The C word (character) often is difficult to notice in professional sports, perhaps because we are so conditioned to accept the S word (selfish) when describing athletes. Things such as heart and effort and accountability aren’t how we usually first depict those with tens of millions attached to their bank accounts for playing a game.
Ed Graney
Ed Graney is a sports columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, covering a variety of topics and the Las Vegas sports scene.
egraney@reviewjournal.com … @edgraney on Twitter. 702-383-4618
You will hear more about the 3-pointers today, about Wink Adams busting his slump against Arizona’s basketball team, about the lead growing to as many as 22 points in the second half, about the Rebels earning what NCAA Tournament selection committee members would consider a quality win come March.
Mike Stoops arrived in town with his Arizona football team Tuesday evening, put the Wildcats through a snow-flurried practice the following morning, stepped inside the Lied Athletic Complex at UNLV and answered questions about his program’s first bowl game in a decade.
There is a Hawaiian legend about mythical creatures who wander island forests at night, using their vast strength for achievements in engineering and construction before the sun rises. They are said to be no more than 2 feet tall, and some reach just 6 inches. Magical little people.
The more I am around Billy Johnson, the more I’m convinced he was the kid in school who orchestrated the prank in the girls’ locker room and then glanced disapprovingly at a classmate when the principal asked the perpetrators to step forward.
Rene Rougeau says there is a need for more passion. Lon Kruger says there is a need for better shooting, better execution, better talking defensively. Wink Adams says there is a need for him to hoist a jumper and not feel as though the basket is covered with a lid.
First things first. The cell phone voice mail. It is one of those standard messages by a woman who sounds like a librarian reciting rules about talking in your quiet voice. I was expecting some background tunes of “Abilene.” Maybe some “Happy Trails.”
Lon Kruger was a no-star. All he turned out to be was one of the finest basketball players in Kansas State history. Lew Hill was a no-star. All he did was win a national junior college championship and become an All-Missouri Valley Conference player at Wichita State. Rene Rougeau was a no-star. All he can boast about is being the best all-around player on UNLV’s roster today.
They held a news conference at the Bellagio on Tuesday about ways to help better educate children and Andre Agassi was involved, which is like saying CC Sabathia is about to receive a decent raise.
What, you expected a bawling episode the likes of Brett Favre? There was a better chance that sports agent Scott Boras would forfeit his commissions this winter. Greg Maddux retired from baseball and onto the nearest first tee Monday the same way he constructed the finest pitching resume of his generation — with the face of a guy holding pocket aces and you none the wiser.
This is the image of a once-magnificent champion, sitting on a stool drenched with confusion, unable to answer a ninth-round bell. Battered, bruised, beaten so decisively, it’s inconceivable to think of him fighting again.
Making my best case for the little guy in tonight’s big fight at the MGM Grand Garden:
One goal is to keep your toes turned during the entire ride, but something tells me it’s not the same as a ballerina mastering first position. It’s also important to swing your feet over the horse’s shoulders in a split second, and as the animal bucks, to bend those knees and finish your spurring stroke, which sounds a little like the advice Lon Kruger might give on shooting free throws if his players did so from a saddle.
You could argue the closest we have to him is the president-elect, a person who can excite and unify masses while performing on a platform of hope. Barack Obama has promised change. Manny Pacquiao allows others to live it.