Sez Me …
Sports should take a figurative enema and get rid of one word: Comparison.
We compare the players. We compare the eras. For the most part, we have no idea what we’re talking about.
“Oh, that guy couldn’t play today.”
I say, “Yes, he could.” I say, “Well, could this current pitcher who can’t throw more than 50 pitches a game with an ERA of 6.50 get out Williams or DiMaggio?” Forget Williams. By the year 2100, people are going to be asking who was the last baseball player to hit .300.
Talking point? Crap. It’s crap piled on top of crap. Yeah, that’s what it is. A pile of crap.
I’ve been around to see every great athlete compete since Bobby Thomson’s home run, which still would be (I can only guess) a great homer today. And while I can see athletes are bigger, stronger and faster, I also can say some players from other eras could play now — and just maybe some of these whippersnappers would have the intestinal fortitude to play games when the world was a bit younger.
But you send some of these guys back in time, spoiled players who deliberately sit out games, players who go on injured reserve with a bad haircut, players who don’t need second jobs, players who enjoy unimaginable equipment, training and pharmaceutical advantages, broken rules allowed, and it might not be as easy as they think.
You know, Bob Feller was throwing 100 mph-plus 75 years ago.
Equipment is a big part of it, especially in golf and tennis, where power has lapped finesse. I make Bobby Jones the greatest golfer. He didn’t take lessons, he didn’t practice, he had no coach or personal trainer, and his clubs had wooden shafts.
The other day, Gary Player, 88 years old, kicked off the Masters with a 275-yard drive. Rory McIlroy averages 326 yards per drive. Could he do that with a hickory shaft and a ball that doesn’t have a nuclear reactor inside?
Basketball gets the most comparisons. A few weeks back, LeBron said Milwaukee’s Greek Freak would score 250 points in a 1970s game. He was joking (maybe), but it gives you some idea how what happened in the past, as my uncle John would put it, means diddly squat today, when fools can’t see past yesterday.
Giannis would be going up against the greatest group of centers in history, players of extraordinary ability, players unafraid to play defense and get their hands dirty.
In a moment when Bill Walton was healthy late in his career with the Clippers, he played in an exhibition game here vs. Philadelphia’s Darryl ”Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins, the next superstar. Bill melted Chocolate, fouling him out in the first half. Maybe the greatest basketball clinic I’ve seen, and Walton hardly was himself.
Wilt Chamberlain, for reasons I can’t explain, has been all over Twitter (X) over the past week. He was 7-1, 255 pounds, and a superb all-around athlete. He would toss Giannis into the second row.
Wilt was the greatest single force in the history of sports. He averaged 50 points and 48-plus minutes a game one season. He once had 55 rebounds one night — against Bill Russell, the greatest defender and inch-for-inch rebounder in history. He scored 100 points in a game. Chamberlain had 122 50-point games. He had 32 60-point games (Kobe ranks second, with 6. Six).
Lucius Jackson was a terrific power forward on the 76ers. He was 6-9, 240 pounds. Jackson got in a fight during a game, and I saw Wilt pick him up, tuck him under his arm, and walk off the court as if he were carrying home a newspaper, which his famous sex life says he rarely did.
Dare to compare the incomparable. …
Some 1,500 private jets are parked at Augusta’s airport for Masters week. That’s some 1,500 above average. …
The Masters, which myth insists begins this afternoon, is the greatest ongoing sporting event in the world. …
Spanish amateur José Luis Ballester was caught taking a leak into Augusta’s Rae’s Creek during Thursday’s opening round. He was going for the creek in 2. Turned it into a 1 instead. …
I sure didn’t find this Final Four terribly attractive. I think last year’s UConn Huskies, the best college team of this century, wins the 2025 Tournament in a hand ride. Close games don’t necessarily make for great games. …
There were no five-star recruits in the Florida-Houston finale. It showed. …
What nobody has been able to explain is how Duke assistant Dr. Heimlich was allowed to go to the restroom during the last minute of the Final Four choke job vs. Houston. …
One thing that stood out to me in the men’s tournament was so many teams having trouble getting the ball in on simple out-of-bounds plays. …
Sen. Bill Demora wants no government money going to professional sports teams that can’t produce winning records three out of every five years. The Browns want $600 million for a new stadium. They should have thought about it when they threw away $230 million guaranteed on Deshaun Watson. …
Watson says his days of glory will return. Which is why the Browns signed Off Broadway Joe Flacco to a one-year deal. Joe doesn’t like massages. …
By the way, Cleveland’s stadium, now apparently out of date, was built in 1999 and renovated in 2015. New stadiums have the shelf life of raw fish. …
UConn’s Geno Auriemma no doubt is a terrific basketball coach. But it seems to me the man is never happy, bitching and complaining about something wherever he is, whatever the situation. He is a bothersome individual. …
What the hell did Mike Malone do to get fired by the Nuggets so late in the season? Man won the NBA title a few years back. Players apparently thought he hurt their feelings. Asylum 1, Malone 0. …
Denver’s owner apparently thought Malone, with 41 home games at altitude, should have taken advantage of the biggest advantage in sports. …
A doctor friend — genius — once told me that, if he had his way, no sporting events would be held at altitude, also pointing out altitude players have an advantage when they lower themselves to play at sea level. Why do you think so many distance runners train in rarefied air? …
The Toronto Blue Jays are giving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. $500 million over 14 years, which figures to play out to different money once Canada becomes a state. …
“What’s your wife’s name and what is she like?” Choo-Choo Coleman once was asked. “My wife’s name is Mrs. Coleman, and she likes me, bub,” Choo-Choo responded. …
The Augusta National practice facility is used 11 days a year and is worth $150 million. Just about enough to fill our potholes. I went around one the other day on Morena Boulevard that was so big it had guides and mules to take visitors to the stalagmites and stalactites. …
I knew Stephen A. Smith was serious about running for president when his aides told me I was his choice as running mate. …
It used to be all in fun. Now, when a mother tells her child, “You can grow up to be president,” she can really mean it. …
It’s been my experience that, if you have to tell people how good you are, chances are beyond excellent you’re not.
