Peter King...PR Man?

Ok, here's a list and you tell me what they have in common...
Ben Roethlisberger (hey , I speeled it right!)
Peyton Manning (Colts superhuman)
Kimmie Meissner (16 year old triple axle landing world champ)
LeBron James (alien)
Liu Xiang (Chinese sprinter, broke the world record in the 110-meter hurdles)
Albert Pujols (aka, the baby, boo hoo, I only got a world series ring and not the mvp...)
Tra Battle (hard hitting safety from UGA)
Maggie Dixon (the late coach at Army)
Tiki Barber (freaky Giants RB)
and...
Brian Leonard


Give up? They are all being considered for Sportman/woman of the year. (Thanks to Rob for the heads up on this)Brian Leonard is Peter King's pick, and while his proximity from his home in North Jersey to the Banks may have a small factor in this, or the gush job he wrote following the Louisville game notwithstanding, it is still a small miracle that Leonard is getting this kind of pub. Not for us, of course, but I wouldn't call Rutger's fans exactly unbiased in our admiration of Brian Leonard, and if you read some of the comments below King's article, many people across the country don't understand the impact of #23 on the community around Rutgers, and the state of New Jersey overall.

And I don't think it is fair to project his NFL career. There are no guarantees, and plenty of things have to break the right way for him to get drafted with a team that fits his abilities, and a coach who will utilize him to take advantage of his strengths. The NFL is a different game, a quicker game with the best of the best. I'm not suggesting I don't think he can do well in the NFL, I merely suggesting that his success in the NFL is irrelevant to his current hero status. He will always be the face of this turnaround, with all due respect to Schiano. Players and talent win games. I admire Schiano and give him the utmost respect for selling the program, but Leonard was a stud who came to Piscataway and mentored this group. Young people don't always respond to a coach hammering in details, or questioning effort, or showing someone the right way to prepare for a game, But someone like Leonard, who may or may not be a guy who gets in peoples faces and fires up his teammates...I don't know, I am not in the lockerroom. But my suspicion is that Leonard is a guy who leads by example, works his tail off, and gets the most out of his abilities. In return, his teammates see that ethic and emulate it. He will be sorely missed, but his impact will be longlasting.

From the random observation department, on the CnnSI website, there is an ad for viagra that says, "For all you weekend warriors (or athletes or something)...Play Hard." Ahem. viagra? play hard? kinda cheap...and I like it!

Go RU.