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John Rohde, sports columnist

Read more columns by John Rohde. Or visit John's blog.

Contact John -- E-mail: jrohde@opubco.com. Phone: (405) 475-3099.

Hurt, not injury prone
Draft status: Adrian Peterson

By John Rohde

Published: October 25, 2006

There is a difference between being injury prone and getting injured. The problem is differentiating between the two and getting people to believe it.

Oklahoma junior running back Adrian Peterson has gotten injured, but he is not injury prone. What matters most is what NFL people think.

"The injuries were a question before this latest issue," an AFC scout told The Sporting News. "It will be a major concern now."

Sorry, not buying it. Sounds like a veiled attempt to throw other teams off the scent.

Peterson has had three major injuries since he arrived in Norman:

• A "loose" shoulder, an injury that initially occurred in high school and was tightened up with surgery after his freshman season.

• A high ankle sprain that caused him to miss all or part of four games last season.

• A broken left collarbone suffered Oct. 14 against Iowa State that will cause him to miss 4-6 weeks, perhaps more.

The loose shoulder was Peterson's only recurring injury, and it has mended — as has the ankle.

The collarbone is the least severe of the three injuries and can fully heal if allowed proper time.

Peterson has averaged 27.3 carries and 150.4 yards in games when he's been healthy; four carries and 14.3 yards in games with a bum ankle.

Peterson's relentless, physical, all-out running style is what makes him so great. It also exposes him to more violent collisions.

Peterson likely will be the most poked and prodded player at the NFL combine next February.

Former OU quarterback and 2003 Heisman Trophy winner Jason White estimated 16-20 doctors examined his surgically repaired knees before the 2005 NFL draft. White also endured 3-4 hours worth of MRI exams.

NFL types no doubt will be thorough in their examinations of Peterson. And that's when they'll be convinced this 6-foot-2, 215-pounder with 4.9 percent body fat is simply be too great a talent to ignore.

News & Views: Undermining the coach; baseball rubdown; preventive measures
NEWS: It was Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who made the decision to acquire wide receiver Terrell Owens and it was Jones' decision to replace quarterback Drew Bledsoe with Tony Romo at halftime Monday night against the New York Giants.

VIEW: Jones is cutting coach Bill Parcells off at the knees. Why hire Parcells as coach if you're not letting him call the shots as to who plays and who doesn't? It undermines a hall-of-fame coach. Under these circumstances, is there any doubt Parcells will not return to the Cowboys next season?

NEWS: Detroit Tigers pitcher Kenny Rogers didn't know he had dirt/pine tar on the thumb of his pitching hand in the first inning of Game 2 of the World Series.

VIEW: Of course he knew. A pitcher always knows what's in the palm of his hand, especially something so sticky, smelly, messy and discolored. It didn't make any difference, because Rogers threw seven more scoreless innings after cleaning off his hand. I do think Rogers might be guilty of using another substance, however. It's one thing to be intense, but this nut job is out of control. Please, curb your enthusiasm (great show on HBO, by the way). Prediction: If there is a Game 6, Rogers' scoreless streak will die.

NEWS: San Diego stud linebacker Shawne Merriman said he failed a drug test because of a tainted supplement and faces a four-game suspension.

VIEWS: With drug testing in place, athletes should do one of two things: 1) Stop using illegal substances; 2) If there's a chance you'll test for a false positive, have the substance tested by the league before you take it. These are simple solutions. Sure, it's not cheating if you don't get caught. But it's also not cheating if you don't cheat.

Right call made
The Jim Thorpe Award quickly gained acceptance as one of college football's premier individual honors.

There are two reasons for that: 1. The name on the trophy; 2. The Jim Thorpe Association's thorough evaluation of finalists.

Now there are two more reasons why the award will gain even more respect: Miami defensive backs Brandon Meriweather and Anthony Reddick have been removed from this year's Thorpe watch list because of their participation in the Oct. 14 brawl against Florida International.

"It's an unfortunate situation," Jim Thorpe Association executive director Lynne Draper said.

Draper said he e-mailed the 25 members of award's screening committee a few days after the brawl.

"It was an e-mail poll," Draper said. "I didn't make any statements or anything else. I just asked what they wanted to do, and unanimously they voted to take them off."

Reddick swung his helmet as a weapon in the melee, and Meriweather stomped on an FIU player.

"To me, there was really no choice," Draper said. "Character has always been a major part of this award. Our opinion is sportsmanship and character need to become more important to all these athletes."

Meriweather entered as one of the preseason favorites for the award based on scouting reports and All-American lists.

Thorpe Award winners 2005 - Michael Huff, Texas

2004 - Carlos Rogers, Auburn

2003 - Derrick Strait, Oklahoma

2002 - Terrence Newman, Kansas State

2001 - Roy Williams, Oklahoma

2000 - Jamar Fletcher, Wisconsin

1999 - Tyrone Carter, Minnesota

1998 - Antoine Winfield, Ohio State

1997 - Charles Woodson, Michigan

1996 - Lawrence Wright, Florida

1995 - Greg Meyers, Colorado State

1994 - Chris Hudson, Colorado

1993 - Antonio Langham, Alabama

1992 - Deon Figures, Colorado

1991 - Terrell Buckley, Florida State

1990 - Darryll Lewis, Arizona

1989 - Mark Carrier, USC

1988 - Deion Sanders, Florida State

1987 - Bennie Blades, Miami

1987 - Rickey Dixon, Oklahoma

1986 - Thomas Everett, Baylor

Tway, Kropp are Rolex Junior All-Americans
Edmond North standouts Kevin Tway and Will Kropp have been named Rolex Junior All-Americans by the American Junior Golf Association, joining an elite group of current and former top-level junior golfers.

Tway, the 17-year-old son of PGA Tour golfer Bob Tway, was a first-team selection after his eight-stroke victory at the OSSO Junior on the Oak Tree Country Club East Course.

The 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur Champion, Kevin Tway is a senior at Edmond North High School and has orally committed to attend Oklahoma State. Tway has 13 top-10 finishes in national junior golf events, including a ninth-place finish at the prestigious Rolex Tournament of Champions. He also helped the Canon Cup West Team to victory.

Kropp, 16, was named an honorable mention Rolex Junior All-American for the second year. A junior at Edmond North, Kropp won the Rand Graphics-Wildcat Golf Wichita Junior Championship in June. He was third at the OSSO Junior and tied for fourth at The Ping Invitational at Karsten Creek earlier this month. Kropp climbed to 40th nationally in the final 2006 Polo Golf Rankings.The teams are comprised of 96 junior golfers, ages 13-19, from 20 states and three foreign countries. These standouts will be recognized Nov. 19 during the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet held at The Cloister in Sea Island, Ga.

By the numbers
Interesting figures from the NBA's collective bargaining agreement:

$106: Per diem for each NBA player this

season.

$20,000: Fine for a player who misses a public appearance.

12: Number of public appearances each NBA player is required to make per year.

$427,163: Minimum NBA player salary for 2006-07 season.

Source: NBA