FanHouse LawrenceTaylor

It's official. Lawrence Taylor will try to become the latest ex-NFL player to join Dancing With the Stars, following in the footsteps of Jerry Rice, Warren Sapp and DWtS' 2006 champion Emmit Smith.

The news had leaked in the middle of last week, but it became official last night. Taylor will be joined by Apple founder Steve Wozniak, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, human freak show Steve-O, comedian David Allen Grier, Sex and the City's Gilles Marini (who?), rapper Lil' Kim, singers Jewel and Belinda Carlisle, Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell and rodeo star Ty Murray.

Via the Examiner's Dancing With the Stars blog, reports suggest that former Giant linebacker Lawrence Taylor might be a contestant on the next edition of the show.

They got their information from ET Online, who got their information from a Twitter feed from Ashton Kutcher. And now you are reading it here. You and I feel dumber for it, dontcha think?

Even though it is show business good luck, I do not think it is appropriate to tell L.T. to "break a leg."

Lawrence Taylor may have had his share of off-field problems, ranging from an out-of-control coke habit to, well, an insanely, how-is-he-not-dead?, out-of-control coke habit. But whenever he took the field, there was never any question what he was going to do: go after the guy with the football with all the energy and persistence of an unbelievably gifted athlete hopped up on the llello.

With that team-first attitude in mind, I suppose it should come as no surprise that, in today's New York Daily News, LT calls out Plaxico Burress for not playing well with others.

"You've got to realize that it's all right to be an individual," Taylor [said]. "I'm all for being an individual. You do your thing. But you're still not above the team. When it starts to disrupt the team, then you have to revisit it and look at it and see if you're doing it right."

Taylor admits that he had run-ins with then-coach Bill Parcells during his New York career, but points out that back in the day that coaches always won those battles.

Last week, I pointed to Mike Garafolo's article about what Ahmad Bradshaw's month-long stint in lock-up might mean for Brandon Jacobs and his desire for a shiny, new deal. Predictably, I trotted out the "running backs are fungible, there's no need to give Jacobs a big payday, even if Bradshaw gets a life sentence" reasoning. So it makes perfect sense that The Record's Vinny DiTrani writes the following:

But now that [Jacobs is] back [from traveling] negotiations are continuing on a four-year contract which could be concluded any day now.

If the Giants get Jacobs signed, come to an agreement on a much-deserved raise for Plaxico Burress, and somehow get Shockey back on the right track, what appeared to be a disruptive off-season might not be that bad after all.

Well, No. 1 sounds likes it's coming along much better than Nos. 2 and 3, but DiTrani also notes that "a source that has been accurate much of the time says the Giants have given up efforts to try to trade the tight end, and that Shockey will stay put." He admits that's hard to believe, but the voice of reason, Lawrence Taylor, makes a solid point: once the season starts, everything's forgotten.

And Tiki Barber agrees. So, apparently, there's nothing to worry about. Assuming the Giants can make it to September without Shockey going William Foster on somebody.

via PFT

Leave it to Tiki Barber to be the voice of reason when it comes to the New York Giants. The former Pro Bowl running back-turned-NBC NFL studio analyst makes pretty much the same argument philosopher Lawrence Taylor made when discussing Jason Taylor's football future: when the games start, all the offseason silliness won't matter.

So far this spring, Jeremy Shockey (random fits of anger), Plaxico Burress (wants a new deal), Shaun O'Hara (wants Burress to not be so selfish about wanting a new deal), Ahmad Bradshaw (currently in the can), and Jared Lorenzen (chubby, unemployed) have all made news for non-football-related reasons. Not to worry, though:

"This is the business of the sport," Barber told The Post. "Once football starts it's [all about] football." ...

"I don't think [Burress' contract demands] matter ... As we saw last year with Michael [Strahan, who skipped training camp], people thought it was going to be a big issue and it turned out not to be. I don't think, come Sundays in the fall, it matters too much to players."

Can't disagree with any of that. And Tiki, who questioned Eli Manning's leadership skillz almost a year ago, even had some nice things to say about the handsomest dude in the Manning family:

"He's always been [a leader] who it didn't matter what people thought of him, it only mattered how he could grow," Barber said. "When I was there you could see him growing. People will still doubt him at some point during the year, but he can know in his mind and his heart, 'I've done it already, so I can do it again.' "

See, we can all get along.

Now that everybody in the Dolphins organization is on the same page, feeling great about Jason Taylor's return, and what it might mean for the 2008 season, the Dancing With the Stars, um, star kept his word and skipped Miami's mandatory minicamp. Apparently, Bill Parcells didn't bring it up last night when he spoke to Taylor for more than an hour.

Today, the Palm Beach Post's Tim Graham writes that head coach Tony Sparano "begrudgingly gave some indication as to whether defensive end Jason Taylor is being fined for missing this weekend's mandatory minicamp."

Sparano was asked if Taylor and defensive lineman Randy Starks - the only missing players - had excused absences. Sparano said Starks was excused, but Taylor wasn't.

The Dolphins can fine Taylor $8,638 for each unexcused minicamp absence and $15,116 for each unexcused training camp absence. ...

So nothing definitive on whether Taylor will be out roughly the price of a 2008 Kia Rio every day he misses a mandatory workout, but no worries: he's promised to show up for training camp.

With all the back-and-forth recently, I suspect Taylor reiterated his plans to Parcells, Sparano and general manager Jeff Ireland that he had no intentions of showing up for practice in June. Sparano hardly seemed surprised by the absence, no doubt because he's wisely heeding the advice of life coach Lawrence Taylor.

Not only is Lawrence Taylor proficient at breaking Joe Theismann, he's also clairvoyant. Earlier this week, Taylor predicted the rift between the Dolphins front office (specifically Bill Parcells) and Jason Taylor would be a non-issue once JT hit the field.

Yesterday, head coach Tony Sparano was a guest on WQAM 560 and offered this (via PFT):

But one of the issues that we really did want to get out there and I wanted to make a point to Jason about is we as an organization and, certainly me as a head coach, want to see Jason Taylor back here with the Miami Dolphins in uniform, out on the field, doing what he does best for the Miami Dolphins, and that's running after quarterbacks and sacking quarterbacks.

(Evidently, one of the occasional side-effects of heavy coke use is telepathy. Nice work, LT.)

Earlier this spring, Jason Taylor suggested that Parcells and general manager Jeff Ireland brushed him off in an awkward scene at Dolphins HQ, but apparently everybody (but Parcells) is on the same page now: Ireland and Sparano showed up at Taylor's charity event Sunday night, a gesture Mr. DWTS appreciated.

Given that Taylor says he'll play another season, and that the Dolphins don't have anybody on the roster to replace him, Sparano's doing the right thing. I'm guessing Parcells won't be sending Taylor any conciliatory text messages anytime soon, but that's because he's out of touch with a lot of today's athletes.

Potentially sad news for those of you anxiously awaiting Jason Taylor's major motion picture debut, but great news for Dolphins fans: JT and Bill Parcells will resolve their differences. Lawrence Taylor says so.

LT, who participated in Jason Taylor's charity golf event Monday, played for Bill Parcells back in the day, and he thinks all the offseason posturing will be forgotten when the season starts:

"I'm quite sure all that stuff changes when they hit the field,'' said the original L.T., who won two Super Bowls while playing for Parcells his entire career (1981-93). "One thing about Bill ... if you prove to him that you could play the game and be one of his guys he can count on every Sunday, you'll have no problems with him.''

LT also thinks showing up for offseason workouts is overrated (apparently, he had a knack for holding out during his time with the Giants) and to some extent, he's probably right. Michael Strahan managed to hold it together all the way through the Super Bowl last season, and he didn't show his face at training camp.

Jason Taylor has no such plans; he convened a press conference to announce that he hasn't asked for a trade, he won't retire, and he will, in fact, be at training camp. We'll see.

Jerry Rice, often referred to as the "greatest wide receiver to play the game," and sometimes the "greatest football player ever," is amongst the most iconic athletes in sports, let alone NFL history. Despite this legendary status his #80 jersey for the San Francisco 49ers is shockingly not retired. And now the recently signed Isaac Bruce, who himself wore the #80 throughout his 14 year tenure as a Ram, and also ranks among the greatest WRs of all time (#3 on the all time yardage list) is considering wearing Jerry's jersey, and Rice has given his blessing.

"I don't know what is going to happen in that scenario but if it was left up to me I would say, 'Yeah.' For Steve Largent to do what he did for me he showed me a side of him where I just feel like I have to do the same thing. He set the standard. It would be left up to Isaac and myself to sit down and talk or if the 49ers decide to do something like that it is OK with me."

It is a classy move by a traditionally class act, but the fact is Jerry Rice wearing the same # as Steve Largent -- a great WR, but no Jerry Rice -- is not the same as Bruce, or anyone, wearing #80 for the 49ers. Despite Bruce's HOF resume this move is the equivalent of Aaron Rodgers asking if he can wear Favre's #4 jersey next season. In a word and a punctuation mark: Blasphemous!

Like Lawrence Taylor's #56, Barry Sanders' #20, Jerry Rice's red-and-gold #80 is a memory that should not be tampered with, even if Jerry doesn't mind. It's not really about him, it's about the fans and the organization.

Bruce, who originally chose the number out of respect for Rice, and who is an equally classy guy himself will probably opt for an alternative. I'm sure 95% of San Francisco fans are hoping he does the right thing. Sorry, No Photos

Lawrence Taylor may be retired, but he still feels like he's a part of the team. He also realizes that when the New York Giants travel to Buffalo this Sunday, it may be their last opportunity at a "win-and-in" scenario.

So in typical LT fashion, he had a message to relay. However, this one wasn't directed at the team itself, but rather their "leader," Eli Manning.

"Believe in yourself. Your team will believe in you if you believe in you," Taylor said.

"I would like him to show more confidence, like Phil Simms used to do. He had some horrendous years. He had his moments when he looked like [horsebleep]. But you know what? We always had confidence Phil Simms was gonna get that job done ... the way he carried himself in the locker room, the way he carried himself on the football field."

Will Manning ever have that sort of attitude? That's been the debate since day one and unless something drastic changes this week, it will probably rage on for quite some time.

Either way, LT has one thing absolutely right. Despite the weather, the injuries, the playcalling and the drops, Manning must put the Giants on his shoulders and carry them to victory this weekend. Anything less would be unacceptable.