A couple thoughts this week:
First off, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., "The Intimidator," died this week at the age of 49 in a head-on collision with the wall at the Daytona 500. Earnhardt was arguably the best NASCAR driver of all time. He was respected by fellow drivers and adored by millions of fans. His loss is quite a blow to the racing community.
However, something good may come out of this tragedy. There is a new safety device called the HANS device, which is designed to limit the motion of a driver's head and neck in the event of a crash. The device is not yet widely used on the NASCAR circuit with older drivers, such as Earnhardt, particularly against using the HANS device because it is "uncomfortable."
While the cause of Earnhardt's death has been described as severe brain damage, it is the coroner's opinion that the HANS device would not have saved Earnhardt's life. In this instance, the device may not have worked, but hopefully the mere discussion of the HANS device's benefits in the national spotlight will lead more drivers to consider using it as a safety pre-caution.
Another thought on Earnhardt:
Now, I admit to being a complete novice when it comes to NASCAR, to neither loving the sport nor knowing more about it than what I see on "Sportscenter." What I can say is this -- do not retire Earnhardt's number 3. The reason I bring this up is because NASCAR fans, approximately 40,000 of them, have started a petition to retire Earnhardt's number. I apologize to those who disagree and may consider me heartless. The truth of the matter is that drivers die on the NASCAR circuit. Dale Earnhardt is not the first in NASCAR's history nor will he be the last. Some day another driver is entitled to use the number. Grieve for Earnhardt and pray for his family. However, there is no precedent for retiring a driver's number upon his death.
The only time in professional sports that a number has been retired by a league was a couple of years ago when Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson's "42" for his part in bringing African-Americans into the major leagues. Robinson was the first African-American man to play for a MLB team.
Robinson's honor was deserved. He helped pave the way for athletes of color to enter not only professional baseball but other pro sports as well. For all the victories he accumulated, Earnhardt's contribution to NASCAR and to sport is not as significant as Robinson's was.
Now, onto boxing. Here are two issues that lend credence to the idea that professional boxing needs to be reorganized:
This first one is just ridiculous -- Darrin Morris was ranked fifth in the January 2001 WBO Super Middleweight division rankings. Pretty ridiculous, huh? Unless you're an avid boxing fan, it probably isn't too earth shattering. Would it make a difference if I told you that Morris died in October 2000 of HIV-related meningitis? Well, that is just what happened. The WBO has just recently recognized and admitted its fault and plans to investigate why Morris was still ranked.
Ok, so story over, right? Think again. Morris actually went up in the rankings twice between October, when he was ranked 7th, and January. What's even worse is that Morris had not fought since July 1999. He entered the top 10 in April 2000, nine months after his last fight. From there, he was elevated to ninth in August, seventh in October and fifth in January.
Boxing is loaded with corruption and ranking inconsistencies. Fighters move up in the rankings by giving "Christmas" and "Birthday" presents to the ranking officials, but this is beyond the pale. Not to take away anything from Morris, his 28-2-1 record with 18 knockouts is impressive, but I'm sure there are other fighters in the division that could beat a dead man. Right?
The point here is that professional boxing should exist under one and only one league or organization. Get rid of the WBA or the WBC or whatever acronym might one day stand for a boxing organization that has its own championship title. Morris surely was not the fifth best fighter in the Super Middleweight division in the IBF or the WBC three months after he died. Combine the organizations into one so that ranking irregularities are no more.
Now, the second issue deals with the television rights to the actual fights.
The division with the largest contingent of fans, the Heavyweight division, just can't seem to put together the fight that everyone wants to see -- Mike Tyson against Lennox Lewis. There are boxing officials and managers that are working to setup this championship bout. Although, if it doesn't happen, it will probably be because Tyson has a cable television deal with Showtime, while Lewis has one with HBO. This is sad. Would it be so hard for the sport to sign an exclusive deal with one network?
Individual fighters, like individual teams, should not be able to sign exclusive television deals. While the fighters themselves are richer, and maybe the teams would be as well, what has happened is that the television rights are now more important than the fight itself. What a tragedy this is and always will be, until the sanctity of boxing is restored. Unite into one league with television contracts that put fights on television, not keep them off it.
