It was likely the final opportunity to see one of the last great clean players of the game of baseball when Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees hit town this week. In a pre-game ceremony on Monday, perhaps two of the most elegant men to ever play the game – Jeter and when Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith – embraced. They both brought something to the game beyond than their glove and bat that over time we can all truly appreciate.
Ozzie’s story continues as he represents like only a few can now that his playing days are behind him. For Jeter the next chapter is about to begin. Seldom has a bad word ever been uttered nor printed about Derek Jeter. His championship rings speak for themselves, as he was always in the thick of it when the games were on the line. Off the field, he was able to keep his private life just that in a city like New York that yearns for gossip. That is what you call respect.
Cardinal broadcaster Mike Shannon may have summed it up best in his comparison to a St. Louis Legend. “Jeter may be the closest thing we have seen when it comes to greatness on and off the field. He is the closest to Stan Musial I have ever seen.” For Shannon to make the Musial reference is striking considering the respect he had for Stan.
While it was something of a media circus during the Yankees visit, I get it. Jeter is one of the greatest, and we did not see that much of him during his career. The fans showed much respect, as he received ovations only reserved for Cardinal greats. I would not mind seeing Jeter and the Yankees come back to St. Louis in October … for the World Series.
Finals low on star power
It will not be long now before we have the most predictable sporting event of the year. Yes, the Heat versus the Spurs. Yes, here we go again.
You have one of the most fundamentally sound teams ever to play in San Antonio. They do everything right with several players many of you have never heard of. Yeah, we all know about Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Duncan is still considered to be the most fundamentally sound big man the game has ever seen. He stands out, as there are so many poor big men in this league (see Roy Hibbert). But you will be hard-pressed to name five other players on this Spurs roster.
As for the Miami Heat, we know about LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, and in their case LeBron is the only one who shows up every night. Ray Allen is a first-ballot Hall of Famer for sure, and he knows what it takes to contribute at this late stage of his career. The rest of the players on this roster are spare parts. Not sure if they would start for a number of other good teams. Talk about knowing your role – these players seem to get it.
As much as I enjoy the NBA, I may struggle a bit to get my arms around this year’s Finals. What do we have here? One answer: LeBron. Best on the planet and worth watching. As for the rest, I admire their skill and their ability to get back to the Finals, but this series will be missing something. More star power, if you will.
Lawyer up
If you are an aspiring lawyer, my suggestion would be to see if you can work for the NFL or the NCAA. They are mired in legal woes that will eventually cost them billions of dollars.
A federal judge has denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss the claim filed by Ed O’Bannon and other former college athletes who filed suit against the NCAA claiming they never received one red cent from the hundreds of millions of dollars the NCAA made from using their likeness for video games and other marketing bonanzas. The NCAA is fighting for its life as we know it on this one, as all eyes are looking to see how they get out of this mess without either writing a huge check or trying to settle – not to mention perhaps restructuring the NCAA and its division of profits.
Also, the National Labor Relation board is set to rule on the students at Northwestern University who want the option to unionize. That will change college sports for sure as players would be allowed to collectively bargain salary and health benefits.
The NCAA should fire everyone who is in a decision-making position, as they have truly messed things up. They should settle with these groups and reorganize as soon as possible. The NCAA is worth billions, but they are about to start spending a few billions if they don’t watch out. To try and tie this thing up in the courts for years like the NFL thought they could do with the former disabled players will not work here either. The meter will continue to run. Time to do the right thing once and for all.
The NFL just cannot seem to get out of their own way either. Another group of players have now filed suit claiming team medical staffs regarding treatment and drugs they were giving players. This could get ugly as there are some medical careers that will be closely examined. That $765 million settlement the league thought they had with former players is starting to fall apart as well. Most now think the judge will not approve it as it is underfunded. The fine print in this deal is also too league-friendly, so the league may have to go back to the drawing board and start the settlement talk with the word “billion.”
As I said, it is a great time to be a lawyer for the NCAA and the NFL, as there seems to be plenty of work for years to come.
