 1997 was attempting a comeback at age 39 with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League, was critically injured in a crash and later charged with drunken driving. Those charges were later dropped after prosecutors decided his blood test was improperly obtained.
-- Former NHL tough guy Bob Probert, who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, sustained minor injuries in a motorcycle accident in 1994. Tests showed alcohol and cocaine in his system, and he was placed on inactive status for the 1994-95 season.
-- Mike Nyeholt, an All-American swimmer at USC, broke his neck and was paralyzed from the chest down when he crashed his dirt bike in January 1981.
-- Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Robin Yount injured his foot when he drove his dirt bike off a cliff a few days before the start of spring training in 1978. Yount began the season on the disabled list, enabling rookie Paul Molitor to take over at shortshop.
-- Daredevil Evel Knievel went into partial retirement after a failed attempt to jump a tank full of sharks in late 1976. In the crash, Knievel suffered a concussion and two broken arms, and a television cameraman lost an eye.