DENVER --?Cam Newton took a vicious shot to the head in the final minute Thursday night, a hit that left him facedown in the grass. It was the kind of hit the NFL swears it wants to eliminate from the sport. Newton did not get taken out of the game. He did not get checked for a concussion. In fact, he did not even gain a single penalty yard as a reward for his pain.Instead the officials ruled that Darian Stewarts flying, helmet-to-helmet hit was nullified by Newtons hurried throw on the run. The refs called it intentional grounding, refusing to consider that the Carolina Panthers quarterback got rid of the ball to protect himself from the speeding Denver Broncos safety who was coming in too high.Ron Rivera, one of his staff members, an ATC spotter up in the press box -- someone, anyone -- should have removed Newton from this Super Bowl rematch gone awry. In a pro football age of brain trauma and CTE, common sense says Newton needed to be escorted off the field. The rulebook says the same thing. Teams can be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars, and ultimately docked draft picks, if they keep sending out players who should be having their heads examined instead.The NFL released a statement Friday saying that a Panthers team physician and an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant requested video from a spotter, reviewed Newtons physical response to Stewarts personal foul, and determined there were no indications of a concussion that would require further evaluation and the removal of the player from the game.Really? No indications of a concussion after Newton reacted to the hit as if hed absorbed a sweeping left hook from an in-his-prime Mike Tyson? This league statement is just as alarming as the head shots themselves.We saw what happened with a concussed Case Keenum last year, when protocol was somehow forgotten in the staggering decision the Rams made to keep him under center. We heard from Newton last year too, when he complained about absorbing punishment that other quarterbacks dont have to take.He didnt have to say anything Thursday night after Graham Ganos missed 50-yard field goal in the closing seconds gave Denver a 21-20 victory. As football coaches love to point out, the film never lies. And the film shows the Broncos hitting Newtons head at least four times and getting away with it.I feel s----y, Newton said in his postgame news conference. He had his reasons. Brandon Marshall launched himself into Newtons face, and Von Miller delivered his own helmet-to-helmet hit, one that looked less like a launch but was a clear shot nonetheless. The quarterback stayed in there and weathered it all, making some gutsy plays to give Gano the chance he couldnt convert.Newton is a tough guy, you know, and, with him a 6-foot-5 245-pounder who runs like a tailback, the refs allow defenders to take liberties against him that they dont permit against more fragile and less mobile quarterbacks.It has to stop. Not tomorrow, today. Everyone around the league likes and respects Gene Steratore, the referee who worked this game, including Newton.But does anyone truly believe Steratore wouldve allowed pocket passers Tom Brady or, say, the now-retired Peyton Manning to take multiple shots to the head without penalizing the offending opponents? And on the one personal foul Steratore did call against Stewart, does anyone truly believe the ref wouldve called intentional grounding on Brady or Manning when it was so clear the approaching illegal hit inspired the throwaway?Its not my job to question the officials, Newton said. I really like this officiating crew, so I know it wasnt something they did intentionally. ... But its not fun getting hit in the head.It isnt fun, and it isnt fair. In fact, its three country miles removed from fair.Weve got to treat Cam like a quarterback, Panthers tight end?Greg Olsen said. I know hes the biggest guy on the field, but hes still a quarterback.A great one, too. Newton was a 14-0 quarterback for the Carolina Panthers late last year, and he finished the season as a 17-2 quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. Yet it all ended in such profound failure that the overwhelming choice for league MVP was left to chase the ghost of redemption. Already.These are the terms of engagement for a transcendent talent at the one NFL position that matters most, and the architect of the Denver team that denied Newton seven months ago, John Elway, could tell him all about that. Elway was 0-for-3 at the Super Bowl, and forever reminded of his big-game breakdowns, before Terrell Davis and a brilliant O-line walked into his life in the nick of time and helped enhance his historical standing in the sport. Elway never found a Terrell Davis for Manning in his final football hours, but he did build him a defense that treated Newton like a tackling dummy, and ultimately sent him into Thursday nights opener with a whole lot left to prove.Manning carried the Super Bowl 50 trophy out of the tunnel in the pregame, one final painful reminder before Newton got his hands on the ball, and the Broncos got their hands on him.I try to warn the refs every time I do get hit in the head, Newton said, but if the flag is not called, then its OK.No, its not. And its not OK for Rivera and his staff, the ATC spotters and/or the independent sideline trauma monitors to allow Newton to play on after that frightening hit from Stewart left the quarterback facedown for too long.Im going to wait until I see the tape, Rivera said when asked about the hits Newton absorbed. Im not going to pass judgment on anybody.He was talking about the officials. But why didnt the Carolina coach take matters into his own hands and help his franchise player? Why didnt Rivera send in the backup, Derek Anderson, and try his luck against the Broncos the next time they meet up in the Super Bowl?Asked whether hed gone through the concussion protocol, Newton said, They asked me a couple of questions, but nothing too serious. The quarterback didnt identify the people or the questions, but he did say this exchange took place after the game and not during it. In the end, the Panthers, the league and the officials were all at fault. Nobody did enough to protect the defending league MVP from a relentless and lawless assault on his head, and that can never, ever happen again. Sony Michel Womens Jersey . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Julian Edelman Patriots Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. https://www.patriotssportsgoods.com/Womens-Tom-Brady-Inverted-Jersey/ . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Rob Gronkowski Patriots Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. John Hannah Womens Jersey . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Elvis Andrus refuses to be defined by what happened last October, and those two errors the Texas Rangers shortstop made on routine plays.There was the misplayed grounder in that disastrous seventh inning of the ALDS-deciding fifth game at Toronto. Later came a dropped throw on what would have been a sure force out in the inning punctuated by Jose Bautistas go-ahead homer and emphatic bat flip .Tears flowed from Andrus eyes after that loss, a gut-punch finish likely just short of the feeling the Rangers had in 2011 after twice coming within a strike of winning their first World Series.But out of that also came a fresh determination and drive for Andrus, who at 28 and in his eighth season is the teams longest-tenured position player.I put it on my shoulder, and Im built for that. I knew it was going to be a challenging year for me, Andrus said. But at the same time I was excited, I was excited to actually how see what I was made of, and the regular season is the first step. I think that Im way more ready for the postseason this year.The AL West champion Rangers, in the playoffs for the fifth time in seven years, clinched home-field advantage for the entire postseason. They host Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Thursday against the wild-card game winner -- either Baltimore or those Blue Jays.With a career-best .302 batting average in the regular season, Andrus had his first .300 season. He also had career highs with eight home runs , 69 RBI and 46 extra-base hits, and his 70 strikeouts were the fewest in his career.Andrus views and treats third baseman Adrian Beltre like a big brother -- Im the one being annoying, Andrus said with a smile, a reference to some of their often entertaining interactions on the field and in the dugout.Beltre knows what happeened to Andrus in Toronto last year could have happened to anybody.ddddddddddddWe talked about it after that happened, and that kind of pushed him to learn from that mistake and have more motivation to come this year and do what he did, Beltre said. This year has been really good for him, and it was nice to see that instead of breaking him, it kind of made him stronger. Elvis has a really good mentality.General manager Jon Daniels said it still stands out to him, seeing an emotional and accountable Andrus at his locker after that season-ending loss, answering every question candidly. He said his shortstop immediately embraced the idea that he wanted to work to get better.Daniels also spoke this week about Andrus taking more of a leadership role this season with younger players on the team, like Beltre and former teammate and current Rangers special assistant Michael Young have with the shortstop.Elvis works hard every offseason, so that part isnt new, Daniels said. Elvis has been to the postseason a lot. ... Since hes been here, hes only been on winning teams, and I think he understands how hard it is, and not to take it for granted. Thats what I saw this winter, was him kind of taking that realization and putting it into action.Andrus has seen the replays of those ALDS errors and that seventh inning a few times, and said it doesnt affect him. Those clips are sure to be shown quite a few times this postseason, as long as the Rangers keep playing.I would like to see that quite a few times, especially before every game, Andrus said. See what it did to me. ... I have no problem with that.More October baseball just makes for a better Elvis comeback. ' ' '