BOSTON - NFL veterans who started playing tackle football before the age of 12 are more likely to have cognitive difficulties after their careers, according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Neurology. Texas Rangers Jerseys .Researchers tested 42 former players on their short-term memory, mental flexibility and problem solving and found those who picked up the sport before they were 12 years old functioned about 20 per cent worse. Both groups scored below average on many of the tests, according to Robert Stern of the Boston University School of Medicine.There is a known period of critical brain development that occurs around puberty. And if the brain is injured during that time, it may have both short-term and long-term consequences, Stern told The Associated Press. This study supports that idea that we need to protect the brains of our children while theyre going through this dramatic development period.The release of the study during Super Bowl week was a reminder for fans — especially those who are also parents — that the sport has bigger problems than deflated footballs.For the study, NFL players were divided into two groups: those who played as young children, and those who did not. Those in the former group performed worse on the cognitive tests, such as being asked to recall words from a list they had learned 15 minutes earlier.The brain is the most critical organ in our body. Its responsible for every aspect of thinking, feeling, moving, behaving; its responsible for who we are, Stern said. So the question is: Do we want to expose our children to anything that may have significant negative consequences for how that brain is going to work later in life?The difficulty faced by the former players, who reported an average of nearly 400 concussions each during their lifetimes, is separate from the problem of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can only be diagnosed after death.Stern said the research does not lead to any simple solutions.Among the limitations of the study, which he conducted with researcher Julie Stamm, were that it only looked at former NFL players; the conclusions cannot be generalized to a broader population. Youth sports also have many health benefits that need to be considered by policymakers, sports organizations and parents, Stern said.It also looked back at people who played a long time ago; conditions could have gotten better as concussion education improved — or worse, because athletes are getting bigger and faster. There is a need for so many follow-up studies, Stern said.The issue for me is one of science being balanced with logic, he said. It does not make sense to me, as someone who studies the brain and as someone who has four kids, to foster repetitive hits to the kids brains at a young age. Does that really make logical sense? Do we want to do that to our children at that age whose brains are rapidly developing?Stern, whose research into CTE has helped lead to a greater understanding of the dangers of concussions, said he isnt ready to write off the sport. Although he said he can no longer watch youth football, he is still a New England Patriots fan who is planning to attend the Super Bowl on Sunday.Im not sure how to deal with this incongruity between what I know and what I like to watch, he said. Im not saying we need to get rid of football. For me to be going to the Super Bowl this year, with the Patriots playing, Im giddy with excitement. And that, along with watching the game on Sundays, makes for a huge amount of self-questioning. Rougned Odor Jersey . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled. Nolan Ryan Jersey . The Jets have now won three straight at home and four of the last five at the MTS Centre. After a scoreless first period, Brad Marchand scored his first goal in eight games eight seconds into the second. http://www.texasrangersshop.com/rangers-ivan-rodriguez-jersey/ .com) - Minnesota Vikings fans would surely concede Teddy Bridgewater is not Peyton Manning.WINNIPEG - All Kyle Palmieri needed was a glance at the net.Palmieri scored past Ondrej Pavelec 53 seconds into overtime to lift the Anaheim Ducks over the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Sunday afternoonI took a quick look at the net and saw him down on his post so I just tried to get it up and I was lucky enough to put it up inside the bar, Palmieri said. I knew I could try and at least have him make a save. It was me just putting it on net.Ryan Getzlaf added three helpers for Anaheim (18-6-5), including the assist on Palmieris winner, to extend his point streak to five games. Getzlaf has two goals and eight assists during his current streak.Getzlaf said that Anaheims resiliency all year has been a key to their success.Our group has showed that all year, that weve been able to play through things and keep on playing, Getzlaf said. Good or bad, one thing weve done is play a lot of overtime games this year so we know the situation we are in.We never want to let a team back in it like that, weve got to learn to close those out a little better. But just showing that resilience and getting the two points is big.Rene Bourque scored his first of the year for the Ducks and Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler had goals as well.Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd replied for Winnipeg (14-9-5). Two of the Jets three goals came on the power play. Pavelec made 21 saves.It was a hard-fought game, both goalies played well and you have to take the positives out of it, Trouba said.Its getting better, Mathieu Perreault said of Winnipegs power play. Weve been talking about it so much and been working on it a lot and its finally starting to going in for us. We have seen some good things and we want to keep working on it.Anaheim has won four straight. The loss snaps the Jets two-game win streak. Winnipeg earned points in its last six games, going 4-0-2 dating back to Oct. 26.Goalie Frederik Anderseen made 27 saves in his 15th consecutive start for the Ducks. Custom Texas Rangers Jerseys. Andersen said he is happy with the two points and isnt worried about the workload.We have two days off between the next two games, so maybe tomorrow Ill do a little rehab, he said. Its fun. Its something you learn from a lot. You always learn from playing, you dont learn from sitting on the bench.Getzlaf teased his goaltender after the game.I dont get days off, Getzlaf joked. No. Hes young, hes excited and he wants to play.Anaheim struck first on the power play after Byfuglien was sent to the box for holding. Bourque scored at the 11:02 mark of the first period.Byfuglien redeemed himself later in the period, scoring his seventh of the year on the power play to tie the game 1-1 at 14:28 of the first.The Jets broke the deadlock 1:33 in the second period on the power play. Ladd scored his 10th of the season to give the Jets a 2-1 lead.I find we get more awake when the other team gets the lead, said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau. We were sleepwalking a little bit and then they made it 2-1 in the second. We ended up with Palmieri making a great shot and Freddie making some great saves.The Ducks tied it up three minutes later on a tip in by Silfverberg in the high slot off Clayton Stoners point shot.Matt Beleskey had a goal waved off after being called for interference. Kesler would give the Ducks a 3-2 lead 40 seconds later with Trouba in the box for the Jets. It was Keslers ninth goal of the year.Trouba scored his fourth of the season at the 15:15 mark of the third to tied the game 3-3. Trouba went end-to-end on the goal, collecting his own rebound on Andersens initial save before putting it past him.The Jets head on the road for two divisional games starting with the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. Anaheim returns home for the start of a home-and-home with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. 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