I'm not a big fan of pro football, but admit to casually following the Panthers during their season, at least enough to keep up with water cooler conversation. I couldn't help but see where Charlotte's star receiver, Steve Smith, broke his wrist the other day and will miss the pre-season practices and games. He's expected to return around the time of the first regular season game, no doubt a little rusty when he does. Here's the catch: Smith broke his wrist, which he broke just before the end of last season in almost the same place, while playing FLAG football for a YMCA team. What?! In other words, here's a guy who's paid $5.75 million a year to catch footballs, a guy who's going to be teaming with a relatively new quarterback to provide a major chunk of the Panther offense, but is such a knucklehead that he'd risk his livelihood and his team's well being to play a game where the chance of minor injury is relatively high, against other guys who aren't half the athlete he is. What?! All I can say with that kind of judgement is I'm just glad he's not paid to be a brain surgeon.

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