Nick Laham/Getty Images

Ellis Hobbs, cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles, could be done for the year after taking a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit from the Giants' Dave Tollefson on Sunday night. 

According to NFL.com, Hobbs suffered a ruptured disk in his neck on the opening kickoff of the second half. Giants coverage man Dave Tollefson lowered his head and connected squarely with Hobbs' helmet, sending the smaller Hobbs sprawling to the turf. 

The corner was unconscious for several minutes while trainers and team physicians attended to him, and, upon coming to, attempted to get up and walk. 

Eagles head coach Andy Reid said that X-rays of the injury were negative, but an MRI revealed the ruptured disk in Hobbs' neck. 

"He was upset because he wanted to get up and go," Reid said after the game. "Sometimes that happens in those situations. I told him to stay down there and trust the guys that were working with him. I said, ‘Let’s just make sure things are OK, and let’s not do anything stupid here.'"

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Joey Votto, the slugging first baseman from the Cincinnati Reds who powered the club to their first playoff berth since 1995, has been named National League MVP for the 2010 season. 

Votto, 27, received 31 out of 32 possible first-place votes, finishing with a dominant lead over the second-place finisher, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols. 

Votto led baseball in 11 different offensive categories, was second in the NL in batting average (.324), and third in both home runs (37) and RBI (113). He was the heart and soul of the Reds offense, and was an offensive and defensive stalwart for Cincinnati's lineup.

Votto had been a slugger since his rookie year, but had battled depression and anxiety disorders in 2008. In 2009, he hit .331 with 25 homers, but the Reds were well out of first place. 

Last season, the Reds went 91-71, and wrapped up the club's first playoff berth since 1995, and first division title since 1991. They were promptly swept out of the playoffs by the Philadelphia Phillies' brutal pitching staff. 

Votto's victory prevented Pujols from winning a third consecutive NL MVP award. 

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Brad Childress fired? Many in Minnesota feel like it's about time the Vikings embattled head coach was shown his walking papers. 

According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the team has done just that, firing Childress after what has been one of the most disappointing stretches of football in recent memory. The Vikings came into 2010 with Super Bowl aspirations, but a 3-7 start has doomed them to, in all likelihood, miss the playoffs entirely, and Childress is a primary reason why. 

The head coach has clashed with his players since arriving in Minnesota, but things finally boiled over this season. Infamous for ruling the locker room with an iron fist, Childress lost much of his support in the locker room with his treatment of players like wideout Percy Harvin, with whom Childress had a physical altercation just three weeks ago. 

He has also managed to irritate management by making personnel decisions unilaterally, rather than using the system that owner Zygi Wilf has put in place. Combine that with the Vikes' miserable effort against arch-nemesis Green Bay on Sunday, and you have a recipe for a firing. 

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Brad Childress appears to have finally reached the end of his rope in Minnesota. The embattled Vikings coach is going to be fired, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer. 

Childress' job status has been a hot topic in the NFL for much of this season, as the talented Vikings stumbled badly out of the gate. The Vikes, who had Super Bowl aspirations heading into the season, have gone 3-7, and are all but eliminated from the playoffs at this point. 

To make matters worse, Childress has lost the respect of most of his team, thanks to his dictatorial leadership style. He's angered owner Zygi Wilf multiple times with his unilateral decisions that often fly in the face of what Wilf wants for the club. He's been known to lie to the media on occasion, most recently when he told reporters he had given former wideout Randy Moss permission to stay in New England to visit family, when in fact the receiver had simply refused to board the plane with the team. 

Apparently, the last straw came in the Vikes' pathetic showing against the rival Packers on Sunday. Minnesota managed just three points and looked sloppy across the board, as Green Bay routed them 31-3.

Eric Francis/Getty Images

Taylor Martinez quits team? Nebraska freshman quarterback finished with Huskers? As it turns out, this was nothing more than a rumor. 

Martinez, the dynamic freshman passer for the Huskers, made headlines around the country Sunday night when it was reported that he had failed to show up for a mandatory team meeting. Couple that with his poor play and head coach Bo Pelini's sideline tirade at the youngster during Nebraska's 9-6 loss to Texas A&M, and you've got a recipe for some potential controversy brewing. 

However, according to Pelini, Martinez is still a member of the team. The head coach issued a statement last night confirming that the freshman was still a member of the Cornhuskers, putting all of the rumors to bed once and for all. 

At least, until the next time the talented quarterback and head coach have a disagreement. Then, odds are, we'll begin again. 

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Colt McCoy, the rookie quarterback for the Cleveland Browns who vaulted the team back to relevance for the first time in three years and just the second time since their return to football, suffered a left ankle sprain in Sunday's clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The rookie injured the ankle on a sack in the third quarter, and said afterward that he thought he could still play on it. He finished with 241 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception.

McCoy, a third-round pick out of the University of Texas, has re-vitalized a moribund Browns team and turned them into a squad that can hang with just about anyone in the NFL.

The severity of the sprain is unknown, and McCoy told reporters after the game that more tests would be conducted on Monday. The Browns lost to the Jags on Sunday to fall to 3-7 on the year, but the Browns have hung tough with some of the league's best teams this season, and knocked off the Saints and Patriots under McCoy's watch. 

Jason Smith/Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson has made history—again. Johnson finished second in Sunday's Ford 400 at  Miami-Homestead Speedway, and claimed his fifth straight title in the process. 

Johnson came into Sunday's race second in points to Denny Hamlin, but ran extremely well all race long and finished ahead of both Hamlin and third-place finisher Kevin Harvick. The second-place finish was enough to drive Johnson to an unprecedented fifth straight title. 

Hamlin battled his car all day long, and finished 14th, while a speeding violation heading into the pits on Lap 80 sent Harvick back to 29th place, a position he couldn't overcome. 

No racer in NASCAR history had ever taken home four straight championships, and no one had even sniffed five straight. But Johnson pulled it off, and the feat assures him a spot in the Hall of Fame when all is said and done.

Johnson now ranks third on the all-time list, behind Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. 

For more on Johnson, check out Jimmie Johnson: Why His Fifth Straight Title Is a Disaster for NASCAR. 

Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Tiger Woods released an essay in Newsweek magazine this week, in which the embattled golfer apologizes for his behavior over the last two years. 

Woods claims in the essay that he had "been conducting his personal life in an artificial way," as though he was detached from the values he'd been raised with. He claims that he has become more grounded, and that he's happier than he's ever been.

Woods states he's taking joy in his life and finding happiness being with his kids, and he apologizes for what he's done.

However, many in the media and the general public are blasting the essay as a failed PR move, a last-ditch attempt to salvage some of his lost popularity.

Is Woods' letter genuine, or is it another effort to gain the sympathy of a fan base who has turned against him in droves?

Woods has struggled to find his stroke since news of his numerous affairs broke last November. His personal life was wrecked by his divorce, and he lost the No. 1 ranking he'd held for several years.

However, Woods seems to be playing better in recent weeks, and he does seem a calmer person than even before the scandal broke.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was punched by Raiders defensive end Richard Seymour during the second quarter of Sunday's game between the teams.

Roethlisberger had just thrown a 22-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders to put Pittsburgh up 21-3. As he ran downfield to celebrate, he bumped into Seymour, who turned and smacked the quarterback with an open hand.

Seymour immediately drew a flag and was ejected from the game. Afterwards, he said he wasn't sure why he'd hit Roethlisberger, and said that he couldn't remember the quarterback saying anything to set him off. 

Big Ben was stunned after the game, saying he wasn't expecting Seymour to hit him like that. Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that his opinion of Seymour didn't change, and he still respected the 11-year veteran. 

Roethlisberger finished the game with three touchdown passes and 275 passing yards, and the Steelers ran roughshod over the Raiders, 35-3. 

The Richard Seymour punch has been one of the most talked about moments of Sunday's slate of games. 

The Raiders' defensive end was approached by Roethlisberger after the quarterback had thrown a touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders with 1:26 to go in the second quarter. 

Big Ben appeared to bump into Seymour, and the defensive lineman turned and slapped him across the head. 

After the game, Seymour apologized to his teammates and said the slap was a natural reaction. He said he didn't remember Big Ben saying anything to him, and the quarterback said afterward that he was stunned by the lineman's actions. 

Expect Seymour to get a hefty fine, and probably some sort of suspension, in the coming days. 

As it turned out, perhaps the Raiders could have used their hefty lineman for the rest of the game, as the Steelers dominated Oakland 35-3. Roethlisberger finished with 275 passing yards and three touchdowns. 

We're running down the NFL scores Week 11 from the biggest games of the weekend. 

New England Patriots 31, Indianapolis Colts 28: Tom Brady and the New England Patriots scored a big win Sunday afternoon against their arch-nemeses, the Indianapolis Colts, to keep hold of the best record in the AFC. The Colts put up quite a fight, but a late Peyton Manning interception doomed them to yet another loss in Foxboro. Using the two-pronged rushing attack of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead, the Pats gashed the Colts for 165 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

New York Jets 30, Houston Texans 27: Another week, another collapse for the Texans, as the Jets rallied from a 27-23 deficit with less than a minute to play to snag their third straight comeback victory. Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes for the go-ahead touchdown with just six seconds left, and the Texans were knocked off by yet another last-second heartbreaker. The win keeps the Jets tied with the Patriots for the AFC East lead, while the Texans' downward spiral continues, having lost five of their last six games. 

Philadelphia Eagles 27, New York Jets 17: Michael Vick didn't single-handedly beat the Giants, but given the way LeSean McCoy was running the ball, he didn't have to. McCoy racked up 111 yards and a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown on just 14 carries, spurring the Eagles to grab sole possession of first place in the NFC East from the Giants. 

Manny Pacquiao, arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, has said he will only fight for three more years, according to a press conference he gave in his native Phillipines on Sunday. 

Pacman said that he does not wish to fight after the age of 35. He's currently a busy man outside the boxing ring, as he has been elected to the Phillipines' House of Representatives. 

The announcement puts a timetable on a highly publicized potential fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., the other contender for the pound-for-pound greatest title. The two camps have been negotiating a potential bout for years, and nearly had an agreement on two separate occasions, until drug testing protocols killed them. 

In his most recent fight, Pacquiao won convincingly against Antonio Margarito to claim his 10th title, in his eighth different weight class. 

For more on Manny, check out Manny Pacquiao: Why Shane Mosley Fight Is Best Next Move for the Pacman. 

The Los Angeles Lakers' 2010 season took a gruesome twist during Sunday's clash with the Golden State Warriors, as a toddler who fell 50 feet from a luxury suite has been pronounced dead from the injuries he sustained. 

According to a report on ESPN, the toddler plunged 50 feet from the box where he was standing to the concrete floor below. He was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, where he later died from the injuries. His name has yet to be released to the media. 

KTLA-TV said it's believed that the boy was taking pictures after the Lakers had knocked off the Warriors on Sunday night, when he slipped and fell to the floor below.  

According to the report, witnesses said that the boy was moving his arms and legs as he was wheeled out of the Staples Center by paramedics. He is believed to be two or three years old. 

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Vince Young, the on-again, off-again quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, had yet another implosion Sunday against the Washington Redskins. Young had struggled for much of Tennessee's clash with Washington, and was eventually pulled with a torn tendon in his right thumb.

When Young attempted to come back, head coach Jeff Fisher left rookie passer Rusty Smith in the game, despite the fact that Vince appeared ready to go.

When the game ended with a Titans loss, Young reportedly tossed his jersey and shoulder pads into the stands on his way to the locker room. There, he muttered and cursed under his breath as Fisher talked to the team. When Fisher told Young to be quiet, the quarterback got up and started to leave the locker room. 

According to ESPN.com, Fisher asked Young not to run out on his teammates, to which Young replied, "I'm not running out on my teammates, I'm running out on you."

According to multiple media outlets, safety Michael Griffin, a teammate of Young's at the University of Texas, implored Young not to leave. Young reportedly shrugged, and kept walking. 

This isn't the first time the talented but enigmatic quarterback has been in Fisher's doghouse. In 2008, he was benched due to a combination of injury and poor play, and was thought to be finished in the NFL. 

However, Vince returned last season and helped his team overcome an 0-6 start to finish 8-8. This season has been marked by inconsistent play and, now, another flare-up of the immaturity that plagued him early in his career. 

For more on Young, check out Vince Young's Childish Tantrum Has No Place In The NFL. 

John Cena, longtime WWE superstar, was "fired" on Sunday night, in the pay-per-view Survival Series.

Cena was refereeing the match, and had to make sure that arch-nemesis/forced teammate Wade Barrett defeated Randy Orton. 

Cena refused, calling the match fairly, and Barrett ultimately lost to Orton (shocking, right?), costing the former WWE World Champion his job. 

Is this really the end of the WWE superstar's days in the ring? Knowledgeable fans know this is just an angle, and odds are good Cena will return at some point. However, the wrestler has been pursuing a movie career in recent years, and could be gone longer than many fans expect. 

When will Cena return to the ring? How will they put him back in the storyline? Will he get vengeance against Barrett?

Those are the questions the WWE hopes you'll tune in to find out the answer to in the coming months. 

Must Read: Ranking John Cena's 10 Greatest Matches