RUNNING MATES? SOMETIMES, SPORTS AND PLITICS DO MIX - ESPECIALLY WHEN SOME OF THE PERSONALITIES ARE SO SIMILAR.Byline: STEVE DILBECK Nothing like the politics of sports. And we're not even talking Mike Dunleavy Mike Dunleavy is the name of two notable persons in basketball, father and son:
Allen "Al" Davis (born July 4, 1929 in Brockton, Massachusetts) is an American football executive, who currently serves as the president and managing general partner of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. . Life is filled with dubious sports analogies. When it tiptoes into the political arena, though, the comparisons can become particularly dicey. Or as Magic Johnson “Earvin Johnson” redirects here. For the Milwaukee Bucks center, see Ervin Johnson. Earvin Effay Johnson, Jr. (born August 14, 1959 in Lansing, Michigan), nicknamed Magic discovered this week, at least murky. Magic the political activist supports Hillary Clinton and made a radio ad that ran in South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. last week that suggested Democratic rival Barack Obama was a wee on the green side to be thinking presidential. To illustrate this he used ... himself, recalling his Lakers' debut. "We won our first game on a last-second shot," he said in the ad. "I was so hyped. But the captain of my team said, 'Take it easy rookie, it's a long season, it's a long road to the championship.' He was right." Now there are a couple of problems with this political-sports fluff. Curiously the first is that the team captain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar For the football player, see . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. on April 16, 1947) is a retired American professional basketball player and current assistant coach. , happens to be a Obama supporter. Said Abdul-Jabbar of Obama to The Huffington Post: "I don't think he's a rookie. He's served as a senator very capably, and he is very skilled in terms of his ability to organize and lead people. And that's what we need right now." Nothing like your politically dueling ex-Lakers superstars. The other problem with this analogy is Magic did win a championship as a rookie. And helped win the decisive game when Abdul-Jabbar was home injured. Now if Obama is Magic -- which is supposed to be a bad thing? -- it naturally got me wondering who the rest of the presidential candidates would be compared to in our happy little world of sports. Recognizing that politics is eyes-of-the-beholder material, we still endeavor to muddle it all the more. John McCain For McCain's grandfather and father, see John S. McCain, Sr. and John S. McCain, Jr., respectively John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936 in Panama Canal Zone) is an American politician, war veteran, and currently the Republican Senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. : Let's see Let's See was a Canadian television series broadcast on CBC Television between September 6, 1952 to July 4, 1953. The segment, which had a running time of 15 minutes, was a puppet show with a character named Uncle Chichimus (voice of John Conway), which presented each , almost old as the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, great gorge of the Colorado River, one of the natural wonders of the world; c.1 mi (1.6 km) deep, from 4 to 18 mi (6.4–29 km) wide, and 217 mi (349 km) long, NW Ariz. . Thought of as washed up on the national scene after the 2000primaries. Battle tested. Shoots from the hip. Could Brett Favre be any more perfect? This guy looked finished two years ago. People almost begged him to retire. Now he's coming off maybe the best season of his career. Speaks plainly. Plays in pain. Unafraid to fire from anywhere on the field. Favors an aggressive attack. Thought to be done, somehow is at the top of his game. John Edwards: Hey, I'm over here! Poor guy can't get a whiff Verb 1. get a whiff - smell strongly and intensely get a noseful smell - inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense . All the Democratic attention is on the Big Two. Even while many in his party concedes he might have the best platform. A regular James Worthy. Cast deep in the shadow of Magic and Abdul-Jabbar, Worthy may have been sports' all-time greatest third wheel. A phenomenal player who would have been lionized on most any other team, and in almost any other time, but was overshadowed his entire career. And who wouldn't pay to see the coiffure-perfect Edwards in a nifty pair of goggles goggles, n the protective eyewear worn by dental personnel and patients during dental procedures. goggles see periocular leukotrichia. ? Mitt Romney: Flip-flops like a regular Vlade Divac, but too robotic to compare to our favorite Serb. Frighteningly calculating. Tries too hard to win us. Versatile. A star too concerned about appearances. Meet Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez's ability is unquestioned, but warm and fuzzy he's not. Sort of the male version of "The Stepford Wives." Like Romney in New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). , can't win the big one. Feels programmed. Rich beyond reason. Seems disliked by his peers. Can play multiple positions, but none of them is leader. Hillary Clinton: Ambitious almost to a fault. Has sense of entitlement. Can sometimes feel cold. Seems willing to do anything to win. Bill Belichick's sporting twin. Like Hillary, you'd really like to like him, but he can make it hard. Utterly humorless. Determined to the point bordering ruthlessness. Both had their Watergate comparisons; Hillary and her Whitewater, Belichick and his Spygate. Both owe much of their careers to guys named Bill (that would be Parcells for Belichick). Mike Huckabee: There's no reason anyone but extreme right-wingers should line up behind this guy. Way out there. In favor of flying the Confederate flag. An ordained or·dain tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains 1. a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on. b. To authorize as a rabbi. 2. minister. Plays wrong guitar for a leader. Yet he's so charming, so skilled, even people in enemy camps find it difficult not to like him. Sort of like Lakers fans and Larry Bird. The opposite of A-Rod, you liked Bird in spite of yourself. Manic competitor. Could play dirty. Great with the verbal soundbites. Something down home and simple about him, yet there was never a doubt the brain was in high gear. Rudy Giuliani: Understand he's still around. Once the Republican frontrunner, now running a distant fourth. Seriously mismanaged campaign by sitting out every primary until Florida. Mostly a one-note candidate. Tailback Maurice Clarett feels his pain. Clarett burst upon the national college football scene when he led Ohio State to the 2003 BCS (1) (The British Computer Society, Swindon, Wiltshire, England, www.bcs.org) The chartered body for information technology professionals in the U.K., founded in 1957. title game. Mismanaged career when he unsuccessfully challenged the NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga rule a player must spend three years in college before becoming draft eligible. Another one-note story, he never played another down. Ron Paul: Goes his own way. Often not in sync with his own team. Does a little too much one-on-one. Seems loved or hated. Put Kobe Bryant on the campaign trail. Everybody loves Kobe, unless they despise him. Never can be sure what to expect from him. Has dedicated followers. And as a Laker, it gives some symmetry to this sporting look at politics. stephen.dilbeck@dailynews.com. CAPTION(S): 16 photos, box Photo: (1) A. JOHN EDWARDS Mary Ann Chastain/The Associated Press (2) B. RUDY GIULIANI Gerald Herber/The Associated Press (3) C. MIKE HUCKABEE (4) D. JOHN MCCAIN Charles Dharapa/The Associated Press (5) E. BARRACK BARRACK. By this term, as used in Pennsylvania, is understood an erection of upright posts supporting a sliding roof, usually of thatch. 5 Whart. R. 429. OBAMA Steven Senne/The Assocated Press (6) F. RON PAUL Cherly Gerber/The Associated Press (7) 1. LARRY BIRD Jeff Haynes/Getty Images (8) 2. KOBE BRYANT Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images (9) 3. MAURICE CLARETT Brian Bahr/Getty Images (10) 4. BRETT FAVRE Morry Gash/Getty Images (11) 5. EARVIN 'MAGIC' JOHNSON Kevin Winter/Getty Images (12) 6. JAMES WORTHY Fredrick M. Brown/Getty Images (13 -- 16 -- color) Bill Belichick and Hilary Clinton, left, will do anything to win, while Alex Rodriguez and Mitt Romney, right, are a little too polished. Box: MATCH 'EM |
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