Robservations: The weird, wacky world of sports
Just when you thought there was some normalcy in the world, here comes your friendly neighborhood sports editor on a Sunday.
That’s right. Back-to-back Robservations. No one asked for it, but you’ve got it anyway.
So, since we’re shaking up the column rotation for a while, let’s shake up the content, too, and hit you with a Sunday morning scattering of random Robservations and trivial tidbits to start your week off on the right foot.
• Leading off, some bizarre sports facts courtesy of www. bcn.boulder .co.us/campuspress. The following pieces of interesting info were compiled by Eileen Lambert.
— In ancient Greece, a boxing match began with two boxers standing face to face, their noses touching.
— Before 1859, baseball umpires sat in a padded rocking chair behind the catcher.
— In the 1905 football season, 18 men were killed in college games in the United States and 159 were permanently injured.
— A sport practiced in ancient China consisted of placing two angry male quails in a large glass bowl and watching the creatures claw each other to death.
— No high jumper has ever been able to stay off the ground for more than one second. (Try that one out in the yard this afternoon.)
— The yo-yo originated as a weapon in the Philippine Islands in the 16th century. It weighed four pounds and had a 20-foot cord. Louis Marx, the toymaker, introduced it to America in 1929.
There you go. There’s something to talk about around the brunch table.
• Now, on to some of the big news of the week.
Lebron James shocked no one by announcing he’d be going straight from high school to the NBA draft. It will also come as a shock to no one when he’s taken with either the No. 1 or No. 2 pick.
What might come as somewhat of a surprise, however, will be if his career pans out. Because for every Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett or Moses Malone, there’s a Korleone Young.
Did you say you’ve never heard of Korleone Young, who came out of high school and was drafted in 1998?
Neither have I. That’s because he plays in Europe now, and you don’t see many European players on Wheaties boxes.
• Friday night, during the Cubs-Rockies game, frustrated Colorado fans caused several delays during the final couple of innings by flinging giveaway seat cushions onto the field.
At this point, it would be wise for major league franchise to begin considering the aerodynamics of any items they give away to fans. But, on the bright side, at least they were cushions — unlike the cell phone that hit Texas outfielder Carl Everett in the head last week.
By the way, how hard do you think it was for the bonehead that threw his phone at Everett to resist the temptation to call his own number, just after the phone bounced off Carl’s skull? “Hey, Everett! Take a message, will ya?”
• Finally, a quote from author Doug Larson that will hopefully give you a little clearer perspective on the next bright, sunny spring day.
“If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.”