Sports Writer

NFL Awards

With all of my journalistic energy being placed on LeBron James (incase you failed to read or hear else where, he dropped 52 points on the seventh ranked team in the nation Saturday night after sitting out for a week) for the past two weeks, I have some how neglected the end of the NFL season.

Yes, I know that the Super Bowl has been over for two weeks and one day, but the actual NFL season has been over for just one week, with the Pro Bowl being last Sunday.

And so, with the end of the season, I have to hand out some awards that every NFL team has been anticipating.

Team of the Year: There is no doubt that Tampa Bay is the team of the year. You win the 'Ship, you win my award. There are no close runner-ups here.

Coach of the Year: Once again, you win it all and you win my award. Jon Gruden coached Tampa Bay all the way to a Super Bowl win in just his first season in the Sunshine State. He also revamped a Bucs' offense that had fail to score a touchdown in the playoffs in the previous three seasons. And people just thought that the Raiders got the better end of that trade.

Player of the Year: My first award where you don't have to be a Super Bowl winner to be a recipient, just a future Super Bowl winner. Mike Vick is my player of the year for the obvious, his play making ability, and because he filled the Georgia Dome and took the Birds to a playoff win at Lambeau Field. He is the most exciting player in the League and will be for years to come. He'll also end up winning a Super Bowl in Atlanta, unless the Falcons trade him like they traded Brett Favre. In that case, he gets his somewhere else.

Rookie of the Year: Yes I know that Denver running back Clinton Portis won the real Rookie of the Year award, but not mine. I give mine to his college buddy Jeremy Shockey. Shockey was the only rookie invited to last week's Pro Bowl, so in my eyes that makes him the best. He is also one of the best tightends I've ever watched play the game.

Best Uniforms: Usually this topic is a mute point because teams rarely change their uniforms, but this year is different because there is a whole new team in the League, and while they didn't win many games, they win my best uniform award. The Houston Texans' digs are by far the best in the NFL with Tampa Bay a distant second.

Worst Uniforms: Whenever there is a best uniforms category, there must be a worst, and the worst goes to the Cincinnati Bengals and the Seattle Seahawks. Maybe if the Bengals got new uniforms, they would win more games.

Look for part two of my NFL awards in Friday's edition of The TImes.