CB Shawn Springs (official thread)

[Buckskin86]

Redskins' Springs paints dire picture for his father

Son: Doctors say it's doubtful Ron Springs will come out of coma


12:15 AM CST on Thursday, November 15, 2007
By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News
cwatkins@dallasnews.com

IRVING ? Washington Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs said it will be a very emotional time for him Sunday when his team visits the Cowboys at Texas Stadium.

Springs' father, Ron, a former Cowboys player, is in a coma at a Dallas hospital. Doctors have told the family it's doubtful he will come out of it.

"Medically, they are telling us pretty much that my dad will be a vegetable," Springs said on a conference call with reporters Wednesday.

Redskins' Springs paints dire picture for his father | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Football: Cowboys

Springs At Peace With Father Ron's Condition
Rob Phillips - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
November 14, 2007 7:17 PM

DallasCowboys.com - News

[Buckskin86]

Facing Cowboys more emotional than usual for Redskins' Springs
By Jaime Aron, AP Sports Writer

IRVING, Texas ? With his father in a coma and doctors offering little hope for recovery, Washington Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs has needed football more than ever the last month.
Practices and games have been the only ways of escape from his sorrow. Until now.

On Sunday, Springs will play at Texas Stadium against his dad's old team, the Dallas Cowboys. Memories of his dad, Ron Springs, will be everywhere, probably dredging up some long-forgotten stories.

"I grew up being at Texas Stadium, being at the locker room," said Shawn Springs, who was 4 when his dad was a rookie in 1979, and 9 when Ron left to finish his career in Tampa Bay. "Tony Dorsett, Everson Walls, all those old Cowboys are our family. I used to wear Cowboys pajamas and stuff like that. So going down to Texas Stadium might be a little tough."

The Springs saga puts a new twist on this old, bitter rivalry. Under these circumstances, Cowboys fans have to be rooting for Shawn and Redskins fans hoping the best for Ron. Of course, that won't have anything to with the scoreboard Sunday.

Facing Cowboys more emotional than usual for Redskins' Springs - USATODAY.com

[Buckskin86]

Redskins CB Springs battles emotions

Friends, foes join in lending support to Washington defender


12:18 AM CST on Monday, November 19, 2007
By BRAD TOWNSEND / The Dallas Morning News
btownsend@dallasnews.com

IRVING ? Washington cornerback Shawn Springs called it one of the toughest days of his life ? and not because Terrell Owens scorched the Redskins for four touchdowns.

Tears filled Springs' eyes as he walked down the Texas Stadium tunnel for pregame warm-ups. He said his mind filled with thoughts about his father, Ron, who has been on life support in a Dallas hospital since falling into a coma Oct. 12.

"I have memories of being a little boy and coming to this stadium with my father and watching him play teams like the Redskins," Shawn said, adding he could only bear to stay on the field a few minutes before the game.

"I just went back into the locker room and waited."

Redskins CB Springs battles emotions | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Football: Cowboys

Springs' day doesn't go as planned
By CHAREAN WILLIAMS
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
IRVING -- Washington Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs had a tough day. It had nothing to do with the eight catches, 173 yards and four touchdowns Terrell Owens had in the Cowboys' 28-23 victory Sunday.

Springs' father, Ron, has been in a coma at a Dallas hospital since Oct. 12. Ron Springs called Texas Stadium home from 1979-84, gaining 2,180 rushing yards and 2,028 receiving yards during his Cowboys career.

Ron Springs and Everson Walls, who donated a kidney to Springs earlier this year, served as honorary captains during the Cowboys' season opener against the New York Giants.

Shawn Springs had all of that running through his mind before he ran onto the same field Sunday.

"It was tough, because I have memories of being a little boy and coming to this stadium with my father and watching him play teams like the Redskins," Springs said. "Today, when I went to warm up, it was pretty tough. I just went back into the locker room and kind of waited."

Star-Telegram.com: | 11/19/2007 | Springs' day doesn't go as planned

Washington CB Springs plays Cowboys with ailing father on his mind
Posted 10h 3m ago | Comment | Recommend1 E-mail | Save | Print |



By David Jimenez, Associated Press Writer
IRVING, Texas — Shawn Springs never imagined that walking onto the field at Texas Stadium would be so emotional.
Thinking about his father, former Cowboys running back Ron Springs, who has been in a coma at a Dallas hospital since Oct. 11, the Washington cornerback had to return briefly to the locker room during warmups Sunday to regain his composure.

"A lot of memories came rushing back to me," Shawn Springs said. "I remember as a boy watching my father play teams like the Redskins. It was tough."

Springs and the Redskins lost 28-23 to the Cowboys. In the first quarter, he jawed with Dallas receiver Terrell Owens, then later was beaten on several of Owens' four scores.

Washington CB Springs plays Cowboys with ailing father on his mind - USATODAY.com

Springs Struggles In Return Home

By Jason Reid
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 19, 2007; Page E18

IRVING, Tex., Nov. 18 -- Tears formed in Shawn Springs's eyes as he walked slowly onto the field at Texas Stadium for pregame warmups with the Washington Redskins on Sunday. The home field of the Dallas Cowboys had once been a playground for Springs, whose father, Ron, was a standout fullback for the Cowboys from 1979 to 1984.

Springs, and the children of other Cowboys, played on the field before and after games, and Springs figured it would be difficult to come back for the first time since his father slipped into a coma at a nearby hospital. He struggled with his emotions as he envisioned he would, though at times he played well in a 28-23 loss to the Cowboys in front of a crowd of 63,706.

The Redskins often assigned Springs, considered their best defender in man-to-man coverage, to shadow wide receiver Terrell Owens, who led the Cowboys with eight catches for 173 yards (a 21.6 yard average) and four touchdowns. Many of Owens's big plays occurred while the Redskins experienced breakdowns in zone defense in their first game without safety Sean Taylor, who sprained a knee in the previous game against Philadelphia and is expected to miss at least another two weeks.

It was a difficult day for Springs and the Redskins' secondary, and it couldn't end fast enough for them.

"This has been one of the hardest trips for me in my life," Springs said after the Redskins' loss. "I grew up coming to this stadium and seeing my father, Tony Dorsett and Everson Walls, and all those guys. I had tears coming out of the locker room. It was tough in warmups. I'm just keeping prayers for my family. It's tough."

washingtonpost.com

[Buckskin86]

The Ties That Bind a Father and Son

By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 18, 2007; Page D01

When Shawn Springs walks into the locker room at Texas Stadium, he is 7 years old again, scampering around his idols, tossing around a football with the sons of other players. It is Thanksgiving, and Springs has made the annual holiday trip to Dallas to be with his father, Ron, a gregarious Dallas running back on a powerhouse team. He will eat a late turkey dinner after the game and sleep in his Cowboys pajamas at night. When Springs returns to the stadium today as a member of the Washington Redskins, those childhood memories will be tinged by painful realities: That his father will be lying in a hospital 15 minutes away in a coma. That doctors there are saying he is essentially brain dead. That someday soon the Springs family might turn off the machines that are keeping him alive.

"My dad's in a situation where you're faced with a tough choice, and you pray for a miracle that God's able to heal him," Springs said. "Then at the same time you've got to be realistic and say, 'What if that doesn't happen? Are we willing to come look at dad every day and say he's a vegetable, or do you say maybe it's time for us to make another decision?'

"And that might be taking him off the feeding tube, but no one wants to feel responsible for that, or feel like they are killing somebody, and that's a tough decision, because you can't really win. The right thing to do, maybe it's that he wouldn't want to live like this, then you think about my stepmom, and she thinks about it like, 'If you did that then you would feel like you're giving up on him.' "

The Ties That Bind a Father and Son - washingtonpost.com

[Buckskin86]

Springs' play on the field helps heal pain off it
By JIM DUCIBELLA, The Virginian-Pilot
? November 25, 2007

It's an upside-down existence Shawn Springs finds himself leading these days. The mayhem and frenzy of the pro football field have become a safe haven for him, while the world of quiet, calm and care giving has become painful and repulsive.

ARTICLE: Springs' play on the field helps heal pain off it (The Virginian-Pilot - HamptonRoads.com/PilotOnline.com)

Posted on Sat, Nov. 24, 2007
Q&A with Washington CB Shawn Springs

www.kansascity.com | 11/24/2007 | Q&A with Washington CB Shawn Springs

[Buckskin86]

Deep Thoughts on Their Mind
A Week After Getting Torched by Owens, Redskins' Secondary Must Deal With Galloway
Sunday, November 25, 2007; Page D15


Shawn Springs swears that when he tried to defend standout wide receiver Joey Galloway on the scout-team defense as an Ohio State freshman, there would be an audible whoosh as the upperclassman sprinted past him. Time after time, Springs would try to backpedal for a stride or two, but almost instantly the cornerback was chasing the essentially unstoppable Galloway.

This was 13 years ago, and today the friends will renew their competition. While Springs certainly has improved -- he credits those teenage battles with Galloway and wide receiver Terry Glenn with helping his maturation into an elite defensive back -- Galloway, the eighth overall pick in 1995, has refused to slow down, remaining one of the premier deep threats in the game.

washingtonpost.com

[Buckskin86]

Sore back couldn't stop Springs
By David Elfin
December 8, 2007

Shawn Springs wasn't supposed to play for the Washington Redskins on Thursday night against the visiting Chicago Bears. The veteran cornerback suffered a contusion sprain of his lower back last Sunday against Buffalo and hadn't been on the field since. And he had intercepted just two passes in his previous 38 games.

Although Springs watched extra tape at the team hotel the night before the Bears game, he was so unlikely to suit up that his shoulder pads weren't even in his locker when he arrived at FedEx Field.

"My back was killing me for the last few days," Springs said. "I couldn't really stand up on Monday. I went to see a back specialist, who gave me some stuff and kind of took care of it. I didn't think I was going to play, but when I jogged before the game, I came back and told [assistant head coach Gregg Williams] that I was ready. "I had to go find my shoulder pads and my equipment. They were in the back."

Not only did Springs play and start, but within the space of 12 seconds in the final minute of the first half, the 32-year-old cornerback picked off two of Brian Griese's throws, returning one 57 yards to set up the only points of the half.

"Shawn Springs came to play ball today," defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin said.

Sore back couldn't stop Springs?-?-?The Washington Times, America's Newspaper