President Obama Praises Eagles For Taking Chance On Vick

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Associated Press

HONOLULU -- The White House says President Barack Obama has commended the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles for giving quarterback Michael Vick a second chance after his release from prison. CONTINUE....

Black Quarterbacks Are Almost Ho-Hum

By: Deron Snyder

Here's a good measuring stick for progress in the National Football League: The league not only welcomes African-American quarterbacks who are good to great but even makes room for the merely average, the truly suspect and one major reclamation project.

Donovan McNabb, who guided the Philadelphia Eagles to five NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl, now leads the Washington Redskins. Charlie Batch, a longtime backup who started just four games in the previous six seasons, threw three touchdown passes to help the Pittsburgh Steelers remain unbeaten. Jason Campbell, who was named the Oakland Raiders' starter after four mediocre seasons in Washington, lost the job at halftime in Week 2.

And then there's the notorious Michael Vick, who in 2001 became the first black quarterback taken No. 1 in the NFL draft. Now, after serving 21 months in jail for operating a dogfighting ring, he's the talk of the league in his second season with Philadelphia, where he's taken over as the starter and has led the Eagles to consecutive victories.

CONTINUE....

Henry's Effort to Forge New Future Cut Short

By: Mike Cranston, AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chris Henry was no stranger to trouble.

Indeed, his multiple arrests during a five-year NFL career were among the factors prompting the league to toughen its personal conduct policy.

But to hear his teammates tell it — even the team's owner — the Cincinnati Bengals receiver was determined to leave behind his troubled past and move ahead toward a bright future.

Tragically, his efforts were cut short when he died from injuries in what police said was a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

 Henry's Effort to Forge New Future Cut Short....

Redskins, Want to Win? Change Your Name

By: Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com

I’m not one who is drawn to superstition. Broken mirrors, black cats, potions and hexes and such don’t get much of a rise out of me.



But, I do believe the universe has its own way of imposing misfortune on us when we refuse to do what we are told, over and over again, is the right thing.

Redskins, Want to Win? Change Your Name....

Limbaugh Dropped From Group Seeking to Buy Rams

Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been dropped from a group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams. Limbaugh was to be a limited partner in a group headed by St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts. 

Cop Placed on Leave for Run-in With NFL Player

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle says he's embarrassed and disappointed by a police officer who kept an NFL player in a hospital parking lot while the player's mother-in-law died inside the building.

NFL going to step up its monitoring of players for gang signs

NEW YORK — The NFL is stepping up its monitoring of on-field player activities to ensure that no one is flashing the hand signals of street gangs.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the league had hired experts to look at game tapes and identify players or team officials who might be using suspected gang signals. Violators would be warned and disciplined if the episodes recurred. League officials said Tuesday that avoiding gang-related activities has long been stressed.

They said the scrutiny was intensified after the shooting death of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007 after Williams was involved in a dispute with known gang members. Anti-gang information is included in orientation literature and stressed in the annual mandatory league meeting for rookies.

NFL going to step up its monitoring of players for gang signs....

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.11.07

Colorado shooter intended to kill many more.

A gunman who stormed a missionary training center and a church in Colorado Sunday apparently intended to shoot many more victims before he was gunned down himself. Twenty-four year old Matthew Murray killed four people, two at the training center and two at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. At the church, Murray carried an assault rifle, two handguns and as many as a thousand rounds of ammunition. The gunman was fatally shot by a church security guard.

Former NFL superstar Michael Vick is behind bars, serving time for financing a dogfighting ring and helping to kill pit bulls that didn't fight well. Yesterday, he was sentenced to 23 months in prison in federal court in Richmond, Virginia. Federal sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of 12 to 18 months. In court yesterday, Vick said he's willing to deal with the consequences and accept responsibility for his actions.

Meanwhile, former media mogul Conrad Black is serving time for his role in defrauding shareholders and skimming cash from his Hollinger International newspaper conglomerate. A federal judge sentenced Black yesterday to six and a half years in prison. He was also ordered to pay back 6 million dollars. Black has vowed to appeal his conviction and has ten days to begin the process.

Two car bombings in Algeria have left at least 45 dead. The attacks happened earlier today, hitting a residential area and the U.N. offices in Algiers. There's been no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident and no initial report on the number of people injured. Scores of people have already been killed in Algeria this year. Many of the bombings have been attributed to Al-Qaida militants.

SEAN TAYLOR STILL LEADS PRO BOWL VOTING

According to numbers released this week by the NFL, slain Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor led NFC Pro Bowl voting at his position with 187,064 fan votes, despite his death last week.

Taylor, who was shot and killed by an intruder at his Florida home, had five interceptions this year and ranked among the league leaders for most of the season.

The 24-year-old Florida native was voted as a first alternate last season. He ended up playing in the game -- his only Pro Bowl appearance -- after Philadelphia's Brian Dawkins withdrew due to personal reasons.

The deadline for this year's voting is Dec. 11. Fan favorites will count for one-third of the total vote to determine who plays in the Pro Bowl in Honolulu on Feb. 10. Coaches and players count for the other two-thirds.

The Pro Bowl teams will be announced Dec. 18.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS PLAYER SEAN TAYLOR DIES

Associated Press

MIAMI -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday, a day after he was shot at home by what police say was an intruder. He was 24.


Family friend Richard Sharpstein said Taylor's father told him the news around 5:30 a.m.



"His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me," said Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "It's a tremendously sad and unnecessary event. He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans."


He said Taylor died early Tuesday at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he had been airlifted after the shooting early Monday.


Doctors had been encouraged late Monday when Taylor squeezed a nurse's hand, according to Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president of football operations. But Sharpstein said he was told Taylor never regained consciousness after being transported to the hospital and that he wasn't sure how he had squeezed the nurse's hand.


"Maybe he was trying to say goodbye or something," Sharpstein said.


Taylor was shot early Monday in the upper leg, damaging an artery and causing significant blood loss.


"According to a preliminary investigation, it appears that the victim was shot inside the home by an intruder," Miami-Dade County police said in a statement.


But police were still investigating the attack, which came just eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor's home. Officers were dispatched about 1:45 a.m. Monday after Taylor's girlfriend called 911.


Sharpstein said Taylor's girlfriend told him the couple was awakened by loud noises, and Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection. Someone then broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor, Sharpstein said. Taylor's 1-year-old daughter, Jackie, was also in the house, but neither she nor Taylor's girlfriend were injured.


Police found signs of forced entry, but have not determined if they were caused Monday, or the previous burglary.


The shooting happened in the pale yellow house he bought two years ago in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay. Eight days before the attack someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed at Taylor's home, according to police.


"They're really sifting through that incident and today's incident," Miami-Dade Detective Mario Rachid said, "to see if there's any correlation."


Born April 1, 1983, Taylor starred as a running back and defensive back at Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami. His father, Pedro Taylor, is police chief of Florida City.


A private man with a small inner circle, Taylor rarely granted interviews. But, behind the scenes, Taylor was described as personable and smart -- an emerging locker room leader.


Especially since the birth of his daughter.


"From the first day I met him, from then to now, it's just like night and day," Redskins receiver James Thrash said. "He's really got his head on his shoulders and has been doing really well as far as just being a man. It's been awesome to see that growth."


An All-American at the University of Miami, Taylor was drafted by the Redskins as the fifth overall selection in 2004. Coach Joe Gibbs called it "one of the most researched things" he'd ever done, but the problems soon began. Taylor fired his agent, then skipped part of the NFL's mandatory rookie symposium, drawing a $25,000 fine. Driving home late from a party during the season, he was pulled over and charged with drunken driving. The case was dismissed in court, but by then it had become a months-long distraction for the team.


Taylor also was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions over his first three seasons, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006.


Meanwhile, Taylor endured a yearlong legal battle after he was accused in 2005 of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over allegedly stolen all-terrain vehicles near Taylor's home. He eventually pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months' probation.


Taylor said the end of the assault case was like "a gray cloud" being lifted. It was also around the time that Jackie was born, and teammates noticed a change.


"It's hard to expect a man to grow up overnight," said Redskins teammate and close friend Clinton Portis, who also played with Taylor at the University of Miami. "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."


On the field, Taylor's play was often erratic. Assistant coach Gregg Williams frequently called Taylor the best athlete he'd ever coached, but nearly every big play was mitigated by a blown assignment. Taylor led the NFL in missed tackles in 2006 yet made the Pro Bowl because of his reputation as one of the hardest hitters in the league.


This year, however, Taylor was allowed to play a true free safety position, using his speed and power to chase down passes and crush would-be receivers. His five interceptions tie for the league lead in the NFC, even though he missed the last two games because of a sprained knee.


"I just take this job very seriously," Taylor said in a rare group interview during training camp. "It's almost like, you play a kid's game for a king's ransom. And if you don't take it serious enough, eventually one day you're going to say, 'Oh, I could have done this, I could have done that.'


"So I just say, 'I'm healthy right now, I'm going into my fourth year, and why not do the best that I can?' And that's whatever it is, whether it's eating right or training myself right, whether it's studying harder, whatever I can do to better myself."


His hard work was well-noted.


"He loved football. He felt like that's what he was made to do," Gibbs said. "And I think what I've noticed over the last year and a half ... is he matured. I think his baby had a huge impact on him. There was a real growing up in his life."

FALCONS WANT MICHAEL VICK'S BONUS MONEY BACK

Suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick stands to lose $22 million in bonus money from the Atlanta Falcons, who sent reps to Philadelphia Thursday to plead their case before an arbitrator.

The Falcons, represented by team president and general manager Rich McKay and three more team officials, argued that Vick knew he was in violation of the contract when he signed the $130 million deal in December of 2004, and that he used proceeds from the deal to fund his dogfighting operation, reports the Associated Press.

New York-based attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who represented Vick and the NFL Players Association, countered that the collective bargaining extension agreed to last year prevents forfeiture of bonus money even if the player contract says otherwise, union spokesman Carl Francis said.

A decision on the matter is expected sometime before Oct. 12, according to Stephen B. Burbank, the University of Pennsylvania law professor and special master who led the arbitration hearing.

Vick has pleaded guilty to helping to kill six to eight dogs and bankrolling the dogfighting operation that was based in Virginia and extended into other states.

Vick also faces new state felony charges in Virginia on two counts — beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and engaging in or promoting dogfighting. An attorney for the suspended player appeared in Surry County Circuit Court Wednesday and was asked to return Nov. 27 to set a trial date.

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