bubba9497 Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 Miami products keep raising 'Cane By Dan Daly THE WASHINGTON TIMES http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20050506-114907-2792r Kellen Winslow the Younger took a motorcycle out for a spin the other day. And like the dangerous receiver he is, he got "good separation" from it, according to reports. When his front wheel hit a curb at about 35 mph, he went soaring over the handlebars, landing hard enough to uproot a small tree. As an added bonus, his helmet, which wasn't strapped on, flew off his head. I say "added bonus" because it increased the likelihood he might have had some sense knocked into him. There are stories like this every day involving football players, stories of recklessness and silliness and even, on occasion, reckless silliness. It would be a lot easier to excuse Winslow's youthful indiscretion, though, if he weren't a product of the University of Miami, the program that, in the late '80s, carried on as if it were filming a "Gridders Gone Wild" video. Yes, ladies, gentlemen and probation officers, the Hurricanes are at it again, popping up in all sorts of places you wouldn't want a football player to pop up in. Here in Washington, the Redskins have had kind of a 'Canes Trifecta going; Sean Taylor and Santana Moss have been skipping offseason workouts in hopes of getting better contracts (Moss just Got His), and Clinton Portis has been embroiled in a lawsuit with former Redskin Ifeanyi Ohalete over -- of all things -- the purchase of the latter's No. 26 jersey. Have any other Redskins been skipping offseason workouts in hopes of getting better contracts? Have any other Redskins been embroiled in lawsuits over the purchase of a jersey number? No, only Redskins who used to cavort in Coral Gables. The Winslow incident is hardly the first of its kind for the Hurricanes. Why, the year he won the Heisman Trophy (1986), Vinny Testaverde got banged up riding a motor scooter and missed the last game of Miami's undefeated regular season. But Winslow's figures to be the more expensive transgression because the standard NFL contract prohibits players from engaging in dangerous activities -- except, of course, for football. There's even speculation he might have to give back some or all of his signing bonus. And to think for a while there, Miami players seemed to be following the straight and narrow. Jerome Brown's death behind the wheel of a speeding Corvette, Brian Blades' conviction (later overturned) in the shooting death of his cousin, Michael Irvin's drug bust and assorted other legal adventures -- such horrific headlines became, in the mid-'90s, fewer and farther between. But then Ray Lewis went to a club in Atlanta a few days before Super Bowl XXXIV, a fatal street fight broke out ... and a whole new cycle of PR disasters began for UM alums. Soon enough, Packers running back Najeh Davenport was defecating in a co-ed's closet at a Miami-area university -- "Najeh wants to put this behind him," his lawyer said, memorably, when the matter was resolved -- and Warren Sapp was getting fined $50,000 for intentionally bumping an official as he jogged onto the field for pregame warm-ups. Over time, Sapp's behavior -- especially the incessant yap-yap-yapping -- grew increasingly aberrant. If he could no longer dominate, he'd simply abominate. Whatever it took to keep his name in the news, to maintain, as it were, his "SportsCenter" presence. Trying to keep pace with him is another Hurricane-turned-blowhard, Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey, who's always putting his cleat in his mouth. (His comments about gays on the "Howard Stern Show" were straight from the Book of John Rocker.) And now we have Sean Taylor's continuing antics -- the agent firings and hirings, the drunk driving charge (ultimately dismissed), the inability to recite the alphabet for the arresting officer, the almost immediate unhappiness with his contract, the refusal to return Joe Gibbs' calls. We also have Portis and Moss marching, as so many Miami players do, to their own personal drummers. If I were an NFL club, I'd be exceedingly careful before I spent a high draft pick on a Hurricane; never mind the Wonderlic test, I'd have the guy take a Rorschach test, too. So it was funny last year to hear Gibbs talk about how thorough the Redskins had been in checking out Taylor, how they'd left no stone unturned, no cupboard unopened, no question unasked. What, are you kiddin' me, Joe? You obviously forgot to ask one of the most important questions of all: You don't play for the University of Miami, do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 The only way to alter this is to stop drafting them. Of course, there is no chance in hell that is going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 I'd have the guy take a Rorschach test, too. Might be money well spent! :laugh: Blondie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNatsFan Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 Originally posted by bubba9497 Clinton Portis has been embroiled in a lawsuit with former Redskin Ifeanyi Ohalete over -- of all things -- the purchase of the latter's No. 26 jersey :laugh: Yep, it's been fascinating, but such a distraction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adarsh1 Posted May 7, 2005 Share Posted May 7, 2005 hmm...and some of you wanted to draft Antrelle Rolle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebowski Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by adarsh1 hmm...and some of you wanted to draft Antrelle Rolle You buy this drivel? That article had zero substance. Bottom line is that these kids can all play football. And I am no fan of Duh-U Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsFTW Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 The list of Miami players without incidents is probably shorter than the ones with. Of course I wouldnt add Moss to that list just for not showing up for optional camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebowski Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by SkinsFTW The list of Miami players without incidents is probably shorter than the ones with. Of course I wouldnt add Moss to that list just for not showing up for optional camp. Or Portis for being sued...... And why even mention the DUI charge when it was thrown out of court? He can't help being falsely accused of anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyandSam Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by Sebowski You buy this drivel? That article had zero substance. Bottom line is that these kids can all play football. And I am no fan of Duh-U What article were you reading? He gave you ACCURATE example after example. They ARE true. It was 100 percent substance. I don't think it's possible to line up SO MANY examples from several Division I programs let alone one school. Yes, they are very good athletes. They are also major pain in the butts with huge "I'm better than anyone else" egos. They may be great athletes but most of them have their heads up their you know what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 i think this article is in poor taste. especially the second sentence. i would expect this from a casual fan but from a paid journalist is kinda disappointing. btw i don't really see all the hard feelings for winslow. the guy wanted to come here and we chose not to take him, but we pray for the guy's downfall. makes little sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebowski Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by LaVarPA What article were you reading? He gave you ACCURATE example after example. They ARE true. It was 100 percent substance. I don't think it's possible to line up SO MANY examples from several Division I programs let alone one school. Yes, they are very good athletes. They are also major pain in the butts with huge "I'm better than anyone else" egos. They may be great athletes but most of them have their heads up their you know what. I was reading this one: "Have any other Redskins been skipping offseason workouts in hopes of getting better contracts?" -Pure coincidence. Besides, I don't see Gardner anywhere. And Taylor hasn't said he is holding out for a better contract. That is all speculation stemmed from a Pasta report. Taylor has said he would just rather workout in FL. "Have any other Redskins been embroiled in lawsuits over the purchase of a jersey number? No, only Redskins who used to cavort in Coral Gables." -What does that have to do with anything? How is this worth noting at all? There is a Redskins who didn't go to Duh-U in a lawsuit. Only it is him vs. The Redskins. Portis is right in not paying Iff. Not his fault he is being sued. "Brian Blades' conviction (later overturned)" -So why bring it up? What part of "overturned" doesn't he get? " And now we have Sean Taylor's continuing antics -- the agent firings and hirings,: -Whats with the plural? had an agent, tried another, then went back to the first one. Doesn't seem like that big a deal to me. The right agent is a big deal. I wish LaVar would have fired the Postinks. "the drunk driving charge (ultimately dismissed)," Again, it was DISMISSED. Thrown out of court. False accusation. How can you hold that against him? How long are you going to hold running into a bad cop against him? " the inability to recite the alphabet for the arresting officer," -Half-truth. He couldn't recite a certain section of the Alphabet. A test I have seen many fail. When you take the letters out of the rythm that everyone used to learn it, most fail. Go ahead and test your friends. "the almost immediate unhappiness with his contract," -Thats probably because he got blasted by everyone about it.Everyone keeps telling you that you got screwed, you'll start to believe it. "the refusal to return Joe Gibbs' calls." Joe said no one returns his calls. "We also have Portis and Moss marching, as so many Miami players do, to their own personal drummers." -Since when is marching to your own drummer an inherently bad thing? "If I were an NFL club, I'd be exceedingly careful before I spent a high draft pick on a Hurricane" -Maybe thats why you are not an NFL club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNatsFan Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by Sebowski I was reading this one: "Have any other Redskins been skipping offseason workouts in hopes of getting better contracts?" -Pure coincidence. Besides, I don't see Gardner anywhere. And Taylor hasn't said he is holding out for a better contract. That is all speculation stemmed from a Pasta report. Taylor has said he would just rather workout in FL. "Have any other Redskins been embroiled in lawsuits over the purchase of a jersey number? No, only Redskins who used to cavort in Coral Gables." -What does that have to do with anything? How is this worth noting at all? There is a Redskins who didn't go to Duh-U in a lawsuit. Only it is him vs. The Redskins. Portis is right in not paying Iff. Not his fault he is being sued. "Brian Blades' conviction (later overturned)" -So why bring it up? What part of "overturned" doesn't he get? " And now we have Sean Taylor's continuing antics -- the agent firings and hirings,: -Whats with the plural? had an agent, tried another, then went back to the first one. Doesn't seem like that big a deal to me. The right agent is a big deal. I wish LaVar would have fired the Postinks. "the drunk driving charge (ultimately dismissed)," Again, it was DISMISSED. Thrown out of court. False accusation. How can you hold that against him? How long are you going to hold running into a bad cop against him? " the inability to recite the alphabet for the arresting officer," -Half-truth. He couldn't recite a certain section of the Alphabet. A test I have seen many fail. When you take the letters out of the rythm that everyone used to learn it, most fail. Go ahead and test your friends. "the almost immediate unhappiness with his contract," -Thats probably because he got blasted by everyone about it.Everyone keeps telling you that you got screwed, you'll start to believe it. "the refusal to return Joe Gibbs' calls." Joe said no one returns his calls. "We also have Portis and Moss marching, as so many Miami players do, to their own personal drummers." -Since when is marching to your own drummer an inherently bad thing? "If I were an NFL club, I'd be exceedingly careful before I spent a high draft pick on a Hurricane" -Maybe thats why you are not an NFL club. Good post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsFTW Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by Sebowski And why even mention the DUI charge when it was thrown out of court? He can't help being falsely accused of anything. He wasn't falsely accused of anything. The fact is he got lucky (local NFL player) and that is it but don't even try to claim that he was falsely accused because he was drunk and there was plenty of evidence of that fact. NFL players get out of these things all the time and it doesnt mean that they are innocent. Only the oblivious believe that. And you have to know that people know the alphabet. You just dont forget 1/2 of it but you can believe what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebowski Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by SkinsFTW He wasn't falsely accused of anything. The fact is he got lucky (local NFL player) and that is it but don't even try to claim that he was falsely accused because he was drunk and there was plenty of evidence of that fact. NFL players get out of these things all the time and it doesnt mean that they are innocent. Only the oblivious believe that. And you have to know that people know the alphabet. You just dont forget 1/2 of it but you can believe what you want. Maybe you should go back and read up on the court case. A Judge watched the tests and subseqeunt arrest on tape, and then dismaissed the charges. Do you really think that our judges care if Taylor plays football? That is a scary thought. It is one thing to think a jury can be swayed by fame, but a Judge? If you are right, this country is in serious trouble. Here is the alpha test Taylor failed. Let's see how you do. Have friends do it too. I Messed it up sober, and so have a lot of people I have given it to. You have to do this quickly now, Recite the alphabet from "e" to "o" QUICK! How did you do. Be honest. I missed 4 letters. Taylor missed three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Dave Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by Sebowski Maybe you should go back and read up on the court case. A Judge watched the tests and subseqeunt arrest on tape, and then dismaissed the charges. Do you really think that our judges care if Taylor plays football? That is a scary thought. It is one thing to think a jury can be swayed by fame, but a Judge? If you are right, this country is in serious trouble. Here is the alpha test Taylor failed. Let's see how you do. Have friends do it too. I Messed it up sober, and so have a lot of people I have given it to. You have to do this quickly now, Recite the alphabet from "e" to "o" QUICK! How did you do. Be honest. I missed 4 letters. Taylor missed three. I dunno. I just did it pretty easily and I have a hangover. I think Miami provides a huge dilemma for teams. They put out the best players, but those players cause more problems than players from most other schools. You just have to hope your can't-miss talent from the U's performance outweighs his craziness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalBronco Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Im getting tired of ignorant columnists passing judgment on programs they know literally nothing about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by LaVarPA What article were you reading? He gave you ACCURATE example after example. They ARE true. It was 100 percent substance. I don't think it's possible to line up SO MANY examples from several Division I programs let alone one school. Yes, they are very good athletes. They are also major pain in the butts with huge "I'm better than anyone else" egos. They may be great athletes but most of them have their heads up their you know what. These problems happen at every school. The difference is that the UM players are so high-profile because they can flat-out ball. Look at South Carolina and our beloved Spunky...don't they have like 8-10 players who aren't going to play this year due to legal troubles? Florida State had shoplifting problems with Peter Warrick and Laverouaaouaouanous. Look at Clarett at Ohio State...he filed a false police report. And the number of college players who get in trouble for "breaking-in" to this or that is immeasurable. Players from "the U" will continue to get drafted, and drafted high. They are excellent football players. Not everyone can be squeaky-clean like Ken Dorsey or Jim Kelly. And with a billion TV cameras on them at all times, even the tiniest imperfections will be highlighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Originally posted by Sebowski Maybe you should go back and read up on the court case. A Judge watched the tests and subseqeunt arrest on tape, and then dismaissed the charges. Do you really think that our judges care if Taylor plays football? That is a scary thought. It is one thing to think a jury can be swayed by fame, but a Judge? If you are right, this country is in serious trouble. Here is the alpha test Taylor failed. Let's see how you do. Have friends do it too. I Messed it up sober, and so have a lot of people I have given it to. You have to do this quickly now, Recite the alphabet from "e" to "o" QUICK! How did you do. Be honest. I missed 4 letters. Taylor missed three. I didn't miss any letters. But that's not the point. If he was getting special treatment because he was a football player, the cop would have let him go on the spot, right? I mean the fact is he got arrested, and charges were filed against him. That doesn't really sound like special treatment to me. If anything, it sounds like a guy getting targeted because he is an athelete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKINZ_DOMIN8 Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 typical jealous idiots that hate on great players. go back to digging your ditches. even gibbs has stated that miami players are great on the whole, do you disagree with gibbs now too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsandCanes Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 I think Miami provides a huge dilemma for teams. They put out the best players, but those players cause more problems than players from most other schools. You just have to hope your can't-miss talent from the U's performance outweighs his craziness. That is an ignorant statement. This isn't the Miami of the late 80's or early 90's. Butch Davis cleaned up the program, and I'd compare Miami's arrest record to any other major program out there these days and bet Miami has fewer. If you want we can start with local favorite VA Tech. Any takers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateCitySkin Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 Originally posted by SkinsandCanes That is an ignorant statement. This isn't the Miami of the late 80's or early 90's. Butch Davis cleaned up the program, and I'd compare Miami's arrest record to any other major program out there these days and bet Miami has fewer. If you want we can start with local favorite VA Tech. Any takers? Bigger Attitude/Trouble Maker + Less skills then Brother = Marcus Vick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 You take the friggin good with the bad! Winslow's bads outweighed his good. Obviously. Jury may be out on Taylor, but at the time of the draft, the only bad waves he carried was a no-holds-barred approach to hurting offensive players. Did we want to risk penalties, injuries and the like. The answer was yes. Better than Winslow who may never see the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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