Sports fodder for a Friday morning ... Kevin Hart, the author of the Famous Fernley Fib, needs to simply go away, live his life and stop making a public spectacle of himself. Kevin, nobody needs to relive the day you sat in front of the world at Fernley High a year ago and lied about going to the University of California to play football. But there you were this week, standing in front of ESPN's cameras and telling your sad story once again. Kevin, we get it. You made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. Now move on. So, Kevin, here's a bit of free advice. The last thing you need to do is keep the Famous Fernley Fib fresh in everyone's mind. Nothing good will come from talking about it. So, please, just stop. Do it for yourself. Do it for Fernley, for Fernley High, for your friends, family, former teammates, coaches and for the state of Nevada.
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More people care about National Letter of Intent signing day for college football than the championship game of the Stanley Cup. We get more excited about some high school football player signing a piece of paper than we do about someone winning a gold medal for their country. That's why Kevin Hart lied last year. So don't put all of the blame on Hart. We all share responsibility for what happened at Fernley High a year ago.
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Did we just witness the greatest Super Bowl ever? Hardly. Super Bowls are meant to crown excellence. The game should have some greater meaning. The Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders can play a great game in the middle of October. Who cares? It's fun, it's a nice way to spend an afternoon. But it doesn't mean anything. When you attach a word like "great" to a game as important as the Super Bowl, it must mean something.
The New York Jets showing the world that the AFL could indeed compete with the NFL. That was greatness. The New York Giants shocking the world by beating the perfect New England Patriots. That was greatness. The San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s and 1990s, the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s, Doug Williams and Tony Dungy making history, Tom Brady and the Patriots, the Chicago Bears of 1985. That was greatness. What we witnessed on Sunday was fun. Nothing more.
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What has the Michael Phelps marijuana incident taught us? Well, two things. First, we need to stop idolizing athletes and turning them into role models. They are just athletes. They are fun to watch. Nothing more. They won't help us live our lives. And, second, now we know why Phelps was able to eat 12,000 calories a day.
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A couple more thoughts after The Greatest Super Bowl Ever ... Holding in the end zone should not be considered a safety. If you commit pass interference in the end zone, the other team isn't awarded a touchdown. A penalty should not result in points on the scoreboard ... Before the Super Bowl the media talked over and over about whether Kurt Warner was a Hall of Famer. Nobody talked about Ben Roethlisberger going to Canton when his career was over. Roethlisberger deserves to be in that conversation now ... James Harrison's 100-yard return of an interception for a touchdown is indeed the greatest single play in Super Bowl history ... Do we really need someone to sing America The Beautiful and the National Anthem before the Super Bowl? The anthem is all we need. It's just a football game. Nobody was swearing in a new president.
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It's time ESPN dumps its BracketBusters joke. College basketball teams simply do not need to play a meaningless game in late February when they should be focusing on playing important conference games. The BracketBusters is a gimmick, a way to drum up TV ratings. That's it. What's the point of Nevada playing Virginia Commonwealth? Beating Virginia Commonwealth on Feb. 20 isn't going to get the Pack into the NCAA Tournament. Only one thing will get the Pack to the Big Dance "winning the Western Athletic Conference tournament. That's it. But if ESPN wants it, then ESPN gets it. The NCAA would require coaches to wear big red noses, floppy hats and oversized shoes on the bench if ESPN paid them enough.
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In case you didn't know, whatever happens in New York doesn't stay in New York. The rest of the world has to hear about it and be brainwashed into believing it is the most important thing to happen. Ever. Kobe Bryant scoring 61 points and LeBron James scoring 52 in the same week at Madison Square Garden is nice. But since it happened at MSG, the national media wants us to know that it was important. It means nothing. It happened against the New York Knicks. The Knicks couldn't defend four three-legged dogs and a chicken wearing a blindfold.
- Joe Santoro can be reached at editor@nevadaappeal.com.
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