Achilles

In his first season after tearing his right Achilles tendon in 1993, Dan Marino threw for 4,453 yards and 30 touchdowns en route to his eighth Pro Bowl invitation and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. But even the Hall of Fame former Miami Dolphins quarterback was stunned when he saw Terrell Suggs play Sunday against the Houston Texans - just five months after the Ravens outside linebacker underwent surgery on his right Achilles tendon. "Yeah, I am [surprised] considering that he practiced - for what - three days?"

In his first season after tearing his right Achilles tendon in 1993, Dan Marino threw for 4,453 yards and 30 touchdowns en route to his eighth Pro Bowl invitation and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. But even the Hall of Fame former Miami Dolphins quarterback was stunned when he saw Terrell Suggs play Sunday against the Houston Texans - just five months after the Ravens outside linebacker underwent surgery on his right Achilles tendon. "Yeah, I am [surprised] considering that he practiced - for what - three days?"

Ravens outside linebacker injured his Achilles tendon during a workout last week and is expected to miss most - if not all - of the 2012 season. Suggs, the 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is scheduled to see a foot specialist in North Carolina next week to determine the extent of the injury. Dr. Lew Schon, the chief of foot and ankle surgery at Union Memorial Hospital, discussed, in general terms, what the surgery and recovery from such an injury entails. How serious is a torn Achilles tendon for an NFL player?

Well, it has been a quiet week at the Under Armour Performance Center. Let's see, where to begin? Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb were lost for the season with injuries. A bunch of Ravens were caught in a nightclub during a shooting. Ed Reed dropped a bombshell about a torn labrum in his shoulder that was previously unknown. And Terrell Suggs teased everyone by saying he might play superhero and return early from that partially torn Achilles tendon when the Ravens take on the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium.

When team officials announced last week that Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs had torn his Achilles tendon, former Ravens offensive lineman Wally Williams understood what Suggs was experiencing. Nearly 15 years ago at almost the same time, Williams tore the Achilles tendon in his right, or plant foot, while backpedaling in off-season drills. He returned in six months to start the final 10 games of the 1997 season. Suggs, 29, is expected to have surgery Tuesday morning.

A day after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles' tendon, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs remained upbeat and confident that he'll return and play meaningful football during the 2012 season. "Everything went good, he was in and out," Suggs told The Sun's Mike Preston of the surgery, which was performed in Charlotte, N.C. by noted foot/ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson. "There is only a small incision, and he said it was not as bad as some thought it was, which I had already been told.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer strained his right Achilles' tendon Friday, putting his upcoming exhibition appearance against the Boston Red Sox in jeopardy, but he said yesterday that he still intends to make his scheduled start tomorrow.Palmer arrived at Twin Lakes Park early yesterday with a noticeable limp and decided not to accompany the Baltimore Orioles on their two-day trip to Fort Lauderdale."There was no point in making the trip," he said. "They don't have the exercise equipment I need there, and it would have been a media circus anyway.

Detroit Lions quarterback Rodney Peete probably will miss the rest of the season with an Achilles injury, team officials said yesterday.Peete hurt his right Achilles tendon early in the first quarter of Detroit's 34-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys.The tendon popped as Peete, 25, planted his foot and threw a 15-yard completion to Willie Green. He was decked after the throw, but the damage already was done."If surgery is performed he will undoubtedly miss the rest of the season," Lions head trainer Kent Falb said.

NEW YORK -- Another season ended in heartbreak yesterday for Knicks captain Patrick Ewing, who will be sidelined with a partial tear of his long-aching Achilles' tendon.The aging center suffered the injury before Tuesday night's playoff game against the Indiana Pacers -- a contest that ended with Ewing missing what would have been a game-tying basket."It's frustrating to work so hard and be so close to something I've dreamed about for so many years," Ewing said. "To not be able to be on the floor to help my teammates is very frustrating and disappointing."

What causes Achilles tendinitis, and how do I know if I have it? If you're a runner (or play a sport that involves significant running) and have chronic Achilles pain, there is a good chance it is tendinitis. Tight calf muscles, poor running biomechanics and bad footwear are likely to blame. Properly fitted shoes and orthotics (if necessary) should correct any biomechanics problems like over-pronation. To be fitted for the right shoes, visit a specialty running shop. Also be sure to stretch your calves, particularly after exercise when your muscles are warm.

A generous amount of doubt surfaced regarding the effectiveness of the Ravens pass rush due to the continuing absence of outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, but no one can blame Haloti Ngata for not doing his part. This season, the 6-foot-4, 330-pound defensive tackle is tied with inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe for the team lead in sacks with 2½ and is tied for fourth in tackles with 16.  Ngata, 28, opened 2012 with two sacks in a Week 1 44-13 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals and split a sack with Ellerbe in Sunday night's 31-30 win against the New England Patriots.

As fish farming grows to feed a world hungry for protein, there's a hitch - the seas are being scoured of the little wild fish to feed the big captive ones destined for the dinner table. Researchers in Baltimore think they may have hit upon a remedy, one that moves aquaculture closer to truly being sustainable. Working at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, a branch of the University System of Maryland, scientists have developed a plant-based fish food that even finny meat eaters like striped bass gobble up. The fish raised on such a nearly vegetarian diet also are healthier to eat, they say, with fewer of the worrisome chemical contaminants that show up in wild or even many farm-raised fish.

As much as the Ravens want it to go away, the Terrell Suggs injury is the story that won't die. It took all of about 90 seconds for the subject to come up in John Harbaugh's press conference after OTAs at the Castle on Wednesday. "How are you responding to these reports about Terrell Suggs playing basketball?" a radio guy asked. "Has he talked to you and told you the truth?" Harbaugh's reaction was curious: he seemed to smile and wince at the same time. The smile seemed kind of strained, like the smile you'd give someone who just pointed out you've put on a few pounds.

A day after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles' tendon, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs remained upbeat and confident that he'll return and play meaningful football during the 2012 season. "Everything went good, he was in and out," Suggs told The Sun's Mike Preston of the surgery, which was performed in Charlotte, N.C. by noted foot/ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson. "There is only a small incision, and he said it was not as bad as some thought it was, which I had already been told.

Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, underwent successful surgery on his torn Achilles tendon Tuesday afternoon, but his availability for the 2012 season remains a significant question mark. The surgery was performed by noted foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte,N.C. "After some recovery time, [Suggs] will begin the process of rehabbing the area," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said in a statement released by the team Tuesday night.

When team officials announced last week that Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs had torn his Achilles tendon, former Ravens offensive lineman Wally Williams understood what Suggs was experiencing. Nearly 15 years ago at almost the same time, Williams tore the Achilles tendon in his right, or plant foot, while backpedaling in off-season drills. He returned in six months to start the final 10 games of the 1997 season. Suggs, 29, is expected to have surgery Tuesday morning.

COLLEGE PARK - The Maryland's women's basketball season received a major setback yesterday when it was learned that 6-foot-4 freshman forward Laura Harper will be lost for the rest of the season with an Achilles' tendon injury in her left ankle. Harper, the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading rebounder (9.8 a game) and the team's third-leading scorer (13.2), suffered the injury in practice Monday night, coach Brenda Frese announced last night. Harper will undergo surgery later this week.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Orioles first baseman David Segui left last night's exhibition game against the NewYork Mets after two innings with a strained right Achilles' tendon. Segui, who was serving as the designated hitter, grounded out in his only at-bat in the Orioles' 6-3 victory over the New York Mets. He apparently suffered the injury earlier in the week and aggravated it last night running to first. "David hurt his ankle a little bit and we just took him out as a precaution," manager Mike Hargrove said.

There has been a lot of speculation that Ravens Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs injured his Achilles tendon while playing basketball. Suggs has denied that it happened that way, but who cares? If that tendon was tight and going to tear, it made no difference if he was playing basketball, wrestling, practicing karate or running sprints. I've known a lot of men who have ruptured their Achilles tendon, and some were just walking and it popped. I've been covering pro sports since 1987 and don't know of many 29-year-olds like Suggs who suffered the injury at such an early age. Former Ravens center-guard Wally Williams suffered the same injury, and he was simply stretching and doing some light jogging over at the training complex during an offseason.

Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens reporter: Terrell Suggs is visiting a specialist next week so we won't know the extent of the injury and whether he'll need season-ending surgery until then, but that's obviously the fear. And any sort of Achilles' injury is terrible news for a guy so reliant on his power and explosiveness. It obviously goes without saying that Suggs is one of the few players that the Ravens simply can't replace. He's a rare game-changer and playmaker on defense, a guy that teams account for, often with two players.