Did you know that Devin Hester is making less than $500,000 per year? When the Bears used their second round pick to draft the special teams phenomenon, no one realized the significance he would play on this team. Essentially, he was the type of guy who is a great all around football player, but didn’t really excel at any one position.

Now, 1.5 years later, Hester is on his way to the record books as the worlds best kick returner, but more importantly, he’s becoming a skills player as well. In last night’s loss to the Redskins, Devin was the Bears’ second leading receiver with five catches for 67 yards. His long was only of 17 yards, which means he isn’t just running deep routes up the sidelines anymore and, hoping to burn a corner and praying one of Chi-town’s retarded QBs can hit him in stride. No, Hester is now actually running routes.

Hester is the man in the Chi, and is the only player in the league who can change a game by simply returning kicks and punts. Pay him his damn money!

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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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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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Former Hurricanes safety Sean Taylor is in critical condition after a gunshot to the groin in his South Florida house.

Officers were sent to Taylor’s home at about 1:45 a.m. after his girlfriend called 911 and said he was shot in his lower body, Lt. Nancy Perez said. He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital, she said, but did not disclose how many times he was shot.

Our prayers go out to Taylor and his family. Taylor is said to be “fighting for his life”. He is a great member of the U Family, and we are all pulling for a speedy recovery

Here are some more stories on the shooting: TMZ, Washington Times, CBS 4.

Updates: Looks like the bullet struck the “femoral artery” and Taylor is in a coma. Constant updates at the Washington Post

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I know there were more, so help me out.

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This pre-recorded video messages was played last night in Buffalo just before the game. . . Good to see Kevin recovering well.

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It’s been a long time coming, but Clinton Portis is back in costume, now as Choo-Choo. His statements are pretty indecipherable, but hilarious.

Blurb:

And jeez, took him long enough. This is Choo-Choo. Something about him wanting to teach Portis how to dance, and having already taught Moss how to dance, and Randle El how to dance, and Sellers how to dance, and so on. “I taught these boys how to dance,” was the gist.

Hands down, CP is my favorite athlete of all time. G. Arenas has nothing on CP.

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Man, I wish I’d been there to witness this one. Jeremy Shockey reportedly came down to Miami to do some fishing during the Giants’ bye week. While dining at Monty’s on South Beach, a heckler repeatedly taunted him. Though Shockey kept his cool, while he went to the restroom, the guys he was with reportedly "threw chairs" and beat the crap out of the heckler. Shockey returned from the bathroom and attempted to break up the fight (haha, right), at which point he took the University of Miami hat off the heckler’s friend’s head and told him he was a disgrace to the school. Shockey then fled on a boat to avoid any further altercation, and the heckler was arrested after apparently trying to run from cops.

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‘Canes’ fans, this one is painful to watch…

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