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Yet, even after dedicated guardians freed Tyson from his torturous roots and ultimately made him a $400-millionaire, the behavior continued. As an adult, Tyson raped a beauty pageant contestant. As an adult, the man chewed off a chunk of an opponent’s ear. As an adult, he threatened to eat an opponent’s children.
Yes, Tyson did pay for his misdeeds, either in prison or through suspensions of his license. Technically, then, he has a right to continue to pursue his career.
But technically, too, everyone else has the right -- or should that be the obligation? -- to applaud every time Tyson is knocked out by the likes of a Danny Williams, if not for the sheer entertainment, then at least for those old ladies who had their late husbands’ pension money yanked from their trembling fingers.
- And just for the record, if you wish to buy the tale that an early-fight knee injury led to Tyson’s latest loss, go right ahead. By the way, George O’Leary merely had a typo on his resume.
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Do you get the fine print -- or better still, the fast-talking guy at the end of any commercial for pills -- that will warn of the 300 other diseases that may come as a result of the medicine?
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The Ed Wade apologists are mounting this defense: The same people who complain about the loss in trade of All-Star catcher Johnny Estrada have no right to criticize the Phillies’ G.M. for his death grip on Cole Hamels and Gavin Floyd.
That’s nonsense on two fronts. For one, Estrada -- unlike Hamels and Floyd -- had a measure of big-league productivity before being traded. So the Phillies had a fair chance to make an accurate talent assessment and failed.
For another, there is one constant when it comes to Ed Wade and his selection of which prospects to trade and which ones to worship: He keeps making the wrong choices.
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If Lance Armstrong is better equipped to speed-bike through France for a month by wearing a form-fitting day-glo blouse, well, whatever it takes, right? What I don’t get are the people who dress the same way just to take a one-mile pedal through the park.
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So off to stud it is for Smarty Jones, who came within a Belmont Park stride of bringing the Triple Crown to Philadelphia Park. He meant $3 win payoffs to many and joy to many more.
In the end, though, the Smarty Jones story turned from Hollywood to reality, as too much in sports (in life?) will do.
While some headlines inferred that injuries forced the colt to retire, they really only denied him any more opportunity to race pain-free as a 3-year-old. With some rehab, his Smartness could have entertained fans for years to come.
But the breeders are paying for a super horse, and the last thing they needed was for a rehabilitated Smarty to being losing races -- something, believe it or not, that occasionally happens at a racetrack. So retirement made the most financial sense, which is just as well. Smarty Jones had done plenty. He owes the fans nothing.
Yet it all proves once more: Other than Seabiscuit, there are no fairytales in horse racing. No, in that game, only the money wins in the end.
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Me, I’m personally a real fan of Usher. No, really. I wouldn’t kid about such serious matters.
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Billy King managed to acquire a productive, versatile proven winner in Corliss Williamson in exchange for Derrick Coleman, who is none of the above.
And so, it continues ..a productive if unspectacular offseason for the 76ers.
Once more -- and with no vow, either, that it will be the final time -- the better play was for King to go all-in and exchange Allen Iverson for one of the many superstars who were available in the offseason. The Sixers’ G.M. didn’t and, well, he still has a player who shows up late for meetings.
Quietly, though, King has built a roster that could quickly reverse that 49-loss 2003-2004 season and reach the playoffs under capable, imaginative head coach Jim O’Brien. In that, he has done his summertime job well.
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- Reason of the Week to Abolish Football: That was a guilty plea from Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick, which means he really did drive recklessly and possess marijuana. But believe it or not, Vick was suspended for the season. And you thought the biggest upset ever at Virginia Tech was when the Hokies lost to visiting Temple.
To contact Jack McCaffery, e-mail sports@delcotimes.com.
