Now that the high school basketball tournaments are underway around town, pardon me, Earl Austin Jr., but it has become one of my favorite times of the year.
To watch the passion and skill set of both the boys and the girls, coupled with some of the borderline stupidity to embarrassment some parents may provide, makes it unlike any other event we can watch in St. Louis in person.
Did I mention the coaching? I have determined this may be the most difficult job there is in sports. Think about someone being charged with developing a young person between the ages of 13 and 18 to play a sport where they are still developing physically and mentally, throw in homework, the rigors of school as a student and all the other social challenges, and here you go: make them an All American Division 1 prospect.
Easier said than done. And I didn’t even mention the meddling parent who thinks they know what’s best for their baby. These are the same ones that ranged from not being good enough when they had the chance to play to the ones who could not tell you how many people are supposed to be on the floor.
And yet their baby should be playing more. After all, they watch the game on ESPN all the time!
It’s a lot to ask of a coach. Too much, if you ask me, but this is what they have chosen. Coach them the best you can and don’t worry about the distractions, because they do not pay you enough for that. It is truly a labor of love.
Oh yeah, I didn’t forget about those coaches who can’t coach. Unfortunately there are too many of them. You know, the ones who always seem to have good talent fall in their lap for some unknown reason, only to see their hopes of winning the whole thing come to a screeching halt too soon.
How about the coach that looks the part and cannot seem to get anything done and yet blames the players and parents?
Then there are the coaches who are always looking to improve their situation, as if Duke is looking for a new coach. This after proving they are not good enough to have the job they have now.
In all, I would not trade this time of the year, as it seems to be old home week with respect to people who only come out at this time of the year. The games are fun and the antics are not far behind. Get out and see for yourself this weekend.
Olympics hangover
Now that the Winter Olympics are behind us, what did we learn?
I have already covered the ground about what you and I can’t do, so let ‘s talk about the ones who can.
The big deal this week was the hockey game on Sunday between the U.S. and Canada. The TV ratings say it was a success. What does that mean? Does that mean you can find the Blues game on at the Playboy Cappuccino now? That te shoeshine guys at Mike Clark’s Rise and Shine Shoeshine Parlor will be wearing Blues Jersey’s for your spit shine?
Hey, it was a great game, good for the sport, but the problem is that is not the same game we see in the National Hockey league every night. There are not enough great players to go around to each team, hence what you saw on Sunday is a one-time event.
As for the Olympics, I get why it takes four years. Many of these events would not work in the normal fiber of sports TV viewing. It happens at the right time on the calendar. Think about what else would you have been watching of not for the Olympics? Ladies have The Lifetime channel for Sunday viewing.
The time and money to put one of these events on will reduce the number of cities that could actually put an event both winter or Summer on. Many of the cities have found themselves on the brink if not in bankruptcy. For those who have the stomach to try it, good luck, and I will see you at the next set of games.
Gym class, anyone?
America’s biggest gym class just ended in Indianapolis this week. They call it the NFL combine. It is an event where the NFL invites 330 players from college to go through a battery of testing that includes physical and mental evaluation.
In all, it’s simply a meat market. The smart ones only get weighed and measured and interviewed, no physical work involved, as they save that for a later date. This is the first step of what the draft could look like.
I should remind all the talk show hosts who have now decided to moonlight as draft experts that there are other steps that will weigh heavily in the decision as to who gets drafted when.
Here is a good one. The next time you read or hear someone talk about who the Rams are going to draft, keep score on how many times they change their tune between now and the time the draft takes place. It’s quite amusing to hear a name floated out there, only to hear someone say, “This is the guy the Rams should take,” or “the Rams really like this guy.”
If you know anything about the Rams, the last set of people they are talking to about who they are going to draft would be someone in the media, let alone anyone else. So the next time you see me and ask the question, it’s not what the Rams told me.
