2009-08-10T17:28:46-04:00 <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img title="Bill Gramatica" src="http://i.cnn.net/si/fannation/gram-injury.jpg" alt="Bill Gramatica" width="298" height="311" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">This Bill Gramatica field goal celebration proved short-lived.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">Jamie Squire/Getty Images<br /></div> </div> <p><strong>By Lang Whitaker, SI.com</strong></p> <p>It looks like <strong>Plaxico Burress</strong> not only shot himself in the leg, he may have also shot himself in the foot. After somehow discharging a gun into his own thigh Friday night, Burress not only must fight to keep his $35 million contract, he'll also join the <em>long </em>list of athletes who have suffered injuries that could generously be classified as "dumb." Here's our list of the top five dumbest injuries suffered by athletes...<br /><br /><strong>1. Gus Frerotte: </strong>The cr&egrave;me de la cr&egrave;me of auto-injuries. Gus plus headbutt plus concrete wall equals infamy.<br /><br /><strong>2. Bill Gramatica:</strong> While playing for the Cardinals, the wee NFL kicker -- and younger brother of Martin -- celebrated a routine 42-yard field goal against the Giants by doing his ritual wild leaping into the air. This time, however, he tore his ACL. <br /><br /><strong>3. Joel Zumaya: </strong>The Tigers&rsquo; flame-throwing reliever missed the 2006 ALCS with a sore wrist, which he reportedly injured while playing <em>Guitar Hero</em>.</p> The List: Five dumbest injuries suffered by athletes 2008-12-01T14:55:59-05:00 151 2008-12-01T14:43:59-05:00 1 16 10 2008-12-03T05:39:11-05:00 340 NV lvguy Las Vegas 584221 156 I have to disagree with everyone who suggested Milton Bradley arguing with the umpire. The umpire had called him a worthless piece of poop(but not put so nicely) and baited him into a fight and was suspended without pay for the rest of the season. I'd be trying to knock his head off too. 3517577 2008-12-02T21:22:06-05:00 13 MA Madden17 Walpole 10250 155 That same Mariner Moose almost drove over Coco Crisp on the field during a Red-Sox - Seattle game. Almost an addition to this list.. But it is worthy to mention! 3516027 2008-12-02T21:20:18-05:00 13 MA Madden17 Walpole 10250 154 Hey, Folks, Jim the Patriots fan here. The real story about Robert Edwards is that it was an NFL Rookie Flag Football game. It was 'sanctioned' by the NFL [not MTV] even though it may have been covered by MTV. I do not beleive he was paid for this. And he even signed a 'waiver' for the NFL for any injuries he rcvd in playing it. Neither the NFL nor any of it's players will make that Dumb mistake again! Robert Kraft was a real 'gentleman' keeping Robert Edwards on the Patriots payroll for the next year and trying to get him back into playing shape the following year. Edwards is extremely lucky things worked out as they did. He did almost lost his leg below the knee [dur to an artery tear]. FYI: The wikipedia write up is shown below: Edwards was chosen by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He rushed for 1,115 yards for the Patriots in the 1998 National Football League season, before blowing out his knee at an NFL rookie flag football game in Hawaii. Edwards barely escaped the injury without having his leg amputated below the knee, and he was told he might not walk again.[1] 3515986 2008-12-02T21:07:39-05:00 13 MA Madden17 Walpole 10250 153 There were a 'pair' of injuries to our old friend Irving Fryor [during his Patriots days]. First, there was a report that he had injured [sliced] his tendon with a knife in his kitchen, later, it was revealed that his wife [girlfriend?, companion?, etc] had cut him with a knife during an altercation in a restaurant parking-lot. Later in his career, he was pulled off the field [injured?] during a game, and he 'sulked' and went back to the Locker-room, got out of his uniform, and drove home, only to drive into a tree at an intersection. The tag-line in the Boston area about Irving [at that point] was: &quot;First it was a knife in the kitchen...&quot; - wait for it ... &quot;then it was a fork in the road&quot;... Irving was always exciting! 3515948 2008-12-02T20:15:11-05:00 1 CO JFDunn Colorado Springs 147679 152 Griese also knocked himself unconscious when he tripped on Terrell Davis' driveway after a party. The result: a chipped tooth and seven stitches above his eye. The irony is that he was in the NFL's substance abuse program at that time for a DWI. 3515634 2008-12-02T18:21:32-05:00 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/622/803/thumb/srvaughn02uz2.jpg 3 XX shotgunjimmy No City 623443 151 Stl Cards Mike Matheny cut his hand before the playoffs with a hunting knife his wife gave him for hiss birthday. And more recently STL Blue goalie Manny Legacy slipping on Sarah Palins carpet and injuring his hip! 3514731 2008-12-02T18:14:04-05:00 1 WA bri87 North Bend 623463 150 The mariner moose broke his wrist - crashing into the kingdome fence while being pulled on rollerskates by an atv. that is if mascots count as athletes.... 3514661 2008-12-02T18:12:28-05:00 12 NY Funktrunks Brooklyn 136515 149 Didn't the punter from the Jaguars hit himself in the leg with an axe a couple of years ago? As I recall, Del Rio's given motto for the team was &quot;keep chopping wood&quot; and to help reinforce it, he put an axe and a wood stump in the locker room. The punter swung the axe at the stump and either had it deflect and hit his leg, or he missed altogether and hit himself in the leg. They got rid of the stump soon after that. 3514595 2008-12-02T17:46:54-05:00 2 NJ Elihu Smails Princeton Junction 623418 148 Booby Ojeda of the 1988 Mets when, on the eve of the 1988 playoffs, he cut off the tip of his middle finger on his pitching hand trimming the bushes with a hedge trimmer. He ws well paid and certainly could have hired a gardner rather than risking his livelihood that way. ouch. 3514362 2008-12-02T17:44:46-05:00 2 NJ Elihu Smails Princeton Junction 623418 147 Bobby Ojeda of the Mets in 1988 on the eve of the playoffs severing a finger while working with hedge clippers! 3514346 151 <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img title="Bill Gramatica" src="http://i.cnn.net/si/fannation/gram-injury.jpg" alt="Bill Gramatica" width="298" height="311" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">This Bill Gramatica field goal celebration proved short-lived.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: right;">Jamie Squire/Getty Images<br /></div> </div> <p><strong>By Lang Whitaker, SI.com</strong></p> <p>It looks like <strong>Plaxico Burress</strong> not only shot himself in the leg, he may have also shot himself in the foot. After somehow discharging a gun into his own thigh Friday night, Burress not only must fight to keep his $35 million contract, he'll also join the <em>long </em>list of athletes who have suffered injuries that could generously be classified as "dumb." Here's our list of the top five dumbest injuries suffered by athletes...<br /><br /><strong>1. Gus Frerotte: </strong>The cr&egrave;me de la cr&egrave;me of auto-injuries. Gus plus headbutt plus concrete wall equals infamy.<br /><br /><strong>2. Bill Gramatica:</strong> While playing for the Cardinals, the wee NFL kicker -- and younger brother of Martin -- celebrated a routine 42-yard field goal against the Giants by doing his ritual wild leaping into the air. This time, however, he tore his ACL. <br /><br /><strong>3. Joel Zumaya: </strong>The Tigers&rsquo; flame-throwing reliever missed the 2006 ALCS with a sore wrist, which he reportedly injured while playing <em>Guitar Hero</em>.<br /><br /><strong>4. Alex Stepney: </strong>The longtime Manchester United goalkeeper injured himself in 1975. While screaming at his teammates and encouraging them to shore up their defense, Stepney yelled so vociferously that he dislocated his own jaw.<br /><br /><strong>5. Jimmie Johnson: </strong>The three-time NASCAR champ was laid up for about a month after injuring himself by falling out of a moving golf cart.<br /><br />What's your favorite dumb injury by an athlete? Let us know below...</p> <p><em>Lang Whitaker is the executive editor of SLAM magazine and writes daily at SLAMonline.com.</em></p> 28023 18 NY The SI Staff New York City 21244