Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Winslow on the mend

Could this be the breakthrough we've all been waiting for? Could this be when Kellen Winslow Jr. turns from devil-may-care hothead to an older, wiser, more sensible version?
If it's true, call him "K3."
Today, FoxSports.com reported Winslow appeared to have every last vestige of "I'm a soldier" removed from his being. Talking to reporters, he was said to have been quiet and contrite, much thinner and suffering from a staph infection that he said might have been caused by rubbing a kind of vitamin E cream on his skin.
He said he was wrong for risking his neck on a motorcycle. He said he knew he had a clause in his contract that forbids him from engaging in risky activities.
"I made a mistake," he reportedly said. "I just have to prove everybody wrong and come back from it."
It looks like Winslow doesn't want to be the heir to his father's throne anymore. He doesn't want to be the prodigy, the larger-than-life character he was coming out of the University of Miami.
He's just a young guy trying to salvage his career now.
He's finally had too much. Too much hype. Too much of the Poston brothers. Too much face time on TV. Too much StarBoyz. Too much of his father and Chuck Galeti. Too much Sharon Reed.
His life has been a circus since turning pro. Some of it has been his own doing. Some of it was thurst on him. He might be finally ready to take hold of his own reigns with a bitter-but-necessary bludgeoning at the hands of common sense. We can only hope.
Today, we started to see Winslow for what he really is: a confused kid with poor judgment skills. Someone who desperately needs a worthwhile mentor.
We've seen busts in Cleveland, but none have been as talented and few would be as tragic as Kellen Winslow Jr. He still needs guidance, but my sincere hope for him is that he starts listening to the right people.

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