Some recent observations from the world of sports:
Playing in pain -- If the recent comebacks of aging superstars Mario Lemieux and Michael Jordan have shown us anything -- other than a new and unique way to sell tickets by putting a team owner in uniform -- it is that human beings, regardless of their stature as athletic gods, should listen to their bodies.
An athlete's mind will usually tell him he can rise to any challenge, since this type of competitive nature is inherent in all the great sportsmen, but his body will never lie.
It's always sad to see a great athlete attempt an ill-fated return to glory, only to fall flat on his face (names like Maradona, Guy Lafleur, Larry Holmes come to mind), but it may be even worse to see them literally disintegrate before our eyes.
Lemieux, the player/owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, has been so bothered by recent hip problems that he has only been able to lace up his skates for a handful of games this season. You've gotta love the big guy for making the effort, especially after his earlier back problems and his battle with Hodgkin's disease, but maybe it's time to face reality and hang 'em up for good.
Jordan, another recent returnee player/owner closing in on 40, has raised the public image of his new team, the Washington Wizards, immensely. The Wizards, a woeful team that in seasons past has drawn about as much viewer interest as an Al Gore workout video, are now all the rage with the TV networks, battling the likes of missing interns for lead-story coverage in the Washington area as well as getting big play in the sports media, both nationally and worldwide.
But lately, Jordan's creaky right knee has forced the 10-time NBA scoring champion to miss a few games, and so far there has been no indication that the pain will subside.
While both Lemieux and Jordan can still dominate at times on their respective fields of play -- Jordan can still put up the odd 40-point night, even with a weak supporting cast -- there will likely come a day in the near future when these veteran stars will have to ask themselves, "Is it still worth it? Is it worth the nagging minor operations, constant icing, fluid draining, pain-killing shots, etc., just to sell a few extra tickets and compete on the big stage?"
I'm no mind-reader, but I doubt we'll be seeing either of them in action much longer.
Pigskin professor needed -- If it's mid-December, it must be time for a little U.S. college football controversy. Year after year, the annual debate rages about which team is the REAL No. 1 program in the nation. The powers that be have attempted to take control of the situation by removing much of the decision-making authority previously held by sports writers and coaches and giving it to a computer with their Bowl Championship Series.
It hasn't helped.
While the computer selected Nebraska (11-1) to play undefeated Miami in the Rose Bowl for the national championship, the coaches of Oregon (10-1) and Colorado (10-2) were both understandably miffed at being overlooked, especially considering the 'Huskers were coming off a 62-36 whuppin' at the hands of the Colorado Buffaloes in the last game of the regular season.
Should Nebraska upset the 'Canes on Jan. 3, and with the Ducks and Buffaloes meeting in the Fiesta Bowl, you can bet all hell will break loose.
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this being COLLEGE football implies to me that there would more than likely be a few individuals with a larger-than-normal cranial capacity involved in the process.
Why not use the computer to rank the Top 20-30 teams in the nation prior to the season, and then have your season and division playoffs to crown an undisputed champion in a title game? Not exactly a unique concept -- and I'm sure it would not eliminate all the controversy -- but makes sense to me.
Maybe then we wouldn't get coaches like Oregon's Mike Bellotti calling the whole system a "travesty" and likening it to "a bad disease, like cancer."
Natural selection -- Usually once or twice a year, we get a story coming over the sports wires detailing the gruesome deaths and/or injuries inflicted on a group of racing fans when a rally driver fails to negotiate a tight turn on a slick road and his vehicle goes hurtling into the crowd.
It happened again last month during the British Rally in Wales when Carlos Sainz's Ford failed to make a corner and his car plowed into a group of fans, injuring 13, a few of them seriously.
I realize that some folks choose to stand in the most dangerous areas of a rally course in the hope of perhaps seeing a spectacular crash or near wipeout, but give your heads a shake people! What else do you do for thrills and entertainment; a run through busy intersections?
As a former colleague of mine once pointed out, it's just another example of nature thinning out the species, a kind of survival of the least stupid.
Soccer sucks -- Well it doesn't, really. It's a great game (to play) and it provides hours of fun and entertainment for those in underdeveloped regions (like Britain) and your less sophisticated sports fans around the planet who like to keep their games simple.
But what's up with the goal celebration by Sevilla's Francisco Gallardo during a recent match in Spain's top division? According to a Reuters report, Gallardo bent down and began to bite Jose Antonio Reyes on the penis after Reyes had scored against Valladolid.
Now I've heard of a player blowing his own horn after a goal, but this has to be the first case where someone else tried to do it for him.