CLOSED!! ? The Official 2006 Sports Thread ? CLOSED!!

Jim Trotter of the San Diego Union-Tribune, quoting a source familiar with the situation, reported that Patriots safety Rodney Harrison has a partial tear in the ACL of his right knee and will miss the rest of the season, no matter how far the Patriots advance in the playoffs. The knee is the same one that required reconstructive surgery in October of 2005. Although a partial tear may not require surgery, it is recommended in some cases.

On another injury front, the Celtics, already missing Paul Pierce, Wally Sczerbiak, and Delonte West, had Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen go down with injuries in last night's loss to the Indiana Pacers. Allen's injury appears to be serious, as the report is that he has a tear in his left ACL as a result of missing an attempted dunk after getting fouled in the third quarter, and could miss the remainder of the season as well as part of next season.

 

There were no injury report changes for the Patriots today. The Chargers have upgraded DE Jacques Cesaire (knee) from doubtful to questionable. EDIT: Of the Chargers' injured players, only Cesaire was reported to have missed portions of team practice on Thursday.

Also, Steve Feldman, Rodney Harrison's agent, has denied the earlier San Diego Union-Tribune report that Harrison has a slightly torn right ACL.

 

The Patriots again reported no changes to their injury report (EDIT: Though FB Heath Evans was present for the media-access portion of practice after missing Wednesday and Thursday). The Chargers have upgraded DE Derreck Robinson (foot) from questionable to probable. EDIT: Again, only Jacques Cesaire was reported to have missed portions of "team" practice.

 

In Red Sox news, it was made definite that Kyle Snyder will be back this year by signing him to a one-year deal. Also, in a move that appears to be insurance against not being able to get J.D. Drew under contract, the Red Sox have signed OF Alex Ochoa to a minor-league contract and invited him to spring training.

 

What else can be said about last night's game? Not only did LaDainian Tomlinson have a good game, but Tom Brady had the worst playoff game of his career, and the Patriots still found a way to win it. Granted, some of it was mistakes by the Chargers (the headbutt foul giving the Patriots a first down, and Marty Schottenheimer's challenge of the fumble after the third Brady interception without much to base a challenge on, wasting what proved to be a valuable timeout, come to mind), but that's why you play the game for 60 minutes.

Next week in Indy should be very interesting.

 

Forgot to bring this up in my last post, but what do you guys make of LT's comment that the Patriots had no class after several of the Patriots did Shawne Merriman's "Lights Out" dance as a mocking gesture during the postgame celebration? My view is that Merriman left his team open to something like that...I remember Jets' opponents doing Mark Gastineau's dance after wins in that day. It's nothing new. You didn't see the Jets whine about that, though. However, Karen Guregian of the Herald pretty much agreed with LT, saying the Pats sunk to an uncharacteristic low.

 

Michael Felger's report card

Brady gets an A- despite the 3 interceptions and other missed throws (a low one to Ben Watson comes to mind) because he made the plays he had to to win. The D-line only got a D+ because they weren't much of a factor in trying to stop LT (only 11 tackles from the starters, with Ty Warren having 7 of those).

 

According to Mike Reiss' Patriots notes column in the Globe today, Rodney Harrison was spotted at the airport yesterday set to return to New England after remaining home with his wife, who has recently given birth to their second child. While this does not necessarily mean Harrison will play or even practice this week, it is certainly a better sign than him remaining at home.

 

Injury report for the 2007 AFC Championship Game:

Patriots

Doubtful: S Rodney Harrison (knee)
Questionable: WR Troy Brown (flu), OT Ryan O'Callaghan (flu), DL Mike Wright (flu)
Probable: QB Tom Brady (right shoulder)

Of the listed players, only Brady was not reported to have missed portions of "team" practice. Also, DE Ty Warren was absent from the media-access portion of practice today, though he was not listed on the injury report (I'll just assume Warren was excused from practice for personal reasons today).

Harrison, of course, is an upgrade, as he was out last week. Players removed include WR Bam Childress, FB Heath Evans, and TE Benjamin Watson (questionable last week), as well as CB Ellis Hobbs, DL Richard Seymour, and LB Mike Vrabel (probable last week).

Colts

Questionable: OT Ryan Diem (shoulder), CB Nicholas Harper (concussion), LB Cato June (concussion), OG Ryan Lilja (knee), WR Ricky Proehl (hamstring), S Bob Sanders (knee)

Practice status was not announced at press time. Proehl is the only backup listed on the injury report for the Colts; the rest are starters.

 

In BC basketball news, the team has permanently dismissed junior center Sean Williams and junior forward Akida McLain for violation of team rules. The big name in the move is Williams, who was a leading candidate for defensive player of the year with 75 blocked shots in 15 games. The Eagles are currently 5-0 in ACC play and will travel to South Carolina this weekend for a game against the nationally-ranked Clemson Tigers.

 

There were no changes to either the Patriots' or the Colts' injury reports today. The big news out of Patriots practice today, however, was the return of Rodney Harrison. The Herald, however, reported that Harrison only wore a jersey with bare shoulders, so it is likely he only participated in stretching. Also, Troy Brown, Ryan O'Callaghan, and Mike Wright returned to practice after missing yesterday with the flu. Ty Warren was out of practice again today, but it was reported that he was tending to familly issues in his native Texas and was due to return to New England later today.

 

The Patriots made no changes to their injury report today.

The Colts had one addition: LB Rob Morris is now questionable with a knee injury, and was reported to have missed a portion of team drills. Morris was recently elevated to the starting lineup, replacing Gilbert Gardner at strong-side linebacker.

In Red Sox news, the team has now officially parted ways with Trot Nixon, a member of the 2004 championship team. Trot has signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians worth $3M.

 

The Patriots today downgraded S Rodney Harrison to "out" for tomorrow's AFC championship game, meaning Harrison, who had been listed as doubtful w/ a knee injury, likely did not make the trip to Indianapolis.

 

Well, the Patriots' season has come down with a thud, as the defense gave up a 21-3 lead (which would be the largest deficit ever overcome in a conference championship game) en route to a 38-34 loss to the Indianapolis Colts last night. All I'm going to say is thank you to the Patriots for a good season, and good luck to Indy and the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl.

 

This could be my next-to-last post in this thread, as all that's left for the 2006 season fallout is Michael Felger's final report card (which gives player-by-player grades).

Michael Felger's report card for AFC championship game

Really a mixed bag...the special teams got an A, but the D-line and linebackers both got Ds. Surprisingly, the receivers got a B despite Reche Caldwell's two drops (one, on a play late in the fourth quarter in which he wasn't covered by the Colts, of which was critical), meaning Felger thought the group as a whole wasn't the problem.