Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life. – Billie Jean King
This past weekend I watched some sports on television. By the way, I also scooped snow – lots of snow. Here are some thoughts about sports:
When I was about 10 years old, me and my parents and grandmother would watch wrestling on Channel 2 every Saturday night at 10:30. One of my favorite wrestlers was a Native American who went by the name Danny Little Bear.
One summer it was announced that the wrestlers from Channel 2 would be coming to the local fair and Danny Little Bear would be there for the main event. We went to the fair to see the wrestlers, and I was down by the ring cheering on Danny. He was getting the crap kicked out of him. All of a sudden I saw Danny reach into his wrestling trunks and put something that looked like a red capsule in his mouth. Then the other wrestler let him up, and after Danny was standing the other wrestler landed a hard shot on Danny’s face.
Blood started trickling out of Danny’s mouth. It was not real blood. It was fake blood from the capsule. Danny Little Bear lost the match. I was glad.
I figured out that professional wrestling was not all I thought it was – that some of the action was rigged.
Fast forward to 2007 and I was watching the Daytona 500. NASCAR had made a rule that when there was a crash, the field would be frozen and if it was the last lap, the winner would be the leader. It was a safety thing. One of my favorite drivers, Mark Martin, was leading the race with one lap left when a crash occurred. NASCAR did not throw a caution flag and they allowed everyone to race back to the line although some drivers saw the crash and let up. Martin should have won the Daytona 500 that year. I’ve never watched a full race since then. To me, NASCAR seems good at changing or rigging the rules as they go along – maybe for more exciting racing or maybe for something else.
This year’s NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors was another inglorious moment in my sports history that I won’t soon forget. Before you go saying I’m a Warriors fan, slap yourself. I have been a Boston Celtics fan since the days of Bird, McHale, and Ainge.
It seemed that after the Warriors went up three games to one on the Cavs, the officiating changed. Starting with game five, the refs allowed the Cavs to beat the crap out the Warriors’ Stephen Curry. The assault of Curry continued in game six and seven – and the refs did nothing.
The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do. – Kobe Bryant
Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you’re a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with just a little bit of sarcasm.
This week’s topics include taxes & WalletHub, Montana State University & Rob O’Neill, unemployment, Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, Kobe Bryant, Congress’ approval rating, Congressional Pig Book, Ethan Couch & drunk driving, and much more!
