Friday, February 14, 2014

2/14 Valentine's Day Quickie

An annual ritual -- a few things I love in sports right now.

*I love these Washington Wizards. They drive me batty, but at least they're competitive. I cannot remember the last Wizards team I liked this much -- probably the Webber/Howard mid-90s Bullets.

*I love this Florida Gators basketball team. The past few years have been very good teams (I thought last year's team was good enough to win the title). This year's team is better than all of them.

*I love this short film from Grantland about Steve Nash in his career twilight. Nash just turned 40. I'm exiting 40 this weekend. So much of what he says resonates with me.

*I love the state of sports-writing right now -- at the top, better than it has ever been.

*I love that my kids' burgeoning interest in sports lets me (re-)experience what it's like to fall in love with sports as a kid.

-- D.S.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

2/13 Jeter LeBron Etc Quickie

*You can not root for Derek Jeter yet still appreciate his phenomenal career. He jumps to the top of my list of "Have to get to the ballpark to see him in person" in 2014.

*College football has had many dumb moments. This may be the dumbest: "Offenses that snap the ball before 29 seconds remain on the play clock would receive a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty."

*LeBron. Whew.

*Just when I think my Wizards can't find new ways to lose games, they do. Pretty amazing phenomenon, actually.

(This clip of Harden's game-winning layup doesn't include the controversial dead-ball foul that preceded it. Ariza grabbed him, but Harden is the league's craftiest at drawing fouls.)

-- D.S.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

2/12 Rushmore Quickie

Because everyone is doing it....

NBA Rushmore: Jordan, Russell, Magic, LeBron.

College hoops Rushmore: Alcindor, Robertson, Ewing, Carmelo.

NFL Rushmore: Jim Brown, Payton, Montana, Peyton.

College football Rushmore: Grange, Herschel, Tebow, Manziel.

MLB Rushmore: Ruth, Ted Williams, Walter Johnson, Bonds.

-- D.S.

Monday, February 10, 2014

2/10 Michael Sam Quickie

*The Michael Sam story has me awestruck. (via SB Nation's OutSports, here is the fascinating backstory.) Needless to say, I wish him only the best.

A few things: Sam is a hero... the anonymous detractors were appalling... I know it was pushed a bit, but the timing before the combine feels totally appropriate... I agree with the theory that he will get drafted by a team with a strong owner-GM-coach troika and team culture (Seattle, SF, Philly).

*Marcus Smart's shove merited the suspension he got -- a bright line of big-time sports is that you can't push a fan, no matter how vile, and they couldn't NOT suspend him (that it was only three games is telling) -- but the fan's behavior was just as inappropriate, if not more.

(No, it won't have any bearing on Smart's NBA future. If it isn't clear by now, it should be: He should've gone pro a year ago. I appreciate his reasons for coming back, but if he wanted to be a great pro, he was better off getting pro coaching and focus as early in his career as possible; OSU doesn't prioritize his pro career.)

*The Olympics have been a ton of fun to watch with my kids. My 5-year-old plays hockey and is fascinated by the speedskating (as he should be -- it's pretty amazing to watch).

-- D.S.