Tragic tale of wasted youth

What a waste

Sean Taylor died this morning.

Who was Sean Taylor, you ask? He was an extremely-talented, hard-hitting free safety for the Washington Redskins. He made the Pro Bowl last season. He became a father for the first time this past year.

Now, a life so full of promise has been extinguished. Taylor was only 24.

He was shot in the upper leg during what appears to be a botched robbery attempt at his south Florida home. The femoral artery was severed and Taylor lost a lot of blood, although he appeared to be improving yesterday evening. But he never regained consciousness.

Taylor had been in and out of legal trouble and was fined several times by the NFL since his time at the University of Miami, but seemed to be maturing following the birth of his daughter, Jackie.

So much talent unfulfilled. A 1-year-old daughter left behind. Just 24 short years into his life. Another tragic tale of wasted youth.

Makes you stop to think. What am I doing with my life? Am I ready if it's my time to go?

Torii, KG and Moss (Coming to grips with their loss)

OK. It's been ages since I last posted here. Extenuating circumstances (moving back into my house, re-prioritizing my life, etc…) aside, it's been way too long. So let's just jump right in while the water's wet.

Reality bites, but maybe I'm coming to grips with it

In the past three or so years:

1. Randy Moss was traded (for next to nothing) to the Oakland Raiders.
   
2. Kevin Garnett was traded (for a pu-pu platter) to the Boston Celtics.
   
3. Torii Hunter signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
   

Having spent 30 of my nearly 31 years in Minnesota, rooting for Minnesota teams, this has been heartbreaking to watch. We're talking about the three favorite athletes of my adult existence. Moss (30) – who was born two months after and 30 miles up the road from me in West Virginia – and Garnett (30) were fellow Class of '95ers, while Hunter (32) broke into the league shortly after I finished high school.

I feel a close connection with them, not only because they came into their own around the same time I did, but also because they are such dynamic athletes/personalities. They were easily the three most popular Minnesota athletes of the past decade. Garnett was the most popular Timberwolf of all time. Ergo, he WAS the Timberwolves. It's nearly impossible to think of them without thinking of KG. Moss filled the Metrodome to capacity every game he played there, and despite his controversial personality, was adored by Vikings' fans everywhere. And Hunter was the most personable of them all, a perfect successor to the much-beloved, late Kirby Puckett.

And now they are all gone. Poof!

Sigh. (Give me a moment.)

Here is what I have come to grips with.

That no matter how much I hate to see them go and how much I still love 'em, it is for the best. Maybe not for me as a fan, but it is for them.

Moss languished two years in Oakland before moving on to become one of the two most integral parts of the Patriots, the greatest NFL team I've ever seen and maybe the best ever, in their quest for perfection. Moss is having his best season ever (and that's saying something) on an 11-0 team.

Garnett fell into the perfect storm in Boston with two other stars in their prime, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, who are almost as hungry as he is to win an NBA title. Garnett has his best supporting cast ever and his best chance to reach (and win) the NBA Finals on the 11-1 Celtics.

Hunter was offered twice the money and the security of two more years to play baseball in sunny Anaheim on a contending team in a large market where his infectious smile and joy for the game will be embraced. He will also play on knee-saving grass instead of taking half the money to play in the unforgiving Metrodome on a team with an owner unwilling to pay to upgrade the talent in order to become a contender, despite the fact that a brand-new, taxpayer-bought ballpark opens in 2010.

Moss is happy. Garnett is happy. Hunter is happy.

I'm happy. Both for them and with them.

The reality is. I'm a Minnesotan. And no matter how many times I'm stabbed in the back by them, no matter if the owner is a penny-pincher (Twins), if the front office is incompetent (Timberwolves) or if I despise the head coach (Vikings), no matter what happens, they are still MY teams. If there is anything for which Minnesota pro sports fans are known for, it is for being fickle. Bandwagon jumpers. There's something to be said for loyalty, sticking with someone through the thick and the thin. That's something I've learned, especially in the past year, in my personal life. And truth be told, I bleed Minnesota, and I always will, no matter where I end up.

That being said, I'm now a huge fan of the Patriots. And the Celtics. (Who woulda thunk?) And I'm gonna love the Angels.

It's not about divided loyalties. It's about stayed loyalties in your teams and the athletes that have meant so much to you.

So Godspeed Randy, Kevin and Torii. The reality might suck, but I've come to grips with losing you.

More on Torii

There have been a lot of fans who have lashed out at the Twins (rightfully so) for not making much of an effort to resign Hunter. There have also been a lot of fans who have lashed out at Torii (wrongfully so, for taking the money and running), lamenting the lack of loyalty by players in today's era of free agency.

Puh-lease. Look at it this way. In your job, where overall morale is slipping, you are making $50,000/year and your boss keeps letting go of competent and excellent coworkers whom you've worked with for years and replacing them with wet-behind-the-ears college students. Another CEO out there swoops in and offers you $80,000/year plus job security for an upwardly-mobile group. Sure, you'll have to uproot your family and move across the country, but I'm pretty sure you'd do it, wouldn't you.

I'm going to miss Torii's ever-present smile, his passion for the game, his headlong dives into walls and onto hard-as-rock carpets and his wicked, no-holds-barred swing.

He's going to be impossible to replace.

More on KG

Five games into his Celtics' career, Garnett had already moved past all the great all-time Celtics and into a tie for first place with Larry Bird as his favorite Boston player ever for one lifetime Celtics' fan.

The passion, the intensity, the will to win, the drive to make everyone around him better are written in indelible ink in Garnett's game. His new team is feeding off of that.

Da Kid, I mean, Da Man, deserves a championship.

More on The Freak

Last week, one of my favorite columnists, Foxsports.com's Jason Whitlock eloquently stated his case (http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7472596) for Moss to be the NFL's MVP this season. As if I wasn't predisposed to think that already, it convinced me even more after reading it.

Even after Moss was limited to five catches for 43 yards in Sunday night's near-loss to the Eagles – it should have been six for 47 and a TD; that push-off call was a joke – I still agree. Philadelphia had to pay so much attention to Moss that it opened up the field for Wes Welker and company to do the heavy lifting in the win.

Brady's been unbelievable and will no doubt win the MVP this season. But it is the addition of Moss that has made the 2007 Patriots unstoppable and the stuff of legends.

Random thoughts

Anyone else notice that Matt Niskanen has been playing the second-most minutes per night for the Dallas Stars for the past couple of weeks? He's also become a huge part of the power play and penalty kill units. Sunday, he spent much of the game against the Rangers going head-to-head against Jaromir Jagr. Looks like the 20-year-old is here to stay. And by here, I mean the NHL. Atta boy, Niski.

At the beginning of the season, I predicted West Virginia would beat Ohio State in the national (college football) championship game. After the Mountaineers lost early and the Buckeyes late this season, I thought it wasn't meant to be. But here we are with a week to go and it very well could happen. No. 2 West Virginia will be in for sure if it beats Pittsburgh in the 100^th annual Backyard Brawl, and No. 3 Ohio State will slip in the backdoor if Oklahoma dispatches No. 1 Missouri in the Big 12 title game Saturday. Just goes to show you in this topsy-turvy season, even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes.

How about them Vikings? After embarrassing Eli Manning and the Giants 41-17 Sunday, the 5-6 Vikes can take control of the race for the final NFC wild card spot with a win over 6-5 Detroit at the Metrodome next Sunday. And with Adrian Peterson coming back, the odds are in their favor. The rest of the schedule is filled with chumps, and I don't think even Chilly (Vikings' coach Brad Childress) can screw this up. Then again, what do I know? I sat the three-TD-scoring Purple defense for the first time this season in one of my fantasy leagues. Doh!

The winter sports season is under way locally. Looking forward to frequenting our local gyms and arenas and covering some games again. It's been a long time coming. Like this blog post.

Until next time…

 

Oh, the memories go Pop

Up in smoke

Sad day after the bad fire last night on the 100 block of Chestnut St. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the blaze, set by some idiot who was upset with his girlfriend. And thankfully, he got caught. My heart goes out to the many who were displaced from their homes and their jobs by the fire that wrecked almost half a city block. I feel bad for Jeff Peterson or Popper as most people know him as. He's the best, most generous bar owner in town and has been a very good friend to me since I started hanging out there as a punk kid. (Some of you might still think I'm a punk kid, but that's an argument for another day.)

It hit home hard for me. Popper's Bar, which suffered severe smoke and water damage, was my home away from home, a place I could go and (almost) always feel welcome. For the past 10 years, I have hung out there and made many friends, played and help run the annual fantasy football league and even worked there for a spell prior to my accident earlier this year.

It was at Popper's that I met my beautiful wife Candice for the second time. We had dated briefly back when she was 18 and I was 20 and (my bad) went in different directions. (She carried rocks around in her car to throw at me after that and always said if she saw me, running me down would be so worth the dent.) It was almost eight years ago that I bumped into her again. I remember I was a little embarrassed because I was looking kind of scrubby, wearing some baggy orange cargo pants and a white t-shirt. She was wearing a cute little red jacket and carrying balloons, signifying a 21^st birthday celebration. Naturally, I thought it was her birthday and went up and said hi and congrats to which she retorted, "It's not my birthday." Nevertheless, within a couple of months, we were an item and two-and-a-half years later, we were married (the happiest day of my life). We celebrated for a while that day at Popper's where Jeff brought us up a complimentary bottle of champagne. I also threw Candice a surprise 26^th birthday party at Popper's. You should have seen her face when she walked in the door and saw banners and 50-some people waiting for her. She almost fell over. She had no clue. She said it was her best birthday ever.

Those are just a few of the special memories that I have of the place. Others include the myriad nights throwing league darts, just chilling with some of the coolest bartenders around over the years and the blurry night of my 30^th birthday party. I met some of my closest friends there – Super Dave, Michelle, Billy, Garret, Jen, Bone, and of course Popper, amongst others – and had some of the best conversations ever there.

I'm sure it'll reopen in time, better than ever, but it just won't be the same. But my memories there will last a lifetime.

Basketball Miller

My little brother Mike, fresh off an outstanding senior season playing soccer at Calvary College in Kansas City, MO, decided to join the basketball team this year. While he's never had my outside touch, the kid is a whirling dervish of a scoring machine in the paint. The depleted Warriors might have a rough season, but I'm sure he'll enjoy the ride. I only wish I could join him. And a quick note, it was great to see my brothers Tim (up from Minneapolis) and Jon (up from the state of Wyoming) last weekend. Although, I had to give both of them bowling lessons, which for them had to be pretty scary. I miss my three little brothers, but not nearly as much as I miss my wife.

Until next time…

The “Wow” factor

Wow wow wow wow wow.

That was the text message I received from my friend Billy at 2:59 p.m. Sunday about 10 seconds after AD (for those now in the know, that's Adrian "All Day" Peterson) broke off that gorgeous 46-yard run done the right sideline for his third touchdown of the game at the Metrodome.

I guess that about sums it up. Wow!

The Vikings rookie running back was so good against the San Diego Chargers Sunday, I'm prefacing what was maybe the biggest regular season game in NFL history with him. That alone says a bunch that he is going above Moss and the Patriots.

AD has been simply spectacular. I'm still having trouble with my jaw as much as it dropped Sunday. Two-hundred-ninety-six yards? Are you kidding me? THE NFL single-game record in his eighth game in the league? Are you flippin' kidding me? Nine-point-nine yards per carry against the Bolts and 6.6 per for the season? Are you freakin' kidding me?

AD has 1,036 yards at the midway point of the season. That projects to 2,072 yards over a full season. The record was set by Eric Dickerson (the back to whom he is most often compared) in 1984 with 2,105 yards. Now remember, AD is splitting time with Chester Taylor and was just named the Vikings starter THIS WEEK. Remember, there were two games this season in which he carried the ball just 12 times. For starters, Dickerson's rookie record of 1,800-some odd yards is toast. And if Bad (or Bald) Brad keeps his head out of someplace the rest of the season and feeds Adrian the ball 25-30 times a game (AD carried 30 times yesterday), that season record's gonna go, too.

His veteran teammate Darren Sharper said yesterday that forget 300 yards, AD could one day bust loose for 500 yards in a game. And he was being serious.

That's what kind of talent this kid has. Is drafting him going to let me forgive the Vikings for trading away Randy Moss for two cents on the dollar? NO. (Can you imagine both of them – the two biggest playmakers in the league – on this team together? I have goosebumps just thinking about it.)

I just hope he can stay healthy, because he is going to be an NFL legend before he's done. (And Jason Whitlock is going to have to add him to his list soon…more on that below.)

Super Bowl XL ½

The Patriots were down 20-10 with eight minutes to play against the defending Super Bowl champion Colts yesterday in that rightfully over-hyped battle of unbeatens.

Did they panic? No. Who did they turn to? I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.

Of course it was Randy Moss. Six straight plays Tom Brady went to the receiver with the big one being a 55-yard momentum-reversing bomb that set up a short TD pass to Wes Welker. That wasn't his best catch though. That was the one-hander he made a quarter earlier, snatching the ball out of the sky with ridiculous ease. I'll bet Moss has three times as many career one-handed catches as the next closest guy in NFL history. (C'mon Elias. You need to start tracking that!) Moss drew double teams on the game-winning drive, opening up a long pass to Donta Stallworth and the go-ahead TD toss to Kevin Faulk. And his presence also opened up Welker for the game-sealing first down catch in the final minutes. Moss finished with 145 yards on nine catches and was a big reason the Patriots stayed unbeaten on a day in which they set a franchise record in penalty yardage (some pretty sketchy calls in there, I might add) and a game in which Brady looked merely mortal, doubling his interception total for the season.

Foxsports.com columnist Jason Whitlock wrote last weekend that Moss is the most powerful force in the NFL since Jim Brown. Powerful words, but I concur. Here's his explanation:

Let me elaborate on my point about Randy Moss being the most powerful football force since Jim Brown.

In the last 50 years of football, there have been five players whose physical gifts have stood head and shoulders above their peers to the point that their mere presence changed the game. It's kind of like being the Wilt Chamberlain or Shaquille O'Neal of football.

OK, Jim Brown is at the top of the list. The cliche "man among boys" was invented to describe Jim Brown on an athletic field. Also on the list are Reggie White, Deion Sanders and John Elway. You can now add Randy Moss to the list. All he needs is a championship to cement his place in the game.

Brown couldn't be tackled, White couldn't be blocked, Sanders couldn't be escaped, Elway couldn't be stopped and Moss can't be covered.

Lawrence Taylor, Jerry Rice and Walter Payton are not on this list. They weren't as physically imposing as Brown, White, Sanders, Elway and Moss. Taylor, Rice and Payton dominated with their passion and will to succeed.

Brown, White, Sanders, Elway and Moss were/are just better than everyone else.

Pretty good list to be on. AD has a good chance to be on it soon. And don't worry Jason. Moss will get his Super Bowl ring this year. That's right. Keep your champagne corked you 1972 Dolphins. 19-0 is coming. There's going to be another perfect team come February. Just maybe, the best team ever.

Best year ever

If yesterday was maybe the most enjoyable day I've ever had watching NFL football, then this season has to be close to the most enjoyable I've ever experienced as well. Between AD making the Vikings somewhat relevant in spite of their coaching and Moss and Brady and the Patriots courting perfection, it's been the most fun I've had watching the NFL since Moss was a rookie in 1997.

Great storylines all over. Colts-Patriots. Manning-Brady. The AD Show. The Moss Reincarnation. Even Brett Favre.

OK. I'll never be a Packer Backer. That's heresy. But you can't but feel kind of good about what Favre is doing this year as a 38-year-old. He has the Pack relevant again at 7-1 despite the lack of a running game. He won last Monday's game against the Broncos with a bomb in overtime and beat the Chiefs Sunday with another bomb in the closing minutes. He broke the all-time TD record. Goodness, I'd take him in purple-and-gold any day. Can you imagine how much room AD would have to run if Brett Fav-rah was with the Vikings? Peterson might run for 3,000 yards on the season.

And then there is the Lions, the other team of my youth, at 6-2. Remember Barry Sanders? Herman Moore? Moore was the No. 84 before Moss, my favorite football player ever until Moss –and the best interview I've ever had in my career. I don't hear anybody laughing now about Jon Kitna's prediction that the franchise formerly known as the Kitties would win 10 games this season. Looks pretty likely.

And the other good thing about the NFL this year? My fantasy teams. For the first time ever, I can honestly say "I dun good" at my drafts. Of my five teams, three are in first place – two of them running away with leagues – one is in the upper echelon and the third after scoring a league-record 117 points in Week 2 has since gone in the tank. But all-in-all, it's been a great year. I'll just shut up now, because everybody hates the guy who talks about his fantasy teams, and I definitely don't want to jinx them. It's just that normally I'm an idiot and draft with my heart every year, but with a broken one…

Random thoughts

Congrats to my good friends Super Dave and Michelle who are expecting a little one in three months or so. I should just point out that while Dave claims he was a standout football player growing up in Ohio, he does model underwear, so if it's a boy… Just kidding Dave. Much love.

Oh, and that lucky little leprechaun, I mean Irishman, J.J., got to watch Niski's first career goal live, just because he's based in Texas now. Miss ya, man. I'm still pissed at ya, but you did a great thing when you enlisted in the Army Airborne Rangers. Much love to you and my friends Tracy, Nick, Skee and so many others that have served and protected this great country in the armed forces.

And I'm proud of my little brother Michael for a great senior soccer season at college, even though his team came up one game shy of making the national tournament. Cherish the memories, Mike.

Until next time…