Looking back on the memory of

The dance we shared beneath the stars above 

For a moment all the world was right 

How could I have known you'd ever say goodbye 

And now I'm glad I didn't know 

The way it all would end the way it all would go 

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain 

But I'd of had to miss the dance 

Holding you I held everything 

For a moment wasn't I the king 

But if I'd only known how the king would fall 

Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all 

And now I'm glad I didn't know 

The way it all would end the way it all would go 

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain 

But I'd of had to miss the dance 

Yes my life is better left to chance 

I could have missed the pain but I'd of had to miss the dance.

The Pride of Oceanside High...

Lettered in football, basketball, track and field...

As one of a band of just eighteen...

He led the Pirates to a CIF football title...

San Diego Section Basketball Player of the Year... 

Shot put league champion...

He fought on at USC...

From academically ineligible his freshman year...

To a unanimous first team All-American...

He made his mark...

How ironic...

That he played...

For a team named the Chargers...

Electricity magnified...

Fiery...

Competitive...

Beloved...

And now...

Never forgotten...

But all the fame...

And all the fortune...

Doesn’t satisfy the soul...

It’s obvious...

He played with heart...

But apparently lived...

With a broken heart...

dvt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mifIuSVAy0w

Lyrics from The Dande, written by Tony Arata

http://www.lyrics007.com/Garth%20Brooks%20Lyrics/The%20Dance%20Lyrics.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pISZgvWh4bw

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/2012/writers/dennis_dillon/05/03/junior.seau.stan.humphries/junior-seau.jpg

Can anyone remember such a surreal week in sports? The emotional spectrum experienced this week by fans of all of the major sports has been nothing short of a roller-coaster steaming out of control as it zips around the rails.

And we are all just here for the ride, helpless to stop pull the break but captivated to the point of not wanting to.

Such was the case on Wednesday, when we were all saddened and shocked by news of the apparent suicide of Chargers legend, and former Dolphin and Patriot, Junior Seau. Not one of us that saw that headline flash across the bottom of our television screens or top the headlines of the various news websites across the web could truly grasp the truth that one of the greatest linebackers of our generation and one of the greatest community members in all of sports could take his own life.

Of course, the speculation immediately jumped to the ties between head trauma and depression. The obvious similarities between Seau's death and that of former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson were hard to deny and just fuel the speculation more that Seau had an undiagnosed depression issue stemming from years of head injuries in the NFL. Unfortunately the man that made a name for helping other who were less fortunate found it hard to speak up and ask for the help he needed.

Now the world is out one of the good guys.

I find it interesting that Seau's death came just hours after Roger Goodell announced the punishments for the players directly linked to Bountygate with the Saints. I can't say that Seau made his decision to coorrelate with the announcement, but it certainly does cast a heavy-handed shadow across the need to protect players more, and that the responsibility to do so needs to fall into the hands of both the players and the folks that design the equipment to be increasingly streamlined.

However, Wednesday wasn't a day of complete mourning in the world of sports. Book-ending the aforementioned death of Seau and the proper punishment of the Saints's ring-leaders, were two pieces of news that once again had us on the emotional roller-coaster.

The first of which was the incredible gesture that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers extended to Eric LeGrand. Spurred on by new coach Greg Schiano, the Bucs signed the former Rutgers defensive tackle to a contract yesterday. This is significant because LeGrand has been paralyzed since making a tackle during a kick return on October 16, 2010. Schiano, LeGrand's coach at Rutgers, wanted to recognize that this would have been Eric's draft class and to also reward him for the perseverance, character, and spirit that LeGrand has exhibited during his recovery. To say that this was a huge gesture is under-selling it. This could be a life-changer for a young man who is already showing that he won't be held back by anything on his way to walking again.

And then we had the night cap.

Somehow, somewhere, someone knew that California needed something to take their minds off the loss of Seau.

I'm not going to say it was divine intervention or anything; I'm just not that kind of person. However, I do feel that it was ironic that a man playing for the "Angels" managed to lift the sports world back onto its feet. Of course, I am talking about Jered Weaver tossing his no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins.

It was a masterful performance from Weaver, who tossed the ninth individual no-hitter in the history of the Angels organization. He struck out, again coincidentally, nine batters in the game, with only a walk and a passed ball separating him from a perfect game. Sure, it came against a Twins team that was shut-out the night before and is one of the worst offensive units in baseball, but it was special nonetheless.

And on a night surrounded by tragedy, anger, and a grand gesture, something special seemed an appropriate way to end it.

Other Fragments:

- Yankees closer Mariano Rivera will be lost for the season, and may have ended his career, when he tore the ACL in his knee while shagging fly balls prior to last night's game in Kansas City. Even as a Red Sox fan, it would be a tragic way to end the career of the game's most dominating closer.

- Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas has appeared to put his disappointing rookie season behind him. After coming on late last season to get his average to .263 and finish with just five home runs, Moustakas has entered 2012 with a .318 start and has already popped four balls out of the yard. The former can't miss product is likely realizing his potential now and could be just as big of a prospect as the man on the other side of the diamond, Eric Hosmer.

- Someone forgot to tell the Rays that they lost Evan Longoria for the next 6-8 weeks with a torn hamstring. The AL East stalwart with an attendance problem has been winning without their leader, jumping out to a 18-8 record and have won 9 of their last 10 games. They lead the East by 1.5 games over the surprising Orioles, while the Yankees and Red Sox fall further behind. Just further proof that the Rays may have the best front office in all of baseball.

Thanks B.O.B and Average fan Det?? Delmon Young meltdown?? Brooklyn Nets?? The Nets again?? MLB messing around with its scheduling?? All this, and more, in this weeks edition of….

The young girl is Mackenzie Brown she threw a perfect game against a team of boys in 2009. Do you think the Yankees can use her now??

Today we will start off with a proper opening credits brought to you by Gary Shandling.

This has got to be the most ingenious opening credits in the history of television. Simple and to the point.

Now off with the show.

Thanks go out to B.O.B and Average fan Det for calling me out on the Jaguars selection of punter Bryan Anger in the 3^rd round. You guys are right. What was our GM thinking??

I do enjoy your blogs!!

Congrats go out to Jered Weaver who pitched a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins.

Now to a sad note.

Junior Seau, former star of the San Diego Chargers died at the age of 43 from self inflicted gun shot to the chest.

He played 20 years for three teams, San Diego Chargers (1990-2002), Miami Dolphins (2003-2005) and New England Patriots (2006-2009). Junior was a 12-time Pro Bowl section and a 6-time First team All-Pro, with 18 interceptions and 56 sacks during his playing career.

Seau, is the eighth member of San Diego's lone Super Bowl team who has died, all before the age of 45. Lew Bush, Shawn Lee, David Griggs, Rodney Culver, Doug Miller, Curtis Whitley and Chris Mims are the others. Causes of death ranged from heart attacks to a plane crash to a lightning strike.

My deepest sympathy goes out to his family.

The NFL handed down their player suspension for bounty-gate and Saints Johnathan Vilma was hit the hardest suspended for one year without pay. Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove was for the first half of the 16-game season, Saints defensive end Will Smith was barred for the first 4 games and Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita will miss the first three games. All were suspended without pay.

Why couldn’t the suspensions be handed out before the draft so the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns could draft accordingly if they wanted to. Then again why punish those teams when it was the Saints who had the bounty-gate. Suspend 10 Saints players for the season.

Major League baseball suspended Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young seven games without pay following his arrest on a hate crime harassment charge last week in New York City. Young was arrested after a late-night tussle at his hotel during which police say he yelled anti-Semitic epithets. Young is eligible to resume play on May 4^th. He suspension will cost him $257,240. Around 2:30 am last Friday, Young was standing outside the team hotel in New York. Close by, a group of Chicago tourists staying at the hotel were approached by a panhandler wearing a yarmulke and a Star of David around neck, according to the police. Afterward, as the group walked up to the hotel doors, Young started yelling anti-Semitic epithets, police said. It was not clear whom Young was yelling at, but he got into a scuffle with the Chicago group, and a 32-year-old man was tackled and sustained scratches to his elbows, according to police and the criminal complaint. Young was arrested, police said. Young was first taken to a hospital because he was believed to be intoxicated, police said.

Athletes have got to realize that they are in the spotlight and anything they do or say will be scrutinized.

The moment all of Brooklyn has been waiting for since 1957 when the Brooklyn Dodgers bolted to Los Angeles…..

The Brooklyn Nets are now officially a team. It became official April 30^th. They will be moving into a state-of-the-art Barclay Center when the season begins. They new colors of the team are black and white a far cry from their original red, white and blue colors of their ABA days. The logo on the left will be used at center court and the logo on the right will be used on the teams shorts. There is talk that the word Brooklyn will be on the shirts. Jay-Z helped design the logos.

Going into the 2012-2013, the Nets only have four players signed, MarShon Brooks, Anthony Morrow, Johan Petro and Jordan Williams.

Gerald Wallace has indicated he want’s to stay but is opting out so he can get a multi-year contract for more money.

Deron Williams had indicated he wants to be part of the first team in Brooklyn, but he also wants to play on a winner. He too is opting out and it looks like the Dallas Mavericks are going to go hard after him.

Brad Lopez has indicated he wants to stay, he is a restricted free agent.

Kris Humphries is an unrestricted free agent. The Nets might want to resign him as he has two years in a row that he has average a double-double.

The Net players had over 200 games missed due to injuries. They started over 22 different lineups and had to call up several players from the D-League. Some are saying if the team was healthy they would have been a playoff team and I tend to agree with that.

The Nets are reporting that they gave New Jersey season-ticket holder first dib to renew their tickets for Brooklyn, and out of over 7,000 ticket packages at Prudential Center nearly 1,700 renewed for the Barclay Center.

So now after altering the playoff system, the powers of the baseball world are going to be tinkering with the regular season schedule.

The League is working on eliminating “natural rivals” playing home-and-home, six-game series annually.

This has to do with the Houston Astros moving to the American League next year to balance the leagues to 15 teams.

Nothing has been finalized yet. But there will be changes to the scheduling system.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i24/scottjax77/NFL%20Football/00EricLeGrandandGreg.jpg

This is a class act that Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s coach Greg Schiano did Wednesday.

2012 would have been Rutgers University defensive tackle Eric LeGrand graduating year. Eric can not play due to a spinal cord injury that has ended his career. But it did not stop Schiano from signing his former player on May 2^nd to symbolize LeGrand’s college number 52.

The Tampa Bay Coach said "Leading up to the draft, I couldn't help but think that this should've been Eric's draft class. This small gesture is the least we could do to recognize his character, spirit and perseverance. The way Eric lives his life epitomizes what we are looking for in Buccaneer Men."

Til Next Time

Scott