Central has had an unusual number breaks this season

BLOOMINGTON — Coaches will tell you that to win a state championship, you need some breaks along the way. If so, Central Catholic High School’s football team is well-equipped for a title run.

The 10-0 Saints have had an inordinate number of breaks in recent weeks. Three offensive linemen have cracked or broken bones on their hands/arms, requiring them to play in casts.

Yet, none has missed a start en route to today’s second-round Class 4A playoff game against Quincy Notre Dame (8-2) at Bill Hundman Memorial Field.

First, right guard Jack Wombacher cracked his growth plate near his left wrist, forcing him to wear a cast for the final two regular-season games. In the regular-season finale, center Zach Eyre broke a bone in his left hand. Three days later, right tackle Chris Levitski broke a bone in his right hand in practice.

Coach Bobby Moews’ team nearly had three starting linemen in casts for last week’s playoff opener against Eureka. However, Wombacher’s cast was removed earlier in the week, allowing him to play with tape on his wrist and hand.

Still, Eyre and Levitski lined up with hard casts covered by protective foam rubber.

“I’ve been coaching here since ’94, and I can’t remember a lineman having a cast on,” said Saints’ line coach Jim Malinowski. “Now, we’ve had the whole right side.

“It’s a tough position to have that. The key to being a lineman is to use your hands. When one of them is a club, it’s a little difficult.”

The most severe injury belongs to Eyre, a senior who also stars on the defensive line. Eyre broke his third metacarpal in two places on the opening play of an Oct. 19 game against Springfield. He played the rest of the way and had a cast put on last week.

Eyre broke the first cast in practice, requiring a second one prior to last Friday’s 45-0 win over Eureka. Tuesday, he underwent surgery to have a metal plate and six screws inserted in the hand. Another cast was applied on Thursday, and the 6-foot, 230-pound Eyre will play in today’s 1:30 p.m. game.

“I’m a senior, and I don’t have very many games left. I’m trying to play and make sure we keep going,” he said.

“It’s kind of weird that this (the broken bones) all happened at once. If it was spread out through the season, it would have just been normal injuries. But they’re all pretty close together. I guess we’re just adapting to it and getting used to it.”

Eyre said the adjustment on defense has been the most difficult because “you’re trying to grab and rip and pull them (blockers) away.”

On the bright side …

“You can use it as a club,” he said.

Levitski agreed, saying, “I’m beginning to use it as a weapon.”

“It took me awhile to get used to it,” the 5-11, 239-pound senior said. “But I’m getting better at it. I’m going to wear it the rest of the season. I’m supposed to leave it on for four weeks, so I’ll keep it on if we go that far.”

Wombacher is closer to full strength, having his wrist/hand taped prior to each practice and game as a precaution. The 6-3, 245-pound junior was injured in a practice drill.

“I looked down and there was a big lump there,” he said. “I asked my teammates if it was all right, and they said, ‘No.’ The trainer was like, ‘You have to get an X-ray.’ ”

“It makes it more interesting,” Wombacher said of playing in a cast. “You have to have position because they (defenders) can slip off real easy. It’s kind of crazy everybody (with breaks) is still going strong and still playing.”

Moews called the rash of breaks “one of those freaky things,” and said, smiling, “They just can’t hold as well I guess.”

Moews said he will allow Eyre to determine how much he plays today.

“Knowing Zach, he’ll play as long as he can,” Moews said. “We’re going to say, ‘Zach, when you’re ready to come out, you make that call.’ He’s a tough kid, he’s a senior and he deserves that.”

Source: http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/11/02/sports/doc472bca3265180910743329.txt

Coach, it's only a broken bone

Some players just have to play in today's game

SALISBURY -- Salisbury University junior left tackle Josh Berman was in tears earlier this week when he wasn't cleared to practice because of a hand injury. Today's game against Wesley was so important to him that he went out and got a cast and doctor's clearance to play.

"He said if the doctor cleared him to play he wouldn't miss this game for anything in the world," SU coach Sherman Wood said. "I can't take that away from him. As long as it is OK with the doctor and his parents, I'm OK. He is going to suit up, let the officials check his cast, and take it from there. That says a lot for the kids. They want to play. They want to be a part of it. These kids are not going to miss this game. All of a sudden they are all healthy."

Source: http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071027/SPORTS/710270343/1006

Research Profile November 2007 - November is Osteoporosis Month

We take a look at your bones

You probably don't think about your skeleton too much as it quietly
supports you through the day. But your bones are much more vulnerable than you may realize. Osteoporosis, a painful and debilitating disease characterized by the gradual loss of bone density, strikes one out of four women and one out of eight men over the age of 50.

Do your bones a favour: visit CIHR's website to find out what Canadian researchers are doing to improve osteoporosis screening, treatment and prevention.

This month is featuring four stories on osteoporosis that you can publish
each week.

- How to mend a broken bone - try glue
- Mothers helping in the fight to beat osteoporosis
- Raising the alarm against the silent thief
- Bones at risk in people taking anti-depressants

This information is available on the Web at
www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/35204.html

Source: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/01/c2969.html

Pollard faces knee surgery; Tapp broke bone in hand

KIRKLAND -- Tight end Marcus Pollard is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, coach Mike Holmgren said today.

Pollard did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday the previous two weeks and he was not active for Sunday's game against St. Louis.

Holmgren said recovery from the surgery is relatively short, and he could be available as soon as the game against San Francisco on Monday Nov. 12. Under that scenario, Pollard would miss only one game.

Pollard is 35. He was signed this offseason and caught 12 passes in Seattle's first six games.

Defensive end Darryl Tapp suffered a broken bone in his hand, and he may choose to have surgery to fix that, but it's not expected he would miss any games even if he did undergo surgery.

The Seahawks do not play again until Nov. 4. Holmgren gave players the bye week off. They will be responsible for conditioning exercises on their own. The coach will be headed to Arizona. The players will return to work next Monday.

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2003967203_webhawks22.html

Wings' Drake out with broken bone

DETROIT (CP) -- Detroit Red Wings forward Dallas Drake will miss at least two games because of a broken cheekbone, general manager Ken Holland says.

Drake has a hairline fracture in his left cheekbone from being rammed into the glass Thursday by San Jose Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren. Drake saw a specialist Monday.

"No surgery is required," Holland told the Detroit Free Press. "The doctor has ruled him out Wednesday and Friday. The doctor wants him to take a week from the time of the injury to give it time to heal."

Holland said Drake will wear a full face shield when he returns. Drake is scheduled to see doctors again Friday, and Holland said he hopes to take Drake on a three-game Canadian road trip that begins Sunday at Vancouver.
Source: http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=294137