This is the best way you could possibly injure yourself before your team's season opener.
We've heard about silly sports injuries -- Sammy Sosa hurting himself sneezing, Bill Gramatica's ACL-tearing celebration, Joel Zumaya hurting himself playing Guitar Hero -- but we haven't heard of many heroic sports injuries. Enter USC cornerback Josh Shaw, a captain who might miss the start of his senior season due to injuries sustained saving his nephew from drowning:
While attending a family social function at his cousin's apartment in his hometown of Palmdale, Shaw looked on from a second floor balcony to the pool below and saw his 7-year-old nephew, who cannot swim, in distress without help nearby. Shaw instinctively leaped off the balcony, landing painfully on the concrete below.
He was able to crawl into the pool and ushered his nephew to safety. Despite the intense pain in his legs, he was then able to grab the ladder and lift himself out of the pool with his upper body.
Shaw said in a statement he would've leapt for any kid, not just his nephew.
Shaw is "out indefinitely," with no official status for Saturday's season opener against Fresno State. He led the team in passes defended and breakups and was second with four picks, one returned for a touchdown, and was third on the team in tackles, so he's a huge part of what USC does defensively. Of course, that pales in comparison to, you know, saving somebody's life, but, hey, we thought we'd mention the football stuff too.
Get well soon, Josh.