"Aaron Smith did not take much time to celebrate with his teammates in the winning locker room here. As many of them talked to reporters after they improved to 5-2, Smith walked resolutely past them on his way to the team bus.

His season is over, and at 35 his career may have ended too. He needs neck surgery, a development that only recently was discovered while he sat out the previous three weeks with a foot injury.

Smith did not want to talk about his future, he did not want to talk about much. He apologized for that and offered a few brief words about the news that, for the third consecutive year, his season ended early and abruptly."