I recently blogged about the anniversary of the death of Sean Taylor, and now I feel the need to blog about the tragedy occurring within the Kansas City Chiefs organization. Jovan Belcher, a linebacker for the team, shot his girlfriend multiple times, reportedly in front of her mother, before driving to the Chief's practice facility and taking his own life in front of many teammates and workers. A 3-month-old daughter was left behind, and the players and staff who witnessed Belcher's suicide are obviously distressed. The event is tragic, and difficult for some people to recover from, and it is saddening to think of the family, friends, and the daughter in particular.

The reason I wanted to blog about this is because it does make me sad, but also it makes me realize more and more how much sports stars are no different than other people making a living. They make a lot of money, sure, but so do a lot of people with other careers. They may even be under more stress as athletes than someone working in industry or medicine is. Just because they are wealthy and famous does not mean they are devoid of problems. They are not perfect, and nobody is. They have issues, and an incidence like this shows how little money affects happiness. Football players are somewhat underpaid compared to athletes in other sports, but they are well off without a doubt. This doesn't stop them from being stressed and having problems in everyday life, some of which lead to tragedies like this. RIP

The ACC is simply falling to pieces. There is no emotion, or other wording that could be used to emphasize that point. That's all there is to it. Oh, wait...you're a basketball fan? In that case, it's great! The addition of Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, and maybe UConn? It will quite easily be the best, or one of the best basketball conferences in the nation year in and year out. These teams are often playing for national titles, and are amongst the country's elite college basketball teams every year. So yeah, it's going to make for some amazing basketball, and as a fan of college basketball, I have to love that! It should be very competitive, very interesting and will put the ACC ahead of all other conferences in the sport.

Oh, you're a football fan, too? Then I guess I have to give you some insight about the bad side. It's already a weak football conference, with FSU and Clemson being pretty much the only schools with some national recognition. The SEC takes a big dump on the ACC in football, with many more talented and nationally recognized teams. The SEC is just a better football conference in every way, and is clearly the best in the land. The ACC used to compete with the SEC somewhat, and produced several ranked teams each year. But the coming years will likely bring nothing but embarrassment to the conference as far as football goes, because FSU and Clemson will continue to be the only intimidating football teams, and will continue to fall short of expectations and concede national title after national title to the SEC (slightly pessimistic, and I hope I'm wrong, but it looks that way to me). Oh well, yay for hoops!

Sometimes it hurts to remember, but sometimes that's all you can do. Today marks the anniversary of the death of Sean Taylor, former safety of the Washington Redskins. The reason I wanted to blog about this is that it makes me realize how much sports stars somehow become important people in my life, even when I do not know the athlete personally. For example, if I were to hear a news report about a factory worker in Washington who was murdered during a robbery, I would feel sympathetic for s moment and be disgusted by the actions of the armed robbers, but I would quickly forget the incident. The story of Sean Taylor, however, struck a chord with me emotionally when the story first broke. Did I know him? No. He was a talented star coming out of the University of Miami, drafted 5th overall and was a freak athlete. I hate Miami, and I'm not a fan of the Redskins. I had no interest in the player, just as I would have no interest in a factory worker from Washington.

Why this murder seemed to impact me emotionally is something of a mystery. His house was broken into twice, and the second time, unfortunately, he and his family were home. He was shot in the leg, as I assume the thief meant only to injure, but the bullet it an artery and he died the next day. He had family members hiding under a bed nearby who witnessed the occurrence. I shouldn't feel any more upset about this than I would for any other murder, but the story on ESPN got my attention and made me feel pretty sad. Sports stars just seem, for whatever reason, like they are more important. I knew the name, and I knew his story. He was an innocent man killed for no reason, and it cut a talented safety's life short. I can't explain exactly why the life of a football player seems more important to me than the life of a middle-class worker, as it's not like I could choose between them if I wanted to. The story merely interested me more than the countless stories of murders you read or here about worldwide. I don't know why, that's just how it is. May be it's because he was young and successful, but even then the families of the lost would still feel equal pain and sorrow. Whatever the reason, RIP Sean Taylor and RIP all of the deceased.

I can say with some certainty that I will not be the only student writing about this weekend's UF football game. I have to say, as devastating as a loss as it should have been to me, and as disappointed as i would normally be after such a game, I didn't feel all that bad. Maybe it's because I saw the writing on the wall pretty early. I mean they jumped out to a 13 point lead early, and although we fought back and took a lead, we never seemed in control, and turnovers were a huge issue much as they have been all season, and this led to our downfall. Perhaps I wasn't that upset because I couldn't remember the majority of the game, but that's a different story.

It was definitely sad to watch the Gators come out on top, but they have a good team this year, and I have to respect that as a fan of college football. I still firmly believe that our team is much more talented position by position, and that on paper we should have been the favorite. But we were out-coached, and outplayed, and overall just did not perform at a high enough level to overcome the tough defense that UF brings to every game. Their offense is weak, but 5 turnovers made it somewhat of a breeze for them to put 37 points on the board. All in all, I left the game feeling like we were just beat, whether by ourselves or by the other team. I tipped my cap to them, and got over it pretty quickly. The most difficult part of the game to swallow was probably the injury to Tank Carradine, one of my favorite players and one of the key players on our defense. We should still roll over Georgia Tech and go to the Orange Bowl, but it certainly doesn't help to be missing him. 

This Thanksgiving moment is not so much a touching story or memory, but is rather just something I have noticed this past Thanksgiving. I have been a visitor is a family member's home several times for Thanksgiving in the past, but this year, Thanksgiving was held at my house with some close family. It was weird for me to come home for the first time in three months, much longer than I'd ever been away, and have to feel like a visitor in my own home. Perhaps I can't even call it my home anymore, and the small twin-sized bed that I now sleep on and the mini bathroom that I share with 3 other guys are what designate my home now. I was only home for a short time, and after leaving, I realized that I felt like I had been on a small vacation rather than a return home, and that FSU was my true home for the coming years.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the time in my house, seeing old friends and getting to see my family again and all. And although I do enjoy the freedom and independence that comes with college, there really is no place like home, at least when it comes to being comfortable. I would take my nice, large bed and comfortable living accommodations in little old Rockledge, Florida over the dormitory here at FSU any day of the week. I missed it a lot, but again, I felt like i had moved on successfully. I no longer felt like it was where I was meant to be. I was officially accepting that my life was changing.

Phil is doing an adbuster on steroid use in baseball, with Mark Mcguire as his target for jeering. He will argue that steroid use in baseball is changing the game for the worse, and that it should be eradicated if possible. What I could argue is that steroids and human growth hormones actually make the game more exciting. People like to see power, and that's just what they get from these super-sized hitters. People like to see bigger and stronger athletes, because it gives them more of a reason to be in awe of them, and praise them as demi-gods. It simply makes the game more entertaining to watch, and it draws more fans and thus more money. Therefore, you could argue that the commissioner of baseball, as well as the fans, should not mind this change. Of course the game will change over time, but that is inevitable for every sport. Look at football and the ways it has changed since it was instilled as a major American sport. Sports change, so people who yearn for the past need to shut up and go watch some black and white video. The game of baseball has actually changed very little, and the complaints of fans are geared mostly towards the athletes. Steroids and other drugs do not make you more talented, and do not help you catch up to a 90+ mph fastball. They simply help you recover from injury faster, and help you put on muscle more easily, and therefore people expect more power numbers. Also, it is somewhat of a personal choice, and the athletes should be allowed to make their own decisions as responsible adults. The fans should not concern themselves with the choices of athletes, but rather should focus on maintaining the integrity of the sport itself. People call it "cheating", but if everyone in the game is doing it, are they really gaining any advantage? They are all on an equal playing field, and anyone who has played baseball before knows how little strength actually plays in the game. Players with talent, like Hank Aaron, can hit home runs with regularity even though they are skinny. Hank was not the biggest or strongest player, but held the record for a considerable amount of time. Good bat speed comes from fast-twitch muscle fibers, and squaring the ball up causes it to jump off of the bat, especially when it comes in approaching 90 mph or more. Strength actually plays a small role in hitting, as good hitters come from all different sizes and strengths. People need to just watch the game and enjoy it, rather than worry about what the players do to improve themselves, and simply respect the talent they display almost 162 times a year, or more if they make the playoffs. Hell, who can blame them for doing drugs to improve recovery when they have to step out on the diamond nearly every day?

I could use a political reference in my adbuster if I choose to compare the way politicians act in our government and the way players act, or are perceived to act, as role models. For example, in my adbuster, Kobe Bryant will be somewhat villainized, even though the accusations were never definitively proven, and the act was likely only a mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, whether it is true or not, we know that the situation was blown up by media because of Bryant's status in the sports world. He is examined under a microscope and ridiculed, just as powerful politicians are today. They have an important job to do, but they are human, as we all are. Therefore, it seems wrong to criticize such people on everything they do rather than to only concern ourselves with the aspects of their lives relating to their job. You could also talk about how mistakes can be used against you, just as political mistakes are used against a representative or party.