When Lebron James returned to Cleveland last week to face his old team, the Cavaliers, little did we know that the fans would have something else to boo about in Cleveland other than the guy who left because the players he played with there were not good enough to win a championship. The fans found out that they now have a collection of players who have no idea of what being a pro is all about.
On this night when the world was watching to see how Lebron was going to fare, we saw that the Cavalier team is a microcosm of what is wrong with today’s athlete. They have lost focus on what a pro should be.
In case it’s not posted, a pro should save all the fraternization with opposition before or after the game. To have the big hugfest at half-court or all the other dialogue during the game is sad. The Cavs acted as if Lebron had been in Afghanistan for the last four months.
They let Lebron walk in their house and break up all the furniture and not one hard foul was given. While I am not asking for the goon squad of the “Bad Boy” “Dog Pound” once known as the New York Knicks, I might want to remind the Cavs players that Lebron left Cleveland because you were not any good. No talent, no toughness, no professionalism, no nothing. See you at the lottery.
The Cavs could have at least done a better job of defending their turf. Instead, they let the Miami Heat just walk in and do business all over the carpet.
Then the Cleveland players had the nerve to get into a jawing session with a guy who just gave them 38 points, with the chance for more damage before Miami decided they had proven their point. Cav players were quoted in the locker room after the game that they didn’t like the verbiage from Lebron during the game.
Really? You had 48 minutes to do something about it and yet you rolled over, so why should anyone care what you didn’t like?
Cam’s to lose?
The most meaningless and yet prestigious award bestowed on a college football player is about to be handed out this weekend. Yes, the Heisman Trophy will be handed to Cam Newton this weekend by the New York Athletic Club.
This year, no one will remember the runner up, let alone any of the other finalists, other than their family and friends and maybe the university where they played. If there were ever a landslide for one player, it is for Cam Newton of Auburn.
Some will hold it against him because his father was trying to sell his son’s services to the highest bidder. Not much of a difference between Reggie Bush and Newton, only the NCAA has had enough time to protect the biggest name in the game who happens to be on a team that will be playing for a national championship.
As for the Heisman, who cares? It has no bearing on where Newton will get drafted. There is a closet full of Heisman winners who were duds in the NFL.
Maker of men
Last week, St. Dominic High School honored one of the greatest high school basketball coaches in the state of Missouri in Ed Crenshaw. Crenshaw coached in O’Fallon, Missouri long before it was popular for African Americans to coach in St. Charles County. In this case, teaching and coaching were more important than skin color as Crenshaw started something that continues to live at St. Dominic (at the time, it was called Assumption). Thirtyseven years after he left to move on to coach at University City, he is still the all-time winningest coach at Assumption-St. Dominics.
At University City, he had the second best seat in the house to watch one of the two most explosive high school players to play in the area in the last 45 years in Hassan Houston. In case you are wondering who the other might be, that would be the great Percy Wells at Central High School.
I mentioned Crenshaw having the second best view of Houston’s skill. The best view was anyone who had to guard him, which was never pleasant.
During the mid-70s, Ed Crenshaw’s U City Lions were more just a handful. His disciplined style gave several payers the chance to continue their career at the college level, mainly because they were fundamentally sound.
Redditt Hudson was one outstanding big man who shows what Ed Crenshaw was really all about. You see, Coach Crenshaw was a maker of men. He prepared young people for the day that basketball would not be an option.
Hudson went on to have a stellar career at Saint Louis University and graduate. He then went on to become a police officer in the city of St. Louis, where he served in an exemplary manner. Then he took on a much-needed role as an advocate for those who cannot fend for themselves.
We have Crenshaw to thank for scores of men like Hudson, and for that we are all fortunate.
Hudson has now started a campaign on Facebook to have Crenshaw honored for his accomplishments at U City. It is worth getting involved.
Hall of Famer
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame are in dire need of a member who exudes all the qualities that would make a person a Hall of Famer. In my opinion, Ed Crenshaw should be in both. The 10th all-time winningest coach in the state should mean something. While St. Louis’ own Floyd Irons and Marvin Neals are members of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Crenshaw should not be considered; he should be admitted.
As for the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, a fairly new venture that has decorated some of the higher-profile athletes and coaches from the area, they too could stand to take a long look at the credentials of Ed Crenshaw. I certainly understand that these sorts of honors can be strictly political, but when does politics take precedent over results?
