It is my hope that players, friends, and family members can remember Howard in the happy times. Image: Newscom.

As of now, the police have not made any arrests, and they’re asking that any students who might have pictures or videos of the fight to come forward. While there are suspects, and the Howard family is confident that the person responsible will be brought to justice, this is an especially hard pill for everyone to swallow because Howard was actually working hard to get away from violence. Howard was from a rougher area of Miami, and was thriving at college. Friends say that he was the type of person everyone loved and was very outgoing and friendly.

The show must go on, but this weekend, players at Connecticut will were a sticker wearing Howard’s number (#6). In addition, one of Howard’s high school friends, Chris Chancellor, now plays for Clemson and got permission to wear #6 at their next game to honor Howard.

Post from: EveryJoe

Players to Honor Jasper Howard

He was president of Indiana when they made the decision to fire basketball coach Bob Knight after he violated personal conduct policy, and that’s what people will probably remember most about him, but he was equally reforming in the NCAA. He actually used this decision to create a platform, saying that there needed to be more personal accountability in sports.

Myles Brand, Image: Newscom

Brand was the first NCAA president who wasn’t an athlete, coach, or other sports professional himself. As a result, his policies were often more focused on gender equity, student academics, and other things that were unpopular, rather than on the sports themselves. Personally, I think he was well-needed in college athletics.

In January, Brand went public with is diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He continued to work at the NCAA, and so far, the organization hasn’t announced a replacement. He was 67. RIP.

Read more about Brand here.

Post from: EveryJoe

RIP Myles Brand

In my lifetime the things that come to the top of my mind of having died would be the following:

• vinyl records
• cassettes
• 8-tracks
• beta max
• VCR
• floppy disks

If I were to guess about some other items that won’t be here in five years I’d add landline phones. I think incandescent bulbs will probably go away along with places like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.

The challenge these days with all of these changes is the persistence of the market that’s available through Chris Anderson’s Long Tail. These days I can’t really imagine anything completely dying, but easily getting out of general availability and usage.

With regards to online use. Will email be around? Or will it be replaced with services like Google Wave? Will services like Facebook still be around, or will the next bigger, better deal replace it? I know I sure hope MySpace goes away for good. Will we at some point decide that twitter’s 140 characters is just too much to take in and we’ll drop to some service that allows us to update everyone with one word poetry?

Post from: EveryJoe

What Will Be the Next to Die

Smalls was a brand new junior defensive back for the school, having just transferred from Georgia Military College, and was participating in a voluntary workout. Those on the scene say that Smalls complained of cramps and was taken out of the regular practice to stretch. While stretching, he stopped breathing, and athletic trainers administered CPR until the ambulance got to the stadium.

No word yet on what caused his death, but our thoughts are with the player’s family and teammates.

Post from: EveryJoe

RIP Ja’Quayvin Smalls

Steve McNair, Image: Newscom

Here are the highlights from his time playing NCAA Football:

• McNair played for Alcorn State after being recruited from Mount Olive High School in Mississippi.
  
• He was the third pick overall in the 1995 NFL draft.
  
• In 1992, McNair ran the ball in for a game-winning touchdown against Grambling, even though he had a leg injury.
• In his senior season, McNait had around 6,000 yards passing and rushing, as well as 53 touchdowns.
  
• McNair won the Walter Payton Award as the highest-ranked I-AA player in 1994.
  
• He broke more than a dozen records his senior year.
  
• McNair finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1994.
  

He was a great player, and from all accounts I’ve heard, a great father. The circumstances may be a bit hazy right now, but no matter what, my thoughts are with his family. RIP.

Post from: EveryJoe

Steve McNair in College

Bigelow was a long time wrestler in the WWE as well as ECW and WCW. He wrestled for more than 20 years. More to come on his death as soon as more information is known.

Post from: EveryJoe

Bam Bam Bigelow Found Dead