Sense of Justice

"You can't let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones." -Dale Earnhardt

Medical examiners and other such professionals have found it acceptable to tell the world that Steve McNair was killed by his girlfriend who then committed suicide. All the signs were there and many had speculated about what really happened before this "official" ruling, but still, the actual announcement of it makes it tangible and sad in a different (more real?) way.

McNair was one of the "good guys" - a pro-athlete who did a lot of charity work because he wanted to, not just to make amends or as part of court-ordered community service. He was a family man and active in the city he played for (well, spent most of his career with). And somehow he's shot by his girlfriend (he is or was married), just hours after she's arrested for DUI in a car that both of them co-own. It's sad and it's sketchy and it does taint the memory of a supposedly great guy...

It makes me sad because I feel like there's already very very little incentive for pro-athletes to do good in the world. The norms for pro-athlete behavior aren't the same as in the real world - pro-athletes are pressured to perform in completely different, measureable ways and they are surrounded with more temptation and money and choices than most of us will ever see and yet few of them have a college degree (which is not to say that you need a college degree to make good choices, but the whole college experience - the hard classes and academic hoops, the adventures and good friends, late nights and conversations - is something I believe can help you make good decisions). These guys receive far more air time and endorsement for bad behavior (look at Chad Ochocinco who sits around and thinks of bad things to do to others - frequently his teammates - so that he gets more attention and time on "SportsCenter" and builds his brand, whatever that means). And here, McNair was great as a professional athlete and seemed to be a great guy and what may have only been one mistake (the mistress/girlfriend) cost him his life and his legacy as one of the rare great guys and paragon of wise decisions for NFL rookies.

Maybe that's not the case and maybe the shock of the incident will fade and with that, the faint tarnish on his legacy... I just hope it fades before the whole thing becomes coated with a film of slime.

Badass Basketball and [Just Plain Bad] Boys

Quick update on the boy I went out with earlier this week: He pushed to see me again and I didn't like it and he pushed harder and so I told him that we would not be seeing each other again. And apparently this meant that negotiations had begun. Ummm... no. I said we didn't click/weren't a good match because I couldn't really say that he already seemed clingy and immature and not quite emotionally intelligent enough to at least fake it for longer. So he said some nasty things and I was tempted to respond, but ultimately controlled myself and I'm glad that all of it happened - NO regrets in cutting ties with that one and super-super-glad that I did that when I did! Maybe my judgment isn't as terrible as I thought it was (after the guy that worked at BMW that I think I should have gotten an explanation from, but didn't... who just disappeared and made me question my judgment/assessment of situations).

Anyways, I'm writing during a commercial break - Game 2 of the Lakers v. Rockets playoff series and it's pretty amazing. Blatant fouls and ejections, near bench-clearing brawls, tons of turnovers, reading lips for bad words, trying to spot the blood before the refs, big lead changes and comebacks, and just generally an air of excitment and intensity, which leads to some awesome plays and spectacular "jawing" (for lack of a better word... though it seems to fit incredibly well right now). The second half is when it really got good, but only highlights from the first half are up online. I'm imagining the hit that Derek Fisher put on Luis Scola that dropped Scola headfist into the court and was just generally outrageous will be an instant online classic (and for good reason).

Just imagine that this is only the beginning of the awesomeness...