Thursday’s news involving health and safety in sports:

* The Fort Worth Star-Telegram interviewed Mavericks guard Brandon Wright, who can relate to what teammate Chris Kaman is going through with a concussion. Kaman sharply criticized the NBA’s concussion program earlier this week.

“He knows how serious it is,” Wright said. “He doesn’t want to have lingering effects where you’re out for the rest of the season, or you can’t do any basketball activities until mid-summer.

“So you’ve got to really take your time.”

That’s precisely what Wright did after he suffered his concussion.

“I just sat there with low lights, no TV, no reading,” Wright said. “I went to the hyperbaric chamber a lot and that helped out a lot, but I just waited for the symptoms to calm down.

“It’s tough man, because it’s frustrating. You can get out of shape really easy, and there’s not a lot you can do because if you start running around and getting headaches and blurred vision, that’s counterproductive.”

* TheHockeyWriters.com wrote that the NHL concussion problem will not solve itself.

No one is trying to take the physicality out of hockey.  That is part of what makes the game great.  A big hit will energize your team, your fans, and give you momentum, but we need to redefine what a clean his is:  A full-body check where no contact with the head is made.  Much like a tackle in today’s NFL.

Unless the National Hockey League wants to be faced with a similar or worse class action lawsuit like what the NFL is currently dealing with, they need to change the culture of hitting.  Not eliminate hitting, but redefining what a good, clean hit is.  Whether you’re a superstar like Sidney Crosby or Gabriel Landeskog or a 4th line journeyman, you deserve to have your head and brain protected.

* CNN reported that Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn’s injury is a “career-delayer” not a career-ender.

* An article in the Journal of American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons said that children with ACL injuries need special treatment to avoid future knee injuries.

* MaxPreps looked at the sons of NFL players who signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, including Kelvin Taylor and Ray Lewis III.

* The Ithacan reported how concussions have spike this season for Ithica College.

* The San Jose Mercury-News reported on a push to hire athletic trainers at all area schools.

* And the Cleveland Browns are having a contest where an area school can win a visit from the NFL Play 60 bus.

– Bill Bradley, contributing editor