OT: For those that remember The Miracle on Ice...

[purplefaithful]

A broken star: Family hopes Olympic hockey player Mark Pavelich's story helps othersHe was once an American sports hero, a high-flying playmaker from Minnesota’s Iron Range who competed with the best hockey players in the world.
Forty years ago this month, Mark Pavelich was thrust into the international spotlight when he passed the puck to a U.S. Olympic teammate for the game-winning goal over the powerful Soviet Union in an epic matchup forever remembered as the “Miracle on Ice.” Two days later, the U.S. won gold.
But now, on a gray wintry day in the Cook County courthouse, Pavelich’s glory days were a distant memory.
His once-thick brown hair was tousled and silver, the star-spangled uniform of the 1980 Olympic team replaced by a faded striped jailhouse jumper. Charged with beating a neighbor with a metal pole, the 61-year-old sat handcuffed before a judge as he listened to psychologists opine that he was so mentally ill he couldn’t be trusted with his own safety.
It was a heartbreaking fall for his family and friends to see. This wasn’t the kind, generous introvert they knew, the quiet, solitary man who wasn’t apt to pick a fight. This was a Mark Pavelich they didn’t recognize — someone who, in recent years, had started to act confused, paranoid and borderline threatening. And it left them wondering: Was the game that had given Pavelich so much purpose and joy through the years also destroying him?
http://www.startribune.com/a-broken-star...567696722/

[Guest]

While CTE can be confirmed only in an autopsy, scientists are working on a test to detect proteins associated with the disease in living people.
But doctors in some cases are now making a presumptive diagnosis of CTE, as they do in other types of dementia, Omalu said, relying on the standard of a “reasonable degree of certainty — meaning more likely than not.”
CTE is not the only type of brain damage an athlete can suffer, Omalu said. And if someone’s family has a history of mental illness, high-impact sports can increase the likelihood of manifesting mental illness, he said.
“Maybe with treatment … medication, his symptoms can subside,” Omalu said.
Pavelich’s family is hoping he will be released from the state facility where he has been housed since a judge found him “mentally ill and dangerous” in December.
A hearing to make a final determination on whether he should remain civilly committed indefinitely is expected to be held this spring.
In the meantime, some former NHL players are working with Pavelich to establish a therapeutic retreat ranch where players, their families and others struggling with mental illness and brain disease can go for counseling, animal therapy and other programs, as well as supporting research on CTE. They have started a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe.
“You’re a good person your whole life …” Gevik said, her voice trailing off as she teared up thinking about what’s happened to her brother.
Now, she said, she just hopes something good can come from it.
“I told him, ‘We can help a lot of people this way.’ ”

[Guest]

Tough deal...I'm sure there are plenty of cases with lesser known athletes that won't get a front page story. 

I give the family credit for looking for ways to help those in need on a forward basis. 

[Guest]

Yeah, its possible he suffers from CTE. Hockey is even more renown for being a 'tough guy' and sucking it up than football. Obviously, drastic mood/personality changes and violent behavior is a clue something is very wrong. A sad story for sure. 

[Guest]

remember it well, it was a time when neighbors cared for each other, we all ran into the street to celebrate. Never again seen anything like it.

Wish him well for an improved prognosis, although we all know the problems with CTE pose a difficult journey.

Hang tough Pavelich family

[Guest]

My older brother started a local newspaper while in high school.  Applied for an Olympic pass for journalists his senior year and got it.

Had the best seats in the house as a journalist and photographer for the miracle on ice.  Had the pic of the final goal.  

[Guest]

Wish him and his family nothing but the best on the difficult road ahead.

I will always remember the magic created by Mark and his teammates.