NFL week twelve: Turkey Day Cliches

[Celtic Guardian 0]

Sean Taylor was shot in his home this morning. This is terrible news for you Redskins defense fantasy owners.

 

EDIT: All right, I take that back. I didn't realize the seriousness of the situation.

 

According to the reports here out of D.C., massive blood loss is the main concern. Nobody here is worried about whether he plays again. This is a true life-threatening situation. All prayers, please.

[NoCalMike 0]

Sean Taylor was shot in his home this morning. This is terrible news for you Redskins defense fantasy owners.

 

EDIT: All right, I take that back. I didn't realize the seriousness of the situation.

 

According to the reports here out of D.C., massive blood loss is the main concern. Nobody here is worried about whether he plays again. This is a true life-threatening situation. All prayers, please.

 

Yeah. Just when I was thinking yesterday that 5-6 was the real shits, something like this happens that puts the game of football into perspective. This is horrible. Thoughts are with the Taylor family right now.

[Ripper 0]

I would like to add that the AP reports of him being shot are pretty classless.

[NoCalMike 0]

I would like to add that the AP reports of him being shot are pretty classless.

 

Are you speaking of the ones that want to bring up incidents from his past, as if that has any relevence to the current state of affairs? Then yes, CLASSLESS.

[Ripper 0]

Yeah. i mean the guy is still fighting for his life. Take shots at his dumbassery when his life isn't in danger or you know the circumstances behind his current state.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

Being shot doesn't mean you're not a dumbass. I'm sure this sort of reporting has been done prior to today, you know.

[NoCalMike 0]

Ok well the latest reports say police are not looking for an intruder.....umm if this is accurate that adds a new twist to the story.....I hope this isn't a case of domestic dispute gone wrong.....

[chuck415 0]

Nevermind

[Mik 0]

Ok well the latest reports say police are not looking for an intruder.....umm if this is accurate that adds a new twist to the story.....I hope this isn't a case of domestic dispute gone wrong.....

 

Well, he was shot in the groin.

[Ripper 0]

Being shot doesn't mean you're not a dumbass. I'm sure this sort of reporting has been done prior to today, you know.

 

And in every instance it is classless.

 

And Sean isn't a dumbass for getting shot. He is a dumbass that got shot. Still, one paragraph about him being in critical condition and 4 about him getting fined for late hits is just pointless.

 

And not to be outdone, ESPN put his address and how much he paid for his house in the story.

 

Its okay to not have a long story if you don't know much.

[NoCalMike 0]

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/umia...taylor-sho.html

 

Sean Taylor shooting (updated)

Another sad day in University of Miami football history. As many of you already know, former Hurricane and current Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot at his Palmetto Bay home early this morning by an intruder at around 2 a.m. and is currently in critical condition at Ryder Trauma Center in Jackson Memorial Hospital.

 

The Herald is working the story hard. Since I have covered Taylor since his playing days at Gulliver Prep in Coral Gables, I've been trying to find out as much information as I can through my high school connections. Here's what I've found out.

 

According to family and friends, Taylor was at home with his girlfriend and their young daughter when he heard a noise in the back of his house. He went to investigate and was supposedly shot in the groin, in an area where a lot of arteries are. The gunshot by the alleged robber has caused him to lose a lot of blood.

 

"From what I've heard from his family and I'm in constant contact with them from the hospital, he was shot in area where it is very difficult to operate," a Gulliver assistant football coach told me. "They think he's going to make it, but there's a fear his career is over. It's such a sad day around here. We're waiting by the phone to hear what's going on."

 

UPDATE (1:15 p.m.): That's what I got at 12:30 this afternoon. This was the latest update from the same assistant. "He's had surgery and he's out of it now. I'm not sure if he's going to have other procedure. But from what I hear he may not be able to play again. They think his career is over. He lost too much blood and apparently it affected his brain some. It just doesn't sound good and its going to be a long road back to recovery."

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

Maybe some people need some background on this player that was shot. Sean Taylor is hardly a household name. Perhaps Sean Taylor shouldn't have been ejected from a game for spitting in a player's face. Not that he had the foresight to realize that he'd be remembered for spitting in a guy's face when news broke that he was shot in the balls, but just because you shouldn't do that. Whatever. Misfortune finds another Miami Hurricane.

[Ripper 0]

Damn. Thats messed up.

[Kinetic 0]

According to Chris Cooley (through various media outlets to PFT to me to you), Taylor is in a coma.

 

Spitting in another player's face is a dickhead thing to do, but come on...it's entirely possible that the guy could die. I'm not an advocate of misty-eyed tributes or anything like that, but a modicum of respect in a life-or-death situation is appropriate.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

I'm just saying that some background needs to be given when you're reporting a story like this, and in his case, there's not a lot of positives to draw from, which is unfortunate.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

But that means you should reserve judgment altogether, rather than extrapolate based on some stupid on-field incident.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

What am I extrapolating from that? I'm reporting the facts.

[Ripper 0]

Yeah, but they know full well that pointing out certain things i the guys past will make the story come across a certain way. The pointed out everything negative they could find about the guy who just got shot. That builds the perception that he was in the wrong, and the ESPN comments section is a good showing of how the story was taken without facts(although, they did call Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry "thugs" for getting robbed in their home...so maybe those idiots are the best examples...)

 

So basically, because they didn't know the facts of the case, they decided the best thing to do was to point out a criminal case he had at one point and how many fines he has had in the NFL all of which had nothing to do with the story at hand. If this story was "Sean Taylor arrested" then okay, bring it up. "Sean Taylor clinging to life" isn't time to bring out the negatives.

 

Once again. Classless.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

I should probably read one of these articles before I make a judgment on their journalism, huh. I'm so full of shit.

[Ripper 0]

I'll post the one that I was talking about:

 

PALMETTO BAY, Fla. (AP) -- Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor was shot in the leg at his home Monday and was bleeding heavily, and police said he was in critical condition. They are investigating a possible robbery.

 

Officers were sent to Taylor's home at about 1:45 a.m. after his girlfriend called 911 and said he was shot in his lower body, Lt. Nancy Perez said. He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital, she said, but did not disclose how many times he was shot.

 

Richard Sharpstein, an attorney who represented Taylor in a criminal case, said the player's father told him his son had been shot in the leg and there was much bleeding because the femoral artery was severed.

 

Investigators were still interviewing the girlfriend and other relatives who were in the home to try to determine what happened, Perez said.

 

"It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery," Perez said. "It has not been confirmed as yet."

 

Taylor has a home in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay that he bought two years ago. The 24-year-old player is in his fourth season with the Redskins after playing at the University of Miami, where he was an All-American in 2003. He leads the team with five interceptions but has missed the last two games because of a knee injury.

 

In Ashburn, Va., Redskins owner Dan Snyder said he was headed to Miami on his private plane, joined by running back Clinton Portis, vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato and trainer Bubba Tyer.

 

"Our hearts and prayers go out to Sean and his family. ... We appreciate very, very much the outcry of support," Snyder said.

 

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."

 

Coach Joe Gibbs was joined by the team chaplain at the Redskins' usual Monday meeting. A small group of players held a separate prayer gathering.

 

The Redskins (5-6) lost 19-13 at Tampa on Sunday. Taylor did not travel with the team to the game because of his injury. Taylor sprained a ligament in his right knee in the second half of the Nov. 11 loss to Philadelphia. He was expected to miss at least two games.

 

Now that is where the story should have ended(and most of this has been added since I first read it. It originally ended after "femoral artery was severed.")

 

This is the rest of it:

 

Known as one of the NFL's hardest hitters, Taylor played in his first Pro Bowl last season, where he drew attention by leveling the other team's punter in what is usually a well-mannered exhibition game. Even though he has missed two games, his five interceptions remained tied for most in the NFC.

 

Taylor has been in trouble numerous times since he was drafted as the No. 5 overall pick in 2004. He has been fined at least seven times during his professional career for late hits and other infractions, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006. He also was fined $25,000 for skipping a mandatory rookie symposium shortly after he was drafted.

 

Redskins coaches and players have defended Taylor, saying he was smart and misunderstood. Taylor has been slow to let anyone in his inner circle. He has rarely spoken to reporters, saying he does not trust them. Teammates said he became more mature over the last year after he became a father for the first time.

 

In 2005, Taylor was accused of brandishing a gun at a man and repeatedly hitting him during a fight that broke out after Taylor and some friends went looking for the people who had allegedly stolen his all-terrain vehicles.

 

Taylor reached a deal with prosecutors last year after they agreed to drop felony charges against him. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in the assault case and was sentenced to 18 months probation. The pleas prompted another fine from the NFL but kept his football career intact.

 

He also was ordered to talk about the importance of education at 10 Miami schools and had to contribute $1,000 for scholarships to each of those schools.

 

The man Taylor allegedly hit, Ryan Hill, sued, seeking at least $15,000 in damages. Hill sustained bruises to his body, incurred medical expenses and lost wages because of the fight, the lawsuit said.

 

That shit is longer than the part about him getting shot and was pretty pointless.

 

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

There probably doesn't need to be as much backstory as there is, but you do need to shed a little bit of light on his NFL career, otherwise he's just a body to casual fans and non-fans. Maybe just the first two paragraphs there would be sufficient.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

Pittsburgh has virtually no yard lines painted on the field. This is awesome. Smashmouth as fuck.

[KingPK 0]

This game is straight out of the 1940s. 0-0 with 3 minutes to go in the 4th.

 

Prediction: Heinz Field will have FieldTurf by the start of the '08 season.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

They fucking better not. Fuck FieldTurf. This is Steelers football, right here. If they tried to put carpet in there, the yinzers would riot.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I know the whole "Heinz Field has had 10 games in the last two months" reasoning behind the field looking that shitty but seriously..Its a relatively brand new stadium for a team with a rich history and the ownership wont pony up the money to at least fix the turf instead of leaving it like that..it makes no sense. If someone catches a cleat in that mess and gets hurt..you know they'll fix it..

 

 

[KingPK 0]

Gillette had the same problem. It's just that fall weather in the Northeast plays hell on natural grass fields. My old high school had to tear theirs up and put turf down. Eventually every stadium in the NFL will have it because it's a good surface to play on.

 

POINTS!!!

[Guest]

No FieldTurf. Ever. That shit is worse than grass.

[Guest Pizza Hut's Game Face]

The Packers have said that they'll never use anything but natural grass, and if there's anyone to believe on this issue, it's the Packers, so it'd take a league mandate for it to be in every stadium. Besides, I find it hard to believe that artificial turf is an upgrade over grass in any sport.

[snuffbox 0]

I'm glad I didnt turn this game on until now.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Gillette had the same problem. It's just that fall weather in the Northeast plays hell on natural grass fields. My old high school had to tear theirs up and put turf down. Eventually every stadium in the NFL will have it because it's a good surface to play on.

 

POINTS!!!

 

I remember the Ravens/Pats game a couple years ago where the field was nothing but mud during a rainstorm. Im fine with using real grass, but if they're going to stick with real grass they better at least comit to replacing the field a couple times during the season. The NFL should make Pittsburgh and other teams maintain their fields to an adequate condition for football as to not risk injuries and sloppy play like tonight..

 

Im convinced the Ravens suck more on the road then they do at home because M&T Bank has that "Sportexe Momentum Turf" with rubber from recycled tires in it which I dont think any other stadium uses... (EDIT: the SuperDome In New Orleans uses it now)