FanHouse Kenechi Udeze

Former first-round pick Kenechi Udeze officially retired from the Vikings, citing the aftereffects of his treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and subsequent bone marrow transplant. Coach Brad Childress talked about how Udeze didn't want to let people down, and how hard he fought to come back. Udeze suffered from chemo-related pain and numbness in his feet that made it difficult to do drills or even wear shoes.

Udeze is an inspiration. I'm not sure the stories about his attempt at a comeback express how serious and difficult a fight against ALL can be. My sister Debby was diagnosed with the same form of leukemia in 2005 and, like Udeze, went through a bone marrow transplant through a sibling donation. Though everyone's reaction to treatment is different, there is nothing on the football field that is as difficult and painful as what I saw my sister go through.

Less than a year ago, the Vikings got plenty of bad publicity when they announced that they were docking the pay of Troy Williamson when he failed to return promptly after attending his grandmother's funeral. Whether it's a case of learning from that experience or just being altruistic, the Vikings deserve a lot of credit for how they're treating Kenechi Udeze.

Udeze, the team's first-round pick in 2004, is battling leukemia. He hopes to be back on the field for the 2009 season, but at this point no one knows when or if he'll ever play football again. When the Vikings placed Udeze on the non-football injury list this week, they told him that they would pay his full $800,000 salary this year, even though they were under no obligation to pay it. By doing so, they've ensured that Udeze will be able to focus fully on his recovery this year, with no financial concerns.

On Friday, the Vikings announced that defensive end Kenechi Udeze would be on the reserve non- football illness list in 2008. Doctors diagnosed him with a form of acute leukemia in February.

The Vikings want him to focus on fighting his disease, and not worry about financial problems. I wish more employers could be so generous.

Udeze is expected to receive a bone marrow transplant soon. He's very fortunate his brother was a transplant match because only about 30% of patients find a related donor.

Though you can't directly help Udeze's fight against leukemia, you can honor it by joining the National Marrow Donor Registry. Normally, there is a cost to join the registry, but during the "Thanks Mom Campaign," from May 5-19, the charges to join the registry are waived for the first 10,000 online signups. You fill out the form, and then they send you a cheek swab kit by mail. Some irresponsible TV shows make it look like donating marrow is very painful process, but for most people it can be done in a procedure not much different than giving platelets.

The reason why I know all about this stuff was that my sister Deb was diagnosed with leukemia in October 2005. She had a bone marrow transplant in February 2006. The transplant is the only reason why she is alive today.

For those fans who want to know more about what Udeze is likely facing over the next year, I'm going share my sister's story and provide some basic medical facts. I know if a player on my favorite team was going through something like this, I'd want to know more about it.

The Vikings have plenty of questions heading into the 2008 season, but the run defense isn't one of them. According to Football Outsiders, Minnesota ranked second in 2007 and first in 2006 in stopping the run. The pass rush is a different story, but some of that can be blamed on injuries and bad luck.

In 2005, the Viking used the 18th-overall pick on defensive end Erasmus James, and he's still recovering from various knee surgeries that limited his playing time the last two seasons. And worse, 2005 first-rounder, defensive end Kenechi Udeze was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this off-season.

Minnesota is looking to bolster the position and improve the pass rush, but in the meantime, there's some great news on Udeze:

... Udeze announced today he is in remission from acute leukemia and also said his older brother is a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant, outstanding news for a player who has been suffering from the disease since the beginning of February.

According to the Star Tribune's Kevin Seifert, Udeze's bone marrow transplant procedure hasn't been scheduled yet, but it'll happen soon. I'm assuming he'll still miss the 2008 season, but in the scheme of things, that's hardly important. Hopefully, Udeze will make a full recovery and return to football, but as he rightly pointed out, "My health is my number one priority at this point."

Purple Jesus works in mysterious ways.

Apparently, Jared Allen and his mullet are not long for Kansas City. The Chiefs franchised Allen, the NFL's sack leader last season, presumably with the intentions of signing the fifth-year pro to a long-term deal. Well, I would be presuming wrong, at least according to FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer.

Evidently, re-upping with the Chiefs "would be a problem as the team is looking to stockpile draft picks." Not sure how one precludes the other, but head coach Herm Edwards has made it clear that the team is rebuilding. Getting rid of one your best players to save a few bucks certainly highlights that strategy, I think.

Whatever, Allen doesn't seem too broken up about it:

It's a situation that works out best for both sides," Allen told FOXSports.com. "I can go to a team that is competing for a championship right now. The Chiefs can get valuable draft picks to rebuild with."

The early frontrunners are the Vikings and the Bucs. Minnesota is looking for a defensive end because former first-round pick Kenechi Udeze was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this off-season. And Tampa Bay would love to bookend last year's first-round pick, Gaines Adams, with Allen.

However this plays out in the coming days, Arrowhead Pride has it right: "If they was any doubt about the Chiefs going into full re-building mode, this should put that to rest." Double true.

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Kenechi Udeze has been diagnosed with leukemia, the local television station KSTP reported Monday night.

According to the report, Udeze is still undergoing tests and may not know for several weeks how severe the cancer is. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow.

The Vikings drafted Udeze out of USC with their first-round pick, 20th overall, in the 2004 NFL draft. He entered the starting lineup immediately as a rookie, starting 15 games that season. He suffered a serious knee injury in 2005 and missed 13 games, but has bounced back to play in all 32 games the last two years and start 30. Last year he had five sacks.

The Vikings' season has been over for less than a week, and already the talk has turned from a late run at the playoffs to the draft. The St. Paul Pioneer Press' Charley Walters, who never makes it clear if he has actual sources or is just making stuff up, offers this:

The Vikings, who have the No. 17 overall pick in April's NFL draft, are expected to consider defensive end Derrick Harvey of Florida. There is virtually no chance they'll draft a quarterback in the first three rounds.

Like I said, no idea where this is coming from, but in any case, Harvey seems like a reasonable pick. According to NFLDraftScout.com, he is ranked second behind Virginia's Chris Long for draft-eligible defensive ends, Harvey registered 11 sacks in 2006, and was named All-SEC second team this season.

Given the Vikings' biggest weakness has been on pass defense, the pick would make sense. Of course, the team drafted Kenechi Udeze and Erasmus James in the first round in back-to-back years, so it's not like they haven't tried to address the issue the last few seasons.

Perhaps more interesting, though, is the "news" that Minnesota won't take a quarterback on the first day of the draft. If true, that says that either the team is willing to start 2008 with Tarvaris Jackson, or there's a good chance they trade for a veteran this off-season. I'd guess the latter, but at this point, four months out from the draft, who really knows.

Vikings defensive end Kenechi Udeze was fined $7,500 for hitting Packers quarterback Brett Favre in the head when the teams played on Nov. 11, and Judd Zulgad of the Star-Tribune reports that Udeze thinks part of the reason the league thought his hit was dirty is that Favre flopped.

Asked if Favre might have been doing a bit of acting, Udeze said: "I believe so because I know if I lead with my head I'm going to hurt somebody. If anybody watches [me] they know that one, I'm not a dirty player and two, that was strictly Brett waiting to the last second to fall down. But what can I do?"

I don't think NFL quarterbacks flop nearly as often as NBA players, and there's not even a comparison to European soccer players. But I do think flopping happens on the field, and I've seen what looked like flops from Favre a couple of times.

Having said that, the rules are simple: You can't touch the quarterback's head. Udeze did. He's going to lose this appeal.