Parents make snap decision with newborn
A couple of Green Bay Packers fans whose baby sustained a broken collarbone during birth had no trouble picking a name for their newborn.
Their favorite NFL quarterback just happens to be healing from the same injury.
Aaron Rodger Dryer arrived Sunday afternoon at St. Mary’s Hospital in Green Bay, just in time for the Packers game against the New York Giants. When the medical staff discovered the newborn had a broken left collarbone, on the same side as Aaron Rodgers’ injury, Kyle Dryer and Kristal Tyczkowski settled on a name for their third child.
Dryer was the first to suggest it.
“I said, ‘That’s not a bad name,’ ” Tyczkowski said. “That’s when we knew.”
They dropped the “s” from Rodgers because they thought Rodger sounded better as a middle name. His parents already suspect their baby boy could someday follow his namesake onto the gridiron.
“He’ll be taking snaps,” Dryer said as the family returned from the hospital and settled into their home on Green Bay’s west side.
The physician who delivered the baby, Dr. Robert Moyer, said collarbone injuries are fairly common in newborns. He said the injury typically heals easily within a couple of weeks.
Moyer said he was delighted to learn that he had delivered a baby named after the Packers quarterback.
“That fit him perfectly,” Moyer said of the baby. “He was meant to be Aaron Rodger.”
Head shot
Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Erik Walden was suspended one game for headbutting a Tennessee Titans player after he ripped the player’s helmet off.
“Yes, it was a low blow,” wrote Reggie Hayes, a columnist with The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind. “But in Walden’s defense, at least he was bullying someone on the other team.”
Hair games
As far as Arizona rookie running back Andre Ellington is concerned, his recently departed chunk of hair has had its 15 minutes of fame.
Ever since Jacksonville’s Jason Babin tore out a fistful of Ellington’s dreadlocks Sunday, then slowly dropped the hair to the turf, the subject has been the rage on social media.
The puns were as unrelenting as they were obvious: a hair-raising event, a dreadful experience, hair today-gone tomorrow.
The incident occurred during what was a very unproductive day for Ellington carrying the ball. He managed 3 yards in eight attempts.
To add insult to ineffectiveness, Ellington found a bit of himself missing. His tightly wound and carefully crafted dreadlocks became a convenient handle for Babin.
“He just got a handful of it, just kind of popped a couple of my dreads off,” Ellington said.
Now, Ellington said, he wants to put the issue behind him, although he knows others will be looking to grab a chunk of that now famous head of hair.
“I’ll just have to run faster so they can’t get it,” he said.
Quote of the day
“I’ll remember the good times, but I feel like I became a better player and a man through the hard times and adversity.” Defensive end Chris Smith on his career at Arkansas
Sports, Pages 19 on 11/21/2013