First of all, I have to say that from my first two regular season viewings on John Beck, I truly hope the Dolphins trade down in the 2008 draft and avoid getting a QB at all costs. Beck didn’t have a terrible game against Philly, and he was able to improve immensely in the week leading up to the Pittsburgh game.

Knowing nothing about the two QBs playing in Miami-Pittsburgh game, I’m taking John Beck. Big Ben had field position all night, made lots of mistakes that could’ve lead to more than his one turnover, and has Hines Ward (’nuff said). Beck was starting deep in Miami territory all night, made no detrimental mistakes, and has no wide receivers.

I was absolutely shocked by how poised Beck was in such awful field conditions and against a solid Pittsburgh defense. On more than one occasion, you’d see him step back, slip on the mud, regain posture and stick the ball in there to an unopen man. For a rookie, this is incredible. You have guys like Eli Manning in the league who would’ve shat a brick after his slippage and ended up like a pretzel on the ground. Another play that sticks out in my mind was (you’ll have to forgive me for not remembering the exact scenario) when Beck checked off on three guys, pulled the ball in and ran up the middle for the first down. Your typical rookie doesn’t have the ability to check off from the first receiver, and even if he does somehow manage to, he will try to force a ball in somewhere and throw a pick. It also didn’t help Beck’s cause that he had multiple dropped passes once again, especially on third and longs that would’ve given Miami first downs by Booker and Ginn. After a game in which not one other person on offense tried making a play to win a game, I can say that I am extremely happy with Beck’s play.

Oh, and wouldn’t it be great if all teams in the NFL were Joey Porter’s ex-teams, so that he could show up motivated like he was on Monday night all the time?

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If you listen to the media these days, you probably think that when Tim Tebow farts, sprinkles of Davidoff’s Coolwater come out and that one square inch of the aroma is enough to cure AIDS. I’ve never seen such a proverbial media hard on as I have this season for Tebow. I would give anything for the NFL to lift their three years out of high school ban so Tebow could go to the NFL and fizzle away like Mike Vick and so we wouldn’t have to hear about baseless stories like his love for Crocs. Video:

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“Wanna sit on daddy’s lap??”

Artie Moreno has had it with the Marlins.

First they act all into the relationship, calling all the time, ready to go all the way.

Then WAM!

“We’re just not ready, this is a huge step”

“I just want a date for prom,” said the really old Angels owner. “But no, they keep sluttin’ it up, trying to get someone better… well you know what, I’ve had it. Corsage and limo, that should be good enough for anyone!”

Moreno has had enough, and is letting everyone know about it.

“I’ve felt we had a deal with them twice,” Moreno said of the Marlins, who apparently cut bait and decided they needed more in exchange for the 24-year-old slugger.

The Marlins are playing the Dodgers, Angels, White Sox, and Juptier Hammerheads against each other for the services of Miguel Cabrera. Yet, they remain coy about the whole situation.

“We don’t comment on rumors or possible trades,” said Larry Beinfest, the Marlins’ president of baseball operations.

Damn right we don’t. The Marlins may be sluts, but they sure as hell don’t talk about it. They have standards.

[update: good article with some more specifics on a Miguelito deal over at the LA Times]

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I was one of the many who took issue with Wilbon’s pontificating on PTI the other day, where he basically said SeanTay “had it coming”.

I think those comments were misguided and in the heat of breaking news, but Wilbon makes some great points in his article on Taylor and the state of black men dying young.

You see, just because Taylor was changing his life, don’t assume the people who pumped 15 bullets into his SUV a couple of years ago were in the process of changing theirs. Maybe it was them, maybe not. Maybe it was somebody else who had a beef with Taylor a year earlier, maybe not. Maybe it was retribution or envy or some volatile combination.

Here’s something we know: People close to Taylor, people he trusted to advise him, told him he’d be better off if he left South Florida, that anybody looking for him could find him in the suburbs of Miami just as easily as they could have found him at the U a few years ago. I’m told that Taylor was told to go north, to forget about Miami. I can understand why he would want to have a spot in or near his home town, but I sure wish he hadn’t.

The issue of separating yourself from a harmful environment is a recurring theme in the life of black men. It has nothing to do with football, or Sean Taylor or even sports. To frame it as a sports issue is as insulting as it is naive. Most of us, perhaps even the great majority of us who grew up in big urban communities, have to make a decision at some point to hang out or get out.

Read the article and post your thoughts.

[Washington Post]

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This was the epitomy of this week’s Monday Night Football game.

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Brody just passed along some wonderful news to me. From what Brody calls an extremely reliable source, we have learned that Miami has cut six scholarships of the students named below:

KIRBY
DALY
STEWART
C. JONES
FARR
MABRY

You know what? Randy Shannon is fighting for his job at this point. Next season is it. Why not get rid of the sluggish underperformers and get his new boys in there sooner? Also, Brody told me a lot of the Miami Northwestern boys are graduating a semester early, which could potentially mean they come to UM in the Spring of ‘08 to familiarize themselves with the campus and get some Spring practicing in.

Do we really have to wait ten months until football season begins again!?

[update: Most (if not all) of the players removed from the team, are graduating (or have already graduated). This is just a move to shore up roster space for players who have already attained a degree and aren’t performing on the field. Stupid, hippie freeloaders.]

Usually lacrosse equipment is easily available from the stores that deal with basketball equipment as well as that of golf and baseball. However where basketball things are more generic, golf clubs and lacrosse things are more specific and harder to find.

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No need to waste too many key strokes on this story, but after yesterday’s injury to Ricky Williams (although the announcers say it was incidental, I believe it was malicious), Ricky is out for the year. Whatever.

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There’s no point in posting about the Sean Taylor story as news, because by now, there isn’t a soul who doesn’t know the details of the incident.

When I first heard what happened, that he was shot in the leg and at some point he supposedly clenched his fist in the hospital, showing signs of life, I thought he’d be back in the league next season. I can’t even explain how shocked I was this morning to find out he didn’t make it.

In a 12 month period of time, the University of Miami football family has dealt with three major tragedies:

1. Bryan Pata murdered outside his apartment,

2. Kevin Everett’s neck injury, and

3. Sean Taylor.

I realize that UM’s "Thug U" reputation is likely one of the first thoughts in most peoples’ minds as they think about this incident, but it really shouldn’t be. Aside from from a fight and a rap song, UM has been a clean program, but I don’t even want to get into that now because this should be about focusing on Sean Taylor’s rememberance.

From a personal standpoint, Sean Taylor’s last season at Miami was the year I graduated from undergrad there, and was one of my favorite players. Struggling with Brock Berlin at the helm, Sean Taylor had big game after big game, and helped the ‘Canes to an 11-2 record in 2003. Taylor was one of the biggest hitters the Hurricanes and the new generation NFL have seen, and was a rare type of player who could actually take a game over from the safety position.

Whether or not there was some type of foul play involved by Sean Taylor either in this incident or leading up to this incident, being murdered in cold blood, albeit in his own home with 18-month old child nearby, is one of the most despicable acts I have learned of in a long time.

My prayers are with Sean Taylor’s family and friends.

Great up to date story: CNN.

Video:

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