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Quick Hits
By Scott Venci Correspondent New Kansas City Chief coach Dick Vermeil is making a huge mistake by returning to the sideline. He had a dream season with the St Louis Rams a couple of years ago, and it was the perfect ending to a pretty good coaching career. By going to the Chiefs, Vermeil inherits a team that has no real shot at winning a championship in the near future, and his coaching career could very well end with him getting fired after he falters for the next couple of seasons. Now that Virginia Tech's Michael Vick officially declared for the draft, the San Diego Chargers have a huge decision to make, and one that may impact their team for the next decade. Vick will be the most coveted player in the draft, who also happens to play the most important position on a football team. The Chargers and new general manager John Butler may be better off trading the pick for a bundle of extra picks, rather then take the chance on yet another quarterback who may turn out to be Ryan Leaf. Some feel that Charger offensive coordinator Norv Turner could do wonders with Vick, who is still very inexperienced. Don't believe it. Turner is constantly given too much credit for being a genius at developing quarterbacks. He's really only done it once in his career, when he was in Dallas and worked with Troy Aikman. His young quarterbacks in Washington however, never turned out the way they were supposed to. Heath Shuler was a huge bust, and Gus Ferotte was famous not for what he did on the field, but for sustaining a concussion after ramming his head into a wall after he scored a touchdown. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are now going at it in the media out in Los Angeles. Both of them want to be the first option on their team, apparently forgetting that it's more important to win then to look good trying. If they are more interested in being the star on their team rather then winning, then they can go to a place like Vancouver and shine alone while winning 15 games a year. Of course, then they would complain that they are sick of losing and that management isn't getting enough good players for them to have a shot to win. The Bears vice president of player personnel Mark Hatley had to hold a press conference last week to announce that he is going to be staying with the Bears despite rumors that he may be hired elsewhere. This is a confusing situation. It almost sounds like the Bears would block the path of the man who drafted Cade McNown and Curtis Enis from leaving. What's disturbing about the situation is that not only do the Bears want him around, but that a couple of other teams want him too. Do these teams want to lose games on purpose so that they can relocate their team to Florida? The Bulls rebuilding process looks like it's going to be extended much longer then anticipated. It has been established that free agents with other options aren't coming here, but at least the Bulls could rebuild through the draft. Unfortunately, this year's rookies look like a complete bust, except for the decent play of guard Khalid El-Amin. Jamal Crawford and Marcus Fizer, the two high lottery picks, look like they are years away from being anything more then adequate. While that may actually be an improvement for the team, it is hardly going to make them a playoff contender. Elton Brand, the one good player they have drafted in recent years, will be demanding a trade by next year and will leave the team once he becomes a free agent. Back to top | Home Webmaster: Sal J. Barry The Columbia Chronicle is a student produced publication of Columbia College Chicago and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of Columbia College administrators, faculty or students. |
January 16, 2001
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