December 26, 2004 – 9:40 pm
Good news and bad news in the NFL today.
The good news (unless you are Dan Marino): Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes in a come from behind overtime victory against San Diego, to break Dan Marino’s record of 48 touchdown passes in a single season.
Peyton Manning wanted the win more than the record. He got both. Manning rallied his Indianapolis Colts from a 15-point deficit in the final quarter, throwing his record-breaking 49th touchdown of the season to help tie the game in the last minute of regulation, and then led the winning drive in overtime as the Colts defeated San Diego 34-31 Sunday.
And the bad news: Reggie White, former University of Tennessee and NFL defensive lineman, died today at age 43.
A two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and ordained minister who was known as the “Minister of Defense,” White played a total of 15 years with Philadelphia, Green Bay and Carolina. He retired after the 2000 season as the NFL’s all-time leader in sacks with 198. The mark has since been passed by Bruce Smith.
“Reggie White was a gentle warrior who will be remembered as one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history,” NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said. “Equally as impressive as his achievements on the field was the positive impact he made off the field and the way he served as a positive influence on so many young people.”
A member of the NFL’s 75th anniversary team, White was elected to the Pro Bowl a record 13 straight times from 1986-98. He was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1987 and 1998.
“A 43-year-old is not supposed to die in his sleep,” Johnson said. “It was not only unexpected, but it was also a complete surprise. Reggie wasn’t a sick man … he was vibrant. He had lots and lots of energy, lots of passion.”
December 9, 2004 – 9:32 am
One of the big stories in the National Football League this year is Peyton Manning’s assault on Dan Marino’s single season record of 44 touchdown passes. Marino isn’t excited about the prospect of his record being surpassed this year.
The quarterback who threw 48 touchdown passes for the Dolphins in 1984 watches the Indianapolis Colts quarterback now and has accepted that one of his most cherished records likely will fall.
And Marino is not exactly loving the idea.
“I wouldn’t be human if I told you that I want to see someone else beat it,” Marino said of the record. “If anybody is going to do it, you’d like to see a guy like Peyton because of what he’s done and the type of person that he is.”
With 44 touchdown passes in the books already, and just four games to go, Manning needs only four more to tie the mark. He’s been averaging almost that many per game this season, so it is extremely likely that the record will fall. As somebody who grew up in South Florida watching Marino throw a bunch of touchdown passes for the Dolphins, and a fan who watched Peyton Manning during his career at Tennessee, I must admit to mixed feelings about Manning’s assault on the record book. I am sorry that Marino’s name will not be at the top of the list, but he is assured a spot in the Hall of Fame, and from my perspective, if the record is going to fall who better than Manning to own it.
November 23, 2004 – 11:03 am
Yesterday, I mentioned the fight that broke out at an NBA game over the weekend. Jim Geraghty has some related thoughts.
And, then there was the ruckus Saturday at the Clemson/South Carolina game. Clemson’s coach, Tommy Bowden, while not using it as an outright excuse, does seem to suggest the brawl the night before contributed to the incident Saturday.
The incident would have been embarrassing enough for both schools and for college football, but it happened to come fewer than 24 hours after the astonishing Pacers-Pistons incident in Detroit, turning the Gamecocks and Tigers into a national poster for sportsmanship gone awry. Network newscasts aired the two incidents back-to-back Saturday night, and Clemson coach Tommy Bowden, while not exactly using it as an excuse, mentioned the NBA fight directly. “For 24 hours, they’ve watched that basketball fiasco on TV. That’s all they’ve watched,” he said. “On every major news [broadcast] that thing was covered, and they sat there and watched it and watched it and watched it.”
At least the schools have seen fit to levy more than token suspensions. Both schools have announced that they will decline bowl invitations as a result. This may not seem like much, but I think it sends a very clear signal to the players that this kind of behavior—whatever the circumstances—is completely unacceptable. Both teams have lost the right to play in what amounts to a reward game for a winning season. Both schools (and/or conferences) will miss out on extra revenue that would have been generated by a bowl game. And the players will not be able to practice in December, a month long extra stretch of extra practice time, which is an increasingly important component in successful college football programs.
November 22, 2004 – 4:44 pm
This is why I stopped being a fan of the NBA a long time ago.
And there are no good guys in this situation. The fans acted irresponsibly, as did the players. The NBA has cultivated a cult of thuggishness, which the fans have started to emulate. This is a bad, bad thing. If I wanted to see a fight at a professional sporting event, then I’d go to a hockey game. At least there, I’d be protected by a plexiglass barrier.
October 29, 2004 – 9:51 am
It seems winning a World Series isn’t everything after all.
I think the same thing happened to Tennessee fans after 1998. First, with beating Florida and getting off the short end of the series, the rivalry hasn’t been as rowdy since then. Mostly, I think, due to the competitiveness of the games lately. Also, winning the National Championship removed the perennial underdog status, for a little while at least, although in recent years, as the program has slipped a bit, the underdog status has somewhat returned.
October 21, 2004 – 1:32 am
Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox, who defeated the Evil Empire New York Yankees, 10-3, to advance to the World Series. The win completed a historic turn-around, as Boston won four straight games to overcome a three game deficit in the ALCS.
