Word: oakleys
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Jamal K. Greene's column on Charles Oakley and Latrell Sprewell (Sports, Jan. 20) lulls the reader into a false sense of security. Greene makes us think that the author understands what Oakley meant to New York sports fans and why the Sprewell trade is a tragedy for the Knicks...
...article is correct in hinting that there was something special about Oakley's work ethic. But Greene reveals his ignorance by repeatedly calling the hard-working power forward a thug. Granted, Oak was a bruiser and did play a physical game, but he was anything but a cheap shot artist...
Greene suggests that Oakley perennially led the league in personal fouls, but such an insinuation is blatantly false--last year Oakley barely cracked the top 10 and was well behind the league leaders. The column's earlier claim that Oakley led the league in flagrant fouls is similarly unjustified...
Even more than Ruth, McGwire symbolizes stark simplicity. He is a redhead of the kind we haven't seen in centuries--not a pasty Thomas Jefferson or a cutesy Ron Howard, but a scary Redbeard. In his red Cardinal uniform, with red Oakley sunglasses and his bright red goatee, McGwire is more frightening than Carrot Top. McGwire, more than Ruth, strips the game bare. Cro-Magnon man didn't court the media or haggle over free-agent contracts, and neither does Big Mac. He comes to the plate to the tune of the Guns 'N' Roses war dance Welcome...
Through such fans Jordan has, according to FORTUNE magazine, added $10 billion to the economy. What makes him a perfect pitchman for absolutely anything (Nike, Gatorade, McDonald's, Oakley, Rayovac, WorldCom...) is that he wins. While his skills were once those of Baryshnikov, age and triple-teaming defenses have grounded him. So, like Sinatra after he lost his crooning voice, Jordan, with delimited skills, developed an even better game. Through practice, his fadeaway jumper, passing and defense are twice as good as when he started in the league. During the last seconds of the play-off series with the Pacers...