For those of us who are football fans, the past week has been an enjoyable one, although that might depend on who your favorite teams are. My college favorite, Notre Dame (father alumnist) got their arses kicked by LSU in the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday, and my beloved Bears have the week off after their arse kicking recieved courtesy of arch rival Green Bay in the final game of the regular season on New Years eve.
Then of coarse, this is the first weekend of the NFL playoffs featuring the wild card teams in both the AFC & NFC, with Indianapolis winning yesterday over Kansas City along with Seattle beating the Cowboys in a goofy type finish to a game. Tommorow's games will feature the Jets & Patriots at noon CST and the late game pitting the NY Giants against the Philadelphia Eagles, 3:30 cst.
Then of coarse, this is the first weekend of the NFL playoffs featuring the wild card teams in both the AFC & NFC, with Indianapolis winning yesterday over Kansas City along with Seattle beating the Cowboys in a goofy type finish to a game. Tommorow's games will feature the Jets & Patriots at noon CST and the late game pitting the NY Giants against the Philadelphia Eagles, 3:30 cst.
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The latter half of this American football season has had an unusual amount of tragedy linked to some players in both the NFL and college ranks. A few weeks ago our own Tank Johnson of the Chicago Bears was involved in two incidents, one which his home was raided and a friend sof his was charged with illegal posession of controlled substances and Johnson charged with felony firearms posession.
As if that wasn't enough for one day Johnson and his buddy proceeded to spend the evening out partying, which led them to a local Chicago Tavern known as the Ice Bar, where a fight ensued leading to the shooting death of Johnson's bodyguard/friend, William Posey. (yes the same one).
(blogged here) .
Johnson was then put on the inactive list and at the request of the players was not booted from the squad, at least for now, but will remain inactive throughout the remainder of whatever is left of the season, even if that means the Super Bowl..
Secondly and equally tragic, another NFL player, Denver cornerback Darrent Williams was involved in a shooting incident, however this time the player was the recipient of the believed to be random gunshots and died as a result. This incident occurred on New Years Eve hours after the Denver loss and this time in front of a nightclub while Williams was actually inside a limousine waiting to enter the club. The killer is still being sought in this case.
And just yesterday, Saturday, the placekicker for the USC trojans, Mario Danelo, son of NFL kicker Joe Danelo was found dead at the bottom of a California ravine believed to be a "jumper cliff" according to some police accounts, although Danelo was jusy a participant in the great season USC had and Rose Bowl victory on New Years day, so it would appear that suicide would not have been a motive.
Many are speculating that this incident was perhaps a climbing accident, although official word is scant as this story was just hitting the news wires before I decided to put together this post upon reading about this tragedy.
As if that wasn't enough for one day Johnson and his buddy proceeded to spend the evening out partying, which led them to a local Chicago Tavern known as the Ice Bar, where a fight ensued leading to the shooting death of Johnson's bodyguard/friend, William Posey. (yes the same one).
(blogged here) .
Johnson was then put on the inactive list and at the request of the players was not booted from the squad, at least for now, but will remain inactive throughout the remainder of whatever is left of the season, even if that means the Super Bowl..
Secondly and equally tragic, another NFL player, Denver cornerback Darrent Williams was involved in a shooting incident, however this time the player was the recipient of the believed to be random gunshots and died as a result. This incident occurred on New Years Eve hours after the Denver loss and this time in front of a nightclub while Williams was actually inside a limousine waiting to enter the club. The killer is still being sought in this case.
And just yesterday, Saturday, the placekicker for the USC trojans, Mario Danelo, son of NFL kicker Joe Danelo was found dead at the bottom of a California ravine believed to be a "jumper cliff" according to some police accounts, although Danelo was jusy a participant in the great season USC had and Rose Bowl victory on New Years day, so it would appear that suicide would not have been a motive.
Many are speculating that this incident was perhaps a climbing accident, although official word is scant as this story was just hitting the news wires before I decided to put together this post upon reading about this tragedy.
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Many times these football players, pro or college ranks, tend to think they are indestructible and in human terms many of them are about as close as one could be. My younger brother was a college player at Cornell University and a pro player in the now defunct NFLI Parma Panthers, and through him I was able to meet the aquaintance of many other college players during his short football career in the mid 80's before turning to investment banking.
And, as a suburban Chicagoan I had the unique once in a lifetime pleasure of living literally down the street as a teenager with my parents of coarse from the one and only Late & Great Walter Payton in Arlington Heights Illinois early in his career, and made his aquaintance as a result of the lucky logistics. In addition and later on in my twenties, my best friend at the time was the manager of his at the time nightclub called Thirty Four's in the Woodfield Hyatt Regency hotel.
Yet even later I was also the next door neighbor in a townhome complex in Wheeling Illinois of James "Big Cat" Williams, a star in the 90's for the Bears and IronHead Heyward, also a 90's standout who also inceidentally tragically died after a 7 year battle with cancer of a brain tumor.
Let me say that from my meeting these football type guys, they sure are abnormal human athletic specimens and can certainly take a beating more than most humans can endure, but bullets have no human or animal enemy they cannot beat and these players' lust for the constant limelight leads them into many more potentially bad situations than regular folks like myself and most others ever encounter.
Hopefully 2007 will be a less tragic year for not only football players but everybody we know.
Filed Under Miscellaneous, Sports, Chicago Bears,
And, as a suburban Chicagoan I had the unique once in a lifetime pleasure of living literally down the street as a teenager with my parents of coarse from the one and only Late & Great Walter Payton in Arlington Heights Illinois early in his career, and made his aquaintance as a result of the lucky logistics. In addition and later on in my twenties, my best friend at the time was the manager of his at the time nightclub called Thirty Four's in the Woodfield Hyatt Regency hotel.
Yet even later I was also the next door neighbor in a townhome complex in Wheeling Illinois of James "Big Cat" Williams, a star in the 90's for the Bears and IronHead Heyward, also a 90's standout who also inceidentally tragically died after a 7 year battle with cancer of a brain tumor.
Let me say that from my meeting these football type guys, they sure are abnormal human athletic specimens and can certainly take a beating more than most humans can endure, but bullets have no human or animal enemy they cannot beat and these players' lust for the constant limelight leads them into many more potentially bad situations than regular folks like myself and most others ever encounter.
Hopefully 2007 will be a less tragic year for not only football players but everybody we know.
Filed Under Miscellaneous, Sports, Chicago Bears,
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