A Good Guy

I agree with Wonkette. It IS a slow news day. She's decided to post endless pictures of Katherine Harris.

I just can't do something that hideous so instead I'm going to talk about basketball.

Hey. I'm a guy. It's what we do.

Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were announced today. Leading the class was Charles Barkley who was elected on his first year of eligibility. Also gaining entrance are Dominique Wilkins and Joe Dumars who were not elected their first years of eligibility. Both are now in. Both always deserved to be in. Now is probably not the time for carping. But what the hey. Like I said, we're guys. That's what we do. Carp about injustices in the vicious world of sports.

First an admission. Dominique Wilkins was one of my boyhood heroes. He was a Georgia boy that ended up on the Atlanta Hawks. He practically bled red dirt. If that wasn't enough, he was incredible in a death defying hold your breath kind of way. His 360 spin drives in the 1985 All- Star game had a street clothes wearing injured Michael Jordan dropping his jaw. Thunder jams of such ferocity that Larry Nance had to shake his head led him to the dunk championship in 1985. That was back when the dunk championship meant something.

All this pales to what he did in game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semi-finals. He went toe to toe was ledgendary Larry Bird carrying the hopes of an entire city on his back. In the end, despite pouring in an incredible 47 points, he and his Hawks fell just short.

I remember watching that game. I was home. On summer break from college. I watched the game on my small 16" dorm tv which sat on my small dorm room refrigerator. At one point, when Nique sent another three towards the basket, I picked up the entire refrigerator and screamed at the TV.

In the late 80s, living and dying with the Hawks would have been the easy way out. Like Sisyphus, we always could see the water but never drink. Nique, my hero, the shining knight of my sports world never got to drink either.

Finally, today old number 21 is getting his due. Yes, it's overdue but maybe it's time to put aside the carping and just appreciate the man. After all from this point forward he will now forever be known as Hall of Famer Dominque Wilkins.

Yep. That seems to fit pretty nicely.