Great ESPN E-Ticket today

On Bo Jackson by Michael Weinreb. Loved the writing style and background on one of my favorite athletes ever.

Enjoy...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=bojackson

 

"Bo, you don't know diddley!"

I remember seeing that commercial when I was only five years old. One of my earliest memories.

Good article.

 

Together with a few buddies from my paper, we played most of a round of golf with Bo several years ago at Cog Hill No. 2 (not the Western Open, er, BMW Championship course) near his home.

He joined our threesome with a simple introduction, "I'm Bo," and proceeded to hit the crap out of the ball the rest of the way. On some tees, he used a custom-made 0-iron with a triple-stiff shaft (OK, that sounds weird, but golfers will know what I mean). Just absurd.

As this story says, he couldn't have been more of a regular guy.

When he noticed I was limping on a bum ankle, he offered me a ride on his cart. We went our separate ways after the 18th green, but when he saw us slamming our trunks in the parking lot, he stopped to make sure we knew our way back to the highway.

Just thought I'd share...

 

Great story indeed. I have always greatly admired Weinreb. During college, he was at the Akron Beacon Journal when that section was still worth reading. Reading his work on a daily basis was an absolute pleasure. Glad to see he's still growing as a writer.

 

That is a really, really solid story. Michael's also an excellent guy. If you get the chance, read his chess book -- The Kings of New York, or soon Game of Kings in paperback.

It says at the bottom of the Bo story that he's working on a book about sports in the 80s. I'm thinking Bo might make an appearance. Can't hardly wait.

 

This might be my new sig:

"If you're my enemy," he says, "and you're by the side of the road with a flat tire, and it's 20 below zero, I'm going to stop and throw a gallon of water on you and keep going."

Very good and very interesting article...I got the sense Bo doth protest too much about not enjoying celebrity and feeding reporters with a long wooden spoon. If he really didn't enjoy it, then why would he still feed the beast, even with a long wooden spoon?

There's also an interesting angle there about how Bo may have been the first post-modern athlete...the guy who was everywhere and jumped at every opportunity to spread his brand and his image yet also insisted that no one get too close. Very Jordan- and Jeter-esque closing statement there...I want it all but I don't want anyone to get too close to me.

Of course, there's no doubt that Jordan and Jeter are divas who doth protest too much. They won't be living in some gated community in the middle of nowhere. No one pays attention to you there.

 

Great read.

Having lived in Kansas City for part of my childhood, I loved Bo. One of my favorite sports memories of the '80s was Bo making the All-Star team in 1989, followed by the announcement that he would lead off. My family huddled around the television to watch his first at-bat, and he just crushed it, dead center, 440 feet. We were going crazy.

Then, Wade Boggs of all people homered in the next at-bat.

 

off rick reuschel, right? i remember i was playing an all-star game, and someone had heard on the radio that he led off with a homer and someone rushed to tell me, since i was the only royals fan in south texas. then i went home and watched the highlights -- on sportscenter and cnn -- over and over

 

An average piece, and that's being charitable. Nike reinvented sports marketing! Bo hit homers and scored TDs! Bo is boring, bitter and more than a little mean, but he washes his own dishes!

I wrote about all that back in the day. I guess a younger reader might find it interesting, but I doubt it.

At least ESPN managed to get in a couple of nice photos of Bo wearing the big Nike swoosh, so it wasn't a total loss.

 

I've never played that Tecmo where Bo is unstoppable. I've always wanted to, just to see it for myself.

 

it's tecmo super bowl...

 

I've played Tecmo Super Bowl, but it's on genesis and i don't think Bo's on it. It's from 1993 I think. Or if he is, I just never played as the Raiders. But that clip is awesome.