Newsgroup: it.sport.americani
Titolo: Articolo su Bryant Young

Questo  che segue è un articolo da Sporting News sull'infortunio
occorso a Bryant Young dei 49ers.Vi dico solo che mi sono toccato le
ginocchia (e non solo quelle..))) durante la lettura dell'articolo.
Spero solo di rivedere Young su un campo da football molto presto
           SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Bryant
           Young's agonized scream as he
           collapsed told Tim McDonald all he
           needed to know about his teammate's
           gruesome injury. 
           "I understand how the leg bends, and
           it wasn't bending like it was
           supposed to," McDonald said. 
           Young, one of the league's best
           players and the San Francisco 49ers'
           defensive anchor, underwent surgery
           Tuesday at Stanford Hospital, the day
           after fracturing both bones in his
           lower right leg in a freak, sickening
           collision on the field. 
           Team physician Dr. Michael
           Dillingham inserted a metal rod into
           the tibia, the main weight-bearing
           bone between the knee and ankle.
           The fibula, a smaller supporting
           bone, was set and will be allowed to
           heal on its own. He's out for the rest
           of this season and could miss a part
           of next season, as well. 
           "With all things considered, he
           seemed to be in good spirits and
           certainly he's getting a lot of
           support," said coach Steve Mariucci,
           who visited Young in the hospital
           before the surgery. 
           "In speaking with Dr. Dillingham
           about the prognosis, he shared with
           me that there's a good possibility that
           B.Y. will play next season. Obviously,
           there are no guarantees, because a
           lot of healing has to take place and
           things have to go right." 
           Dillingham estimated Young would
           need eight to nine months of
           rehabilitation before trying to play
           again. Mariucci said former 49ers
           center Jesse Sapolu suffered a
           similar injury early in his career and
           was able to come back and resume a
           productive career. 
           "It's quite a loss for us," said Mariucci,
           who choked up at times as he spoke
           of Young. "It's a similar situation to
           when we lost Jerry Rice, which also
           was devastating, and we needed to
           regroup and rally and pick up the
           slack." 
           Added defensive tackle Junior
           Bryant: "There is not one person that
           is going to compensate for him. It is
           going to have to be all of us." 
           Young, San Francisco's first-round
           pick out of Notre Dame in 1994, had
           9.5 sacks and was on his way to
           another Pro Bowl season when he
           went down in a fast, frightening
           sequence during the fourth quarter of
           Monday night's 31-7 win over the
           New York Giants. 
           New York's Kent Graham scrambled
           out of the pocket and Young and
           linebacker Ken Norton Jr. closed in
           from opposite directions to make the
           tackle. Young had grabbed hold of
           Graham's jersey when Norton plowed
           into the fray and his helmet struck
           Young squarely on the leg. 
           With Young's cleat firmly planted in
           the soggy turf, his leg buckled,
           bending at a grotesque angle. Young
           fell to the ground, his anguish
           evident to anyone who saw his face or
           heard his screams. 
           "I could tell Bryant was hurting pretty
           bad," said Graham. "It was a Joe
           Theismann-type injury. It's
           something you just hate to see." 
           Theismann was playing for
           Washington when he suffered a
           broken leg in a 1985 Monday night
           game after being hit by the New York
           Giants' Lawrence Taylor. It was Taylor
           who immediately after the tackle
           began frantically waving for a doctor.
           Theismann never played again. 
           With the exception of Young, perhaps
           no one took his injury harder than
           Norton, who played the rest of
           Monday night's game in a fog and
           then left for the hospital, where he
           stayed at Young's bedside until the
           early morning. 
           It must have seemed like a recurring
           nightmare for Norton, who was also
           involved in the hit during a 1994
           Monday night game that left Los
           Angeles Raiders running back
           Napoleon McCallum with a
           career-ending knee injury. 
           "This game is so strange," Norton
           said. "You're so fortunate to play it,
           but I don't think people realize the
           chances we take to play this thing.
           Everybody is one play away from
           something like this. It knocks you
           out. It's a big hit in the chest. It's very
           hard to live with." 
           Mariucci said Norton was devastated
           by Young's injury. 
           "He feels as bad as anybody does,
           and Kenny has to get over it, too,"
           Mariucci said. "It wasn't his fault." 
           Mariucci said for now, Young would
           be replaced with a three-tackle
           rotation using Brentson Buckner,
           Shane Bonham and Gabe Wilkins.
           The 49ers also plan to activate
           defensive tackle David Richie from
           the practice squad after the formality
           of placing Young on injured reserve. 
           Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All
           rights reserved. This material may not
           be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
           redistributed.
HOOP RULES
           Doc
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Niners in 99 baby

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