ATHLETES of the WEEK: Vince Young

This just in!!!! VINCE YOUNG (apparantly) IS NOT DEPRESSED, HURT, OR SUICIDAL!

As a matter of fact, he's playing like he did back at the University of Texas. And in the win last week against Arizona, Vince looked a lot like he did in that EPIC National Championship game back 2006 at the Rose Bowl.

I've been rooting for Vince since he came back into the line-up as starter this year because last year he got hurt, disappeared and unable to be found by the team, and subsequently the media turned Vince Young into a spectacle by saying he was contemplating suicide. Not to mention the fact that his mother didn't help the situation by telling the media he didn't want to play football anymore. In a matter of a week or so he went from promising young quarterback to young quarterback spiraling out of control. WOMP!

The truth of the matter is that Vince Young was a kid who came into the NFL having dominated the game of football at every level. In addition to that, I'm sure he came into the NFL with a bunch of people around him who had been telling him he was the best person to every play QB and that he would be a star in the NFL. But that NFL stardom doesn't come without many trials and tribulations. Just like every other young NFL QB does, Vince struggled at times. At other times he showed glimpses of greatness. These are the ups-and-downs every quarterback tends to go through until they settle into an offensive system with some decent weapons and learn how to read NFL defenses. It wasn't a big shock to me that Vince might have been having some trouble growing in the NFL. But when you considering the pressure placed on an NFL quarterback you also have to realize that not every player in the NFL (let alone a QB) is ready to carry the emotional load that comes with being in the NFL and expected to perform at a high level.

Vince got hurt early in the season last year and the team was turned over to NFL journeyman (but also Superbowl QB) Kerry Collins. The Titans then went on to win 13 games last year with Collins at the helm. During this great run it appeared to me that Vince Young was mostly an afterthought. And when he was thought of there were questions about his mental toughness, stability, and his ability to succeed in the NFL that all came before anything positive. Meanwhile, Vince Young was on the sidelines keeping quiet and apparently learning a lot about the NFL.

This year, after a horrendous start to the season with Collins as the starter, the Titans brass decided it was time to see if Vince still had something left in the tank (which is a crazy thought considering how young he is) and the owner made it publicly known that he felt Vince should start. Titans' coach Jeff Fisher subsequently started Vince in the next game and since then the Titans have yet to lose a game of football beating the Jaguars, 49ers, Bills, Texans, and a thriller over the Cardinals with Vince leading a 99-yard drive to win the game capped with this throw to rookie, Kenny Britt.

Now I'm not even close to being Vince Young's number 1 fan. But even if the Titans lose every game from here on out I think Vince Young is the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year this year. I'm just happy to see a young brother rebound from adversity to come back and prove (at least up until this point) his doubters wrong. It's good to see him rebound from everything that happened last year and play like a stud for the last 5 games. It just goes to show that sometimes every one else might doubt you, but if you believe in yourself you can do whatever it is you set out to achieve.

Congrats to Vince on his great play this season and I hope they continue to play well.

ATHLETES of the WEEK: Allen Iverson

This week A.I. resigned with the Philadelphia 76ers. Am I supposed to be excited about this? Am I supposed to be excited for him? Really, am I?

I think this is a desperate move for A.I. and an obvious business move for the 76ers. Allen doesn't need the money, he just needs the spotlight/ball. Everybody knows that even with A.I. the 76ers aren't doing anything this year. The Sixers could have Moses Malone, Dr. J, A.I., Andre Iguodala (WTF is an Iguodala by the way), and Eric Snow and they STILL would not do ANYTHING this year!!!

Everybody should know that they're only bringing in Allen because he's loved by Philly fans and he undoubtedly help ticket sales. Sure the 76ers need help when you consider Lou Williams is out for 8 weeks with a broken jaw. And sure, Iverson could come in and average 25+ points per game on that team which really doesn't have a true scorer other than Williams. But in the end, what is Allen looking to get out of this situation other than a starting spot and the ability to jack-up shots whenever he wants? I don't think John Thompson would have advised him to come out of his semi-retirement to play for the 76ers.

The only way I can think this will pan out to give Iverson what he claims he wants (a championship) is if the following happens...

1. Iverson comes back and averages about 25 per game (which is HIGHLY possible).
2. He demands a trade at the trade deadline to a contender (*knocks on microphone*...Cleveland, are you there? Hey, is this thing on?) to come off the bench or maybe even start in the case that someone's point guard is injured for the remainder of the season.
3. He makes a run with the contender and somehow manages NOT to screw up the chemistry of the team (the way Shaq-a-saurus is doing in Cleveland) before they make it to the Finals and win a championship.

Aside from this strategy, the only way I see this making sense for Allen is to perform well until Lou comes back, take a seat on the bench, and come off the bench as the sixth man with the green light, and average 20+ off the bench.

Yes, I know that benching Allen friggin Iverson for Lou Williams sounds stupid if not mildly Eli Porter. But so does Allen Iverson accepting a 1-year tender to play with the 76ers when he's trying to win a championship! The fact of the matter is that if A.I. comes in there and shoots the ball a billion times a game he's going to hurt the 76ers growth as a team more than help them. They have young players that won't be able to develop this year and after this year we all know Allen is out of there and the 76ers will most likely be left with a set of young players that missed a year of growth.

Fill the seats now, or build a contender for next year or the year after? That's the question the 76ers brass answered when they signed A.I. It's ALL about the money.

To me though, this signing says more about Allen Iverson needing the ball/spotlight than it does about the 76ers (a business) making a business decision. It doesn't seem like Allen has matured from those years in Denver and Detroit when everybody wanted to surmise that he'd grown and developed into a more team-oriented player. I'm not saying that he isn't a team-oriented guy or that he can't or hasn't been one but I AM SAYING that he won't be one on this particular team. A.I. needed to go to a team that is a contender with veteran leaders (San Antonio) or a combination of young studs and veteran leaders (Cleveland, Boston) in order to be the team-oriented Allen we all know he can be when he wants to.

But there is one angle in all of this I haven't considered much to be honest. Maybe A.I. is being black-balled by a large number of teams in the league because of his "reputation". He has a reputation as a guy who plays hard every game but doesn't like to practice. He has a reputation as a me-first guy that isn't unselfish enough to fit into a true team structure. And he also has a bad boy image no matter how much some people want to act like the corn rows, tattoos, and street gear are now a non-issue. Just a thought.

What I do know FOR SURE is that he's not going to win a championship in Philly...EVER! That opportunity was lost several years ago. So my advice to him would be to play his butt off until late January and hope someone makes a trade offer for him that the 76ers can't resist. In the meantime I'm sure A.I. and Mike Vick will have the Philly party scene going bonkers!

ATHLETES of the WEEK: Tiger Woods

My MAIN man Eldrick Woods, also known as "Tiger". This week Tiger went from curiously crashing his car in his own driveway to being chased out of the house with a golf club to having an affair with up to two women. As you can see, it's been a busy week for him but if any animal can handle all these things, it'd be a "Tiger". But it seems as if Tiger knew a few days ago that all the cheating talk might hit the fan soon considering this completely hilarious voice message he left for his jump-off. And there have also been text messages he sent to his jump-off released as well which are also rather humorous.

I'm still curious as to whether his wife beat his azz with the golf club prior to him crashing or not. It appears that those details might just go untold. I'm also still curious about how Tiger and his wife could simply tell the police they weren't going to talk to them about the accident. Hmmm, must be nice.

I've noted on this blog before that Tiger was someone I looked up to and he still is, just not in terms of him being a good father and husband. This is definitely a hugely bad decision on his part but it doesn't take away from the other things he's accomplished. No one is perfect and we all have made poor decisions at some point in our lives. You live and you learn. I just wish he could have been a better husband for his family and father to his kids when temptation came his way. But he still has time to make things better, hopefully.

I'd be lying if I said that this shytuation is surprising. Tiger's a rich athlete and lots of rich athletes (and not-so-rich non-athletes as well) get caught up in shytuations of infidelity so I don't think anyone is surprised. I never had Tiger pegged as Mr. Innocent but I probably did have him pegged as Mr. Cornball a few times and I think that lots of people may have taken his cornball-ness to mean that he wouldn't do something like this. To that I say, NEGRO PLEASE! Or better yet, C'Mon Son!

Tiger's biggest mistake in all this was deciding to cheat in the first place. The second biggest mistake was that he went and did what all these rich athletes that cheat seem to do (see Steve McNair). And that is, he found himself a young SCRUMPET that is far less attractive than what he has at home to go out and get "Becky", Rebecca, and Amanda Sue from. I don't think I'll ever understand why these guys risk so much for these bootleg chicks. The girl Tiger was dealing with (seen on the right) was on VH1's Tool Academy for crying out loud! I realize that just because you have a pretty wife at home doesn't mean she's the ideal wife but you make a vow for a reason. In sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better or for worse...Let's take these vows seriously guys. Otherwise, you might end up on TV with the Kobe Bryant "Adultery Face" (and the make-up ring bill also, lol)...