The esteemed writers at the California Golden Blogs couldn’t care less that the Bears lost to Oregon State on Saturday. Jahvid Best’s terrifying spill caused them to reflect on their priorities:

[I]t was a strange relief to find out that Jahvid ‘only’ has a concussion, his 2nd in as many weeks. But recently there’s been lots of talk about the science of concussions and the long term impact of repeated head trauma. Malcolm Gladwell wrote the original article that helped jump start the discussion. Ray Ratto talks about it. Scott Ostler talks about it with normal sentence structure. Everybody is reevaluating the most popular, lucrative sport in America. The NFL and NCAA have desperately tried to change the rulebook to protect players, but every attempt to change a game that has a long history of stunningly brutal events seems futile. Meanwhile evidence continues to mount – players effectively disabled, early onset dementia, and other debilitating injuries that boggle the mind.

Before Saturday’s game, to my discredit, I hadn’t paid much attention to the issue. I didn’t want to admit that a sport that takes up perhaps too much of my free time and disposable income was preying on the athletes that perform for my entertainment. This is particularly disturbing in the college ranks, when players receive no money, and most have no future in the sport. I couldn’t drum up a reason to care about the rest of the Oregon St. game and I wonder if I’ll care about the rest of the season.

Best spent the night at Highland General Hospital in Oakland for observation and tests after landing on the back of his head in the end zone and being briefly knocked unconscious in the Golden Bears’ 31-14 loss to Oregon State on Saturday night.

The school says results from a CT scan and X-rays came back normal. Best will not play Saturday against Arizona. His status for future games will continue to be evaluated. This was the second straight week Best sustained a concussion.

From California comes this report from the Associated Press:

Tedford said the fact Best has sustained two concussions in a week’s span would be taken seriously.

“I’m sure that will be talked about,” Tedford said. “He will be evaluated very closely, no question about it. There’s no way we’d take a chance with any of our players.”

The latest injury — with 6:07 before halftime — silenced Memorial Stadium, where fans chanted “Jahvid! Jahvid!” before everything went quiet. At least one family member was among those around the 20-year-old junior. […]

Before play resumed, Tedford told his players Best was moving and assured them he would be OK.

“That took the worry off us. We were holding our breath and able to exhale,” safety Sean Cattouse said. “It was a hard moment for us to see Jahvid go down like that. There was silence. When he was staying down there, it got scary.”

And while anyone that saw video of the injury is definitely breathing a sigh of relief in the aftermath—averting paralysis is always a good thing!—it’s nonetheless serious that Best has suffered two concussions in the span of one week. While the effects of concussions are still being studied, it’s become a hot button issue in the past few years, as former football players suffer the consequences of concussions from twenty years prior.

And generally, anytime the brain is in question, it’s prudent to err on the side of caution.

Well, this is certainly good news. From California Bear Talk:

The preliminary report on Jahvid Best is that he has movement in all his extremities and has been diagnosed with a concussion. Cal hopes to have more information on his condition by the end of the game.

Just a few minutes ago, Jahvid Best suffered a horrific-looking injury as he scored a touchdown against Oregon State. Now, there’s video:

It’s nearly impossible to watch that video without cringing and fearing the worst. The way his body immediately goes limp certainly conjures fears of paralysis.

And with the All-American Best currently in the Emergency Room at a local hospital, the injury provides an ominous reminder that beyond all the fanfare, with millions of fans across the country, billion dollar TV contracts, highlight shows, and larger than life superstars… At its core, football is still a dangerous, dangerous game. Even for the best of players, as Best’s injury proves.

That said, here’s to hoping all this melodrama will look ridiculous in hindsight, and the Best injury turns out to be one big, scary false alarm.

California running back Jahvid Best, considered by many to be the best running rack in the entire country, has been carted off the field in Berkley tonight. At this point the exact nature of the injury is unknown, but it appears to involve his head or neck. And given the precautions taken by the paramedics, it looks quite serious. He was not moving while being carted off, and was also receiving oxygen.

He was injured while scoring a touchdown--leapfrogging the pile on the goaline, and falling awkwardly and violently on his back and neck. His helmet came off in the process, and his body appeared to go limp. Just extremely horrific stuff. Cal is trailing Oregon State 14-7 after the touchdown from Best, but the proceedings took on an ominous feeling once Best went down:

We'll have updates as they emerge, and here's to hoping that the injury isn't as bad as it looks.