RIP Sean Taylor

Sean Taylor was my favorite player in the NFL. I followed him since he was a highschool senior at Gulliver Prep in Miami FL. Through his college days at the University of Miami and into the NFL with the Redskins. The first time i watched his highschool highlight tapes i knew he was somehting special and i was immediately drawn to his style of play. Sean Taylor passed away this week after being shot in his home. I feel almost shallow now because my admiration of him was solely at a professional level. I loved the way he went about his business but i never thought to look past the field and see him as a person which is equally as worthy of admiration. Sean Taylor was fearless. This was apparent to anyone who ever saw him play. He loved to hit and just his presence struck fear into the heart of anyone who crossed his path on the field. But off the field his life was changing. He grew up in a rough part of South Florida but despite all the things goign against him he grew up to be a resposible, loving and caring individual. Evidence if this can be seen when you look in the eyes of his beautiful 18 month old, Jaqueline. People who knew him said his life changed when she was born. He walked around with a brighter attitude on life and began to remove himself from the ghosts of his troubled childhood for the betterment of his kin. The night he died he showed the beautiful duality of his persona. When Sean and his Girlfriend awoke in the middle of the night to a noise in their home, Sean showed no fear and went to investigate. He rose to his feet to protect his family, his most prized possesions. Sean was then shot by the inruder, the bullet pierced the femoral artery and he lost too much blood to be saved. Even in death Sean showed us all how couragous and unbelievably caring he was as a person. God bless Sean Taylor. I will never forget the lessons that he has taught the world in life and in death and when i become a father i hope i can be 1 tenth of the man he was.

Boston Three Party

The east is back! No more will we have to hear know it alls like Stephen A Smith and Charles Barkley rant about how stacked the west is and how the east is merely a JV league. The winds are changing and all this because of one time. The Boston Celtics have assembled what must be considered one of the best trios in Basketball history. Right up there with former celtics Larry Bird, John Havlicheck and DJ. Even though the season is still in its infancy it is clear that Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett cannot be stopped. Not only are these three great talents but their games compliment each other unbelievably well. Kevin Garnett has always been known for his great passing abilities from the post which fits in perfectly with Ray Allens catch and shoot style and paul pierce who moves great without the ball. Whenever there are many stars on the same team the same problem always arises, "How can you keep all the stars happy when the games are played with only one ball?" However this problem has been debunked by these new look celtics. Because the games of their all star trio compliment each other soo well the celtics offense looks so fluid on the court, like a ballet in basketball shoes. All three men are soo hungry for a championship that it has been publicised that all three were willing to take pay cuts in order to play on the same team. And as for what keeps all the stars happy, winning cures all problems, and if the start of the season is any indication it seems as though everybody will be all smiles in Boston for the duration of their schudule.

The wheels are coming off the Colts bandwagon

The colts arent dead and buried yet. But they are in intensive care. The last two weeks have resulted in 2 losess, one in a showdown with the patriots and another imbarassing loss at the hands of the up and down San Diego Chargers. In this past game Peyton Manning threw 6 interceptions including 3 to Antonio Cromartie and the offense is looking anemic without Marvin Harrison. It seems as htough even when the colts arent playing all th enews is bad. Duroing the week they received word that all-world defensive end Dwight Freeney is lost for the season. He is such a key cog in the colts defense that he has become irreplaceable over the years.

Someone needs to step up on both sides of the ball. Peyton is looking like a fish out of water without Marvin and needs for offensive weapons to make plays for him. Without Dwight Freeney, opposite defensive end Rasheed Mathis will need to face more double teams but still needs to put pressure on the quarterback in order to relieve some of the pressure on the Colts secondary. The colts have an uphill battle going into the playoffs as they will inevitbly have to play New England in Foxboro during the playoffs, but there is time and many have faith Tony Dungy will right this ship. We all know the defending champs have all the tools

Miami Imbarassed in Orange Bowl's last hoorah

The orange bowl has seen a lot of amazing things. The national record winning streak of 58 straight wins for miami in the orange bowl is something that will never be forgotten. The national championships won and lost in this stadium will forever be apart of its lurid past. However the last game was one to be forgotten for miami fans. The canes wer imbarassed by virginia 48-0. With past canes all in attendence it was a very festive atmosphere in and around the stadium. Yet motivation seemed to be the downfall of the canes. They played very uninspired football all night long with turnoevers and mental lapeses being the story of the game. The atmosphere, the crowd, and the love were all there but it seems as though the hearts of the players seem to be no where to be found. An imbarassing end for such a unforgettable place.

Quack Quack

Who is the best offensive tandem in all of College Football? Could it be Tim Tebow and explosive wide receiver Percy harvin who are the main cogs in Urban Meyer's Spread attack. You could also make a great case for running backs Darren Mcfadden and Felix Jones at Arkansas whom just accounted for over 400 yards of offense in their last game. What about James Davis and CJ Spiller at Clemson, both backs have a chance to break one every time they touch the ball. Although all these choices can make great arguments for why they are the best tandem I will have to make a case for the mighty Ducks. no im not talking about Emilio Estevez and Goldberg im talking about the University of Oregon's Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart.

Oregon has been just cruising through their pac 10 schedule. Most recently defeating USC on the road in the Coliseum and then oming home to Autzen stadium and defeating 4th ranked and undefeated Arizona State. While both players have the explosiveness and skills to put up huge numbers i choose them for the best tandem because they just win. They have had a tough schdule all year long but even in the toughest situations Dixon and Stewart take care of business.

A-Rod to stay in state?

Imagine the media field day itlls be if A-Rod signs with the Mets. Newest speculations has the mets right in the hunt for MVP candidate. Not only would the movie create a media whirlwind but it would also create a monster of a team in queens. David Wright said before the season that he would move to second base if the amazing's would ever make a play for Alex. This move would make the mets lineup the most feared in the league. Big bats like Wright, AROD, Beltran, and Delgado would be completed with the speed of Jose Reyes and Endy Chavez. The possibility becomes even more likely when taking into consideration the fact that the mets organization has been spending money at a Yankee like level.

My only question about the whole situation is why would A-Rod want to stay? Besides the obvious that his wife is expecting and may want to stay in New York why would he want to put up with all the media scrutiny that comes along with another stint in the big apple. Other teams will pay the price for the still relatively young Rodriguez and he has already stated that he wants his next stop to be his last. It will be interesting to see where A-Rod ends up. Everybody knows that A-Rod doesnt handle the pressure of New York extremely well so what transpires next could either be the continuation of a hall of fame career or the burning out of a young star who could never hack it when the bright lights went on and the pressure was on.

Barry Bonds*

Talk about a true fan of the game, in a last ditch effort to perserve the integity of the game the man who bought Barry Bond's record setting homerun ball is willing to donote the ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame to go on display as long as he first engraves an asterik into the ball. Obviously this gesture would solely be meant as a dig at Bonds and perpetuates the idea that because he allegedly used steroids then he should have an asterik next to his name in the record books. I must applaud this move. It takes guts to come out with a statement like that, and this mans comments havent fallen on deaf ears. Even Bonds was compelled to comment saying in a recent interview that he would boycott his own induction ceremony into the Baseball Hall of Fame if they displayed his ball with an engraved asterik. This man speaks for millions of us who cannot be heard and vilify Bonds and other cheaters for jeaperdizing the integrity of America's pasttime. His bravery and brash comments are something to be admired. Somebody needed to say something, after all, Babe Ruth made his records on hotdogs and beer not "the cream" and "the clear".

Perfection meets perfection in indianapolis

For the first time in history two teams will take the field against each other with undefeated records of 7-0 or better. The colts will face off against the patriots on sunday with perfection on the line. It just so happens that the zeroes in the loss column are the only thing these teams have in common. The patriots have been rolling over opponents all year becoming only the second team in history to score more than 38 points in 3 straight games. Coach Bill Belicheck has been often criticized for running up the score on opponents who have obviously had inferior levels of talent. On the flip side the Colts have quietly not lost a game for almost a full calender year. This year the colts have unleashed a relatively new wrinkle in the offense involving Peyton Manning, it includes him handing the ball off consistently. A balanced running game has been pivotel to indianapolis' success up untill this point.

Unfortunately this game, on paper, appears to be a mismatch. With the breaking news that Left Tackle Tony Ugoh and all world Wide Receiver Marvin Harrison are likely going to be held out of Sunday's contest. With that said i believe the Patriots talent will be just too much for the colts. I see this game being close due to Indy's homefield advantage but i believe the Patriots will edge out the colts 38-31

Hurricane Pride

The University of Miami Hurricane football team was dead in the water. After losing 2 straight ACC conference games to North Carolina and Georgia Tech some writers, such as myself, shut the door on the Canes ACC championship potential and some fans, including myself, began to question with what direction Coach Shannon was taking this team. Then the Canes walked into Doak Campbell stadium and showed the nation why The U is far from packing it in and calling it quits. In one of the most important wins in recentg history Miami went into Tallahasse and beat the Seminoles in a rather high scoring affair.

Wins against hated rival Florida st are never easy to come by but the fact that we beat them teh way we did, in tallahasse, in front of their large fanbase, is what is turning me into a shannon believer. The canes found an offense to build upon, they found trust in their head man, but most importantly the Canes found heart in Tallahasse. Quarterback Kirby Freeman opitmized this bravery late in the fourth quarter on the go ahead touchdown drive. With the clock ticking Freeman dropped back and got absolutely crushed in between 2 seminole defenders but miliseconds before the hit he let off a strike to tight end Dedrick Epps in the corner of the endzone. Freeman knew he was about to get hit but instead of tucking the ball and running, which he has been criticized for doing, he stayed flush in the pocket took the hit and won the game. This game, this play, must be a turning point for Miami. This team has been scrutinized for coming out in games flat and this may just be the spark that lights the fire.

sox rock the rockies

Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling are two of the most dominant playoff pitchers of all time. So it isnt really fair that the Colorado Rockies have had to face both of these men in consecutive games to open up this years fall classic. The favored redsox have yet to allow 2 runs in a game while thier vaunted lineup has been lighting up the scoreboard. Big bats like those of Big Papi and Manny have been swinging for the fences and it looks as though the Rockies world series title hopes are dwindling.

Red sox nation loves their free-spirtited group of players. Their quotes have become media fodder and it seems as though they cant help but stir the pot with everything they say. Manny Ramirez was recently quoted as saying something to the effect of him not caring win or lose because this isnt the end of the world for him. This kind of apathy disgusts some and is refreshing to others but the most widely known fact is that everybody is listening. With such an outspoken team it is surprising that game three falls on the shoulders of the quitest man on the field. Rookie pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound for the Red Sox in game 3 in Colorado. Only time will tell if Daisuke and his teammates can silence the Colorado crowd, a little less noise will be welcomed by followers of the series because we all know that the red sox dont seem to ever shut up.

Rutgers puts an end to the Bull-oney

The university of South Florida Bulls, were number 2 in the country coming into their contest against Rutgers in Piscataway. 5 of the 6 BCS computers had USF number 1 in the nation. Rutgers then procedded to expose South Florida's weaknesses on their way to a 30-27 victory. Watching the game it was painfully apparent that this was not a top team in the nation. Penalties and turnovers were the story of the game for the bulls who played unninspired football all night long. How can you not come to play and prove that you are worth your over exaggerated rating.

I am 100% for a college football playoff. BCS computers are about as easy to figuere out quantum physics, and they judge teams on numbers without taking into account th very human element of "how do they actually look during a game". The system is flawed. I know a computer can calculate my calculus problems but i refuse to trust a computer that tells me that South Florida has a better team this year than LSU and USC. Thank you Rutgers for showing the country, ON THE FIELD, that the bcs is not the answer.

Time to go Joe

The Joe Torre reign is over in the bronx. Joe Torre has turned down a yankees offer to remain the manager for another year. Where the yankees will go from here is a ll heresay but names such as, cardinals manager, tony larussa, don mattingly and even bobby valentino have been thrown around. Although at first glance the yankees seem to have been turned down looking deeper into the situation you will find that the idea that the yankees ownership truly wanted Joe back needs to be questioned.

The process was drug out over a several week span probably due to the fact that, owner, George Steinbrenner is in the process of handing over the keys of the team to his son. All the while Joe Torre sat patiently waiting, staying out of the media. When it came time to sit down for negotiations the yankees laid down a 1 year incentive laden deal worth 5 million in guarenteed money. It was well known that Joe was interested in a longer term deal as job protection in a city where nothing is guarenteed. Accompanied by the fact that this deal would be asking Torre to take a 30% paycut just didnt sit well with Torre and his representatives. Torre turned down the lame offer and the yankees basically said "well, good luck". Usually in this case the team would then have a counter offer but it was obvious that ownership didnt really want Joe Torre to take the job. Who will manage the bronx bombers next year? No one really knows, but 12 playoff appearences over 12 years with 4 titles under Torre's tutilidge is a tough job to follow.

Phillies swept by Rockies

So i waited 14 years of playoff-less baseball so i could watch by beloved phillies get swept in the first round. Awesome. The phillies came into the national league divisional series with swagger. Why shouldnt they? they had just made the playoffs on the last day of the season and had practically dominated the last couple weeks of their season. But the rockies were even hotter. They too had made the playoffs on the last day of regular season play and hadnt lost in several weeks. Led by exceptional defense and an even better offense the Rockies man handled the Phils in 3 games winning the first two in Philadelphia. Surprisingly even the rockies young pitching was exceptional as they kept the phillies highly touted lineup in check all series long.

Everybody wanted to see an NL Championship series featuring two of the most historically deprived teams in baseball history, the phillies and the cubs was the dream matchup. However today people woke up and realized they were preparing to watch what has been dubbed the "no name" series between the Diamond backs versus the Rockies. With an MVP candidate in Matt Holliday and rising stars in Troy Tulowitzky and practically the whole starting pitching staff I cant believe that the Rockies potent lineup will be considered nameless for very much longer. Just ask the Phillies and their fans, because i cant get their names out of my head.

Is 2 better than 1?

I was watching the Florida State versus Wake forest game today when i found myself faced with a very troubling football paradox. Ill start by explaining the situation. Florida state came out of halftime with a 14-7 lead and a ton of confidence becaus ethe Wake Forest offense hadnt produced much of anything in the first half. The Florida state offense, and quarterback Xavier Lee, sputtered to start the second half. On the other hand the Wake forest offense drove the ball right down the seminole's throat and scored a touchdown to tie the game. Xavier and the seminole offense answered by driving the ball down the field, however their drive ended with Lee throwing his first interecption. With Wake Forest still moving the ball efficiently and being in need of some points the seminole coaches made a desperation call and pulled Xavier Lee mid game in favor of Drew Weatherford. Drew came in and missed some easy passes and was swapped for Lee again on the subsequent drive. Lee, now showing signs of becoming stiff on the bench, was unable to lead a late game comeback. The question i pose to all of you is does the two quarterback system work in anay level of football?

It didnt work for Florida State tonight but there has been some teams who have been successful with a carousel at quarterback. Look at last years National Champion Florida Gators who won the national title by spelling veteran quarterback Chris Rix with Highly talented freshman Tim Tebow. Then look at the team that handed the gators their most recent loss, Lsu beat Florida with a mix of Veteran Matt Flynn and speedy youngster Ryan Periloux. Of course there has been disasters when mixing quarterbacks, stay in state and look at the University of Miami Hurricanes who have been swapping quarterbacks all year, just like their tallahasse counterparts the Canes have been unable to get into a rhythem due to their lack of stability at the quarterback position.

The answer lies in finding the right blend for your quarterback tandem. It seems to me as though there has to be the perfect mixture of veteran knowledge and youthful exuberance when finding a two headed monster to run a football offense. It also helps when the team is using 2 QB's because they are equally as good rather than being equally as bad.

The U falls

The university of Miami has been known for its historical greatness. 5 National championships since 1980 have given fans much to brag about. But the past is about all Hurricane fans have to cheer about today as they lose to a less than mediocre North Carolina team. It was a revenge game of sorts for North Carolina head coach Butch Davis as he was the coach at Miami from 1995 to 2001. Although he downplayed the significance of coaching against his former team it was apparent that he had his team ready to play against the hurricanes. Miami on the other hand looked to have slept through the first half. After two quarters of play the tar heels accumulated a 27-0 lead.

First year head coach Randy Shannon made some excellent half time adjustments and the Hurricanes came out firing on all cylinders in the second half and stormed back to score 20 points unanswered in the 3rd quarter. The Hurricanes Comeback was halted when quarterback Kyle Wright threw an interception, his 4th of the day, in the red zone, in the 4th quarter. As the clock read 0:00 the Hurricanes effort fell short 27-33.

The new regime under Randy Shannon has just begun and all fans will continue to hold out hope that he will be the man that turns this program around and returns them to glory. However one thing that coach Shannon must do is win the games that the team is expected to win, and at this juncture the team has failed to do that. So as the hurricanes begin their ACC schedule they have fallen to 1-1 against in conference foes and all fans can do is hope that history will at some point repeat itself, because at "The U" rebuilding is not an option and loosing a game like this against a weak North Carolina team is unacceptable

Phillies turn to Moyer........again

Who would think that a 44 year old pitcher would be called on to salvage the young talent laden phillies. Well thats exactly what is happening as the phillies have falllen down 0-2 in the NLDS to the Colorado Rockies. The phillies lost the first two games at home and now must comeback on the road and win to live another day. And this isnt the first time that the philly native Moyer. After 161 games the NL East division had settled absolutely nothing as the mets and phillies were tied going into the very last game of the regular season and Moyer took the mound for the red and white. On that faithful day the mets lost and Moyer threw 6 plus innings of quality work and phillies rolled past the nationals, making it to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years.

It has been a rather tumultious season for the elder statesman of the phillies pitching staff. He had an up and down season that led some to believe that Moyer was going to retire after the season. Some began to wonder if Moyer was acquired by the phillies during the offseason just to come in and teach talented rookies such as Kyle Kendrick and Cole Hamels. His knowledge has paid dividends but his experience has begun to payoff on the field in the most pressure packed situations. Philly faithful can only pray that Moyer's cool demeanor can continue to save their season as he begins to make preperations for possibly the biggest game of his long career

A memoir (unrelated, required entry)

The formation of memory is such a mystical phenomenon that it can be difficult to comprehend and put into words. It seems to simple and natural to humans but understanding memory formation and the nature of what memory is can be a very complex and daunting task. Without reducing this entry into nothing more than a biological lesson on how the brain works, I will attempt to explain memory in a more simplistic and psychological fashion. Memory is love and hate, memory is life and also death, memory is the great times and the not so great times, what im getting at here is that memory is derived from the experiences in everyday life. Memory is a record of the moments that most make us who we are as humans. Every moment in our love is filed in our minds and the most extroardinarily beautiful (and sometimes ugly) moments are the ones in which we most remember because those are the moments that shape our lives. Memory comes to humans naturally because if we didnt remember our past then we could never change our future. Without memory we would forget our mistakes and never advance ourselves as human beings.

A memoir is a nonfiction story extracted from a writer's mind and is usually a very important event or events that altered the course of their lives. A memoir is a great way to create nonfiction writing and utilizing some of the unforgettable moments that have shaped our lives. It is crucial to use memoirs as a tool to potentially aid people to avoid certain pitfalls the writer has experienced or memoirs are great ways to simply better future civilizations. Memoirs are unlilke biographical writing in that memoirs are much less chronological and factual and more about feeling and drama. Many famous people in history have written wonderful memoirs that have shaped culture and present day civilization.

Notre Shame

They finnally scored a touchdown!!!!!!! After several weeks of struggle, the enemic Notre Dame offense managed to put some point on the board, even though they got pounded by Michigan State. The Irish fans are in an uproar over the 0-4 start, the worst start in school history and things only look to get worse. With purdue, UCLA, Boston College and USC coming up the Irish have little hope of avoiding an 0-8 start. Then comes Navy, which is an intriguing matchup being that the irish havent lost that rivalry in nearly half century but this year anything can happen.

Yes Notre Dame is one of the youngest teams in the nation and yes they are still breaking in 19 year old super recruit, jimmy clausen, but whatever happened to the Notre Dame of old? The dominant Irish of old where rebuilding wasnt an option are simply ghosts in Notre Dame lore. The sign above their locker room stairs reads "Play like a champion today" maybe this year they should start by playing like they belong in Division 1 football.

Eagles flying high.....for now

It was about time. After consecutive losses to the packers and the redskins the eagles finnally reversed their loosing ways this past weekend. The game was billed to be a barnburner as the winless eagles took on the undefeated Detroit Lions. With all the so called "experts" picking the lions the Eagles came out on fire and dominated the game from begging to end. Donovan Mcnabb came out and threw 21 completions in 26 attempts and 330 plus yards. Easily his best game of the year and it came at the right time for Mcnabb who had been all over the news the week before for making some racially motivated comments on a recent HBO special. Donovan declared that black quarterbacks are forced to do more in order to avoid the constant scruitiny.

The birds celebrated their 75th anniversary at half time and dawned some rather grotesque, throw back, electric blue and yellow uniforms. Some players looked very comfortable in the 1932 Eagle jerseys. Brian Westbrook ran for 100 yards and added 100 plus receiving yards. Kevin Curtis showed why he needs to be considered a number one target for mcnabb as he caught several long passes and finished the game with over 200 yards. Westbrook and Curtis became the first duo in NFL history to each score 3 touchdowns in a half.

With the ghosts of teams long past ressurected for the anniversary the victory was a convincing one. Next up is the, division rival, Giants and while the Eagles can bask in the glory of their win for now, when tuesday comes its back to work as usual for our beloved birds

Philadelphia on fire

1983 was the last time philadelphia has had a championship team to cheer for. The philadelphia 76ers swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals. But the days of Dr J and World B Free are long gone now and professional sports in philadelphia is suffering through a drought. 24 years may not seem like a terribly long time to some but to the philly fanatics it is an eternity. The fans of this great city have been labeled "the best fans in the world" by many, every week tens of thousands of fans pack into philly stadiums to root for their beloved teams. Our fans get scrutinized for being too harsh on the players but how can we be cast in a bad light for caring too much?

Soo many great talents have come through our wonderful city with little to show for themeselves. Names like Iverson, Mcnabb, Curt Schilling, Scott Rolen, Daryl Daulton have become sports legends but none have experienced the thrill of knowing they are apart of the best team on the planet. Some have been close like the phillies in 93 who lost to the blue jays in the world series (damn Joe Carter) and only a few years back the Eagles had a shot but fell short to the patriots.

Fans of Philadephia have been there through the thick and the thin and proudly i can say i have been a part of the greatest sports city in the nation. We will cheer you when ure good and let you know when your bad but no matter what the city will never abandoned its professional sports teams. And so we wait, for the next Julius Erving to lead us to the promised land

Athletes

What are athletes? Are athletes just overpayed cry babies? In order to find the answer one would have to travel to the farthest reaches of the planet. To the tiny farmhouse, where a 10 year old boy practices his jumpshot for 10 hours. To the desolate fields in a third world country where a 12 year old girl kicks around a soccer ball. You see athletes are not best defined by their professional "role models". To find a true athlete is to find one that plays for the love of the game. The ten year old boy doesnt have a incentive-laden contract giving him bonuses for every hour he puts in. Eternal optimists will say that children are the brightest part of our future, and in the sports world all we can do is agree. Children are the purest forms of athlete. Sports is nothing more than a joy, a game. If we were all true to ourselves we could realize that our happiest times somehow involve being an innocent child. On the other hand some of the "grown up" pros seem very childish when it comes to being payed for playing a game. Many football players holdout and refuse to play for their teams in order to get a bigger contract. They must have had a deep love for the game that has somewhere dissapeared in a mountain of doller signs, and i am one to bet that the 10 year old version of these selfish pros would definitly be giving their "adult" counterparts a serious noogie for being such babies.