Because I would never be able to top Rick Reilly's article in the Washington Post entitled "College Football Lunacy Isn't Permanent, and will Get Worse," I just say DITTO! What college football teams likr USC, UCLA, U of Texas and Oklahoma (and more to follow in their footsteps) are doing STINKS. So football fans wind up with two mega-confereces, the SEC and Big 20 or 39 and all the TV money in their pockets. Where does that leave the rest of the college football teams? Maybe those left over like the Pac 10 teams should find worhty partners around the country that are going to be snubbed by the mega conference and form their own mega-conference called the Bridesmaids. I like Northwestern and Notre Dame for starters.
Did you know that the IOC recently restored the Olympic Gold Medals to Jim Thorpe on the 110 anniversary of his winning the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1916 Olympic Games? How kind of them. A liitle known fact: the athlete who came in 2nd in the pentathlon, Westlander, never accepted the medal that he said was meant for Thorpe. That's moral courage.
As a writer, I'm always looking for metaphors and similes. Here's one: Watching the NBA Summer League is like watching a pinball tournament. I'll let you figure it out. I understand shutting top rookies down after they've proven their worth. Why risk injuries for nothing that counts? But I would have loved to see Paulo Banchero play at least one more game. How about a rule that the top rooks have to play at least three games?
I used to feel sorry for most of the guys playing in the NBA summer league. They are so eager and trying so hard to make it into the NBA. Remember, these are all the best players from their various colleges. They are used to being the Big Dogs only to find by comparison to some of the top draft picks they are still puppies. Hard on their egos. Made me sad knowing dreams would be crushed. But that's not the case anymore. Players who don't make it in the NBA have a lot more options. Dreams are not lost or need to be deferred. There are pro basketball leagues all over the world looking for American players to bolster their rosters. I recently checked what some of these teams pay Americans. Not too shabby. For example: the average Euro League, the top league in Europe, pays players between $500k & $800k. Turkish teams will pay top players $250k to 450k per season. American players can make up to $3 million in China. And lets look at some of the lesser leagues around the world that look to add a few American players: The Japanese pro teams will pay $275k; the Australians, $150k;in Israel an Ameerican player can make from $140k to $350k. So you're not a top dog American? Hook up with a Greek team and earn $60k to $250k or gett to Iealy and La Liga. They pay $7k to $8k per month. Hey, all this while sitting around sidewalk cafes and eating crepes or mousaka or drinking German beer or yummy potstickers while learning new languages and and learning about new cultures.
Poem for today. A repeat but I love it for the end of the NBA until the fall. I guess I gotta watch baseball.
WHEN I GOT IT RIGHT by Carl Lidner
light as a wish
gliding like a blessing
over he rim, pure
or kissing off glass
into the skirt of the net
Once it began
i couldn't miss
Even in the falling dark
the ball before it left
my hand was sure.
th
