June 12 - Pet Peeve Monday - Look Ma, No Helmet

This week’s PET PEEVE was supposed to be Local Weather reports that pre-empt and interrupt normal programming, usually during sweeps week.

Ironically, that PET PEEVE has been pre-empted by this morning’s news about Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s motorcycle accident.

This week’s PET PEEVE is now "Pampered Professional Athletes Who Think They Are Indestructible". They decide to ride motorcycles without helmets only to find that apparently Einstein, Newton, and most importantly Darwin were right.

Roethlisberger is in serious but stable condition and underwent surgery following a head injury he suffered this morning when his motorcycle collided with a car in Pittsburgh.Roethlisberger lost most of his teeth, fractured his left sinus cavity bone, suffered a nine-inch laceration to the back of his head, broke his jaw, and injured both knees when he hit the ground, police said. Roethlisberger was not wearing a helmet.

Roethlisberger is only the latest evidence that athletes and motorcycles are an incongruous combination. Here is the year-by-year summary:

2006 - Houston return specialist Jerome Mathis, a Pro Bowl player, injured his hands and got scrapes and bruises, causing him to miss some off season work.

2005 - Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. sustained internal injuries and damage to his right shoulder and right knee, forcing him to miss the season. With his leg still healing from a previous knee injury, he was learning how to ride his new sport bike in a parking lot when he hit a curb and was thrown over the handlebars.

2004 - New York Jets cornerback Jamie Henderson missed the entire season while he rehabbed from injuries sustained in an April wreck. The Jets waived him after he failed a physical.

2003 - Indy Racing League driver Dario Franchitti broke his back in a motorcycle accident and missed several races, including the Indianapolis 500.

2002 - Chicago Bulls guard Jason Williams crashed his new motorcycle into a light pole, fracturing his pelvis, tearing knee ligaments and damaging nerves in his left leg. The former No. 2 NBA draft pick hasn't played in the NBA since. San Francisco Giant Jeff Kent broke his wrist doing stunts on his motorcycle. He initially lied and said he had broken his wrist washing his truck.

2001 - Olympic skier Hermann Maier broke both legs in a wreck and nearly lost one leg.

2000 - Tennessee safety Marcus Robertson needed 150 stitches in his face after a crash in December and missed the regular-season finale.

1999 - Miami defensive end Kenny Mixon missed a game with abrasions and bruises he sustained in a crash after his motorcycle hit a wet spot. New York Giants running back Gary Brown was hospitalized in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident over the summer and was sidelined for a couple of weeks during training camp.

1998 - Green Bay defensive lineman Jermaine Smith smashed his elbow in a June accident, prompting coach Mike Holmgren to prohibit kick returner Glyn Milburn from riding the Harley-Davidson he won as MVP of the American Bowl exhibition in Tokyo.

1997 - Former Major League pitcher Steve Howe, who was attempting a comeback at age 39 with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League, was critically injured in a crash and later charged with drunken driving. Incidentally, Howe died in a car crash earlier this year.

1997 - Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Shawn Price injured his elbow in an off-season wreck and missed the beginning of the season.

1997 - Italian speed skater Orazio Fagone, who won a gold medal in the 5,000-meter short track relay at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, had his right leg amputated after a motorcycle accident, ending his hopes for a return to the Nagano Games.

People believe that a God or some “Intelligent Design” gave these individuals unique and special talents to excel at their chosen sports. I would argue that the design was not so intelligent if they weren’t born with helmets. They obviously did not retain the knowledge that any fight between body and pavement can’t be won.

Even Evil Kneival knew to wear a helmet. He did not know, however, that the Snake River could not be jumped.

My girls (Skye -left, Sophia - right) were not born with extra strength cranial containers (hard heads). They do know enough to wear helmets when they ride a bike. Given the inverse correlation between athletes and bike helmets, they will never play in the WNBA. However if the WNBA is still around in 15 years, I will owe a lot of people a lot of money.