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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NFL
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14,2008
Cowboys' QB Romo benched with broken finger
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips pauses during a news conference at the Cowboy's practice facility Monday in Irving, Texas. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a broken finger on his throwing hand and could be out for up to four weeks. Romo broke his right pinkie on the first play of overtime in a 30-24 loss at Arizona on Sunday, according to a posting on the team's official Web site.
BY STEPHEN HAWKINS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING, Texas — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has a broken finger on his throwing hand and could be out for up to four weeks.
Romo broke his right pinkie on the first play of overtime in a 30-24 loss at Arizona on Sunday.
The injury leaves the Cowboys (4-2) with 40-year-old Brad Johnson as the starter for Sunday's game at St. Louis. Johnson, who won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, hasn't started a game since 2006 in Minnesota.
"Obviously, it's unfortunate for Tony to have to go through something like this. He'll recover
quick, he has a great attitude about it," Johnson said. "At this time, it's really just important for the offense especially to just kind of catch on to my snap count, and the way we manage the huddle. ... I'm excited about the opportunity, worked hard to get here."
Coach Wade Phillips said Romo won't need surgery on his finger, and the timing of his return "depends on how fast that heals." The Cowboys have three games before an open date Nov. 9.
Romo wasn't in the locker room Monday when it was open to reporters, but Johnson described Romo as being in good spirits.
When linebacker Greg Ellis was told about Romo's broken finger, he got a somewhat stunned look.
on his face and exclaimed. "Wow!" Bradie James said the players will have to rally around each other.
"We've got to play relentless football now without our signal caller, our leader, our captain on the offensive side," James said. "That's the thing about a season; you never know what can happen. You hope you are playing some real good ball when things go down, so here we are and now we've got to make some adjustments and move on."
Receiver Terrell Owens refused comment, getting agitated when he saw cameras recording him. "Today is not Wednesday," he said, referring to the day he routinely talks to reporters.
On Sunday, Romo missed on
three straight passes to start the overtime, after passing for 321 yards and three touchdowns despite heavy pressure. He was sacked three times and knocked down 19 times.
"Obviously, he had trouble throwing the ball that last series in overtime", Phillips said.
Romo, whose hand was heavily wrapped after the game, fumbled three times Sunday, losing one, but didn't throw an interception for the first time in the last nine games.
Through Sunday's games, Romo ranks second in NFC passing with a 103.5 rating. He has thrown for 14 touchdowns and been intercepted five times. He had his team-record 14th career 300-yard passing game Sunday in his 32nd start.
EQUESTRIANISM
Champion horse retired after injury to front foot
Big Brown loses opportunity for Triple Crown victory
BY WILL GRAVES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Big Brown's racing career ended Monday when the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner injured his right front foot during a workout at Aqueduct Race Course in New York.
Michael lavarone of IEAH Stables, co-owners of Big Brown, said the 3-year-old colt tore a three-inch piece of flesh off the foot after it collided with his right rear foot while working over Aqueduct's turf course with stablemate Kip Deville.
"This was a complete fluke," Iavarone said. "He hadn't had issues with his feet for awhile and to have him come up just like this was a shock to all of us."
Iavarone said the injury would take around two months to heal, making it impossible for Big Brown to run in The Breeders' Cup Classic on Oct. 25 at Santa Anita. With the strapping bay due at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky. by the end of the year to begin his stud career, Iavarone said there simply isn't enough time to get Big Brown back on the track one last time.
"We don't have a choice but to
retire him," Iavarone said. "It's gut-wrenching."
The injury itself isn't life-threatening, lavarone said, but added it's important to make sure infection doesn't set in while he recovers.
"I expect the next few days to be pretty rough on him," lavarone said. "We've got to take care of him."
Iavarone watched from the backstretch at Aqueduct while Big Brown completed the six-furlong work and thought his horse was ready for a possible shot at reigning Horse of the Year Curlin in the BC Classic until Iavarone returned to the barn and saw the troubled look on trainer Rick Dutrow's face.
"It looks like he grabbed himself in a bad spot," Dutrow said.
Big Brown will spend several weeks in New York while he recovers before being shipped to Three Chimneys. The injury caps a brilliant but somewhat controversial career for Big Brown, who won seven times in eight starts, including dominant runs in the Derby and the Preakness, and earned $3.6 million.
His bid to become the first Triple Crown champion since 1978 ended during a bizarre Belmont Stakes
The Belmont came after Dutrow admitted he took Big Brown off the anabolic steroid Winstrol, though Dutrow claimed the decision had nothing to do with Big Brown's poor performance. The horse was also dealing with a painful quarter crack in his left front hoof. That injury is unrelated to the one he sustained Monday.
in which he was eased by jockey Kent Desormeaux at the turn and he trotted across the finish line far behind the rest of the field.
"I am equally disappointed that Big Brown and Curlin will never compete against each other," Jackson said in a release. "It was a dream of mine and thousands of other fans of the sport."
Big Brown bounced back from the Belmont with wins in the Haskell Invitational and the Monmouth Stakes and was poised for a shot at Curlin, horse racing's all-time leading money winner. Not anymore, a fact that "sadened" Curlin's majority owner Jess Jackson.
Instead, Big Brown will head to a potentially lucrative stud career. Case Clay, president of Three Chimneys, said he's unsure when his newest star would arrive at the
Big Brown's jockey Kent Desormeaux tryst to keep the Triple Crown hopeful under control before he crosses the finish line last in the 140th Belmont Stakes on June 7 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Big Brown will likely miss the Breeders' Cup Classic after injuring his right front foot during a workout at Anquect on Monday.
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farm in central Kentucky.
"We're just going to let the horse kind of dictate that, let him heal from his foot injury and whenever he healed and ready, he'll come," Clay said.
The injury could also affect Big Brown's stud fee. The farm negotiated a breeding deal reportedly worth $50 million. A win in the BC Classic could have upped the asking price, though Clay is sure Big Brown will still command a
Big Brown isn't the first star 3-year-old to miss the BC Classic due to injury. Smarty Jones, who won the Derby and Preakness in 2004, missed the Classic that year with a bruised foot and retired to Three Chimneys. Also, Mineshaft
high-dollar fee.
"He's the best of his generation," Clay said. "I think his stud fee will be different than if he won the Classic, what that'll be, I'm not sure."
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missed the 2003 Classic as a 4-year old due to a minor ankle injury.
Racing officials were hoping a duel between Big Brown and Curlin would provide the sport with a little public relations boost right in the middle of football season. The sport has struggled along with the economic downturn, with both wagering and purses down during the third quarter according to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
Big Brown's retirement leaves the spotlight squarely on Curlin, who became the first North American horse to eclipse $10 million in earnings with a victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park last month.
Breeders' Cup president Greg Avioli said Big Brown's health was the highest priority.
"We are disappointed that Big Brown will not be able to compete in this year's Breeders' Cup Classic but are glad to hear that he is expected to make a full recovery from the injury he sustained earlier today," Avilii said.
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Curlin is already at Santa Anita. He was scheduled to have a five-furlong work over the track's artificial surface Monday.