Vince Young Is Normal

I was going to do a run-down but this story deserves a little more attention. So this is it for today. I'll be back tomorrow with others. Sleep is for the weak . . .

"This story" is the one about Vince Young's mental stability. After Young disappeared "abruptly" and "without a cell phone" for a few hours on Monday night, his concerned family contacted his team, the Tennessee Titans, who then contacted the police. The police located Young at a friend's house not long after they began searching for him. It was later discovered that the family's concerns were "unfounded," and the Titans are now trying to sweep the matter under the rug.

Apparently, the cops noted that there was an unloaded handgun in Young's vehicle (I'm guessing it's a truck), but Young's agent said he had known his whereabouts all along.

By way of background, on Sunday, Young was booed by his own fans and ended up coming out of the game (which the Titans won) early - some say he took himself out because of his poor performance - with an injured knee. It looks like he might be out for at least a few weeks if not a month.

Young's mother made some statements indicating that her son is having a tough time with it all:

"What would you think, if you were tired of being ridiculed and persecuted and talked about and not being treated very well, what would you do? What kind of decision would you make?'' Young's mother Felecia Young told The Nashville Tennesssean on Tuesday. "He may not want to deal with it [all], but you have to get to that point before you make that decision first.

"But we're not talking about football right now. We're talking about what would make him happy, and that is the most important thing. ... You don't want people to be hurting like he is. But it is a growing-up process, and he will eventually come out like gold no matter what. But Vince is going to be OK. We are just going to try and give him some space."

Hmm. Well, it sounds like the kid has a lot more going on than meets the eye.

He actually came to my church one time and spoke about meeting his goals and how his faith had helped him get to where he was. I recall him talking about going through setbacks and just realizing that it was all a part of the plan to make him better. I talked to him briefly afterward, he seemed like a nice guy.

The high pressure on professional athletes doesn't receive much attention these days, and quarterbacks get it the worst. They are pretty much sitting ducks for criticism every single day while they are in season, and at least monthly when the season is over. Unless you're a doctor or have some other job on which lives depend, most of us go to our jobs and no one cares that much if we don't perform perfectly. Not the professional athlete. We expect them to not have any issues (other than injuries) and - especially when it comes to QB's - they're always to be tough. So then they turn to other (de)vices when they don't have an outlet, like sex, drugs/alcohol, etc. - you know, the "normal" outlets.

"He's fine. There's nothing to be concerned with," says his coach, Jeff Fisher.

Really? I'm not convinced. I know his agent is just trying to protect his investment, and his coach wants to calm things down, but if his family is worried about him to this degree, maybe they ought to be concerned. Since most of the sports world and writers are male, it should not be surprising that they aren't comfortable with the idea that Young might need help. Our society just won't accept the idea of an alpha male who can't work everything out by himself. There's no crying in baseball - or any other sport, for that matter. And if you think it's difficult for a layman to show vulnerability, weakness in a professional football player is pretty much a no-no . . .

. . . unless you're Brett Favre. He surpassed likable and reached lovable status because he has pretty much always risen to the occasion, no matter what was going on in his personal life (including playing the game of his life the day after his dad passed away). And while many people will remember how he performed in the face of adversity, Favre showed great vulnerability when he admitted that he was addicted to painkillers. But I don't think that the addiction receives as much press when his triumphs are mentioned, and my guess would be because we're still not entirely comfortable acknowledging that our hero succumbed to a weakness and was unable to control himself. But I think there was also a sense of relief that he struggles just like you and I do, which just made him that much more endearing. Kudos to him for being strong enough to admit his troubles (although perhaps he didn't really have much of a choice).

Unfortunately, the unspoken rule in all this is that Brett Favre can afford to be more vulnerable because he was already "Brett Favre" when trouble occurred, and he remained "Brett Favre" after they went away. A less revered player (read: pretty much anyone other than Tom Brady) whose vulnerabilities occur before he's "made" it, and might affect his chances of ever making it? Someone, somewhere, is calling him that other name for a cat as I type.

Oh, they'll write novels about the story of how you almost lost it all . . . after you get it all back. Redemption is what sports are all about. But while you're still losing it? They're just writing you off.

So while there aren't too many examples these days of vulnerability in sports (one noted exception came today, ironically, which ESPN deemed the result of "dedication") much less football, if something really is wrong with Vince Young, I certainly hope that he and others around him are strong enough to do something about it. But he shouldn't be written off as a headcase or mentally unstable - or worse, a spoiled brat (I won't even link to that one but I will note that just because he plays sports for a living and his life appears to be more fun than yours doesn't mean he needs to just "suck it up.").

He's in one of the most high-pressure jobs there is. So perhaps he's having some trouble adjusting to life in the NFL where he's not necessarily performing like he did at the University of Texas. That's OK. All is not lost.

I'm pulling for you, Vince . . . on the field and off.

Running From City To City

So much excitement in the world of sports, just over the weekend. I wish I had another person to write for me, but thus far, it's just me (if you want to guest blog, let me know!) So that means not enough time to cover everything. My selection:

1. Exciting first weekend in the NFL. My brief observations: Brett Favre looks good in his new suit, eh? Did he really call them "New Yorkians"? As I told Novak Djokovic, I'm available for American culture lessons...Way to go Aaron Rodgers, even doing the "Lambeau Leap" like that other guy. Keep winning, they'll forget all about him...More and more the NFL seems like it stands for "Not For Long" with all of these significant injuries on day one, including Brady, Vince Young, Nate Burleson, at least 15 others. What gives?...What happened to the Colts?...The Philadelphia Eagles, and more specifically, Donovan McNabb, look very good...St. Louis looks...the same. And with the Lions performance, that makes two of them...Kudos, though, to Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan. Keep winning, they'll forget all about him...Happy to see Jay Cutler (with his Denver Broncos) doing well in his first regular season game since learning he has diabetes. Very much looking forward to seeing how the rest of this season shakes out, and I don't even have a fantasy team. Go figure.

2. U.S. Open wins by Roger Federer and Serena Williams. I love seeing people (around) my age still getting it done. Serena's final was much more interesting than Fed's, but the best matches were definitely played in their quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively. Each got a "milli"* and a half for their efforts and regained their respective perch at the top of the rankings - Fed, of course, not having left that long ago. This is a huge deal for Serena though, hence the high racquet throw at the end of the match. Her win effectively silences all of the critics who said her and her sister weren't dedicated to the game. They don't need to do what everyone else does. They're really just that good. And so is that Oreo commercial featuring the Williams sisters vs. the Manning brothers (see video in right corner). I love the concept but must admit I'd prefer it was for something healthy like, PowerBar, rather than Double Stuf Oreos. Ah, well.

3. I am really curious to know what in the world Monta Ellis did to his ankle that would cause him to lie to the Golden State Warriors about its cause. He claimed he hurt it playing basketball, but then it was discovered that he tore his deltoid ligament and had multiple scrapes and scratches, "not typical of a basketball injury." I got scratched in basketball once and still have the scar on my arm to prove it, but yeah, he really should have made sure his story would check out better than this before he decided to lie. I don't know him, but I'll guess it's something silly that violates his contract like wheelies on an ATV or motorcycle, parachuting, extreme jump roping, bear-wrestling, etc. I'm kinda hoping it's one of the latter two and not any of the first three. The truth comes to the light eventually...

4. Marion Jones left prison. Sad. (Some of these news stories are a little harsh, don't you think? I don't see other admitted dopers getting treated this harshly.)

5. I saw an ad the other morning for a new show on National Geographic called Dogtown: Saving the Michael Vick Dogs. Normally, I would think this was a great idea...if it weren't the season premiere of the Dogtown series and if it didn't include his name in the title. It seems a bit exploitative, premiering not coincidentally within a day of the Atlanta Falcon's own season. Not that I expect much out of Hollywood these days, but I thought National Geographic was different. I guess I was wrong. Why can't we let sleeping dogs lie?





*If anyone caught the MTV VMA's last night (DVR is again my new best friend!), 'Lil Wayne has officially taken over James Brown spot as the hardest working man in showbiz. The Kid Rock set confirmed it. I think his pants are the same length as the sleeves of my coat, though - he's not even sagging, he actually has them cut to only come up to his hip. What next?

I'm Baaaaaack

So I thought I might blog last week but I was having too much fun to pull out the laptop. Plus the Internet access at the hotel was only in the lobby or in the "business center" - it's hard to get inspiration in the business center.

But I am back - for the next week, at least - and I hear I missed a few things, like:

1. Brett Favre decided to pack it in. I knew when the website "accidentally" posted that he was retiring that something had to be up. I and everyone else (especially the NFL and its sponsors) will certainly miss him, but I am all for leaving while you're on top. It's all about primacy and recency - people remember what they saw first, and they remember what they saw last. Some people can get away with playing longer than they really should (i.e., Michael Jordan) but it's certainly not recommended. So enjoy the rest of your life, Mr. Fah-vruh. You seemed like a pretty good guy, on and off the field. All the best.


2. What is going on with the Chicago Bulls? First Tyrus Thomas misses practice for no explicable reason, and gets suspended for two games, then Chris Duhon is seen on national TV at the Duke-UNC game in Durham on Saturday night, a game which he did not receive permission to attend. And then he gets suspended a game for missing the morning shootaround because of some alleged issues with his wake-up call. Remember, it's "fall back, spring forward," Chris. Add that to the issues with Joakim Noah chewing out an assistant coach earlier in the season, and you have the personification of man vs. the establishment. This is the NBA, folks, not college. Let's try to do a little better.

3. The Houston Rockets are riding an 18-game winning streak, taking their 6th in a row since Yao Ming went down for the year. In the process, they've gone from 10th place in the Western Conference to 3rd. In a word, impressive. This was a team that was just barely keeping its head about the .500 mark and now they're gunning for the top spot in the conference. Let's try to do a little better. On Monday night the Rockets take on the New Jersey Nets. Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and chalk up #19 for them. I feel that I can say that without much hesitation at all. The Nets are borderline terrible but they still have a shot of making the playoffs. Yes, that does say a lot for the conference. A whole lot.

4. I watched this feature on SportsCenter about this sugar cane plantation of sorts in Florida where at least 48 NFL players have been bred. There are three high schools near this plantation, all of which won high school state football championships in their class. Part of this training involves chasing rabbits, which sounds like a great idea to develop quickness and agility. This feature was going well for me until they profiled one player who had finally caught a cotton tail rabbit - the first man in his family to do so. He seemed to be grabbing the rabbit rather roughly, but I didn't think much of it until ESPN cut to an aerial view of the frying pan where the player was cooking up the fruits of his labor. If I said that this was not how I expected this to end, that would be an understatement. Ugh.

5. If you didn't watch the game, hopefully you caught the clip of Shaquille O'Neal in the San Antonio Spurs/Phoenix Suns game on Sunday. In a solid effort to chase down a ball that was exiting the court, Shaq nearly killed everyone in the 3rd row of the not-so-cheap seats when he literally leapt into the crowd after (I can only assume) he lost his balance. That or he really was trying to kill someone. The fan who was to have died somehow managed to get out of the way (that split second in which Shaq bent his knees and looked at his target probably helped). Shaq weighs entirely too much to leap into a pool much less into other human beings who probably had no idea how close they came to losing their life for some courtside seats. It's just not as fun when you get killed and can't tell your cool story.

5, 4, 3, 2 . . .

The deal:

1. ESPN.com did a great piece on a fallen firefighter/assistant coach who died in a fire but whose lasting effect on his team propelled them to the state finals. Great job, ESPN. And good luck, Summerville!

2. If you hear some old guy cursing during the NCAA telecasts, it might just be Bob Knight. Yes, that Bob Knight of chair-throwing fame. Said Knight, "I think ESPN has been real good for college basketball and I look forward to working with some of their people who I have known a long time." Real good, Bobby, real good. I hope they're still using that five second delay.

3. Congress wants to talk about passing federal legislation banning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in all professional sports leagues. Naturally, the commissioners of the various leagues do not want the practices of their league members being legislated by the feds. I can't imagine why adding one more way for their players get arrested would not be appealing.

4. Title this under "Riiiight." Earlier, the Green Bay Packers official website ran an article stating that Brett Favre had indeed decided to retire. The Packers party line:

"There's nothing to it," Packers spokesman Jeff Blumb told The Associated Press.
"People who handle our Web site had set up a dummy page in the event he was to
retire. They were asked to take down that page."

Yeah, ok. Favre's decision is expected to come soon. Let's see if it differs at all from what was posted. You know where my money is.

5. This article is upsetting, if for no other reason than it contains information about 2 players that I find it tough to root for (see, I'm getting nicer ). According to Mary Sims, the MVP comes down to, among others, Kobe, LeBron, or . . . Kevin Garnett? Sims had him as leading the race back in December, and now still has him on the list at #3. I guess he felt like he could drop him down a notch but removing him from the top five would hurt his credibility. Too late. I'm not sure KG's the MVP of his own team much less of the entire league. Sims must have gotten dunked on by him in high school and he's just trying to make himself feel better.

Spoke Too Soon!

Tonight's Monday Night Football game started off, and almost ended, pretty ho-hum.

But never underestimate Brett Favre on Monday night football. With Denver inside the 10 yard line with under 30 seconds to go and down 10-13, the Broncos just needed to push their way to the touchdown. But alas, they couldn't score so they brought out veteran kicker Jason Elam for the field goal to tie the game.

Being a kicker has to be pretty nerve-wracking. You don't get much credit, but if you miss, you get all of the blame. I guess I can see why they take a lot of heat - they pay them to do one thing and one thing only. They're not out there getting hit, or at least they shouldn't be. I can't recall having ever seen a kicker just kick without actually setting up (he only had a second, literally). But he made it so that's all that matters.

Back to Favre. I guess after his wife, Deanna, got to sit in the booth (this is not what I meant, but she did promote her book which discusses her bout with breast cancer) with the rest of the Monday Night Football guys, Favre was not content just winning the game.

Nope, he went and threw an 82 yard touchdown to win the game on the very first play in overtime. Way to overachieve, Brett. AND kudos to Greg Jennings for escaping Dre Bly to make that catch.


I've never considered myself a huge Packers fan but Favre makes it pretty hard not to like him.

Tale of Two Records

Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, shortly after setting the record for the most touchdowns ever thrown, Super Bowl XXXI winner Brett Favre has the dubious distinction of throwing the most interceptions of all time. But his team, the Green Bay Packers, won the game, which is all he probably really cares about. This just shows that if you stick around long enough, you're going to do a lot of things really well and a lot of things really badly.

A lesson for us all in our own lives, I think.

I'm Winning!!!

I know some of you cared more whether your favorite team won or lost (mine won), but the only thing I really cared about this Sunday was whether I'm winning in my Fantasy Football league. Which I am, thus far. I don't believe in jinxing, I believe in talent.

Here's a run-down of what I consider to be the top events in the NFL (recognizing my Fantasy Football bias):

1. Carson Palmer!! He threw six touchdowns. His opponent threw 5. Most TD's thrown by two QB's in almost 38 years. And Palmer and the Cincinatti Bengals still lost to the Cleveland Browns . . . but Palmer gained me 44 points, compensating for the dump LT took on my scoreboard. Yes, LaDainian Tomlinson played, but he might as well not have for the numbers he put up. The Bengals don't have to play defense at all this season as long as they keep scoring. Even better, nobody had the Browns' QB, so I didn't get "Romo'd" this week.

2. Old man Favre (Brett, that is) is not just hanging on, he's playing out of his mind. Not only did he catapult the Green Bay Packers over Eli Manning and the NY Giants, but he set the all-time record for wins by a QB. The previous owner of that record was none other than Coach Elway. As I told my cousin, I know he had that painkiller addiction, but I'm inclined to think he must be taking a whole lot of them right now to still be playing like he is. In any event, way to stick it to all the critics who said you should retire with dignity, Favre.

3. Vince Young is Cool Hand Luke on the football field. Cool as a cucumber, or the underside of the pillow, there's no panic from this guy. At least he doesn't show it. Even though I don't have him on my team, I like his style. And he has one of the best QB names around. And he and the Tennessee Titans almost swiped another one from Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Someone should tell him to stop taking naps in the locker room during halftime.

4. Jamal Lewis has gone from pleading guilty in 2005 to using his cell phone to help his friend set up a drug deal (oh boy), and spending 4 months in jail as a result, to rushing for over 200 yards (that's good, NPT) today in the Browns' win over the Bengals. His offense may top the list of "What were you thinking? Or maybe you weren't, and that's the problem." I just hope he found better friends. Keep fighting the good fight, Jamal.

I was at an ESPNZone watching most of these games, and the one thing I concluded is that ESPN is making a killing off of football season. They have a policy that if they have a "sell out" (meaning no tables "indefinitely" as I was told) you have to spend $10 per person, per hour.

I asked my friend what ESPN does when there's no football on, and he said that he would come there to watch a NASCAR race. Apparently, he didn't understand that I was asking about other sports that one would watch there.