Sherman Alexie wonders what will go through Kobe Bryant’s mind when he finds himself dominated by a younger player. This past week, we saw it happen.
Tag Archives: Basketball
Jeremy Lin Speaks Out Loud and Bold
See explosive Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin appear from nowhere brings to mind the Keats poem “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "On First Reading Chapman's Homer", jeremy Lin, John Keats, Sports Comments closed
James as Telemachus to Wade’s Odysseus
Lebron James is not the king but the sidekick, not Michael Jordan but Scottie Pippen. In literary terms, he is not King Odysseus but Prince Telemachus. His teammate Dwyane Wade is the king of the franchise.
Bulls vs. Heat, a Homeric Battle
I designate the Miami Heat as the Greeks in Homer’s Iliad. After all, they represent a kind of dream team, kings from different city states coming together to seek glory. The Bulls are like the Trojans in that they have only one top-tier fighter. Derrick Bell is their Hector.
Chicago’s Roman de la Rose
What’s in a name? Would Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose by any other name smell as sweet?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Derrick Rose, Gertrude Stein, Romeo and Juliet, Sports, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Before Michael There Was No GAME
By capturing a player as unpredictable as Michael Jordan within a verse form as rigidly formatted as a sestina, poet Jay Spoon makes it appear that “his airness” operated to the dictates of a higher law. Within the rigid confines of the boundaries of the court and working to deposit a round rubber ball within a small metal rim 12 feet above the floor, Jordan made magic happen.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Sestina for Michael Jordan", Jay Spoon, Michael Jordan, Sports Comments closed
March Madness Ends with a Whimper
“This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.” Eliot’s well-known conclusion to “The Hollow Men” (read the poem here) came to mind after watching the Butler Bulldogs lose to the Connecticut Huskies 53-41.The game was so bad that it takes a masterpiece of modernist despair to do it justice.
March Madness and Then Some
Sports Saturday Even though it happened a week ago, I am still shaking my head at one of the most bizarre endings I have ever witnessed to a sports event. The University of Pittsburgh, ranked one in its region, and Butler University, last year’s tournament darling and eventual runner-up, were in the final seconds of […]