Brett Favre will need heavy protection in 2010 season

As the Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has had a surgery on his left ankle, his playing status is highly expected to be active in the 2010 season, and his return will mean that the team will have to make full preparation to protect the 40-year-old starter from further injuries, which will end Favre’s career immediately if not successfully avoided.

Favre played the leading role for the Vikings well last season, but his aging body was also a leading target to opponent teams. His ankle injury was just suffered during the NFC championship game against the New Orleans Saints when some Saints defensive players saw the void in quarterback-protection and gave Favre several heavy blows. Although they received punishment after the game, the game lost was lost, and the quarterback in Brett Favre jersey was so frustrated with the loss that he showed intention not to play again in 2010 season.

Fortunately, Favre did not really mean to retire when he was still able to lead a team to playoffs. Having the surgery done just indicated he is having serious consideration of career resume. But what he needs the Vikings to promise are more than money or the starting job, but also a heavy protection that will prevent opponents from reaching him easily to give more attacks.

Flyers center Carter broke bone on foot and will miss a month

After the Sunday night’s 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Thrashes, the Philadelphia Flyers center Jeff Carter had to stay off the ice for quite a long time because of a foot injury that was sustained during the game.

According to reports, the Flyers leading goal scorer actually broke a bone on his left foot off a shot from Thrashers’ left wing Clarke MacArthur in the first period. By so far tests have shown that he will have to miss as long as three to four weeks to recover from the injury. That means he will have to miss Tuesday night’s game in Ottawa, ending his streak of playing 286 consecutive games and remaining the record as the third-longest in team history.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said that Jeff is a tough player and his leaving will cause other players to have to pick up their socks a little bit. As for Carter himself, what he is looking forward is that he could be able to wear back his Flyers jersey in time for the playoffs that are to start next month.

Warriors forward Randolph will be out for two months

The Golden State Warriors forward Anthony Randolph will not be available to play with the team for at least two months. After undergoing an MRI exam Monday on his injured left ankle, Randolph was told that there is a tear of two outside ligaments in the ankle and a sprain in another ligament. Thus he will be wearing a walking boot to protect the ankle for three weeks before being re-evaluated.

Randolph left Friday night’s 108-101 home victory over Kings jersey late in the first quarter with the injury. He collapsed to the floor after a guard wearing NO. 13 Kings jersey missed a driving layup at the buzzer and lay on the ground for several moments before teammates helped him off the court.

The second-year pro averaged 11.6 points and a team-leading 6.5 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game this season. And he had been making positive strides and was given more responsibility recently. However, the injury is more than a bit of setback for him. During his absence, the Warriors will give Ronny Turiaf, Vladimir Radmanovic and Devean George more playing time.

Texans TE was placed on IR with knee injury

Tearing a knee ligament, the Houston Texans tight end Anthony Hill ended his rookie season with three games left for the season. And the Texans will play this Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams with only two healthy tight ends.

Hill, a fourth-round pick from North Carolina State, has appeared in five games wearing Texans jersey this season and has one reception for nine yards. He missed some time early in October because of swine flu, being the first confirmed case among all the players wearing NFL jerseys this season.

Before losing Hill to the hamstring injury, the Texans had already lost Owen Daniels to a similar injury in November. For this Sunday’s game, the team will have Joel Dreessen and rookie James Casey play against the Rams.

Lions QB Stafford may sit out next two games with shoulder injury

With the team being beaten by the Cincinnati Bengals 23-13 Sunday night, the Detroit Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford seemed too pessimistic about the team’s future to play more games. With four games left for the season, he said he wants to sit out one or two games to take after his shoulder injury.

The top pick in the draft originally hurt the shoulder during a win over the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 22 and is still feeling pains caused by the injury. What’s more, he aggravated the non-throwing shoulder in the final minutes during Sunday’s game against the Bengals after Dhani Jones, a linebacker in Bengals jersey, drove him onto the shoulder.

Stafford immediately left the game and sat on bench for the rest of the game. With a plan to have some medical tests after returning to Detroit, Stafford also said he would consider resting the shoulder for a while and may not play until it can work in 100 percent.

Jets safety Leonhard had limited practice Friday and may miss game Sunday

The New York Jets safety Jim Leonhard returned to practice Friday. Still wearing a cast on his hand, he participated in individual drills as well as some team activities, indicating that he may be able to wear back his Jets jersey and play with the team this Sunday against the New England Patriots.

Leonhard broke his right thumb in last Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. And according to Coach Rex Ryan, he would consult with Leonhard and the team’s trainers to see how he feels leading up to the game Sunday. And Leonhard himself seemed optimistic on his playing status.

“It was better than I thought it would be,” Leonhard said of practicing with the cast. “If I wasn’t able to do that today, it would have been very hard to play on Sunday.”

If he cannot play, Eric Smith will start in his place. And if he plays, he will be replaced on punt returns by Jerricho Cotchery, who last returned punts in 2005 and averaged 7.8 yards a return.

Bengals DE Odom had severe injury in 28-17 loss to Texans

On Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Houston Texans at 28-17, and they also lost top pass rusher Antwan Odom as well as some other key players to injuries during the game. According to Coach Marvin Lewis, tests would be held to determine the extent of the seemingly severe injury on Odom’s tendon.

Odom, the top defensive player in Bengals jersey during a 4-1 start, barged into the backfield and blocked Kris Brown’s 28-yard field goal attempt on the Texans’ opening drive. He was hurt on Matt Schaub’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Owen Daniels. He got blocked while trying to get to Schaub and stayed on his back in pain. After the medical staff had a look at the back of his right leg, he was carted off the field and did not return.

The other two injured starters were starting end Reggie Kelly and starting defensive tackle Domata Peko. Kelly had a torn Achilles’ tendon during training camp and is out for the season after having a surgery. And Peko suffered a knee injury in the first quarter on Sunday’s game.

Steelers RB Parker skipped Wednesday practice with toe injury unhealed

After missing the 38-28 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back Willie Parker also missed the team’s practice Wednesday because of the injured left big toe. And the injury may keep him out of a second game, which will be held in Detroit this Sunday.

“I’m a competitor and I want to compete and show the world what I’ve got but, at the same time, I’ve got to be smart about it,” said Parker, who ran for at least 1,200 yards every season from 2005-07. “Right now, I’m not where I need to be.”

The last time when Parker played in Detroit, he made a 75-yard touchdown run and helped the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in the Super Bowl in February 2006. It would be a pity if he would not play this Sunday’s game at Detroit. But it would also be a good chance for Rashard Mendenhall, who started last Sunday’s game against the Chargers and ran for 65 yards and two touchdowns in his place.

Former WR Givens filed lawsuit against Titans for keeping knee problem secret

Former Tennessee Titans wide receiver David Givens filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the team, claiming that the team failed to tell him about a defect in his knee that led to an injury and eventually ended his career.

Givens said in the lawsuit that a doctor discovered a defect in his knee, which may need surgery at some point and may cause him to be unable to make a full 16-game season, during a physical around the time his contract was being negotiated in March 2006. However, the team officials did not tell Givens about the defect and urged him to keep playing after he put on giants jersey.

“The decision was made by the Titans management, coaching and medical staffs to risk serious injury and aggravation to a pre-existing condition without so much as consulting or discussing that situation with David Givens,” the lawsuit said.

The receiver signed a five-year, $24 million deal with an $8 million signing bonus in March 2006 with the Titans. He was injured on the second play of the fourth quarter of a 27-26 loss to Baltimore in November of 2006. Givens tore his anterior cruciate ligament, meniscus and needed bone plugs inserted to repair a broken bone in the knee. He also needed another surgery in 2007 to clean up meniscus and shave down some of the bone. And by so far, he still undergoing rehabilitation.