Michael Irvin – Dallas Cowboys
Former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin was one of greatest and one of the most well known players during his 11-year NFL career. After Irvin recovered from a collar bone injury, he went on to have an amazing career in 1997 and 1998. Then during the fifth game of the 1999 season, Irvin was tackled by Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Tim Hauck and flew head-first into the turf. Irvin had to be carted off the field on a stretcher as fans actually cheered, in an interview later on, Irvin said that “accepted Eagles fans cheering his injury because he’d been “killing them for 10 years”. His injury however led to a non-life-threatening cervical spinal cord injury and he was subsequently diagnosed with a narrow spinal column (cervical spinal stenosis), which forced him into early retirement.
Michael Irvin – Dallas Cowboys
Nick Kypreos – New York Rangers
Of Greek descent, Kypreos played eight seasons in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Currently, he is a hockey analyst on the Sportsnet cable TV network in Canada. Nikos was playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs when he suffered his career ending injury. During a pre-season game in September 1997, Kypreos got into a fight with Ryan VandenBussche, who played for the Rangers, the two got into a pretty massive fight which knocked Kypreos unconscious on the ice. After the injury, Kypreos suffered from post-concussion syndrome and was forced into retirement.
Nick Kypreos – New York Rangers
