Could the Kansas City tragedy have been prevented?
It is possible that the Jovan Belcher murder-suicide could have been avoided if the police who discovered him at 2:50 a.m. that same day in his Bentley outside of a residence had handled it differently.
I know this is hindsight, and if the tragedy hadn’t occurred then, it’s possible it would have at another time. But when Darin Snapp, Kansas City police spokesman, revealed that officers had found Belcher asleep in his car, you have to wonder.
He wasn’t sleeping on the sidewalk — he was sleeping in his car. When police woke him, he said he had a girlfriend who lived at the address where he was parked.
The police said he appeared to have been drinking, but did not seem intoxicated. Belcher called the girlfriend to substantiate the story and the officers let him go.
He played for the Kansas City Chiefs, and you have to wonder if the officers took that into consideration when they made that choice.
We also know some people might probably get a DUI citation in that situation. You don’t actually have to be driving to get one. If you are sleeping in a parked car and you have been, by all appearances drinking, then the police request you take sobriety field test.
Stay tuned because the toxicology report should be interesting when that comes out.
Calling out Costas:In the meantime, Bob Costas from NBC was on the Dan Patrick show questioning the quality of some of the people criticizing him for his comments on the Kansas City tragedy and his anti-gun stance and recommending he be fired. While Costas is entitled to his opinion, taking shots at his critics suggests he can dish it out but can#146;t take it. Costas has enjoyed a wonderful ride. He gets plum assignments and he has done a great job reading a teleprompter, but to me he has been irrelevant of late. When I consider the last 50 years of broadcasting, I think Howard Cosell, Al Michaels, John Madden or Dick Vitale #151; Costas just doesn#146;t come to mind. Quick, name me your top five Costas moments. Thought so #151; tough isn#146;t it? I guess we can look forward to his lecture on alcoholism and infidelity in the coming weeks. Hey Bob, do the smart thing and just read the teleprompter.Open for business:Thanks to everyone at the Luxor, where we opened up the Score Interactive Sports Exhibit and the World Broadcasting Studio at Score Las Vegas. Some of the celebs who stopped by included Mike Tyson, Marcus Allen, Warren Moon, sports agent Leigh Steinberg and Oscar Goodman, the former Las Vegas mayor and star of the film #147;Casino.#148; Check out the festivities at dailyherald.com and northtonorth.com.NFL picks:I went 1-0 last week to boost my record to 14-13-1. on the season. This week, I#146;ll take Baltimore (+3) over Washington.Program note: Look for me on Mancow on Ch. 50 (WPWR-TV) at 6 a.m. today and next Monday.Ÿ Mike North#146;s column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.