Rangers' Derek Boogaard found dead

epsn.com ^ | 5-13-11 | epsn

[secret garden]

That is an awful thing to post.

[rfp1234]

R.I.P.

[Jonty30]

Death is a terrible thing, sweetheart.

It’s also probably true. Athletes today do terrible things to their bodies to try and remain competitive. These things, like steroids, growth hormones, and other things. They wreck havoc with our mortal bodies some atheletes end up not living long lives or quality lives for the sake of a medal, or a cup, or a pennant, or a multi-million dollar contract.

[secret garden]

I’m not your sweetheart and I stand by my statement that your post was awful. You have zero facts about his cause of death and your speculation is ugly.

[airborne]

Instead of making things up, why don’t you show some sympathy for the family, and wait for the facts to come out.

There’s no good reason to accuse him of anything like that.

If you read the article, you will see he has been having bad headaches from a concussion, and couldn’t stand bright lights.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

It seems that more and more evidence is accumulating just how severe the near term, mid term, and long term effects of concussion really are. Nobody, of course, ever thought they were a “good thing” but in the past I think the idea was you got your “bell rung” and then you’d bounce back as good as ever. It seems like daily we are finding out just how wrong that perception was.

[Jonty30]

Ok darling.

I’m not above speculating upon released facts. Just my nature. It’s not a terrible thing to speculate.

It’s not as though I was claiming his body was found with porn around it or that I am claiming that he was found with a needle in his arm or that he was found in a gay bathhouse.

It is a fact that athletes do terrible things to their bodies to stay in the game and unless he was unusually talented in his position, he’s probably not an exception.

[secret garden]

Please don’t post to me anymore. I find your tone and remarks very offensive.

[Jonty30]

The real consequences of concussions don’t usually take place until years down the road with diminished mental capacities. They don’t usually kill at such young ages.

[My Favorite Headache]

Correct...a tragic tragic loss....people should STFU until the real reports are released. This is more to do with his head injury than anything else.

[Jonty30]

Love me anyway.

You’re the who chose to post to me first, remember that.

[maggief]

Your posts are extremely offensive and should be pulled, IMHO. They don’t belong on this thread or FR.

[EDINVA]

So sad, so young, but he would have had 6-7 years of the NHL behind him ...not quite a white collar job.

[Jonty30]

If the facts come in and steroids or other aid had nothing to do with it, I’ll gladly apologize.

In the meanyime, let’s wait and see if my posts end up escapulating the facts.

[buccaneer81]

Could be heart attack brought on by steroids

So far, only one NHL player has ever been caught on the juice...Bryan Berard when he was with the Blue Jackets (my team is the unluckiest in NHL history: Berard's steroids, one playoff appearance in team history and the only game-caused fan death in NHL history.)

[Jonty30]

I’m hoping for the best of circumstances.

[The Pack Knight]

I got a kick out of his hockey fighting school for kids.



He got a lot of negative press for it, but I think teaching combative sports to kids is something that should be encouraged, and this is a creative way of doing it.

[The Pack Knight]

I think it would be very naive to assume that steroid use is really any less prevalent in hockey than in baseball or football. The NHL's testing regimen isn't really all that strict, largely because they haven't had the scandals the NFL and MLB have had.

The one player caught by the NHL's current testing was actually Sean Hill. Berard was actually one of two players who tested positive in international competition, the other being Jose Theodore.

The steroid issue has been low-profile in the NHL, but at least some of that is due to official denial at the top. Also, we tend to associate steroids only with jacked up upper bodies, while most NHL training regiments focus on the lower body because there isn't much advantage to being top-heavy for anyone other than a fighter. A guy with a relatively normal upper body but with legs like tree trunks might go unnoticed.

Given the toll an 82-game season takes on players bodies, the incentive to use is certainly there. Testing is fairly minimal in the NHL, and almost non-existent in the AHL where guys have an even bigger incentive to juice. I think we (and Bettman) are probably kidding ourselves if we say that steroid use is uncommon in the NHL just because only a couple players have been caught.

Obviously, it's too early to speculate as to whether steroids might have played a part in Boogaard's death and it's certainly indelicate to talk about the recently-deceased in that way, but it's not a possibility that should be discounted. If it's found that he was using, Boogaard will quickly become the NHL's Lyle Alzado.

[buccaneer81]

All good points.

[airborne]

The real consequences of concussions don’t usually take place until years down the road with diminished mental capacities. They don’t usually kill at such young ages.

In other words, you don't have a clue why he died.

So would it hurt you to show some kindness, and wait until the facts come out?

Thanks.