Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff
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ESPN claims to be the home of the “X” games, but if you grew up with “Wide World of Sports,” you know better. Forget the skateboards, snowboards and bicycle tricks. There’s nothing more Xtreme than cliff diving in Acapulco. Barrel jumping on ice skates was pretty fascinating, too, at least when the longtime voice and face of ABC Sports was introducing it to America.
McKay was the consummate television sportscaster, proof you could be both entertainer and journalist. His handling of the hostage crisis at the ’72 Olympics in Munich not only serves as a “how to” manual for sportscasters, but most newscasters could learn a thing or two by studying those tapes as well.
Celtics fans have every right to be downright giddy at the moment. However, they’d also be wise to remember the 2006 Dallas Mavericks, who jumped out to a 2-games-to-none lead over the Miami Heat, only to end up losing the Finals in 6-games. I still like the C’s in seven, if not six. But am I the only one thinking the officiating gods will exact revenge at some point for the fact Leon Powe shot more free throws than the entire Lakers team in Game 2?
Had the pleasure of attending that game as a fan. The “New Gaaahhhden” was electric Sunday night. It’s great to see that after all these years absent from meaningful June contests, Boston hoops fans still know how to make a difference. Heck, they don’t even need the dancing girls and scoreboard to tell them when to do so. But there is something that needs to stop. If you were one of the yahoos booing images of Lakers personnel on the scoreboard during the national anthem, shame on you.
Look, I’m not that much of a stick in the mud. I think it’s kind of neat when the noise level rises to deafening levels near the end of the song. I also realize it might be too much to ask some people to remove their hats and stand at attention while facing the flag. (Drip, drip, drip went the sarcasm!) But alternating boos and cheers depending on the image shown on the video board is a total sign of disrespect to those who the anthem means something to. Shame on the Celtics, too, for allowing their video production crew to egg these bozos on.
Unless Big Brown turns into Mr. Ed and starts talking all of a sudden, I doubt we’ll ever know for sure why a horse that normally responds like it has rocket boosters attached to the saddle when the jockey asks for a bust of speed didn’t, or couldn’t, run like himself at the Belmont Stakes. It doesn’t appear the Triple Crown hopeful suffered a serious injury, except of course, for that crack already in his hoof. Then again, I guess a crack in the hoof is a rather serious problem when you have to, you know, run fast.
In retrospect, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. Take a thoroughbred with an injury, take that thoroughbred off steroids for the first time in his career in the toughest race of his career, and the result becomes rather predictable. Unless you allow your heart to guide your thinking, which most of us did.
Thankfully, Big Brown survived the race and the disappointment intact. I wonder if thoroughbred racing will be able to say the same.