Chargers team doctor accidentally punctured QB Tyrod Taylor’s lung, Road Warrior Animal dies at 60, and more sports news
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor was planning to take a painkiller injection and play on Sunday, but now he's out indefinitely after one doctor's mishap.
When Tyrod Taylor was a late scratch minutes before the Los Angeles Chargers game against the Kansas City Chiefs, many people were shocked. Taylor was on the injury report earlier in the week, but he was a full participant in practice Friday and appeared ready to go.
According to ESPN, Taylor was planning to take an injection before kickoff for his cracked ribs. The intended injection resulted in the Chargers' team doctor reportedly puncturing Taylor’s lung.
The lung injury caused Taylor to miss Sunday’s game, and it’s unclear when he’ll return.
ESPN reported that the NFLPA is considering its next steps. Taylor is being held out of this week’s game. Doctor’s aren’t putting a timetable on his potential return.
It’s about as unlucky of a break that a player can have. Taylor landed a starting job for the first time in two seasons, and head coach Anthony Lynn constantly showed that he believed in Taylor.
In Taylor’s place, rookie quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 311 yards against the Chiefs. Herbert will get the start this week, too.
An injury is one of the worst ways to lose a job. It’s an uncontrollable scenario, especially when the mistake is made by a team doctor.
Lynn has said that Taylor will be the Chargers' starting quarterback when he returns.
WWE legend Road Warrior Animal dead at 60
Former WWE star Joseph “Road Warrior Animal” Laurinaitis has died at 60, his family said in a Twitter post Wednesday morning. He was one-half of the Road Warriors tag team.
The Road Warriors duo were two-time WWE tag team champions, and they were inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011. They were called “Legion of Doom” during a WWF stint in the early 1990s.
Laurinaitis was born in Philadelphia and lived here until moving to Minnesota before starting his professional wrestling career. His son, James, played linebacker at Ohio State and eight NFL seasons with the Rams and Saints.
The other half of the Road Warriors duo, Road Warrior Hawk, died from a heart attack in 2003. The duo spent time in the WWF, WCW, WWE, and other professional wrestling organizations. Their last match together was in the WWE when they defeated the Shane Twins.
NFL coaches fined for not wearing a mask during games
Three NFL coaches were fined $100,000 Sunday after not wearing a mask during the game. Either Jon Gruden and Sean Payton didn’t get that message, or $100,000 is chump change to them.
Both Monday Night Football coaches were fined on Tuesday, meaning five coaches overall were penalized for not wearing masks. The other three coaches were Pete Carroll, Kyle Shanahan and Vic Fangio. Each team was fined $250,000, too.
Gruden was notably seen Monday wearing the mask on his chin. He apologized after the game, but the NFL showed no mercy.
The big fines show that the league wants to fix the issue. Coaches communicate on their headsets, and wearing a mask might make that tougher, but that’s no excuse for not following the guidelines.
Jamal Murray and the Nuggets show resilience again in Game 3 win
If Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets have shown anything in the playoffs, it’s that they always play the best with their backs against the wall. Last night’s game against the Lakers was a perfect example of that.
Denver dominated the first half and built an 18-point lead before the Lakers got it down to 10 before halftime. Then in the third quarter when the Lakers got within five, the Nuggets' lead jumped back to 20.
An 18-point lead was cut to four before Murray hit two backbreaking three-pointers and dropped a crucial assist to Paul Millsap.
When the Lakers went up in the series, 2-0, off an Anthony Davis buzzer-beater, it felt like the Nuggets' chances of winning the series decreased severely.
But for some reason, the Nuggets' chances of winning a series have increased every time they’ve been in a hole.
Game 4 will be a big momentum game in terms of what we usually see in the postseason, but is that really the case with the Nuggets? Denver can tie the series at 2-2, or the Lakers can take a commanding 3-1 lead. Being up 3-1 against the Nuggets should feel just as dangerous as being tied 2-2 after what they did to the Clippers and Jazz this postseason.