TORONTO -- While most of those in the stands undoubtedly recoiled when they saw Andersons Silvas gruesome leg break Saturday night at UFC 168 in Las Vegas, Steven Sanders had a different thought cageside. "The only question I had in my mind was how low down on the leg was the fracture," the UFCs orthopedic surgeon recalled in a media conference call Monday. "Because the level of the fracture influences my thinking as to what type of orthopedic device Im going to need to fix it. "But the minute it occurred, Im sitting there going Thats fixable." Amazingly, less than 48 hours after surgery to insert a titanium rod and three screws in his left tibia, the 38-year-old Brazilian was up on crutches, accorded to the surgeon. "Its amazing because I dont know if I would be able to do it that quickly," said Sanders. And the surgeon said Silvas question prior to the operation was when could he train again. Still the former middleweight champion is spending most of his time in his hospital bed, at this stage, with his leg in a posterior splint. "Hes behaving as anyone would who had just broke both their bones violently and then had a 11.5-millimetre-diameter rod stuck down the intramedullary canal of your tibia. It hurts quite a bit," Sanders said. The fighter is expected to stay in hospital for a few more days and faces a long recovery before he could compete in the cage again. But Sanders says Silva will eventually be able to resume mixed martial arts. The surgeon expects the fighters fractures to heal in three to six months, with a time frame of six to nine months before trying to resume training. "The expectation is positive," Sanders said. Silva (33-6) will be able to do some rehab work, to put some weight on the leg "in the near future as we get though this acute pain phase." Saturdays fight was stopped at 1:16 of the second round, with current middleweight champion Chris Weidman declared the winner as doctors attended to a writhing Silva. Silva broke both the tibia and fibula in his lower left leg kicking Weidman in the main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Weidman checked the kick, meaning Silva went bone-one-bone. His leg snapped about a third of the way up the tibia from the ankle, causing his essentially untethered ankle and foot to swing around Weidmans leg in an stomach-churning moment. Silva, who up until his upset loss to Weidman in July at UFC 162 was considered the top pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, collapsed in agony. Sanders called it "horrific pain." Sanders said Dr. Anthony Ruggeroli immediately realigned the limb and applied traction, helping prevent the injury from getting worse. Silva was stretchered outside the cage under the direction of Dr. Jeff Davidson and taken to a waiting ambulance, which transported him to University Medical Centre Hospital, a Level 1 trauma centre. The operation lasted about an hour, with the rod inserted into his leg at the front of the knee, with a screw at the top and two at the bottom to stabilize the bone. While the fibula was also broken, Sanders elected not to operate on that bone because it would have required an incision at the site of the break, opening Silva up to the risk of infection -- among other reasons. Sanders says the fibula could heal on its own, adding he saw no evidence from X-rays there was an predisposition to a break. The surgeon called Silvas fracture "fairly severe," given the fact that the skin was essentially holding the leg together. That means the tissues that normally surround the bone, and help with the healing, have undergone trauma. The soft tissue recovery is "more of a variable" than the bone repair, said Sanders. The injury, while horrific to watch, could have been worse, with Sanders listing off the elements of a worse case scenario -- a break near the joint, the skin breaking, tearing a blood vessel challenging blood supply to the foot. "Unfortunately in my line of work, things can always sometimes be worse," he said. That includes "limb-threatening" if the fracture compromises vascular support to the foot. Silvas dramatic injury -- which Sanders pithily described as "an abnormal bend in the leg at a place where its not supposed to bend" -- was "extremely close" to being much worse On the plus side, the straight nature of the break will help in rehab, since a spiral fracture can "unwind." And the surgeon said the rehab wont be as intense as when fighters injure knee ligaments. The titanium rod can be removed at a later date or can stay in Silvas leg, Sanders added. "For whatever reason, humans like titanium." Sanders has worked with the UFC for more than a decade and has practised in Las Vegas since 1991, working with boxers prior to MMA fighters. Sivas injury recalled that of Corey Hill, who broke his leg while throwing a kick that was checked by Dale Hartt on a UFC card in December 2008. Hill returned to action in January 2010 and has gone 4-3 since, although not in the UFC. UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones said Silvas injury will not change his approach to fighting. "No Andersons last fight will not change my psychology towards kicking at all, that was just an extremely unfortunate situation," Jones tweeted. Spencer Kieboom Nationals Jersey . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Tanner Rainey Jersey . The Blue Jackets got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and R.J. Umberger and Curtis McElhinney posted his first shutout since 2011 in a 4-0 victory on Friday night. https://www.cheapnationals.com/387r-jays...-nationals.html. The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle. Asdrubal Cabrera Nationals Jersey . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. Sean Doolittle Nationals Jersey . The Jays responded to the three-spot Detroit placed on Casey Janssen the evening before with an attack on the Tigers Achilles Heel, its bullpen, tying the game in the ninth and winning the game in the 10th. The result absolved Marcus Stroman, brilliant once again, of a tough luck loss while at the same time robbing Max Scherzer, brilliant once again, of a deserved win.CLEVELAND -- Once Michael Sam is drafted in the NFL, the Missouri defensive end will be judged strictly on whether he can play and whether he can help his team win. Everything else -- even that hes gay -- will be trivial. As the first openly homosexual player to enter the draft, Sam could face scrutiny unlike any player before him. But many of the greatest players and coaches in football history dont believe hell be subjected to any hatred, harassment, discrimination or bullying by teammates. "I dont think hell have any problem in the locker room. I dont think hell have any problems on the field," said Hall of Fame offensive tackle Art Shell. "The one thing about football players, theyre inclusive. They will take you for who you are, not what people try to portray you as. "Its who you are: Youre a football player, then you can play with us. I dont see that as being a problem in the National Football League." Shells stance was shared by several other Hall of Famers, including Lions running back Barry Sanders, Buffalo coach Marv Levy, and Giants linebacker Harry Carson, who appeared along with nearly 100 other inductees at a two-day "Fan Fest," the largest gathering ever of football legends outside Canton, Ohio. Sanders, who retired at the peak of his career following the 1998 season with 15,269 career yards rushing, believes theres an unwritten code among football players to ignore anything other than a persons skills and talents. "From the time youre a kid and you start playing, youre almost programmed for Can a guy play or not?" he said. "By the time you get to the NFL, thats well ingrained. Im pretty sure every guy in this league has been around gay individuals before, and so I dont think it will be much different." Sams courageous decision to reveal his sexual orientation was an important personal milestone. It was also an historic moment for the NFL and all major sports as it provides a deeper reflection of societys openness and willingness to accept his individuality. Sams revelation may not have been met with such overwhelming approval just a few years ago. In the macho arena that is pro football, Sam may have been an outcast in previous generations. "Hes a very bold guy to come out," said cornerback Michael Haynes, a nine-time Pro Bowler elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997. "The timing is good. If hed done that in the 60s or 70s, maybe not so good because everybody was really struggling with how to understand differences like that in people.dddddddddddd "Diversity has become a critical topic, people are talking about it all the time and I think the world is different. Remember Magic Johnson with AIDS? It starts with education. Hell be judged on football." Carson, who retired in 1988 after 13 seasons in New York, said he was "proud" of Sam for choosing to be open about his sexuality. Carson recalled that one of his Giants teammates, offensive lineman Roy Simmons, was suspected as being gay and was never ostracized. "It never really swayed anyones opinion of him," Carson said. "But its something he lived with and he didnt have to by himself because he had teammates, and the teammates he had were guys who supported him. Even though he never said anything, were a team and guys on the team who are unselfish are going to support their teammates regardless of how they choose to live their lives." Simmons, the first player to acknowledge he was HIV positive, died early this year. He was 57. Its possible there will be some awkwardness for Sam in the locker room, where he could be subjected to jokes and playful ribbing. Sanders believes those days are long gone. "Guys are more forward thinking than you think," he said. "It helps that hes a big guy. No one will mess with him." The 6-foot-2, 261-pound Sam has been projected to be drafted from the third round on. Sam didnt perform well on the field at the scouting combine, where he calmly handled tough questions about his decision to "come out." Levy, who led the Bills to four straight Super Bowls, said his criteria before deciding to draft Sam would be pretty simple. "Is he the best guy at his position when were on the board, and do we need a guy at that position?" the 89-year-old Levy said. "If so, Ill take him. Id like to know his character qualities and other things, but that would not factor into my decision." If he were coaching a team that selected Sam, Levy said he would not feel any need to address his players. That may not have been the case 10 or 20 years ago. "I wouldnt make an issue of it," Levy said. "I think society has adjusted to the point where its an acceptable thing and why make an issue of it? That would be my approach. Things change, plus Ive got to worry about how to pick up the blitz." ' ' '