Cheers and Jeers: Auld Lang Syne Edition

Every New Year's Eve nearly everyone in the Anglo world hums or hears the song Auld Lang Syne. And yet as When Harry Met Sally Noted very few people have a clue what it means. I'm not sure. I do know its literally translated as "old long since" which makes me conclude that Scottish should never be directly translated. I also known that colloquially it means "days gone by". I think it means that we should try remember those acquaintances, friends and influences. Even the best of us forget but even its just for a moment then thats enough. The sporting world actually lost two big names this week. One was Sean Taylor, a ferocious hitter. A man who was a modern day Jack Tatum and thereby symbolized what football fans wanted out of their safety. A fearmonger. An eraser. The football equivalent of a shot blocker. Its always a tragedy when a young man's life ends. And this instance was no different.

There was also another loss this week, Hall of Famer Bill Willis. For those that don't know Bill Willis was All-American Guard out of Ohio State who later blocked for Marion Motley for the Browns. He was also the middle guard or what we would today call the nose tackle . However this two way player paved much more than just on the gridiron. He, alongside Marion Motley broke the color barrier in the NFL. In fact the distinction of being the first full time African-American player in the NFL belongs to Willis. He accomplished this before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers. There's a certain sadness then that his accomplishments and courage were really overshadowed this week (or more generally for that matter). I am certainly not a historian but in a physical game like football where cheap shots are common in the trenches I'm certain Willis suffered not only taunts for his skin color. And yet he never made a big deal of this. He just had that quiet dignity that he always carried about him. Maybe just relaying his story or pointing out that Browns will wear a BW logo on their helmets to honor him then we all can remember his accomplishments and honor his memory.

And with that a little lighter thoughts
Cheers: College Games of the Week. Oh there are tons. The Backyard Brawl and the Big 12 Championship will decide the BCS Championship Game. USC v. UCLA will partly decide the Pac 10. And the Army Navy Game is special to all but the most cynical.

I think Mangino will face Fulmer in a Sumo Contest as well (taken from a Fark War at Smash South Sports....)

Cheers: Pro Games of the Week - Indy v. Jacksonville oh and that little Favre v. Romo (Does anyone else wonder if Pete King's head will explode over this matchup?)

Cheers: To ESPN. Its not often that I cheer them but this week is different. This week is Jimmy V Foundation week on ESPN where they are doing shows, snippets and assortment of other things to raise attention and money for fighting cancer. Certainly that is a foundation that remembers a truly remarkable man and an important mission. Cheers to ESPN for never giving up on this issue.

Cheers: To Sylvester Croom. One of 6 black head coaches in College football and the only one in the history of the SEC, Croom was on the hot seat at Mississippi State this year. However the team rallied around their coach and last week became bowl eligible. In fact Croom was named SEC coach of the year. It's even more satisfying that his team did better than Alabama, his alma mater, that out of hand dismissed Croom for their head coaching position

Cheers: Christina Aguilera. Who apparently is preggars, all nude but classy. Remember when there when there was a comparison to Brittney Spears. Haha. That was funny


Sean Taylor Memorial Beatdown of the Week:

As a new feature I'll be adding a small section on who delivered a beatdown that Sean Taylor would be proud of. Or my best attempt. This week's beatdown goes to USC's handling of Arizona State. USC beat the Sun Devils in every way imaginable:Physically, mentally, ecumenically...you name it USC dominated in it.


And our C&J Gal of the Week..... Rebecca Romijn