Coach Summitt attacks raccoon, then stomps some Gators...

Coach Pat Summitt was returning from walking her golden labrador when she saw a raccoon on the deck of her home. "I momentarily lost it," Summitt told WBIR-TV in Knoxville. "The raccoon was about to attack. I just knocked it off the deck, and fortunately nothing happened but a dislocated shoulder, and it's back in place."

Raccoons, even those raised by as "pets," have been known to attack people with little or no provocation. This one must have been too stunned at Coach Summitt's actions to avoid that momentary hesitation which resulted in it being knocked off the deck. Apparently it didn't want any more of her, though. As a rule, however, it isn't very smart to take the fight to the raccoon. It will usually leave you bloody and in need of a series of rabies' shots.

"When I realized what could have happened, it almost brought me to tears," she said. "It wasn't very smart on my part."

She showed no ill effects during the quarterfinal game today as she was jumping up and down on the sideline early and often. Following her lead, the Lady Vols knocked some Florida Gators right out of the SEC tournament with a 92-61 swift-kick. The win is Coach Summitt's 975th.

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