Over time you can develop a great deal of discernment for life matters. You can learn through observation, & see trends take place, and in some cases make likely predictions. Albeit, nothing is ever guaranteed, with the exception of God being Almighty God all by Himself, you can still see the end result through observation and developing trends.
Some individuals, teams, or groups just have the oppositions number. No matter how hard a person or group tries, there is that one team or individual that they just cannot get past, no matter what! In those times you can see a defeated team, or individual. You can see it in there eyes, or in their mannerisms, and on the other side of the spectrum, you can see the winner claiming what's theirs before the competition ever gets started.
Alexis Arguello was a tough, tough fighter. He fought hard, and stopped some great fighters in his day, then along came Aaron Pryor. Pryor beaming with confidence had Arguello's number. I remember watching them fight when I was a kid, and thinking even then, "Pryor has Arguello on lockdown!" Watching the ref give the pre fight instructions, you could see that the fight was over before it got started. Rocky Balboa (a fictional character) wouldn't always stare down his opponent, and in one of the Rocky movies, even admitted to being nervous before the fight. However, in most cases the Rock came out ready to do battle. Ready that is with the exception of the James "Clubber" Lang (Lang being the main antagonistic in Rocky III) fight. Rock just wasn't ready for that fight, and couldn't get ready for it. The rematch was a different story. For Arguello, unfortunately it was not. The shorter, more confident, and aggressive Pryor stopped Arguello early in both fights.
Tonight I watched Kobe Bryant take on the roll of Alexis Arguello. He had 'an' attitude, and 'a' want, just not the desire. Bryant was caught in a pick while guarding Kevin Durant, and Kobe gave up on the play. On that play Kobe didn't even try to box out Russell Westbrook (I believe it was, a smaller point guard) who crashed the board hard, only to botch the put back attempt on the missed layup by Durant. The sad thing is, although Westbrook missed the put back, his teammate Kendrick Perkins was there to retrieve his miss, and score. Kobe not only failed to box out his man on the pick, but allowed his big men to be placed at a disadvantage and allow the opposition to out number his front court bigs, and score on his team. He is relentless on getting free on offense so he can get a touch and a shot, but didn't even try on defense. He failed because he did not even try! Arguello at least put on the gloves. Kobe wants to be mentioned with the names Johnson, and Jordan, but doesn't put forth the effort to be deserving of that mention. When did you ever see Magic, or Air Jordan give up? You didn't! They played til the end. Kobe sees his squad down by three with 13 seconds left, and he immediately starts to pout. His attitude doesn't change either. He has to be given the opportunity to be the hero, and hit the game tying three, or be able to cast the blame on someone else. Well he had several opportunities tonight to be the hero, and he blew it. He missed a long forced 3, and wouldn't have needed it, if he had played a little team defense. I love the Lakers, but this is one era that I will be glad to see come to an end. Kobe needs to go. How about Iguodala and two first round picks Mr. Stern? Will the league approve that? Kobe goes back to his old stomping ground in Philly, and the Lakers get to remain competitive, and hopefully pick up a first round player that puts them back on top in a few years.
Onto bigger observations... The Preakness saw the same results as the Derby, today. I'll Have Another, had Bodemeister's number. I'll Have Another ran down Bodemeister, and beat him again, only this time by a nose! On June 9th could he be the first horse in 34 years (and 1 of 12 in the 138 year history) to win the coveted triple crown? I'm going to say yes. I say yes for two reasons. Even though he's a horse, you can still see his swagger, and also because I feel that Bodemeister, and his jockey are going to be thinking, "I have run my heart out, and that joker always shows up in the last 110, and runs past me!" That does something even to a horses morale. I feel that if I'll Have Another stays close enough that he will take a late charge again, and win the Belmont. The only way to beat him in my opinion is if Bodemeister can discourage him with a larger than life mid race lead, one that is seemingly unsurpassable. If not, then I see big brown running them down for the triple crown.
And in life, let this be a lesson. Just because you are midpack during the race, doesn't mean that you need to give up, or throw in the towel. It simply means that it's time to make your stand, by making a charge, and know that every true champion makes a run! If the other guy(s) can take lead, then know that you can make a run, to not only challenge, but go ahead! Be inspired, be successful... Observe and learn.
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