bitz

is bitz hurt? i thought i saw him on crutches...anyone know what the deal is?

A) If he was on crutches, then I would go out on a limb and say that yes, he is hurt.

B) If you are posting a rumor of something you think you might have possibly seen, then I'm not so sure this is the best approach.

He broke his ankle walking like 3 weeks ago. The original time frame was 4-6 weeks. Expect him back mid-November.

ac slater,

bitz isn't really hurt. he just wants to scare you into thinking kelly is crazy so he can take her to the dance instead.

Nice, Mike.

Ugh, player injuries not made public by the team should not be discussed here by those with some sort of "insider" access to the team. Putting aside whether it's appropriate to talk publicly about a student's health, you are doing a disservice to the team. If I'm mistaken and this has been disclosed by the team/player/coach in some public fashion, forgive me, otherwise we all need to zip it.

[Q]JasonN95 Wrote:

Ugh, player injuries not made public by the team should not be discussed here by those with some sort of "insider" access to the team. Putting aside whether it's appropriate to talk publicly about a student's health, you are doing a disservice to the team. If I'm mistaken and this has been disclosed by the team/player/coach in some public fashion, forgive me, otherwise we all need to zip it.[/q]

You need to zip it.

Considering that it's the pre-season and we'll know long before the actual games whether he's hurt (for instance, if he doesn't play in the R&W) you're probably a little over concerned.

If the guy's limping around campus on crutches, it's not exactly an insider secret. Most likely the rest of the ECAC knows already and the only people in the dark if there's an eLynah blackoiut would be the Cornell fans. Students certainly merit privacy in their health matters but this is a question of why a student athlete on the hockey team is on crutches a couple weeks before the season opens, not the results of a VD test.

Harvard's going to play us with or without Bitz.

In the more major and pro sports, the team has to report player injuries to avoid gamblers with inside information hedging their bets.

I believe there’s a difference between fans speculating that a player is hurt and is going to miss some games because he’s a no-show for the R&W game and reporting that he’s been seen on campus on crutches, but I can see the other side: you can’t hide crutches and other teams by hook or crook will probably learn of it (how probable? who knows). But reporting the nature of the injury and the recovery time is going too far when the team or player has not come out and stated it. Plus, Ari’s post sure sounds as though he was privy to a direct conversation (he says he knows how the injury occurred). You’ll have a hard time convincing me that whoever told him this did it with the expectation or desire that it would find its way onto the web. Ari, if I’m wrong, pardon me, but I’m doubtful that anyone involved with the team would want to see such information posted to an online forum.

The guy is on crutches so he can't walk or skate. It's not like he's gonna play when he can't walk without crutches. It isn't going to be a big mystery to people when he isn't playing when games actually start. The box score isn't going to happen to falsely include Bitz when he didn't play.
I understand that players PLAYING through injuries should not be disclosed, but there is no way Bitz can play with through this injury when he can't even walk. I just don't see what the problem is, especially considering they don't play a real game for more than 3 weeks.

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:

I understand that players PLAYING through injuries should not be disclosed, but there is no way Bitz can play with through this injury when he can't even walk. I just don't see what the problem is, especially considering they don't play a real game for more than 3 weeks.[/q]

Well, hypothetically, if said injury takes more than three weeks to heal, then I would say this whole ordeal of the public discussion of a player's injury is definitely a problem. I've never had a broken ankle before, so I don't know how long such an injury takes to heal. Additionally, even if the injury is supposedly healed by the time the puck drops, dirtier opposing players might try to 'reopen old wounds', so to speak. I suppose all of this revolves around the exact nature of the injury in any given situation.

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:
I just don't see what the problem is, especially considering they don't play a real game for more than 3 weeks.



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 10/07/04 11:59PM by calgARI '07.[/q]

The issue has nothing to do with scouting or strategic advantage.

It is fundamentally a matter of privacy.

Despite the informality, the 'net is not like chatting over beer or three with your crew. You wanna talk about having seen a player on crutches while having lunch in Trillium, fine. But out here in cyberspace, the things you say are somewhat permanent and are available for world wide consumption.

This isn't about hurting the team. It is about respecting an college athlete's right to not have his medical condition discussed by random internet fanboys.

Its also a little bit about hurting the team (but yes, more about privacy). Because even when he's ready to play, chances are they won't be entirely 100% and more prone to reinjury if an opposing player knows where to check/slash/poke. So if you insist on looking it it from team-interest perspective, then there you are.

Yeah, this isn't exactly like a more discreet injury, but its probably not a good idea. No need to get defensive Ari, its an easy thing not to think of beforehand.

Defensive? No. But I'm having trouble understanding the issue at hand. Again, I can totally understand why non-obvious injuries like Vesce's all of last year should not be disclosed because he tried to play through it. An injury as obvious as Bitz's when not in season is harmless.

Precisely. And it's not clear from seeing a player on crutches exactly what the nature of the injury might be. Is it a clean break? Stress fracture? Sprain? I don't recall the technical terms for all this, but breaks can spiral, go straight across or lengthwise. These injuries differ in the amount of time it takes to heal and the amount and duration of PT needed to get back to speed. (Do we have any orthopedists on the forum who can help out ?)

I think the athlete's right to privacy trumps everything else here, but even so, without full knowledge of the athlete's case history and the ability to interpret it, it's likely that forum denizens or anyone else is likely to get it wrong, particularly an injury's potential impact on participation. Although spreading misinformation to our opponents might not be a bad thing, I think it is best just to leave these cases alone and let the Athletic Department let us know what's going on as they see fit.

[Q]calgARI '07 Wrote:

Defensive? No. But I'm having trouble understanding the issue at hand. Again, I can totally understand why non-obvious injuries like Vesce's all of last year should not be disclosed because he tried to play through it. An injury as obvious as Bitz's when not in season is harmless.[/q]

Ari, did you ride the short bus today?

The issue isn't hurting the team. The issue is privacy.

"Harmless" or not, it isn't your call.

A student athlete has the right to medical privacy.

End of story.

Wow, you guys are all so stupid.

John Hayes is a douchebag, he admits it -- he says he's a republican. And although I don't like Ari because he cut in line last year and is now Cowbell guy, he is right. Everyone needs to loosen up.

This is not a privacy issue, because last I checked, nobody posted his medical records on this forum. Neither his doctor or a representative from Cornell disclosed his medical condition. Nobody violated HIPAA laws or the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Plus, the hockey players are quasi-famous public figured on campus, especially to all you facetimers out there. This is a sport were injuries should be made public, especially to the fans that spend good money to see the games. If Bitz is offended, then he is a vagina.

Also, you guys have this crazy idea that anyone remotely related to the ECAC or NCAA frequents this website. They must be a really good advance scout relying on posts at eLF.

And John Hayes, saying end of story doesn't make you right. Nice try.

"hey morris, mr. belding called..."

ahhh, mike, at least somebody remembers that. i thought that was one of our shining and underrated moments of the year

he actually broke his heel not an ankle.

[Q]Facetimer Wrote:



Everyone needs to loosen up.

This is not a privacy issue, because last I checked, nobody posted his medical records on this forum. Neither his doctor or a representative from Cornell disclosed his medical condition. Nobody violated HIPAA laws or the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Plus, the hockey players are quasi-famous public figured on campus, especially to all you facetimers out there.

Also, you guys have this crazy idea that anyone remotely related to the ECAC or NCAA frequents this website. They must be a really good advance scout relying on posts at eLF.

And John Hayes, saying end of story doesn't make you right. Nice try.[/q]Well, at least for this part, as hard as it might be to say it, I agree. As far as I can see, nothing that I've seen on this forum has anything to do with privacy. It's certainly not a HIPPA issue and talking about a "public person" and what you saw is hardly a legal issue. (Yes, I know, I'm not a lawyer.) Also, do any of you really think anyone else but us, really cares about what we say? Yes, I also know about those past "famous" incidents, but "the exception proves the rule".[Q]This is a sport were injuries should be made public, especially to the fans that spend good money to see the games. [/Q]Now, as far as this goes, "forgetaboutit". Doing that would definately violate HIPPA, and do we really need to know that badly? I hope we all have much more important things to do than staying up all night worrying and speculating.

I say, keep the injury posts coming. I like to watch the pissing matches that transpire when people trip over each other with "inside" information. However, I think we should devote a section to the more gossipy stuff like injury speculation. How much more fun would this be in a New York Post (coughNewsCorpisfascistcough) Page Six "Just Asking" format?

Example:

Just Asking...
WHICH highly touted sophomore athlete was spotted trying to cross the Ag quad on crutches? He seemed to have bits and pieces of lingering pain.

Get it? "Bits" and pieces? That way it's a fun guessing game, instead of a crappy ethics argument. Of course there's no telling what kind of heartbreak will ensue when someone eschews this format to beat the more creative minds to the forum with info. SO STICK TO THE FORMAT, PEOPLE!

I think it would be even more fun to infiltrate other campuses, stalk the opposition, and then let the guessing begin! I call Colgate!

[Q]atb9 Wrote:

I think it would be even more fun to infiltrate other campuses, stalk the opposition, and then let the guessing begin! I call Colgate![/q]

Hey, no fair, you actually get a place to stay for free in the Albany area; you should get RPI or Union.

Just Asking...

IS THERE a nomination for funniest post of the off-season? Understand we're not taking sides, here. But this poster has certainly tried her best, with some pointed and timely commentary.

Get it? "Understand" "her" "point"?