• Rutgers University left tackle Eric LeGrand made a seemingly routine tackle in Rutgers' 23-20 overtime win against Army on Saturday, but he suffered a spinal injury which has left him paralyzed from the neck down. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said that LeGrand was responsive and aware of the hard road ahead after his emergency surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center Sunday night. Though LeGrand's recovery outlook is unknown at this time, there are two former football players who have endured similar injuries and fully recovered. A hit put on former Penn State cornerback Adam Taliaferro in 2000 caused damage to the C5 part of his spinal cord, and Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett took a devastating hit in 2007 during a special teams play, causing damage to the C3 and C4 parts of his spinal cord. We hope that LeGrand can one day stand with the fully recovered players.
• Die-hard baseball fans will remember Kirk Gibson's famous walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley in game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Gibson, who recently signed a two-year contract to become the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, is auctioning off the bat he used, along with his World Series trophy and NL Most Valuable Player award from that season. Gibson said in a teleconference that he had never considered himself a collector but found himself with "a warehouse that was just full of everything -- cars, boats, memorabilia." So now we know what to buy the person who has everything -- a bigger storage facility.
• Forget Air Jordans, what you need is a pair of Athletic ProPulsion Labs' "Concept 1" shoes. The new kicks are claimed to increase vertical leap through a spring-based system, which is why the NBA quickly banned them. According to NBA rules, players may not wear any shoe during a game that "creates an undue advantage." We at the sports desk think the Miami Heats' starting line-up creates an undue advantage, so we propose this: Let everybody in the league except the Heat rock the Concept 1's. Maybe then, other teams might get to win a game or two.
• Former 12-time NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau drove his white Cadillac SUV off of a 100-foot seaside cliff Monday night, and it gets worse. Seau suffered only cuts, bruises and a concussion from the crash, but nine hours before the crash, he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence at his home that he shares with his 25-year-old girlfriend. Too bad for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that Seau isn't still an active player. Imagine the suspension and fines he could hand down.
Contact staff writers Amelia Vogler and Zak Kozuchowski at amelia.vogler@richmond.edu and zak.kozuchowski@richmond.edu
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