540MINUTES

By JOSH DUBOW

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Raiders fired Lane Kiffin on Tuesday just four games into his second season, bringing finality to a situation that had been simmering for eight months. Kiffin had a 5-15 record since being hired last year, losing his final game 28-18 on Sunday to San Diego.

The decision on Kiffin was as much about his frequent criticisms of owner Al Davis' franchise as it was the team's performance on the field. Those critiques reached a peak when Kiffin distanced himself from the defense after a blowout loss in the season opener, saying that was under coordinator Rob Ryan and Davis' control.

Raiders fire coach Lane Kiffin after 4 games....

By ANDREW BAGNATO

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt expects the NFL to review a helmet-to-helmet hit by New York Jets safety Eric Smith on Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin.

Boldin was resting at home on Monday, one day after being carted off the field in the Cardinals' 56-35 loss to the Jets in New Jersey.

Whisenhunt said he believed the hit violated a safety edict issued by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, but he stopped short of calling for Smith to be suspended.

"I think it's one of the hits that falls into the category of being dangerous to players," Whisenhunt said Monday. "Certainly, I'm sure that the league is going to look at this and will address it."

Whisenhunt: NFL should review hit on Boldin....

Jacksonville, FL (Sports Network) - Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier, who was shot earlier this month, had his left leg amputated and is paralyzed below the waist, according to his doctors.

Doctors said that he is now in stable condition after previously being listed as critical from the 14 bullet wounds he suffered in an attack on September 2.

Jaguars OT Collier paralyzed, has leg amputated....

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Another Super Bowl, another rock 'n' roll superstar at halftime. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at the 2009 Super Bowl halftime show in Tampa, Fla., the NFL and NBC announced Sunday night.

Continuing a run of major talent that has lately included the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Prince and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the biggest television event in the nation will showcase one of its most beloved rock 'n' roll artists. The Super Bowl will be played Feb. 1 at Raymond James Stadium.

Springsteen, E Street Band to perform in Super Bowl halftime show....

The Redskins knocked the Cowboys from the ranks of the unbeaten, with a 26-24 victory at Texas Stadium.

The Tennessee Titans have their first four and oh start ever after a 30-17 win over the Vikings, while the Buffalo Bills also have four wins against no defeats for the first time since 1992.

By R.B. FALLSTROM

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The winless St. Louis Rams fired coach Scott Linehan on Monday, the day after a fourth straight lopsided loss to start the season.

Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett will replace Linehan on an interim basis. The Rams scheduled a news conference later Monday.

"I have enormous respect for Scott Linehan as a person and believe under the right circumstances he will be regarded one day as a fine head coach," owner Chip Rosenbloom said in a release. "Unfortunately, the situation with the Rams as they exist today is no longer acceptable and we have to make a change."

Linehan had an overall 11-25 record in his first head coaching job. The Rams have been outscored 147-43 this season, and have allowed at least 30 points in seven straight games dating back to last year.

The move was made heading into the Rams' bye week and several hours after the Buffalo Bills outscored them 25-0 in the second half of a 31-14 victory Sunday.

St. Louis has lost 17 of its last 20 games overall.

Winless St. Louis Rams fire coach Scott Linehan....

Last year, the Falcons and Panthers combined for an 11 and 21 record. After they meet this week, the winner will have sole possession of the NFC South lead.

In one of the biggest rivalries in the NFL, the Cowboys meet the Redskins this week. Dallas is the clear favorite, and the Redskins will be without top defender Jason Taylor, who's having minor surgery on his swollen left calf.

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- The RCA Dome is now a bowl.


Sixteen large fans that kept the dome's fabric roof aloft were shut down Wednesday morning, allowing the roof to deflate and fall within about 50 feet of the stadium floor.

The dome near downtown Indianapolis is being demolished, now that the Indianapolis Colts have moved to the nearby Lucas Oil Stadium.

Former mayor Bill Hudnut gave the order to shut off the fans. The 8-acre roof took about 35 minutes to deflate.

The upper level seating area will be imploded in December.

RCA Dome deflated to prepare Colts' old home to be demolished....

By LARRY LAGE

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Matt Millen is out as Detroit Lions president, according to published reports Wednesday.

Millen's wife told ESPN's Chris Mortensen her husband was leaving the position. The move comes two days after Bill Ford, son of team owner William Clay Ford, said he would fire him, but didn't have the authority.

Messages seeking comment were left by The Associated Press on Wednesday for Millen, other team officials and players.

Detroit was routed in each of its first three games this season, falling behind 21-0 twice and 21-3 once en route to lopsided losses. The Lions are off this week.

The 0-3 start dropped Millen to 31-84 overall, giving the Lions at least 10 more losses than any other NFL team over the past seven-plus seasons.

Players who were given the rest of the week off starting Wednesday seemed to be out of the loop.

"I only know what I heard on the news," offensive tackle George Foster said Wednesday afternoon before getting in his car. "Nobody has told me anything about Matt."

FoxSports.com was the first to report Millen's departure.

Reports: Millen out as Detroit Lions president....

East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - The New York Giants have suspended wide receiver Plaxico Burress one game for violating team rules.

Details were not provided by Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese, who made the announcement on Wednesday morning after meeting with Burress and informing him of the suspension that takes effect immediately.

The 3-0 Giants have a bye this week and will host Seattle on October 5, meaning the suspension is actually for two weeks.

Giants suspend Plaxico Burress....

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has sent a memo to players and coaches on every team stressing that safety issues are important to the league and on-field conduct that risks injuries will result in severe penalties.

The memo, dated Wednesday, was sent to all teams with instructions that it should be distributed to all players and coaches.

Goodell's memo reads in full:

"Player safety on the field is important to all of us in the NFL. Football is a tough game and we need to do everything possible to protect all players--offense, defense, and special teams--from unnecessary injury caused by illegal and dangerous hits.

"From this point forward, you should be clear on the following point: Any conduct that unnecessarily risks the safety of other players has no role in the game of football and will be disciplined at increased levels, including on a first offense.

"Playing by the rules shows respect for your fellow players. No one wants to see unnecessary injuries. Let's have a safe and exciting 2008 season."

The memo comes on the heels of the league issuing a one-game suspension Tuesday to Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie cornerback Elbert Mack for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan during an interception return in a game last Sunday.

Mack reportedly is appealing the penalty.

Goodell Memo Stresses On-Field Safety....

By MICHAEL MAROT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tony Dungy doesn't doubt Bob Sanders will be back in the Colts lineup this season. He's just not sure how long Sanders will be out.

The 2007 defensive player of the year could miss up to six weeks after spraining his right ankle last weekend at Minnesota, and team officials are contemplating whether Sanders may need arthroscopic surgery on his knee, too.

"It's kind of similar to (receiver) Roy Hall's injury," Dungy said. "He had his knee scoped, too, so he's going to be out a while longer. If it's going to be two or three weeks, then it makes sense to get it scoped. But (defensive tackle) Keyunta Dawson had the same kind of thing and he told me he was going to practice today, so we're not really sure."

Apparently, those plans changed, too. Dawson did not practice Wednesday.

Colts' Sanders could miss weeks with ankle injury....

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Out with the new, in with the old. With the passing offense sputtering in two losses to open the season, Minnesota coach Brad Childress decided the Vikings can no longer afford to let 25-year-old quarterback Tarvaris Jackson learn on the job.

On Wednesday, Childress turned to 15-year veteran Gus Frerotte to run the offense for the rest of the season.

"I'm just not seeing right now the aggressiveness from Tarvaris that I saw throughout the offseason, training camp, the two preseason games that he played in," Childress said. "And part of it may be experience. I know Gus will give us that. And I know his approach will also lend itself to that."

Jackson completed just 51 percent of his passes this season. He threw a game-ending interception at Green Bay that sealed the Packers victory and was partly responsible for the offense settling for five field goals and scoring no touchdowns in an 18-15 loss to the Colts.

"I know there's many other plays, there's a lot of other people that have to step up," Childress said. "But then when you go back through and look at the tape, and most importantly to be able to sit across from the young man and want to be able to verify what you're feeling — it's kind of like looking in your kids' eyes and saying one (thing) and feeling another."

Vikings bench QB Jackson, turn to veteran Frerotte....

By Richard Sandomir

Tony Kornheiser angered some fans on “Monday Night Football” when he made light of a Spanish-language broadcaster’s call during the Cowboys-Eagles game.

ESPN was celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, and Kornheiser, Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski were listening to a replay of the ESPN Deportes announcer Alvaro Martin’s description of Felix Jones’s 98-yard kickoff return that put the Cowboys ahead, 13-6.

“I took high school Spanish,” Kornheiser said, “and that either means ‘nobody is going to touch him’ or ‘could you pick up my dry cleaning in the morning?’ ”

The words did not target a particular person or an egregious stereotype (don’t we ask our spouses to pick up the dry cleaning?), which separated it from much-worse comments by other sportscasters. It was, however, a silly aside that was ill-chosen and provided firm evidence of Kornheiser’s hazy recall of his Spanish lessons.

The Story Behind Kornheiser’s Apology....

By KRISTIE RIEKEN

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Texans owner Bob McNair has discussed the possibility of his team playing at Rice Stadium if repairs to Reliant Stadium from Hurricane Ike can't be made in time for its first home game on Oct. 5.

The stadium's retractable roof lost five pieces in the storm and officials said large pieces of debris had fallen into the stadium.

Though he has discussed playing at Rice, which is four miles from Reliant, McNair is "optimistic" that repairs can be made in time for Houston to play at home against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 5.

"We would have to talk to them at Rice, but certainly it's a large enough stadium that it is a possibility," McNair said Tuesday.

Rice Stadium holds 47,000 in its current configuration, but the tarps could be moved off the end zone seating to expand the capacity to 70,000. It was opened in 1950 and hosted the Super Bowl in 1974.

Texans considering Rice Stadium for next home game....

By RICHARD SANDOMIR

The Giants and the Jets said Friday that they had ended talks with Allianz, a German-based insurance company with connections to the Third Reich, about selling the naming rights to the $1.6 billion stadium they are building in the Meadowlands.

The decision came after two days of largely negative reaction to the possibility of a deal with Allianz, which insured facilities at Auschwitz and other concentration camps, and which deprived many Jewish customers of the proceeds from their insurance policies.

The New York Times first reported about the talks between Allianz and the teams on Sept. 1 and provided details of the company’s history Wednesday. Mark Lamping, the president of the teams’ joint venture, New Meadowlands Stadium, informed Allianz on Friday morning that the discussions were over.

Allianz Drops Bid for Naming Rights....

By JOHN McCLAIN Houston Chronicle

The Houston Texans will not be playing their home opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night at Reliant Stadium.

The game was supposed to have been played at 7:30 p.m., but Hurricane Ike has caused damage to the stadium that has made it unsuitable for hosting the game.

"The facility will not be usable," said Shey Guinn, president of SMG, the company that manages Reliant Park.

"There's some structural damage to the roof. Part of it is off," Guinn said.

"There's also some other damage on the property caused by wind and water. We're in the process of assessing the damage," he said. "As far as the game being postponed again or played, that will be up to the NFL."

The game had originally been set for 3:15 p.m. Sunday, but because of Ike the NFL moved it to Monday night.

The Texans and Ravens will have no comment until they hear from the league. Conference calls among three are scheduled for later today.

Reliant Stadium damaged; won't host Monday game....

The AP's Dave Lubeski previews week two in the NFL, including the Jets hosting the Patriots, New England playing its first game without reigning league MVP Tom Brady who's out for the season.

By STEPHEN HAWKINS

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Terrell Owens vividly recalls the fans chanting his name and the cheers he used to hear in Philadelphia — the ones he feels drove a wedge between himself and Donovan McNabb.

Owens once thought he was going to have the kind of relationship with McNabb in Philadelphia that he has since developed with Tony Romo in Dallas. The pair are good friends and the NFL's top-scoring quarterback-receiver tandem with 26 touchdowns since 2006.

"The fans and just the excitement of me coming there and being there, it became too overwhelming for Donovan," Owens said Thursday. "I think at one point in time, I will say that we had a good relationship. I think I got too big for Philly, too big for him. I just feel like in a sense that he felt like I was just probably getting too much attention."

The Eagles kicked Owens off their team during the 2005 season — a year after they went to the Super Bowl — after a series of infractions, including repeated criticism of McNabb and the organization.

"I feel strong about my position and what happened in Philly, and I really don't feel like it was my fault," Owens said.

Owens says he got "too big" for McNabb....

The Associated Press

IRVING, Texas: Tony Romo: NFL star, playboy quarterback and, apparently, a Good Samaritan handy with an air compressor.

A couple says Romo helped them patch a flat tire on the side of a busy street last weekend after the Dallas Cowboys star returned home from a season-opening win over the Cleveland Browns.

Bill and Sharon White told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that at least 100 drivers ignored their broken-down Mercury before someone stopped late Sunday. Sharon White said a well-dressed man "with something strange on his chin" walked up and offered a hand.

Romo needed 13 stitches after his chin was split open in the 28-10 win over the Browns. He bent down and helped the Whites get their faulty air compressor to fill up the tire.

Sharon White said she asked twice before Romo confirmed her suspicions about the do-gooder's identity.

Romo to the rescue: Cowboys QB stops to fix flat....

BY OREN YANIV
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Football fans and Jewish groups are outraged over the prospect of a new Giants and Jets stadium being named for German insurer Allianz because of its Nazi ties in World War II.

The company insured the Auschwitz death camp and had a chief executive serving in Hitler's cabinet. The company is on the short list of those vying to slap their name on the Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey via a lucrative sponsorship deal.

The possibility of what some saw as a former Third Reich enabler getting its name on their ballpark has some Big Blue and Gang Green fans vowing boycott.

"I think it's terrible, but that's the mighty dollar," Giants fan Keith Hayes, 33, said of the name.

"It would be an insult," said Abe Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. "It's putting their name in lights for generations to come."

Debate over Allianz is also heating up the Net and is the talk of sports radio.

A season-ticket holder who posted under the name xxvnyg80 in a Giants Internet forum said he wrote team owner John Mara, begging him to sack the idea.

Allianz would reportedly pay $20 million to $30 million per year for the naming rights of the $1.3 billion stadium, which is to open in 2010.

During the Holocaust, the same company refused to pay off life insurance stipends to Jews and sent their policies' proceeds to the Nazis instead, Holocaust historians have written.

Allianz, which employs 11,000 people in the U.S. and sponsors golf and racing events, has acknowledged its shameful past and has shelled out millions in restitution.

Giants and Jets fans join uproar over stadium naming rights bid by firm with Holocaust ties....

RK (LW) TEAM REC COMMENT

1 (3) Cowboys 1-0-0 This team owns Sept. and Oct. It made the Browns look awful. (MM)

2 (6) Steelers 1-0-0 New England has been a thorn in the side of the Steelers for quite some time. With Tom Brady out, the Steelers can start to dream big. (JW)

3 (2) Chargers 0-1-0 The Chargers are too good to keep squandering games in the first month. (BW)

4 (7) Saints 1-0-0 Defensive overhaul is working wonders and Reggie Bush is off to a hot start. (PY)

5 (8) Giants 1-0-0 Three teams in The Beast could be in the top five, but that would be blatant favoritism. (MM)

6 (12) Eagles 1-0-0 Even though he was facing the Rams, Donovan McNabb was superb. And DeSean Jackson is making an early bid for rookie of the year. (MM)

7 (10) Packers 1-0-0 They protected their home turf against a division rival. (KS)

8 (4) Colts 0-1-0 A rusty, disjointed team has to piece things back together in time for a Sunday trip to the Metrodome. If Adrian Peterson does what Matt Forte did, could the Colts be looking at 0-2? (PK)

9 (1) Patriots 1-0-0 The season-long loss of QB Tom Brady will be the test. Without him, they had to hang on to beat the lowly Chiefs 17-10 at home. (TG)

10 (5) Jaguars 0-1-0 They will have backups in place at both guards and center for Marcus Stroud's homecoming party. That is not a good recipe at all for the running backs or David Garrard. The defense needs to step up and win this one. (PK)

11 (14) Titans 1-0-0 Repeat after me: The quarterback doesn't necessarily matter. If the Titans can execute their defensive and run-game formulas, the passing offense doesn't have to do anything big. (PK)

12 (17) Panthers 1-0-0 Beating San Diego without Steve Smith was Carolina's biggest win in three seasons. (PY)

13 (18) Bills 1-0-0 The 34-10 victory over Seattle was perhaps the most complete Week 1 performance. Pro Bowl LT Jason Peters ended his holdout and could play Sunday against Jacksonville. (TG)

14 (16) Jets 1-0-0 Brett Favre seemed comfortable in his new duds, slinging the Jets to a 20-14 victory in Miami. The O-line looked solid, but now it gets to face the Patriots' stellar front seven. (TG)

15 (25) Bears 1-0-0 They shocked the world in Indianapolis, and the health of their defense remains the key. (KS)

16 (11) Vikings 0-1-0 They have to get more consistency from QB Tarvaris Jackson. (KS)

17 (13) Browns 0-1-0 The Browns held true to form by falling to 1-9 in their last 10 season openers. They will aim to buck another tough trend Sunday by beating division nemesis Pittsburgh. (JW)

18 (9) Seahawks 0-1-0 The Seahawks temporarily join the ranks of the pretenders while they figure out how to function without four injured receivers and running back Maurice Morris. The special teams were abysmal in the opener. (MS)

19 (22) Broncos 1-0-0 The Broncos couldn't have had a better start to the season. They dominated Oakland on both sides of the ball and they introduced a new weapon in rookie receiver Eddie Royal. (BW)

20 (15) Buccaneers 0-1-0 Showed no big-play capability and the defense is looking old. (PY)

21 (21) Cardinals 1-0-0 The Cardinals showed a more patient, disciplined side in grinding out a 23-13 victory at San Francisco. Arizona must improve its red-zone offense. (MS)

22 (24) Ravens 1-0-0 Joe Flacco mania is sweeping through Baltimore after his first victory Sunday. Can the rookie quarterback keep it going? (JW)

23 (19) Redskins 0-1-0 Redskins can't afford too many more dress rehearsals. This team desperately needs a solid performance after the debacle in the Meadowlands. (MM)

24 (20) Texans 0-1-0 When the coaching staff preaches the importance of tackling all week and then counts 12 missed tackles -- in just two series -- you've got some issues. Add to that Ahman Green's ankle injury. (PK)

25 (32) Falcons 1-0-0 Matt Ryan era started with win, due largely to Michael Turner. (PY)

26 (23) Bengals 0-1-0 The Bengals are bungling early. Head coach Marvin Lewis needs to right the ship fast before things go farther south. (JW)

27 (29) 49ers 0-1-0 The 49ers can run the ball. Too bad they couldn't hold onto it, committing five turnovers in the opener. (MS)

28 (30) Dolphins 0-1-0 They failed to mount any semblance of a ground game and their receivers were invisible. Breakdowns and penalties showed the Dolphins have a ways to go. (TG)

29 (31) Chiefs 0-1-0 The Chiefs hung with the Tom Brady-less Patriots. Yes, the team lost quarterback Brodie Croyle but there seem to be some reasons to be encouraged. (BW)

30 (27) Raiders 0-1-0 What a horrible start to the season for a team with high aspirations. Nothing went right for Oakland as it was embarrassed at home by Denver. (BW)

31 (26) Lions 0-1-0 How can you not see the same old Lions? (KS)

32 (28) Rams 0-1-0 No team looked worse than the Rams during opening week. Zero third-down conversions in 11 chances, and the defense allowed big plays with alarming regularity. Injuries are already hurting this team. (MS)

by Jay Glazer

First Tom Brady. Now Shawne Merriman.

San Diego's three-time Pro Bowl linebacker has elected to have season-surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee. Several Chargers players and general manager A.J. Smith have said that the Pro Bowler has informed them of the decision.

"Shawne informed me he did not feel right and thought it best to shut it down," Smith said in a statement. "The road to winning the AFC West just got more difficult, but not impossible. Nothing is impossible. Shawne is a great player and an inspirational leader. He will be missed. We wish him a successful surgery and a speedy recovery."

Several calls left for Merriman have not yet been returned.

Merriman will have season-ending surgery....

By JIMMY GOLEN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots have come back from injuries before, winning three Super Bowls and reaching a fourth despite losing Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour, Junior Seau and Drew Bledsoe. Now they will try to do it without Tom Brady.

The 2007 NFL Most Valuable Player will miss the entire '08 season with a left knee injury that needs surgery, the team said Monday. That leaves the Patriots without one of the game's great quarterbacks and severely damages their hopes of a return trip to the Super Bowl.

Coach Bill Belichick would not say what the injury is, but the play, Brady's reaction and the prognosis all point toward a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Pats QB Tom Brady out for season with knee injury....

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Maybe it's time to start giving the Super Bowl champion New York Giants a little more respect.

Overlooked by the experts heading into the season, the Giants were impressive in a 16-7 win over the Washington Redskins on Thursday night in a game that really wasn't that close.

"Let people doubt us, it doesn't matter," offensive tackle David Diehl said Friday. "It's what you do on Sundays. That's always been the case and last year was not different. People counted us out and said we weren't going to do anything. That's fine. This year we are playing with a chip on our shoulders."

The Giants displayed that chip repeatedly in the nationally televised season opener.

New York Giants were impressive in debut as Super Bowl champions....

By TIM REYNOLDS

MIAMI (AP) — Daunte Culpepper, who starred for the Minnesota Vikings before a major knee injury in 2005 curtailed his career, retired from the NFL on Thursday.
Culpepper completed 64 percent of his passes in a nine-year career, with 142 touchdowns. He tried to resuscitate his career with the Miami Dolphins in 2006 and the Oakland Raiders last season, struggling in both of those stops, and wasn't in training camp with any teams this year.

"Since I was not given a fair chance to come in and compete for a job, I would rather move on and win in other arenas of life," Culpepper said.

Culpepper has spent the past months hoping for chances with any team, including the Green Bay Packers, saying just last week he'd accept a backup job there behind Aaron Rodgers. The Packers had Culpepper in for a workout before this year's draft, with apparently little contact since.

"No matter what I did or said, there seemed to be a unified message from teams that I was not welcome to compete for one of the many jobs that were available at the quarterback position," Culpepper said.

Daunte Culpepper retires from NFL....

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier was shot while waiting for some women outside an apartment early Tuesday and sustained life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

Collier, 26, and former Jaguars defensive end Kenneth Pettway were waiting in a car when a gunman fired into the vehicle, said Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Ken Jefferson. Collier was shot several times, but it wasn't clear where he was hit.

Collier was in critical condition at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, a hospital official said. The motive behind the attack was unclear, and the sheriff's office was investigating. Pettway, who was released in final cuts Saturday, was not injured in the attack.

The shooting happened around 2:45 a.m. in a middle- to upper middle-class neighborhood just west of downtown Jacksonville and blocks from the St. Johns River.

Collier is the third NFL player to be shot in the past 18 months. Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor was fatally shot during what police said was a botched burglary attempt at his Miami-area home in November. Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed when his rented limousine was sprayed with bullets minutes after leaving a New Year's party at a downtown Denver club in 2007.

Entering his third year after making the team as an undrafted rookie free agent, Collier competed for the starting job at left tackle but was beaten out by Khalif Barnes in the preseason.

Jags' Collier shot, has life-threatening injuries....