Sean Taylor and the Media, Eagles close call, other NFL thoughts, My Heisman winner, college Hoops, and More

I am feeling a little guilty and surprised at myself today. Normally, when tragedy hits, I am saddened and dejected by the loss, even if I am not personally affected. I am sensitive, and my mother always told me that was a good trait. Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins Pro Bowl Safety, died this morning. And, while I certainly felt a little sad that someone with such talent and so much to look forward to was taken so young, I was not overly sentimental or surprised. In fact, I asked a couple people in the office today if I should feel bad that my overriding reaction was that "trouble finds trouble."

Predictably, the media painted all kinds of stories about how wonderful a young person Sean Taylor had blossomed into. James Thrash, who has never made a four yard catch without praising the Lord, praised Taylor's maturity and growth. Others remarked how great a person he was. Well, if you ask me, the media cannot have it both ways. Sean Taylor, since he came into the league, has been portrayed by the same media as a selfish, brooding loner who has been in trouble repeatedly both on and off the field. He missed a mandatory rookie symposium, was fined for seven late hits, and almost went to jail when he got into a fight during which he threatened another man with a gun. Hence, when I heard that Taylor had been shot, and that his house was robbed just over a week ago in what could possibly be a related crime, I thought to myself "trouble finds trouble."

But the bottom line is that my takeaway is that the media is one big hypocritical bunch of swine. Yes, I realize that anybody that follows sports or politics could have already told me this. But this is ridiculous. They beat this guy up to the point where his public perception is that of a derelict and a hooligan, and then when he is the victim, they paint a contradictory portrait in which they show what a great person has been lost. Anything to sell another paper or attract another viewer. Sensationalism at its finest. Just remember, media, that "trouble finds trouble, and you are starting to be the definition of the word...

The Eagles, as everybody saw on Sunday night, gave the Patriots a legitimate scare. In fact, they made a couple of boneheaded mistakes, otherwise they would have won this game (and they should have won this game). A couple observations from the game:

• Great coaching job by Andy Reid and Jim Johnson, who have not had a good year as has been mentioned here on more than one occasion. They went to things they simply don't do (3-4 defense) in order to put themselves in the best position to win this specific game.
• This loss exemplifies what it is like to be a Philadelphia sports fan. They rose up out of nowhere, and then fell just short at the end when victory could have been theirs. A microcosm of life in the City of Brotherly Shove.
• This game in general just shows how horrible the Birds performance has been this year. To go to Foxboro against a team that has simply crushed everyone, with a backup QB no less, and give the Pats everything they wanted and maybe more, just proves that this team has underachieved immensely in putting a 5-6 record on the board to date.
  
• There is no bigger Donovan McNabb fan that me, and I truly believe that he has a lot of good football left in him, but it is time for both the Eagles and McNabb to get a fresh start. This offense has never been right for his skill set, and he cannot thrive in this system without at least one start receiver. It is time for him to go home to Chicago and win a Super Bowl with the Bears in 2008. I look forward to purchasing a Bears #5 jersey next year!
  

Speaking of New England, there does not seem to be any team in the league that is even remotely in their league (besides the Eagles!!!). The Colts have taken a major step back in the last couple weeks due to injuries, and Pittsburgh has lost some of its luster with two straight dreadful performances (yes, I recognize the weather factor last night, but they lost to the JETS of all teams last week). Dallas and Green Bay have had nice years but they both have major holes. It is all New England this year.....

If I had a vote for the Heisman trophy, I would vote as follows:

• 5th: Todd Reesing, QB, Kansas. OK, so maybe they did not play the best competition in the non conference, but this is an 11-1 Big 12 team. Reesing had 30 TDs and 4 INTs going into last week's showdown with Missouri, and he showed the heart of a champion by never giving up and leading the Hawks to TDs on their last four possessions of the game.
• 4th: Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas. D-Mac is a marvelous player who will probably be the #1 overall pick in the draft and a perennial All-Pro. But he has been too up and down this year to win the Heisman with three games of less than 100 yards and lower than a 3.3 ypc in those games.
• 3rd, Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii. You may say it's the system. I say this guy is about the most accurate college QB I have seen in a long time. He completed 70% of his throws this year, and is about the same for his career.
• 2nd, Tim Tebow, Florida. Tebow is a great talent, has accounts for over 50 total TD's this year, and is the first player ever to run and throw for over 20 TDs in a season. But I believe at times he is too selfish with the ball, and as a QB does not elevate the play of the people around him, at least as much as my winner.
• THE WINNER. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri. Team ranked first in the country, a true leader, and a great college QB. Throw in 3500+ yards, 33 TDs and only 9 picks, and how could you vote for anyone else?

Duke fired football coach Ted Roof this week after a 6-45 tenure. The sad thing about the state of Duke football is that I had one friend tell me they should have kept Roof because he improved Duke's competitiveness. That is when you know your program has hit bottom. When you have the least successful team of all BCS conference schools and someone can make the argument that the coach is doing a good enough job to keep it. My first choice was to hire Houston Nutt to instill some fun and confidence in the program along with some credibility, but Ole Miss must have picked my brain as they hired him immediately. Ugh.

It looks like the Cubs would be willing to trade Mark Prior. Out of curiosity, I would love to know the asking price. On behalf of the Philllies, let me be the first to offer the following package:

• Geoff Geary
• 2 season tickets to Citizen Bank Park
• One Year Supply of Dollar Dogs
• A Six Pack of Heineken

College Hoops is off to a sensational start. Some early thoughts:

• Trent Plaisted of BYU is really good (like potentially first team Al America good). Look for the Cougars to be a potential sweet 16 team this year with the inside out tandem of Plaisted and point guard Sam Burgess.
• Ummm, USC with OJ Mayo and Taj Gibson may be better than expected. They blew out a really good Southern Illinois team the other night.
  
• Anyone who things Tyler Hansbrough won't be a good NBA player because he doesn't have the prototypical NBA body is insane. This guy will average 14+/8+ for a decade or more in the league.
• My Dukies are much better than most people thought. DeMarcus Nelson has improved tremendously and provides senior leadership, Gerald Henderson is showing flashes, and Kyle Singler is as good as any freshman in the country (really!). Throw in a healthy Paulus, and depth that enables Scheyer to come off the bench, and you have a legit Final Four contender. It will be interesting to see how they do tonight against a Wisconsin team with tremdous size and skill on the front line. This well coached team could give the Dukies all it can handle, but will be good prep for the UNC's and the NC St's of the ACC.
• Villanova looks like they will be a solid squad this year, as Cory Fisher looks like he will provide a great complement to Scottie Reynolds on the perimeter.
• NC St, while they havea ton of talent, will miss their point guard from last year, Engin Atsur. This showed up early against Villanova the other night when token pressure gave the Wolfpack fits.

That is all for now, but I will be back later this week with more tidbits....