Larry Brown Sports

Robert Griffin III and fiancee Rebecca Liddicoat are getting married this summer after being engaged for over a year and a half, the quarterback’s mother told FOX 5 in DC.

Griffin’s mother, Jackie, sat down for an interview with FOX 5. She praised her son in the interview, saying RG3 is “not afraid to show who he is” and that he “loves his fans.”

Jackie said her son and Liddicoat became engaged in Oct. 2011 after he proposed to her on the field following a practice with his family watching.

Liddicoat also attended Baylor and has been a mainstay at Griffin’s games both in college and the pros.

In case you’re interested in buying a gift for the couple, here’s their registry at Bed, Bath & Beyond. The registry says the wedding will be on July 6.

Helmet smack to DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg

Robert Griffin III went to the circus with his family Sunday, and it looks like he had a blast. That’s him in the picture above wearing a “Prince jacket,” making it purple rain. Below are photos of him playing catch with an elephant and posing next to a little person. Hopefully he didn’t bring Cosmo Kramer with him.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Robert Griffin III had total reconstructive knee surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn ACL and LCL. He reportedly is expected to need 6-8 months to recover, but ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Griffin would be back in time for the Washington Redskins’ season opener. One of Griffin’s teammates feels differently.

Defensive back DeAngelo Hall told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he doubts RG3 will be ready when the season begins.

“I hope Robert [Griffin III] is back on the field next year, trust me,” Hall told Anderson. “But it will be a miracle if he’s back opening day and I definitely don’t think that’s going to happen. It’s interesting the way the ball drops. I want him back on the field like everybody else, but we have to be realistic and he has to be safe.

“[Former Redskins running back] Tim Hightower tore his ACL in Week [7 of the 2011 season] and he wasn’t back for the [2012 regular season] and we ended up having to cut him. That was almost a year. [Vikings running back Adrian Peterson] tore his Week 16 against us but he’s back in time for the start of this season. It just depends. It just varies. Now you consider that Robert tore the same ACL twice, so it could take longer and be harder to come back from. [Peterson] is just a freak of nature. There’s no way around that one.”

Hall was asked if he didn’t consider Griffin a freak of nature like Peterson.

“Yes he’s freakish athletically, but from a recovery standpoint that may or may not be a different story. I don’t know a lot about ACLs. I have never injured one. I don’t know all the details about the process. All I know is that I wish him the best and I want him to come back as soon and as safe as possible.”

Hall isn’t being Mr. Negative so much as he’s giving an honest assessment. As he pointed out, each injury situation is different. And just because Adrian Peterson came back in time for the season to begin and was a stud doesn’t mean everyone coming back from ACL surgery can do the same thing. Derrick Rose tore his ACL in April and still isn’t back for the Chicago Bulls.

I’m not saying that I don’t think Griffin will be back in time for the team’s season opener but, like Hall, I have my doubts.

Robert Griffin III may have suffered a major injury to his right knee in the fourth quarter of the Washington Redskins’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, but the rookie quarterback was concerned about the knee the entire game. Griffin was seen limping after he rolled out and threw an incomplete pass in the first quarter. He completed a 4-yard touchdown pass on the next play, but sometime after that he admitted to offensive tackle Trent WIlliams that he was worried about the knee.

The conversation between RG3 and Williams was captured on the NFL Network’s “SoundFX” and can be heard here. It began when Williams asked Griffin if his knee felt OK.

“Yeah, I’m going to be safe,” Griffin replied.

“You tweaked it when you were trying to back up?” Williams asked.

“Yeah, my foot kind of went wah-wah,” RG3 explained.

“Did that shock you a little bit?” Williams continued.

“Yeah, scared the s— out of me,” Griffin said with a chuckle.

The conversation ended when Williams told Griffin to “be smart” and the rookie promised that he would. Of course, RG3 went on to tear up his knee in the fourth quarter and required surgery to have it repaired. He also came back from a torn ACL in 2009 at Baylor, so we know he’s capable of being an explosive player even after a major injury.

However, the injury history has to be a major concern for Redskins fans. Even if Griffin does return to form next season, his style of play makes his susceptible to these types of injuries. If anything is going to derail RG3′s promising career, it will most likely be injuries that stem from his aggressiveness.

The news on Robert Griffin III’s knee injury is almost as bad as anyone could have feared. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that Griffin suffered a complete tear of his ACL and LCL and that he will undergo total reconstructive surgery on his right knee.

The projected timetable for recovery reportedly is 6-8 months, though Mortensen said on SportsCenter that Griffin is expected to be ready for the Washington Redskins’ season opener next season.

Griffin left last weekend’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks after collapsing trying to pick up a low snap late in the fourth quarter. He was replaced by Kirk Cousins and did not return.

Griffin was initially hurt in Week 14 after being hit by Ravens DL Haloti Ngata while running down the field. After leaving that game with a knee injury, the rookie returned before leaving for good four plays later. He was diagnosed with a sprain and only missed one game before returning in Week 16 and playing in the team’s final three games.

Griffin re-aggravated his knee injury after being pushed to the ground following the second touchdown pass he threw against the Seahawks in the first quarter on Sunday. He was examined by the team but did not miss any action. The rookie quarterback struggled to move throughout the rest of the game and limped around the field.

RG3 has already come back from a torn ACL injury suffered in 2009 while at Baylor, so this is nothing he can’t overcome. After seeing the way Adrian Peterson returned from his reconstructive knee surgery to rush for over 2,000 yards, there is optimism that Griffin won’t lose any of his incredible speed when he returns.

ESPN’s Rob Parker gave his first extended interview since returning from his suspension for questioning Robert Griffin III’s blackness. Parker came off sounding as bad as he did when he made his original comments. He is cowardly avoiding responsibility for the comments. Instead, he is ascribing them to others and blaming the public for taking them out of context.

“I wasn’t saying that he wasn’t black enough,” Parker argued on WDIV-Detroit’s Flashpoint. “When people say that, it’s just not true. I was saying, ‘These are the conversations that take place once a guy pushes away.’ It was never aimed at him or I was calling him that. I was saying, ‘these are the conversations that take place.’”

While Parker tries to pass along his comments to others, let us remind you what he originally said on “First Take” Dec. 13.

“For me, personally, just me, this throws up a red flag, what I keep hearing. And I don’t know who’s asking the questions, but we’ve heard a couple of times now of a black guy kind of distancing himself away from black people.

“But my question, which is just a straight honest question. Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?

“Well, [that] he’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause, he’s not one of us,” Parker explained. “He’s kind of black, but he’s not really the guy you’d really want to hang out with, because he’s off to do something else.”

In all that, how often did you hear Parker say “this is what others are saying,” and how often do you see “me” or “I” or “my”? It was clear he was expressing his personal opinion when he questioned Griffin’s blackness. It’s pathetic that he’s backing away and blaming others.

Parker continued to ascribe blame to others who have the conversation about Parker during his Flashpoint appearance. He also invoked an O.J. Simpson comparison to defend himself.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Robert Griffin III’s knee injury suffered against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday has led to many questions about the Redskins’ handling of the situation. Was it a bad decision by Mike Shanahan to have RG3 start the game? Was Shanahan negligent in letting Griffin remain in the game after he was examined in the first quarter and clearly not well?

Shanahan admits he’s second-guessing himself, while Griffin remains steadfast that he wanted to play no matter what.

“I think I did put myself at more risk by being out there, but every time you step on the football field, you’re putting your life, your career, every single ligament in your body in jeopardy,” Griffin said after the game. “That’s just the approach I had to take towards it. My teammates needed me out there, so I was out there for them.

“You respect authority and I respect Coach Shanahan, but at the same time you have to step up and be a man sometimes. There was no way I was coming out of that game.”

Griffin believed in his abilities despite his injury.

Read The Rest of the Story…