I never will forget the phrase "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat," which was part of the voice over to the opening scenes to ABC's "Wide World of Sports" every Saturday years ago. While I barely remember the scene of the thrill of victory, to this day, I can vividly remember the scene of the agony of defeat, which had a ski jumper careen off the side of the ski jump just before take off, only to crash into the grandstand, ski poles, and people during his tumultuous, horrific fall to his ultimate resting place at the bottom of the slope. It certainly made an impression on me, as to the potential damage control in sports participation.

But what about the emotional side of such a personal defeat, after what may have been this ski jumper's years of preparation for this one great moment in time, only to come crashing down to not only physical injury, but also having to live with years of watching his defeat every Saturday on a popular network sports television show?

Compared to the NFL baseline of seven days rest between games, assuming no Monday or Thursday night games, the best competitive advantage comes during the bye week for a team with 13-15 days of rest, says Advanced NFL Stats, LLC. Why, because teams tend to get healthier during the break. "Teams coming off a bye play better on both sides of the ball, and getting healthier seems to be -- at least in part- the mechanism for that improvement."

The Saints had their rest at week 6, while their Thursday night opponent, the Falcons, had their bye in week 7. So which team has the "rest advantage," based on only three actual days of active rest? I say active rest, because both teams must practice and that requires work.

The Endangered Species Act was enacted by the United States Congress in 1973 to protect "species that are likely to become extinct throughout all or a large portion of their range." There is also protection for Threatened Species, "that are likely to become endangered in the near future."

As of October 2009, 1,361 plants and animals in the United States were listed as threatened or endangered. I would like to add to the list a new threatened species known as the "Quarterback" - both college and professional versions of this species.

Last Sunday in the NFL, there were a total of 62 players who were listed as "out" due to an injury that curtailed their ability to play. Based on 30 active teams (Arizona and Washington were idle), 1.9 players per team sat out, which is below the three players per team lost due to injury in 2010. The New Orleans Saints sat down four players due to injury, while their opponent last week, the Atlanta Falcons, sat down three. Both teams were consistent with the 2010 man games lost numbers.

The Green Bay Packers had the most players out for week 10 with six, while eight teams noted no players out on last Friday's weekly injury reports. Those teams on the healthy list included the Bucs, Rams, 49ers, Chargers, Vikings, Dolphins, Bears and Panthers.