“Lack of experience diminishes our power of taking a comprehensive view of admitted facts.” – Aristotle
De Generatione et Corruptione Book 1 Ch.2
A subtle break in the summer heat these past few days. The afternoon temperatures lingered in the upper 80’s, and the mornings dipped as low as 57 on Saturday. Silence fell on this pocket of suburbia as the conditions were calm and A/C condensers restful. The backyard garden retained its cool air until nearly 1 P.M and the ground remained damp until mid-afternoon from the early morning sprinkler shower, which on a usual hot day would have dried before lunch. We take the wins any way they come. Cool air for multiple days in August is a win for sure.
College Football, English Premier League, and High School Football will all be beginning in less than a fortnight.
- Bingham @ Corner Canyon 8/15
- Arsenal @ Manchester United 8/17
- Iowa St vs Kansas St in Dublin 8/23
Until then, it’s up to other sports to entertain in their absence, and it is exactly at this point that I’ll highlight a few sports moments that entertained me over the weekend, followed by a brief look at the Jim Thorpe Award.
SWIMMING
Bobby Finke won Bronze for his effort in the 1500 Freestyle at the Swimming World Championships in Singapore last weekend. Bobby had a massive 2024 where he won Gold for the 1500 Free in the Paris Olympics setting the World Record for the event, and less prestigiously was named Golden Goggles Award: Male Athlete of the Year. I have the replay on right now waiting for the NBC coverage of the St. Jude Championship.
Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass, and the absolute living legend of the swimming world Katie Ledecky dominated on the woman’s side of things. The USA Women’s Swimming team have a ruthless but graceful strangle hold on the sport at the moment. Rowdy Gaines heaping well-deserved praise on these elite young women. Swimmers are unbelievable to watch.
The Frenchman Leon Marchand absolutely stole the show on the men’s side of things. Winning gold in the 200 and 400 Individual Medley wasn’t enough for him as he set world records in both. He was seemingly swimming alone as every other competitor remained three to four body lengths behind him. It looked like Leon was swimming with a Honda 2.0 up his keester, while the other participants swam as if weights were strapped to their wrist and ankles slogging and splashing in his wake. Incredible individual effort by Marchand.
I find swimming a thrill and inspiration to watch and find the sport to be a formidable mental and physical challenge. I’ve got the shoulders for it, but too much mid-line drag. Instead of gliding through the water effortlessly like a seal and contorting my body like a dolphin as the likes of Finke and Marchand can do, this Orangutan potbelly, while it does help me stay afloat, prohibits any kind of underwater momentum from occurring. Like a sail grabbing wind to guide a boat, this ‘under flap’ skin grabs the water and governs me to a halt with each arm swing and leg kick. So, yeah, I respect swimmers; it’s a beyond difficult sport.
GOLF
The consistently classy Englishman Justin Rose won in Memphis yesterday. After a bogey on 12, Rose birdied 13-17 to force a playoff with J.J. Spaun. After three times of replaying the 18th, Rose was victorious. Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood both played well but fell one shot short of Rose and Spaun’s -16.
Any golfer that won would’ve deserved it and earned it due to the grind of a course that is TPC Southwind and the boiling Mid-South conditions. Red necks and noses along with itchy, moist inner flanks would’ve been how most would experience this four hour walk around the FedEx Campus. I say ‘most’ and not ‘all’ due to the cool kid Rickie Fowler types that exist. Guys like that don’t chaff. If they tell you they do, they are lying. Dick Fowler types don’t sweat.
Good to see Rickie playing well again. He is great for the game. After a strong performance in Memphis, he earned a spot in the next round of the playoffs and will now compete in the BMW Championship this upcoming weekend against the rest of the PGA Tour Top 50.
But, as I was saying, any golfer would’ve deserved to win, but I believe Justin Rose the most deserving. He’s 45 now and still smashing 300 yard drives and standing up to the weekly conditions as if he were 16-18 years younger. Many times, he has graced Memphians with his clever play and witty grins.
One early Sunday morning years ago, “J-Ro” was out of contention and +2 through the first three holes. My bride and I followed his round from the first tee until the fourth green, where we would watch the merry go round of golfers in the comfort of the shade. It’s our favorite spot on the course. Around the green features an abundance of shade, a quaint pond, a giant scoreboard that provides relevant information, and in our experience, the kindest “hush ya’ll” ushers. Not to mention, it’s just a simple downhill walk in the shade to refreshment stands and Portaloo stations. This matters more to some than others.
As we let Justin continue on to the 5th tee without us, he glanced our way with his sharp eyes and subtle ironic grin to bid us adieu. Classy Gent. No better deserving winner in my opinion.
PGA Golf heads to Baltimore this upcoming weekend. Scheffler is still #1.
2025 Thorpe Award Preseason Watchlist
Notably on the Jim Thorpe Association preseason watchlist is a pair of Kennesaw St defensive backs, Tyler Hallum and JeRico Washington. The two cover corners combined for 115 tackles and 3 interceptions last season, and with the bigger, tougher and much-improved front line creating pressure the duo will look to build upon those numbers and help the Owls turn those ten losses from last year into wins.
Thirty-five players made the prestigious list, and all of the names you would expect including every player on the McNelly Award watchlist except for Southern Miss Corner Josh Moten. It was notable to me that he was left off and then equally notable to see two Kennesaw St players nominated. Good luck to all. Here is a quick story.
“Jim Thorpe was stripped of everything he won in the 1912 Olympics because he had once been paid to play a semi-pro baseball game. Thorpe went along with the madness returning the medals and living the rest of his life with a taint of ‘disgrace’ on his name.” HST SHARK HUNT
James Francis Thorpe was born either 5/22 or 5/28 of 1887 near Prague, Oklahoma as part of the Sac and Fox Nation. He won the Gold Medals for his extraordinary effort in the Decathlon and Pentathlon in Stockholm. After the Olympics, he played professional sports until he was 41, but struggled to earn a living after that. Alcoholism, poor health, and poverty is how he lived out his days. He died of heart failure 3/28/1953 at age 65.
Thirty years after Thorpe’s death, the International Olympic Committee admitted to wrongly stripping Thorpe of his medals and stature. Three years after that College Football named an award after him. Let me ask you, do you think those things are for him or for them?
Jim Thorpe, PA was named for him one year after he died. Formerly named Mauch Chunk, meaning ‘Bear Place’ in Unami, the ancient language of the Lenape. It’s a beautiful, historic town dubbed “The Gateway to the Poconos.” I’m sure he would’ve loved to visit and have someone buy him a meal. Locals called this gesture “crass commercialism” in an attempt to “boost tourism” according to John Steadman in a piece he wrote for the “Baltimore Sun.”
Thorpe never once visited Mauch Chunk.
So, is all of this for ‘him’ or for ‘them’?
I can’t help but think of Einstein speaking to Robert in Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” while Hans Zimmer’s haunting score plays dramatically in the background.
Einstein
Now it’s your turn to deal with the consequences of your achievements, and one day, when they’ve punished you enough…they’ll serve salmon and potato salad, make speeches, give you a medal, pat you on the back and say ‘all is forgiven’…just remember, it won’t be for you. It’ll be for them.
Jim Thorpe. What a man. What an athlete. Best of luck to all of the DB’s that are working hard this summer to help their team win games and win awards like this one. May we all keep a broad perspective and take a comprehensive view of all situations.
Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’
Whit W