[PVCpirate]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

and I've seen a ref take a point blank shot to the face with a soccer ball hard enough to knock his glasses off but he was relatively unhurt

And Dean Kamen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnE0j69_gYk .

Seriously though, this is probably the year where safety is most important, and teams need to be really careful. Mandatory hard hats for refs might be something that needs to be in place. The drive teams will be behind a big wall so that shouldn't be so bad, but I would be worried about the people at field level who aren't necessarily paying attention to everything.