Cowboys Barry Church sidelined by Jolly Rancher
By Mike Dyce
Yesterday we saw Chip Kelly declare that there would be no tackling during practices at training camp. Once upon a time this was known as “Camp Cupcake” when Wade Phillips tried to institute this same policy at the Dallas Cowboys training camp. Now, after a rash of season-ending injuries early in practice it just seems smart.
Despite all the safety measures you put in place sometimes it still isn’t safe enough. Cowboys safety Barry Church was absent from practice on Monday and it was from an injury from an unlikely foe, a jolly rancher.
Apparently he had been eating a Jolly Rancher before they left for Oxnard, California. He chipped his tooth and ignored the pain at first.
“I woke up [Monday] morning and the pain was crazy, so I had to get it taken care of,” Church said.
It required a root canal to fix. The pain of the operation was the worst Church had felt and this is a man who had surgery on his Achilles tendon last season.
“This is the first time I had to go to the dentist [for a procedure like this],” Church said. “I don’t want to go back. It was terrible.”
He has a follow up appointment with the dentist on Monday to complete the process. When his teammates found out that a piece of candy injured the safety, the training camp jokes and teasing took good natured shots at Church.
“I took the punches and kept rolling,” he said with a laugh.
“No more Jolly Ranchers,” Church said. “I’ve got to stick to the soft stuff: Starbursts, Skittles, all that.”