The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 26

C-4 The Modesto Bee FOOTBALL TUESDAY JANUARY 9 2007 Athlete murders no longer shock unless the killer is famous on the way to infamy murder is just a quick read on the way to a more interesting story the sign of the times About the only thing that virtually every religion agrees on is murder being the most serious of sins yet it has become such an accepted part of American society that it can now slip in importance below the results of a sporting event Four days after teammate Bryan Pata was shot in the head and killed the University of Miami football team was sent into action against the University of Maryland Does anyone believe that if Denver had made the playoff's the NFL would have postponed an AFC wild-card game during the weekend to allow Broncos players time to grieve? The justification line would have been Williams loved football and would have wanted Denver to play and win the game for him And for 98992 percent of us that would have been explanation enough to forget Williams' killing sit back and enjoy the game Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin whose birthdayNew party Williams was attending the morning he was killed told the Denver Post about the shooting is what it is an unfortunate thing This is not the first time it has happened and it be the last Martin's statement is chilling for its matter-of-factness So many young men particularly young African-American men grow up around violence and death and they've accepted it as a normal part of life Sadly because read about it heard about it or even seen it so many times done the same thing Once the shooting death of a professional athlete would have shocked us Now just another everyday thing COMMENTARY offer from the University of Alabama wild-card weekend adopt a playoff team and vote for your favorite Super Bowl ad I wasn't up early on New Day when ESPN began its news cycle so I can't say for sure how Williams' death was played but I know that as the bowl scores started coming in violent demise dropped further and further down the rotation I not criticizing the NFL or ESPN or any media outlet just pointing out that if the killing of one its players can be treated in such a minor light by the NFL is it any wonder that the Philadelphia Daily News te Wj rate(j i0Wer jn ET significance than Penn m- State winning the Outback Bowl Eagles ackle Jon Runyan Eh b( ing the active leader in playoff starts imik sincp 1999 or Allen Williams Iversi playing his first game atainst the Sixers as a medber of the Denver Nuggets? Hey we had 406 homicides in Philadelphia in 2006 We started 2007 off with a ba ig when police shot and killed a 20-year- 'Id man in an exchange of gunfire about l0 minutes into the new year In Philadelphia as in most urban areas across America murder by gunfire is a routine daily story Why should another shooting death get more prominence just because a victim in Denver was an NFL player? damn right a callous and cold take on things but the entire point of this column Once murder shocked us Now unless the killing is the result of some kind of twisted or bizarre act unless the victim is an celebrity By JOHN SMALLWOOD PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS Philadelphia These are the times that we live in become hardened nui ibed and desensitized to the violence md death that has become an everyday part of our society Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed early on the morning of Jan 1 gunned down while sitting in a stretch limousine after leaving a New Eve party About nine hours earlier he had played in the last game of the season a shocking overtime loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers that eliminated Denver from the playoffs There was a time not all that long ago that the killing of a professional athlete no matter his or her stature would have been the lead story in cities across the nation But on Jan 2 just a little more than 24 hours after Williams was killed in an apparent drive-by shooting the story was not considered front-page news virtually anywhere except Denver As a 12-year -old living in Maryland in 1978 1 had never heard of California Angels outfielder Lyman Bostock until he was killed in a drive-by shooting that made national news Maybe the years have clouded my recollection but I sure remember it being big news On Jan 2 NFLcom the official Web site of the National Football League listed three cover stories former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe breaking down the playoff games reporter Vic All-Interview Team and a feature on the Kansas City Chiefs slipping into the playoffs by virtue of the loss violent death was listed in the headlines section under ones about coaches Jim Mora Jr and Dennis Green getting fired Miami coach Nick Saban staying mum on a megamiliion-dollar KEVIN WOLFTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Diego's LaOainian Tomlinson stiff armed the competition again becoming one of three unanimous selections to the AP All-Pro team Tomlinson leads AP All-Pro selections Georgia Johnson enters NFL draft COLLEGE FOOTBALL BEE NEWS SERVICES LaDainian Tomlinson Jason Taylor and Champ Bailey capped superb seasons by unanimously making The Associated Press NFL All-Pro team announced Monday Tomlinson San record-setting running back also won the AP Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards Miami end Taylor was the Defensive Player of the Year Bailey tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions even though opponents tried to avoid throwing to the Broncos side of the field whole idea to go out on a Sunday is to be a pain in the butt for the other said Taylor who had 62 tackles 13Vi sacks 14 quarterback hurries two interceptions both returned for TDs 11 passes defensed 10 fumbles forced and two fumbles recovered I can be a pain in their butt and give somebody a headache then more times than not going to work out well for It worked out so well for him Tomlinson who set NFL records for points with 186 touchdowns with 31 and TDs rushing with 28 and Bailey that they received all 50 votes from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL Two others both Chicago Bears came close to sweeping the vote Devin Hester who set a league mark with six kick returns for touchdowns was the only rookie on the team earning 48V2 votes Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher a repeater from last year got 48 In all the Chargers had the most All-Pros with five: Tomlinson tight end Antonio Gates fullback Lorenzo Neal defensive tackle Jamal Williams and linebacker Shawne Merriman who made it despite serving a four-game suspension for violating the steroids policy Merriman still wound up with a league-best 17 sacks For complete team see Page C-5 NFL'S EUROPEAN VACATION San Francisco Seattle and Miami were among six NFL teams selected as potential home teams for a regular-season game next year in Britain or Germany The other teams that could the game are Buffalo Kansas City and New Orleans The league also narrowed the sites for the game eliminating Canada and Mexico for this year The opponent for one of the teams will be announced during Super Bowl week but will not necessarily be one of the five not picked as the home team QUICK HITTERS Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard will miss second-round playoff game against New Orleans with a dislocated right elbow Seattle Seahawks leading receiver Darrell Jackson is unlikely to play in NFC divisional playoff game at Chicago BEE NEWS SERVICES ATLANTA For Calvin Johnson this was a no-brainer Georgia star receiver announced Monday that he will give up his senior season to enter the NFL draft fully aware that he should be one of the top players selected Even his parents who are adamant that he get his college degree knew there was no use putting off the pros any longer "It's one of those situations where got to maximize the Calvin Johnson Sr said opportunities come along very often He made the right decision for himself He didn't feel a lot of pressure from Almost from the day he stepped on campus the younger Johnson was expected to last only three seasons with the Yellow Jackets It was immediately clear that he was a rare combination of size (6-foot-5 235 pounds) athleticism and hand-eye By most accounts Johnson will be one of the top players selected in the April draft In fact he could go first overall to the Oakland Raiders who are desperate to improve an offense that averaged just 105 points a game and might not bring back disgruntled wide-outs Randy Moss and Jerry Porter QUICK HITTERS Alan Branch is skipping his senior season at Michigan to enter the NFL draft delivering a blow to the Wolverines a week after they lost the Rose Bowl An autopsy was performed on USC kicker Mario Danelo and the office said it could be six to eight weeks before the cause of death is determined A postseason college football game showcasing East versus West all-stars later this month has been canceled The 2007 Las Vegas All-American Classic was scheduled for Jan 15 at Sam Boyd Stadium It would have been broadcast on the NFL Network JOHNNY CRAWF0RDTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson announced he will enter the NFL dratt on Monday FLORIDA: a reality after title rout in the desert DAHLBERG: Meyer is now at the pinnacle of his profession CONTINUED FROM C-1 showed off twin quarterback system to perfection as the second-ranked Gators became the first Division I school to hold national titles in football and basketball at the same time Now only one question remains: What about 13-0 Boise State the last undefeated team left standing after stunning Oklahoma on the very same field in the Fiesta Bowl on New Day? amazingly easy victory left the Gators with a 13-1 record and the Buckeyes at 12-1 That and with Wisconsin and Louisville also having lost just once will almost surely renew calls for a playoff system "I love Boise State We want to go play them done done Meyer said "There are probably five six seven great football teams in this country and there is one way to figure out who the better team is and to go play the game" he said Ohio State started out like the one-touch-down favorite it was but only for an instant Ted Ginn Jr returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown but then it quickly fell apart for the Buckeyes Ginn hurt his foot in the touchdown celebration and hobbled off after Ohio first offensive play By the time he returned for the second half on crutches Florida led 34-14 scored on the first play of the game and from that point on really keep the pressure where we needed it to be" Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said State get it he said Meyer had a word for the critics who demeaned the Gators "I'd like to thank all those people Our pregame speech was easy" he said Leak maligned for never winning the big one completed 25 of 36 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown The Rambo-like Tebow threw for one TD and powered into the end zone for another "My legacy was to get the University of Florida back Leak said Smith meanwhile joined a long list of Heisman Trophy quarterbacks Jason White Eric Crouch and Gino Torretta among them to fall apart in bowl games He was just 4-of-14 for 35 yards with one interception and was held to minus-29 yards on 10 runs everything in life is going to go the exact way you want it" Smith said "I made sure his defensive line put so much pressure on Smith that he wasn't able to throw effectively And somehow in the time since the Gators last played he even taught his shaky kicker how to make long field goals The result was such a blowout that the only suspense in the fourth quarter was when Meyer would be drenched by the traditional bucket of Gatorade from his celebrating players Urban Meyer? How about Urban Legend? They might begin calling him that down in Gainesville where Meyer arrived just two years ago after only four years as a head coach in college He was lured there from Utah where all he did was go undefeated in his second season and crash the BCS cartel with his team Florida wanted him badly because they had a good idea what they might be getting When Meyer got his first coaching job at Bowling Green his daughter asked him why they had to move and he explained that he was like a climber scaling a mountain and trying to get to the top When the family moved to Utah she asked if this was the top of the mountain and Meyer said it was not but close Two years ago when Meyer took the job at Florida his daughter asked again this is the top of the he told her Not quite as it turns out He reached the summit Monday night and planted his flag at the top CONTINUED FROM C-1 His game plan was masterful His players were masterfully prepared No big surprise there After all Meyer has done pretty much the same thing every step of the way of his still very young career What was surprising was how easy he and his team made it look Turns out not getting any respect was just the thing this Florida team needed to celebrate the 100th year of Gator football was the greatest Meyer said "For 30 days our team got motivated and why they played so Florida barely blinked when Ginn ran back the opening kickoff and made the underdog Gators even more of an underdog just 14 seconds into the title game Others might have panicked but the Gators simply marched down a short field for the tying score and never looked back Florida did it behind a spread option offense that seemed to bewilder Ohio State even though the Buckeyes had five fidl weeks to prepare for it They did it with a sometimes-maligned quarterback who looked more like a Heisman winner than the Heisman winner Smith Mostly though they did it because their coach simply outcoached the coach in the scarlet vest and white shirt With no real running game Meyer used his wide receivers as running backs and his freshman backup quarterback as his inside threat With a secondary that was suspect he TED WARRENTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS Florida defensive end Jarvis Mgss (94) forces a fumble against Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith (10) in the first half at the BCS national championship game in Glendale Ariz have any regrets though I really We came out and fought We came up short you have great games and sometimes you Defensive ends Derrick Harvey and Moss made it a miserable night for Smith Linebacker Earl Everett got into the act too running down Smith on one play despite missing his helmet never gave us a chance at Florida receiver Dallas Baker said came here with a chip on our shoulder and something to prove Nobody gave us a chance but finally we can throw up the No 1" It was the second national title for Florida adding to the one Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel brought home in 1996 under coach Steve Spurrier with a 52-20 romp over Flori da State in the Sugar Bowl This trophy will make a perfect bookend for the one the basketball Gators won by beating UCLA for the national chn pionship in Indianapolis last spring do I compare them? Both have confel ti landing on my head" athletic director Jer emy Foley said couldn't believe in April I believe it now I can't believe 1 can talk about it without jinxing us things had to break our way to evejji get.