“Imagine if Tony Gwynn had played in New York. If he was a Yankee, he would have gotten much more publicity and recognition for how great he was.” – John Truehart, NY Rugby Old Boy and Junoir’s “Friend”.
EL BARIO, BRONX – Wow!! Can’t believe the week we have had and that it is Saturday already. The good Deacon Blaber’s week has been topsy-turvy but I am still ready to stand up on my sports bully pulpit today and recollect on the things that have made this a very interesting week in the world of sports. We will discuss the loss of Tony Gwynn, NBA news and the World Cup. It has been an eventful week in the sports world for sure.
Tony Gwynn – The loss of Anthony Keith “Tony” Gwynn, Sr. was the ultimate player of his generation. Big Al Sternberg covered a bit of what made Gwynn special as hitter. Here are three things that made Gwynn special in my mind. One, the ultimate sportsmen in terms of class and professionalism. Granted he was part of the pre-camera phone generation, Gwynn was never in the press for the wrong reasons and you could sense his love of the game when he talked about it. For all you kids out there before there was Derek Jeter, there was Tony Gwynn. Two, from a pure baseball perspective, Gwynn had remarkable timing. Beyond bat speed and great form, his eye for the ball and timing his swing is a forgotton skill in baseball today. Third, he was black and that mattered to me. I am not trying to be provocative or racist but MLB wouldn’t not have help start the Harlem RBI program, if they were not aware of the dwindling numbers of African-Americans in baseball. Basketball and Football have taken over as the top sports for African-Americans but Gwynn was one of those successful and quality players that made people scratch their head as to why are there no more African-American players of that caliber and class, before someone brings up Barry Bonds.
NBA – So now we all don’t know what the Heat and LeCramp will do and if the big 3 falls apart. I frankly don’t care. I don’t want another drawn out spectacle. But it will be because this is what the NBA has become. There is always talk of what the Knicks will do. I have it on good authority that the Knicks can’t do much because they are handicapped by the salary cap. Finally I hope that Carmelo Anthony really does leave because he isn’t needed.
World Cup – What a weekend in the World Cup. Italy is on the brink of elimination, England (who invented the game) and Spain (the 2-time reigning European and defending World Champion) are out. The USA finally vanquished their boogieman Ghana and now they are one win away from getting out of the group of death. The European teams are struggling while the teams from the Americas are shining, however seeing as no European team has ever won a World Cup not held in a European time zone or GMT (All the European World Cups and 2010 in South Africa) , it is no surprise.Crossing the pond is kryptonite to the Europeans. This means things look good for Latin America. However, Anything can happen after kick-off so let’s wait and see and root for Ghana to beat Ze Germans, later today.
That is it for now, hope you enjoyed by article I hope to hear from you soon. Feel free to comment below and come back tomorrow for the one and only Cheesy Bruin .
P.s… If you want to read more of my ramblings as a Rugby Guy, you can find them on RugbyWrapUp.com and our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @RugbyWrapUp and @JunoirBlaber, respectively
