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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2007
NFL
League, family mourn loss of Redskins safety Taylor; police looking at every angle in murder investigation
Team to honor teammate with patches on jerseys and No.21 on helmets during its weekend home game
BY JOSEPH WHITE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASHBURN, Va. - Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's eyes were red. His voice cracked and was barely audible. Next to him sat coach Joe Gibbs, barely more composed.
Safety Sean Taylor's violent death had left his team in tears and the NFL in mourning.
"This is a terrible, terrible tragedy," Snyer said.
Taylor died early Tuesday of a gunshot wound from an apparent intruder, a tragic end for a 24-year-old man whose life was transformed by the birth of a daughter 18 months ago.
"We're going to miss him," Gibbs said. "I'm not talking about as a player. I'm talking about as a person."
A day earlier, Taylor and his girlfriend were awakened by loud noises.
according to family friend Richard Sharpstein, who learned the details from Taylor's girlfriend, Jackie Garcia. He said Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in
the bedroom for protection.
Someone then broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor, Sharpstein said. Neither Taylor's daughter, Jackie, nor Taylor's girlfriend were injured in the attack.
did not know why Taylor returned to Miami during the weekend. Taylor was not required to accompany the team to Sunday's game at Tampa Bay because of a knee injury.
"We're going to miss him. I'm not talking about as a player. I'm talking about as a person."
The bullet damaged the femoral artery in Taylor's leg, causing significant blood loss. Taylor never regained consciousness, Sharpstein said.
JOE GIBBS Redskins coach
Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said he
Police had no description of a possible suspect and were investigating whether the shooting was connected to a break-in at Taylor's home eight days earlier, in which police said someone
pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed.
"They're going to be looking at every angle," Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said. "They're going to be looking at every lead."
Authorities from Miami-Dade Police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were in and out of Taylor's home throughout the day. Police were seen taking a computer from Taylor's home.
A stream of family and friends arrived throughout the day, including his father, Florida City police chief Pedro Taylor. Some embraced outside; most came and went without speaking
JAYPLAY = 11.29.0Z
Washington Red's ory of Redskins safe after he was shot in mourning for a team
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Season's GREETINGS
Late-night, drunken caroling and a young Jewish girl who almost ruined Christmas—twice. It's all in there.
Eric Jorgensen, Kansan Managing Editor
My most memorable holiday moment is also one of my more questionable decisions as a legal adult. Two years ago, I was at a formal Christmas party with friends, enjoying the Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra renditions of various holiday songs. I had lost track of time, and the ability to rationalize, when my friend Jon said, "Let's go Christmas caroling!"
Of course it’s a good idea to carol at 1 a.m. after buckets of egg nog and lots of Bud Light, so I threw on my coat and led the charge to our first house just down the road. What happened next made me wish I was wearing a bullet-proof vest, yet at the same time carrying a video camera.
With no regard for privacy or sound ordinances, Jon banged on the front door of the first house, in the style of, say, the police. Not "knock, knock," but "bang, bang." After 10 seconds, Jon realized the door was open. Naturally, he went in. The rest of us peeked around the corner into the living room—there was no one downstairs.
What made me a little curious after I realized I wasn't going to have my ibrs kicked in, was that I noticed the crowd was composed of all couples. Ten men, ten women all walking in pairs. In essence, four guys slurring old Christmas songs, dressed in cheesy reindeer sweaters, may have broken up a drug-induced orgy in the middle of the freezing night. And that is my Christmas story.
"Hey, get down here!" Jon yelled. It was at this point that he took a chair out of their living room and onto the front lawn so he could stand on it and conduct us as we sang. For about a minute no one came outside. Then, all at once, about 20 people exited and stood in front of us four carolers, looking like they were expecting to see the D.E.A. or someone else with handcuffs. I instantly feared for my life as they started yelling over our singing of "We wish you a Merry Christmas." Long story short, no fists were thrown, but there were a lot of people telling me, "Not cool, dude."
Brenna Hawley, Jayplay designer
Every holiday season since I was five years old, I have gone to The Nutracker in Kansas City, Mo. Sometimes my dad would come, sometimes it was just my mom and me, and a few times my boyfriend came. No matter what was happening in my life this show was a welcome escape from any problems or stress.
Pterl yichl Tenkaiokky wrote "The Nutcracker Suite" in 1892 it is a story of a girl named Clara. Her family throws a party at her house, and her mysterious godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, gives her a nutcracker. Out of jealousy, her little brother breaks the toy, Drosselemeyer mends the toy, but Clara sneaks out of bed to visit him. She slips into a dream and the nutcracker comes to life. In a battle with human-sized mice, the nutcracker prevails and turns into a prince. Clara becomes his princess and travels with him to the Land of the Sweets. Here she sees dances by the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum Fair, the Arabian coffee dancers, the buffoons and many others.
The show has become very familiar to me because I have gone every December. Always sitting in row $S_1$ saw the same dances, the same choreography and the same costumes worn by the Kansas City Ballet dancers. When the music plays on a TV
**WHAT:** The Nutcracker by the Kansas City Ballet
**WHEN:** Dec. 1 to Dec. 23
**WHERE:** Music Hall 301 W.
13th St., Kansas City, Mo.
PRICE:** $25-50
For more information and showtimes, visit http://www.kcballet.org/performancestickets/nutracker.html
commercial or on my computer, I envision the dancers on the show and can see exactly the way they move. This is especially true with the Waltz of the Flowers, in which 18 girls dressed in all different colors dance gracefully in unison.
Since my parents divorced and both moved away from Lawrence, my attendance has been inconsistent. This year I decided to buy tickets and plan to go every year again. It has been a great holiday tradition for me and I hope to carry it on with my family.
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