McNabb reacts to McNair's death
Update (2:20 p.m.)
When Donovan McNabb was a rookie with the Eagles in 1999, Steve McNair was leading the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl.
Today, the Eagles' quarterback reacted to the stunning news od McNair's death.
"Shocking. Tragic. I can't find many other words to describe what happened to Steve McNair," McNabb said, according to the team's Web site. "He was a good friend to me over the years. My condolences go out to his family."
From earlier:
We'll use this space today to get caught up on more of the details surrounding Steve McNair's death, which shocked the football world Saturday afternoon.
** The woman who was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head was 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi. According to several published reports, the gun was found near Kazemi's body. The pair was involved in a DUI traffic stop on Thursday, according to the Nashville City Paper. Kazemi had been pulled over while driving an SUV registered to both her and McNair. Per the report, McNair had been approached and threatened at a Nashville restaurant on Friday evening.
** McNair is survived by his wife MeChelle and four sons.
** The Tennessean is calling the death an "apparent murder-suicide" and reports that McNair and Kazemi had been dating for months. According to the article, Kazemi told police she was high and not drunk when they stopped her on Thursday.
** The Tennessean also reports that Wayne Neely, a longtime friend of McNair, found the bodies shortly after 1 p.m.
** Jeff Fisher, visiting troops in the Persian Gulf, talked to The Tennessean about McNair's death:
"I am deeply saddened and at this point do not have the words to describe this loss," Fisher said. "It is an extremely emotional moment and I don't have the words to explain how I am feeling. I ask people to please pray for Mechelle and the entire McNair family. This is a tragic moment for his family, and it is a tragic moment for anyone who knew and loved Steve."
** Good, succinct commentary by Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle:
I don't know what happened to McNair. I don't know the circumstances of his death. I just know there are layers to all of us, that none of us is perfect, that it's foolish to paint someone with a single brush. I also know Steve McNair cared about people and performed brilliantly and courageously on the football field. In the ways we should measure a professional athlete, there were few better than McNair. I know he touched a lot of people in the right way, and today their hearts are breaking.
** Redskins quarteback Jason Campbell, also a Mississipi native, had this to say about McNair, according to The Washington Post:
"The whole black quarterback thing, it's like a fraternity," Campbell said. "Guys who played before you pass the torch down to younger guys. You always keep in contact with those guys who came before you. You try to keep in contact with them and learn as much as possible from them. Losing a guy like that from our fraternity ... it hurts because of how much you looked up to him. He's definitely one of the guys I looked up to. A lot of other guys looked up to him to. It's just a real hard day."
I remember being in Baltimore when the Ravens acquired McNair. A team with a top-notch defense that was looking to fill the void at QB. I was at Camden Yards when he threw out the first pitch at an Orioles game and was introduced to the Baltimore fans. He led the Ravens to a 13-3 record in his first season before they fell to the Colts in the playoffs.
As I said yesterday, feel free to share your thoughts and memories of McNair, or pass along good links that I might have missed.