Indoor facility at Valley Ranch collapses during practice

[Evan]

The afternoon practice ended in horrifying fashion when the Cowboys' indoor facility collapsed.

While a violent thunderstorm pounded rain down on the roof, the lights started shaking back and forth. Then chaos broke out, as the facility collapsed and players, coaches, reporters and team personnel scrambled for safety.

Several people were trapped under the wreckage. Police and emergency personnel have arrived on the scene.

More to come.

UPDATE: According to a Cowboys spokesman, at least four members of the team's support staff are being taken to the hospital. All players and coaches

http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/05/cowboys-indoor-facility-collapses-during.html

[Dr. Gonzo]

lol

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090502_lj_cowboys.11e43627.html

Video of it happening on this page

[Spursfan092120]

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090502_lj_cowboys.11e43627.html

Video of it happening on this page
wow...looks like it could have been more serious than it seems to be.

[Spursfan092120]

lol
You're a little bitch...like the team or not..how can anyone have so much disrespect for a team that they laugh at people going to the fucking hospital. Get a life, prick.

[Evan]

lol

Seriously grow up. You would think a "friend of Bill W" would respect life more.


wow...looks like it could have been more serious than it seems to be.

I am watching this in shock nobody died...

[BUMP]

Holy shit. That's some crazy footage.

[Obstructed_View]

Anybody that's driven past that thing has wondered when the weather was going to knock it down.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Holy shit. It's far worse than the article originally let on. I take back my lols.

[BUMP]

Holy shit. It's far worse than the article originally let on. I take back my lols.

Dumbass

[Dr. Gonzo]

Fuck your mother.

[BUMP]

Fuck your mother.

Actually I take that back because it would've been great if Wade was washed away and never to be found again.

Oh well....:depressed

[Dr. Gonzo]

I bet all Cowboy fans were wishing either Wade or Jerry himself were under the rubble.

[Slinkyman]

That was like a metaphor for the cowboys 2009 draft.

[Texas Chili Dog]

I just moved to Valley Ranch about two weeks ago, damn what timing. I live just down the street from the facility, so needless to say I heard an endless conveyor belt of emergency vehicles speeding past. The rain was fucking coming in sideways, and even going up because of the 65 mph wind gusts. I actually took a pic of the facility last night, just because. Didn't envision it not being there the next day. :depressed

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/3531/valleyranch058.jpg


and I took these after the storm. :(

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2049/valleyranch064.jpg

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8809/valleyranch061.jpg

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/651/valleyranch062.jpg


Unfortunately, one guy, Rich Behm, who is a scouting and video assistant, I'm pretty sure is the one who was impaled and is in critical condition. Joe DeCamillis, the new special teams coach that our draft was revolved around, broke two vertebrae. And there were other lighter injuries. The new kicker, David Buehler was hit in the head by a falling pole, and he had skin torn off his ear, among other things.

Prayers to all those injured, and I hope they make a speedy recovery.

[peewee's lovechild]

That was like a metaphor for the cowboys 2009 draft.

That was a horrible draft.

[jack sommerset]

Jerry should have learned a lesson given by the 3 little pigs. Thats a tent they are practicing in.

[BlackSwordsMan]

All TO's fault probably.

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

CNN has this picture from right before the collapse apparently

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/US/05/02/cowboys.practice.field.collapse/art.dallas.cowboy.ireport.jpg

[Pistons < Spurs]

Collapse leaves aide paralyzed



A Dallas Cowboys scouting assistant was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed during the collapse of the team's tent-like practice structure in a severe storm.

The team announced Rich Behm was in stable condition at Parkland Hospital on Sunday after surgery to stabilize a fracture to the thoracic spine.

The 33-year-old Behm was among a dozen people hurt in the accident Saturday, and was one of three Cowboys staffers who remained hospitalized.

Joe DeCamillis, 43, the team's new special teams coach, sustained a fracture of one of his cervical vertebrae without paralysis. He was in stable condition at Parkland and scheduled for surgery Monday.

Assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither, 35, had surgery Saturday night to repair a fracture to the tibia and fibula in his right leg. He is expected to be released from the Baylor Regional Medical Center later this week.

"To the Behm family we extend our love, comfort, and the full support of every person and resource within the organization," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. "Rich is a courageous member of our family and someone for whom we care deeply. We ask for all friends and fans of the Dallas Cowboys to join us in embracing him and his family with their thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time."

Behm has a brother who works in the Cowboys television department.

Jones, who was attending the Kentucky Derby on Saturday when the accident occurred, didn't stop to talk to media outside the team's Valley Ranch headquarters Sunday morning when he arrived or left.

Jones had a somber look on his face and his hands tucked in his pockets when he surveyed the mangled mess.

About 70 people, including 27 players attending a rookie minicamp, were in the structure when the storm hit. Wind in the area around that time was clocked at 64 mph, a single mph shy of the threshold for a weak tornado.

National Weather Service officials said a "microburst" may have pushed the wind beyond 70 mph at the top of the structure that was built in 2003.

Most of the 27 players taking part in the minicamp were drafted the previous weekend or signed as undrafted rookies. None of the team's veterans were involved. Coaches, support staff and media were also in the structure.

The final scheduled practice of the three-day minicamp was canceled Sunday, though the players attended meetings. Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple said all 27 players were there Sunday, and that none were considered among the injured.

Media were restricted from the Cowboys headquarters Sunday, a ban the team said would continue through at least the next week "due to ongoing work that is scheduled to take place in the aftermath of the accident."

The players arrived together Sunday morning on a bus from the hotel where they were staying. They were off limits to the media, and instructed by the team not to talk about what had happened.

Dalrymple said Jones spent "considerable time" Saturday night and Sunday visiting those in the hospital.

"As we share concern for everyone who was touched by this accident, we also extend our heartfelt and best wishes to Coach Joe DeCamillis and his family as they prepare for Joe's surgery," Jones said. "We are grateful that Greg Gaither's surgery was successful, and we feel blessed that others involved were able to walk away from this accident after receiving medical attention."

Behm, DeCamillis and Gaither were standing on the field when the $4 million structure gave way, sending debris such as the framework and lights crashing to the ground.

The no-frills building was pretty much a 100-yard football field with a few more yards of clearance all the way around. The roof was 80 feet high, the equivalent of an eight-story building.

Calls to Summit Structures LLC, one of the companies involved in building the $4 million facility, were not returned to The Associated Press on Sunday.

A Pennsylvania court ruled in December 2006 that Summit was negligent in the design and construction of a membrane-covered building that collapsed in 2003 after a major snowstorm in Philadelphia. The building was constructed for the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority.

The first voluntary full-squad minicamp for the Cowboys is scheduled May 19-21.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4132947

[Texas Chili Dog]

CNN has this picture from right before the collapse apparently

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/US/05/02/cowboys.practice.field.collapse/art.dallas.cowboy.ireport.jpg

That's a microburst, and it looks freakin scary. :wow

[Whisky Dog]

It cost 4 million dollars to build that tent?

Jerry spent 1 billion on the new stadium but has the team practicing in a tarp with poles. WTF?

[BUMP]

Here's a real picture of what passed over the camp

http://www.ec.gc.ca/EnviroZine/70BF6FA1-A995-4AE2-9C23-528694E329D6/tornado_l.jpg

[Obstructed_View]

The thing looked like a temporary building when it went up. It seems pretty logical that Texas weather was going to bring it down sooner or later.

[TimDunkem]

I wouldn't even get near that thing in a storm. Much less go inside.

[manufan10]

I bet all Cowboy fans were wishing either Wade or Jerry himself were under the rubble.

What stupid, ignorant remarks. Why do people wish harm on other people? You may not like either, but you shouldn't wish ill will on anyone. I dislike the Lakers, but I would never want Kobe to be "under the rubble." It shows how classless some people are. I've read people saying, "Too bad Romo wasn't under there." "Jerry Jones caused this to happend by bad karma." "The Cowboys usually collapse in December." I understand some people hate this team, but when a man is left paralyzed for the rest of his life then it is no joking matter. I don't mind Cowboys jokes and making fun of the team, but using an event of this maginitude where people have been injured is just plain wrong. My prayers go out to all involved.

[duncan228]

In wake of sorrow, a football problem (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/buck_harvey/In_wake_of_sorrow_a_football_problem.html)
Buck Harvey

They reacted as they should have. One man is paralyzed from the waist down, another had surgery Monday, and this is no time to talk football.

At least publicly. When cameras aren’t around, the Cowboys are likely already assessing how Saturday impacted them, because this is their business and this is what they do.

What they worry about: If they have to fix what they thought had been fixed.

It’s better they not say this out loud yet, and Jerry Jones knows. He was at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, enjoying himself, when news came that the Cowboys’ practice structure had collapsed on players, coaches, media and staff.

Just 10 minutes later he was standing with NBC’s Bob Costas for an interview. No one knew the extent of the injuries — or if anyone had died — and yet Costas chose to preface his question about the terrifying accident this way:

“Before we talk about the Cowboys’ home opener in their spectacular new stadium on Sunday, Sept. 20th, ‘Sunday Night Football,’ on NBC against the Giants ..... ”

What was Costas thinking? He could have mentioned a few sponsors.

So sometimes the wrong things are said. And sometimes, even if care is taken, the next comment or paragraph is likely to be out of place.

That’s the nature of sports. Few activities can look so deadly serious, then become comically trivial when life’s events step in.

This time the two mixed, all within one man. Joe DeCamillis, 43, was supposed to be the coaching solution. Now he’s part of the tragedy.

He underwent what they termed “successful” surgery Monday to stabilize a fractured vertebra in his neck. There were no signs of paralysis, and he remains in stable condition.

He should be released from the hospital later this week, and here’s wishing him well. Here’s also wishing others could have seen him Saturday morning before the storm hit.

Then, DeCamillis looked like everything the Cowboys had hoped he would be. He was vibrant, yelling and putting the rookies into proper positions. Had those unfamiliar with the Cowboys sat in on practice, they would have thought DeCamillis was the Dallas head coach.

That’s possible with nearly anyone, of course, with Wade Phillips around. And that’s a reason the Cowboys brought in DeCamillis. After an awful season of special-teams play, they needed an experienced, active leader to revamp this!area.

DeCamillis had the résumé. He got his career break by becoming Dan Reeves’ son-in-law, and he followed Reeves from Denver to New York to Atlanta. But he earned his place over 21 years, always on special teams.

Surely he could improve a Dallas group that ranked 29th in average starting field position and 22nd in net punting, right?

“I’m not a savior,” DeCamillis told the Dallas Morning News just a day before the collapse.

Jones wouldn’t mind a savior, and he gave DeCamillis the resources. The Cowboys didn’t mind picking low in the draft, in part, to find special-team players.

So there DeCamillis was on Saturday with his rookies, just beginning this journey, when the wind blew, and lives changed.

Everyone roots for him to get better.

The Cowboys, privately, still root for him to make them better.

[manufan10]

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0519/nfl_a_DeCamillis_300.jpg

Special Teams coach Joe DeCamillis showed up to the Cowboys OTA's this week. This is good news to hear.

[samikeyp]

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2009/0519/nfl_a_DeCamillis_300.jpg

Special Teams coach Joe DeCamillis showed up to the Cowboys OTA's this week. This is good news to hear.

:tu

[manufan10]

CARROLLTON, Texas -- Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was supposed to take six weeks off to recover from a broken neck.
Two weeks turned out to be plenty.

NFC East blog

http://assets.espn.go.com/i/columnists/mosley_matt_m.jpg ESPN.com's Matt Mosley writes about all things NFC East in his division blog (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfceast).
• Blog network: NFL Nation (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nflnation)


Wearing a neck brace and shouting into a bullhorn, the Dallas Cowboys (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=dal)' special teams coach was back on the practice field Tuesday. That's only 15 days following surgery to repair broken vertebrae from the collapse of the team's indoor practice facility.
"He is showing a lot of toughness and dedication," tight ends coach John Garrett said. "I don't know as a special teams player how you can sit in a meeting room and not feel 100-percent dedicated while you are out there. He is an inspiration. He is a tough guy."
DeCamillis was injured when the tent-like structure fell apart during a storm May 2. Eleven others were hospitalized, including scouting assistant Rich Behm, whose spine was severed. The 33-year-old father of three is paralyzed from the waist down.
The debris also ruined the team's two outdoor fields, forcing them to use a nearby high school stadium for the next few months. Players were bused in for Tuesday's workout, the first organized team activity of the offseason. The Cowboys will have OTAs for four weeks, then hold a weeklong minicamp.

[/URL]for the first day of OTAs wearing a neck brace but walking around among the players, less than three weeks after getting hurt in the collapse of Dallas' practice facility.


DeCamillis wasn't expected to be around for any of it. The club already had said assistant coach Wes Phillips would fill in for DeCamillis, with the coach scripting out the schedule and watching video at home every night.
But DeCamillis showed up at team headquarters last week and -- with his doctors' permission, insisted head coach Wade Phillips -- he spent Monday getting ready to take the field. He met with coaches at team headquarters Tuesday morning, then drove to the practice field with his wife.
DeCamillis stayed for all of the special teams work, which lasted about 20 minutes. He was in charge during that time, walking among players with notes in hand and barking out orders. This actually was his first time with the full squad after being hired just a few months ago.
"It all went well," Phillips said. "In fact, it went real well."
Because of the electric megaphone, DeCamillis' words were heard by all -- and they weren't very quotable, not after removing the expletives.
"That's the way it goes in coaching, so we're not going to change that," Phillips said, smiling. "I think it's inspirational, I really do. ... That's what you tell the team. There's things that they can do that they don't think they can do. If you can get through that barrier, you can be better in whatever you do. So that's a great example."
DeCamillis left after the special teams drills finished. He did not speak with reporters and the team declined a request for a statement from him.
Also Tuesday, golfer [URL="http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/players/profile?playerId=29"]Rich Beem (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4179183#) announced a fundraising campaign he's starting for the injured Cowboys staffer whose name is pronounced just like his. Fittingly, it's called Beem Fore Behm.
"If the guy's name was Bob Smith, would I have done it? I don't know, but it wasn't," Beem said. "His name was Rich Behm and you can bet I'm going to help out."
Beem is donating $100 for every birdie he shoots during PGA Tour events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this weekend (Byron Nelson) and next weekend (Colonial). He also will be giving his clubs and other memorabilia for an online auction and spurring more donations with the offer of a chance to win customized clubs from Calloway. A neighbor of his already has pledged $10,000 per stroke under par he shoots in the two events.
"I just have to go make birdies now," Beem said.
When Behm's name became part of the story, the golfer received several phone calls to make sure he was OK.
"It threw me for a loop a little bit, I must say," Beem said. "I was reading it on the Internet and it kind of freaked me out a little bit."
Combining the connection with the Tour's visit to the area compelled Beem to come up with some way of helping. He got the ball rolling with his agent last week and it's grown from there, with the PGA Tour and the Cowboys getting involved, too. Beem is hoping to meet Behm next week.
"I spoke to his brother today at the Cowboys' facility, and he was telling me a little bit about his brother and how much kind of a stubborn guy he is," Behm said. "He's not going to let this thing beat him, which is an amazing thing to hear.

[samikeyp]

Also Tuesday, golfer Rich Beem announced a fundraising campaign he's starting for the injured Cowboys staffer whose name is pronounced just like his. Fittingly, it's called Beem Fore Behm.

That is cool.