The late rapper Big Pun said it best, “I’m not a player, I just crush a lot.” Well, he had more colorful words in the version of that song that didn’t get radio airtime, but his sentiments were clear. Since I’ve been using this line consistently, it has a totally different meaning. In the past few days I’ve spent here in Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII, I’ve had some access to areas that NFL players, coaches, and celebrities see on an everyday basis. Since I never like to look like a tourist, (I’d throw on a cowboy hat, some tight ass Wranglers, and serious boots in a town full of cowboys to avoid looking like an out of towner) I strolled around this city as if I’ve been to the last 5 Super Bowls. Where people were armed with a camera, sharpie, and NFL jerseys, I rolled with sunglasses, a designer looking t-shirt, and a connection to my cell phone. Just being a typical Californian spending some time in Florida. Despite my simple desire to just fit in, I was still surprised when I was first asked for an autograph.
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Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier has become the latest in a string of professional athletes being targeted in violent shootings. The 26 year-old was shot 14 times early in September while sitting in a car with a former teammate, Kenneth Pettway, waiting for two women outside an apartment complex in Jacksonville.
After spending 3 weeks on a ventilator, and dealing with bouts of pneumonia, infections and renal failure he has been upgraded from critical to good condition. This “good” condition comes with Collier’s paralysis from the waist down and the amputation of his left leg due to a bullet severing his spinal cord and blood clots forming in the leg and groin.
The police have made no arrests in the case, but they believe the attack was targeted on Collier even though a motive has yet to be discovered. He has no recollection of the attack, so garnering possible motives from him seems impossible. His friend and former teammate was not injured further indicating that the gunmen hit their bulls eye.
Now that the frequency of stories like these are coming out once every few months, I’ve decided that this should be dealt with as a trend that will only continue to get worse if professional athletes don’t pay attention. The huge stories of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams’ shooting death in 2007 in front of a nightclub and the murder of Redskins safety Sean Taylor in his home highlight the recent fatalities among NFL players. The murder attempts such as Collier’s case and Raiders wide receiver Javon Walker’s severe beating in June should also tell the rest of the league that they are not invincible and beyond the risk of attack.
In the NFL’s tireless attempts to keep the league wholesome and pure with celebration guidelines and quarterback protection rules on the field, league officials should consider this string of attacks, random or not, as a problem they need to brainstorm on. Maybe the players need to be encouraged to protect themselves with security when outside their homes; maybe many of them don’t understand the negative connotations that have become apparent with people in their position. If the concern isn’t born from a human point of view for the NFL, then perhaps they will become concerned with their game being in jeopardy and the money that is in peril right along with it.
The league’s players, who perform every Sunday to present their incredible product to millions of fans, are increasingly being attacked off of the field. It’s an issue that can’t continue to be addressed after another Richard Collier loses his leg and right to a normal life, or another Sean Taylor is killed in his home simply because people know he’s got money and nice things. We should see fewer stickers on helmets and patches on jerseys for fallen players in the prime of their lives, and more awareness and protection for those players before they’re nothing more than a sad story remembered on paraphernalia.
The futility that has been virtually synonymous with the Detroit Lions for most of their existence has taken a new turn that fans have been begging for. Their last 5 appearances in the playoffs, ranging from ’93-’99, had them being booted in the first round each time. The insertion of Matt Millen as the President and GM for the team in 2001 was supposed to change their losing ways, maybe get some new juices flowing in a struggling franchise. He instead went on to be a part of the reason the team has forgotten the playoffs exist with a 31-81 record since his tenure began.
With angry fans calling for the dismissal of Millen for a few years now, owner William Clay Ford, Sr. finally pulled the string and yanked him out of the front office early Wednesday. The buildup must have been too much for him to bear. After being completely determined to ride out Millen’s uncanny ability to draft NFL busts by granting him a contract extension in 2005, his son, Vice Chairman Bill Jr. was asked his feelings on the job security of their guy that picks players based on how soon they’ll crumble. His thoughts on Monday were recorded with him wearing a brown paper bag over his head reading “Fire Millen.”
With Millen out of the way, it seems that everyone is ready for a return to glory for the Lions and their fans. HockeyTown will become FootballTown. Sure, there’s DeeeeTroit Basketbaaaal, but DeeeeTroit Football is now on the map! Fans can be ready for some success like they last had, back in 1957. Calm down, Old Timer.
Sure, this was a move that had to be made. Millen had no previous executive experience and proved to not have the skills necessary in his first and probably last stint. He chose talent that many would have, but the entire equation in developing those players with the right staff just didn’t add up. I even think Joey Harrington and Mike Williams were two of the beer-bellied fans holding anti-Millen banners. Although he’s gone, we shouldn’t expect Rudi Johnson and Kevin Smith to turn into Barry Sanders. With this 0-3 start to the season, fans should look forward to the start of the NBA season, pack this one in, and take the firing of Matt Millen as one of their 3 upcoming victories this year.
--JJJ
The saga of The Oakland Raiders involving someone Al Davis is displeased with has taken a curious turn after Sunday’s beating handed to the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s well-known that the 79 year-old managing general partner of the team (lets just call him the owner) has an insatiable desire to claim two more Lombardi trophies before his time is up. This craving is so great; he seems to have no patience or thought process when it comes to the coaches he hires and immediately fires, or the rejected players he brings into a rehab facility set up for failure.
His latest quick trigger decision of hiring the league’s youngest coach, Lane Kiffin last season has Davis ready to run the 33 year-old out of town after only one game into this young season. The public disagreements between the coach, owner, and coaching staff’s decisions from player personnel to game plans had news conferences and headlines written waving goodbye to Kiffin’s first stint as an NFL head coach despite the result of Sunday’s match up with Kansas City.
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Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young arguably made the most exciting play in a college football National Championship game when he nearly single-handedly knocked off the “unbeatable” USC Trojans. Life was great; he was on the top of the world and was soon drafted as the Titans top pick in the ’06 Draft.
Quickly after the tickertape parades and glowing compliments about his elusiveness, the harsh criticisms that come with being a starting quarterback in the NFL came down upon Young. Before he even threw his first pass in the league, many questioned his unorthodox side-armed throwing motion, and many USC Trojans like me couldn’t wait to see the speed of pro linebackers and the complicated nature of professional defenses slow him down.
With 2 NFL seasons now under his belt, Young has seemingly begun to crumble under the extreme pressure of the league. After not making the playoffs his first season and a 1st round loss to the Chargers in last year’s playoffs, where the Titans only put up 6 points, the insane impatience of football fans with Young’s lack of magic has bogged the 25 year-old down. Where’s the guy that ran all over and around USC?
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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson…excuse me, Chad Ocho Cinco, has definitely kept himself in the spotlight during the offseason. After being so upset about the moves, or lack thereof by his team in making sure they are a Super Bowl contender this season, he demanded a trade and eventually vowed to never play for them again. After that got him nothing but grief from fans and the Sports Supreme Court we know as ESPN, he revisited a controversial issue from 2 seasons ago, just to spice things up.
Although known for his innovative touchdown celebrations, Chad Johnson started warm-ups for a week 8 game against the Falcons in ’06 with “Ocho Cinco” attached to over his name with Velcro. This harmless stunt which ended in Carson Palmer ripping the fake name off, revealing his normal, “C. Johnson” jersey cost Chad $5,000 in fines from the league. I guess those precious young NFL fans might get the wrong idea and start asking their parents about the devil language of Spanish in hopes of understand what their hero; Chad Johnson was trying to say with that devastating statement.
Just before this fresh, new ’08 season began, Chad Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco. On Sunday’s season-opening game when everyone expected to see the name legally and freely splattered on the back of the guy everyone loves to hate, we saw the boringly familiar C. Johnson instead. What the hell, how did they put shackles on him now?
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