Deion Sanders: Tearing Down and Raising Up

Dancing. Bandanna flapping. Highstepping electricity. The first time I discovered football was about more than crossing distances in consistent increments was when William Lattimore blew by me on a burnt grass field behind Gaines Elementary School, taunting me with his tongue wagging and the ball extended to me in his right hand like a baited hook. His celebration was quicker than my sprint; his laughter stronger than my arms; his your mama jokes a more decisive reflex than any futile synapses firing between my tired brain and dying limbs. William Lattimore was just better at football, simultaneously tearing down and raising up stereotypes.

Tyler Hansbrough's Very Good Terrible No Good Day

Within the team aspect of the game, there are individual victories and losses. This fact is hard to ignore, and this fact was on display this afternoon as the Indiana Pacers came within a few plays here and a few plays there of sending the city of Chicago into a frenzy not seen since the days when Mrs. O'Leary's cow was kicking over lanterns. Today the cow would have been former North Carolina standout Tyler Hansbrough, as he drained a countless number of eighteen foot jumpers in the face of a helpless Carlos Boozer.