The Center for Environmental Health released a report yesterday saying that there are high lead levels in artificial turf. You know, the kind you play sports on.

Not knowing who the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) were, I check wikipedia. No entry. Reading their site will lead you to think they hate all industry. This doesn't affect what they report, but you should keep it in mind. The impetus for their testing was a CDC report about artificial turf. It is not apparent whether the CEH undertook their study prior to or after the CDC. 

The New York Yankees usually don't endear themselves to baseball fans, and this is no exception. Hank Steinbrenner, a co-chairman of the Yankees, exclaimed:

The National League needs to join the 21st century. I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. That was a rule from the 1800s.

Putting aside the silliness of his quote, he is simply frustrated that his star pitcher, Chien-Ming Wang, is out with a Lisfranc fracture and a torn leg tendon. The injury occurred when Chien-Ming Wang was attempting to run the bases and score. He did score, but pulled up lame.

What is a  Lisfranc fracture? Stay with me on this history lesson. Dr. Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin was a French doctor from the Napolean era. He was the first one to notice an injury to the ligaments in your foot that allow movement and rotation. The fracture occurs when any number of the small bones in the mid foot fracture. 

Photo Credit: Ross@Texas
Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosstsai/2519121304/sizes/l/
Photo License: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosstsai/2519121304/sizes/l/#cc_license

Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals did what good catchers do. He didn't budge. He stood his ground. The runner, haplessly out of options, had one path to the run, and it went through Molina. Crash.

At the end of the violence, both men were on the ground. The runner looked, the catcher showed and the umpire called an out.

So it went with the Phillies vs. Cardinals last night. The catcher, Yadier Molina, and the runner, Eric Bruntlett, played the game of football on a baseball field. Molina did the unthinkable by holding onto the ball after getting nailed. Knobberslocked. Wake up next weekend hit.

Photo Credit: Teny Jr
Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tenyjr/2394694548/
Photo License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en

We've covered how to treat a broken foot before, but I had to mention a few more things about it in light of some news. I am not going to say I watch BMX, but I know of it. This is the sport where people think it's a great idea to jump obstacles and soar high on bikes. One of the stars of the sport is Bubba Harris. He's a pro BMXer who knows a thing or two about injuries.

For instance, he suffered an injury almost a year ago that was so bad that doctors thought they would have to amputate his foot. The injury was one of the worst for a foot and it exposed tendons, ligaments and more. His foot was literally hanging by a tendon and some skin.

Photo Credit: Erik Charlton
Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikcharlton/2212991427/
Photo License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Wow, the Chicago Cubs really are snake bit. They are having a good year and their chief rivals lost their big gun with a torn calf muscle. Time to pownce and take over the division, right?

Not so fast. These are the Cubbies after all.

Last night, Alfonso Soriano broke his hand when he was hit by a Jeff Bennett pitch. The screams you heard didn't come from Soriano, but the millions of Cubs fans.  

What is a broken hand? We'll skip telling you what a hand is and jump to the 27 bones that comprise your hand. Yes, 27 bones. A broken hand is when one of the 27 bones breaks. Soriano broke a metacarpal, which are the bones comprising the palm.