Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot in the groin late last night in what appears to be a botched burglary.  From the Miami Herald:

According to police, Miami-Dade patrol officers received a call about 1:45 a.m. Monday that a homeowner had been shot in the leg. The homeowners told police they heard intruders at the rear door of the house, trying to pry it open.

The male homeowner went to investigate and a female in the house then heard a shot. Paramedics responded and found the victim, with a gunshot wound to the groin.

Other reports specify that Taylor's femoral artery has been severed, and for those of you who aren't doctors or trained in battlefield triage, that's pretty motherfucking serious.  It's basically the fastest way to bleed to death that isn't getting your head chopped off.  Perhaps down the line there will be ATV-related jokes to tell, but for now let's wait to see if Taylor survives.

DEPRESSING UPDATE: The Miami Herald has all kinds of un-cheerful details.

A lot of my Jewish friends bemoan the fact that there aren't enough Jewish athletes to cheer for in sports.  Well, take heart, Chosen People, because there are plenty of mascot mensches that are reason enough to get your tuches to the arena.  Not only is Maryland's faithful turtle — sorry, terrapin – Testudo about to get his Bar Mitzvah, he's just one of many who have entered manhood at the campus Hillel.  Dan Steinberg reports:

In the fall of 2004, Syracuse's Otto the Orange was Bar Mitzvahed. " 'Otto came and tore down the house,' said Jacob Perlin, communications vice president for Hillel. 'He came in dancing and everyone went crazy.'… Otto entered and danced the horah…

In March of 2006, UNC's Ramses was Bar Mitzvahed. … That fall, Miami's Sebastian the Ibis was Bar Mitzvahed. "The party lasted three hours, but Sebastian did not read from the Torah …One thing no one was sure of was whether Sebastian actually was a member of the Jewish faith.

Sheesh.  Leave it to the mascot in Miami to be a non-practicing Jew.  I bet he still has time to guilt-trip his children about how they never visit, though.

As you may have seen by now, Miami Sports Blog has reported that the University of Miami is trying to liven up the student section at its home basketball games this winter:

“UM will add a hot tub, a sandbox and lifeguard tower in the student seating section. Students will be asked to wear beach attire.”

And you chose a college north of the Mason-Dixon Line why? 

On a somber note, however, I'm sad to report that there's a disturbing dearth of scantily clad Hurricane coeds on the Internet.  Believe me, I looked and masturbated and looked some more.  Google had nothing.  Flickr had nothing.  ACC Poon doesn't have a single Miami entry.  I've even got an ex-girlfriend who's a big Canes fan, but does she have photos of her in orange and green hot pants on her MySpace page?  Of course not. 

So please, if you readers can do better, by all means, send in photos.  Hot girls.  Canes gear.  I'd hate for a photo on With Leather to not be relevant to the subject matter.  I mean, this photo here is of a young woman at Arizona State.  It totally ruins my credibility as a news outlet.

SEXY UPDATE: Internet wizard and handsome prince Steven gets a gold star for his submissions below. 

Between the Bears' defense and Devin Hester, I think it's safe to say Rex Grossman's going to keep his job. Hester returned two kickoff returns for touchdowns in the Bears' 42-27 win over the Rams last night, breaking the NFL record for touchdown returns in a season. Along with last night's kickoffs, he has three punt returns and the 108-yard missed FG backbreaker against the Giants for a total of six.

Not that we should be too surprised, given this highlight reel of his college returns.

Granted, the most impressive returns are against Temple and Duke, so it's kind of like winning a quiz bowl against retarded kids, but still. His legs are blurry when he runs. Similar to girls when I talk to them.

The ACC, as always, has the advantage two days into the Big 10/ACC Challenge. I'm not really sure how to cover five games I didn't watch last night, but rest assured that the ACC won three of them, which has to be considered a pretty solid night for the Big 10, which is too bad. The Atlantic Coast has all sorts of things going for it, like beaches and cities. The Big 10 is pretty much the best thing about the Midwest, except for Chicago and the excellent gas mileage the lack of hills provides.

One of the wins last night for the Big 10: Northwestern over Miami. As many of you know, Northwestern has turned out such luminaries as the handsomest sports blogger in the world, Dan Shanoff, SI's Stew Mandel, and (rumored) a hot girl sometime last decade. Miami's alumni include Michael Irvin, 15% of everyone in the NFL, and wealthy South Beach girls with boob jobs. Northwestern's students face ice and snow half the school year; the U's student body is perpetually tan.

In other words, this is the first time in the history of everything that Northwestern has bested Miami at anything. Well, besides SAT scores. As if those mattered. If I had my choice between a girl who can read and Miami's Glam Rock Bikini Fashion Show (pictured)… ummm, I'm not even going to finish that sentence.

Oy. These are always my least favorite posts to write. University of Miami defensive lineman Bryan Pata was shot and killed last night. A future NFL draft pick and regarded as a warm personality around campus, Pata was 22. My most serious condolences go to the Pata family and the Miami community.

This is such bullshit. I'm supposed to be making fun of the Hurricanes for getting into brawls, facing felony charges, and sucking against Louisville. But I can't really get worked up to make jokes about a talented young person with a bright future dying tragically. That's just depressing.

But maybe, working together, we can solve this murder and bring the killer to justice. With Leather's Coral Gables correspondent "dosochonueve" writes,

I was able to acquire some footage from a security camera in the neighborhood where Pata lived. It's hard to make out but a shadowy figure that police believe to be the suspect can be seen crossing the street leaving the scene of the crime. If anyone has any information or can identify the man in the image please contact the authorities.

Hmmm… who owns guns, has a nasty temper, and lives in Miami? This is a real head-scratcher.