The NFL news cycle is still kind of slow this time of year. The serious questions – whether Osi Umenyiora will resolve his contract status...
But maybe there was some wisdom to be found on the practice fields of Florham Park, N.J. Playing behind starter Mark Sanchez, Tebow made an inauspicious debut at quarterback, throwing two interceptions while making some worse throws out of bounds. “If this were a 12-round fight, rather than a football offseason,” writes the Journal’s Chris Herring, “the best analogy might be a boxer falling flat on his face when entering the ring.” Eventually, he switched to practicing with the special teams unit. “There are two ways we can look at this: One, it’s evidence that the Jets acquisition of Tebow was a mistake, and that he’s an awful quarterback who will never, ever be good. I don’t recommend this way,” writes Yahoo’s MJD. “Or two, these are relaxed seven-on-seven drills in OTAs, with plays Tebow’s never run before, and he’s not going to be the quarterback there anyway, so none of this matters, even a little bit, in terms of projecting Tebow’s performance with the Jets in 2012. This is less than nothing. That’s the approach I’d recommend.” The Jets locker room proved no safe haven, nor did the Internet. (Obviously, but still.) Despite the standard swirl of attention, Tebow remained ever magnanimous in interview. This isn’t his first brush with exaggerated publicity, after all.
So, yes: The year is young, the Tebow is unpolished, the media is voracious as ever for detail. The world turns, as it continues to. “We all need to get used to it. Mark Sanchez certainly had better get used to it, because Tebow’s presence amps up the pressure on the Jets’ incumbent quarterback immeasurably,” Mark Cannizzaro writes for the New York Post. “Despite the hear-no-evil, see-no-evil tones coming from Sanchez, Tebow and Rex Ryan yesterday, this is the way it’s going to be until further notice: There will be an overblown reaction to everything Tebow does from brushing his teeth to choosing which breakfast cereal to eat to whom he’s spotted hanging out with off the field to every play he makes on the field.” Imagine the excitement if he ever takes a quarterback snap during a real game.
History favored the Miami Heat closing out the Indiana Pacers Thursday night. Danny Granger’s bum leg offered another bad omen for Indy, despite the suspensions to Miami’s big men. And yet, it was nothing less than enervating and exhilarating – depending on your allegiance – to watch the Heat methodically grind the Pacers to a nub, battling back from an early deficit to win 105-93. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined to go off for 69 points, dropping impossibly-angled bank shots and emphatic transition dunks while forcing Indiana into committing 20 turnovers. Now, they await the results of Saturday’s Game 7 between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers to see who their Eastern Conference finals opponent will be.
“This series was never about the easy storylines and ancillary noise. It wasn’t about what team was tougher or which was ‘soft.’ Was never about who was flopping or who was more physical. Wasn’t even about the flagrant fouls, suspensions, trash talking or dripping blood,” Greg Cote writes for the Miami Herald. “Peel away all that static and distill to the essence and this Heat-Pacers second-round playoff series was about what Thursday night’s deciding Game 6 here was about. Just this: Miami was better. Was all along, and showed it.”
It’s a hard loss for the Pacers, and they’ll have to hope they can reunite the band next year: Roy Hibbert and Darren Collison, integral parts to the team’s pre-elimination success, could leave in the offseason via restricted free agency. Judging by the number of fans who stuck around the Conseco Fieldhouse until the end to applaud a hard effort, at least the Pacers managed to make people care about whether that happens. “For now the team has to take solace that it had a good showing, that had the seedings worked out differently, they likely would have played in the Conference Finals, and that they have both a talented group of young players and some veterans who can show up and muscle up,” Matt Moore writes for CBS Sports. “But a championship? They’re one player away. Unfortunately, that one player is Dwyane Wade.”
Despite his long history of public wit, Shaquille O’Neal’s freshman tenure as a member of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” broadcast team has yielded decidedly mixed results. As it turns out, there’s a world of difference between cracking a few snappy one-liners at a press conference every now and then, and being expected to provide analysis more in-depth than “Andrew Bynum needs to play big.” Which is not to fault Shaq for taking the opportunity but his lack of ability has not escaped notice from his peers. That said, there’s another job he would possibly be even more ill-suited for: the actual general manager of an actual NBA team. On Wednesday, word spread that the Orlando Magic were maybe looking to interview Shaq for their G.M. position, vacated just a few days ago. From a certain vantage point, it almost made sense. Even though he left the Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, Shaq’s retained ties to the Orlando area and has spoken about eventually hoping to own the franchise. On the other hand, he’s Shaq, a beloved but volatile public figure who would bring an entire world of drama along with him.
Fortunately, Shaq publicly withdrew from consideration just a day later, ending the speculation. Of course, that means he’ll get another shot at upping his television speaking skills. “Do viewers of ‘Inside the NBA’ look forward to many more years with Shaq? That’s another question. It sounds like Shaq got excited about the idea at first but when he thought more about it, and when the backlash came, he balked,” Kurt Helin writes for NBC Sports. “So this silly rumor is dead. Let us speak of it no more. Please.”
A few years ago, racecar driver Sarah Fisher was broke and in need of a sponsor so she could qualify for the Indianapolis 500. From nowhere, a savior revealed himself: Willis “Wink” Hartman, a Kansas oilman who was watching an ESPN report about Fisher’s financial plight and decided to offer his services. Since then, he’s sponsored Sarah Fisher Racing even though Fisher herself retired from racing in 2010. For USA Today, Michael Hickey writes about the unlikely partnership.
“Suppose you’re having a financial struggle. So big that it’s on national television. Strangers send you e-mails offering help. There’s even one from a guy named Wink who says he’s going to wire you a massive amount of money,” he writes. “You might expect him to ask for a deposit so he can secure the transaction. Or that he’s the prince of an oil-rich country in the Middle East. But you probably wouldn’t send a reply.”
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