One of the perks of living in Southern California is you don't have to deal with snow during the winter. Yes, you don't get to have a white Christmas, and it's odd walking around in shorts in December, but you also don't have to worry about the city turning into gridlock because of a blizzard (we have gridlock for every other reason), or needing to trundle out into the cold to clear your driveway.
But apparently, snow is not just annoying but just plain dangerous. Just ask Colorado Avalance captain Joe Sakic. The Denver Post says he's going to be out at least three months after a freak snowblower accident that left him with three broken fingers and "severe" tendon damage.
Sakic reached inside the "auger" of the snowblower to remove some snow, which apparently is bad since it can still move and crush people's hands even when it's off. The newspaper says this type of accident isn't uncommon: there are more than 1,000 cases of finger amputations in similar accidents, and nine deaths reported since 1992. To me, this sounds like Stephen King was a prophet: the machines really are taking over.
Sakic's injury is just the latest bizarre sports injury to befall Denver athletes in recent years. You might remember Broncos WR Brandon Marshall gashing his arm after tripping on a McDonald's bag and falling through an entertainment center. Or Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes breaking his collarbone after falling while carrying a slab of deer meat into his house. Or Brian Griese's one-two punch of getting pushed down the stairs by his dog and slipping on teammate Terrell Davis' driveway and getting knocked out.
Clearly, something is going on here. Someone needs to wrap Jay Cutler in protective bubble wrap just to be sure.
