Kenechi Udeze - Jisie Ike!

If you've read my blog before, then you probably know that I'm Nigerian. I was born in Lagos, Nigeria, but I have been in the US since I was about 2. Like people in most other cultures, I love to see other Africans, especially Nigerians, do well. It's no surprise that when I see a Nigerian, in any sport, I make it a personal mission to keep track of them.

KENECHI NDUKA UDEZE is one of them. He was a standout at USC, starting 3 years, including his junior year when the Trojans won the Rose Bowl in 2004. Udeze was picked up by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1st round of the 2004 draft. At 6-3, 281 lbs he's a force to be reckoned with, and he's had a great NFL career thus far. Check his profile if you want all his stats, but this isn't even about that.

News broke last week that 24 year old Udeze has leukemia, cancer of the bone marrow and blood, but it is not yet known which form of the disease he has. I'm not writing this to make it news, I'm writing say my heart goes out to his entire camp. My thoughts and prayers are with Kenechi, his family, friends, teammates and fans.

His former coach, Pete Carroll of USC, expressed his feelings on the sad news. “Kenechi's got a big battle on his hands,” Carroll said. “We've been talking with him, and we will continue to support him and send our good wishes and prayers his way. We know he's going to come through strong and compete against this disease like a warrior, like he always has competed.”

I really do wish him a safe and speedy recovery. Something like this transcends any sport and is all about Kenechi Udeze getting healthy.

IGA ADI NMA

GBAKE NGWA NGWA

OBI SIE GI IKE INULA

JISIE IKE

**Ndigbo gotta stick together**

Rookie Love

"Gimme gimme gimme that ROOKIE love"

You can hear Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson singing that all the way to the bank! As most of us expected, Peterson was voted, almost unanimously, Rookie of the Year. Peterson earned 46 1/2 of the 50 votes submittd by a national panel of members of the media that cover the NFL. And I must say, they got this one right! In a season where few teams had consistent, healthy, high-performing running backs, Adrian Peterson (& Chester Taylor!) definitely made his presence felt. Even after missing 2 games with a serious knee injury, he still managed to rank 2nd in the league in rushing yards with 1,341, behind LaDainian Tomlinson. Peterson also tied for 2nd with 12 rush ing touchdowns, finishing with 13 overall. In one of the best offensive performances of the year, Peterson ran for 296 yards, setting the NFL's single-game rushing record, on only 30 carries. He scored 3 TDs that game to lift the Vikings defeat the Chargers 35-17. Jamal Lewis held the record since rushing for 295 yards against the Cleveland Browns in 2003.

This is another reason why I love watching college football. Yes, it always comes back to college football. Peterson was amazing at Oklahoma and it was obvious that he could make the leap to the NFL easily. The NFL DraftTracker ranks players eligible for the draft, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. Here's what they had to say about Peterson when he was drafted in 2007:

Peterson is a tough runner who can pick up yards between the tackles and break tackles when he gets into the open field. He has the burst to turn the corner, make the first defender miss and turn on the jets when he gets a seam. While the Vikings have more pressing needs at several other positions, including defensive end and running back, Peterson was too good to pass up on.

I would say not much has changed. There's a reason why he was the 1st RB selected in the 2007 NFL Draft, 7th overall. As RoY, Peterson joins the likes of Emmitt Smith, Jim Brown and Billy Sims, who also won the award. "It's a great honor to join a list with names like those. They are guys that I looked up to growing up."

By the By:

The 3 1/2 votes that Peterson didn't get went to Joe Thomas, OT for the Cleveland Browns.