Rich's Sports Beat

The saga of Aaron Hernandez has been all over the news and everyone knows what he has been alleged to have done.  This is not an excuse nor a defense of Hernandez.  Hardly.  He is a young man of 23, blessed with athletic ability, and given more money than he could have spent in a lifetime. That is a recipe for disaster.  Soon, a young man feels he is above the law and afforded special privileges because of who he is.  Look where it got him.  He is charged in one murder and is being accused of more. Professional football has never been filled with choir boys.  It is a gladiator sport played by warriors who put their personal health on the line for the love of the game.  Look at how many it is has permanently injured, or crippled, because of its violence.  That is why the game is loved by the masses.  It is played by no mere mortals but freaks of nature.  However, it is also filled with players who have less than stellar pasts and ...

Back and better than ever!  I just learned I was turned down by an online sports writing site that I did not meet their guidelines to be one of their writers.  Well, their loss!  They just don't know good writing when they see it!  So, on that note, Sports Beat is back with a fury!  First item up, Rushel Shell, the running back with a college, at least not yet. The saga with Shell began in the spring when he decided he wasn't sure if he wanted to part of the University of Pittsburgh football program.  Head Coach Paul Chryst told him to take some time and think it over.  Shell decided to leave the program and the university.  After deciding that he didn't want to be so far away from home, as he was at UCLA at the time, Shell asked Pitt if he could return.  He got his answer from Chryst.  The answer was no.  Chryst decided he is building a program and no one is going to be above the program.  That decision left much debate as ...