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Now for your NFC Pro Bowl roster, plus a link to Sportaphile’s post discussing the top six Pro Bowl snubs.

Quarterbacks
Brett Favre – Starter
Matt Hasselbeck – Reserve
Tony Romo – Reserve

Running Backs
Adrian Peterson – Starter
Marion Barber – Reserve
Brian Westbrook – Reserve

Fullbacks
Tony Richardson – Starter

Wide Receivers
Larry Fitzgerald – Starter
Terrell Owens – Starter
Donald Driver – Reserve
Torry Holt – Reserve

Tight Ends
Jason Witten – Starter
Chris Cooley – Reserve

Offensive Linemen
Flozell Adams – Starting Tackle
Walter Jones – Starting Tackle
Leonard Davis – Starting Guard
Steve Hutchinson – Starting Guard
Andre Gurode – Starting Center
Chris Samuels – Reserve
Shawn Andrews – Reserve
Matt Birk – Reserve

Defensive Linemen
Aaron Kampman – Starting Defensive End
Patrick Kerney – Starting Defensive End
Kevin Williams – Starting Defensive Tackle
Pat Williams – Starting Defensive Tackle
Osi Umenyiora – Reserve
Tommie Harris – Reserve

Linebackers
Julian Peterson – Starter
DeMarcus Ware – Starter
Lofa Tatupu – Starter
Lance Briggs – Reserve
Patrick Willis – Reserve

Secondary
Al Harris – Starting Cornerback
Marcus Trufant – Starting Cornerback
Sean Taylor – Starting Free Safety
Darren Sharper – Starting Strong Safety
Terence Newman – Reserve
Ken Hamlin – Reserve

Special Teams
Andy Lee – Punter
Nick Folk – Placekicker
Devin Hester – Kick Returner
Brendon Ayanbadejo – Special Teamer

The addition of Sean Taylor was a nice touch. Well done.

So Long Ricky, We Barely Knew Thee
Well, that didn’t last long: The Ricky Williams comeback experiment lasted all of six carries… at least for this season. Williams was injured when Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons stepped on his shoulder while chasing after the loose ball, courtesy of Ricky’s fumble. Because of being used as a stepping stone, Ricky will now miss the rest of the season with a torn chest muscle.

I’m guessing the next question on everyone’s mind has to do with whether or not Williams will return to the security he sought when using the illegal plant he is so well known for… that and was Timmons’ liberal use of Ricky’s shoulder as a launching pad intentional or not.

BTW, NFL.com has a video of the incident on their site, but of course, the control freaks that make up the NFL leadership corps doesn’t allow their videos to be embedded. I guess that goes back to that whole 45 second rule that came out during the last off-season.

To again quote the Guinness guys, “BRILLIANT!!!!”

ESPN Doesn’t Think Much of Missouri
It doesn’t look like the Missouri Tigers should even bother showing up to the Big 12 championship game because everyone in the know already has Ohio State penciled in as the likely opponent of West Virginia in the final game of the BCS. ESPN’s Ivan Maisel and Mark Schlabach do not have the Tigers listed as the West Virginia opponent in their bowl projection report, which speculates about the bowl games and which teams will be participating in them.

Instead of the BCS Championship, both writers have Mizzou playing in the AT&T Cotton Bowl against Arkansas, meaning both of them think the Tigers will lose to Oklahoma on Saturday. Apparently, they think as highly of the Big 12 North as I do…

They Don’t Think Much of Sean Taylor Either
Tragedy struck the NFL last night when Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor lost his life after being shot in the leg, which severed his femoral artery, late last night. While this topic is extremely “popular” in the sports blogosphere, some are upset with ESPN’s coverage, or lack thereof. Washington Post scribe Leonard Shapiro took the worldwide leader to task over their potentially disrespectful coverage of the Sean Taylor tragedy:

“News of the Taylor shooting first broke in Monday morning drive time. How could ESPN not have rushed a reporter or two to Miami for constant live updates, either from the hospital or outside of Taylor’s home? Surely they must have stringers on call. And Hank Goldberg, ESPN’s frequent on-air NFL analyst and a longtime and well-connected South Florida daily sports talk show host, lives in Miami. Why wasn’t he pressed into immediate service?

This was a huge NFL news story, and we’re not taking a provincial approach on this, either, just because it happens to involve a Washington athlete. If it had been a Hollywood celebrity shooting, don’t you think that CNN and its Headline News service would have interrupted regular programming and offered blanket, minute-by-minute coverage?”

Considering how much time ESPN has spent covering the likes of Barry Bonds, Terrell Owens and A-rod, I’m inclined to agree with Shapiro on this. Why wasn’t this senseless event covered with the same verve as TO doing sit-ups in his driveway?

Normally, we reserve this spot for hard hits, awesome dunks, and any other examples of sports pwnage you come across.

However, this week’s installment is going to celebrate and pay respects to Sean Taylor, who passed away last night due to complications stemming from a gunshot wound to the leg this past Sunday evening. The bullet severed Taylor’s femoral artery and because of that, doctors could never completely stop the wound from bleeding.

There are some troubling circumstances surrounding Taylor’s shooting but out of respect for him and his family, I’m not going belabor the details. Instead, I’d like to take this moment to celebrate Sean’s career, which was cut short entirely too soon. Rest in peace, Sean. You will be missed and you will not be forgotten.

Before I leave you, I’d like to echo the thoughts of Taylor’s attorney, who called the incident, “a ridiculous, unnecessary tragedy.”

Taylor was just 24 years old.