NFL investigating Incognito situation

1. NFL investigating Incognito situation

2. Mounting criticism continues over alleged misconduct by Richie Incognito against fellow offensive lineman Jonathan Martin in the Miami Dolphins organization. The central allegation against Incognito involves messages to Martin, including a voice mail in which Incognito allegedly used racial slurs, threatened physical violence, and used the words, "I'll kill you." Martin's representatives have turned materials over to the NFL for an investigation. Incognito allegedly also got Martin to contribute $15,000 to help finance a trip to Las Vegas by a group of Dolphins even though Martin preferred not to travel with them. Martin gave Incognito the money, fearing the consequences if he did not. Incognito has been suspended; Martin left the team. It's unclear what lies in store for either of them. As the conflict between Incognito and Martin spirals, league officials face the task of laying out in clear terms just what coaches are responsible for -- and how to punish coaches when their players cross the line, in addition to others in the team's leadership and the players themselves.

3. In Other News • Timothy E. Bowers, 32, of Decatur was hunting Saturday afternoon when he fell about 16 feet to the ground from a tree stand. Bowers suffered a spine injury and paralysis. On Sunday, "Bowers self-elected to remove himself from life support systems and died" that evening. Bowers was a newlywed; he married Abbey Logan on August 3 and his widow is expecting a baby. State conservation officers urge hunters to always wear a safety harness when climbing up or down tree stands and to use a haul line to raise equipment up and down. In 2012, the state recorded 28 such falls, including one fatality. In 2011, 22 falls occurred. • On Wednesday, DISH Network, which purchased Blockbuster in 2011, announced it was closing the chain's 300 remaining U.S.-based retail stores, as well as its distribution centers. • Burma’s (also known as Myanmar) many ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running unresolved civil wars. Hopes for a historic peace deal in Burma were raised this week with a meeting between government officials and representatives of more than a dozen rebel groups in the country’s far north. On Tuesday, a joint statement announced that an agreement had been made in principle for the signing of a nationwide cease-fire agreement and the establishment of a framework for political dialogue. Serious challenges remain and political differences remain significant, however. • As Science Daily reports, two surgeons at University Hospitals Leuven have located a new ligament in the human knee, and their findings may mean a revolution in how we treat ACL injuries. In order to find their answer, the scientists turned to the past. In an 1879 article, a French surgeon theorized that there may exist an extra ligament in the anterior of the human knee. Using macroscopic dissection techniques on a wide range of cadavers, the Belgian duo confirmed this hypothesis. According to their findings, 97 percent of humans have something called an anterolateral ligament (ALL) in addition to their ACL.