oterie of club presidents, not everyone who holds influence in French rugby is comfortable with what even Goze confessed to have been his S

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. --?Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater?suffered a dislocated knee and a torn ACL when he went down during a noncontact drill at practice Tuesday, ending his 2016 season.Teddy suffered a complete tear to his ACL and other structural damage, the team said in a statement Tuesday evening after Bridgewater underwent an MRI. Fortunately, there appears to be no nerve or arterial damage.Bridgewater dropped back to pass during a drill, planted his foot and immediately went down. Trainers rushed to his side and began inflating an aircast, and the quarterback appeared to be holding his left leg.Several players threw their helmets and shouted expletives as they scattered, and many simultaneously dropped to one knee in prayer. Moments later, a siren-blaring ambulance pulled into the teams Winter Park headquarters, stayed for about 10 minutes and then pulled away.The team called off Tuesdays practice -- its last of the preseason -- after Bridgewater was injured.Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he briefly spoke with Bridgewater after the injury and said he told the 23-year-old, Hang in there. Were with him. Hope for the best.Bridgewater was still on the practice field grass as the teams public relations staff ushered reporters from the premises.Today is a disappointing day. ... The No. 1 thing is Teddy is such a great kid, Zimmer said. Everyone loves him.Players were visibly distraught as they exited the field, and Zimmer said he spoke with the team prior to addressing the media.Were gonna grieve today and be upset about it, Zimmer told reporters. Its more about our feelings for Teddy and for him as a person and getting better than it is about anything else. Teddys a great kid, and hell be back as soon as he possibly can, if it is real bad. But were going to keep fighting.Players from all over the NFL took to Twitter to show their support for Bridgewater.There is little behind Bridgewater on the depth chart. Shaun Hill is the primary backup, but hes 36 years old and has played only sparingly over the past five years.I have confidence in Shaun. I think hes played great this preseason, Zimmer said. The thing we all have to remember is this is about the team. We have a good team.Bridgewater is entering his third season in the NFL, and the Vikings were counting on him to take major steps forward after a promising start to his career. He helped lead the Vikings to the NFC North championship last season as more of a game manager, but Zimmer and offensive coordinator Norv Turner have said they expect him to be much more of a playmaker in 2016.Bridgewater missed the second preseason game because of a sore shoulder but was sharp Sunday against San Diego. He went 12-for-16 for 161 yards and a touchdown in two quarters, which left Vikings players and fans confident as the team started to prepare for the season opener Sept. 11 at Tennessee.The Vikings said Bridgewater is expected to make a full recovery.The Vikings host the Los Angeles Rams in their final preseason game Thursday. Most of the starters are not expected to play. Given Bridgewaters injury, its expected Hill will sit out against the Rams.Minnesota is also expected to re-sign quarterback Brad Sorensen, assuming he clears waivers. If the Vikings can bring back Sorensen, he and Joel Stave would both play in the teams final preseason game.Minnesota was a popular Super Bowl bet in Las Vegas. As of Sunday at the Westgate SuperBook, only the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots had attracted more bets to win the Super Bowl than the Vikings. The Westgate moved the Vikings Super Bowl odds from 20-1 to 30-1 following news of Bridgewaters injury on Tuesday.Everybody can count us out, but I think thatd be the wrong thing to do, Zimmer said.The Associated Press contributed to this report. Custom Los Angeles Kings Jerseys . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Custom New York Rangers Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. 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Out-of-work yet in-demand Fabien Galthie offered an interesting aside in a recent conversation. The rugby is better in the Aviva Premiership than the Top 14, he proffered.A bold statement that, particularly from a man you might expect to extol the virtues of French rugby at every opportunity. Yet its a view that appears to have traction elsewhere in France.Last Fridays Midi Olympique, the French rugby newspaper, carried an advertisement filling the bottom third of its front page urging readers to make a date this weekend with SFR SPORT2 and Un Dimanche de Rugby. It wasnt punting Clermont Auvergne against Toulouse but rather Le Choc Anglais ...Saracens vs. Wasps.Suffice to say club rugby on this side of La Manche is commanding greater respect in France these days. For the first time in almost a decade the Premiership can boast to be the home of the European champions while Louis Picamoles move this season to Northampton and Christopher Tolofuas impending switch to the Champions Cup winners Saracens shows signs another trend is being reversed.But lets not get carried away and believe the broad and heavy footprint of the Top 14 and its guardian the Ligue Nationale de Rugby are under threat in their own land. The point is, though, that not everyone in France is happy with its own domestic product.Those having a moan include Mourad Boudjellal who stood but failed to topple the incumbent Paul Goze in last weeks elections for the LNR presidency. Not for the first time, the comic book millionaire is threatening to sell the club and walk away from the sport.In truth, the Toulon owner was resigned to defeat even before his failure to secure a place on the leagues steering committee left Goze to be re-elected unopposed. Yet despite having unanimous support within the coterie of club presidents, not everyone who holds influence in French rugby is comfortable with what even Goze confessed to have been his Soviet-style acclamation.Gozes first term in office has seen the French league grow in just about every way. His strategic plan released during the summer drew on statistics from the last decade. Television revenue? Up; Sponsorship? Up? Public awareness of rugby? Up. Match attendances? Up? TV viewing figures? Up. Performances of French clubs in Europe? Up.Yet no sooner had the season got into its stride than more contemporary and, therefore, pertinent numbers were revealing themselves. The most alarming of these involve the decline in crowd attendances.The most striking feature of televised matches hosted by either Montpellier or Toulouse has been of the stands and the swathes of unoccupied tip-up seats. Le Clasico, as the clashes involving Toulouse and Stade Francais are dubbed, attracted just 12,900 fans last month while Jake Whites Montpellier may well have won a European title in May but in recent weeks have twice failed to get 10,000 through the turnstiles for home games.Attendances for both Parisian teams have been a sore point for some time but things are getting worse at the new Stade Jean Bouin where average gates have dropped from 13,000 two seasons ago to 9,500. Saturdays Paris derby between the two most recent holders of the Bouclier de Brennus enticed just 11,465 to Colombes.There are, of course, exceptions with Bordeaux-Begles continuing to be the best supported club in both France and Europe. Clubs like Toulon (Marseilles Velodrome) and the London clubs (Twickenham / Wembley) have theeir average gates massaged by big stadium relocations but Bordeauxs numbers are consistent with an average home gate of 25,000.ddddddddddddhere is also rarely a vacant seat to be seen on matchdays at Clermont Auvergnes Stade Marcel Michelin or at the home of the leagues rising stars La Rochelle where the a guichet fermes (sold out) signs have been outside their 15,000-capacity Stade Marcel Deflandre all season.La Rochelle are second in the Top 14 having been passed on Sunday by Clermont who despite having just 13 players on the pitch at one point and with a set piece sent shockingly and frequently into a fast back-peddling reverse by a powerful Toulouse front five beat their Rouge et Noir rivals 29-25.The difference between the sides was the place-kicking of Morgan Parra who was on target with all seven attempts on Sunday and has missed just two of 35 kicks at goal all season. He should be Guy Novess first name on the team sheet for Frances next Test on November 12 against Samoa.France have seven representatives in this seasons Champions Cup though it would be wise to write off the prospects of two of them now. Castres will throw everything at whoever rocks up to the Stade Pierre Antoine but all too frequently field weakened sides on their travels. Even with the inspirational Christophe Urios now in charge you can expect them to be targeting the Top 14 as the priority. That said, Northampton are disadvantaged by a fixture rota which sees them travelling to Castres in round two.Like last year, Bordeaux-Begles have been drawn in the same pool as Clermont and Exeter. Raphael Ibanezs team have the capacity to spring a surprise and will be very difficult to beat at home. But dont expect them to progress. Clermont surely will.Toulon face defending champions Saracens but with Sale and Scarlets making up the pool the three-time former winners are expected to make it into the quarter-finals.Toulouse travel to Connacht this weekend with Wasps heading to the Ville Rose in round two. Ugo Mola will have been encouraged by his packs performance against Clermont. At the heart of it was Census Johnston who is no longer the only capable tight head in the squad and with him now getting sufficient rest has rediscovered his zest. If Toulouse can get a win in Galway then I reckon theyll make the final eight.That leaves Racing 92 and Montpellier. Racing are believed to be placing special emphasis on Europe this season. But theyll have to sharpen their act after some insipid performances this season. They were outplayed by Brive a fortnight ago and could, and perhaps should have, lost the Paris derby on Saturday. On the request of coach Laurent Travers, owner Jacky Lorenzetti has drafted in Patricio Noriega at short notice to knock a misfiring scrum into shape. If there is to be shock elimination in the pools I fancy it will Racing.Montpellier is a club in some disarray off the pitch with Jake White having been told he wont be welcome back next season. Even with an English speaker Vern Cotter lurking in the wings it does make you wonder how the foot soldiers in the 2007 World Cup winners Languedoc Boks feel about the club and their futures at it.My predictions? Clermont Auvergne and Montpellier (pool winners) and Toulon and Toulouse (runners-up) to go through to the quarter-finals. ' ' '