Silver Spoon

As an amateur sports writer and a full time product coordinator, I spend a lot of time reading sports online. I am not biased to one page and keep my horizons broad but I will admit that there are two particular writers that I favor. One being Bill "The Sports Guy" Simons and Michael Silver. I have read far more Michael Silver lately due to ESPN being blocked at my job. Even though Silver refuses to ever answer one of my emails in one of his 3 weekly columns (I've been in the mailbag for TSG 3 times) I continue to wait every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for his three columns a week discussing the NFL. In today's 32 Questions, Silver discussed the Family that has from at "The U." I am a self proclaimed hater of "The U" but admit as a former college football player (at the DIII Level) no bond is formed other than that of one gained in college through sports. I give SJFC football all the credit in the world to my enjoying college all the more. When a kid leaves HS for College it's like entering a new world. Specially if the college you choose is one with few HS buddies tagging along. In this atmosphere it can be very difficult to adjust and make new friends in a matter of weeks and develop a close relationship that you developed over the previous decade of your life with the kids you grew up with. Playing a sport in college was the best decision I ever made. The bond I formed with the guys that I played 2 short seasons with helped me through 3 and 1/2 years of college (1/2 spent on hiatus at a local school). For that reason the article today hit home. This is not just evident on a college level but through high school and other sports as well. With the exception of the professional level in the salary cap era teams are families. Jim Kelly said on the local radio the other day how close the Bills during his years were, along with his team at Miami. When teammates are together a lot they gel quicker. Today with the possibility of leaving after 2 years teammats often find it difficult to form bonds and for that reason I feel amateur sports teams are the closest things to family some of these athletes have. That is why at Sean Taylor's funeral hundreds of "The U" alums (even those who never played with Taylor) flew hundreds of miles to attend. Because he was a part of their family, the Hurricane Family.

Angels in the Beltway
Speaking of the last article, did any three individuals have bigger games channeling Sean Taylor than Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Willis Magahee. I HATE Willis Magahee with a passion for the way he treated Buffalo and it's fans that were loyal to him. Not only did the Bills give him a shot in the NFL after his horrific knee injury in his last college game but we pushed out the best thing for Buffalo's population in recent years by trading Travis Henry. I'm no genious, but I'm almost positive Ray Lewis could motivate the Miami Dolphins to at least 2 wins this season. Watching the huddle between him and Reed and Magahee was intense. It made me want to go out there and hit somebody for Sean Taylor. No wonder Magahee had his best outing as a pro on Monday. It was even so good that I found myself cheering for Him. I feel that what those three players did on Monday was exactly what was needed to be done in memory of Sean Taylor.

Classless Again
Last time I touched on the celebrating of Junior Seau after routine plays and how much it upsets me. Well I have a new beef with another vet on the Pats. This time it's with a player who has shown a lack of class his entire career and seemed to put a stamp on it monday night. I'm talking about you Rodney Harrison. What you did by getting in Brian Billick's face was totally disgusting. You are a professional athlete. I understand today players are very close in age with their coaches and make a lot more money than them. However, this gives them no right to show disrespect for a person in the position of someone that you owe your life too. I will bet that 100% of NFL players would not be where they are today without the effect of the coaches they had in their lives in whatever sports they played. I gaurantee every player will agree with this. Kids everywhere look up to pro athletes and it is embarassing how poor of a role model these people can be on national television. I can't wait until some kid in HS gets suspended for yelling in another coaches face at the game and ruins his senior year of HS or gets him kicked off the little loop team, embarassing his parents. Way to be a role model Rodney. Let's talk about your career. You're known as a cheap shot artist, even in practice with your own teammates. You've been busted for steroids as early as this season. You show blatant disrespect for your coaches in the past and other coaches as shown on Monday. I'm just glad any kids I have will be raised after your career is long over and you are long forgotten.
Kudos to Brian Billick for handling the situation and blowing the roid rager a kiss.

Lucky number 13?
Well whatever you argue, you can't argue the fact that the Patriots are indeed lucky. I know they say they practice for situations like that and Blah Blah Blah. But you really can't say you practice to get stuffed on 4th down and catch breaks. You mean to tell me every day they line up and get stuffed in practice only to have the scout team call a timeout. Or a gaurd to jump offsides. Does Bellicheck have ESP or something. I refuse to listen to their smug comments. Admit that you got lucky and that you are grateful for it. Stop ruining the game New England and at least show that you are having fun.

(to the chorus of Outkast)
Dear Fred Jackson,
You are for Real!!!!
-DG1 (who called him as the Bills should be starter the week Marshawn got hurt)