Welcome back, everyone, to another Life, Love? Sport (Love Edition). It has been a rather slow week in sports, but never fear, LLS is here. LeBron’s slump, the crazy world of college basketball, the search for the Cowboys coach and the first (but definitely not the last) NFL mock draft will all be discussed, so let’s do this.
LeBron James is going through a slump, averaging 19 points per game and 51 percent on his free throws in the last five games, critics have pounced. Meanwhile James, as cool as the other side of the pillow, went off on the Heat on Friday, scoring 29 points and kicking Wade out of the arena. It’s utterly ridiculous that LeBron gets so much crap for anything he does or doesn’t do. The man literally raised Cleveland out of the gutter and placed them on the cusp of an NBA championship.
I don’t remember Michael Jordan getting ragged on when he went through a slump. LeBron did not help himself by saying that a gay teammate would be “not trustworthy.” Such media no-no’s will kill his credibility as the ambassador of the league. Let’s just hope that he doesn’t hire T.O.’s publicist.
College basketball is on everyone’s mind, including mine. Before I start criticizing teams and players, I would like to say that there is still much time before the tournament. So there are plenty of games to turn things around.
That being said, Duke is on the verge of getting shut out of the tournament. Can you imagine March Madness without Duke, Maryland, UConn and Syracuse? That would be intense. On the one hand, it would be cool to see new and exotic teams try their luck at winning the tournament; on the other hand, gambling on the games will no longer have the same enticement as before, because I guarantee you that no one knows how well Washington State plays under the pressure of March Madness.
In other news, how lame was the search for the Cowboys’ new head coach? Seriously, Jerry Jones must be going senile. He has everyone and their mother believing that Norv Turner is going to be leading America’s team next year and then pulls a fast one and names Wade Phillips the head man.
If you thought a Bill Parcells and T.O. duo was a problematic marriage, wait until you see these two tango. The first time Phillips yanks Owens out of the game might be his last. I cannot see Terrell acting civil to an old, fat white guy who knows nothing about offense telling him what to do. Oh wait, that would describe the last three years. FOX executives must be drooling over all the sideline shots that they will be able to show next year.
I would like to make several more observations about football, now that the season is over. Let’s agree that the Pro Bowl is an excuse for football players to get a tan. Players risk serious injury by playing in an exhibition game that hardly anyone watches or cares about.
We can all agree that this year’s Super Bowl was one of the worst on record, to the point that my friend Linnell Randall said “Why is the team sometimes called the Bears and sometimes called the Cubs?” When this level of apathy exists about a Super Bowl team, that’s a problem. Now back to the column.
According to anyone who writes about football, now is the perfect time to come out with a mock draft board. The LLS is late with its mock draft, and for anyone who has been kept waiting, we apologize.
Here is the top 10 and their respective teams. A full mock draft will come the week before the actual draft.
1) Oakland Raiders – QB JaMarcus Russell, LSU.
2) Detroit Lions – OT Joe Thomas, Wisconsin.
3) Tampa Bay Bucs – WR Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech.
4) Cleveland Browns – RB Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma
5) Arizona Cardinals – DE Alan Branch, University of Michigan.
6) Washington Redskins – DE Jamaal Anderson, Arkansas.
7) Minnesota Vikings – OT Levi Brown, Penn State.
8) Houston Texans – S LaRon Landry, LSU.
9) Miami Dolphins – QB Brady Quinn, Notre Dame.
10) Atlanta Falcons – WR Ted Ginn, Jr., Ohio State.
Final Fact:
Poland’s Stanislawa Walasiewicz won the women’s 100-meter dash in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming the first woman to break the 12-second barrier. When she was killed in 1980 as an innocent victim in a robbery attempt, an autopsy showed her to be a male.
Maystrovsky’s article appears weekly. Maystrovsky is a member of the class of 2009.
