Which Came First: The Concussions Or The Stupid?

Dallas Stars agitator extraordinaire Matthew Barnaby hasn't played a game in the NHL since January 9 when he was concussed in a fight with Phoenix's Josh Gratton. The blurred vision he experienced after that bout (the culmination of countless haymakers to the mellon) led doctors to tell Barnaby to stop fighting, lest he do more serious and permanent damage to his cranium. But will that advice stop Matt from doing what he does best?

"The doctors gave me a pretty good checkup," said Barnaby, who will turn 34 in May. "And they told me that if I fought again, there was a very good chance this would happen again."

Barnaby has had concussions before, including one that put him out for more than a month. But he has never been told to stop fighting. And he has never been told to stop playing.

"If I can't fight," he said recently, "I can't play."

So Barnaby will continue to let enforcers around the League use his head as a punching bag, despite the fact that during "one of the tests he took after his latest concussion, he couldn't recall information provided to him just moments earlier – such as what number appeared within a certain shape."

I'm sure his wife what's-her-name and two (three? four?) children are thrilled.

UPDATE: Thanks to Rage (and YouTube), you can watch the fight in question right here: