Sports Nut: Win a Championship, Lose a Knee

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Sports Nut NFL 2011 Win a championship, lose a knee. By Stefan Fatsis Posted Wednesday, Feb 08, 2012, at 07:55 PM ET Like an amputee who can still feel his missing leg, I felt the tingle of my childhood fandom when Big Blue simultaneously shut up Belichick and wound up Gisele on Sunday. And now, in the afterglow of the Giants' victory, the talk has been about dynasties and Hall of Fame busts and whether so-and-so and so-and-so are the best coach-quarterback combo in history. (When that last item became a measure of anything more than fortuitous timing, stable ownership, and at least modest success, I have no idea. Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid are No. 5 on this list. How important can it be?) At the risk of raining on my own parade, I'm moving on from enjoying the triumph of Eli Manning, the new standard-bearer for the modest and rational athlete. That's because of the news that Jake Ballard, a Giants tight end, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the fourth quarter of the game. Tough luck for Ballard, and bad day for the knees of New York tight ends; Travis Beckum had torn an ACL earlier in the game. The fact of the injuries themselves isn't surprising; violent game, turf field, sudden torques, part of football, blah blah blah. What's distressing, and also a sad but fitting conclusion to the end of a season in which medical care was a running storyline, is how Ballard's injury appears to have unfolded. A 6-foot-6, 275-pound second-year player who caught 38 passes during ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Weigel: Stop Saying Santorum Won Three "Nominating Contests" Last Night Can Couples Therapy Make a Good Marriage an Awesome Marriage? Jake Ballard's Horrific Injury Is a Sad, Fitting End to the NFL Season	Advertisement
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