Taylor Death a Loss to the Sporting World

Sean Taylor, a star safety for the Washington Redskins, died on Tuesday morning from injuries resulting from a gunshot to his leg on late Sunday night/early Monday morning. He was airlifted to a local Miami hospital after the police responded to a phone call from his girlfriend early Monday morning. He was shot in the upper leg, rupturing an artery causing very significant blood loss. The attack is being investigated by Miami-Dade Police, which came only eight days after an intruder was reported seen at Taylor's house. He died in the very early morning on Tuesday. I found in an article that "gun violence is the No. 1 killer of black men like Taylor." Taylor was raised in a good area, attending a prep school for high school, and then going to a private college in Miami. "He was a multi-million dollar athelte and even his dalliance with lawbreaking and gun brandishing was said to be something of his recent past. He was a father now too. He had someone to live for forever besides himself. " In the article, it mentions another killing of a young black man, who was a simple cook at a famous Washington D.C. eatery. This isn't real significant with sports of course, but it was just to prove a point that young black men die all the time, and by gunshot at that. But anyways, back to Taylor. Keyshawn Johnson, a former wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, had something to say on the death and Taylor in general. "Sometimes we assume that because one is raised in a certain way one is going to come out a certain way. Look at Andy Reid's kids. He's the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and they're sons are selling drugs out of the house. You can't assume that because Sean's dad was a police chief that his life...would be different. It depends on how you approach it." Johnson knows all of this too well, being raised in the toughest section of South Los Angeles. He survived being shot twice after being stuck up outside of his favorite barbershop with friends behind him. "You just become an easy target," Johnson says.

Last year Darrent Williams, a former defensive back for the Denver Broncos, "was doing a responsible thing while out last New Year's Eve enjoying the night. He was in a limousine. A wrong word or misunderstanding in a club turned into bullets fired into his ride. He was killed. He was Taylor's age and another statistic in the deadly demographic." I agree and disagree about what Johnson said on the topic of young black men being killed by gunshot more. I mean yeah, most of the time it isn't where you grow up per se, but just the way you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, the shots that were fired at Johnson himself. He was just outside a favorite hangout, and somebody came up and attempted to rob them. A key example of the "wrong place, wrong time" statistic. Then there's Williams, he was out partying it up for the new year, and there was an argument of some sort, and he was shot. An example of the "be careful what you say" problem. Taylor doesn't really fall under any category. It was just some guy breaking into his house, then shooting Taylor. It's sad. It always is. To help remember him, people are holding candle light vigils outside his home, and people are painting his number in their yards and places people will see it. Rest in peace, Sean Taylor.

Hester saves the Bears

Whether or not you’re a bears fan, Sunday’s game against the Bronco’s would have captured anyone’s attention. With a 34-31 win in overtime, the Bear’s took it much to my excitement. Although, games like this come around only so often, this wasn’t the best part of the win.

The Bear’s never would have pulled it off if it weren’t for Devin Hester and his two kick returns for touchdowns. The first one, Hester ran almost untouched and hurdled a Bronco’s player to get them back in the game with the Bronco’s. The second one tied the game for the Bear’s but it was short lived. An early injury to Cedric Benson had him benched for the game as well as the rest of the season. This didn’t make the Bear’s shot any better. But they ended up pulling through. The real question is why the Bronco’s continued to kick to Hester. There were a couple of punts that were bounced to the Bears, but for the most part the Bronco’s kicked it to him. Friday, Bronco’s kicker Todd Sauerbrun, told the Denver Post that he was kicking the ball to Hester. He believed that his special team’s defense could hold off Hester. Clearly, he was wrong. Hester now has 10 touchdown kick returns under his belt and 3 this season. As a Bear’s fan, I hope he sticks with the team for quite a while.

NHL Hall of Fame Inductees

On November 12 the NHL inducted this years hall of fame crop of Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis, and Ron Francis. Each of the four were in their first year of Hall of Fame eligibility. It’s not really a surprise that any of these four were included in their first available year, but that doesn’t make their inductions any less special.

Mark Messier, perhaps the most well recognized of the four, was one of the most idolized leaders that has ever played the game. Versus, a TV channel, has even given Messier the opportunity to present his own award for leadership to whoever demonstrates that quality the best within the NHL. He is the only professional athlete to captain two different teams to championship victories. Messier led both the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers to Stanley Cup victories. He is the second most prolific scorer in NHL history by compiling 1193 assists and 1887 points in the regular season. He has also played the second most games in the sport’s history with 1756 games played in the regular season. He even won two Hart Memorial Trophies, given out two the NHL’s most valuable player in the regular season. Even with all of his regular season prowess over his career, his fame and respect really came from the playoffs. His name is on the Stanley Cup 6 different times a feat made even more impressive by the fact that he is also second in playoff points in a career with 265. This shows that he was not only on great teams to win those cups, but he was also a vital member that contributed greatly to those teams.

Scott Stevens will be remembered as one of the best defensemen to ever play the game, as well as one of the most physical. Stevens has played the 4th most games in the NHL with 1635 games played over long stretches with the Washington Capitals and the New Jersey Devils as well as a season played for the St. Louis Blues in between. Over his career he never had a season with a negative plus/minus rating, finishing off with a +393 rating over his 22 season career. Stevens won 3 Cups with the Devils during his stay captaining the team(1995, 2000, and 2003). He was the first player in the Devils franchise history to have his number retired. Stevens fame mostly came from his solid defensive play with his punishing, yet clean open-ice hitting, which even sent some of his victims unconscious.

Al MacInnis will also be remembered as one of the best defensemen to play, but for a different reason than Stevens. MacInnis was known for his amazingly powerful slapshot which helped him amass the 3rd most points, goals, and assists for a defensemen in the history of the NHL being one of only a few defensemen to break the 1000 point mark. His shot was so hard that early in his career with Calgary, he blasted a shot that shattered the goalie mask of St. Louis Blues' goalie Mike Liut. He also won seven Hardest shot competitions at the All Star skills competitions. He only won one Stanley Cup out of his 23 seasons in 1989 with the Calgary Flames. He only played for two teams during that span, the Calgary Flames and the St. Louis Blues. He won the Norris trophy once for the 1998-99 season with the Blues. He was also one of the few NHL players that refused to switch to the new composite sticks, and kept using his wooden stick. One interesting fact about Al MacInnis is that he played instrumental roles in two of the three largest third period comebacks in NHL history.

Ron Francis is perhaps the most underrated and least known great that ever played the game. Francis played for four different teams in the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburg Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, and a brief stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over his lengthy career which is good for 3rd on the all time list with 1731 games played, he won three Lady Byng Trophies awarded to the most gentlemanly player. He also holds the fourth spot for the all time scoring lists at 1798. He’s captained three of his teams over four periods including two periods with the Penguins and excluding the Maple Leafs. Either way it’s clear that all four of these players left a significant mark on the NHL.