I was fortunate enough to be able to ask the first question at a press conference this week for High School basketball standout and Arizona commit Rondae Hollis Jefferson. The West Chester Pennsylvania product had recently been the final player cut from the U-19 national team, which happened to be the topic of my question. And I felt bad as Jefferson appeared to be in a fantastic mood which I hoped not to hinder, yet I proceeded to ask "You were cut from the national team very recently, what was that like and what can you take from that moving forward?" This was the first of many difficult questions the 6'7 215 lb forward was asked, and like he did to every question answered it with open honesty. Jefferson said "I just went out there and gave it my all, life does things to you sometimes, and it's all part of a process and a plan, things have a way of working themselves out and this was a learning experience I knew I'd grow from."
Most guys who are top basketball recruits ( 5th for his position in the country) usually plan to spend only a year in college and proceed to enter the NBA Draft and Hollis-Jefferson is no exception, when asked "what is more important a national title or improving your draft stock?" The response he gave is the thought process of all high recruits, yet very few would have the stones to admit, "I'm not gonna sit up here and tell you guys a lie, getting drafted is my top priority, of course I want to win games, but in the end of the day the NBA is the ultimate goal, and that's not just for me that's every guy." Rondae is the classic example of everything wrong with college sports, yet he is partaking in a system a group of student athletes and coaches manipulate every year. Again his honesty was displayed when asked by a colleague of mine "what will you be majoring in?" he plainly said "whatever makes my college time go the smoothest" thank you Rondae for being honest, but once again another issue with the one and done rule. I think Rondae is the next Paul George, phenomenal defense, great handle, great passer and his jump shot is what needs work, bottom line, I think he's going to be fantastic(my theory is a great defensive player is bust proof). But let's play hypothetical and say Rondae didn't pan out or suffered a serious injury, without a degree in his easy major... what will he do?? Rondae Hollis Jefferson is the name I am using in the article, but there are terrific talents like him that could catch an unfortunate break causing them financial instability later on in life.
Here is a thought, Nerlens Noel, who spent a single year at Kentucky, battles knee injuries his entire career and ends up having a sub par NBA career and makes okay money, Mason Plumlee(drafted 12th) spent 4 years at the prestigious Duke University and also has a below average career... In terms of financial security, I think the guy who spent four years at an institution "Ivy league the south" producing products such as Shane Battier and Grant Hill, or the school known as the "NBA's halfway house" which has had academic geniuses such as John Wall and Demarcus Cousins who supposedly only spent one semester taking classes...... And honestly these guys are rushed through one year of college with the emphasis on basketball, the education is getting lost. So who do you think would have a brighter long term financial situation?
The NCAA talks about student athletes, but where is the emphasis on academics? Are we providing a possible plan B for athletes whose careers do not pan out? No we are not, yet I see the counter the argument that the NCAA has no right to impede a college athlete from making a living so I have a a solution which presents two options. If a high school student wishes to attend college, and sign a college letter, they must remain at the University for 2 years. If an athlete wishes to pursue the European option, they must stay for two years as well. This presents an opportunity to mature and basically ensures that athletes are twenty before they enter the National Basketball Association.
As for Rondae, I am not concerned. I spoke to him briefly after and his motivation and determination are un-matched. With a fantastic base to work off of and the instruction he will receive from coach Sean Miller I am positive Rondae will have success in his college and high school career. I love this kid's swagger and his game and I want to make clear there is nothing personally wrong with him, yet the flawed system needs to be reworked. The NBA and NCAA need to converse, find a system which provides mature and educated participants NBA-Josh Neighbors
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
7
There was game 1. Then there were games 2 through 5, and then there was last night. I still don't know what happened las night but what I do know is that robbery can occur in other forms instead of the traditional sense, like we saw last night. The hand of supreme leader stern was in what happened last night(or both hands) but last night was bad. LeBron went cold in the end with missed shots and turnovers. In the last 7 minutes of play LeBron had 2 makes on about 7 shots coupled with 2 big turnovers. LeBron was not as big as everyone is making him out to be, but all frustration aside for me last night was beautiful. It was the sport I love they way it should be and it was fantastic, but in the words of Jay-Z onto the next one.
So this series has taken the exact course I had expected and now the Spurs will have to show their resiliency and the Heat will get their chance to defend their title. The big storyline of these finals has been which players will show up on which given night. Which Bosh? Which Wade? Which Parker? Which Manu? Manu was big in game 5, yet his 8 turnovers were crucial in the Heat taking game 6.
I am going to remain with my pick from the very beginning Spurs in 7 and my final observation from this series is how in god's name is the "rotund" Boris Diaw effectively guarding LeBron. In a way is a microcosm of the oddities which have occurred in this series. Nobody had won 2 games in a row, it's going to be the Spurs.-Josh Neighbors
So this series has taken the exact course I had expected and now the Spurs will have to show their resiliency and the Heat will get their chance to defend their title. The big storyline of these finals has been which players will show up on which given night. Which Bosh? Which Wade? Which Parker? Which Manu? Manu was big in game 5, yet his 8 turnovers were crucial in the Heat taking game 6.
I am going to remain with my pick from the very beginning Spurs in 7 and my final observation from this series is how in god's name is the "rotund" Boris Diaw effectively guarding LeBron. In a way is a microcosm of the oddities which have occurred in this series. Nobody had won 2 games in a row, it's going to be the Spurs.-Josh Neighbors
Thursday, June 13, 2013
US Open Preview
Favorite: I am going conventional here, saying what everyone else is saying, this is an event where a guy who hasn't won it before will have an opportunity to take care of business. I love Ian Poulter as it is and I think this is a course for him, not a long bomber but a smart iron player, if Poulter can take care of business with the putter I like his chances.
Featured Group Favorite: I have a feeling the All-Star trio of Tiger, Rory and Adam will not meet expectations. Rory is still in his funk, I do not think Adam Scott will repeat as I feel he is putting a lot of pressure on himself. (Tiger and Steve Williams might be kinda awkward....) I think Tiger will be normal Tiger in the first few rounds and put himself in contention on sunday. We all know he's stopped using that driver, which makes him need to be more intelligent. The short course kind of plays to his advantage. Out of this group I think Tiger will have the best showing.
Dark Horse: Charlie Hoffman has 4 top tens in 14 appearances this year.... I think he will have a good week.
Why the hell not?: Give me Jim Furyk. He's a likable guy who has had success at the US Open before. He won it in 2003 and he's from Pennsylvania. He's a gutsy player, not a bomber, great with irons, and has a swing from the heavens. Jim Furyk is my "why not? "pick.
An unfamiliar course, with weather, and some weird flag sticks. This going to be entertaining.-Josh Neighbors
Thursday, June 6, 2013
NBA Finals Preview
People begin to look at this matchup and begin to look at the contrasts between these teams, especially age. But when looking at the matchup, age appears to be the only one. Both have a big 3, all of them with rings, two great coaches, and similar game styled which depend on great ball handling, good screen and roll action, and high IQ cuts for easy layups. On defense, they each have team oriented styles which revolve around quick rotation to the ball on the perimeter and steady internal defense at the center position(except Chris Bosh/maybe occasionally Tiago Splitter). In the end of the day, we are left with two teams looking to further validate their statuses in the basketball universe. Let's break down the 5 (3 major 2 minor) categories and see who has the edge.
1.Coaching. Eric Spolestra has done a fantastic job managing the tremendous amount of talent in south beach and has done a fantastic job especially with role players. Another trait which he has demonstrated with consistency is his ability to make effective adjustments in a rather short period of time. He demonstrated this against the Pacers when using his super small ball lineup in which Shane Battier plays power forward. David West was eating him alive, so what does Spolestra do? Bench Battier, more Birdman, more Haslem, more Mike Miller. Also the decision to go LBJ pick and roll with Chalmers or Norris Cole as the screener is one of the deadliest plays in the NBA today. Bravo Mr. Spolestra, you are earning your stripes, it's just to bad Greg Popovich is managing the bench on the opposite end of the floor. He is the Michael Jordan of coaching, we could give him coach of the year every single year for the way he's managed to keep the same system throughout his entire career and his ability to insert different parts ,without any hiccups, into the well oiled machine which is the Spurs offense. As we saw last series, the Grizzlies, who have been called the best defensive team in the league, we ripped to shreds by the efficient San Antonio offense. The Spurs shot over 50% from the field in 3 of the 4 games of the series. The edge here goes to the Spurs.
2. Best Player. Obviously it's Gary Neal.... Wow aren't I a comedian? Okay so we know the Heat have the advantage here with LeBron James, so we will focus on how the Spurs will try to limit the current best player on the planet. Kawhi Leonard will be tasked with guarding LeBron out of the gate, a guy whose defense is underrated in my mind. He's from SDSU and played under coach Steve Fischer whose team was one of the premier defensive clubs in the country and Leonard might have been the best defender on that team. He's been slowed by some knee issues lately, but due to his quiet and hardworking nature, he's not one for exucses. Now we all know that ball screen is coming with the PG, so the way the Spurs need to counter that is by either hedging that screen, or putting a bigger defender on the Chalmers or Cole so that in the event of a switch there is no huge mismatch. My suggestion would be Danny Green or Gary Neal and occasionally Manu. On another alternative would be to keep Splitter and Duncan close to the middle and let the mismatch happen. Last series when George Hill was forced to switch onto LeBron, I don't think I ever saw him pull up, he almost put his head down and just went straight to the rack. By putting Duncan and Splitter close to the middle the Spurs can give themselves a shot blocking presence. Yet this is exactly the reason LeBron is so good, he requires so much attention to where his teammates are open in almost all of these situations, if you pack Duncan and Splitter in the paint, Bosh or Haslem will be open. Slowing LeBron is no easy task, but if I had to pick one coach to do it, I'd pick Pop.
3. Which weak link will show up? Well D-Wade finally showed up in game 7, and Chris Bosh didn't. He failed to score in double figures in the last 4 games of the series against the Pacers and was an exposed as a sub-par interior defender. Although his 50% shooting from behind the arc was a key factor in the earlier part of the series in some close games. For the Spurs, Manu Ginobili's slump was noticed against the Grizz as he was the only player to not produce consistently on offense for SA. But he is rested, Bosh is not and for that reason I'm giving him the edge. Bosh will be frustrated on defense by Timmy and it might carry over to offense for the slumping member of Miami's big three.
4. Bench. Im going to make these last two quick. I like Miami's bench, their personal is just a tad better than the Spurs with Ray Allen and Chris Anderson.
5. Rebounding. Guess who has this category on lock? The Heat are the worst rebounding team to make it to the finals since the 96' Rockets. If the SA bigs can pick up where Roy Hibbert left off Miami will find themselves in a difficult spot.
Prediction: I'm not a huge LeBron fan. I Spurs saw what the Pacers did and I think they will build off of that. The Heat haven't played like a champion consistently and the Spurs have. The veteran leadership on this team is unmatched and they will not make the mental mistakes the Pacers made. The Heat have been fortunate with their last two match-ups missing crucial members of their teams. I like the Spurs in 7, Pop wins the chess match and he and Tim Duncan will get their 5th ring.-Josh Neighbors
1.Coaching. Eric Spolestra has done a fantastic job managing the tremendous amount of talent in south beach and has done a fantastic job especially with role players. Another trait which he has demonstrated with consistency is his ability to make effective adjustments in a rather short period of time. He demonstrated this against the Pacers when using his super small ball lineup in which Shane Battier plays power forward. David West was eating him alive, so what does Spolestra do? Bench Battier, more Birdman, more Haslem, more Mike Miller. Also the decision to go LBJ pick and roll with Chalmers or Norris Cole as the screener is one of the deadliest plays in the NBA today. Bravo Mr. Spolestra, you are earning your stripes, it's just to bad Greg Popovich is managing the bench on the opposite end of the floor. He is the Michael Jordan of coaching, we could give him coach of the year every single year for the way he's managed to keep the same system throughout his entire career and his ability to insert different parts ,without any hiccups, into the well oiled machine which is the Spurs offense. As we saw last series, the Grizzlies, who have been called the best defensive team in the league, we ripped to shreds by the efficient San Antonio offense. The Spurs shot over 50% from the field in 3 of the 4 games of the series. The edge here goes to the Spurs.
2. Best Player. Obviously it's Gary Neal.... Wow aren't I a comedian? Okay so we know the Heat have the advantage here with LeBron James, so we will focus on how the Spurs will try to limit the current best player on the planet. Kawhi Leonard will be tasked with guarding LeBron out of the gate, a guy whose defense is underrated in my mind. He's from SDSU and played under coach Steve Fischer whose team was one of the premier defensive clubs in the country and Leonard might have been the best defender on that team. He's been slowed by some knee issues lately, but due to his quiet and hardworking nature, he's not one for exucses. Now we all know that ball screen is coming with the PG, so the way the Spurs need to counter that is by either hedging that screen, or putting a bigger defender on the Chalmers or Cole so that in the event of a switch there is no huge mismatch. My suggestion would be Danny Green or Gary Neal and occasionally Manu. On another alternative would be to keep Splitter and Duncan close to the middle and let the mismatch happen. Last series when George Hill was forced to switch onto LeBron, I don't think I ever saw him pull up, he almost put his head down and just went straight to the rack. By putting Duncan and Splitter close to the middle the Spurs can give themselves a shot blocking presence. Yet this is exactly the reason LeBron is so good, he requires so much attention to where his teammates are open in almost all of these situations, if you pack Duncan and Splitter in the paint, Bosh or Haslem will be open. Slowing LeBron is no easy task, but if I had to pick one coach to do it, I'd pick Pop.
3. Which weak link will show up? Well D-Wade finally showed up in game 7, and Chris Bosh didn't. He failed to score in double figures in the last 4 games of the series against the Pacers and was an exposed as a sub-par interior defender. Although his 50% shooting from behind the arc was a key factor in the earlier part of the series in some close games. For the Spurs, Manu Ginobili's slump was noticed against the Grizz as he was the only player to not produce consistently on offense for SA. But he is rested, Bosh is not and for that reason I'm giving him the edge. Bosh will be frustrated on defense by Timmy and it might carry over to offense for the slumping member of Miami's big three.
4. Bench. Im going to make these last two quick. I like Miami's bench, their personal is just a tad better than the Spurs with Ray Allen and Chris Anderson.
5. Rebounding. Guess who has this category on lock? The Heat are the worst rebounding team to make it to the finals since the 96' Rockets. If the SA bigs can pick up where Roy Hibbert left off Miami will find themselves in a difficult spot.
Prediction: I'm not a huge LeBron fan. I Spurs saw what the Pacers did and I think they will build off of that. The Heat haven't played like a champion consistently and the Spurs have. The veteran leadership on this team is unmatched and they will not make the mental mistakes the Pacers made. The Heat have been fortunate with their last two match-ups missing crucial members of their teams. I like the Spurs in 7, Pop wins the chess match and he and Tim Duncan will get their 5th ring.-Josh Neighbors
Monday, May 20, 2013
You Let The Whole Team Down
Derrick Rose tore his ACL on April 28, 2012. The last game the Bulls played was on May 15, 2013. For all of you math wiz-kids out there your calculations did not fault you, Derrick Rose had 382 days and nights to put on a Bulls jersey again. But yet he never was able to accomplish this miraculous feat.
First of all, I want to make it very clear that I know Derrick Rose’s “brand” of basketball is not that of the typical NBA player. His success is fully dependable on his explosiveness, agility, and ability to twist and turn his body in route to getting to the basket. I also happen to be fully aware that this style of basketball causes Rose to be increasingly more susceptible to injuries. Taking this into account, I do not blame Rose for being cautious about his return. However, waiting a year and one month to come back crosses the line that falls between cautious and cowardice. Maybe cowardice is a tad harsh, but at least you can say that it is undoubtedly overcautious.
Lets all take a moment or two or twelve, if you’re into that type of thing, to reflect on another one of the premier athletes in the world of sports. Adrian Peterson is unarguably one of, if not the best player in the NFL at the toughest position in an already extremely difficult as well as exerting sport. Adrian Peterson suffered a torn ACL like Rose, yet he managed to return to his more physical and wearing sport in just over nine months. Indeed this is quite the stupendous return, and it is absurd to expect Rose to return in the same timetable. However, if Peterson can return in nine months and statistically be the best running back in the league, is it absurd to expect Rose to be able to return in over a year?
The answer to this stumper of a question can be answered in only two simple words. Absolutely not.
Lets fast forward to 2013 playoffs. The Chicago Bulls somehow manage to take down the higher seeded Brooklyn Nets in seven games. If this wasn’t enough to motivate Rose to come back, surely taking down the best team in basketball, the Miami Heat, in game 1 in Miami would be. However, to quote the incredibly incompetent Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend!” Rose remained inactive for the rest of the series, which ended in five games with the Bulls falling. Now for the big whopper of a question: Where was Rose? Do I expect him to start, put up big numbers, and play 40+ minutes? Absolutely not. But if you want to be one of the stars you have to start acting like it. Simply the presence of Rose on the court is enough to give them that extra boost. Him picking up some significant minutes, and giving guys like Jimmy Butler and Nate Robinson a much needed break would have been monumental. Having his veteran leadership on the court could have changed the game for good. If David Lee can play through a torn hip flexor just nights later after it occurring, I think Rose can give his team some incredibly helpful minutes more than a year following his injury.
At the end of the day, we do not know what would have happened if Rose had played in this series. Maybe they still would have lost. There is a good chance of this considering the Heat are a quality squad, and the refs give them every single call. Nonetheless, they never had a true chance without their star on the court. In my eyes, a star is the guy that you can count on night in and night out to give your team a chance to win no matter the circumstances. And although Rose’s talent is through the roof and beyond, he never gave his team a shot to win. For that Derrick, you should be disappointed in yourself. Don’t worry, we all are.
-Ben Greer
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Solving the Split (part 1)
Despite the injury laden state of this year's NBA playoffs, they have surpassed their billing to this point and have been quite the spectacle. Each series in this conference semi-final round have become 5 game series we are faced with 4 splits, and in everyone single series the lower seed has home court advantage. Let's figure out who will move on and who's going to be left with some questions.
Golden State vs. San Antonio: Klay Thompson went bananas last night in San Antonio, scoring 34 points and going 8 of 9 from behind t
he ark last night. It was a huge lift on a night when Steph Curry was off, going 7 for 20 from the field. I'm not sure what isn't to love about this series, the contrasting styles are so prevalent. Offensively, San Antonio takes very few bad shots and are very methodical; never afraid to work the shot clock down to below 5 before getting their look. And on the other side we have the Warriors, who want to gun threes. You know what they want to do, yet guys like Harrison Barnes( a great driver) Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut(monsters on the boards) complete this team. Which makes you think, how good could this team of kids be with David Lee in the rotation? But, hes not there and they still have a legitimate shot of defeating the Spurs. With 3 games left in the Oracle, I doubt the Spurs can win 2, in fact winning 1 of the 3 is a success in my mind, meaning the Spurs have to win their remaining 2 home games. Highly Unlikely.
Bottom line is, Mark Jackson may not have been wrong with the "greatest shooting back-court" comment and I like the Warriors to win this series. The key for the Spurs to get back into this series is Manu Ginobli. He needs to be more consistent and he is getting open looks. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson play huge minutes, and their not the best defenders as it is, you must knock down the open looks and in Pap's offense he can get plenty of those. I am going to go basketball nerd here, but the best look would we Tim Duncan setting an off-ball screen which Ginobli can use to fade down to the wing, causing a switch and a miss=match which he can use to drive or shoot depending on how the switch works out. Golden State hasn't become frustrated yet, and once they do it's advantage San Antonio. But that hasn't happened yet and Steph Curry is the playoff MVP and he will continue to be. I like Golden State in 6 or 7.
New York vs. Indiana: This series is boiling down to 4 guys. Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton for the Knicks. For the Pacers it's Roy Hibbert and Paul George. the Lance Stephenson JR Smtih match up is a wash, Smith has been bad of late anyway and Stephenson isn't really an offensive threat, Stephenson will find himself guardingShumpert and Prigioni. Hibbert must succeed, and he is a good defensive force but Tyson Chandler isn't out there to play offense so once again another Pacer defensive advantage which is canceled out. He needs to take Chandler into the post and keep shooting. Hibbert will get discouraged and defer to the other players. 6 points in game to, that won't cut it. On the other end, Carmelo is averaging 30 points over the last 10 games, so this perception that he's in a slump is unfair. Shooting percentages in the playoffs
Golden State vs. San Antonio: Klay Thompson went bananas last night in San Antonio, scoring 34 points and going 8 of 9 from behind t
Bottom line is, Mark Jackson may not have been wrong with the "greatest shooting back-court" comment and I like the Warriors to win this series. The key for the Spurs to get back into this series is Manu Ginobli. He needs to be more consistent and he is getting open looks. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson play huge minutes, and their not the best defenders as it is, you must knock down the open looks and in Pap's offense he can get plenty of those. I am going to go basketball nerd here, but the best look would we Tim Duncan setting an off-ball screen which Ginobli can use to fade down to the wing, causing a switch and a miss=match which he can use to drive or shoot depending on how the switch works out. Golden State hasn't become frustrated yet, and once they do it's advantage San Antonio. But that hasn't happened yet and Steph Curry is the playoff MVP and he will continue to be. I like Golden State in 6 or 7.
New York vs. Indiana: This series is boiling down to 4 guys. Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton for the Knicks. For the Pacers it's Roy Hibbert and Paul George. the Lance Stephenson JR Smtih match up is a wash, Smith has been bad of late anyway and Stephenson isn't really an offensive threat, Stephenson will find himself guardingShumpert and Prigioni. Hibbert must succeed, and he is a good defensive force but Tyson Chandler isn't out there to play offense so once again another Pacer defensive advantage which is canceled out. He needs to take Chandler into the post and keep shooting. Hibbert will get discouraged and defer to the other players. 6 points in game to, that won't cut it. On the other end, Carmelo is averaging 30 points over the last 10 games, so this perception that he's in a slump is unfair. Shooting percentages in the playoffs
aren't pretty, and even though he's under 30% from behind the ark, he is still producing. Game 2 needs to be every game in this series.
What it boils down to is that the 6th man for the Pacers is Tyler Hansburough. No bench for Indiana, Knicks in 6.-Josh Neighbors.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Always Money
In any sport, offense is great, but on days when the offense isn't producing the defense better be there. You can't win 44 boxing matches by being a terrific puncher, it's not going to happen. So where does Mayweather's dominance come from? Many of his fights are the same, he's not a heavy hitter and many times it will appear his adversary will have the upper hand in the opening rounds, throwing a majority of the punches. Floyd progressively frustrates opponents with beautiful defense and phenomenal blocking ability. Frustration= risk taking and risk taking leads to losing in the ring.For opponents, their precise quick jabs from the opening rounds, become sloppy hooks in the latter rounds leaving themselves susceptible to counters, and Mayweather's right hand counter is the best in boxing.
He spends money with reckless abandon, but boxes with a discipline that doesn't seem like him, that is Floyd Mayweather Jr.
For his challengers, the theme has been re-occuring, they want to be the one to put an the 1 next to the 44. Money isn't fighting to keep the tally going, his opponent is fighting to put one in the L column, and that is where the pressure lies. For the champ, it's just another fight, for challengers like Guerrero it's their shot of a lifetime and that is the problem. For the 36 year old pressure is non-existent and this has translated to success on a sclace never been seen before in the sport.
So where does the hard work and dedication come for Floyd? It comes from nothing, because that's what he had before boxing. From coming home to heroin needles on his mother's kitchen table in elementary school, to a 32 million $ payout for 1 night. He enjoys his lifestyle, which motivates him to fight to maintain it. It might appear his spending may be reckless at times, but he does love people which triggers some of his lack of monetary conscience. After the Final Four, he was in a waffle house with "the money team" and a collection of Witchita State fans visibly upset about their loss. After conversing with the fans for a short while Mayweather brightened the mood and soon everyone was laughing and having a good time. At the end of the meal, Mayweather took the tab, for everyone. His willingness to extend an invitation into the money team is visible and the perceived image of a former criminal and person who struggles to relate to the average person, but his upbringing and his literal fight to the top gives him an understanding often overlooked by the masses. Mayweather lives the high life, but he has earned it each and every day. His 44-0 record will remain unblemished until something changes. Outside the ring, it's all fun and games, but inside the ring clarity of his hard work and dedication is evident and continues to be at the age of 36 in the most physically demanding sport in the world.-Josh Neighbors
So where does the hard work and dedication come for Floyd? It comes from nothing, because that's what he had before boxing. From coming home to heroin needles on his mother's kitchen table in elementary school, to a 32 million $ payout for 1 night. He enjoys his lifestyle, which motivates him to fight to maintain it. It might appear his spending may be reckless at times, but he does love people which triggers some of his lack of monetary conscience. After the Final Four, he was in a waffle house with "the money team" and a collection of Witchita State fans visibly upset about their loss. After conversing with the fans for a short while Mayweather brightened the mood and soon everyone was laughing and having a good time. At the end of the meal, Mayweather took the tab, for everyone. His willingness to extend an invitation into the money team is visible and the perceived image of a former criminal and person who struggles to relate to the average person, but his upbringing and his literal fight to the top gives him an understanding often overlooked by the masses. Mayweather lives the high life, but he has earned it each and every day. His 44-0 record will remain unblemished until something changes. Outside the ring, it's all fun and games, but inside the ring clarity of his hard work and dedication is evident and continues to be at the age of 36 in the most physically demanding sport in the world.-Josh Neighbors
Photo credit
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=floyd+mayweather&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=3jKIUfHLLufI0QGC3oH4CA&biw=1246&bih=595&sei=4jKIUfrWH-e60QHJ5YG4Ag#imgrc=kBfiWjfo7aOpBM%3A%3B3Hl_CbHxOJkrGM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fi2.cdn.turner.com%252Fsi%252Fdam%252Fassets%252F130505005748-floydmayweather-050513-single-image-cut.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%252Fmma%252Fnews%252F20130505%252Ffloyd-mayweather-robert-guerrero-title-fight.ap%252F%3B655%3B450
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