Second Thoughts

Chiefs scour social media for prospects

LaVance Taylor walks to practice Thursday at St. Joseph, Mo.
LaVance Taylor walks to practice Thursday at St. Joseph, Mo.

It never hurts to ask.

No one knows that better than former Central Missouri running back LaVance Taylor, an undrafted free agent who tweeted a link to his highlight reel to the Kansas City Chiefs last week.

photo

AP

Hakeem Olajuwon is shown in this August 2001 file photo.

"@Chiefs Hey my name is LaVance Taylor and I am currently a free agent and I wanted you to check me out," said Taylor via Twitter, including a link to a 12-minute highlight reel.

Apparently, the Chiefs liked what they saw. A day after tweeting the team, Taylor had himself a deal.

Taylor tweeted after signing with the Chiefs on Wednesday: "Dreams do come true if you believe."

It was a short-lived affair. Taylor was waived Sunday, the same day the Chiefs signed former Alabama-Birmingham running back Darrin Reaves.

"I still believe and I will continue to work for my dream to be the best," tweeted Taylor after his release.

All it takes is hard work, dedication, a touch of talent and a Twitter account.

Chef Romo?

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said he thought Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo "did a pretty good job" on his DirectTV commercial.

"It was clever," Witten told Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. "My kids are big fans of commercials so they thought it was really good."

In the 30-second clip, Romo's alter ego, "Arts-and-craftsy Tony Romo," bakes crownies, a combination of a cupcake and a brownie.

When asked if Romo ever baked for the 10-time Pro Bowl tight end, Witten had a simple answer -- "No."

Does he want him to? "No."

Witten then added: "Trust me. He didn't make those either."

African Dream

The NBA put on a show in its first exhibition game in Africa on Saturday -- starting with a dunk straight from the tip-off by Luc Mbah a Moute.

That had the crowd roaring early at Ellis Park Arena in downtown Johannesburg. It got even louder when African NBA legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo stripped off their business suits to don their old team uniforms again and play for a little while in the second quarter.

Olajuwon, 52, in a Houston No. 34 jersey, pulled off a turn-around jumper -- the "Dream Shake" -- that had the current NBA stars leaping off the benches with their arms in the air.

"That's one of the most memorable experiences ever," said Chris Paul, one of the team captains. "I told Dream, if he's still moving like that at his age now, I couldn't imagine him in his day."

The game got serious in the second half: Paul's Team World rallied with a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to beat Luol Deng's "home" Team Africa 101-97.

"In the second half we decided enough was enough and we needed to do a lot better if we didn't want to lose by 40," Team World's Pau Gasol said.

Call him LeBron

Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, 28, is usually the focus of attention from opposing defenses. The attention gets so much that he said he can feel at times like LeBron James.

"As long as I play in this league and play on a high level, I always feel like a team is going to have to stop me," Charles told ESPN's Adam Teicher. "I feel like sometimes I'm the LeBron of football, especially at my position because I can do so much."

Numbers-wise, Charles' theory doesn't quite hold up. According to ESPN's Stats & Information group, Charles was responsible for 27.8 percent of the Chiefs' yards in the 15 games he played in 2014. In contrast, James assisted or scored 40.9 percent of the points for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 69 games last season.

Chiefs fans are hoping the Miami Dolphins and the Cleveland Browns don't have Charles' phone number.

Sports quiz

What was Hakeem Olajuwon's average points per game during his NBA career?

Answer

21.8 points per game

Sports on 08/03/2015

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