NHL & NFL look to Kevlar to combat concussions

[Legion15]

Wired.com: is Kevlar the key to stopping concussions?

Interesting article about a company that's making military-grade Kevlar padding available to pro sports.

By the time the Oilers signed up last summer, six other teams, including the championship-winning Boston Bruins, already had been using Unequal Technologies’ products throughout the 2010-2011 season. The Bruins used customized protective skate liners that allowed players to step in front of 100 mph slapshots without fear. That likely contributed to the team’s playoff-leading 377 blocked shots. Players also wore reinforced chest protectors, elbow pads and helmets with amazing results. “

Patrice [bergeron] had a concussion in the second round,” said Bruins trainer Don Delnegro. “So we put some extra EXO Skeleton pads in his helmet. Obviously, the best part is that nothing happened to him. He returned and hasn’t had a concussion since. I’m very confident that Kevlar does protect the brain a little better than some of the other foams that are available.”

Despite what the Bruins called a “mild concussion,” Bergeron missed only two playoff games and tallied 20 points, second only to teammate David Krejci. Delnegro sent Vito a letter thanking Unequal Technologies for helping the team win the Stanley Cup. That is just one of the many glowing testimonials for EXO Skeleton CRT. Southern Methodist University football coach June Jones called the material “bulletproof silk” and says every player in every sport should be required to wear it.

[StarDew]

Sounds like Rollerball.

[Neb00rs]

From all the "mishaps" off the field, the NFL should require players to wear Kevlar even when it's not Sunday.