EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – Happy Monday. The USA Olympic trials were going on this weekend. I didn’t get to watch a lot of it but thanks to social media and friends, I was able to keep up to date on it and that formed two-thirds of my topics. While looking for a third topic, I found an interview with Alex Smith and he covered it for me. So, with that said, here are the topics for today’s piece… Sha’Carri Richardson, Simone Biles, Alex Smith’s Future.
Sha’Carri Richardson
Apparently this young lady is being billed as FloJo 2.0 and watching her run made it real clear that she was not all sizzle, there was a damn lot of steak to it. However, she isn’t leading off because of that. It was her interview after winning the 100m final that earned that honor. I came across a tweet from Michelle Obama giving her praise. In the interview, she admits to losing her biological mother a week ago. (Shout to the interviewer for just letting her speak and not running the moment – our interview expert, Short Matt, concurs). You watch her walk past everyone and hug her grandmother, it is very emotional. The majority of us on this staff are at an age where we have had to bury at least one parent so I can tell you from experience it is not a simple task to be able to put all of that a side a week later and run to accomplish your dream. You have to be built a certain way and find the opportunity to run as a freedom which allows you to block everything out. In the video they say it has been since the 90s when the USA women won the 100m. She just may be the one to do it and you can’t help but root for her.
Simone Biles
You watch Jacob de Grom deGrom pitch and think, “Man! I am watching one of the best ever in their prime! Someday I’ll get his name right!” That is the same reaction you get when you watch Biles compete in any of the gymnastic disciplines she is in. This young lady is on God-level and everyone else is competing for 2nd. Anything can happen in sport (see Dan v Dave) but she is the favorite to win the all around, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. This girl is coming up with her own unique dismounts. They are creating rules to stop her from trying previously undone dismounts so to keep it competitive. Some people argue, the judges are being stingy with scoring her because she is so good and because they want to try and keep it competitive. It is credit to her dominance that they are being this unfair to her. The fans that attend thought will tell you the truth. You watch and hear golf claps for the other contenders while Simone gets the crowd so loud, you would think your at a football game and its 3rd and long for the visiting team. I can’t wait to see her do her thing in Tokyo.
Alex Smith’s Future
Alex Smith was the really good guy who was a very good regular season QB but never the guy to take you the mountain top. However, he was always well-respected by coaches and his teammates for his professionalism and willingness to help his fellow QBs and players drafted to eventually replace him. This came to my attention because I was watching him be interviewed while driving and he just seemed so grounded and refreshing. Most former footballers either seem uninformative about the business part of the game or a little bit too much energy about on the field aspects. I was wondering what he was going do with his retirement. He seems to have the personality and demeanor to be successful in the boot, pre-game show, front office or even work his way up to being a head coach. He could easily go and be a QB Coach and Offensive coordinator at mid-level, even top 5 college program. I know that for a fact because Alabama hired Adam Gase to be its QB coach and he didn’t know a damn thing.
Thanks for reading, comment below and come back tomorrow for Ben Whitney.
