Robert Griffin III

[gh]

I was listening to a national sports radio show yesterday afternoon, and they had one eye on the set at the time and were all over Shanahan. Supposedly back at the time of theoriginal injury he sent Griffin back in without getting clearance from the team doctor. They were howling for his head.

[highjumpfan]

A tale of two teams. In Washington, one time is vilified for taking its young star out to prevent injury even though his team had the best record in the sport. By contrast another team with a sensational young star leaves him in despite an obvious injury and the results spoke for themselves.

Who was right, the Nationals or the Redskins? In hindsight, obviously the Nats look like geniuses.

[guru]

Supposedly back at the time of the original injury he sent Griffin back in without getting clearance from the team doctor.

Not only that, but Shanahan said he was told by team doctor Dr James Andrews that Griffin was good to go, while Andrews - one of the most respected sports medicine doctors in the country - said he never even got a chance to examine Griffin on the day of the original injury, much less medically clear Griffin to return to the game.


http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/ ... ith-rg-iii

[guru]

Looks like he tore his ACL and LCL(warning: picture not for the squeamish)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/foo ... -suggests/


Shanahan should be fired.

[Marlow]

Looks like he tore his ACL and LCL(warning: picture not for the squeamish)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/foo ... -suggests/
Shanahan should be fired.

Nah, according to the Adrian P model, they'll be thanking Shanahan for making RBG3 the Best QB in 2013!

[guru]

Well, now that it's been confirmed that Griffin did indeed tear his ACL and LCL Sunday, and faces 8-10 months of rehab(if things go well), I have a question. Considering the NFL is so concerned with player safety that it fines and/or suspends players who so much as brush a helmet when making a hit, why is there nothing but crickets emanating from the league office regarding Shanahan putting the obviously compromised Griffin on the field?

[gh]

A tale of two teams. In Washington, one time is vilified for taking its young star out to prevent injury even though his team had the best record in the sport. By contrast another team with a sensational young star leaves him in despite an obvious injury and the results spoke for themselves.

Who was right, the Nationals or the Redskins? In hindsight, obviously the Nats look like geniuses.

The Nats look like idiots too. Even if you accept that restricting Strasberg's activity was the right thing to do (I think they got that wrong as well, but that's another story), having him pitch full-bore for part of the season then sitting him down was silly from where I sit.

If you figure he only gets x pitches during the year, and he's rolling along really well but you want to stick with that figure anyway, then simply start pitching him on an extra days' rest, or never pitch him more than 4 innings or so. Or make him a middle reliever. Something, anything! There had to be all kinds of creative ways to keep his arm in shape without throwing it out so he was available for the post-season. Windows of opportunity in pro sports more often than not are very small, and given the run they were on in 2012, they should have gone for it.

[jazzcyclist]

The thing that's baffling about the Redskins is that they had a competent backup. Isn't the reason they drafted Cousins last year was because they figured RGIII would miss games because of his style of play?

[KDFINE]

Interesting take on what just happened by Maureen Dowd on the op-ed page of today's N.Y. Times.

[Conor Dary]

A tale of two teams. In Washington, one time is vilified for taking its young star out to prevent injury even though his team had the best record in the sport. By contrast another team with a sensational young star leaves him in despite an obvious injury and the results spoke for themselves.

Who was right, the Nationals or the Redskins? In hindsight, obviously the Nats look like geniuses.

The Nats look like idiots too. Even if you accept that restricting Strasberg's activity was the right thing to do (I think they got that wrong as well, but that's another story), having him pitch full-bore for part of the season then sitting him down was silly from where I sit.

If you figure he only gets x pitches during the year, and he's rolling along really well but you want to stick with that figure anyway, then simply start pitching him on an extra days' rest, or never pitch him more than 4 innings or so. Or make him a middle reliever. Something, anything! There had to be all kinds of creative ways to keep his arm in shape without throwing it out so he was available for the post-season. Windows of opportunity in pro sports more often than not are very small, and given the run they were on in 2012, they should have gone for it.

I agree with this. Was pretty idiotic and completely cynical what the Nats did.

[guru]

For those of you quick to rip the Nationals, let's not forget at the start of the 2012 season Strasburg was one season removed from a ruptured UCL, and coming off 18 months of rehab.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulnar_coll ... ent_injury

[Conor Dary]

For those of you quick to rip the Nationals, let's not forget at the start of the 2012 season Strasburg was one season removed from a ruptured UCL, and coming off 18 months of rehab.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulnar_coll ... ent_injury

Yes, we know all about that. Nothing new there. No one is saying shortening his season was wrong. It was how they went about it.

[gh]

actually, you can put me in the camp who thinks they were at least marginally wrong in shortening his season at all. Rehab sitch well understood.

[26mi235]

He would just rather play soccer. Go figger.

He's still young for track and field and the soccer will help his endurance. When he gets older he'll probably do both.

Well, Gwen (Hardesty) Coogan played soccer until she switched to track as a freshman -- in college. She soon won several DIII 3000m titles and made the Olympic team in the 10,000 while working on her PhD in math (Number Theory, I think) at Colorado.

One thing I like about track and field -- it is one of those (few) sports you can do while enjoying playing as a kid rather than having to work to be a good athlete as a kid. Seems like you cannot play baseball, soccer, swim etc. now at a good level unless you play and typically play intensively as a kid.

[Dutra5]

Well, now that it's been confirmed that Griffin did indeed tear his ACL and LCL Sunday, and faces 8-10 months of rehab(if things go well), I have a question. Considering the NFL is so concerned with player safety that it fines and/or suspends players who so much as brush a helmet when making a hit, why is there nothing but crickets emanating from the league office regarding Shanahan putting the obviously compromised Griffin on the field?

It's not about safety. It's about preventing lawsuits or to present themselves as "doing something about it" for current lawsuits involving head injuries.

[Conor Dary]

He would just rather play soccer. Go figger.

He's still young for track and field and the soccer will help his endurance. When he gets older he'll probably do both.

Well, Gwen (Hardesty) Coogan played soccer until she switched to track as a freshman -- in college. She soon won several DIII 3000m titles and made the Olympic team in the 10,000 while working on her PhD in math (Number Theory, I think) at Colorado.

One thing I like about track and field -- it is one of those (few) sports you can do while enjoying playing as a kid rather than having to work to be a good athlete as a kid. Seems like you cannot play baseball, soccer, swim etc. now at a good level unless you play and typically play intensively as a kid.

Actually it is Gwyn. If I remember right her dissertation was on elliptical functions.

[26mi235]

I was thinking number theory because a recently departed hot-shot number theorist who came ten - fifteen years ago brought along four or five mathematicians to work with him and she was one of them. She only lived a few blocks away, as did Rod DeHaven and as does Tim Hacker. Thus, in my daughter's elementary school covering K-2, there were kids from all three and good runners in each family. Rod went to South Dakota to coach at his alma mater and Gwyn did the same going back to New England to teach math at her prep school alma mater (maybe the best one in the States) while hubby coaches at Dartmouth. Too bad for Madison West, they would have had even strong XC teams.... (boys won states, girls third this year )

Katrina Coogan was the strong fifth runner as a frosh who finished ahead of the fifth runner of the other contenders and thus helped her team to the NCAA title in 2011.

Same Hacker is a red-shirt frosh at Wisconsin (where dad was NCAA champ); however kid three is likely the star runner of the kids.

Rod DeHaven's oldest son was a surprise Footlocker Finalist last year (as a sophomore?), although he did not race well at the MW FL this year.

[Conor Dary]

Katrina Coogan was the strong fifth runner as a frosh who finished ahead of the fifth runner of the other contenders and thus helped her team to the NCAA title in 2011.

Yes, I know Katrina. I once babysat her back in 1995. Ho, ho...

[26mi235]

Katrina Coogan was the strong fifth runner as a frosh who finished ahead of the fifth runner of the other contenders and thus helped her team to the NCAA title in 2011.

Yes, I know Katrina. I once babysat her back in 1995. Ho, ho...

And I ran with her while I was in grad school and she transferred to Harvey Mudd for her junior year (and then back to Smith for her senior year, which was her plan).