Hopeless, clueless, and classless in the NFL

A few things have occurred over the past few days and I wanted to just say my thoughts on them.

• OJ Murdock commits suicide

This story broke my heart and it just brought up memories of Junior Seau’s death. We don’t know what caused it and if it had anything to do with brain damage. But it reminded me a lot of Kenny McKinley and how he was suffering through a hopeless feeling and killed himself after trying to rehab back onto the Broncos.

I want to put this out there that people who have never been on the verge of suicide should never judge people who do commit suicide. You’ll never understand what it takes to push someone over the ledge. And I don’t want to judge Murdock for his actions. There could have been a lot of factors to it.

But this death adds more to the black cloud over the NFL and its current state of players killing themselves. I hope this isn’t part of the concussion issue that’s going on. But at the same time, something wrong is happening and we need to stop it.

How Bill Walsh’s death helped launch my writing career

@SamuelYLam Five years ago today, HOF #49ers HC Bill Walsh passed away.

— Patrick Tulini (@PTulini) July 30, 2012

One of followers tweeted me a reminder that today is the 5-year anniversary of the legend Bill Walsh’s death.

I remember where I was when I found out the news. I was in New York coming off another long day of work from my internship. Back then, I didn’t have a smart phone so I didn’t know what was happening around the world until I got home to my computer.

Back then in 2007, I had just started my coverage of the 49ers for MVN.com (which has now turned into this very poorly run site). It was a sports blog and I was using that platform to hopefully one day launch me to bigger and better things.

A trip down memory lane: Looking back at the 49ers’ 2011 season

With training camp underway, let’s take a look at where the 49ers were and what they’re trying to get done this season.

Recapping this trip: The Santa Clara/San Jose/San Francisco edition

Pretty neat recap from NFL Network’s own Ian Rapoport on his trip to 49ers HQ. And as for his question about West Coast tape delays, yes, I avoid Twitter and Facebook all together.

Sean Payton Is Watching You

Every breath you take, I’ll be watching you…

Joe Montana's Right Arm

As the Saints practice at their training camp facility in Metairie, Louisiana, the figure of Sean Payton still lurks in the distance with the head coach serving a year-long suspension.

A large sign of Payton hangs in the building with the Belichickian phrase “Do Your Job” in large letters below his picture.

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Mr. Bean is all the Olympics Opening Ceremony needed

Mr. Bean stole the show.

I liked last night’s Opening Ceremony. I had my fix of classic British rock, including Paul McCartney and lots of fairytale folklore. But the only thing that really caught my attention was that of Mr. Bean.

I am a huge Mr. Bean fan and seeing him there was all I needed to see.

LINK TO VIDEO

I can’t wait for what Vernon Davis has in store after he retires from football

I wouldn’t be surprised if Davis hangs out with the president on a few more occasions later in life.

I covered San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis for the past three seasons with my work with Examiner.com and every time I think about those years, I always enjoyed every opportunity I had to interview him and see him grow. I’ve become a fan.

On the football field, he has established himself as one of the best tight ends in the game. His blocking ability and his route running continue to improve and his chemistry with quarterback Alex Smith is very special. As a football player, Davis has been a team leader for a few seasons and it’s very apparent a lot of younger players look up to him.

I’m excited to see Davis continue this fantastic career he is putting together and lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl win. He has the tools and the right structure in place to make it happen. I truly believe that he can lead the 49ers to the promised land.

I love the Olympics and I hope we have more great moments

Moments like these is what makes the Olympics so great. Sure it shouldn’t be about politics, but sometimes politics comes into it and makes it so much more important (Tommie Smith and John Carlos, 1968). But at the same time, politics makes it worse (Terrorist attacks, 1972).

As I had mentioned in a previous blog post, sports gives us a platform to make a difference in the world.

So as the Olympics Opening Ceremony open up today, I hope that this becomes a platform for athletes. I know that there are a lot of problems in the world and with these Olympics, we might be opened up to the world by athletes who care about real issues.

I usually don’t like to cheer for any country in particular, but I will be leaning towards my home (USA) and my family home (China). But it really doesn’t matter to me. This is a time celebration of for the world, for us to grow closer together, and this is what I hope we get out of it.

Northwestern Unveils New Look for 2012 Season

The last time I gave a standing ovation to a new uniform set was the Blue Jays this year. But this new Northwestern uniforms has forced me to do it again. Northwestern, known for their northwestern stripes has now incorporated it into compression sleeves and across the jersey. It’s unique and I think it complements the entire set so well. Great job!

The Asylum Collective

The Northwestern Wildcats have released their new Under Armour duds for the 2012 season— and for once, it appears UA has done well with a uniform:

More photos and information here.

They seem to be running behind the “Reclaim the Stripe” idea, since Northwestern is credited with being among the first to introduce stripes into a football uniform. Let me say this— I love it. The only thing I would change is the tramp-stamp wordmark on the back of the pants. This look specifically comes from the early 1900’s, when NU first introduced the stripes across their uniforms (warning, bad photoshop). A little bit more from the designers, and those interesting numbers:

They noted the Gothic architecture, pulling patterns from the stone work and incorporating them into the jersey numbers, thus tying the power of the school’s buildings to the strength of the team. They also took from the…

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View Ryan Kalil’s Crazy Letter In All Its Glory

If a bigger name did this, all the major media outlets would lose their minds over it. But since it’s the lowly Panthers, it’s a blip on their radar. I am not a fan of guarantees or any of that sort and I would prefer nobody do it. But hey, it makes for a good storyline in February whether or not it comes true.

Joe Montana's Right Arm

If Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez, Michael Vick or any other quasi-unlikable NFL figure penned a letter to their local newspaper about how their perspective team was going to win a Super Bowl, it would lead SportsCenter, NFL Network, CNN, TVOne, Oxygen, Versus, Lifetime, Fox News, MSNBC, and BET at the top of every hour.

Instead, Carolina Panthers center Ryan Kalil released this letter to the Charlotte Observer, which means you’ll forget he ever did this by next spring…unless the Panthers actually win the Super Bowl.

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