Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

News that Chargers Tight End Antonio Gates will likely miss this week’s playoff game against the Colts got me thinking about what has to be the whimpiest injury to keep an athlete out of action.

I remember Sammy Sosa missing a month with a strained back after sneezing and the legendary migraines that kept Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from logging crunch time minutes during his career. But seriously folks, has there ever been anything more ridiculous sounding than a football player missing time with a sprained toe? I mean, call it turf toe or something. Sprained toe makes Gates sound like a whuss!

Thankfully, The Victim won’t take this week’s post-season games off, despite the mental cramping that plagues our fearless football forecaster from time to time. So in the true spirit of playing hurt, here are the picks for this week’s Division Playoffs:

Seattle (+8) over Green Bay
New England (-13 1/2) over Jacksonville
San Diego (+9) over Indianapolis
Dallas (-7 1/2) over NY Giants

Last week: 1-3
Season record: 50-47-2