By Jared Launius

I’m not the type that likes to dote over people. There’s enough of that already going around.

There are enough people out there admiring Tim Tebow’s ability to be a ‘winner.’ We already have our fill writers that will use a lot of metaphors and comparisons to sensationalize Phil Mickelson–how Tiger Woods should try to be like him, how he’s a great family man, and so on.

Yes, I would say there is plenty of that out there without me using over-blown, romanticized posts to drool all over some athlete that did something nice. So please understand that’s not my goal with this post. Whether or not I succeed may be another story.

At any rate, I was fairly taken aback yesterday upon reading this article. I’ll spare you the time of reading through the whole thing and just give the gist: former Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, a projected top-three pick in this Thursday’s upcoming NFL draft, has pledged to donate $2 million to the Nebraska athletics department and an additional $600,000 to Nebraska’s College of Engineering.

Now, I don’t intend to lionize Suh the way we’ve lionized Mickelson and Tebow and Brett Favre and so on. I can’t help but think, though, that society could use a little bit more Ndamukong Suh in their lives.

If he follows through on his promise, he will have made the largest donation of any former football player in Nebraska history, which is quite noteworthy given that one of football’s all-time great philanthropists, retired offensive tackle Will Shields, played for the Huskers.

This, of course, makes him quite remarkable before you figure his demonstrative talent and NFL promise. And his remarkable name, pronounced, as I understand it, en-DOM-ick-in. And the fact that this picture exists:

And then there’s the fact that he just seems like a relatively normal dude–or at least as relatively normal as a freakishly athletic, 6-feet-4, 300-pound man-tackler can be.

He isn’t the All-American quarterback that likes to remind you how much more he loves God than you do. He might be the aw-shucks type, but he doesn’t seem to have the same fondness for the limelight that Brett Favre does.

He is what he is: a future All-NFL defensive tackle that doesn’t mind seal kisses and does seem ready to give back.

And he’s delightful enough without my doting.

Photo credit: cincyjungle.com

By Jared Launius

(Editor’s note: Hi! I’m Jared Launius and I’m the new sports blogger/blog editor for College magazine. I hate talking about myself, so I’d rather jump in with an actual blog post than waste my first one just talking about myself and the boring sight I am to behold. I hope you enjoy my thoughts, and please please PLEASE feel free to leave comments.)

When it was announced that former Florida QB Tim Tebow, A.K.A. The Guy That Makes Brent Musburger Announce-gasm, would be doing a pro-life ad for Focus on the Family in the Super Bowl, everybody basked in the opportunity to go after the guy that made us hate both that one really big sports network and the fact that hundreds of thousand sports blogs existed. The guy made Brett Favre look underexposed. Everyone was sick of him, so he was an easy target.

We don’t want care about your thoughts on morality! You’re an athlete, not a politician! Your spikey, flat-top hair looks stupid!* Everyone seized the opportunity to enlighten Tebow as to exactly how little they cared about his opinions on issues like abortion. They told him, quite plainly, that they didn’t want their night of crappy-beer-and-Doritos commercials entwined with his moralities.

*I added that one in there just for fun.

Now, fast-forward a few weeks. By show of hands, how many of you spent time railing* Tiger Woods over his moral compass, or lack thereof, following his press conference Friday? Don’t be shy, I know everyone did.

*This was, at first, an unintentional pun. I decided to leave it for obvious reasons.

Now, I’m hardly moral police, but doesn’t that seem a bit backwards? The public lashed out at Tebow- we don’t give a s–t about about your moralities, OK!- but was more than happy to lambast Tiger for showing such moral disregard of family values and for seeming so unauthentic in his apology.

Look, I get it. Comparing abortion to cheating is like comparing apples to oranges, er, dead babies to lipstick on dress shirts. Abortion crosses fault lines, while I’d guess that most people aren’t fans of polygamy.

This runs deeper than that though. I find it interesting that a person can crush someone for sleeping around on their significant other, then turn around and rip someone else for announcing their stance on a hot-button issue. There’s a word for that, I’m thinking.

The bottom line is this: I’m just as hypocritical as the next guy. I yell at people that text while driving, then text someone about how much I hate driving texters, while driving. I don’t claim to be anything different.

Just know what you sound like when you accuse somebody of something you’re guilty of yourself.

Photo credit: nj.com

We Want Favre….and Chicken Wings!!!

The preseason doesn’t start for more than a month, but there are already plenty of stories to follow before the season kicks off on September 10th.

Of course, the biggest story is the possible return of Brett Favre. After retiring twice Favre is talking about making another return, this time with the Minnesota Vikings. Since the Vikings and Packers play in the same division, this would actually make people pay attention to the NFC North for the first time in a long time. Hopefully he avoids dragging out his decision. I doubt it though.

After trading away franchise QB Jay Cutler, the Denver Broncos appear to be ready to grant WR Brandon Marshall his recent request for a trade, as well. Great off season, huh? On the field, Marshall is one of the most talented receivers in the league. Off the field, he enjoys stabbing his girlfriend with forks and slipping on McDonald’s wrappers. If any team decides to trade for him, they will immediately improve their team. Unfortunately, they will also get a ton of headaches.

Tom Brady is Back. You've Been Warned.

Last year Tom Brady threw for only 76 yards before a knee injury ended his season. Now he’s back and the Patriots appear ready for another Super Bowl run. Plus, he married a supermodel, which should only improve his quality of life.

Both Plaxico Burress and Michael Vick are awaiting Roger Goddell’s ruling on their availability for this upcoming season. Plaxico shot himself so I think he’s suffered enough. Imagine the shit he got from his friends? Both could make immediate impacts on NFL teams if given the opportunity. The commissioner will probably rule on both situations closer to the start of the season.

Rookie QB’s

After the success of Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan, I expect the Lions and Jets to force their rookie signal callers into action ASAP. Matthew Stafford will probably have the chance to watch Daunte Culpepper for at least half the season before he is asked to quarterback the team. Jets rookie Mark Sanchez won’t be so lucky. Expect him to start from day one with some good games and some not.

Image Source 1: http://www.mrdink.net/wp-content/uploads/tom-brady-patriots.jpg

Image Source 2: http://www.allproblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/vikings-fan.jpg