Shallow Thoughts

Depressing news around here today, with the Brewers loss to Pittsburgh and the news that Battleship Lorenzen might not start for the G-men this weekend against Green Bay (although I'm still thinking Eli definitely misses this week).

Let's take a spin around the sports world for a couple of other stories that might only interest me...

1. The Kevin Everett Story

In Buffalo, Bills TE Kevin Everett is making significant progress after a severe spinal injury suffered on Sunday, according to a story by the Associated Press.

Everett can wiggle his toes, bend his hip, move his ankles, elevate and kick his leg, as well as extend his elbows and slightly flex his biceps, said Dr. Kevin Gibbons, the supervisor of neurosurgery at Buffalo's Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital.

First of all, who knew that Millard Fillmore had a hospital named after him? Second of all, that's a huge change from Monday, when Bills orthopedic surgeon called Everett's condition "bleak" and "dismal" and said he'd never walk again.

I was wondering why the Bills doctor was being so brutally negative a day after the injury. If we've ever learned anything about these things as sports fans, spinal injuries seem to be all different and doctors never seem to quite know how a patient will react to surgery or treatment. It seems like the Bills doctor really jumped the gun by making all of these negative headlines a day after the injury (and surgery) occurred...but I guess I don't have a medical degree up on my wall.

I also heard they used some type of body cooling treatment immediately after the injury to keep it from spreading (kind of like putting ice on a bruise to reduce swelling) - they had his core body temperature down to the low 90s. I heard this on the radio, so I don't really know much more than that, but it's amazing what doctors can do these days.

2. The Patriots are Cheaters, Part Deux

I haven't even bothered to follow this story very closely, but I'm sure Bill Simmons will have a vociferous defense about why it's OK for the Patriots to pay a spy to videotape defensive signals from another team. Maybe cheating is OK in Boston (see Harrison, Rodney). It will be interesting if the media darling Patriots will get a harsh punishment for this one. Is this much different from taking steroids to improve a player's physicial ability? I really don't think so.

I guess it's a good thing the Packers didn't get Randy Moss - bad news sure seems to follow that guy around...

(I just glanced at ESPN.com, and Simmons does indeed have a story about the scandal. From the headline, it's possible that he doesn't even have a defense. But since his story looked to be approximately 247,000 words long I passed on reading it.)

3. Zeke is on Trial

Since I've hated Isiah Thomas for as long as I can remember, and think he's been an unmitigated disaster at every executive position he's held since he hung up his sneakers, I can't help but smile a bit at the fact that Thomas is spending his time a month before training camp defending a sexual harrassment lawsuit. The Knicks might actually be decent this year if Thomas is forced to let go of the reins...oh wait, they're stuck with his roster and the salary cap hell that he's put them in for the next decade, so they'll still suck.