Paul George Injury and Sporting Dilemma

On Friday evening, August 1st, Pacers star Paul George suffered a compound fracture in his right leg, during a Team USA scrimmage game.  I saw my Twitter feed buzzing late that evening, and there was no video that I could find quickly.  It was the next morning that I saw a GIF of George going up to defend a shot, then getting his right foot caught at the base of the stanchion, and his leg breaking so gruesomely that seeing it once was enough for me.  

I posted the following image, article and note, a couple of days later.  

Paul George, stretchered off the court

No ankle or knee damage, and Paul George is expected to have a full recovery... good news! 

We can only imagine what was going through Paul George's mind

Injuries happen, sometimes they're horrific. But athletes are hardwired to play and compete, so who's to stop them?

ESPN SportsNation

I agree with SportsNation! Playing for your country is important motivation for pro athletes. 

There was the usual call, even demand, to get these highly-paid superstars off the courts, when the play is not official NBA games.  That's expected, as it's human nature to feel terribly traumatized about what happened to George and even worse to feel a terrible lack of control.  Fortunately, horrific injuries are rare, but under such emotionality, logic has difficulty keeping its root.  While there is simply no way to prevent freak injuries from ever happening, players and their teams can do a lot to ensure they are in the best possible position to withstand the rigors of the sport.  Aside from relatively minor injuries, aches and pains, then, competition goes on without physical damage.

Racer Kevin Ward, Jr. on Fatal Receiving End

In Sports in the Fast Lane, I wrote about the IndyCar crash that killed racer Dan Wheldon.  It was October 2011, just at the heels of Steve Jobs' death, and I was so stunned that I spent hours reading articles and watching videos on ESPN and YouTube.

This time it was Kevin Ward, Jr. on the fatal receiving end.

Tragic breaking news from a sprint car race on dirt track!

Tony Stewart apparently hit and killed Kevin Ward, Jr.

Kevin Ward, Jr.

Tyler Graves, a sprint-car racer and friend of Ward's, told Sporting News in a phone interview that he was sitting in the Turn 1 grandstands and saw everything that happened.

"Tony pinched him into the front stretch wall, a racing thing," Graves said. "The right rear tire went down, he spun on the exit of (Turn) 2. They threw the caution and everything was toned down. Kevin got out of his car… He was throwing his arms up all over the place at Tony for most of the corner.

"I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars. When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards."

Reference:  Police: Out-of-car driver dies after being hit by Tony Stewart.

Meanwhile a friend on Facebook posted Tony Stewart hits, kills driver in sprint car race, and noted:

During a sprint car race at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park, driver Kevin Ward Jr. was spun out by Stewart, got out of his car to show his displeasure and then was struck by Stewart's car, sending Ward sliding down the track, fellow sprint car racer Tyler Graves and witness Adam Dulski told USA TODAY Sports.

I and others commented:

Graves also told Sporting News that he saw Stewart hit the throttle,as Ward approached him, and slammed him sideways with the right rear tire. Ward getting out of his car and walking on the track, even with the caution, was not at all smart. It seems to be a case of two drivers making terrible, fatal judgments.

That is an understatement. This could result in criminal charges.

Charles, you are kidding....please...Unless it is against Ward. It is a racetrack....not the beach on Sunday afternoon.

Yes but it looks like he m ay have intentionally hit him, or at least tried to scare him by going close and went too close. The local authorities are investigating according to the news.

Athletes should not automatically get a pass for violence on the field.

At the speed they were going, I doubt he was contemplating hitting him.

Yes, and Ward was stupid to walk out there, but it should be investigated, don't you think?

The investigators definitely a tough job to do and a tough determination to make. If they can corroborate what Graves saw, then there may be criminal charges against Stewart. My guess is that his attorney and team counsel advised him to withdraw from the race. If there are in fact charges against him, I don't know how much Ward's own actions will mitigate his guilt. Ward is only 20 years old, but it's tough to chalk up his running on the live track, despite the caution, as due simply to immaturity. He had to dodge two or three cars, and vice versa, before getting to Stewart's. Unfortunately he chose to risk his own life.

Then I posted the following video on Google+, and copied my comment about what Graves told Sporting News:

Amen to that. Two people making bad judgment calls in the heat of the moment. Bad deal for everyone!!!

Exactly! I hope everyone learned a critical lesson from this tragedy. Racers get hot under the collar like all other athletes, but they just have to get a grip, man! 

Meditations on Tiger Woods

On August 4th I posted the following articles and notes on Google+, and they generated a bit of a discussion among friends:

Tiger Woods

I cannot help but think that Tiger came back too early from his back injury and surgery.

Tiger should of shut it down for the remainder of the year.

Maybe for good. Hate to see him struggle when he used to be the best ever.

His agent is apparently not ruling him out for Valhalla this week. I'm, like, are you kidding me?  In his heyday, Tiger was simply enthralling. I don't know if he seeks out the counsel of the old masters of the game - Jack, Arnold et al. - but he probably has a lot to learn and adopt. I don't think he should hang it all up, because he still has a lot of years left to play. 

(image credit)

This time I don't agree with SportsNation: Still fairly young, Tiger should be confident about winning his 15th.

I'm with you. Tiger will win a few Majors before he walks away from the game. Time is on his side and his game is far from gone. I believe he'll figure all this out.

Tiger is so determined and competitive that he may be his own worst enemy, as far as dealing with injuries is concerned.  But I agree with you: He's shown an ability to evolve his game, so he can figure out how to play competitive golf at this stage in his career.   

What's next for Tiger Woods?

Rory may now have a better chance of breaking 18 majors than Tiger: What do you think?

Rors is in beast mode and he's hard to take off the top of the leaderboard when he's playing this well, however golf is a game of cycles and just as quickly has he's made things go right, things can go wrong for him at this will open the door for many players.

Well said, Robert. One writer likens Rory's game more to that of Phil, than Tiger, because it's unpredictable. So we'll see how the young man keeps playing.

It is way too early to compare these two players! Rory is great, but only time will tell whether he can sustain that over his career. Give the kid a break - he is a nice young man who has a refreshing attitude about him. Maybe he should strive to be more like Phil than Tiger. At least Phil has his priorities straight. Tiger has lost his soul in the process of his narcissistic pursuit! 

The car wreck that was his personal and marital life may have been worse than he can admit, because it seems to be a tipping point of sorts. I've contended that there are psychological roadblocks en route to his next major. But I think you're absolutely right: He's in a spiritual crisis as well. 

If we just want to talk about Tiger's golfing and not his character, there are a few things he needs to do if he is going to have any chance at breaking Jack's major record. He needs to learn to hit the ball in the fairway with his driver. If he is going to come into the green with a mid iron while Rory is using a wedge or other short iron, he will never be able to compete. He needs to learn to swing easier so there is less stress on his back. He can still hit the ball a long way without trying to kill it. He needs to have some fun playing the game - perhaps adopt a Trevino attitude. I play golf, and the more relaxed I am the better I play. Golf is too important to him. I believe if it were less important, he would do better because he would be more relaxed - and maybe hit the odd ball in the fairway. Just my thoughts. 

I agree with many of Ian's assessments of Tiger changes and will add, if TW is unable to match Rors, Bubba and others in length of the tee, he needs to recapture the magic he once owned with his putter. When Tiger dominated golf he ruled by virtue of his putter.

I agree with you entirely Robert. This guy was the best pressure putter the game has ever seen.

Tiger's game is in such shambles right now, I'm not even sure where he ought to begin. A large part of his success in the past was the intimidation factor: Other golfers knew that, come Sunday, Tiger would be roaring up the leaderboard, if he were down. That knowledge in and of itself paved the way for Tiger. Now, it seems only the media, and we fans, that pay attention to him, and with a less than healthy Tiger, his game isn't going anywhere fast!

The two people that know Tigers game and swing best are his father and Butch. Tiger can't turn to daddy but Butch is obtainable.  I don't think Tiger is enjoying the game in recent years if he could only drop much of the life and death consequence of winning he might just find himself on top of the final leaderboard on Sundays.