The Sport Report

While LeBron James may have taken all relevant comparisons to Michael Jordan off the table with his most recent change in employer and area code, Wade’s Pippen is already seeing his team linked to the Bulls era.  Jeff Van Gundy made headlines when boldly forecast the heat can win 73 games this season.  73 is a number in basketball much like 62 used to be in baseball, perhaps more accurately compared to the Dolphins‘ 19-0 undefeated season in 1972.  Quite simply, 72 regular season wins, a feat accomplished by the ’95-’96 Bulls then followed by an NBA Championship, is the closest any team has ever come to perfection, 73 would be one better.  Most fans, players and analysts believe the number to be nearly untouchable, after all, the ’71-’72 Lakers‘ 69-win total was already an intimidating mark (1972 sure was an impressive year for sports).   Losing only 10 games over the course of an 82 game schedule is no small feat, arguably equally impressive to that of going undefeated in the much shorter football season.  In 2007, the Patriots managed to match the Dolphins’ unscathed regular season mark (16-0) but fell victim to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

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Come March it appears as if the NBA will be taking its talents to foggy London town.  Not nearly as heartbreaking to fans in America as perhaps the last time that phrase was used to describe a newsworthy basketball relocation, if only because the NBA’s stint in the UK will last for merely 2 games.  On March 4^th and 5^th the Toronto Raptors will square off against the New Jersey Nets in the city’s O2 Arena.  This will mark the first two regular season contests to cross the pond, though not the first time the NBA has held games in England, or even O2 Arena for that matter.  London has played host to NBA exhibition games for several seasons now, but in 2011, NBA Commissioner David Stern and his team of higher ups decided the time is right to up the ante.

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Just days after coming off his worst career performance, finishing 79^th in an 80 man field after shooting 18-over par, Tiger Woods was forced to immediately look ahead to the fast approaching PGA Championship.  For one of the first times in his career, it seemed like a long shot to say the least that Woods will win his 15^th major championship, much less any tournament in the near future, which would bring his professional win total up to 97.   While his personal life bottomed out months ago in a well documented public scandal, Bridgestone represented, at least hopefully represented, the low point in his on-course performance.  Tiger followed up with one more forgettable encore in the last major of the year, finishing tied for 28^th place.

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The 2010 Hall of Fame class recently enshrined in Canton, OH, sees some of the premiere names that defined football over the course of the 1990’s, along with a few who have been waiting a little longer for their moment in the sun, immortalized with football’s highest honor.  Here is a look at this year’s select few who have been recognized among the greatest football players of all time.

Jerry Rice – Rice was an obvious selection in his first showing on the Hall of Fame ballot.  The most prolific receiver in NFL history, Rice set the standard for the position while catching passes from fellow Canton residents Steve Young and Joe Montana for the 49ers.  The 13 time Pro-Bowler is the league’s all time leader in TD receptions (197), receptions (1,549) and receiving yards (22,895).

Emmitt Smith – The NFL’s all-time rushing leader certainly had no doubt he would find himself in the Hall of Fame as soon as he became eligible.  Not only did he set the league’s high watermark for rushing yards (18,355), he is also the record holder for rushing TDs (164) and rushing attempts (4,409), spending all but the final two years of his career with the Cowboys.

John Randle – Once an undrafted free agent, Randle terrorized quarterbacks from the defensive tackle position for the Minnesota Vikings, made famous not only by his signature sacks but his face painting antics and a trash talking mouth that would make Gary Payton look like Mr. Rogers.

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Perhaps never before has it been so newsworthy that an NFL player merely completed practice.  Not since Allen Iverson’s famous “you talkin’ bout practice rant” has the subject of a player’s non-game time dedication come under so much public scrutiny.  Of course, when your 7-year $100 million contract is the only thing in sight bigger than your massive 6’6’’ 350 lbs. frame, almost anything you do is sure to garner a little more attention than the average 9 to 5 employed, lanky-bodied American.

After choosing to skip the Redskin’s off-season workouts entirely, followed by his appearance at only one day of the Redskins’ mandatory mini-camp, Albert Haynesworth was the only Redskin player required to pass a conditioning test before being declared physically fit enough to participate in official team practices.  Dissatisfied with the direction of the Redskins defense under Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett, implementing a switch from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 in which he would have to line up at nose tackle, Haynesworth’s absence loomed nearly as large as his imposing figure would have in the team locker room, though throughout the episode he claimed he would be in shape and ready to play when the time came.  Upon return his return, however, Haynesworth failed the conditioning test, which according to most accounts, is quite standard across the NFL and by no means a high bar for a reasonably in shape regular Joe, much less a professional athlete.

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