GOOD OLD SUMMER FUN
Wrigley Field in the summertime! (Photo credit: The Weekly Opine)
Why LeBron went west. Can Tiger win? Greats at Wimbledon.
What the mind requires, during the 4th of July holiday week, when many of us spend time at the beach or boating out on the water, is blissful relaxation. Instead of hard news, give us something breezy, but not shallow. Less of solving the world’s problems and more of tapping into the mellow nature of the holiday.
In that spirit, The Weekly Opine offers another potpourri of opines intended to sooth rather than inflame; to cradle instead of squeeze tightly; to massage, not pinch. Drumroll…
Showtime for LeBron
Blues singer Floyd Jones, working with the Sunnyland Slim blues band, sang “On the Road Again” in 1953. Later, a memorable song by the same title, but with different lyrics, was sung by the great Johnny Cash, and later by the great Willie Nelson. “On the Road Again” resonates with anyone who discovers it’s time to move on, picking up roots after an extended stay in one locale. The reasons for leaving vary, and the sentiment can be expressed as wistful or rejuvenation.
And, so it happened last weekend, eight years after unveiling to the basketball world, on a nationally televised, made-for-TV spectacle on ESPN, that he would “take my talents to South Beach”, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers announced a 4-year contract worth $154 million.
Bereft of the pomp and circumstance of LeBron’s universally panned announcement on ESPN in 2010, the LeBron/Lakers hook-up announcement was comparatively tame, despite his joining a team once nicknamed “Showtime”, whose base of operations is in the glitzy entertainment capital of the world.
In the coming days, pundits, analysts, experts, data freaks and everyday fans will opine about what playing for the Lakers means for LeBron. Can the Lakers overtake the Warriors? Hell, can the Lakers even beat Houston, Oklahoma City or San Antonio?
What does this add to the Michael vs. LeBron? The Weekly Opine explored this during last month’s NBA Finals with a piece titled “LeBron vs. Michael: Let’s Settle This.” Here’s the link: theweeklyopine.com/blog/2018/6/7/lebron-vs-michael-lets-settle-this.
And what does this do to LeBron’s legacy? A legacy that rises, then ebbs like, well, Lake Erie on a windy day.
The decision…not that “The Decision” as it was unfortunately called back in 2010, but this week’s decision was, in many ways, prophecy. As we pointed out in “LeBron vs. Michael: Let’s Settle This”, one of the advantages LeBron has over Michael is he is more well-rounded. LeBron would be more interesting to have a beer with.
LeBron owns Springhill Entertainment, a multi-platform production company. He owns Uninterrupted, an online platform for athletes to express themselves. He owns LRMR Ventures, a marketing firm. And LeBron has a stake in the Klutch Sports agency. Not to mention he starred in the hit movie “Trainwreck” with Amy Schumer. Critics were complimentary regarding LeBron’s acting chops which, having personally spent time with him shooting TV commercials, I agree with; LeBron is a natural on-camera.
LeBron going to L.A. to play for the Lakers is an obvious choice. He played, twice, for Cleveland and fulfilled his hometown obligation. He went to Miami to collect a couple NBA championships. He repaired his legacy by returning home and delivering Cleveland its first professional sports championship in 52 years.
Speculation LeBron would join the Bean Town Celtics, or the City of Brotherly Love 76ers amounted to misguided analysis. LeBron is too big to ply his craft in Philly or Boston (where he’d play in the shadow of one Tom Brady, which would rachet up the expectation-of-championships).
The only cities big enough for LeBron, at this point in his career, are New York, L.A. and Chicago. And both New York and Chicago are, a) far, far away from being title contenders and, b) like Boston and Philly, much too cold during wintertime. Plus, along with Boston and Philly, N.Y. and Chi are in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. These days, the best competition resides in the NBA’s Western Conference. Plus, LeBron has a home in L.A. and lives there in the off-season.
LeBron joins a Lakers team with a solid core of young players, including Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingraham and Julius Randle, all under 25 years old. Magic Johnson, Lakers president of basketball operations, must simply keep Lonzo’s loose-cannon dad, Lavar, away from the team so as not to irritate LeBron.
His Finals won-lost record may only be 3-6, but LeBron is now a perfect 3-for-3 as a free agent.
Will Tiger Woods win again?
As we approach mid-summer and the halfway point of the golf season, with two majors (the Masters and U.S. Open) down and two more to go (the British Open and the PGA Championship), we have a reasonable body of work from Tiger Woods’ comeback to assess where he stands.
Without going into mind-bending data analytics, but instead based on observation and intuition (Eddie Murphy, playing the role of Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop”, proclaimed that intuition is “how a lot of crimes get solved”), I offer this about what Tiger has shown us during his return to the tour after spinal fusion back surgery.
Tiger has yet to put together four consecutive rounds, i.e. Thursday – Sunday, of high-level golf like the old Tiger. He will falter one or two rounds at each tournament. He teases with flashes of brilliance. But then come Sunday, Tiger cannot close the deal. His putter is the culprit. Until he fixes it, tough to win.
Tiger needs to play more. He needs to play a consistent schedule, while taking care of his reconstructed back, because playing more golf is the only way to fully regain form. It was pointed out over the weekend that since his last major win at the 2008 U.S. Open, Tiger has played about 90 tournaments. During this same timeframe, most tour regulars played about 250 tournaments. A glaring disparity.
And the players have gotten better. The tour is led by Dustin Johnson, Rory McElroy, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka and many other young, talented players. When Tiger was king of golf, spending an incredible five consecutive years as the world’s number one ranked player, he was dominating players older than himself. The studs on tour are now younger than Tiger, which makes winning even more challenging. And gone are the days of Tiger intimating opponents into submission. Other golfers fearing Tiger is off the table.
Woods, who in his prime was a bit of a front-runner, i.e. would surge ahead on Friday or Saturday and play from the lead on Sunday, has struggled to win when he is not leading heading into Sunday. For Tiger to win again, he needs to be positioned in the final, or next-to-last pairing on Sunday.
Tiger is not bloodthirsty like he once was. He’s become jovial. Smiling and laughing good-naturedly, like many athletes do when they are beyond their prime. While not yet a sympathetic figure as Muhammed Ali became at the end of his boxing career, Tiger has become less of a red-meat eating tiger and more of a friendly Labrador – happy to be seen and appreciated.
I prefer the focused, uncompromising Tiger of old. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant did not become pleasant and easy-going as their careers wound down. MJ and Kobe remained bloodthirsty competitors until the bitter end. Kobe, nicknamed the “Black Mamba”, was nothing short of bloodthirsty in his final NBA game when he scored 60 points, ensuring he entered retirement with one last victory.
Finally, yes, Tiger can still win on tour, and maybe even capture another major. But now, at the age of 42, he should turn his attention to breaking the all-time career PGA tour wins record, where he trails Sam Snead 82-79. He should be able to win at least four more times over the next 5-6 years, going down as arguably the greatest golfer of all-time.
Wimbledon: a sanctuary of greatness
With due respect to the U.S. Open, which is played at the end of summer every year in New York’s Queens borough (attend by yours truly in 2012), England’s Wimbledon is still the magical event on the tennis circuit. Like auto racing’s Indy 500 and horse racing’s Kentucky Derby, Wimbledon is the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. Wimbledon is tennis’ perfectly landscaped arboretum.
This year Wimbledon, set to roll July 2 – July 15, features the greatest tennis players in history.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams goes for her 24th Grand Slam singles title, which would tie Australia’s Margaret Court for the all-time most Grand Slam titles. Serena, coming off an injury sustained at the French Open, is a long-shot to be this year’s Wimbledon champ but should tie and eclipse Court before her career ends.
Holder of two “Serena Slams”, whereby she won four consecutive majors, in 2002-2003 and again in 2014-2015, Serena’s physical dominance is unparalleled, in any sport, this century.
Although she dropped in the world rankings returning from maternity leave, prior to her injury at the French Open Serena served notice it should not take long to regain top form.
On the men’s side, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reign supreme and, like Serena, are in their 30’s (Williams is 36, Federer 36 and Nadal is the baby at 32).
Not since John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors has tennis seen a rivalry like Roger and Rafa. Federer, holder of a men’s-record 20 Grand Slam singles titles and playing like he’s 20-something again, is cool as a cucumber. Rafa, with 17 Grand Slam singles titles, second only to Federer, is a pit bull.
Rafa is currently ranked #1 in the world with Roger a close #2. The pair’s dominance was on full display when they combined to win 11 consecutive men’s singles Grand Slam titles, from 2005 to 2007. And their dominance is on display right now as they’ve combined to win the last six men’s Grand Slam singles titles, each winning three. Overall, in head-to-head battles, Nadal leads with 23 wins to Federer’s 15 wins.
The anticipation of another Federer-Nadal championship match has fans salivating across the tennis world and, indeed, the world of sports. And the anticipation of Serena going after her 24th Grand Slam title has fans pumped, too.
Whether a tennis fan or not, take a moment to tune-in and savor greatness on the grass courts at Wimbledon as the greatest tennis players in history – Serena, Roger and Rafa - ply their craft.
A fun, relaxing, mid-summer respite from the noise found on cable news.
© 2018 Douglas Freeland / The Weekly Opine