According to a recent article in dinkpickleball.com, if you can say “Yes” to five of their following criteria, you may be a pickleball snob: 1. You only play with “good” players 2. You own AT LEAST three paddles 3. You ask for full names so you can look up DUPRs 4. You say, “That’s how the pros play” 5. You scout ahead 6. You judge players by their paddle 7. You have a “Pickleball Coach”
I thought that was a rather pedestrian list so here’s my other signs that you just might be a pickleball snob:
You have three or more indoor memberships
You play with a different model paddle each day of the week
You have a “Pickleball Coach”, dietician, trainer and therapist
Joola designed a custom paddle for you
You never feel it necessary to buy or bring pickleballs to the court for play
You don’t tap paddles at end of games, you offer a dismissive wave to your opponents
ESPN just published its list of the top 100 athletes of the 21st-century. Included on the list are people who competed in tennis, basketball, swimming, football, baseball, auto racing, and boxing. These are what I would consider the mainline sports. However, I am not sure that’s where you will find the best “athletes.”
In my mind, a great athlete incorporates the following: (1) stamina, (2) strength, (3) speed (4) agility, (5) reflexes, (6) focus/competitive spirit, and (7) competitive skills to excel in the sport one is performing. For example, Tiger Woods is a great golfer. But does one have to be a great athlete to be a great golfer? Maybe not? Jack Nicklaus. and John Daly were excellent golfers in their heyday, but I would not consider them very good athletes.
My list gives credit to sports and athletes that are not well publicized. For example, a triathlete needs to be an excellent swimmer, biker and runner. Incredible stamina is required as a competition may take place over several hours or even most of the day. There are no triathletes on the ESPN list. There are no CrossFit athletes that are on the ESPN list. That strikes me is a bit odd as ESPN does cover CrossFit competitions.
So here is my list of names that at least should be considered for the top 100 athletes to 21st century:
I thought this was a fair and sensitive biography of a complicated and controversial man. This book was excellently researched and the author was able to get cooperation of many of the players, family and even mistresses of Pete Rose. The book confirms to me that Pete was a vain, greedy, self-serving and not a very smart man, not someone who you would want as a friend or be around with.
The author documents Rose’s playing exploits on the baseball field, which were legendary and his off field foibles which were many. Well I think it was easy to admire Pete Rose the player, it must’ve been very hard to admire Pete Rose the man. It’s as if he never grow up.
All that being said, I think the Pete Rose deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Yes his gambling, particularly on baseball, may be disqualifying. However I have not read or heard of any evidence where he directly or indirectly affected the performance or results of a baseball game. What Pete Rose achieved on the field, he achieved largely on his own merits. I did not read of any evidence that he took steroids or performance-enhancing drugs.
This book is an excellent read for any sports fan but especially for this reader as I remember watching Pete Rose’s career, particularly when he played for the 1980 Phillies who won the World Series that year.
Alabama will win the National Collegiate Football championship beating Texas. Jim Harbaugh will resign as Michigan coach and become a NFL coach (San Diego). ???
No Kansas City – Philadelphia reprise for 2024 Super Bowl. 2024 Super Bowl will be Baltimore vs. Detroit. Baltimore will win 38-17. ???
Kentucky will beat Kansas in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. ???
No Biden – Trump reprise in November 2024. Biden will withdraw from race. Due to legal issues, Trump will also withdraw but will receive conditional pardon. ???
Both parties will choose current elected and active governors. Republicans will not choose Ron DeSantis. ???
Ukraine-Russia war winds down to negotiated cease fire by May 2024.
U.S. needs to act militarily to aid in Israel’s defense. Benjamin Netanyahu replaced. Very few additional hostages released or located. ???
AI serves as a very effective propaganda and distortion tool in 2024 elections. Many voters are duped to believe just about anything to support their narratives and beliefs about politics. ???
Twitter goes dark in 2024 due to loss of advertisers, disinterest by members and huge operating losses that Musk no longer wants to fund. ???
The Republican who performed brave and honorable actions, risking his life and that of his family on January 6, 2021, withdrew his name from the 2024 Presidential nomination due to lack of support. Frankly, I largely viewed Mike Pence as a toady during his vice presidency, but I find him a more suitable option compared to the individual who sought to overturn a fair election process and currently faces 91 civil and criminal indictment counts.
While I remain concerned about Trump, my greater worry lies in the significant number of supporters he commands and the influence he wields. This speaks volumes about the state of our country, indicating that Trumpism could endure without Donald Trump.
Inflation, Israel, and the indictments involving his son will likely damage Biden’s prospects in 2024. Although Biden served as a competent placeholder, I would prefer a different, younger nominee for the Democratic party.”
I recently sold my house and relocated. My main grievance stems from paying a 6% commission fee during the house closing. Considering the current seller’s market and the available technology for facilitating home sales, commission fees should ideally range between 4% and 5%.”
“The overwhelming presence of misinformation, lies, and exaggerations across various domains such as media, politics, business, science, and education can easily deceive even the most discerning individuals, leading them to believe a significant portion of it.”
“The auxiliary attractions of gambling and ‘sports talk’ form the pillars upholding sporting events and programming. The off-field or off-court action and controversies often prove more captivating than the actual games themselves.”
Sports nostalgia tour of the American Basketball Association whose heydays were in the late 60s and 70s. The league had some great players like Dr. J, Rick Barry, George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel and others. Interesting stories about how they tried to create the league. Poor Pat Boone was one of the early investors and almost went broke. There were some smart owners and many greedy ones. George Mikan was the ABA’s first commissioner and insisted that the league’s headquarters be situated in Minnesota where he lived.
So many characters Marvin Barnes, Johnny Neumann, John Brisker etc. played in the league. The book details many of their antics. I remember Rick Mount, one of the best shooting guards in college at Purdue. Unfortunately his college game did not translate that well into the pros.
The financial status of the teams and the league were always in peril. They did not have a national TV contract like the NBA. Many coaches and players suffered returned checks or did not get paid at all.
I did not realize or remember that ABA teams played NBA teams in exhibition games and competed fairly well. There were some excellent ABA coaches including Hubie Brown, Larry Brown, Stan Albeck and Doug Moe. (Even Wilt Chamberlain was an ABA coach but not a very good or devoted one.)
There are a large number of amusing anecedotes and stories. This is a very entertaining sports book about a very interesting time in professional basketball.
Caitlin Clark from Iowa was the best college basketball player that I saw this year. She may be the best women’s basketball player that I have ever seen. I don’t remember another female player with her shooting range and passing ability.
Though LSU won the NCAA Women’s Tournament yesterday, I don’t think they would have beaten South Carolina.
Best Matches from 2023 WrestleMania
Rhea Ripley beating Charlotte Flair for women’s title
Kevin Owens and Sammy Zayn beating the Usos for tag team title
Edge beating Finn Balor (The Demon) in steel cage match.
To my surprise, I enjoyed yesterday’s ESPN Pickleball Challenge featuring John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Andy Roddick. The levels of performance got better as the four legends played. I think the telecast helped improved the pickleball brand. I enjoyed McEnroe’s antics. Great job by the young woman who was the referee!
Phillies are 0-3.Too early to panic…
I’m slightly prejudiced for being a “homer” but Joel Embiid deserves to be the NBA MVP. He rarely has a bad game and most games I watch, he dominates.
Not sure who is the biggest disappointment give their career starts: Ben Simmons or Carson Wentz?
Still prefer “old guys” Michael Wilson and Tony Kornheiser as sports commentators ahead of Colin Cowherd, Steven A. Smith, Jim Rome etc.
In full disclosure, I did not follow college basketball like I have years ago. For example, I used to be able to tell you the top 10 or 15 players in NCAA basketball. Today, the only All Americans or top draft picks I know about are the Purdue center, Edey and the Alabama forward, Miller, who just got in trouble. My NCAA picks (below) are basically wild hunches based on only a cursory study or familiarity of the teams. I am picking Purdue to win at all even though I have only seen a few of their games. Two of the games were against Rutgers. Rutgers beat Purdue in the regular season and barely lost to them in the Big 10 tournament.
Speaking of Rutgers, I was one of those people who were a bit disappointed that they did not make the NCAA tournament. However, I can’t feel too bad for Rutgers today. Last night, as the number 1 seed, and playing in their gym, they lost to Hofstra in the first round of the NIT. Rutgers did not exactly bolster their objection into not getting into the field of 64 or 68.
No Big Five team (Villanova, Saint Joe’s, Temple, Penn and La Salle) made it into the NCAA tournament. This was the first time since 1977 that a Philadelphia-based school failed to play in the tournament. Penn actually came the closest to playing in the tournament with their semifinal game in the Ivy League tournament against Princeton, which they lost. Not sure that any team will play in next year’s tournament either…
I have not seen a lot of Big Five teams play. However the two best players in the Big Five for this year are Jordan Dingle for Penn and Erik Reynolds for St Joe’s. I’m not sure that either of those players or NBA caliber or will be drafted. However they impressed me more than Cam Whitmore of Villanova who probably will be picked early this year in the year’s NBA draft.
One of the best ideas that I have read on Twitter of all places is that Dawn Staley should replace Aaron McKee as head coach of Temple’s men’s basketball team. If any woman could succeed in coaching men’s basketball at a major college level, it is Dawn Staley. It would be nice to see her back coaching in Philadelphia!
If this book had just been about Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan football program, I would have enjoyed it. However the author also extended this book to commentary about politics, religion and our national culture. Unlike some others, I enjoyed and appreciated the author’s forays into those topics. I have to admit a certain sympathy for Jim Harbaugh. Despite all the money that he is being paid, he can never satisfy the rabid desires of a typical Michigan football fan. And by the critiques and scorn that I read and see on various sports venues, Harbaugh cannot satisfy many critical commentators as to his worth.
Lord knows that many football coaches at major universities are way over paid. And one bad season can have them looking for new work quickly. Just note the unrealistic expectations at Nebraska from the Athletic Director and its football fans.
This is an excellent read if you are a college football fan or even if you are not. You don’t have to be a football fan to see how crazy college football is. For the past few years, Michigan has been Ground Zero for much of this craziness. I highly recommend this book… Excellent narrative… Cogent commentary on college sports in general.
Esot-eric 