FanHouse Injury

Football players used to get Omega brands on their biceps. Hell's Angels cruised the streets with large patches on their vests. And L.A. gangs flashed hand symbols to show allegiance. Every tough guy group out there has a mark. But, hey, us gun guys want an identifying mark, too.

Well, perhaps the best candidate is a snake bite scar. A snake bite is the cut we get over the eye when a combination of factors (usually culminating with the recoil from a high-powered rifle) jams the scope back into your forehead. Yes, it hurts. Yes, grown men also cry.

It doesn't happen much, but it is bound to happen if you shoot a lot and shoot a lot of big guns. It could be because the scope is improperly mounted or because the gun is too powerful or because of human error (read: you did something really dumb). But it's a reality of the gun range. Eventually the recoil of a rifle and an ill-placed forehead will result in a gash in the vicinity of your shooting eye. From this day forth, I'm considering it the brand of a marksman.

David Petzal, the legendary gun writer for Field and Stream, wrote up an account of some of the best scope cuts he's seen on his blog, The Gun Nut. I've pasted them on the next page for your enjoyment. Consider it an early Christmas gift.

What a terrible time to be a relief pitcher. We're only a month and a half into the season and already people are being pulled out of position for poor performance, scolded for showing emotion, and blamed for managerial jobs being put on the line. The worst examples of this have been St. Louis's Jason Isringhausen and Milwaukee's Eric Gagné.

In today's Dugout, we discuss the many reasons how and why St. Louis's Jason Isringhausen and Milwaukee's Eric Gagné are the worst examples. Oh boy, are they a couple of bad examples.

(Oh yeah, and if you don't get Izzy's screen name, say his last name out loud slowly.)

More, after the jump.

27 days after suffering horrific injuries in a 300mph crash in Dallas, NHRA champion John Force headed home from the hospital Saturday in Dallas.

Force suffered major injuries after his Funny Car ripped in two pieces at the completion of a run during the O'Reilly Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex on Sep. 23.

Left with a compound fracture of his left ankle, a broken right foot, broken fingers, a dislocated wrist, and severe abrasions impacting the tendons and ligaments of his right knee, Force ended up being a lucky man, despite his own belief that he shouldn't be alive.

He'll continue eight weeks of rehab near his California home, and is expected to be behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang Funny Car at the start of the 2008 NHRA Powerade Series Season.

"[...] my car broke in half and my legs got out and my arms. So we went to work to fix that. We've refitted the chassis with crossover bars to give it strength," said Force.

"What you saw, I've never seen in my career. I never saw a car rip in half."

In essence, there's one word that can legitimately describe Force's accident and recovery.

Incredible.

Quarterbacks with multiple fractures in their throwing hand usually take a seat and do that whole "healing" thing. On the surface it sounds like common sense. But then, common sense fell by the wayside long ago for last year's Arizona State football team.

Arizona State's Rudy Carpenter didn't get the memo.

The junior told ASUDevils.com that he fractured his right (throwing) hand in two places during practice before the Colorado game. And that he broke a bone on the ring finger of his left (non-throwing) hand when it was stepped on during the California game.

Both hands? I guess I should give him props for the incredibly tough/macho "look ma, no hands!" act. But then it explains away a lot of his ineffectiveness last year as he morphed from being the nation's most efficient passer to something resembling former UCLA quarterback Cory Paus.

Also: future wife take notice - the man needs no ring cause his ring finger kinda sorta doesn't work.

He also said of the injury against Cal, "It didn't feel good, but it's alright. I don't think I have a knuckle any more on my ring finger.

Ewwww.

A report we made a few days ago on a possible injury to Broncos rookie QB Jay Cutler has not checked out. We hope that we made it clear that the rumor was just that - rumor. This week's injury report contains no mention of Cutler (though Cedric Cobbs and Kyle Johnson are both questionable for Sunday's game with ankle problems), and Rocky Mountain News Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold has confirmed that Cutler has been throwing fine in practice all week.

So, consider this a formal retraction of the rumor. It was false. Jay Cutler is not injured. The source may have heard wrong, I may have been tricked by a Broncos employee who wanted to brag, or any number of other possibilities - but I just wanted to let you know that you can safely continue calling for Cutler to replace Jake knowing that Cutler is healthy enough to do so.

Additionally, in case you haven't heard, Rod Smith is considering going into the travel agency business, and the alleged terrorist plot on several different NFL stadiums (including Browns Stadium in Cleveland) is now thought to be a hoax. The FBI assures you that it is safe to attend football games this weekend, but makes no promises about any "attacks" Dennis Green might carry out during his post-game press conference if the Cardinals loose to the Raiders this week. After last week's explosion, a loss this week has the potential to make Green 'go nuclear.'

The Sooner Nation was dealt a major blow Saturday in a 34-9 win over Iowa State. As superstar running back, Adrian Peterson suffered a season ending collarbone injury. Peterson on a very special day, with his father in attendance for his first game since being incarcerated since Adrian's 12th birthday, rushed for 183 yards, two touchdowns.

The father that called his son All-Day, the son rose to the occasion on that day making the father proud, scoring Oklahoma's first and final touchdowns in dominating fashion. In his probable last game in a Sooner uniform, the Junior finished in spectacular fashion just short of breaking coveted Oklahoma rushing records.

For Sooner fans, the matter is Adrian Peterson, the heart and soul of Sooner nation. For some Oklahoma fans, "Adrian is dead," said one Sooner fan. Only does Sooner fans hope to see him in Crimson and Cream, again.

Remember Brandon Stokley in 2004? If you don't, he had 1077 yards and 10 TD's on 68 receptions as the number 3 receiver on the Colts. So what happened in 2005? His number of receptions dropped to 41 (which is still good for a #3 WR) and he only had 1 touchdown. This could have been due to number of different factors, but one would have thought that after his breakout year on '04 and after signing a big contract that off-season, his numbers would have been better then 543 yards and a TD.

Fans expect a bigger year out of Stokley this year, but is he ready to play? Brandon suffered a high ankle sprain early in camp and still doesn't know if he'll be ready to go in the opener against the Giants.

"It feels all right. I'll be optimistic and start running. I'm just going to test it day-to-day. If I can't go, if I can't run around on it good, then I probably won't be able to play," Stokley said prior to the start of Thursday's practice, adding that he would like to be able to take part in today's workout and be able to make the trip to New York. But first things first.

If I had to guess whether or not Stokley would play against the Giants, I would say yes. He's a tough player who has had lots of time to heal. He is listed as questionable for the game. If he does play, don't be surprised if you see him score.

According to sources, Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri will be in the lineup and ready to kick against the New York Giants in their week 1 match-up.

After what seemed like years of speculation, (OK, it was only a week) Vinatieri has put to rest any rumors that had him sidelined for an extended amount of time.

"I feel pretty good, actually," he said in his first comments since hurting the foot last month. "I'm getting some work in this week, and I'll be ready to go for the weekend."

Vinatieri will wear a brace with tape on his non-kicking foot during the game. His presence adds two things that the Colts could not find in Mike Vanderjagt: His ability to bomb a kickoff and his tendency to make clutch field goals. In the off-season, the Colts proved that they felt he would be a major asset to the team when they signed him to a five-year, $12 million contract.