Almost all athletes have a blind spot. They get that from years of dominating others, partly by skill, partly by determination. And then one day the skills are gone. But since their success is driven by confidence and plain old bravado, they never come to the reality that it's time to step (stay?) away.
That became obvious this week when stories surfaced that Allen Iverson is hoping to return from Europe to play in the NBA and Isiah Thomas wants to return to coach the Pistons.
For the man known as "The Truth," you'd think he could stand to hear a little of it himself. Thomas admitted to reporters that his attitude is what drives him. "It's me," he laughed. "That's what gives me confidence. I know what I can do. Everybody in the world knows what I can do. Everybody knows what I can do on the basketball court."
And everybody in the world knows he's too old to do it anymore, except A.I., who continues to believe he still has game.
Even more disconcerting is the fact Isiah Thomas wants to coach the Detroit Pistons. Yup. Same train wreck of a leader who took down the CBA and failed with the Knicks, Pacers and Florida International University. The man has been in more blow-ups than Bruce Willis. Now they're saying he wants to bring toughness to the Pistons. Wow, wow, wow.
Toughness? This is a guy who screamed like he'd been blinded after taking a eight or 10 stitches over his eye when he collided with Karl Malone's elbow. (Thomas claimed he took 44 stitches, but sources told me it was fewer than a dozen and the injury was minor.) Same guy who cost the Knicks and Madison Square Garden millions in a sexual harassment lawsuit. How tough is that?
Remember when you could count on your mom to tell you the truth. If she didn't like the hat you were wearing, or the way you smelled, she told you. Seems like Thomas and Iverson have had too many people telling them what they want to hear. In reality they both need their moms to tell them the game has passed them by.