the buzz log

Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury wasn't just big news for fantasy football players, it was huge. As soon as word hit the Web, armchair GMs turned their attention to Brady's backup—some guy named Matt Cassel.

Lookups on "matt cassel" surged into breakout status the day of Brady's injury, and then jumped an additional 59% on Monday. Folks quickly learned that the unknown quarterback played college ball at USC and was drafted in the seventh round in 2005. Yahoo! Sports reports that before Cassel made the NFL, he was best known as being a hero in the 1994 Little League World Series. For the record, the New York Times points out that Cassel hasn't started a "meaningful game" since high school.

And yet, despite the lack of experience, blogs like Bleacher Report are reporting that Cassel is now a "must-add" to any fantasy football roster. The Patriots are still stacked and Cassel is the likely starter for the rest of the season. 

CNBC reports that Brady's injury could shift $150 million in fantasy football winnings from "those who had Brady to those who didn't." Only time will tell if fantasy football glory—and the pool of money that often comes with it—awaits those who put their faith in some guy named Matt Cassel.

Filed under: NFL, Tom Brady, Injuries

What makes one man cringe makes another man search. While we can't turn away fast enough from videos of people getting hurt, gruesome clips bring out the ghoulish side of searchers. Don't say you haven't been warned.

We can't bring ourselves to watch, but video of L.A. Clippers guard Shaun Livingston shredding his knee is now one of the most popular clips on the Web. From all accounts, his horrific injury is unprecedented in basketball history and curious folks not satisfied with reading about the extent of his pain have been busy searching on "shaun livingston video," "shaun livingston injury video," and "shaun livingston knee injury."

Another video we haven't been able to screen involves Wisconsin hoops star Brian Butch. After dislocating his elbow in a nationally televised tilt between the Badgers and Ohio State, searchers just had to see the injury for themselves. Queries on "brian butch injury" and "brian butch video" both spiked after Butch's arm bent in an unnatural way.

Queasy feelings washed over us one last time when we saw searches about a rat infestation in an NYC fast food restaurant. Buzz on "taco bell rat video," "kfc taco bell rat video," and "rat video" was almost enough to make us swear off burritos once and for all. Almost.

Filed under: Videos, Injuries