R.I.P., Evel

Already too much death this week, with the passing of Sean Taylor and Dr. Cade. Unfortunately, we had another great sports figure leave our collection of stadiums, arenas and crazyass ramps yesterday.

Evel Knievel passed away on Friday. He was 69.

Just before his passing he had seemingly ironed out his differences with rapper Kanye West.

Knievel will always be remembered for his successful jumps, as well as his not so successful ones that usually ended in a horrific way.

R.I.P. Evel, your wild, brash, living-on-the-edge attitude will be sorely missed.



And really, when you're the inspiration for a character, Capt. Lance Murdock, in Matt Groening's favorite Simpsons episode that really means something.

Naturally We Called Our Stuff "Gatorade"

I hate to bring news of another passing today, but Dr. Robert Cade, one of the inventors of Gatorade, has passed away. He was 80 years old.

Cade ultimately died from kidney failure, but not before he was able to let us all know where the term "Gatorade" came from.



R.I.P., Dr. Cade. I'll make sure to pour out a 32oz of lemon lime Gatorade for ya homie.

R.I.P., Sean Taylor

Sean Taylor, standout starting safety for the Washington Redskins, has passed away.

Taylor was shot in the leg early Monday morning at his home in Miami, and suffered damage to his femoral artery. Authorities have said that he was shot by an intruder, and that this incident may be tied to a previous break-in.

Living in Florida, I was able to watch Sean Taylor play a number of games, and you could tell from the beginning that he was a special player. He was a consistent contributor for the '01 team that won the National Championship, and followed that with outstanding seasons in '02 and '03. He had the speed to cover almost all of the field, and the power to seperate any receiver from the ball should they attempt to catch it. Those skills helped make him the #5 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

My condolences go out to his family, friends and teammates.

Climbing Bill Walsh's Coaching Tree

Bill Walsh died yesterday at the age of 75. R.I.P. "The Genius".

Walsh's football coaching success came mostly in the pro's where his West Coast offense really thrived. It emphasized short to intermediate passing routes run with precision by the receivers, thereby spreading out the defense for longer pass and run plays. The 49'ers teams of the 80's are a great example of that style of offense.

Instead of listing Walsh's accomplishments to convey his success, I thought I might post a different set of statistics to show how much he influenced the game over the course of his life. Like I stated before, most of Walsh's success and influence was concentrated in the NFL. However, one example of Walsh's influence in the college game came in '84 and '90 when BYU, using a version of the West Coast offense, won a national title and Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy, respectively. In the NFL ranks his reach was far greater, as you can see from his coaching tree:

Let's see how many Super Bowls wins have come as a result of Walsh's influence:

Bill Walsh: 3 Super Bowls('81, '84, '88)
Mike Holmgren: 1 Super Bowl('96)
George Seifert: 2 Super Bowls('89, '94)
Jon Gruden: 1 Super Bowl('02)
Mike Shanahan: 2 Super Bowls('98, '99)
Brian Billick: 1 Super Bowl('00)
Tony Dungy: 1 Super Bowl('06)

That's 11 Super Bowls that Walsh's coaching influence has contributed to. Obviously not every one of those teams ran the West Coast offense(the Ravens in '00 had almost no passing attack), but Walsh's ideologies and techniques have been passed down through the coaching ranks.

So, R.I.P. Bill "The Genius" Walsh, your influence in football coaching, as well as football video games is still felt today. And in order to keep the mood somewhat light, I present you with the Coors Light Bill Walsh commercials.