Helmets

BMW has been striving to reconcile its dueling images for years. Best known for its luxurious, sport-oriented cars, the German manufacturer's motorcycles are only beginning to shed their reputation as wheels for safety-conscious old men, thanks to exciting new bikes like the S 1000 RR and K 1600 LT. At this weekend's International Motorcycle Shows event in Long Beach, BMW is likely to confuse its image even further when its first scooters make...

No one had to tell Braeden Benedict that concussions are an issue in youth football. Twice in the last two seasons, the 15-year-old watched teammates suffer from what coaches call "getting your bell rung. " Even scarier, his friends continued to play, unaware of their injuries until later, when headaches set in. "I'm thinking, 'Well, this is a problem,'" Benedict said. "What can we do?" Bright and articulate, this Palos Verdes Peninsula High freshman barely weighs 100 pounds and looks more like an honors student than a fullback.

Actor Gary Busey, whose 1978 performance in "The Buddy Holly Story" won an Academy Award nomination, was critically injured Sunday in a motorcycle accident in Culver City, police said. Busey, 44, of Malibu, was driving west on Washington Boulevard near Robertson Boulevard at 11:40 a.m. when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle fell to the ground, Culver City Police Sgt. Karin Reagan said. "He was thrown off, and the back of his head struck the curb," Reagan said. "He was not wearing a helmet."

Just after 6 one recent morning, Los Angeles Trade Technical College appeared abandoned but for a light shining through an open door on the northwest side of the downtown campus. Inside, several dozen students, all men, leaned against their lockers and shot the breeze, welding helmets in hand. At 6:50 a.m. sharp, the door at the front of the room swung open, and Lisa Legohn appeared, hair tied back, thick plastic glasses over her eyes, her name stitched in gold across her jacket.

Just after 6 one recent morning, Los Angeles Trade Technical College appeared abandoned but for a light shining through an open door on the northwest side of the downtown campus. Inside, several dozen students, all men, leaned against their lockers and shot the breeze, welding helmets in hand. At 6:50 a.m. sharp, the door at the front of the room swung open, and Lisa Legohn appeared, hair tied back, thick plastic glasses over her eyes, her name stitched in gold across her jacket.

Newer isn't necessarily always better, even when it comes to football helmets. A study published online Friday in the Journal of Neurosurgery finds those vintage "leatherhead" helmets may protect as well as or better than modern ones when it comes to some typical helmet-on-helmet collisions that can lead to concussions. Let's pause for a disclaimer: The study authors don't advocate giving up today's polycarbonate helmets for those old leather-covered ones--the newer ones have resulted in a decrease in severe head and neck injuries.

Thao Pham walks in her pink high-top sneakers along a row of motorcycle helmets at the eVo shop on Hai Ba Trung Street. Her current helmet, with a "Funny Love Pucca" cartoon character pattern, is so yesterday. And there's a sale, 30% off. The 21-year-old tries on a winged "Snoopy in Car" model, a red-and-white ladybug helmet and the "Monokura Boo," featuring a black-and-white pig, before wandering off. So many helmets, so little time. "I wear different ones depending on my mood," says Thao, an office worker.

I see that Sen. Marian Bergeson is at it again. After pushing the helmet law for motorcyclists, she is now authoring Senate Bill 1878 to require helmets for bicyclists. She disguises herself as a Republican. I thought Republicans were for minimum governmental intervention in the lives of citizens. WILLIAM A. MURDOCK, Newport Beach

Professional skiers and snowboarders wear helmets. And if you don’t wear one too, you’re running out of excuses. So say a trio of researchers from the University of Innsbruck’s Department of Sport Science in Austria. Writing in an editorial this week in the British Medical Journal, they weigh the pros (many) and cons (few) of wearing protective headgear on the slopes. Emergency room doctors and ski patrol rescuers say that between 9% and 19% of skiing and snowboarding injuries are head injuries.

There's nothing nicer than a Sunday afternoon by the seaside, especially when the sidewalks and boardwalks are zooming with weekend athletes. A quick fashion check reveals pared-down clothing and elaborate head gear. Richard Linde, a 64-year-old architect and 30-mile-a-day cyclist, chooses his head gear with safety in mind--a Bell helmet equipped with a rearview mirror by Third Eye. "I'd feel naked without it," he says. Thomas Murphy opts for musical accompaniment.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison has carved out a niche as one of the NFL's most feared defenders over the last five years by straddling the line between clean and dirty play. After one dangerous hit too many, the league apparently has seen enough. The NFL suspended Harrison for one game following his helmet-to-facemask hit on Browns quarterback Colt McCoy last Thursday, making Harrison the first player to miss game time as a penalty under the league's revamped policy on such collisions.

So much for tradition. USC Coach Lane Kiffin and Athletic Director Pat Haden said Wednesday that they were surprised to learn that UCLA plans to wear an alternate uniform design when the teams play Saturday at the Coliseum. On Tuesday, UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero announced on his blog that UCLA would "be unveiling a uniform that we have been working on with the Adidas design team for several months. " The Bruins are expected to wear all-white uniforms and white helmets.

The "game of the century" might not have been the best game Saturday night. Louisiana State and Alabama lived up to the billing to the extent the volume was high and the scoring was low. It was a brutally battled contest pulled out by LSU, 9-6, on Drew Alleman's 25-yard field goal in overtime. The sold-out crowd of 101,821 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, stunned in the end, could not have been more vocally prepared. "I don't think anybody could watch that game and say Alabama doesn't have a really good team," Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban said.

Newer isn't necessarily always better, even when it comes to football helmets. A study published online Friday in the Journal of Neurosurgery finds those vintage "leatherhead" helmets may protect as well as or better than modern ones when it comes to some typical helmet-on-helmet collisions that can lead to concussions. Let's pause for a disclaimer: The study authors don't advocate giving up today's polycarbonate helmets for those old leather-covered ones--the newer ones have resulted in a decrease in severe head and neck injuries.

Reporting from South Bend, Ind. -- USC faces Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., on Saturday. The rivalry has a long history, and the Fighting Irish will be flashing a little something extra this time around – gold-flaked helmets, 80,000 'rally towels,' maybe a twist on the uniform. But, Coach Brian Kelly insists, it's not like they planned anything special. It's only a coincidence, Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly insists. Nothing special. No extra planning was involved.

As scientists confirm that football and other high-impact sports can leave lasting brain damage, companies are marketing "anti-concussion" equipment to coaches, parents and children that, neurologists say, probably does not work. "I wish there was such a product on the market," Jeffrey Kutcher, chairman of the American Academy of Neurology's sports section, said at a Senate hearing Wednesday. "The simple truth is that no current helmet, mouth guard, headband or other piece of equipment can significantly prevent concussions from occurring.

Gov. Ed Rendell has signed a bill to repeal a state law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets. Under the law, which takes effect Sept. 4, helmets will be mandatory for bikers with less than two years' riding experience, but the waiting period will be waived for anyone who completes a motorcycle-safety course.

Your case for helmets misses an important point. I've been riding motorcycles for 25 years and always wear a helmet, but I've consistently observed that riders who don't have nothing upstairs worth protecting. By forcing these imbeciles to wear helmets you would deprive the medical community of an important source of spare parts. They aren't called "donor cycles" for nothing. WILLIAM SERANTONI Manhattan Beach

Dunta Robinson hit. And the NFL hit back. The league Monday fined the Atlanta Falcons cornerback $40,000 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Philadelphia's Jeremy Maclin, reasoning the receiver was in a "defenseless posture" having just made a catch an instant before. The hit came with 6 minutes 12 seconds to play in the third quarter, as Maclin was running across the middle with the ball. Robinson blasted his helmet into Maclin's, flattening the receiver. Maclin lay on the turf for several seconds and got up slowly but was able to return to the game.

Former state Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd, a tough-talking Democrat with a penchant for salty speech who was best known for championing a bill that requires motorcyclists to wear helmets, died Thursday. He was 80. Floyd, who represented the South Bay area in the Legislature from 1980 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2000, died at his Sacramento home of complications related to diabetes, said Martha Felix, his companion. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) called Floyd "one of the legendary figures of California politics.