Cancel the season, Brady's hurt

Did you hear the shocking news? New England quarterback Tom Brady got a boo boo in practice the other day. He didn't get hit but two other guys were engaged and fell into the Golden Boy's knee. Oh the horror! Did you hear about it? If you have ESPN, of course you did. Over and over and over. Brady getting hurt in practice was the lead story on every ESPN show. I think they mentioned it during the Little League softball broadcast, too. The thing is, he walked off the field under his own power and will be at the next practice. How is this a major story? On Twitter, I saw tennis players talking about Marion Bartoli. The reigning Wimbledon champion announced her retirement. In the history of the world, how often has the current Wimbledon champion called it quits? I honestly thought someone at ESPN Sportscenter would throw up a quick graphic to tell me that it's never happened before or perhaps once back during World War II or something. Nothing. Not a peep. Not a word. Not a sniff. Not a clue. All because Tom Brady got a scratch on his leg. Before you claim, 'Tony Burns talking about women's sports again when no one else cares.' It's not about that at all. Not this time. I'm not even a Marion Bartoli fan. I'm glad she's retired. She got on my nerves. My problem is this new "Star super syndrome" that ESPN is tripping on. Players get injured every day in practice. Check the NFL Network and you'll hear about a whole bunch who have already been listed as out for the entire season. You didn't hear about them on ESPN because they're not "stars." Only the "stars" matter. When I was a kid, I gravitated toward the other players. I liked Fred Biletnikoff, not because he was a star. I liked his game. I liked Greg Pruitt and Chuck Muncie and, believe it or not, Jim (Freaking) Hart. My favorite baseball guys were Amos Otis and Ken Singleton and Sixto Lezcano. I loved Charles Barkley until he became a "star." Then, I no longer liked his attitude. The great thing about sports is it teaches teamwork. Not everyone can be the "star." Someone has to do the dirty work. I fear that ESPN with its "star" obsession, is giving young athletes the wrong ideas about sports. Pretty soon, kids will be telling their pee wee coaches, "If I can't play quarterback, then I'm not playing." And, who could blame them? In the ESPN world of sports, if you ain't what they call a "star" you ain't nothing. The only thing lower than nothing is the poor sap who missed the block and got pushed into Tom Brady's leg during practice. Congratulations Nate Soldier. You finally made Sportscenter.