Interesting idea...

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Last week in a Wall Street Journal article provocatively titled "Is it Time to Retire the Football Helmet?" Jones, who played rugby in England for his Travel Channel reality show, "Dhani Tackles the Globe," discussed how the two sports differ for football's gear and rugby's lack of it.

"In football, you're taught to hit with your face," Jones was quoted as saying in the Journal article. "You're always contacting with your 'hat,' which is your head."

I never played football in the NFL or rugby in the English leagues. But I have played semi-pro football and at a high level of U.S. rugby, and Jones and the Journal are onto something.

To people other than football players, a helmet is merely a device to protect your head. But in football, the helmet - and shoulder pads - is a weapon used primarily to beat your opponent into submission.

That layer of padding and plastic gives its wearer a false sense of invulnerability. With head banging on...

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http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=20389273&BRD=2724&PAG=461&dept_id=563781&rfi=8