Good move by T-Good

May/04/08 10:06 PM Filed in: Tavares Gooden
TGooden
Spent most of Saturday afternoon at Boggs Field Park in Hollywood. Former UM linebacker Tavares Gooden hosted a free barbecue for the community before he begins his NFL career with the Baltimore Ravens. The park is where his football career began, playing for the Northeast Hollywood Eagles.

Gooden leaves Thursday for mini-camp, but wanted to make one last gesture. The event, which attracted about 200 people, was no doubt a celebration for Gooden being drafted, as Ravens jerseys and hats were worn by family members. But the festivities were geared more toward the area's youth. Gooden made a speech and talked about the importance of academics. He's always been a solid student, earning two degrees at UM.

To drive home the point the family even printed up T-shirts that he and UM defensive end Eric Moncur handed out throughout the day. Each read: Education + Sports = Success. Good move by Gooden.

And by the way, when I spoke with Moncur, we briefly discussed all talk of UM's 14-year streak of having a first-rounder could be in jeopardy next season. Moncur, probably one of the favorites to extend, simply said fans and writers should wait before making any predictions: "No one can predict the future," he said. "We'll just see how things happen this season."

(sun-sentinel.com)