“Should professional athletes be allowed to use their status to talk about things more important than the games they play?”
That is the question that Jay Caspian Kang asks in his most recent “On Sports” column for The New York Times Magazine.
It’s a rich, juicy question, because it goes to the heart of our ambivalence toward outspoken athletes, artists, entertainers and other public figures who are not public servants. ...
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The parade of successful egotists continues – President Donald J. Trump, all-time men’s Slam winner (and recent Australian Open champ) Roger Federer and, now, record five-time Super Bowl champ and record four-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady. He led the New England Patriots to a come-from-behind, overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, 34-28.
These three hardly need more accolades to fan the flames of pride. And while Fed may be more elegant and Brady more circumspect about it, they both have a manner about them that says with Trump, “I’m a winner, and you’re not.” ...
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Is it just me or were the Rio Games ultimately dispiriting? Yes, I’m glad as an American that the United States won 121 medals and as a woman that American woman won 61 of them. (Give it up for Title IX.)
And I thought the Christoph Waltz/Samsung Galaxy commercial – in which the two-time Academy Award winner manages to mock superior Eurotrash and over-accomplished, multitasking exceptional Americans at the same time through a series of character vignettes – was just terrific.
But too many athletes reminded me that time is the cruelest opponent. ...
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So which is it? Were 12-time Olympic swimming champion Ryan Lochte and three fellow swimmers robbed at gunpoint as they returned to the Olympic Village during the Rio Games? Or did they invent the story to cover up a drunken night on the town? Or are Rio officials trying to cover up an unsavory aspect of these summer games, the lawlessness of the host city?
It’s hard to know in a twisting tale that now has a Brazilian judge now seeking to detain Lochte, who has already left the country, and James Feigen. Often, though, the truth in a mystery lies between two viewpoints. ...
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When you title a blog post, you’re supposed to make it as specific as possible – unlike necessarily a print headline – to draw attention to it. But I figure few titles are more intriguing than “the greatest.” Who is “the greatest”? The title is associated with Muhammad Ali, but really fans in every sport like to argue over who is the GOAT (greatest of all time) in their discipline.
You could say Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time with 28 medals, 23 gold – six of them (five gold, one silver) in Rio alone. You could say the New York Yankees are the greatest baseball team of all time with 18 division titles, 40 American League pennants and 27 World Series titles. Both Phelps and the Yankees are so far ahead of their competitors that it’s hard to imagine anyone catching up. ...
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You take the true measure of yourself in a rival, Aristophanes said. If that’s the case, then Ryan Lochte must be the most self-aware man in the world.
For years, he’s been card partners, roommates, friends and, yes, rivals, with the man who owns 22 gold medals – Michael Phelps.
Last night, Lochte finished fifth in the 200 IM to Phelps’ first. I won’t say I’m not disappointed. I would’ve liked to see them finish 1-2, or better, for Lochte to have best him. But it is perhaps fatuous as a fan to be disappointed. Who is more disappointed than the losing athlete? Indeed, disappointment dripped from Lochte like so many beads of water in his nonetheless gracious post-race interview. ...
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Maybe God was compensating Cleveland for having to host the Republican/Trump Convention.
Just kidding.
The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals – the first team to do so – to take the championship from the vaunted Golden State Warriors 93-89. Native son LeBron James was named MVP and will most certainly draw the largest cheers when the team is feted with a parade Wednesday.
As I’ve written in a previous post, the only thing as fascinating as a triumphant underdog is a flawed winner. The Warriors won 73 games in the regular season. Their star, Stephen Curry, was the regular-season MVP. They were a lock, particularly early on in the championship series. ...
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