2008 Woodie Awards
Column: My brother Junior and father Billy D
Online Only
RJ Walters
Issue date: 6/8/07 Section: Sports
If there was ever a time I felt I deserved my own limited edition Wheaties box, complete with a few paragraphs about my life full of in-decision, lapses of selfishness and below average athletic ability, the time would be now. The pedestal that we perch athletes and coaches on is sometimes as high as the gates of heaven and it's refreshing to watch them come down off that podium once in a while.
On Wednesday I read that Kevin Durant, the College Basketball Player of the Year, was the only player at pre-draft workouts who couldn't bench-press 185 pounds. Instead of thinking of a witty punch line to make fun of the Kevin Garnett prototype, I simply stood in front of my mirror, flexed my pipes and thought how much Durant and I are alike. I remembered the days when I was proud to put up a buck-fifty and thought of just last month when I struggled to carry two 50 lb. bags of water softener salt down the stairs. The Seattle Times reported that Durant ranked 78th out of 80 NBA prospects who worked out at Orlando camp and while a lack of preparation or an unmentioned sore ankle or shoulder could've been the cause, the thought that I would come in at number 81, just three spots back, made me grin.
While Durant's shortcoming should be used as inspiration during rec league games and nothing more, prominent stars have shown a good amount of emotional fragility and heaven forbid, indecisiveness, about their personal lives in the last six weeks, giving sports fans a rare chance to compare themselves to celebrities that often seem so far beyond their reach. It might sound bad that I actually revel in their discomforts and publicized sagas, but many of these news stories also remind me to withhold the critic's sword once in a while, regardless of how much money someone is making.
Exhibit A: Billy Donovan. Even if you haven't followed the story closely you probably know that on the tail of two NCAA championships at Florida, the coach signed a five year $27.5 million contract with the Orlando Magic on Thursday.
On Wednesday I read that Kevin Durant, the College Basketball Player of the Year, was the only player at pre-draft workouts who couldn't bench-press 185 pounds. Instead of thinking of a witty punch line to make fun of the Kevin Garnett prototype, I simply stood in front of my mirror, flexed my pipes and thought how much Durant and I are alike. I remembered the days when I was proud to put up a buck-fifty and thought of just last month when I struggled to carry two 50 lb. bags of water softener salt down the stairs. The Seattle Times reported that Durant ranked 78th out of 80 NBA prospects who worked out at Orlando camp and while a lack of preparation or an unmentioned sore ankle or shoulder could've been the cause, the thought that I would come in at number 81, just three spots back, made me grin.
While Durant's shortcoming should be used as inspiration during rec league games and nothing more, prominent stars have shown a good amount of emotional fragility and heaven forbid, indecisiveness, about their personal lives in the last six weeks, giving sports fans a rare chance to compare themselves to celebrities that often seem so far beyond their reach. It might sound bad that I actually revel in their discomforts and publicized sagas, but many of these news stories also remind me to withhold the critic's sword once in a while, regardless of how much money someone is making.
Exhibit A: Billy Donovan. Even if you haven't followed the story closely you probably know that on the tail of two NCAA championships at Florida, the coach signed a five year $27.5 million contract with the Orlando Magic on Thursday.
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