Sports Sense

The Drive now belongs to the Tennessee Titans’ Vince Young.

With the clock running out on Sunday, Vince Young drove his Titans down the field 99 yards in 18 plays, overcoming three 4th downs, and won the game against the Arizona Cardinals. Final score, Tennessee 20, Arizona 17.

The play that ended it was a touchdown pass in the end zone as time expired. It does not get any more dramatic than that.

The drive is a defining moment for Vince Young who less than a year ago was considered by some at best immature and quite possibly unstable. A run-first quarterback who glowed briefly but quickly flamed out. While yesterday’s remarkable game winning march down the field is a statement for Young it is also a parable about patience and redemption.

Tennessee which began the season 0 – 6, has now won five games in a row, and is not ruling out the playoffs anymore. And off the bench after reflecting on his mistakes and learning the finer points of team leadership, Vince Young has won all five of those games.

And now he is starting to look like the player he was in college, when he led Texas to a national championship with what may be the greatest performance in college football history.

Like that game nearly four years ago, or yesterday’s final drive, most of us watch football hoping that we will see a Vince Young dazzle us at his best.

There is nothing like seeing a player give his all and do it in an unforgettable way.

That is what Vince Young is capable of. But unrealized potential is why he has disappointed so many of us until now.

Perhaps the lesson we can learn from Vince Young’s saga, is that sometimes we must be willing to wait awhile for those who still need to mature and grow. Some of them deserve our patience and understanding, which if given can be generously rewarded.

I’m sure the Titans and their fans are glad now that they didn’t give up on Vince Young.

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Tiger Woods says he alone is to blame for the Friday morning accident outside of his home. Tiger’s comments came Sunday afternoon via a statement released on his website.

http://web.tigerwoods.com/news/article/200911297726222/news/

While he took the blame, he didn’t provide details. No mention of another woman, and nothing in his statement about an argument with his wife.

“This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn’t happen again.

The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.”

Tiger’s vague statement will certainly not end the speculation. But it is probably the best he can do. Sometimes saying ” my fault ” is all you can say because saying anything more will only make it worse.

In this case it looks like the full story might be very damaging.

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Let me start by saying that I am thrilled that Tiger Woods is healthy and was not seriously hurt in that accident outside of his home the other night. I selfishly want to see him continue to lay waste to his peers, because I am a huge Tiger Woods fan.

But that said, there are still some things I’ve heard and read about this accident that seem to defy common sense, and because of that, the old reporter in me is overriding the fan.

Making it worse is the fact that we have heard nothing from Tiger. This story is begging for a response from the world’s greatest golfer.

As I write this, it has been more than 48 hours since the accident happened and there are still significant unanswered questions about what now appears to be a bizarre domestic incident. But Tiger Woods has said nothing to anyone, not even the police to adequately clear this up.

For me the smoking gun is the report that the air bags in Tiger’s Escalade didn’t deploy, which unless there was a major malfunction, means the vehicle was not traveling very fast at all when it hit the fire hydrant and a tree. And you have to wonder how do you hit a fire hydrant in the first place – unless you are greatly distracted or enraged?

Further you question how Tiger actually got his busted mouth and was knocked unconscious from what is being called a minor accident.

The other suspect detail is that Tiger was trapped in the SUV and his wife Elin, in the house, heard the noise from the accident and upon seeing Tiger trapped had to use golf clubs to break out the car’s rear window to get Tiger out.

The timing for this could not be worse. It happens just as the tabloids are screaming that Tiger is having an affair. And the generally reliable TMZ is reporting that Tiger and his wife Elin, were arguing about that alleged affair just before the accident.

It is certainly possible that an angry wife dealing with rumors of an affair could do a lot of damage with a golf club. I’m not saying that’s what happened but most of us would understand if it did.

Obviously, I am speculating. But what else am I left to do? I’m human and celebrities, even the ones I like, are fair game to wonder about. We all do that.

I want to be wrong about all of my doubts, but what we know about this accident is coming from everyone but Tiger Woods and his wife.
And that is never good.

With millions of dollars in endorsements on the line, a reputation to protect, and a legacy to leave, Tiger Woods has a lot to lose by mishandling this incident.

Indeed silence is not always golden.

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I just got a startling reminder about how much our sports heroes can mean to us.

For a few painful minutes on Friday I didn’t know whether the world’s greatest golfer would live or die. I know I was not alone in my worry and concern.

Based on the amount of Twitter traffic alone, thousands, perhaps millions of people around the world wanted to know the same thing. Was Tiger going to be alright?

The first grim news reports simply indicated that Tiger Woods had been in an auto accident and was in serious condition at an Orlando area hospital.

For awhile there was no other information.

It’s been my experience that when the news reports are sketchy about the health of a public figure, it is generally not good news. I was even more certain that the accident portended nothing good for Tiger when I learned that it happened 12 hours earlier.

I wondered why we were just now finding out. I concluded again that It couldn’t be good.

So for about 30 minutes I thought the worst. I would never again see Tiger Woods play golf. I would be robbed of the chance to witness him break golf’s most important records – he was oh so close to owning all of them. And now I thought, it was all over.

Tiger changed everything about golf. But more importantly he changed the viewing habits of his legions of fans. That devotion helped Tiger earn record-setting millions for himself and his fellow golf pros.

But as I sadly pondered a Tiger-less future, almost out of nowhere came the best news of all: Tiger Woods had been treated and released from the hospital. He was in good condition according to reports with only minor facial lacerations stemming from the accident which occurred just outside his home.

While police say they will conduct an investigation into how the accident happened, one of the first things we learned early on is that apparently no alcohol was involved. For me this was at least one good sign.

But do I wonder how Tiger could crash his SUV into a fire hydrant, then hit a tree in the middle of the night only yards from his home? Of course I do. Reports from TMZ late Friday suggest that Tiger may have had an argument with his wife just before the accident.

But right now I’m just happy that he’s alive and well and able to swing a golf club again.

Grieving over the possible loss of one of the greatest ever sports legends put in clear focus just how much Tiger Woods’ success means to me. Tiger’s victories are my victories too! I am a fanatic after all – fan for short.

Tiger Woods is on the verge of making golf history, and I, like so many of his fans, am on this ride with him. I want to look back on this time – Tiger’s prime – with admiration and appreciation when I am an old man.

Obviously, Tiger’s close call demonstrated widespread and genuine concern about his health and well being, but the accident also put on display just how much he means to his fans as well.

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Remember this – the Tennessee Titans have now won four games in a row. The winning streak was extended Monday night with an impressive victory in the Titans’ original hometown of Houston.

The streak started just over a month ago after a humiliating loss to the New England Patriots, 59 – 0.

At that point the Titans were winless on the season. Six straight losses. Nowhere to go, but up. At least that’s what they always say when it looks like there is no hope.

But apparently hope springs eternal for 86 year-old Titans owner Bud Adams, who called for Vince Young to return to the starting line-up after the Patriots loss.

Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher apparently agreed with the owner and benched veteran quarterback Kerry Collins. For tarnished star Vince Young it was now or never.

But clearly it is Now, as the return of Vince Young is propelling a once floundering team.

Monday night’s 20 -17 win over the Houston Texans is actually making it possible for Tennessee fans to think about the playoffs…

Well okay, if not this year, most certainly it looks like there are big games ahead for the Titans in the near future, if they keep playing like this.

The resurgence of the Titans of course coincides with the return of Vince Young, who is looking more and more like the guy who was simply unstoppable at the University of Texas, the guy who won the national championship over USC. Against the Texans, Young passed efficiently and ran effectively when called on and when he had to. At times Houston’s defense didn’t seem to know how to defend against him.

Vince Young’s return to relevance seemed unlikely a year ago when there was good reason to think that he had just about lost his mind. After the opening game of last season Young seemed to come apart emotionally when he was injured and benched in favor of Kerry Collins.

There were rumors of a suicide attempt after that game. Although Young has strongly denied trying to take his own life, his reputation was badly harmed. Making matters worse, the Titans went on to have the league’s best record last season with a troubled Young on the sidelines and many wondering if he was finished as a player. But that was then.

Of course the new Vince Young is helped greatly by the spectacular running of blazingly fast tailback, Chris Johnson, who has been timed at 4.24 in the 40 yard dash. Johnson is leading the NFL in rushing and looks like he might make a run at a two thousand yard season.

With Johnson, Young and an improving defense, Tennessee is keeping faint hope alive for the faithful in Nashville.

And right now it looks like whether they actually make the playoffs or not, Vince Young and his re-energized teammates will make it hard to forget these Titans.

.

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The last couple of weeks I have been watching number 7 from Stanford run the football. He can really play. I’ve got to tell you I’m surprised he’s this good. I just assumed …

Anyway, the kid’s name is Toby Gerhart. Not usually the kind of name we hear being called a potential star NFL running back.

As of his last game – a loss to Cal, Gerhart had rushed for 1531 yards and 23 touchdowns. He scored four touchdowns against Cal.

Toby Gerhart is busting stereotypes. He is big and fast and can run you over. Plus as a bonus – he can make you miss. The last part – can make you miss – is why running back is the blackest position in football. But the very white Gerhart might just be the next great white runner.

It has been a long time since a white guy was taken seriously – by anybody – running the ball.

John Riggins comes to mind. He retired 25 years ago. These days most of the time the white guy gets to play fullback with a big white collar around his neck. He’s the stubby blocker who never gets to run with the ball. This is apparently how it should be according to football’s decision makers. Well at least that’s what their actions seem to be saying.

And most of us tend to agree with their stereotypes.

There is not a league in sports that stereotypes more than the NFL. White guys get to play the “smart” positions – quarterback, center, head coach.

Black guys get the speedy, athletic positions – running back, cornerback, wide receiver.

Position by position the numbers don’t lie. And it seems most of us are just fine with these statistical stereotypes.

But Toby Gerhart might actually defy our assumptions. He is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. And he might actually get to run the ball next year in the NFL.

If he does get to play and run as a pro, I will cheer him on. Because for every successful Toby Gerhart, there will hopefully be another minority coach or quarterback.

Stereotypes have held us all back for too long.

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The other day NBA superstar LeBron James said that starting next year he would no longer wear number 23. Further he says all NBA players should relinquish wearing number 23 – out of respect to the greatest number 23, Michael Jordan. Actually I have no problem with that.

But young Mr. James, don’t go around saying that you will likely wear number 6 instead. That, young Mr. James is an insult to history, and an insult to a man who I think can never get enough credit for what he accomplished in the NBA.

LeBron James and too many other history addled people seem to forget that the NBA’s all-time greatest winner and perhaps greatest player wore number 6 – his name is Bill Russell.

So if LeBron wants to honor Michael Jordan and number 23 he damned sure ought to respect number 6 and the great Bill Russell too by picking another number to wear! Bill Russell will always be the greatest number 6.

I do understand the need to recognize Michael Jordan, but there should be no recognition like that for Jordan unless Bill Russell’s number 6 is also permanently retired. At his best Jordan was beauty in motion. And a winner. But even with six titles to his credit Jordan can never be the winner that the original number 6 – Bill Russell was. Russell won 11 NBA titles. Many people also forget that Russell made history as the first modern-era African-American head coach in a major sport in 1966.

More importantly, as a player-coach, Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to two NBA titles.

Perhaps LeBron is just too young to realize that in recognizing Jordan he “forgot” about Bill Russell.

I haven’t forgotten.

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Sammy Sosa, the man who until now has only had to fight steroid rumors, has a completely new look.

And I am startled by what I see. I’m not feeling Sammy Sosa as Michael Jackson’s little brother.

Sammy’s new skin tone is shocking and creepy. And I’m being nice. It’s a lot easier to deal with white people tanning themselves brown than to see a black man bleach himself white.

I feel like there is something really wrong with this. I am a dark-skinned black man. Proudly so, Today. I would like to say I have never wondered what it would be like to be lighter. But that would be a lie. I have lived the contradictions that many of us African-Americans deal with about skin color but often chose not to think about. Still its hard to forget the indignities.

Like –

Getting a whipping because I called my cousin “black”.

Being teased because of my dark skin – by several other black boys in junior high. Most of what I remember about seventh grade is that I hated how dark I was. I had never realized that dark was considered “bad” until that year.

This is a complicated subject for many black people. We have long been hung up on skin color. We used to call it “color-struck”. These days we try to say it is not a problem – until some black man, like Sammy Sosa or Michael Jackson decides to lighten his skin. But the fact is, lightening one’s skin color is something black people used to do all the time. The skin-bleaching companies made a lot of money from Negroes years ago.

Despite everything, particularly the self-hatred, we have learned to just adapt. Somehow, I guess, I got over the fact that Michael Jackson became a white guy who had white kids. I now kind of think of him as two guys. The young black kid and the old white weirdo.

But his dying so suddenly has sort of allowed me to forgive him for all of his weirdness. Because light or dark his talent was phenomenal.

Which brings me back to Sammy Sosa, who now looks virtually unrecognizable in his newly-lightened skin.

For his part Sammy is saying that a rejuvenation process has changed his skin color. I’ll just be watching to see if he gets dark again.

For now this feels a lot worse to me than wondering whether Sammy did steroids.

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