Line of Scrimmage: McNair's Death Should Be Part of Legacy
Football Betting Lines
07/09/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Those of us still clinging to the naive hope that the police investigating the death of Steve McNair would step to the podium in Nashville on Wednesday, and announce that our suspicions about the manner in which the former Pro Bowl quarterback died were way off, have now loosened our grip on that notion.
Nashville police concluded that Sahel Kazemi, McNair's 20-year-old girlfriend, killed McNair with four bullets before turning the gun on herself. Perhaps Kazemi was troubled because of the nature of her relationship with McNair. Perhaps she was just troubled in general, and put an end to her own desperation and misery in one final, irrational act.
We'll never know for sure, and that fact will provide sustenance to the conspiracy theorists in the coming weeks, months, and years.
McNair was an extraordinary person to many, and it's always hard to accept that extraordinary people die just like the rest of us, with no breath in their lungs or blood pumping through their veins.
That's the reason there are still those willing to believe in JFK assassination theories some 45 years after the event, despite a mountain of evidence that a single, scrawny young drifter with rudimentary firearms training could take down the most powerful person in the free world.
They're saying the same sorts of disbelieving things about Kazemi, and at the same time lamenting how unfortunate it was that the great warrior's orbit should overlap with that of the wayward, unstable woman, barely out of her teens.
That the life of a 20-year-old young woman has ended before it could truly amount to anything is strictly a below-the-fold item, no matter what friends or family might be mourning Kazemi's death or to what degree she may have been used and misled by a superstar used to having things his way.
Meanwhile, in the wake of his shocking death, there has been an outpouring from McNair's former teammates, his coaches, his opponents, and the fans who watched him work, talking about what a respected figure he was both on and off the field. McNair's former coach, the Titans' Jeff Fisher, told us McNair should be remembered as a consummate champion, a man who gave back both his time and wealth to the community, and as someone who loved his family.
"My hope is that we can get past the circumstances and let those go...and dwell and stay focused on the type of player and person that he was," said Fisher.
All of which would be much easier to do if Steve McNair had died like Pat Tillman in the mountains of Afghanistan. Or like Roberto Clemente, on a relief mission to Nicaragua. Or like anyone who wasn't complicit in their own demise because they were out doing what married fathers of four ought not.
Apologies to Fisher and any other McNair friends or followers who would like to divorce their hero's legacy from the events of his final, fateful night, but that's not how it works and not how it should work.
No, we should not forget how McNair blazed a trail for the small-college and African-American quarterbacks who came after him, we should not forget his on- field greatness or his off-field philanthropy, and we should not miss this chance to forever tell a powerful cautionary tale about a man who apparently felt that his celebrity absolved him from acting with a sense of morality or humanity in his personal life.
Yes, McNair was a victim in this case, and nothing he may have done justifies the horrific manner in which he died, or that he died at all at the age of 36. But he's not a victim in the same way Sean Taylor was a victim, and McNair's ultimate off-the-field misstep should occupy the first half-hour of every NFL rookie symposium from now until the league folds.
Let's not whitewash the truth here, or spin away the ugliness, lest we're reading similar headlines about another father, friend and teammate somewhere down the line.
How does McNair deserve to be remembered? He deserves to be remembered as a winner, a fighter, a tremendous talent, a community leader...and a man who died with four bullets in his body due in part to the poor decisions that he made.
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Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa
Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.
Should be in:
Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?
Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.
Work left to do:
Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.
Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.
Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.
Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.
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