he's got the brain to go with the brawn

the Boston Herald reported the other day that former crimson captain and current panthers defenseman noah welch agreed to donate his brain to medical science.

okay, okay, get all those jokes out of your system about dumb jocks. hardy har har.

but welch's move is actually very important. in a sport like ice hockey, players can sustain quite serious head injuries due to the physical nature of the sport. by studying the long-term impact of big hits on the brain, scientists, doctors, and engineers can do more to protect athletes - especially younger ones - from doing too much damage to themselves.

it certainly isn't easy to actually commit your organs to posterity - who hasn't had a brief nightmare of having their organs harvested while being still alive? - so welch should should be commended for his move, especially as he is the first hockey player who has agreed to pledge his brain to science. here's hoping that he'll able to convince his teammates and peers to sign on for the research as well.