Injured Sports Editor's Paper Has Little Sympathy

That a newspaper editor was severely injured on the sidelines of a high school football game is no laughing matter. The newspaper's priorities, in the wake of his hospitalization, are.

Lloyd Engen is the sports editor of The Valley Courier, a small paper in Southern Colorado. Small enough for Engen to have been doing double duty taking photographs during a game this weekend, when a running back and two tacklers bowled him over.

With Engen, er, sidelined, The Valley Courier is asking for help. Not with what you might imagine. From the AP story:

Engen sustained a shattered pelvis and three cracked vertebrae. He was taken to a Denver hospital for treatment Sunday. Engen told the newspaper that it is unclear whether he'll be able to walk again. The Valley Courier is asking area high school coaches to contribute scores and highlights while Engen is recovering.

That juxtaposition of possible paralysis and the newspaper's concern for its coverage is just cold. Longtime local sports fixture may never walk again? Forget about his health, we need to make sure no game in the San Luis Valley goes unreported!

Newspaper Sports Editor Hurt At Game [AP]