Bizarre Te'o Tale the Strangest Yet

Sports have been around for hundreds of years and in that span there have been stories of heroics, humor, inspiration, victory, defeat and mystery. There may never have been a story as strange and bizarre as the tale that is unfolding in South Bend, Indiana involving former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o though. By now, the details of the story are well-known and I won't go through them again on this post, but as I was reading an article about the latest developments I couldn't help but wonder why this is so newsworthy?

In the grand scheme of things this story, whether Te'o created/participated in the hoax or not, shouldn't affect the star linebacker that much. Sure, he will be embarrassed and humiliated by the media and fans, but his draft stock shouldn't drop that much, if at all. He won't be in any trouble with the law or anything like that and so it begs the question: why do we care? There are men in the NFL who have murdered people yet they continue to get picked up by teams so the idea that Te'o will see his draft stock drop because of this is silly to me. If the kid is a player then teams will want him.

The reason that this story is so interesting is because it is so mind-boggling. Online relationships are a reality in today's world and people are tricked everyday on who they are actually conversing with. There is an entire television program devoted to stories of online relationship fraud and lying which proves it is a very real thing. However, there was little thought that something like this would ever happen to a celebrity. Yet, here is Te'o claiming to be the victim of someone's sick joke and there was Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick almost daring someone to challenge Te'o on his role in this.

Manti Te'o was all that is right in sports. In a world where athletes take banned substances like candy, have frequent run-ins with the law and college programs are hit with sanctions almost weekly, Te'o was special. He was the All-American linebacker for the country's most recognizable team who had close ties with his family and endured enormous grief to orchestrate one of the greatest seasons we have seen from a defensive player in college football. In a six hour span on September 12th his grandmother and "girlfriend" passed away, but his play only improved as the year went on. He was a hero.

Now, he is the center of perhaps the strangest story to ever hit the sports world. People are fooled by others in online relationships every day, but what makes this one different is that is wasn't just one guy who was fooled by someone behind a computer screen. It was literally the entire nation. All of America watched Te'o produce big game after big game and then talk about his "girlfriend" in postgame interviews. We all believed it until a few days ago.

We may never know how someone could get away with something like this, but it truly is fascinating how it has all played out. There will be many more details to come, but it's my hope that Te'o didn't participate in this hoax for attention and I certainly hope he wasn't a part of creating it. If he was simply a victim then he is just a foolish college student who engaged in a relationship with someone he never met. If he participated or created this hoax then he is an attention-seeking fraud and this will leave a stain on his career and life forever.

So if he did participate/create the hoax then I hope the few months of fame and attention were worth it because forever is a long time. Forever is permanent.

Carmelo Finally Cracks Under Garnett's Pressure

Carmelo Anthony has erupted this season and is playing his best ball yet. The man is a serious MVP candidate averaging 29 points per game to go along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. His play this year has been nothing short of extraordinary. Lately in the media, though, Melo has been drawing attention for negative reasons.

It started with Kevin Garnett trash-talking Melo into oblivion last week when the Celtics visited the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. KG, as only KG could, finally said the magic words to Anthony and the two had to be seperated not only on the court, but after the game as well. Melo took it upon himself to go to where the Celtics would be loading the bus and wait for Garnett. Are you serious? Every sports analyst I listened to after that incident reiterated the point that "it stays on the court". I believe those analysts are right. Why on earth would you think it a good idea to try to confront a guy outside of the basketball court, especially Kevin Garnett who you know his only goal is to get you to lose focus on the game. That's absolutely childish.

So we discovered that Melo can't handle trash talk. Then why after the Knicks third loss to the Chicago Bulls was he running his mouth about Luol Deng and the Bulls in general? Luol Deng had one of his best games of the season and dropped 33 points on Carmelo Anthony. Yet after the game Melo said he "didn't think Deng did anything". Excuse me? He also said that he wasn't worried about the Bulls at all. I would be worried, they clearly had your number the three times they played you. Why after you just threw a fit about being trash talked would you go do something silly like talk down an athlete that has done nothing personal to you?

I'd like to think that the bad week for Melo stopped after those comments but I would be incorrect. News came out today that the Knicks organization placed microphones at either end of the court in order to listen in on the talk that went on between the players during the game. The decision to do so was in order to "protect Anthony". Now we're going to babysit a 28 year old man? What happens if the Knicks find out that in some way Carmelo is instigating the trash talk. How do you plan to protect him then? This whole situation has gone much too far all because Melo let Garnett get in his head. I'm sure Garnett was being nasty with his talk, that's how he is. But Carmelo should know that and have thick skin. He's one of the best players in the league, his play should do enough talking for him, especially this year.

This past week has really shown Melo in a negative light. Everybody already knew he couldn't be tough on defense, but his mental toughness had never really been challenged. Garnett took it upon himself to see just how mentally tough Melo is and well, we know how that worked out. Melo's a great offensive player and a guy that kids look up to. I'd like to see him stop and think before he acts or speaks because he doesn't need to miss any more games to suspension with the Knicks looking like title-contenders. Just shut your mouth and play, Melo.

Bench Players Hold Key to Winning Teams

I was watching the UConn/Louisville basketball game tonight and at one point there was a fast break for the Huskies. DeAndre Daniels brought the ball up the floor and a Louisville defender met him at halfcourt. Glancing to his left, Daniels saw Shabazz Napier standing wide open at the free throw line. Daniels ignored his point guard's call for the ball and instead drove in with the defender on his hip. Jay Bilas could be heard saying "Give it up, give it up" on air, but the play finished with Daniels throwing down a dunk and Napier standing at the free throw line with his palms facing up.

At the next commercial break, as the replay of the dunk was shown, Bill Raftery said "Daniels was thinking 'You know what? When's the last time somebody made the cover of SI (Sports Illustrated) for making an assist?! I'm taking it myself!" That sparked a thought in my head about how role players are rarely appreciated.

I am now a freshman in college and I come from a high school basketball experience of being a role player. Grab rebounds, set screens, do the little things. My job was not to drop fifteen points a night, we had other guys that were much more capable than I was of doing that. It took me a while to get used to not being the first or second scoring option. Yet as the seasons progressed I realized how important my play was, despite the lack of recognition my role was given.

My point is this, most of the time athletes (especially at a young age) overlook the importance of role players, or of players that do not start. If you look at the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2011-2012 or the Chicago Bulls right now you would see two of the best bench players in the game between James Harden and Taj Gibson. James Harden earned the Sixth Man award last year and was just as significant to their run to the Finals as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were. He provided a spark off the bench, played hard defense, and did the little things correctly. Could he have started? Absolutely. And even though he didn't get the recognition of Durant or Westbrook, he went about his business and helped the Thunder win the Western Conference.

Taj Gibson, though in the same position as Harden in being the sixth man, plays a different role. Harden came off the bench to average 16 points per game, Gibson is more of a do-it-all forward. He scores seven points and grabs five boards every game, all while shooting nearly 50% from the floor. On a team with a superstar like Derrick Rose, or a colorful personality like Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson's name does not come up often when people think of the Chicago Bulls. However, if you think Gibson is just another player on the bench you would be incorrect. Is he worthy to start in front of Carlos Boozer? Some might say yes. To me, he can't afford to be a starter because then his energy isn't there off the bench when the game comes down to the end. Anybody who pays attention to the Bulls will notice that at the end of the game, Gibson is the one on the floor for the final minutes. He's bought in to what Tom Thibedeau has asked him to do and is now one of the better bench players in the league.

Athletes need to understand that just because your name is not in the newspaper does not mean you don't contribute. Would you rather be the kid that hits five threes in a loss? Or would you rather be the kid that sets the screen for your teammate that hits five threes in a win? It really comes down to how selfless of a teammate someone wants to be. I was once told "It's not how you start, but how you finish." What's the difference between starting and being subbed in midway through the first quarter, anyway? You get your name called for starting lineups, that's the only perk. Other than that, it's still a game that you're trying to win.

Raftery's comment was not negative or in bad taste at all. But what he said brought to my attention just how under-appreciated the little things are. As my last point, does anybody know who made the pass to Christian Watford last year when he sank the game-winning three to take down Kentucky? Verdell Jones, a bench player. Without him, Assembly Hall doesn't go ballistic after Watford hits that shot.  Bench players and role players are just as important to the game as the starters. If you're not a starter, don't be discouraged. Keep working hard because I guarantee that you are of value to your team. It's not how or if you start a game, it's how you finish a game.

Armstrong Next in Long Line of Fallen Heroes

On Thursday morning when America turns on Oprah they will hear the sad and disappointing news come from Lance Armstrong's mouth that he used PEDs during his magical, yet now fraudulent, domination of seven straight Tour de France titles. Though the news is disappointing, is it really that surprising? Can we as fans really be surprised by this news? To me, Armstrong is the next superstar in a long line who have let us down. Heroes who we held on a pedestal constantly let us down with their actions off the field or their actions of cheating. It's a disturbing cycle in American sports today.

How does a man who has apparently been doping for years vehemently deny it to the media over and over again? Sure, Armstrong is still a hero and an inspiration, but he is also a fraud, a liar, a cheater and a snake. He flat out lied for years and he led us on a trail of glory only to run us into a dead end like so many others we idolized.

Who can we trust in today's sports world? The baseball Hall of Fame voting was marred by the discussions of steroids and players we once held up as heroes such as Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens were left out because of their PED use. Sosa and Mark McGwire took us on a journey during the summer of '98 that was unlike any other. Nothing was more fun than watching those two bash home runs unfathomable distances day after day, but now we look back on that summer in disgust and view it as one big lie.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were two of the main Idiots on the loveable 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series team and they helped the team beat the Curse of the Bambino. The two terrorized opposing pitching staffs with clutch home runs, but like McGwire and Sosa, that all seems like a fraud now. It's another positive memory that has been made negative by the findings later on.

It's not just cheating that turns us away. Tiger Woods let us down perhaps more than any other athlete when his life came crashing down on Thanksgiving weekend a few years ago. While athletes are free to do what they want with their personal lives, we love those who hold themselves to a higher moral standard. We thought that was Tiger Woods. The clean-cut, well-spoken, family man who collected major championships like a 10-year-old collects baseball cards no longer was the model athlete. He was a man with a dark, hidden private life and he became tabloid fodder. Again, we suddenly couldn't look back on those clutch putts with the same joy we once did. There was something different.

Let us not overlook the wrongdoings and downfall of the Penn State football program and Joe Paterno as well. The model program in State College went down in shambles when the news broke of Jerry Sandusky's child abuse scandal. Paterno was the perfect coach, but even he could not escape the blame and the scandal led to his firing and his records have vanished. Are those glory years at Penn State still viewed the same? It would be hard to ignore the once covered up sins.

And we look at all these examples of athletes letting us down and it makes you wonder why we choose to attack a guy like LeBron James. On this very blog we have criticized the man, but in the grand scheme of things what has he done wrong? If anything, LeBron is a ray of hope. He has no off-the-court incidents and we would love to keep that way. The same can be said for guys like Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, Kevin Durant and Aaron Rodgers. They are our heroes who have never let us down.

So when Armstrong admits to years of doping he will just be the next man in a long line of athletes who have disappointed us with their actions. Is he still a symbol of hope and inspiration? Sure he is, but something tells me we won't look back on those Tour de France titles the same way we once did. Something tells me we won't ever look at the Livestrong brand the same way. But most importantly, something tells me he won't be the last of our heroes to let us down.

Playoffs Still in Sight for Lakers

If the Los Angeles Lakers were to miss the playoffs this season it would go down as perhaps the biggest failure in recent sports history. Sitting at 15-20 and 11th place in the Western Conference, the Lakers have battled multiple coaching changes, injuries to their star big men and a media circus all year long and have become the top story on every sports network for all the wrong reasons. Relatively speaking, it's still quite early in the year, but LA must kick it in gear now or the offseason will begin early for the purple and gold.

Missing the playoffs in any year is viewed as a crime for the prestigious Lakers, but to miss the playoffs this year after acquiring Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to go along with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace would be down right disastrous. As superpowers become a more common thing in American sports, America has changed the view on what is failure for a team loaded with superstars.

On a smaller scale, take the Miami Marlins for example. The franchise went through an entire rebirthing operation by building a new ballpark, changing their name and colors, hiring a new manager and signing some of the top talent available. Yet they turned in one of the worst seasons in the MLB and became a laughing stock by the third month of the season. On a larger scale, but in the same city, look at the Miami Heat. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh teamed up with the goal in mind to win multiple championships, but failed to win it all in their first year. They still won the Eastern Conference and still had a fantastic season, but they became an example of what will happen to teams that add multiple superstars and come up short of the ultimate prize. The Heat were blasted for an entire summer for not winning the Finals and considered a failure despite achieving enormous success.

Can you imagine what the media and fans will do to the Lakers if they don't even make the playoffs? LA trots out five all-stars in their starting lineup, but has looked so discombobulated on some nights that you wonder if there are any all-stars on the floor. However, if the Lakers are to make the postseason then they must focus on the future and change the things needed to win ball games.

That means getting everybody healthy first and foremost. LA has never had their full lineup in uniform and that's why they have struggled at times. At the point guard position Nash missed seven weeks with a leg injury and reliable backup Steve Blake has missed all but the first five games with an abdominal injury. Inside, Howard has never looked quite the same since his back surgery and now has a torn labrum that will sideline him. Gasol is out with a concussion and Jordan Hill has been day-to-day with a hip injury.

Those injuries are a recipe for disaster and it has been one in the city of angels. Getting healthy must be the key priority for the Lakers and once healthy they can focus on the X's and O's. It's silly to think that this is a team that can't win with Mike D'Antoni on the sidelines. While I believe it was down right dumb to not hire Phil Jackson, it's not as though D'Antoni can't win. With the talent on the roster, it shouldn't matter who is the coach. The guys on that team are good enough to win no matter who is coaching them.

While a 15-20 record is a terrible start for the Lakers, it definitely is fixable. They have never played with a full lineup and have gone through multiple coaching changes. If they can get everyone healthy and settle into D'Antoni's system then there will be playoff basketball for the Lakers. There's far too much talent on that roster for them to be sitting at home come playoff time. I would say it's time to panic, but not to the point where changes must be made.

Perhaps I'm stubborn, but I'm not counting the Lakers out of the playoffs nor will I count them out of another title run. I haven't mentioned it yet, but any team with Kobe Bryant on the roster is a team I will refuse to count out. 15-20 doesn't look threatening, but get this team healthy and the West may be the Lakers'.

Big Ten is College Basketball's Elite

If anybody watched college football this year, it wasn't hard at all to pick up on the fact that the Big Ten was less than impressive. It was a rough year for every fan of a Big Ten team, even if you were an Ohio State fan you had to sit back and realize their undefeated season meant nothing due to bowl ineligibility (Shout out to Terrelle Pryor and Jim Tressel). All in all, life as a Big Ten fan was pretty rough in the fall.

But the fall is over and winter is in full swing which means one of the worst conferences is now the best. The Big Ten has taken the world of college basketball by storm and it looks like it's here to stay. With six teams in the top 25 (no team being ranked lower than 18), it's plain to see that the Big Ten has talent that other conferences can only dream of. Take the Naismith Player of the Year award for instance, four players from the Big Ten have been mentioned in the discussion. DeShaun Thomas of Ohio State, Brandon Paul of Illinois, Cody Zeller of Indiana, and Trey Burke of Michigan have all been named possible winners or contenders. These players also come from teams that, right now, look as if they could contend for a trip to the Final Four.

Yet it's easy to base a conference off of the elite teams, but here's a look at the teams people may be overlooking in the midst of the talk about the six ranked teams:

Wisconsin: The Badgers are off to an 11-4 start with very few eye-opening wins. They lost by double-digits to Florida, Creighton, and Marquette. Yet they started the conference season with two wins. Granted, those wins came against Nebraska and Penn State, but if you think the Badgers won't give teams trouble, then you don't know Bo...Ryan that is. In my mind, Bo Ryan is a very underrated coach. He's not on the level of Tom Izzo but he does have five Big Ten titles and a record of 268-101 in his eleven years at Wisconsin. Not to mention that the Badgers are one of the toughest teams to beat at home, boasting an astounding 116-15 record at home under Ryan. They may not be ranked, but you'd be stupid to overlook the Badgers.

Purdue: A team with six freshman and only two seniors? What's to fear about a team so inexperienced? Well, if you were able to catch the Purdue/Illinois game, there's alot to fear. This squad of Matt Painter's is going to be an impressive one. They won't contend this year or maybe next year, but freshmen Ronnie Johnson and A.J. Hammons are showing great promise. Johnson is a quick guard who's averaging almost nine points, four rebounds, and three assists. Not bad for a freshman guard. As for Hammons, the kid looks like the second coming of JaJuan Johnson; very long and raw at a young age. Yet he presents a presence in the paint that will even make All-Americans change their shot. That's exactly what Hammons needs to understand. He doesn't necessarily need to be a shot-blocker. He can work wonders just by putting his hands up and standing there. Throw that in with the fact he's grabbing almost seven boards a game and you've got a player with some real potential. The Boilermakers already upset Illinois and gave Ohio State a great game. The old saying goes "Age is but a number", and this Purdue team is out to prove that no matter how young they are they're here to compete.

Iowa: The Hawkeyes currently have an 11-4 record and, if you look closely, they have only beaten cupcake teams. They don't have any impressive wins thus far and are 0-2 in conference play. With that being said, Roy Devyn Marble and Aaron White can still lead the Hawkeyes to a handful of conference wins. Marble averages just over fifteen points a game and White averages thirteen. Together, they led the Hawkeyes in a four-point loss to the nationally-respected Indiana Hoosiers. The final score was 69-65 and there were numerous times that Iowa had Tom Crean's squad on the ropes. Iowa is presented with another test tonight as they try to topple Michigan State at home. Again, the Hawkeyes are not likely to contend for the Big Ten crown, but there's no doubt they will be the spoilers when it comes down to the end.

I've heard plenty of people try to say that the Big Ten is not the best conference. I can respect opinions, but I can't see how someone could go against the talent, coaching, and flat out domination the Big Ten is showing this year. The ACC is Duke's for the taking. The Big East will, most likely, be Syracuse's once again, the SEC will come down to either Florida or Missouri, the Big 12 will no doubt be won by Kansas, and the Pac 12 will come down to UCLA and Arizona. Of the Power Six conferences, only the Big Ten has more than two teams that can contend for the title. Between Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State, Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan State there is no clear-cut winner, not to mention the depth this conference has. Don't be surprised if the Sweet Sixteen has five or six Big Ten teams in it.

Hall Shuts Out PED-Dominated Class

Sosa, Clemens and Bonds didn't get the call to the Hall 

It was perhaps the most highly decorated class in history of the Baseball Hall of Fame and, despite that, there will not be one new plaque hung up on the wall in Cooperstown this summer. It's almost unbelievable to think that the all-time home run leader, a 300-game winner and 4,000 strikeout pitcher and a 600 home run hitter weren't even close to getting the call to the Hall. Yet that's the reality for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa today.

Looking at the statistics and awards it's impossible that those three players wouldn't be elected, but they made their decision years ago when they decided to take performance-enhancing drugs. The talk of steroids has swirled around the Hall of Fame talk for years and, for some, this is a sad day for Major League Baseball. There's no doubt it's a tough discussion and coming up with a solution has proven to be an even tougher ordeal.

Here's the way I believe the Hall should handle their dilemma and it's a good point ESPN's Buster Olney made earlier today: let them all in. If they are Hall of Fame worthy then let them in, but just say on their plaque that they admitted steroid use and give that information as well. No asterisks, no snubs, no separate wings. Hate on Bonds and Clemens, but they were Hall of Famers before the PED use. I would suggest putting them all in and just stating on their plaque that they were steroid users and if they were convicted of perjury or something of that sort then state that as well.

The Hall of Fame is in a pickle and it's created a challenge for itself because there will be no induction weekend. The numbers show that as many as 20,000 fans flock to Cooperstown on that weekend, but there will be no such weekend this summer. Cooperstown has seen less than 300,000 fans come through the museum the past five seasons after 12 straight years of eclipsing that number. The museum isn't much of a museum if the fans don't come to see it and what they have done is just left their biggest weekend off of the schedule.

The other side of the coin today is that players who have never been linked to steroids such as Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza and Curt Schilling were left out as well. While that has some fans in an uproar consider that Biggio's fellow second basemen Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar and Barry Larkin weren't inducted on the first ballot either. Biggio's time will come as it will for the other three. It's rare that players are inducted on the first ballot, but their is reason to believe that they will soon get the call.

For as unfortunate as today was for the game of baseball, next year could be the exact opposite. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, Mike Mussina and Jeff Kent will all be on the ballot for the first time and that could mean that there will be a large class next year.

Today is an unfortunate day for baseball, but the message has been sent that voters will not tolerate those who used performance-enhancing drugs. While those not linked to steroids will most likely get in eventually, it's not so clear for those that have been linked. As fans, we can also expect that next year should be a much more joyous day for baseball and that's a good thing because the Hall needs some good news after today.

"If this was a prize fight they would have called it off"

Brent Musberger couldn't have said it better after Alabama scored at one point in the second half. The Crimson Tide rolled all over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in route to their third title in four years. It's a dynasty that hasn't been seen since the Nebraska teams of the late 90's and the scary thing is that like Kirk Herbstreit said, they might only be in the middle of it.

It was over after the first quarter as Bama led 21-0 and at halftime Brian Kelly seemed to be searching for answers just like the rest of America during an interview with Heather Cox. The reality seems to be if you give Nick Saban over a month to prepare for a game then he will make sure his team is ready and they will dominate the competition. We have seen it two years in a row and there's little reason to think that it won't continue.


The SEC has won the last seven national titles and they have a choke hold on the college football scene. Has their ever been a run this impressive by one conference in any sport? It would be tough to think of one. The idea that the SEC championship is the national championship has never seemed truer. It's also never seemed more obvious that a playoff system is needed in college football.

However, don't take that last statement as a slight to Notre Dame. The Irish deserved to be in the championship game after an undefeated season and people who argue that Oregon or Kansas State should have been in the title game must remember that no matter the schedules, those teams cost themselves the chance. They didn't do what was necessary to be in the title game and Notre Dame did. That said, it's still a better idea to do a playoff and thankfully college football has one coming soon.

I would imagine the television ratings plummeted in the second half as the Tide clearly had the game wrapped up. Fans complain that there hasn't been a good national title game in a few years and while a playoff won't be fool proof it certainly will put two teams in the championship that have won their way there in a playoff fashion that we are accustomed to in America.

When the playoff system is implemented don't be surprised if these two teams go head-to-head again. Both schools bring in remarkable recruiting classes and Notre Dame is still in the process of coming back on the national scene. This year, despite the blowout, will no doubt help the recruiting as the Irish finished undefeated in the regular season and Manti Te'o finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Hate on ND or Bama all you want, but the reality is that the game is better when both of them are good. They are the traditional titans of college football and they bring in the money for the sport. Their simultaneous greatness will help the sport as times do seem tumultuous with conference realignment and other money-hungry issues dominating the headlines.

With a playoff system on the brink, we can hope that routine beatdowns in the national title game are in the rear view mirror, but with the way Alabama looked Monday night in Miami, maybe that's not a sure thing.

Shanahan's Error in Judgement Costs 'Skins

It was an agonizing three quarters of football watching Robert Griffin III hobble around on a bad knee in the Washington Redskins' defeat at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. The rookie quarterback quite possibly could be the Rookie of the Year in a few weeks, but he could whip up no heroics on Wild Card weekend and his injury led to the Redskins' demise.

Griffin injured his knee earlier in the year, but continued to play while wearing a brace on his right knee. That right knee is the same knee in which he tore his ACL back in 2009 while at Baylor and the early inclinations are that he may have torn it again. It's devastating news and leaves 'Skins fans with a bitter taste in their mouth despite feeling so hopeful just 24 hours ago.

RGIII came out hot last night, leading Washington to two straight scores and opening up a 14-0 lead. However, it went south from there and it was plain to see Griffin's pain as he scrambled right, stepped awkwardly and fell to the sloppy turf late in the first quarter. He limped back to the huddle and remained in the game, but he was never the same.

Consider this: in the first quarter Griffin was 6-9 for 68 yards and two touchdowns, but the rest of the game he was just 4-11 for 16 yards and no touchdowns. Despite his obvious pain and lessened mobility, the Redskins continued to run plays such as read options and pass plays that required him to roll out in one direction. It was poor play-calling and it was part of the reason they 'Skins lost the ballgame.

Mike Shanahan said in the postgame that he might have been wrong to leave Griffin in for as long as he did, but let me assure Shanahan that he was 100% wrong. Here's why: while Griffin may have said he was good to go, his play said otherwise. The playoffs are win-or-go-home scenarios and there's not much time for error. After RGIII aggravated his knee in the first quarter the Redskins should have limited him to a pocket passer. A quick look at his stats tells the tale. He simply wasn't the same and it's not as though Washington had Joe Webb sitting on the sidelines. They had Kirk Cousins, a more than capable backup who had shown promise in his playing time earlier in the year.

Shanahan refused to make the switch and the offense sputtered, failing to score for the rest of the game. I understand that football is a man's game and there's something to be said for being a warrior for your team. RGIII was a warrior. He tried to continue on, but the reality is that he wasn't the best man for the job after the first quarter and it was visible. The reason people (including me) criticized Jay Cutler two years ago is because his pain was never visible. No one knew he was hurt; he just didn't play the second half. With Griffin we could see the limp, see the grimaces every time he ran and see the statistics plummet.

Shanahan made an error in judgement and it cost his team the game. However, blame is hardly what matters here as we all hope the 22 year old star gets good news about his knee and can heal quickly. It seems that we have seen far too many young stars go down with knee injuries in the past couple years. Derrick Rose, Ricky Rubio, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Adrian Peterson and perhaps Griffin all have been sidelined for long periods of time. Injuries are realities of the games we play, but this one hurts especially because it seemed obvious that it was only a matter of time before RGIII crumpled to the ground in pain.

In the fourth quarter when his knee gave out on him and he laid on the ground, it was as if the entire nation held their breath, hoping he would get back up. He finally did and he walked off on his own power, but there's a certain gloom over the sports world today. Hopefully this will serve as a lesson to coaches in all sports that when a player is injured he must be taken out. The game means a lot, but a career means more.