Everybody gets hurt...at some point...eventually. It doesn't matter what sport you're playing, or how long you've played it. At some point you are probably gonna turn an ankle. Or sprain something. Or God Forbid, break something or tear something. It's a part of the game and it makes us as viewers cringe as we watch, and anxiously debate what the aftermath will be.
For the record, I tore my left ACL this past week playing my beloved sport of basketball. It was painful, it was disheartening, and it was expected. I tore my right one last July. An ACL tear may be the worst injury in all of sports. It requires a strenuous surgery, a tumultuous and long rehab period, and often times the player becomes a shell of their former self. But there's nothing as athletes we can do about injuries. Shit happens! I will be undergoing some serious rehab and alot of down time, so expect the blog to pick up a little more than it has.
Anyways, back to the topic...
Injuries happen to the best of the best, and the worst of the worst. It can be a freak accident, or a hereditary plague that never goes away. I'd like to take a look at some of the more memorable injuries in recent memory, and play a little game called "What If?"
(Side-Note: I'm gonna venture into other sports for this one. Sue Me.)
Tiger Woods:
Tiger Woods tore his ACL and played through the 2008 US Open with it...and won. Doctors claimed that throughout the entire tournament, he was doing irreversible damage to his knee and that he should've sat out the entire thing. For someone who knows a thing or two about a torn ACL, this is nothing short of a miracle. And it just goes to show you just how much torque he puts into those 300+ yard bombs off the tee.
WHAT IF: Woods hadn't torn his ACL? Well, it's tough to talk about that now because quite frankly, it seems like he's coming right back into his own and is poised to win at least 2 majors every year for a while.
Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway
Penny Hardaway was a freak of nature. We're talking about a 6'7 SG/PG in an era where this wasn't an everyday occurrence. He was able to score at will, he had incredible court vision, and he had a mini persona that made every kid at the time, including yours truly crave his kicks.Unfortunately, injuries began to pile up for Penny starting in 1998, a series of left knee injuries sidelined him until he left for Phoenix. In Phoenix, he ended up hurting his foot a number of times, and in New York he topped it off with arthritic knees. He became a shell of his former self, and many wondered what his career would have been without the injuries...
WHAT IF: Penny would have stayed injury free? Assuming the deal to Phoenix stayed in place, you would have seen Anfernee line up alongside the incredible Jason Kidd. If injuries don't step in, you have arguably the most dynamic backcourt in the entire NBA. Maybe the Suns go a little farther in the playoffs with a healthy Penny and maybe with the addition of a couple pieces, Penny and Kidd would have gotten that elusive title...
Grant Hill
Barring injuries...Grant Hill may have gone down as the greatest basketball player of all-time.Let that sink in for a second. Barring Injuries...he could have been the greatest ever. Forget Jordans, we would all be wearing Filas right now! In his prime he was averaging 26 ppg, 9 rpg, 7 apg.
He won the rookie of the year award, and was the first rookie to ever lead in all star voting. In his second year he led the NBA in triple-doubles and won a gold medal in the 96 olympics. The following year he again led the NBA in triple doubles, finished 3rd in MVP voting AS A SOPHMORE and became the first player since Larry Bird to average 20-9-7 in a season.
NO PLAYER HAS DONE THAT SINCE.
After the first six seasons of his career, before his ankle injury, Hill had a total of 9,393 points, 3,417 rebounds and 2,720 assists. Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird are the only two players in league history to do this after 6 seasons.
Hill was primed for a hall of fame career, until a slight ankle injury led to his downgrade. In 2000, towards the end of the season, Hill sprained his ankle. No big deal, right? 3 years later, Hill had surgery to realign his ankle with his leg bone. 5 days after that, Hill fell into convulsions and had a 104 fever and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors determined he had an MRSA infection, and he nearly died that day. Hill was never the same after that with the Magic. He now plays for the Phoenix Suns, and their incredible medical team has somehow brought him back to decent shape. He averaged 12-5-2 last year, a far cry from his earlier numbers, but he is a decent contributor nonetheless.
WHAT IF: Grant never had that ankle injury? What if he never had MRSA? I think Hill and Stackhouse take the Pistons to new heights and give real competition to the Spurs after MJ retires in 98. I could have seen a real dynasty assembled later with Joe Dumars. You know Grant is loyal, and he would have stuck it through in Detroit. Considering the numbers he put up in his first 5 years, he would have ended up a 1st ballot hall of famer, and at least a 3-time NBA champion. The scary thing about the Grant Hill story is that his injuries and problems came through in the prime of his career. We never got to see the best that Grant Hill had to offer...and that my friends, is downright scary.
That's gonna be it for now. I know I hadn't updated the blog in a while and I'm sorry. This is just a teaser really, there's gonna be some big things coming for the Letter of Intent. College Basketball starts practicing in a couple weeks, and it should be a hell of a year. In the meantime, I will be rehabbing and try and write as much as I can.
So without further ado...here's your LOI Clip of the Day.
(A couple things about this. First, notice how Tiger needs Steve the caddy's help getting over the hill after hitting his chip. Second, notice how gingerly he walks across the green, he's clearly trying to hide the fact that he can't depend on his left knee. Third, I'd like to just point out that the fact that he was able to win this tournament with no acl should and will go down in the pantheon of greatest moments in sports facing adversity along with MJ's flu game, and Brett Favre throwing for 4 TDs and 399 total yards the day after his father died.)
