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curveball wrote:And the Postons are looking dumber and dumber by the second.

WINSLOW'S INJURIES WORSE THAN THOUGHT?

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

Media reports out of Cleveland indicate that Browns tight end Kellen Winslow's injuries are worse than originally reported.

Winslow has, per NewsChannel 5 in Cleveland, "a broken tibia and femur, along with a fracture to the large bone in his thigh" (which commonly is known as the femur, Dr. News Bunny). Winslow's ACL is damaged and possibly torn, and there are lacerations on his kidney and liver.

There is concern in some circles that his football career is over.

Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer has written a compelling follow-up to Pat McManamon's article from earlier in the week regarding Winslow's motorcycling habits.

Per Cabot, Winslow became intrigued by motorcycle stunts when he heard a bike rumbling while playing paint ball in the back yard of his Westlake home (we didn't know that paint ball was part of his broken-leg rehab regimen). Winslow investigated, and found that a guy was doing wheelies and other stunts on a motorcycle.

Winslow befriended the rider, Jason Campana, and Winslow bought his own bike on April 9.

A week later, one of Winslow's neighbors called the police on the sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft, who was "going up and down the street about 50 miles per hour" and "popping wheelies." Winslow had cleared out before the police arrived.

Another neighbor tried to reason directly with Winslow.

"One day he and someone else went down the street about 15 times doing wheelies," said Dr. Robert Nahigian. "One of them did a wheelie right in front of my house. After about 15 minutes, I waved him down."

Nahigian told him that stunts weren't appropriate in a residential area. "I also told him that I was concerned about his own safety," Nahigian said. "He told me he wasn't going over the speed limit."

Nahigian also wondered why Winslow was riding the bike, given that he still was recovering from a broken leg. "He would walk his dog and he wasn't even walking well before the accident," Nahigian said.

On the day of the accident, Winslow and friends apparently were practicing stunts. One observer believes Winslow was trying to do a reverse wheelie, known in biker-dude lingo as an "endo."

Next thing they knew, he was making like Superman over the handlebars.

In our view, this information should view heavily in the team's deliberations as to whether to seek a full or partial reimbursement of the bonus money paid to Winslow. Regardless of whether he knew that his contract prohibited him from motorcycling, his conduct was so clearly in violation of the document that the team would be setting a dangerous precedent by looking the other way.

Sure, it's hard not to feel some empathy for Winslow given the injuries he suffered, but those feelings will be present whenever a guy gets seriously hurt doing something that, under his contract, he shouldn't have done.

Winslow took a colossally stoopid risk, not just with his own life and health but with the very investment by the Browns that allowed him to buy the machine that might have led to his athletic and financial demise.

We originally thought that the Browns would merely offer not to pay the remaining $2 million or so on his option bonus (due July 15) to resolve the issue, and we continue to believe that the team will do that if it looks like Winslow will be able to play in 2006. But if/when it's confirmed that he's out for two or more seasons, we think the Browns will analyze long and hard the possibility of cutting him loose and trying to get back as much of their bonus money as they can.

And we're still inclined to drop most of the blame on his agents, the Postons, for the fact that Winslow got hurt. Based on Cabot's story, motorcycle stunts had become an obsession for Winslow. If he talked at all with Carl and/or Kevin from April to May, Winslow surely blurted out that he'd bought a motorcycle, and/or that he'd already learned how to do wheelies.

It'll be very interesting to see how the "he said, she said" plays out regarding this topic, especially with so much coin hanging in the balance.

Finally, though we're trying not to poke too much fun at Winslow given his current circumstances, we're compelled to close this one out with an e-mail we received from a reader who defended Winslow's actions:

"Kellen was just trying to prove that when he signs a contract, he is a man of his word. The contract stated that Kellen Winslow cannot ride a motorcycle. So Kellen being a man of his word went out and proved that he cannot ride a motorcycle."

"Kellen was just trying to prove that when he signs a contract, he is a man of his word. The contract stated that Kellen Winslow cannot ride a motorcycle. So Kellen being a man of his word went out and proved that he cannot ride a motorcycle."

skinsfan1 wrote:Here's a funny cartoon about it..

http://www.extremeskins.com/modules.php ... file=index

The Browns plan no punitive measures against Kellen Winslow Jr. for violating his contract by motorcycling -- at least not until his playing status for 2005 is known.

In the team's first public comments about Winslow since he suffered multiple injuries in a motorcycle accident on May 1, club officials expressed support, disappointment and hope the tight end will make a complete recovery.

Winslow visited the club facility on Wednesday and did some rehabilitation work on his severely injured right knee one day after being released from the Cleveland Clinic.

Club officials confirmed Winslow will have an exploratory procedure done on the knee within seven to 10 days to ascertain the extent of ligament damage.

Deferring to the Winslow family wishes, the Browns continued to decline to specify all of Winslow's injuries. They said there is no timetable for his return as an active player.

"I don't think there's any indication this is a career-ending injury," President John Collins said.

Fans who want Winslow dismissed from the team will not get their wish.

"Absolutely not," General Manager Phil Savage said. "This is one of the blue-chip players on the club. When I interviewed [for the GM job], I said the problem with the team is you don't have enough good players. This is one of our better players. We need him and we want him."

But that does not mean the Browns will not take advantage of contract language that allows them to recoup close to $6 million in scheduled bonus and salary payments if Winslow cannot play in 2005 as a result of the non-football-related injuries.

"The contract's pretty clear," Collins said. "We're protected. We know what our rights are. Once we know more about the player, we'll deal with the determination together as a team as to what his impact can be going forward and where we go from there."