James and Earnhardt finally getting their due

In the past 10 days, we have seen LeBron James and Dale Earnhardt Jr. get their due in a positive manner.

After nine years in the NBA, James finally has a league championship to his credit after he led the Miami Heat to a five-game series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

I was actually one of the few outside of the Miami area that wanted the Heat to win the series because I just detest the Thunder which are darlings in the NBA Marketing machine. 

Meanwhile, Earnhardt ended a 143-race, four year streak by winning the Quicken Loans 400 at the Michigan International Raceway.

Earnhardt had a chance to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 this past Sunday but he was in a wreck with two laps remaining and had to be content with finishing 23rd.

It was great for these individuals to finally reach an accomplishment that seemed out of reach, but in the end they were still successful.

James had already put himself in a position to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame after he retires in the early 2020s and Earnhardt has done a lot more in the NASCAR world than being the son of a legend. 

Many people in sports journalism were under the opinion that the careers of the above as well as many others meant zip, zero, nada, nothing because they didn’t have a ring.

I am sure these guys would have loved to be part of a champion but they still had to do something to either be individually relevant or help to keep their teams in a state of relevance and to be competitive for said awards.

James has always been blamed for making a bad pass or taking a bad shot in the past, but it seems to me that  the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat do not sniff the playoff picture without him.

As for Earnhardt and other members of the Hendrick Motorsports, if not for their past success Rick Hendrick would be selling used cars on some lot in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Don’t get me wrong, I like winning as much as the next person, but there is a limit to where I don’t believe it is the end of the world.

Right now we are in an economic situation that hasn’t a clear end, the end of the world is supposed to come before Christmas and progress has come to a point where a lot of things are obsolete.

Hopefully James gets a shot at another NBA title and Earnhardt wins another race while having a fantastic season on the circuit.

If neither happens then let’s hope the world doesn’t come to an end. 

The beginning of my return to what I love

It has been almost a year since my life changed.

For almost 12 years I was able to do what I wanted for a long time and that was cover sports. During that time I was applying this craft at the Newnan (GA) Times-Herald until I was let go.
Why the parting was disappointing, the rest of the time was an experience or as the song from Dirty Dancing goes "I've had the time of my life and I owe it all to you".
Since I am not a very good dancing whether it is clean or dirty, I won't comment any further on the movie.

My last story was about Will Smith who pitched at Northgate High School in Newnan and this year made his major league baseball debut at Yankee Stadium.

While it was not a winning debut, it was still positive because this guy was able to pitch in a major league uniform and I was thrilled for him to get that opportunity.

Will was not the first player I covered who made it to the big time as former East Coweta infielder Brad Emaus began the 2011 season with the New York Mets.

Over that time I watched players from other schools including Dexter Fowler who played baseball for Milton High School and is now with the Colorado Rockies and there was this guy who played football and baseball at Sandy Creek High School who is nicknamed "Megatron".

Most of us know him as Calvin Johnson who has managed to carve a niche as the star wide receiver of the Detroit Lions.

While it has been a thrill to watch some of these athletes in action, there have been a few that have gone to "the next step in their lives.

Sadly, one of those I covered was Nick Whitlock who played football and baseball at Newnan High School around 1999 and this year lost his life while serving his country.

While there have been those to go on and have a positive influence in society, there have been those who basically threw their lives away and are spending time in our prison system.

I have also met a number of parents along the way who have been cool and others that I hope change their ways.

Among the parents I met was Rick Behenna who had a son named Brandon play sports at East Coweta.

Rick is best known for being a part of one of the worst trades in the history of the Atlanta Braves when they acquired Len Barker from the Cleveland Indians in 1983 for Rick and two other players.

He would only pitch three seasons before shoulder injuries curtailed his career, but Rick and his wife Kim raised a family and he had a successful career with Fedex.

Rick passed away three months ago from Colon Cancer but he battled that illness to the end and he had a large crowd at his visitation which included a number of photos of the life he lived.

Those are examples of what 12 years of my life contained and I miss it immensely.

I want back into the game and hopefully I can but unfortunately the road to a return has met with many blocks

Sadly, it appeared that the world kept moving right along without my participation in it.
However, that happens to all of us at some point and you hope to overcome it and move on despite the difficulties.

In my attempt to regain my confidence, etc., I hope this blog helps me at least start to reach that goal.

I may place stories, photos and commentaries but right now I am unsure. 
For now I am just beginning my return to what I love or fling stuff off the wall and see what sticks.