Orioles, Wizards, Redskins….and more
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Sean Taylor passed away early this morning in a hospital in Miami. Not much to say really. My heartfelt condolences to his girlfriend, his one-year-old daughter, and the rest of his family. He will be missed. Wore his jersey to work today.
If you’ve been reading the comments over at Redskins Insider you know some people are upset over WaPo columnist Michael Wilbon’s comments in a Chat House today. I’m not sure if Wilbon was fully aware of the severity of Taylor’s situation but reading Wilbon comes off pretty heartless in some of his responses. To wit:
McLean, Va.: Will your opinion of Taylor change if this does not turn out to be a random incident (e.g. home invasion)?
Michael Wilbon: No…People’s opinions are shaped by the way they’ve grown up, the way they see the world, what they know about the world the person in question grew up in, etc. Sean Taylor isn’t the only guy I know who fits his general profile. I’ve known guys like Taylor all my life, grew up with some. They still have shades of gray and shouldn’t be painted in black and white…I know how I feel about Taylor, and this latest news isn’t surprising in the least, not to me. Whether this incident is or isn’t random, Taylor grew up in a violent world, embraced it, claimed it, loved to run in it and refused to divorce himself from it. He ain’t the first and won’t be the last. We have no idea what happened, or if what we know now will be revised later. It’s sad, yes, but hardly surprising.
Italics mine. From all accounts this is absolutely wrong. Everything I’ve read and heard today from Redskins players and coaches has said that Taylor had changed, for the better, ever since he became a father 18 months ago. Also, from what we know, this was a home invasion, which, at least to me, is pretty much always a “surprising” event.
Here’s another snippet from the chat, and to my mind, the one that reflects the worst on Wilbon:
Columbia, Md.: What makes you think that Taylor was still embracing his old ways? Every thing we have heard from the Redskins and Portis is that this is a new Sean. Apparently the birth of his child really helped to straighten him out. Is this contrary to what you know?
Michael Wilbon: Sorry, but I’n not in the habit of having comapanies with their own public relations agenda tell me about black men and what they feel or don’t feel. Pardon me if I’m not that easy.
Generally I admire Wilbon’s ability to cut through the bullshit but lets be honest here: Wilbon doesnt know what he’s talking about. Sean Taylor is notorious for not talking to the media, so Wilbon knows him so well as to judge him like this….how? OK fine, Wilbon isn’t trusting the PR people for insight on Sean but then where’s he getting his own insight? From who?
One last bit:
Pittsburgh: Still in shell shock about this Taylor situation, makes everything else seem trivial. I haven’t read any articles about the game or reaction, but do you think these close losses are encouraging to Jason Campbell, knowing it just a matter of time and experience before it all comes together?
Michael Wilbon: Again, I’m not the least bit surprised about the Taylor episode…Why would I be considering his history, even since he joined the Redskins?
Again, there’s nothing wrong with this per se, it just seems like a very, very cold reaction to what all accounts seems to be a tragic incident. I guess this stands out more for the lack of compassion and matter-of-factness then anything.
P.S. I’ve heard Wilbon kept up this line of thought on PTI but missed the show. Will post video if I get it.
Still all sorts of rumors/news flying around about Sean. Hearing he went through 6 hours of surgery and is now in a coma. Apparently the bullet passed near, or might have hit, his femoral artery and he lost alot of blood. Best place for updates by far is WaPo Skins beat writer Jason LaConfora’s Redskins Insider.
Jesus Christ, forget about yesterday’s pathetic loss, breaking news is that Redskins star safety Sean Taylor was shot at his home in Miami by an intruder last night. Details are sketchy but he was apparently shot in the groin and reports are that he is in “extremely critical condition” and “fighting for his life“. Thoughts go out to Sean and his family. More as news comes in.
Marc Stein says that Jamison, Butler and Arenas make up the 8th best trio in the league. That feels way too low but with the 0-5 start to the season its hard to argue.
Sean Taylor is first in the Pro Bowl ballotting for NFC starting FS according to Pro Football talk. Hope his injury doesn’t derail that (also looking forward to Pro Football Talk adding permalinks).
These diagrams depicting various pitches might be helpful for some people. (kia Kottke)
The safeties on one blogger’s “All 25 or Under Team”…..Sean Taylor and LaRon Landry. Amen brother.
Not sure there’s another player in the NBA who’d give an interview like this one.
Let me say to begin with that I’m a big fan of the WaPo and ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, have been since I was a wee child. Having said that, Mr. Wilbon was a tad inconsistent when the Kobe for Gilbert trade rumors were swirling a couple weeks ago. Here’s Wilbon in his column on Friday, November 2:
So, what’s next? If I was serious about trading Kobe I would call the Wizards about Arenas, who at 25 is four years younger than Kobe and much cheaper at the moment.
And if I ran the Wizards I’d say: Thanks, but no.
Start, as everything does, with the money. Arenas makes $11 million while Kobe makes $21 million, plus gets a 15 percent lump sum in a trade clause. So, the Wizards would have to include at least a couple of other players. Maybe Antawn Jamison or two of the younger players the Lakers probably aren’t interested in. Kobe loves Caron Butler, so he probably wouldn’t sign off on any deal (Kobe has to approve the trade) that would send Butler back to the Lakers, and the Wizards would be crazy to deal their best two players anyway. If the Wizards did that they’d be the Washington Lakers, a team with nothing more than Kobe.
Ok, so Wilbon doesn’t think the Wizards should trade Gil for Kobe. Or does he? Here’s Wilbon in WaPo chat he did earlier that same week:
Should be paying attention in class, Md.: Oh Mr. Wilbon! I’ve been surfing the Internet and I saw that there are rumors that the Wiz are considered a dark horse for Kobe. Gilbert for Kobe, is that really a good idea?
Michael Wilbon: I’d do it…Why not? Gilbert’s going to be a free agent soon enough anyway since he can opt out…So why not pursue Kobe? Ernie Grunfeld and Mitch Kupchak are friendly. That makes sense. Question is, what else would the Wizards have to give up? Would you do it for Gilbert and Jamison? I would NOT do it for Gilbert and Caron. Nope. But Gil and ‘Twan…As much as I like those guys and want to see what the team can produce this season, I’d do that. Yep.
Wait, what? Didn’t he say the exact opposite in his column? Now I know everyone has the right to change their mind but it would be nice if Mr. Wilbon would provide some reasoning as to why in the span of a few days he flip-flopped on this.