The struggles of Joe Kapp: A football family copes with game's painful aftermath

[Algernon Moncrieff]

LINK to The struggles of Joe Kapp: A football family copes with game's painful aftermath

LOS GATOS -- Joe Kapp was walking up the street to a local hardware store recently to buy chicken feed. But by the time he had gone two blocks, the former Cal and Minnesota Vikings quarterback couldn't remember what he needed.

He asked for dog food instead.

Kapp, 77, who led the Vikings against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV in 1970, just can't remember anymore. The effects of Alzheimer's disease are holding his mind captive.

The man known for taking a licking on the field shared his condition with this news organization as word about the brain disease of star quarterbacks Ken Stabler and Earl Morrall surfaced before Super Bowl 50 on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.

[hfojvt]

1. he's 77 though

lots of people get Alzheimer's and some at younger ages. Still, I hope for his sake that Payton Manning retires now.

What is the word on Stabler and Morrall?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

2. Report: Former Miami Dolphins QB Earl Morrall had brain disease CTE

Earl Morrall, a key contributor in the Miami Dolphins perfect season, had been afflicted with the most serious stage of a degenerative brain disease when he died in April 2014 at age 79, The New York Times reported this week.

Morrall’s family told the newspaper that Morrall had stage 4 CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) when he died.

The disease has been diagnosed in the autopsy of numerous former NFL players over the past 14 years. It has been linked to repeated head trauma, including the type of jarring hits common in football. The disease can cause memory loss and depression.

Boston University has diagnosed CTE in 90 of 94 players it has studied. Another former Dolphins standout, receiver Mark Duper, was diagnosed with signs of CTE in 2013.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article58794523.html#storylink=cpy

[Algernon Moncrieff]

3. Stabler

Legendary NFL quarterback Ken Stabler was suffering from severe brain disease when he died of colon cancer, researchers reveal

NFL legend Ken Stabler was suffering from a degenerative brain disease believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head when he died, researchers have revealed.

Stabler died of complications from colon cancer at the age of 69 in July last year, but it has now been revealed that the Super Bowl-winning quarterback also had Stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

The disease, which can only be diagnosed after death, is linked to repeated brain trauma and associated with symptoms such as memory loss, depression and progressive dementia.

According to the New York Times, Stabler's brain was removed during his autopsy – as per his wishes – and transported to researchers at Boston University.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3430024/Legendary-NFL-quarterback-Kenny-Stabler-suffering-severe-brain-disease-died-colon-cancer-researchers-reveal.html#ixzz3zcKVjoZf
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[BeyondGeography]

4. Not surprising

That guy played QB like a Purple People Eater.

There is so much coming out now about football and CTE. Older players like Kapp are doing a truly great service by opening up about their post-retirement lives and giving their brains to science.