After 19 season in the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal has decided to retire. With 4 rings on his fingers, the Big (insert nickname here..he's given himself quite a few) Shaq hangs up his immense size 22 sneaks and heads off into the sunset with his next stop being the Hall of Fame. It was about time too. Remember when he came out of LSU all those years ago? He was both a freak and force of nature. It kills me to say this but....
I am going to miss the big lug.
Yeah I know he once called the Spurs a WNBA team but that was just Shaq being Shaq. He was calling the attention to himself and therefore deflecting it from his teammates. He was a leader and to a man, almost every teammate he has had have been nothing but reverent in their tones regarding the big fella. Some big men see their size as a burden (Kareem...im looking at you) or curse (Dwayne Schintzius spitting on people comes to mind) Not Shaq. He embraced it. He reveled in it. He wore it like a 4X trenchcoat.
We all heard the amusing story about how his eventual college coach Dale Brown saw him on an Army base in Germany and asked a then 13-year old Shaq "what unit are you in, son?" When Shaq replied he was just a teen...Coach Brown had his scholarship waiting for him.
At Cole High School in San Antonio, watching him play was watching a man among boys. There was talk at the time along the lines of "yeah...but its against 3A talent".
Yeah....no.
Shaq would have dominated at any level. He proved this when he went from that 3A school to the Bayou State.
San Antonio embraced him as their own even though he only spent a few years there, there was even a suggestion in the Express-News that the Spurs should trade David Robinson, who was still getting used to the NBA, to Orlando in order to bring Shaq home. You think the LeBron hate was bad? Imagine a million pissed off South Texans if Shaq would have jumped to the Lakers from SA? Two words for you....Riot Squad.
When Shaq did leave the Magic Kingdom for Tinseltown, the move seemed like a great fit but it also had a downside. Shaq loved to fill his offseasons with all kinds of things...rap albums, movies, commercials...everything but working on his game. That is the one thing, in my opinion, that kept him from possibly being the best ever. The physical talent was unmistakeable but the focus on the game was not there like it was for a Russell, Jordan or even his former teammate Kobe. Jordan too enjoyed endorsements and fame outside of basketball but it never got in the way of his preparation for the game. Aside from his first few years...he rarely had any kind of offseason workout regimen. Well, unless you count crushing Krispy Kremes. Right now..my all time big men list goes like this:
1. Bill Russell
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Shaq
If he had given two shits for most of his career...he would be #1 easily.
The Big Aristotle was not without his other faults. The whole WNBA thing...calling Sacramento the "Queens", making up a lie about David Robinson snubbing him for an autograph when Shaq was a high school senior. (By the way...everyone loves to ignore this but early in Shaq's career...DRob used to abuse him) He also snubbed a group of kids in Live Oak who had paid money for an autograph session. We also aren't even going to get into it about "The Sarge", Shaq's stepdad Phil Harrison. The guy who used to call the newspapers complaining that his boy wasn't getting enough ink. None of those are excusable but to be fair, Shaq has also always been very active in the community. Being Shaq-a-Claus for needy kids, providing Thanksgiving and Easter dinners, being involved in Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the like.
It was time for the Big Shamrock to hang it up because he was looking more like a Center for the Pats than a Center for the Celts.
He was a big kid playing a kids game...nothing wrong with that. Enjoy retirement big man..you've earned it.
The next....no, I don't think so...
We are in the midst of the 2011 NBA Finals, the Miami Hype Machine is up 1-0 on the Mavs in the series and game 2 is being played as this is being written. Miami is favored to win the series and have put me in the unclean position of rooting for Dallas. I think has to mainly do with LeBron. I respect the guys talent, just not the way he goes about things. Giving yourself your own nickname works for Shaq when its in fun and you win titles. Glossing yourself "the Chosen One" in high school makes you look like a sphincter, not a savior.
With the Heat close to winning the title, there have been quite a few conversations comparing Michael Jordan to LeBron James. Make no mistake about it...LeBron is a better physical specimen. He is bigger, stronger and faster than MJ. LeBron is a better athlete...MJ was a better basketball player.
Follow me closely on this one, campers...
There will never...ever..be another Michael Jordan.
Period. End of sentence. New paragraph.
Why? Simple. It's the one thing that can't be measured.
The desire to do anything to win. MJ had that...Russell had that...Barkley had that (too bad he kept running into MJ) Duncan and Kobe have it. Michael Jordan would have stabbed someone if he had to if that person stood between him and a title. MJ went for your throat...LeBron wants to be loved. He wants to be the next Global Icon...MJ did it without trying. LeBron isn't the best closer in the NBA...he isn't even the best closer on his team. In the last 2 minutes of the game, I want D-Wade to have the ball if I am Heat fan. I would take Kobe, DWade, Derrick Rose, Paul Pierce and Manu Ginobili to take my last shot before LeMiss.
We have had many "next Jordans" Grant Hill, Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter, Kobe...hell, Harold Miner was nicknamed "Baby Jordan" not happening.
MJ was a singularly unique talent which will never be duplicated....and why does it have to be?
There is nothing wrong with not having a Next anyone. Why not concentrate on being the first LeBron instead of the next MJ? LeBron is not the next Jordan and to be fair to LeBron..I don't think there will be a next LeBron..or Kobe for that matter.
We are always in a hurry to replace our retiring heroes when we forget that those qualities that made them our heroes cannot be duplicated. I know it won't stop anytime soon but we really should not be so quick and desperate to anoint someone a successor to a departed legend. Let them write their own chapter and have history decide.
Speaking of history...I am out
Until next time boys and girls...
Peace.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
I wish I had an answer....
Many a day and night, I spent on the hallowed courts of Misty Oaks Park. So many great battles. Made shots, missed shots, trash talk, sweat, blood and maybe the occasional elbow. Like most people who have picked up a basketball, I dreamed. How many times did I try to re-create the Iceman's finger roll, Magic's no look pass or Kareem's sky hook? And like all kids...who didn't dream of hitting the last shot? The shot to win the game. Jordan's jumper in 82 to win the National Championship, Sean Elliott's Memorial Day Miracle. The fellas and I back in the day had quite a few phrases we liked to throw around. One of them was "never leave the court on a missed shot". Seems maybe a little hokey now but when you are young and headstrong, it just sounds really cool. (I often wonder who came up with it. It was probably Salmans, he can be clever at times) Basically, we wanted to make sure that we left it all out on the court. To make sure we gave 100% every time. Recent events have given me another reason. What if it's your last shot?
Ever.
No doubt most of you have heard of the tragedy that befell a small town last Thursday. Wes Leonard, a 16 year old basketball player for Fennville High School in Fennville, Michigan lived out every player's fantasy. He hit that shot.
The scene was right out of Hollywood and right off of the playground. With less than 30 seconds to go in overtime, his team tied at 55, Wes drove to the basket and scored the winning layup. His fellow Blackhawks mobbed him as they celebrated the win which also secured a 20-0 regular season.
Every little kids dream....shortly turned into every parent's worst nightmare.
Minutes into the celebration, Wes collapsed on to the floor. Two hours later, he was gone. A family, a team and a community went from a soaring high to the ultimate low.
Wes himself seemed like he came out of Hollywood. 6-2, 215 pounds and described by Fennville Superintendent Dirk Weeldreyer as "the quintessential all-American kid."
"Beyond his outstanding athletic abilities, Wes was a better person," Weeldreyer said. "His fellow students liked and respected him. Their grief speaks volumes about the high regard in which Wes was held."
He was the quarterback who threw for seven touchdowns in one game, he also at times played receiver and defensive end, a three year starter at those various positions. He played baseball too. Big ol' conceited jock right? Wrong. Chad VanHuis, who once umpired Leonard's middle-school baseball games, (the same ones where opposing coaches asking to see his birth certificate earning him the nickname "Big Man Wes")told ESPN "He was very courteous. He was the nicest kid. You'd think with his star potential, because he's so gifted, he'd be cocky, but he never really was that way,"
I have watched, played or coached some form of sport for almost 40 years. Many of those years coaching young men like Wes and I have to ask....
Why?
Why was this young man taken from us so soon? Now that I think about it...I can accept no answer. There is no good reason why Wes Leonard is gone. I mentioned in my last entry Brandon Gordon who was also taken from us so young after a fight with cancer. That was tragic and no less painful. I can't figure out what is worse...knowing your time is short and not being able to do anything about it or having your life cut short so abruptly with no warning. All I know is that losing these young men is such a horrible waste. You think our world couldn't use men like that in the future? The universe is truly a cold, unfeeling mistress and I have to admit, my faith is quite shaken.
All Wes Leonard did was be a kid. Well loved, someone who seemed enjoy every day and how does fate repay him? Blowing the whistle and declaring "game over".
Fennville has voted to play on and tonight they face Lawrence High School in the first round of the state playoffs. This story has taken on a national feel as dozens of media people have come to West Michigan to cover the game. The game has been moved to Hope College's DeVos Auditorium to accommodate the expected crowd of what should be approaching 3500. Kudos by the way, to Lawrence High School. They have been the ultimate good sports. Having to be the team who plays the team that the whole country will be rooting for is not going to be easy. This was supposed to be a home game for them. They first volunteered to donate all the proceeds to the charity of Wes' parents choice, then when they realized their gym couldn't handle the impending crowd, Hope College stepped in and donated the use of their building. The two teams will also be sharing a pre-game meal...something unheard of in today's sports world. Bo Kimble, who lost his best friend Hank Gathers 21 years to the day after Wes died, will be speaking to the teams as will Michigan State Basketball coach Tom Izzo.
I have played and coached in dozens of games and won a bunch of them. I have coached outstanding young men to victories and trophies. I was a small part of that group that dominated Texas DeMolay conclave from 02-06 in a way that had never been seen before or has been since.
I would give it all back for Wes Leonard to be leading his team tonight.
Kids like that deserve to be given a long full life to see what they can do with it. My heart goes out to that community and to his parents. I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through. I was never blessed with kids of my own but you don't have to be a parent to realize that the ultimate tragedy for a parent is having to bury a child. Which leads me back to my question...
Why?
I don't have an answer and no one else does either. God already has Pistol Pete and John Wooden...did he need Wes too? Oh and before anyone drops the obligatory "he's in a better place" don't. He was 16 for heavens sake. His place is with his family and friends and playing ball. He needs to be patrolling the fields and courts of Fennville...the sun on his face, dirt on his shoes and a twinkle in his eye.
I don't know what will happen with the Fennville Blackhawks this post-season. Will they rally around the memory of a fallen teammates and have the ultimate storybook ending? Just as possible is the burden being too much for young men and they are too emotionally spent to go on. It's not fair to ask so much of those so young. Personally, I hope for the former. I hope they go on a magical run that ends in the Breslin Center holding the trophy up so high that Wes can read the engraving.
God, fate and the universe owe the people of Fennville that much. You took one of their own way too early than was necessary. You have devastated a community and ripped apart a family. In your arrogance and selfishness, you robbed the world of a bright young man who may have made the world a better place. A championship is the least of what you can do.
I never met Wes Leonard and I mourn the wasteful loss of one so young but as someone who loves the games people play, I envy him this much. If you are a basketball player, is there a better way to leave this world? If you have to be cruelly taken from your family....you went out knowing your teammates will live to play another day. Wes gave his team one final assist. No one ever gave their all more than he and for that sir...I salute you.
One last thing....the official cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy...also known as an enlarged heart. Big Man Wes had a big heart. From what those who spent time around him have told us...that was no surprise.
Go Blackhawks.
Peace.
Ever.
No doubt most of you have heard of the tragedy that befell a small town last Thursday. Wes Leonard, a 16 year old basketball player for Fennville High School in Fennville, Michigan lived out every player's fantasy. He hit that shot.
The scene was right out of Hollywood and right off of the playground. With less than 30 seconds to go in overtime, his team tied at 55, Wes drove to the basket and scored the winning layup. His fellow Blackhawks mobbed him as they celebrated the win which also secured a 20-0 regular season.
Every little kids dream....shortly turned into every parent's worst nightmare.
Minutes into the celebration, Wes collapsed on to the floor. Two hours later, he was gone. A family, a team and a community went from a soaring high to the ultimate low.
Wes himself seemed like he came out of Hollywood. 6-2, 215 pounds and described by Fennville Superintendent Dirk Weeldreyer as "the quintessential all-American kid."
"Beyond his outstanding athletic abilities, Wes was a better person," Weeldreyer said. "His fellow students liked and respected him. Their grief speaks volumes about the high regard in which Wes was held."
He was the quarterback who threw for seven touchdowns in one game, he also at times played receiver and defensive end, a three year starter at those various positions. He played baseball too. Big ol' conceited jock right? Wrong. Chad VanHuis, who once umpired Leonard's middle-school baseball games, (the same ones where opposing coaches asking to see his birth certificate earning him the nickname "Big Man Wes")told ESPN "He was very courteous. He was the nicest kid. You'd think with his star potential, because he's so gifted, he'd be cocky, but he never really was that way,"
I have watched, played or coached some form of sport for almost 40 years. Many of those years coaching young men like Wes and I have to ask....
Why?
Why was this young man taken from us so soon? Now that I think about it...I can accept no answer. There is no good reason why Wes Leonard is gone. I mentioned in my last entry Brandon Gordon who was also taken from us so young after a fight with cancer. That was tragic and no less painful. I can't figure out what is worse...knowing your time is short and not being able to do anything about it or having your life cut short so abruptly with no warning. All I know is that losing these young men is such a horrible waste. You think our world couldn't use men like that in the future? The universe is truly a cold, unfeeling mistress and I have to admit, my faith is quite shaken.
All Wes Leonard did was be a kid. Well loved, someone who seemed enjoy every day and how does fate repay him? Blowing the whistle and declaring "game over".
Fennville has voted to play on and tonight they face Lawrence High School in the first round of the state playoffs. This story has taken on a national feel as dozens of media people have come to West Michigan to cover the game. The game has been moved to Hope College's DeVos Auditorium to accommodate the expected crowd of what should be approaching 3500. Kudos by the way, to Lawrence High School. They have been the ultimate good sports. Having to be the team who plays the team that the whole country will be rooting for is not going to be easy. This was supposed to be a home game for them. They first volunteered to donate all the proceeds to the charity of Wes' parents choice, then when they realized their gym couldn't handle the impending crowd, Hope College stepped in and donated the use of their building. The two teams will also be sharing a pre-game meal...something unheard of in today's sports world. Bo Kimble, who lost his best friend Hank Gathers 21 years to the day after Wes died, will be speaking to the teams as will Michigan State Basketball coach Tom Izzo.
I have played and coached in dozens of games and won a bunch of them. I have coached outstanding young men to victories and trophies. I was a small part of that group that dominated Texas DeMolay conclave from 02-06 in a way that had never been seen before or has been since.
I would give it all back for Wes Leonard to be leading his team tonight.
Kids like that deserve to be given a long full life to see what they can do with it. My heart goes out to that community and to his parents. I cannot begin to imagine what they are going through. I was never blessed with kids of my own but you don't have to be a parent to realize that the ultimate tragedy for a parent is having to bury a child. Which leads me back to my question...
Why?
I don't have an answer and no one else does either. God already has Pistol Pete and John Wooden...did he need Wes too? Oh and before anyone drops the obligatory "he's in a better place" don't. He was 16 for heavens sake. His place is with his family and friends and playing ball. He needs to be patrolling the fields and courts of Fennville...the sun on his face, dirt on his shoes and a twinkle in his eye.
I don't know what will happen with the Fennville Blackhawks this post-season. Will they rally around the memory of a fallen teammates and have the ultimate storybook ending? Just as possible is the burden being too much for young men and they are too emotionally spent to go on. It's not fair to ask so much of those so young. Personally, I hope for the former. I hope they go on a magical run that ends in the Breslin Center holding the trophy up so high that Wes can read the engraving.
God, fate and the universe owe the people of Fennville that much. You took one of their own way too early than was necessary. You have devastated a community and ripped apart a family. In your arrogance and selfishness, you robbed the world of a bright young man who may have made the world a better place. A championship is the least of what you can do.
I never met Wes Leonard and I mourn the wasteful loss of one so young but as someone who loves the games people play, I envy him this much. If you are a basketball player, is there a better way to leave this world? If you have to be cruelly taken from your family....you went out knowing your teammates will live to play another day. Wes gave his team one final assist. No one ever gave their all more than he and for that sir...I salute you.
One last thing....the official cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy...also known as an enlarged heart. Big Man Wes had a big heart. From what those who spent time around him have told us...that was no surprise.
Go Blackhawks.
Peace.
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