Sean Taylor: So close to glory

Of all the hundreds of NFL players Sean Taylor was the one who is despised the most. I couldn't get over the fact that he got off with only some community service and a few thousand dollar fines after he and his 'buddies' put fifteen bullets into a car of a man they had an altercation with. He was a menace; a rude, crude and somewhat socially unacceptable thug. Looking at him I could not see more than just another tough nosed punk from 'The U.'

I could never come to understand why Redskin fans adored him so much. Take away his big hit threat there wasn't too much more I could see in him. I believed that the best thing that he offered the Redskins was trade potential, I didn't have faith that he would ever become more than a bonecrushing hitter. That was until this year-all of my negativity towards Sean Taylor began to change.

He was a pro-bowl caliber defender surely on his way up to super stardom. Taylor was on his way to join the likes of Darren Sharper, Brian Dawkins, Roy Williams, and Troy Polamulu as one of the leagues premier safeties. His five interceptions (would've been eight if he held on to all the balls Brett Favre threw to him) were tied for tops in the NFC, and that's even after missing two games with a knee injury.

He was more than just a safety, he was a defensive leader and the cornerstone of the Redskins defense for years to come. As many high profile wide recievers have called him "the one player I most fear taking a hit from."

Larry Coker, Taylor's coach at Miami described Taylor as a man who was made to play football. That he wasn't necessarily a safety, he could play running back, linebacker, really any position on the field.

Looking back I now see exactly why Joe Gibbs and Daniel Snyder made him their first overall pick together in 2004.Taylor's work ethic, enthusiasm, extraordinary athletic ability was something special; a rarity in today's world of 'me-first' athletes. There is more to the man then seen by the naked eye, described as "humble" Taylor rarely let people into his inner circle of friends. He wasn't a cocky individual, he was a bashful boy who was meant to play the game, and play the game he did.

Selected 5th overall in the 2004 draft Taylor enjoyed four spectacular seasons. In four short trouble filled years he managed 306 tackels, 248 of them solo. He had 12 interceptions- five this year, 2 sacks and eight forced fumbles. To think he was still developing as both a player and a man.

Many of those close to him talked about how he was maturing as a man. He was a proud father of an 18 month year old girl, he was constant face seen at team church gatherings, and working for several charity organizations.

"It's hard to expect a man to grow up overnight," Portis said. "But ever since he had his child, it was like a new Sean, and everybody around here knew it. He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child."

At this time there are is no suspect of suspects in Taylor's death. It might have been a former 'friend,' it could have been a startled burglar, whoever it was took from us a very special young man. One filled not only with potential to become an elite NFL defender but a man who could've shown us that people change. Instead Taylor's troubled past came back to haunt him.

"It is with deep regret that a young man had to come to his end so soon," father Pedro Taylor said in a statement on behalf of the family. "Many of his fans loved him because the way he played football. Many of his opponents feared him the way he approached the game. Others misunderstood him, many appreciated him and his family loved him."

Taylor's No. 21 will be painted in a grass parking area leading into Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va. In addition, No. 21 will also be painted in front of the Redskins Hall of Fame store.

Fans already began a makeshift memorial by laying flowers on a field near the front entrance to the practice facility. Several people paid respects at Taylor's parking space.

Pedro told the team, "Do as Sean would want, win the rest of your games and make the playoffs."
The Redskins are still scheduled to play the Buffalo Bills this Sunday at FedEx field at 1:00.

Spider-Man 3 DVD Review

Calling all superhero fanatics! Get out there and grab your copy of Spider-Man 3 on DVD today.

Spider-Man 3, based on the legendary Marvel Comic book series, is the third, and presumably final action packed movie in the comic book trilogy.

Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man 1 and 2) has upped the ante in nearly every aspect of his latest superhero chartbuster.
The intense new film includes plenty of new twists, intense fight sequences, the next-generation of unbelievable computer-generated special effects, and several implausible villains.

If that’s not enough to satisfy you, a new romantic interest, a love triangle, impeccable comic relief, and a couple of musical performances (including a dancing and singing Spider-Man) added in should make any movie viewer content.

Peter Parker has finally managed to strike a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero.

We find Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) and Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) right where we last left them, ecstatically in love-but afraid to make the big commitment.

The citizens of New York have finally come to appreciate the heroic deeds of Spider-Man.

MJ has finally landed her big role on Broadway, as Parker manages dual jobs as both a superhero and a bottom of the pack reporter for the Daily Bugle.

The seemingly perfect love story comes to an abrupt end when Parker finds out that his uncle’s murderer, Fint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), has escaped from prison.

With vengeance on his mind Parker makes Marko his new archenemy.

Marko becomes the indestructible villain Sandman after he’s exposed to a demollecularization sand pit during a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong.

To add injury to insult, Parker’s best friend turned adversary Harry Osborn (James Franco) seeks revenge for his father’s death by trying several times to savagely end Spider-Man’s life.

Parker bonds with an unusual black symbiote that unleashes a darker side of him and threatens to destroy everything he holds dear.

Parker isolates himself from everything he holds dear as revenge viciously takes over him.

Spider-Man must deal not only with villains and love but also with himself.

Once again the fate of New York City falls on the shoulders of Spidey to save the day.

A Very good superhero movie well deserving of a 3 out of 4 star rating, and well worth the time of geeks and nerds alike.
Spider-Man 3 is rated PG-13 for intense action sequences. The movie runs for 140 minutes and includes a 2-Disc DVD filled with extras: Audio commentary, outtakes, a music video, a half-dozen featurettes and more.

So You Think You Know Sports: Top 10 GOW

"Always go with your first instinct," it's been a lesson that has been taught to me since the days of finger painting, yet I still can't do it. I finished last week with a miserable 4-6 overall record BUT (and it's a big but now) if I had gone with my first instinct I would've been 8-2. So thank you letters to the Chargers, Eagles, Terps, and Georgia Bulldogs will be sent for making me feel idiotic. Enough ranting, here they are the top 10 picks of week 3.

Current Standings 11-9

1. Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys- I've picked the Redskins once this year and that was a poor decision. Tony Romo to TO is becoming an all too often occurence, the Cowboys win this 'rivalry' in a big D fashion.

2. New Orleans Saints @ Houston Texans- I don't know why but I keep on believing that the Saints of last year will come back to action soon. After a disgusting loss to the Rams look for the Saints to win in a must win situation.

3. San Diego Chargers @ Jacksonville Jaguars- The Chargers played possibly their best defensive game in the history of the franchise yet only won because of a rare Vinateri slip up. Jacksonville is the real deal look for the Jaguars to take another big leap forward.

4. Towson @ JMU- Mickey Matthews believes with a win against Towson the Dukes will make the playoffs and so do I. First home game since Homecoming will lift the Dukes' spirits and if 2 time CAA Rookie of the week Griff Yancey stays on his tear the Dukes will be riding a 2 game win streak into the playoffs.

5. #7 Ohio State @ #21 Michigan- 'The Rivalry' will once again belong to Ohio State. Lloyd Carr's career with Michigan could end on a sour note after he falls 1-7 to Jim Tressell all time.

6. #6 WVU @ #22 Cincinnati- WVU is not out of the BCS championship yet, but the Bearcats are coming off a HUGE win over UConn. However the Mountaineers are too strong, too fast, and too big to be taken down by any type of cat look for a close game but a WVU win.

7. #17 Boston College @ #15 Clemson- BC has lost two in a row, hard to imagine tht two weeks ago they were ranked #2 in the nation. Clemson is running strong on a four game winning sreak and they're at home so all senses point towards Clemson but my instinct tells me to go with BC so I'm doing it. BC gets back on track with a big win at Clemson.

8. JMU @ Dartmouth (Bball)- The battle of the scrubs, JMU won't put up another 100+ game but they will start their season off 2-0.

9. Davidson @ UNC (Bball)- Garden-Webb may have beaten Kentucky but don't count on another upset UNC wins...with ease.

10. Houston Rockets @ San Antonio Spurs- Yao may have won the battle of China but he won't beat Tim Duncan and the Spurs.


Those are my picks of the week. For more in-depth analysis check out So You Think You Know Sports? on WXJM- 88.7 fm Harrisonburg Tuesday Nights from 8-9. You can listen online at www.orgs.jmu.edu/wxjm

So You Think You Know Sports: Top 10 GOW

Well if it wasn't for JMU's offense, Randy Moss, and a lack of Philadelphia everything I'd be undefeated...but a 7-3 performance isn't too shabby so here we go ladies and gents another round of the Top Ten Games of the Week!

1. Indianapolis @ San Diego- Look for the Colts to rebound after that heartbreaking fourth quarter meltdown against the Patriots.

2. Dallas @ NY Giants- Right up there with the Packers, the Giants have beena the hottest team in the NFC. The Giants are going to revenge the early season loss against the Cowboys to sit tied atop with the NFC East.

3. Cleveland @ Pittsburgh- The Steelers are the third best team in the AFC. They're not going to be stopped at home by Cleveland, although if it's any conselation for the Browns they will be winning most improved team of the year.

4. Philadelphia @ Washington- As much as I hate to say it the much improved Clinton Portis run game will be too much for the lackluster Philadelphia defense.

5. Jacksonville @ Tennessee- The Titans are going unnoticed as they make a strong push for the AFC South crown.

6. JMU @ William and Mary- JMU has their backs against the wall, teh turnovers stop here as JMU blows by the featherless tribe.

7. #18 Auburn @ #10 Georgia- Upset special of the week Auburn gets out of Athens with another big win.

8. #4 Kansas @ Oklahoma State- Led by NFL ready corner back Aqib Talib, the Jayhawks come out one more win closer to playing Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship.

9. #8 Boston College @ Maryland- The terps will make it a close game for a half before Matt Ryan and the BC Eagles revenge last weeks upset against Florida State.

10. #15 Florida @ South Carolina- As much as I would like to pick South Carolina it's hard to pick against Tim Tebow and the Gators. Look for the Gators to make a strong push towards another SEC Championship.

Red Bull May Give You Wings, but Energy Drinks May Give You Health Problems

It was another long and exhausting Monday afternoon. I was enjoying my break between classes when out of nowhere I felt a total system collapse about to whack me in the face.

The two hours of sleep I got the night before were not going to sustain me through another mind-numbing biology session. I had to do something and it needed to be fast.

To Market One I ventured, looking desperately for a quick pick-me-up. Glowing in the fridge among a vast variety of beverages was a mysteriously dark can of Rock Star Energy Drink. It was something that I had never tried before, and would soon learn that I would never allow near my mouth again.

The flavor left my taste buds crying, asking me “what have we done to deserve this?”

Having to live with the agony I put my poor little taste buds through, I made myself a promise. From that moment I would do everything in my power to let no innocent student digest an energy drink without knowing the harm they were putting themselves in.

Don’t get me wrong—I am neither a health freak nor a vegetarian and I can’t remember the last time I got my six to eight servings of fruit a day. However, I do understand that there is no way on God’s green earth that these drinks can have any positive benefit on your or my precious little body.

According to the University of New Hampshire’s health services, there are over 500 energy drinks available today on the market. To make matters worse they also report that 31 percent of teenagers (that’s over 7.6 million people) say they drink energy drinks.

What makes these drinks so awful isn’t just their chemically dysfunctional taste but so the dangerous amount of caffeine that they contain.

According to the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois, “Energy drinks often contain amounts of caffeine higher than the maximum amount that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows in cola beverages (45.3 mg/8.4oz.).”

While coffees, teas, sodas and other caffeinated beverages must follow strict FDA guidelines, energy drinks are allowed to run wild.

Essentially, these multi-billion dollar companies have been entrusted to regulate their drinks for the good of their consumer, (I know it really sounds like an oxymoron).

Red Bull, which is the most popular selling energy drink in the United States has 66.7 mg of caffeine in an 8.3 oz bottle, according to the McKinley Health Center.

The same-sized can of Amp energy drink has 69.6 mg of caffeine and a can of Sobe Adrenaline Rush has 76.7 mg of caffeine, according to the McKinley Health Center.

To put these drinks in perspective a 12 oz. can of Coca-Cola only contains 29.5 mg. of caffeine.

Red Bull, Amp, Monster, and the other variety of energy drinks are mere infants compared to the demon-king energy drink called Cocaine.

Cocaine claims to be 350 percent stronger than Red Bull, which has 280 mg. of caffeine in an 8.3 oz. can, according to MSN.

Caffeine abuse is becoming more of a problem with each new day. Nine out of ten Americans are addicted or have signs of addiction towards caffeine according to Mayoclinic.com.

The average age of a hospital victim for caffeine abuse is 21, according to UNH health services.

Extreme caffeine intake can have appalling affects on your body. Side affects and symptoms include headaches, insomnia, dizziness, stomach pains, and in rare cases heart tremors according to MSN.

I leave you with the facts and will let you make the decisions. These drinks are hazardous to our taste buds and our health. Please think twice before the next time you want Red Bull to give you wings.