Now that I've got your attention, Brian Griese was involved in a minor fender bender Monday when the car he was driving hit the back of another car that was part of a funeral procession.

I love Griese, but damn, he is getting to be clumsier than former President Gerald Ford or Inspector Clouseau!!!

From ESPN.com:

[quote] Denver Broncos quarterback Brian Griese escaped injury in a minor traffic accident when his truck hit a car that was stopped for a funeral procession.

Griese was traveling about 20 mph on a parkway Monday afternoon when he struck the rear end of another car, police Detective John White said. Griese was ticketed for following too closely.

The quarterback's truck sustained moderate damage and was towed, White said. The other driver was not injured and his car did not need a tow.

In 2000, Griese was arrested for driving under the influence. He pleaded guilty this past March to driving with ability impaired and was placed on 12 months' probation.

---

Brian's got another boo-boo, this time from tripping over his dog! My Inspector Clouseau analogy seems more approriate every day!

From ESPN.com

[quote] DENVER -- Denver Broncos quarterback Brian Griese was limping on a sprained left ankle Thursday, the result of being tripped by his dog on some stairs at his home Wednesday night.

Griese's availability for Monday night's game in Baltimore was uncertain.

He was listed as probable on the team's injury report, but he said his ankle was sore and still somewhat swollen.

Coach Mike Shanahan said the injury was severe enough that X-rays were taken to be sure there was no fracture. Griese did not participate in Thursday's practice, the first of two major workouts this week.

"I was walking down the stairs and my dog came barreling down the stairs after me and clipped me, and I kind of twisted my ankle on the stairs," Griese said. "These things happen. Unfortunately, it happened to me.

"I'm getting treatment. I'm going to ice it and hope the swelling goes down."

Asked about his status for Monday night, Griese said, "I'm expecting to play right now."

If Griese can't go, veteran Steve Beuerlein would take his place.

Shanahan said the undefeated Broncos should know more about the severity of the injury in the next few days.

"With a sprained ankle, I don't think you really know," he said. "Sometimes it's two weeks, other times you can come back in a day or two. I'm not exactly sure how serious it is, but it's bad enough that he (didn't practice Thursday). They had it X-rayed this morning to find out if it was broken.

"It's one of those things you deal with."

Asked his reaction when Griese gave him the news, Shanahan said, "I said, `Oh, no.' I thought, What's going to start from here, rumors and speculation of what happened? Did he really trip over the dog? That's what I was thinking."

On May 5, Griese tripped on a steep driveway at teammate Terrell Davis' house and was knocked unconscious, bruising his face. The injury fueled speculation that Griese was intoxicated.

Tight end Shannon Sharpe expressed disbelief when informed by the media of Griese's version of his latest injury.

"Are you jiving?" he said. "I know you're all joking."

Convinced it was true, Sharpe said, "I don't believe I'd have told that one. I'm not a very good storyteller, but I think I could have come up with a better one than that.

"I've heard that, 'I stepped out of my car at work,' or, 'I went back for a pass and all of a sudden I stepped on someone's foot'. But a dog pushing me down the stairs? Oh, my goodness. I'm going to have to let Mike handle that one.

"So the dog stood up on his hindlegs and gave him a push? You might want to get rid of that dog or put him in the circus, one of the two."

---

[quote]Originally posted by George_vikingfan:
Brian's got another boo-boo, this time from tripping over his dog! My Inspector Clouseau analogy seems more approriate every day!

---

Too funny! -- Now that Peter Sellers is gone, maybe Griese can be star in another sequel -- this is peripheral but there is a great Clouseau scene with a dog in one of the Pink Panther movies. He's walking a dog down a street and is approached by a woman who asks "Does your dog bite?"

Clouseau replies, "No of course my dog does not bite."

The woman reaches to pet the dog and is immediately mauled ... responding "I thought you said your dog doesn't bite."

Clouseau: "That's not MY dog."

HA! McGoo, Yooou've done it again!

Brian Griese needs a nanny... or maybe a manny.

[ September 26, 2002: Message edited by: PCC ]

So even Shanahan's first reaction was "what's going to start from here, rumors and speculation of what happened? Did he really trip over the dog? That's what I was thinking."....how's that for a head coach showing support for his starting QB? -- he virtually called Griese a liar without even having any of the facts and presumably he had not even spoke to Brian yet.

While I admit the story is more than a little bit ODD, it certainly sounds more plausible than Jeff Kent's B.S. about breaking his wrist while washing his truck (and this was after witnesses saw him doing "wheelies" on his motorcycle)....anyway, getting back to Griese, who's gonna corrorborate his story?....the dog itself....hell, if dogs could speak O.J. would have had no chance of being acquitted because Nicole's dog SAW the whole thing.

I thought that Shannon Sharpe's comments were a little out of line too (I know, he was just trying to be funny) when he said, "So the dog stood up on his hind legs and gave him a push? You might want to get rid of that dog or put him in the circus, one of the two."....Sharpe, who hasn't had a decent season in three years and should have retired in the 90s, never found a microphone or a reporter he didn't like and has demonstrated again that his mouth was running while his brain (does he even have one?) was out to lunch....maybe Griese will get smart and throw to any of the competent receivers on the roster like Rod Smith, Ed McCaffrey, first round draft choice from Hawaii Ashley Lelie or the incredibly cute Iowa Hawkeye Kevin Kasper.

I think he's telling the truth as strange as the story sounds....give the guy a break before all of Griese's teammates and head coach do everything but tell him to shoot the dog.

[ September 26, 2002: Message edited by: gamecock ]

Brian, Brian, Brian. Oh how I lust for thee! Oh how I can't help but thinking....

What the hell is wrong with you? Remember his "slipped on the sidewalk" thing before the season? It's rumored--that's RUMORED--to be a coverup for the fact that one of his teammates beat the snot out of him at that party.

I wonder if alcohol was involved with this? At this rate he's going to end up like the totally gorgeous William Holden (fell while drunk and killed himself when his noggin hit a coffee table) or the incredible German opera tenor Fritz Wunderlich (fell down the stairs and killed himself in somewhat mysterious circumstances). I mean, I went through an "akward phase" when I was going through puberty where I was running in to things and stumbling over for no good reason, but one check of those lovely furry arms on Mr. Griese indicates that he went through puberty long ago.

Maybe he needs a boyfriend to look after him? Yes, I'm volunteering.

Harsh words there Gamecock about Shannon Sharpe, but on the whole I agree with what you wrote.

Brian, Brian, Brian.

I have no doubt about the veracity of the story. When I was in high school I tripped over my dog in the middle of the night and knocked out my two front teeth. So it CAN happen!!!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Munson Man:
[QB]I have no doubt about the veracity of the story. When I was in high school I tripped over my dog in the middle of the night and knocked out my two front teeth. So it CAN happen!!

But, Munson Man, was your dog OK?

[ September 27, 2002: Message edited by: gamecock ]