Giants' Hixon out for season
The New York Giants' kick-return game took a huge hit yesterady when wide receiver and returner Domenik Hixon was diagnosed with a season-ending knee injury, 1 day after getting hurt during the team's first practice at its new billion-dollar stadium.
The New York Giants' kick-return game took a huge hit yesterady when wide receiver and returner Domenik Hixon was diagnosed with a season-ending knee injury, 1 day after getting hurt during the team's first practice at its new billion-dollar stadium.
Hixon's injury originally was thought to be a simple hyperextension of the right knee, but an MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. The injury occurred Tuesday during the Giants' first workout inside the New Meadowlands Stadium when Hixon caught his foot in the new FieldTurf surface while attempting to cut during a punt return. He left the field under his own power.
"He got his foot stuck in there," head coach Tom Coughlin said. "You can see it on the tape; he's turning a little bit."
A team spokesman said Hixon will undergo surgery in 2 to 3 weeks and will miss the 2010 season. The general rehabilitation time from such surgery is 1 year.
The injury is unsettling because it happened during the team's first appearance in its new $1.6 billion stadium. It also triggered questions about the condition of the FieldTurf. Several players commented Tuesday that the surface was soft, a function of its newness. Others noted the crushed rubber base was clumped in some spots.
Noteworthy
* NFL and union officials discussed adding two games to the regular season when they met yesterday for their first negotiating session since February. The league would go from four in the preseason and 16 in the regular season to two and 18.
"This is an idea that is really gaining momentum, particularly with the owners," Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy said on a conference call.
The current collective bargaining agreement expires in March, which could lead to a work stoppage during the 2011 season.
In quotes released by the NFL Players Association, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis expressed concern about the damage two extra regular-season games could do to players' bodies.
* The Redskins will try to recoup all or part of a $21 million bonus from disgruntled defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth after he skipped a mandatory minicamp, an NFL official with knowledge of the deliberations told the Associated Press. *