The NHL is tougher than all leagues combined

[Hockeyholic]

I used to call him “the terminator.” He couldn’t be bargained with. He couldn’t be reasoned with. He didn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And he absolutely never stoped... ever.

There are tough guys and soft guys in every sport. I remember Curt Schilling pitching not one but two games with an injury that would keep most of us on crutches. I remember at the time some people even thought he was faking the severity of the injury and said he put ketchup on his sock.

Without him pitching in Game 6 of the ALCS, I don’t think the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004. He missed most of 2005 because of his tendon injury.

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I will never understand why the Yankees didn't bunt more to get on base. Even if he throws you out, he is still putting pressure on the tendon.

If he doesn't pitch, they probably don't win. Which changes the narrative in Yankees history. And the Red Sox don't hold something over them.

 

[Hockeyholic]

With regards to Bergeron's punctured lung, reports are he would not have played in a potential game 7.

At that point it wasn't about toughening out an injury. It was borderline risking his life territory.

 

[nogatco rd]

Surprised former 49ers’ safety Ronnie Lott hasn’t come up

In the late 80’s he badly mangled a finger in the last week of the regular season.

The doctor said he needed reconstructive surgery with metal pins, and that meant he would miss the 49ers upcoming divisional playoff game.

He instead had a doctor amputate the finger just below the break so he wouldn’t miss amy time.

 

[PistolPete]

Yeah but contrary to popular belief, you’re not any tougher because you watch hockey though

Whoomp! There it is!

The underlying psychological need that prompts sports fans to argue over which spirt is tougher because if my sport is tougher than yours than I am tougher than you.

So goes the subconscious rationale.

 

[Jocke1]

Surprised former 49ers’ safety Ronnie Lott hasn’t come up

In the late 80’s he badly mangled a finger in the last week of the regular season.

The doctor said he needed reconstructive surgery with metal pins, and that meant he would miss the 49ers upcoming divisional playoff game.

He instead had a doctor amputate the finger just below the break so he wouldn’t miss amy time.

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That's awesome.


I can still vividly recall that Malaysian race weekend in MotoGP in 2006 when a rookie Dani Pedrosa raced with a deep gash on his knee.

During Friday practice he suffered a front-end slide and as the bike tucked his right knee clipped the inside kerb.

It triggered a highside crash and while he suffered a minor fracture to his left big toe the primary injury was a 1 inch wide wound on his right knee that stripped away cutaneous matter down to the bone.

The medical staff had to sew the gaping wound shut with multiple deep stitches.

He didn't miss the Saturday practice session, but to take part his Honda mechanics had to carry him through the garage, lift him up, and place his feet onto the footpegs of his bike.

He finished a great 3rd on Sunday and held off his championship-leading teammate Nicky Hayden.

From what I read the "anesthetic cocktail that was injected into the tissues surrounding the deep gash on his knee
temporarily blocked the sodium channels in Pedrosa's peripheral nerves and by stopping these channels from firing, the pain signals from his ripped-open flesh and tight stitches were physically prevented from traveling up his leg and reaching his brain."

This allowed him to ride at 200 mph for 40+ minutes, but it came with the risk that he couldn't feel the joint and had no biological warning system if he was accidentally tearing his fresh stitches apart while shifting his weight across the tank.

Here's the race and him dismounting at 1:02:09

 

[3074326]

Rick Peverley literally died on the bench in Dallas and when revived he didn't want to miss a shift. That example alone is the epitome of how tough NHL players are.

Damar Hamlin died on the football field, luckily was brought back

This is a silly topic, who cares if a sport is tougher than another sport

 

[PistolPete]

Damar Hamlin died on the football field, luckily was brought back

This is a silly topic, who cares if a sport is tougher than another sport

Yup. Yet it is a surprisingly frequent topic amongst sports fans.

I can't recall ever seeing a thread about the most visually appealing sport.

 

[Miller Time]

Something that gets lost in these debates is the requirements of the sport...

Hockey, with the short shifts and play structure, allows for far more leeway for an athlete to "stay in the game" despite significant injury.

NFL football is similar. The laundry list of injuries players play through is even more impressive than the NHL, but that's a direct reflection of being able to sub out every play & each play only lasting a few seconds.

A basketball player trying to "tough it out" through a limiting injury has no where to hide. The court is small and 5 players have to be able to meet a minimum level of movement ability or else the opposition can quickly exploit them.

NHL has guys like Radko Gudas & David Savard that can play meaningful roles despite barely being able to keep up, even at full health, with the average skater.

The narrative of hockey's relative toughness because of situations like the one that prompted this thread, doesn't account for the realities of what is required to play. Plenty of NBA players have come back to play with facial fractures... It takes a very tough individual to play through that kind of pain & discomfort, but from a performance pov, it would be rather disappointing for a player to sit out from a championship finals due to an injury that doesn't limit their mobility or movement.

For all the talk about soccer's "softness",from the pov of not competing through relatively minor physical limitations, track & field sprinters take the cake. A minor tweaks to a hammy or calf can be enough to shut someone down. And this is not because the individuals lack "toughness", it's because the performance margins are so slim and there is nowhere to hide if you can't go 100%.

 

[PistolPete]

Something that gets lost in these debates is the requirements of the sport...

Hockey, with the short shifts and play structure, allows for far more leeway for an athlete to "stay in the game" despite significant injury.

NFL football is similar. The laundry list of injuries players play through is even more impressive than the NHL, but that's a direct reflection of being able to sub out every play & each play only lasting a few seconds.

A basketball player trying to "tough it out" through a limiting injury has no where to hide. The court is small and 5 players have to be able to meet a minimum level of movement ability or else the opposition can quickly exploit them.

NHL has guys like Radko Gudas & David Savard that can play meaningful roles despite barely being able to keep up, even at full health, with the average skater.

The narrative of hockey's relative toughness because of situations like the one that prompted this thread, doesn't account for the realities of what is required to play. Plenty of NBA players have come back to play with facial fractures... It takes a very tough individual to play through that kind of pain & discomfort, but from a performance pov, it would be rather disappointing for a player to sit out from a championship finals due to an injury that doesn't limit their mobility or movement.

For all the talk about soccer's "softness",from the pov of not competing through relatively minor physical limitations, track & field sprinters take the cake. A minor tweaks to a hammy or calf can be enough to shut someone down. And this is not because the individuals lack "toughness", it's because the performance margins are so slim and there is nowhere to hide if you can't go 100%.

In all the hears of seeing this kind of discussion/debate I never saw anywhere bring this point up. Surprising because it's a crucial point. An NBA starter on the low end typically plays 30 minutes and there's no loading and letting your teammates pick up the defensive assignment.

 

[FiveTacos]

That's awesome.

I can still vividly recall that Malaysian race weekend in MotoGP in 2006 when a rookie Dani Pedrosa raced with a deep gash on his knee.

I've always said the old school racecar drivers were the bravest ... F1 used to literally have multiple guys die every year, yet those dudes kept racing balls to the wall. It's much safer now though. But those Moto GP dudes, they're nucking futs. I get freaked out just watching an onboard.

In terms of risking life and limb those are hard to beat ... maybe pro bull riding comes close.

However in terms of fighting through pain, pro cyclists deserve serious recognition. Every race, or every stage in one of those grand tours just looks like several hours of torture, even just to finish last.

 

[VainGretzky]

Damar Hamlin died on the football field, luckily was brought back

This is a silly topic, who cares if a sport is tougher than another sport

Clint Malarchuck had his Jugular vein slashed luckily was brought back