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Curtis Martin set to retire

Curtis Martin, the NFL's fourth all-time leading rusher and a former Patriots star, will announce his retirement this week, according to The New York Post. The newspaper said that an announcement will probably happen in Manhattan within the next two days.

The Patriots made Martin their third-round draft choice in 1995 from the University of Pittsburgh. He exceeded 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons with the team, before leaving for the Jets after the 1997-98 season. His most memorable performance with New England came during the 1997 Super Bowl run, when Martin scored three touchdowns while rushing for 166 yards in a 28-3 playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Martin finishes his career third all-time in rushing attempts (3,518), fourth in rushing yards (14,101), seventh in total yards from scrimmage (17,430), and tied for 12th in rushing touchdowns (90).

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Charlie Weis loses malpractice lawsuit

BOSTON (AP) - A jury found against Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis on Tuesday in his malpractice lawsuit against two doctors he claimed botched his care after he had gastric bypass surgery five years ago.

The jury deliberated for less than half a day before finding Massachusetts General Hospital surgeons Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin were not negligent.
Weis, 51, who won Super Bowls as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, accused the surgeons of negligence, saying they allowed him to bleed internally for 30 hours before performing a second surgery to correct the complication.

Weis nearly died after the surgery. He testified that he still has numbness and pain in his feet and sometimes has to use a motorized cart.

The doctors declined comment as they left the courtroom, referring questions to their attorney, William Dailey Jr.

"They and all of the staff down at the Mass. General wished Coach Weis well," Dailey said.

Ferguson, director of Massachusetts General's surgical residency program, and Hodin, a surgeon and professor at Harvard Medical School, said internal bleeding was a well-known complication of the stomach stapling surgery. They said they believed the bleeding would stop on its own and were concerned about performing a second surgery because of the risk of a pulmonary embolism.

Ferguson testified that Weis ignored his advice and pushed to have the operation done quickly rather than going through a recommended six-week preoperative program.

Lawyers for the doctors told the jury that Weis, who weighed about 350 pounds before the surgery, lost about 100 pounds over the next year and landed one of the premier coaching jobs in the country at Notre Dame, his alma mater.

The first trial ended in a mistrial in February after Ferguson and Hodin rushed to the aid of a juror who collapsed in the courtroom.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments 0