Starting Five
For nearly a quarter-century, Tendulkar has been the second-largest nation’s largest sports figure in its most popular sport.
1. Mumbai and Good Luck
A popular T-shirt in India reads, “Cricket is my religion, and Sachin is my God.”
Sachin Tendulkar retires this weekend from the sport of cricket after his record 200th test match (test matches last five days). The ascent of Tendulkar, 40, who has been a professional since the age of 16, coincides with the ascent of India (I didn’t say that; NPR did, but I wanted to sound intelligent, so… NPR also said that if you were to assess Tendulkar’s cricket records, it would be like “taking the records of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Pete Rose” and wrapping them all together.
You can check out all the records yourself. I’ve long wanted to write a book titled “The Michael Jordan of Jordan”, a tome in which I’d profile every nation’s most iconic athlete. Sachin would be India’s (I’m still working on locating Jordan’s).
2. Oliver Moves to Premium Cable
The Daily Show’s “Senior British Correspondent”, John Oliver, is taking his talents to HBO. After having an even hotter summer than Yasiel Puig, it was obvious that Oliver needed to take the first exit onto the Stephen Colbert Expressway. At HBO, where he will host a weekly satirical news show on Sunday nights, the playful but acerbic Brit will be able to say naughty words without them being bleeped. Here’s hoping his first guest is Carlos Danger.
3. Cris, Charles and the N-Word
Matt Barnes is complaining about WHAT?!?
Why do I get the feeling that white folks are going to agree with what the ubiquitous NFL broadcaster and former Cincinnati Bengal wideout, Cris Collinsworth, said on “Inside the NFL” about the N-word more than African-American folks will?
For example, here’s Sir Charles Barkley’s thoughts on TNT last night.
The official Medium Happy statement on this issue.
4. The Other Side of Big-Wave Surfing
Part of the allure of big-wave surfing, at least in terms of our rubber-necking of it, is the danger. And, in related fashion, the courage of the people, mostly males, who ride the most powerful force on earth. The toll? Death, which exacts its tax every once in awhile.
Earlier this week Kirk Passmore, a 32 year-old experienced big-waver surfer, went missing after wiping out on a 20-foot wave at Oahu’s North Shore. Locals estimate that Passmore may have ruptured his eardrum when he fell, which causes one to lose all sense of balance and have no idea which way is up. He may also have broken his neck.
This epic photo gallery from Surfer Magazine captures Passmore’s final moments.
5. “In the Long Run…”
Cain may look like the treasurer for the Physics Club, but she’s a demon on the track.
Love that middle-distance running prodigy Mary Cain, 17, used this turn of phrase in her statement to announce that she is turning pro. Did you hear that, David Stern and Roger Goodell? A 17 year-old high school senior from Bronxville, N.Y., is bypassing intercollegiate athletics and proceeding directly to the professional ranks. Cain, a straight-A student, still plans to matriculate at a college. She is coached by Alberto Salazar, so it sounds as if she is headed to Eugene.
Reserves
Flori-Duh
A passenger falls from a private plane while soaring 1,800 feet above Biscayne Bay. Didn’t I see this on “Burn Notice?” Yes, yes I did!
Mary Cain looks like the character Sue Heck from the show “The Middle.”