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