Former NFL Linebacker, Junior Seau Has Passed Away

Junior Seau was only 43.

Reports are breaking that former NFL linebacker, Junior Seau was found dead in his California home today by his housekeeper. Cops have also told TMZ that they’re investigating a shooting, if not a suicide.

The 43 year old linebacker, who retired in 2009 after playing in seven games for the Patriots that season was a 12 time pro bowler who played for the San Diego Chargers, the Miami Dolphins, and the New England Patriots.

Now this isn’t the first time that Seau has made headlines before with the thought of suicide. As back in 2010, Seau who earlier in the day was arrested for hitting his 25 year old girlfriend drove his car off of a cliff sending sending himself to the hospital. Seau told police that it was not a suicide act and that he just fell asleep behind the wheel.

Sources told TMZ that earlier before he was found dead in his home, that Seau, sent text messages to his three children and ex-wife saying, “Love you.”

While there has been no official word yet on what Seau’s death is being marked as, according to sources, it does appear to be a suicide judging by the angle of the bullet.

“Everyone at the Chargers is in complete shock and disbelief right now. We ask everyone to stop what they’re doing and send their prayers to Junior and his family,” the team said in a statement.

As for Chargers team President, Dan Spanos, “I can’t put into words how I’m feeling right now. I’m shocked and devastated. Junior was my friend. We all lost a friend today. Junior was an icon in our community. He transcended the game. He wasn’t just a football player, he was so much more. He was loved by everyone in our family, our organization and throughout the NFL. This is just such a tragic loss. One of the worst things I could ever imagine. My prayers go out to Junior’s family. It’s heartbreaking.”

Chargers head coach, Norv Turner who spent time briefly in San Diego as well as in Miami with Seau had this to say, “I have no words to describe the passing of Junior Seau. It is a sad, sad day not only for me, but for the whole sports community. I worked with Junior here and later in Miami. I can tell you no one had more character and true leadership ability than Junior. He brought passion to the game of football that was unmatched. His commitment to charitable causes in the community was inspiring. It was an honor to know him. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Will Tim Tebow Be A Pro Bowler?

Tim Tebow a Pro Bowler?

Each year the NFL has its famous Pro Bowl game from Hawaii where it showcases the best football players in the world from both the AFC and the NFC. The two conferences compete to see which one is the best. However not every great player is selected as usually only three players from each position are selected from each conference to play in the game.

Now as the NFL is leading up to the decision of choosing their pro bowl rosters, there have been questions of if Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow will be selected? The answer, yes.

7-2 as a starter and his Broncos are in first place in the AFC West. He has six fourth quarter comebacks this season and he’s brought so much attention for one player since…ever. Tebow has performed so well this season that people have made a thing called “tebowing” which is when you get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.

He has the sixth best passer rating in the AFC and the best passer rating in the NFL in the fourth quarter. Now while he’s not one of the top passers in the NFL, he is one of the top runners in the NFL as he leads all quarterbacks in rushing with 610 yards.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of great quarterbacks in the NFL and there’s a lot of great quarterbacks in the AFC but this season putting Tebow’s great accomplishments aside, making the AFC Pro Bowl team as a quarterback is pretty easy. Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning has been injured all season, Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub is out for the season, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel who was a Pro Bowler last year has been awful this season, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has been awful, and there were two rookie starting quarterbacks (Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton and Jacksonville’s Blaine Gabbert).

Though don’t get me wrong as I’m not saying Tebow is the best or am I saying that he’s a lock for the Pro Bowl just yet as something needs to happen first, and here’s what it is. Putting all injuries aside, the three AFC quarterbacks should be New England’s Tom Brady, San Diego’s Phillip Rivers, and Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger as the third selection.

However, Roethlisberger has been banged up as of late and will most likely sit for the rest of the season which means if the Steelers go far in the playoffs then he most likely won’t play in the Pro Bowl which would mean they would need a sub who would be Tim Tebow.

Now I know, that there’s a lot of “tebow mania” out there and people like ESPN’s Skip Bayless aka Baseless would say that Tim Tebow is a lock for the Pro Bowl, but in all reality if you look at he’s not. Now don’t get me wrong Tebow’s a great player but he’s not Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers, or Ben Roethlisberger.

Saying that, Tebow did finish third among AFC quarterbacks in voting from the fans, but that’s not the final decision as coaches and players still have to cast their votes as well. This is also another reason why fan’s votes shouldn’t count in selecting players in All-Star games as this voting for Tebow is turning into the NBA’s Yao Ming dilemma.