Lady Vols Coach Taken Out By Ninja Raccoon

Like many top-flight athletes Tennessee women's hoops coach Pat Summitt underwent the offseason peril of arthroscopic shoulder surgery. No, she didn't dislocate the joint while a dunking a basketball (ha! can you imagine!?), but she had been suffering from "instability" problems after heroically saving her dog from a vicious raccoon attack.She should be back in action by the time the Lady Vols begin practice on October 17. Still no word on what caused the bloodthirsty animal to assault the Labrador retriever on Summitt's back porch, but calls to Uncle Auriemma's Raccoon Obedience Farm in Storrs, CT, went directly to voicemail and were not returned. A video re-enactment of the incident is below. . . .

• Raccoon wins: Coach Summitt has shoulder surgery [AP/Forbes]