Concussion

Here's a mystery that parents, professional sports team owners and the nation's top uniformed generals would all like to see solved: given a series of blows to the head, who is most likely to go on to suffer personality changes, depression, memory and concentration problems later in life? Ideally, they'd want to know this early - perhaps before mom or dad signs junior up for tackle football or the Marines dispatch a newly minted jarhead to Afghanistan to face a plague of roadside bombs.

Derek Fisher has a career's worth of Lakers moments to remember. James Harden has one he'd rather forget. For better or worse, the Oklahoma City duo will confront those memories when the Thunder plays the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. "It seems that's just the way it's supposed to be," Fisher told reporters in Oklahoma City about a matchup that starts Monday night with Game 1 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. It will be the first time Fisher has faced his former team in the playoffs.

Game stories -- The Times' Mike Bresnahan calls Kobe Bryant the "masked marvel. " -- The Orange County Register's Kevin Ding highlights Bryant's 31-point effort in the Lakers ' 104-85 victory Wednesday over the Minnesota Timberwolves . -- The Daily News' Elliott Teaford marvels at Bryant's 31-point performance against Minnesota despite wearing a plastic mask. -- The Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda details how the Timberwolves struggled without Kevin Love.

Chris Horner had perhaps his most successful year as a cyclist in 2011. He won the Amgen Tour of California, finished second in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, a celebrated one-day race, and finished fourth at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. Yet what most cycling fans remember about Horner's 2011 racing is something Horner doesn't. During the seventh stage of the Tour de France last July, Horner crashed. He suffered a concussion, broken nose and broken ribs. But despite being woozy and dazed, Horner got back on his bike and finished, though he had no idea where he was or even quite what he was doing.

Kevin Guskiewicz, one of the winners of the MacArthur Foundation award announced Tuesday, was long a thorn in the side of the National Football League. Since 1999, he has wired the helmets of about 700 college football players with accelerometers to study what kinds of hits result in concussions , which kinds of players get them, and what the long-term consequences of those brain injuries can be. He was among the first to find a strong link between multiple concussions and later dementia, depression and memory and intellectual deficits that often lead to Alzheimer's disease.

A two-minute test that can be administered on the sidelines of a sporting event revealed the disruptive effects of brain trauma as reliably as a longer and more unwieldy concussion test used by the U.S. military, according to a study published this week online in the journal Neurology. The King-Devick test is designed to identify the presence of disturbed eye movements that come with a blow to the head. Using three cards printed with eight rows of single-digit numbers, a tester asks the test-taker to read the numbers as quickly and accurately as possible.

Minnesota Timberwolves star forward Kevin Love sustained a concussion during Wednesday's game against Denver and was kept overnight at a hospital for precautionary reasons. The incident occurred when Nuggets center JaVale McGee penetrated the key with just under four minutes left in the first quarter. As McGee shot a jumper, one of his elbows inadvertently slammed into Love's head. Love remained on the ground for a short while. He was helped off of the court by medical personnel.

It has been a while since a Lakers player sat out a game because of an off-court injury, but it happened Saturday when Ron Artest stayed in Los Angeles because of a concussion he suffered at home, according to the Lakers and Artest's agent. There was some confusion over the details of Artest's injury, although a team spokesperson clarified that the 30-year-old forward fell down a flight of stairs while carrying a box and didn't trip over a box, as was believed earlier in the day. Artest injured his elbow and needed stitches in the back of his head.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is beginning the evaluation protocol for his second concussion this season. His availability for Sunday's game at New England remains unclear. Rodgers left Sunday's loss at Detroit shortly after he was hit hard on back-to-back plays in the second quarter, a scramble and a sack. He was replaced by Matt Flynn . Rodgers also suffered a concussion in Green Bay's loss at Washington on Oct. 10. He played against Miami the following week and has not missed a game since taking over as the Packers' starter in 2008.

It must have been a blow to Minnesota Twins fans to learn earlier this week that slugger Justin Morneau will not play in the major league baseball playoffs due to lingering effects of a concussion. But the high-profile case can, and should, set an example to athletes of all abilities on the importance of taking head injuries seriously , said a leading expert on concussions. Morneau was batting .345 with 18 homers when he slid into second base during a July 7 game and collided with Toronto's second baseman.

Hall of Fame receiver Art Monk is the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit filed against the NFL and helmet maker Riddell Inc. over long-term injuries as a result of concussions. The 82-page lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles last week along with two similar ones, with the three encompassing 193 former players. The suits were filed by the L.A.-based firm Girardi Keese. According to NFLConcussionLitigation, which first reported the latest litigation, more than 2,000 former players are currently suing the league over concussions.

                                        Kobe Bryant feels James Harden's pain. Bryant suffered a concussion after Dwyane Wade delivered a hard foul as the Lakers guard drove into the lane during the 2012 NBA All-Star game. Harden suffered a concussion after Lakers forward Metta World Peace struck him with an elbow to his head during the Lakers' 120-114 double overtime victory Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Two days after suffering a concussion caused by Lakers forward Metta World Peace striking him with an elbow, Oklahoma City guard James Harden sent out a tweet that suggested he's made progress since last being seen lying motionless on the court. "Im solid," Harden tweeted Tuesday morning. "Feeling good. Appreciate y'all for checking on me!!" Harden didn't return to the game after World Peace struck him with his left elbow with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter.  The Oklahoman's John Rohde also reported that Thunder Coach Scott Brooks said Harden "did a few things but not everything" during Tuesday's morning shootaround.

Can history be halted or at least slowed by the reappearance of a former Art Ross Trophy winner? The Kings are trying to sweep a best-of-seven playoff series for the first time in franchise history, and trying to do so against Vancouver, the NHL's best team in the regular season. And so, the potential spoiler/savior — depending upon your allegiance — wore a Canucks uniform at practice Tuesday, not a cape. Furthermore, forward Daniel Sedin — the Art Ross Trophy winner as the NHL's leading scorer last season — looked stripped of some of his abilities, admitting he felt about as slow as he has been in five years.

Minnesota Timberwolves star forward Kevin Love sustained a concussion during Wednesday's game against Denver and was kept overnight at a hospital for precautionary reasons. The incident occurred when Nuggets center JaVale McGee penetrated the key with just under four minutes left in the first quarter. As McGee shot a jumper, one of his elbows inadvertently slammed into Love's head. Love remained on the ground for a short while. He was helped off of the court by medical personnel.

The playoff series between the eighth-seeded Kings and top-seeded Vancouver Canucks hasn't started, but both teams were in full playoff gamesmanship mode Monday. Shortly after Kings forward Jeff Carter said his bruised ankle felt good and he expects to play Wednesday at Vancouver "for sure," Coach Darryl Sutter sounded less positive about Carter's imminent return. Maybe Carter isn't ready, though center Mike Richards said Carter "could have played the last couple games if we needed him to, the last game for sure.

Sidney Crosby's planned return to the ice for the Pittsburgh Penguins after 320 days - more than 10 months - has hockey fans fixated on Monday night's face-off against the New York Islanders. The National Hockey League's most valuable player in 2007 has been sidelined for most of the year after sustaining a nasty concussion after two games in January - the first against the Washington Capitals, the second against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Crosby reportedly suffered from severe migraines - to the point where, for a time, he was unable to drive.

     This weekend and next, pint-sized football players who have risen to the top of their youth leagues are striding heroically onto gridirons across the nation, playing out their own Super Bowl dreams. The scene may look pretty innocent. But growing concern about concussion in youth sports is casting a long shadow across the sidelines.      This week, the nation’s oldest and largest youth football league, Pop Warner , issued some new rules governing head and neck injuries.

Sidney Crosby 's planned 15 minutes on the ice against the New York Rangers Thursday night mark his first hockey game more than three months after being once again sidelined by concussion-like symptoms. The Pittsburgh Penguins star has experienced dizziness and headaches since the beginning of 2011, when he suffered a concussion in January after playing the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning . He returned briefly in November, to much fanfare, but was quickly taken out of the rink after his symptoms returned.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, free of concussion symptoms for the first time in three months, was cautiously optimistic Tuesday that he will soon be able to rejoin the lineup. Crosby, whose attempted comeback in November was cut short when he experienced headaches and discomfort while in motion, was cleared for contact and practiced with his teammates Tuesday at the Consol Energy Center. He said the soonest he could return if all goes well is Sunday, a welcome jolt for the Penguins as they jostle for prime playoff position in the Eastern Conference.