| Fortunately for my wallet, the Buccaneers staged a | | | | idea that the hit I had received was the culprit. The |
| remarkable comeback yesterday behind Chris Simms | | | | doctors wheeled me into the hallway and then the |
| and pulled off a point spread cover against the | | | | convulsions started, as my blood pressure reached 70 |
| Panthers. On a crucial drive late in the third quarter, | | | | over 30, which is close to death. |
| Simms catapulted into the end zone after receiving a | | | | The doctors asked what had happened and I did |
| tremendous hit on his left side. He was in a struggle | | | | mention that I had been hit a few days ago, by a |
| the rest of the game to play. Last night it was | | | | friend. Bingo, they opened my stomach and found six |
| reported that Simms was in the hospital and had his | | | | pints of blood sitting there and told me my spleen was |
| spleen removed. | | | | ruptured. |
| Twenty years ago I was a promising baseball player, | | | | When it was obvious that Simms was laboring, the |
| when a friend of mine joking around gave me a shot | | | | announcers and training staff thought that he was |
| on my left side, with a nice punch. At the time I was in | | | | suffering from a lack of hydration and gave him fluids. |
| great shape, lifting weights five times a week and | | | | At the time Simms would've had no idea it was his |
| running as well. The night he hit me, I was in pain, but | | | | spleen since the pain in his side was something he |
| still functioning enough to go home. The next day was | | | | was used to. |
| very uncomfortable as I tried to swing a bat and most | | | | He returned to the game, but couldn't continue and this |
| of my power was gone. I got through that day, but | | | | was the beginning of the end and lucky for his sake, |
| now the struggles began as I was discombobulated | | | | the training stag remembered the hit. As for his future, |
| and working a huge fever. | | | | he is looking at minimum four weeks for the wound to |
| At this point I needed to get myself to a hospital and | | | | heal, but then he'll also have lost about 30 pounds. The |
| once there, the fun began. After x-rays, they couldn't | | | | doctors will probably advise Coach Gruden that it will |
| see anything structurally wrong with me and I had no | | | | be minimum eight weeks. |