Rhode Island football Joe Casey injured

The University of Rhode Island's Blue-White football scrimmage on Media Day ended in tragedy Saturday afternoon when Rams senior fullback Joe Casey suffered what appears to be a severe injury to his right ankle.
Casey was tackled on the 5-yard line after a run of more than 20 yards. He let out a scream as he got up, then fell back to the grass at Meade Stadium at 5:20 p.m. in considerable pain.
He was taken by ambulance to South County Hospital.
In 2008 the hard-luck Casey, a preseason Division I-AA All-American, suffered a season-ending leg injury midway through the first quarter of the first game.
The three-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, who needs less than 500 yards to be Rhode Island's career rushing leader, was granted a medical redshirt for 2009.
He had started eight games in 2007 before a season-ending injury.
Casey's latest injury stunned URI's coaching staff and his teammates, many of them in tears as Casey raised his left arm as he was lifted into the ambulance.
"I feel so sad for that kid," said Rams first-year coach Joe Trainer, who struggled to contain his emotions. "Nobody's worked harder."
"It's a tragedy for us," said senior wide receiver Shawn Leonard. "Joe's an amazing guy. For him to do what he did to get back, and for this to happen again is unreal. I hope he can come back and stay strong. We're going to be with him all the way."

Will Philly fans accept Vick?

It should have been pretty obvious that when Michael Vick’s agent said “a lot of teams” were interested in Vick, none of those teams were looking at him as a starting quarterback.

So, backing up Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia (and probably seeing some time in Wildcat formations and any other sets Andy Reid can concoct for Vick) is probably an OK situation for the disgraced former Falcon.

What probably kept most teams from pursuing Vick is the inevitable fan backlash. A lot of football fans (including this one) have dogs, so the idea of signing a guy who went to prison for his involvement in dogfighting is going to upset a lot of dog-owning fans.

At first, putting Vick in a hostile city like Philly seems like a bad idea. But Eagles fans are notoriously angry all the time, no matter how the team is doing. So is it even possible to make them angrier? Sure, some fans will decry the move and don’t want Vick on their team. I can’t blame them. I wouldn’t want him on my team, either.

But there’s nothing Philly fanatics can do about it now. Vick is a member of the E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES! And if he does well and helps the Eagles win, the crazy fans will be throwing snowballs at PETA protesters in no time.

Best pitcher of this generation

Watching the Red Sox game last night, commentator Dennis Eckersley, for good reason, was gushing over Pedro Martinez, who was making his first start of the season for the Philadelphia Phillies after signing a one-year, incentive-laden deal earlier in the year.

When he was a member of the Red Sox, Pedro was amazing to watch. He was as close to automatic as you’d get during a dominant five-year span. My greatest memory of him was in April 2001, when he struck out 16 during a cold and rainy day against the Devil Rays.

But during his man love session about Pedro, Eck made a great point: Martinez was insanely dominant during a time when juicers owned the game. From 1997-2002, Pedro averaged 17 wins and 5 losses, and that included a 7-3 season in 2001, when he made only 18 starts.

During that time, he won three Cy Young awards, two in the American League and one in the NL with the Montreal Expos. He also finished second twice. In those six seasons, his earned run average went like this: 1.90, 2,89, 2.07, 1.74, 2.39, 2.26.
Including last night’s victory – he allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings, striking out five and walking one – Martinez has 215 for his career. Not exactly Hall of Fame numbers, but like Jim Rice, he was a dominant player for a substantial period of time. And he did it when balls were flying out of the ballpark at a torrid pace.

Sure Pedro had his moments in Boston, and things didn't end on a high note (although he won a ring in 2004 with the Sox), but there's no arguing about what he brought to the table.

Base-brawl

If I were Kevin Youkilis, I'd be embarrassed today. After getting drilled with a Rick Porcello pitch last night at Fenway, "Youk" charged the mound, threw his helmet at the Tigers pitcher (and missed) then eventually took him down with a tackle that would make any linebackers coach cringe.

Porcello actually ended up on top in the melee, mashing Youkilis' bald dome into the infield turf. Youkilis almost certainly will be suspended for the incident, and if you're going to go after the pitcher, get your money's worth and give him a few good shots. Youkilis fell short in that endeavor.

But Porcello doesn't get much credit, either. Like most pitchers, when he saw Youkilis coming, he started backpedaling like a cornerback. Just once, I'd like to see a pitcher stand his ground, or better yet, become the aggressor. Go after the hitter and meet him halfway. Get some momentum on your side.

Other than Nolan Ryan pummeling Robin Ventura in 1993, I can't think of a time when a pitcher made a hitter regret charging the mound. Youkilis should regret coming after Porcello, but it has nothing to do with Porcello.

A new era in fantasy football

At this point, I like to think of myself as a fantasy football veteran. I've been playing since a friend peer-pressured me into it about four years ago. Maybe five, I've lost count.

But for as long as I've been playing, LaDainian Tomlinson has been the consensus, can't miss, overall No. 1 pick. This year, for the first time in several years, that's not the case. It's entirely possible that LT could fall to the second round in a lot of drafts. I have the first of two drafts tonight, so we'll see where the Chargers star running back ends up.

Tomlinson rushed for 1,110 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. Very respectable numbers for an NFL back, but statistically, it was the worst season of his career. From 2002-2007, Tomlinson averaged 1,569 yards and 17.5 touchdowns a season. You'd be a fool not to take him with the first pick.

That's how I felt last year, even though I had a feeling it would be a down year for Tomlinson. but I had to take him anyway, and suffice it to say, things worked out as I'd feared, not as I'd hoped.

So, who is Tomlinson's successor as the can't miss guy? I don't think there is one. A lot of people are high on Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, and with good reason. But I'm not sold that he'll make it through a full season injury free, especially when he is the Vikings' only offensive option.

And Michael Turner of the Falcons is a popular option after rushing for 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. But he carried the ball a league-high 376 times. History shows running backs struggle a year after exceptionally high work loads. Look at former fantasy stud Larry Johnson: 416 carries for 1,789 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2006; missed eight games and managed just 559 yards and three TDs in '07.

It'll be interesting to see how the drafts play out without a guy like Tomlinson in his prime at the top of the draft.