“The Statistic” Claims Another Young Black Life
Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins safety that suffered a gunshot wound from a home intruder, died from his injuries. He was 24 years old — just a year older than me.
Jemele Hill, writing for ESPN’s Page 2, comments on “the statistic” — the leading cause of death for black men ages 15 to 24 is homicide — claiming another young life.
Sean Taylor Left Critically Wounded from Gunshot
Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was left critically wounded after what appears to be an armed robbery at his Miami suburb home where he was recovering from a knee injury. Taylor was described by his former lawyer as having suffered “significant” blood loss because the bullet struck the femoral artery. The 24-year old defensive back was described as “nonresponsive and unconscious.”
Redskins safety Pierson Prioleau fought to keep his composure.
“This is not just a member of the Washington Redskins,” said Prioleau, one of a few players made available to reporters. “But we’re talking about a dad, a brother, a friend of ours, and that’s where we’re at with this right now.”
Pull through, Sean.
Earlier this year, Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was gunned down following a dispute at a New Year’s Eve party in Colorado. Williams’ murder remains unsolved.
Following Williams’ killing, ESPN compiled a list of NFL players that were gunshot victims since 1992. Two of the nine did not survive their injuries.
Monday Night Jihad
Denver Broncos Kicker Jason Elam wrote a book with his pastor entitled, Monday Night Jihad.
“A story that combines all the action of a first-rate spy thriller with the intrigue of professional sports. After a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Riley Covington is living his dream as a professional linebacker when he comes face-to-face with a radical terrorist group on his own home turf. Drawn into the nightmare around him, Riley returns to his former life as a member of a special ops team that crosses oceans in an attempt to stop the source of the escalating attacks.
But time is running out, and it soon becomes apparent that the terrorists are on the verge of achieving their goal: to strike at the very heart of America.”
Something tells me the protagonist kills at least one terrorist by kicking a grenade 65 yards, shattering the NFL’s regular season field goal record set by Jason Elam in 1998. (Tom Dempsey set the mark in 1970.)
(Hat tip: Max Bergmann, Democracy Arsenal)
Emmitt Smith, ESPN NFL Analyst
Move over John Madden, there’s a new NFL commentator willing to make head-scratching statements on national television.
Even before the game or the five-hour on-air run-up to it began on Monday, Emmitt was doling out wisdom on ESPN Radio, including this free advice to the Cowboys: “If you want to stay perfect, you cannot go undefeated with a blemish on your record.”
Then, during the hour-long SportsCenter that spills into Monday Night Countdown, Emmitt addressed whether the Cowboys are on the same level as the Pats and the Colts with this inherently contradictory gobbledygook: “The Dallas Cowboys are not far behind, they are a distant third, they’re close but they’re not quite there yet.”
After the game, Stu Scott asked Emmitt and Steve Young to describe — in two words — what they believed would have happened if they had been told before the game that the Cowboys would commit six turnovers and force only one. Emmitt said, “Cowboys lose big time.”
“I love John Madden because he makes me feel smart.”
Emmitt Smith makes me feel like Albert Einstein.
(Hat tip: Oliver Willis)
Mike Sellers Brings the Boom
Leave Nothing
Michael Mann, one of my favorite film directors, was at the helm behind this NIKE commercial. The background music is “Promontory” by Trevor Jones from The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack.
Enjoy the football games this weekend.
Michael Vick Served with Hand-Written Lawsuit
Taking a break from the daily slog of politics, Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback under indictment for running an illegal dogfighting ring out of his home, was sued by a South Carolina inmate. The Superficial:
NFL quarterback Michael Vick is facing federal charges for allegedly participating in illegal dogfighting, and now he’s being hit with a “$63,000,000,000 billion dollar” lawsuit filed by South Carolina inmate Jonathan Lee Riches, who says Michael stole his pit bulls and sold them on eBay to buy “missiles from Iran.” Fox News reports:
The complaint also alleges that Vick would need those missiles because he pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda in February of this year.“Michael Vick has to stop physically hurting my feelings and dashing my hopes,” Riches writes in the complaint.
Riches wants $63 billion dollars “backed by gold and silver “ delivered to the front gates to the Williamsburg Federal Correctional facility in South Carolina. Riches is an inmate at the facility serving out a wire fraud conviction.
Oh yeah, did I mention the lawsuit was written by hand? Because it’s written by hand. And I’m not a lawyer, but this Jonathan Lee Riches sounds like he’s got a rock solid case. Michael Vick better start saving, because “$63 billion dollars backed by gold and silver “ is kind of a lot of money. I don’t want to brag, but I’m pretty good with numbers.
When Vick was brought in to be processed by authorities, did he have to list any aliases? Was he carrying a water bottle?
Updated 8/17/07 at 12:09pm: Johnathan Lee Riches, the plaintiff in this case, has a history of filing rather humorous lawsuits. In the spring of last year, Riches filed suit against a list of people spanning 50 pages, including President Bush, just about the entire Bush cabinet, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Pope Benedict XIV, Shawn Carter “doing business as Jay Z,” www.AccuWeather.com and a whole host of others.
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Beijing 2008
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