Yesterday is a clear reminder that I need the waiver wire. I need an opportunity to talk about sports and do it in a way that is not quite newscastery but still fun and allows me to say what I will about the sports I cherish. FYI, basketball isn’t really one of those sports anymore. I don’t even buy 2K. I used to, but the love of the game faded in the face of the growing weakness of the NBA crowd. There isn’t heart in the game anymore. There is far less of the fire of competition. This is best illustrated by the 2024 NBA all star game that tallied 397 points. That is just dumb. Defense is a real thing. It exists. You just have to care enough to play some.
Well, if you don’t care, then I don’t care. Moving on…
It so happens to be the start of the Arizona Track Season. The boy’s pre-season times project him as a recruit at two dozen D1 schools. The beauty of this is again in the age. The system is set so the numbers reflect growth over years. He’s a year ahead, so when you look at him in his own age group, he instantly gains 50+ more scholarships. It is a good feeling to see how high of a ceiling the kid has. His little bro ought to have the same ceiling, but with such limited effort and a focus that refuses to spread further than the gridiron as of late, he is struggling. Still the talent exists. He will be a solid D1 two-sport athlete if he gets his mind right before Junior year when it really gets real.
In the meanwhile, I get to see my kids compete again, and I get to talk about another sport, and I get to enjoy that world in the way I love–quietly and at the end of the field where nobody notices me…