Games

I guess this has become my sports blog, which even more than usual is me talking to myself. The spectacle of LeBron James going to Miami is over, and has generally been panned. The upshot of off-season machinations in the NBA has shaken out in a way that causes me to agree with Magic Johnson: the Lakers strengthened themselves enough to remain the favorites. The Heat have to prove that these guys can play together. Plus my caveat: Magic says that the Heat will win championships in the future, but I'm not sure that the new Big Three will even last more than one season together.

NFL football games begin soon, and things don't look that great for a Steelers fan. Even apart from the Big Ben suspensions for at least 4 games, the offseason hasn't been kind. Other teams in the AFL have strengthened themselves, including the Steelers' division rival, the Bengals. The Jets and Ravens also got stronger. New England will make some noise but not contend, Indianapolis is always a contender, and only Denver has seriously faded. But the Steelers didn't make conspicuously strong additions, and they've lost some key people on offense to trade and injury. So I doubt the Steelers will make the playoffs this year either. Of course, there are possibilities: some key defensive veterans are coming back from injuries, and some rookies and second years are having a good training camp. So maybe I'm being too pessimistic.

Baseball has gotten interesting hereabouts with the Giants making a playoff run.

But there's this: these guys in all these sports are making obscene amounts of money. There's little basis of comparison in basketball and football to pro teams of the past, but there is in baseball, and as far as I'm concerned, there are fewer good players-especially on defense--than there used to be, when players made a lot less money. And given the soap opera of bad behavior by these overpaid athletes, it's getting harder to care.

Specifically in football, the growing realization of how damaging concussion and head injuries are is having a serious effect on how people view the sport. It's another drag on my interest.