Dave Boling

Strange how many are expressing sympathy for Kyle Stanley, as if he'd suffered through something more horrible Sunday than a valuable learning experience.

It was a high-profile one, of course, and an expensive one at that. But, on the upside, those tend to be the most effective.

The dramatic reversal of fortune that led the Gig Harbor, Wash., golfer to take second in the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego is certainly not an event that will define his career.

First it was Seattle tight end John Carlson lying motionless on the sideline at Soldier Field before being immobilized and driven to the hospital.

Then it was his teammate, cornerback Marcus Trufant apparently knocked out cold with his arms extended above his head. He, too, was taken off on a backboard to the hospital.

These were serious and frightening injuries. And I can't remember when two players on the same team were knocked out like this in a single game.