So James, Wade, and Bosh of the Miami Heat are photo-bombing each other while San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich continues to yuk it up with his veteran players? Interesting, but methinks it will be no joking matter when the NBA Finals start tomorrow night. The Spurs have home-court advantage, but how many would dare bet anything worthwhile against the Heat pulling off a 3-peat when it's all over? The Spurs are the feel good story, a class act if there ever was one but, alas, yours truly fears the South Beachers will be too much for them.
In Detroit, Lions linebackers Stephen Tulloch and DeAndre Levy are highly regarded as top-flight players. As team leaders and savvy veterans, they'll be able to help out the younger guys. Obviously, they're a lock to start at their positions when the NFL season starts again in September. In the meantime, Malcolm Smith of the Seattle Seahawks, merely the MVP of the Super Bowl four months ago, finds himself in a dogfight just to keep his job. The competition is that good and that ferocious in Seattle. Tulloch and Levy would likely be lucky to make the team at all for the Seahawks -- perhaps only as kamikaze special teamers, or on the practice squad. If the Lions even make the playoffs this year, their fans would consider it to be a successful season. Anything less than getting back to the Super Bowl would likely be considered a failure in Seattle. Such is the difference between teams that have risen to the elite level and remain hungry to stay there -- and those that are so used to losing that merely being mediocre is triumphed as successful. A very large gap indeed. Sure, over the years, teams go up and they go down. Look at the Packers, Cowboys, Steelers, and Broncos for example. Nobody stays on top forever. Nor will the Seahawks. It's cyclical, but the good franchises don't stay down for long. They'll find a way back eventually. The Lions have been stuck as flat-liners for over half a century, and don't appear poised to change that any year soon. Despite the team and their local kool-aiders peddling their typical annual snake oil wares again, for every "star", they have numerous glaring weaknesses elsewhere. Who's kidding who? They'll be lucky to make the playoffs. The Super Bowl? Get real. Not a chance.
Loved the Sports Illustrated story about Kurt Busch doing double racing duty between Indy and NASCAR. But it was funny too. As an Indy car rookie, Busch finished 6th at the 500. Pretty impressive. Then he hopped on a chopper, then plane to take him to Charlotte to compete in the 600 mile NASCAR race. As the story goes, Busch wanted to prove racers were athletes. By gawd, he was in shape. He had endurance. He could take it -- dammit.
So on the short flight to Charlotte, Busch had a doctor, a nurse, and a priest ministering to him, his girlfriend rubbing his feet, and an IV hooked up to replenish his bodily fluids. All this after sitting in an Indy car for 4 hours, gas pedal to the floor on the track, occasionally shifting, a few pit stops, and mostly turning left. Yep, we're talking about a really highly conditioned athlete here -- right?
The engine of Busch's car would blow up 200 miles short of the finish line in Charlotte. So on the day he raced 900 miles, and had one 6th place finish to show for it. No word on how much the chopper, plane, doctor, nurse, and whatever was in that IV cost. The priest likely requested an "offering", and the girlfriend will get her payback for that foot massage in time. But gosh darn it, this man has proven once and for all that if one just sticks to it, has enough deep-pocketed clueless sponsors, and continues to whine -- anything is possible. Even being perceived as an athlete, much less lauded as some kind of warrior hero in an SI article becomes possible.
And somehow that's funny.....
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