The End of Willie Mays, and the Beginning of The End For Lebron.....

Back in the 60's and 70's, watching a game on TV was a big deal. Today, and every day, I have my choice of games, and networks to watch a game. But back in the day the pickings were slim. Especially for baseball and basketball.

Willie's catch in 54 World Series called the greatest ever.

If you wanted to watch a nationally televised baseball game in the early 70's you had your choice of one game a week. Uno. It was the NBC Game of the Week. on Saturday afternoon. But it was must see TV. Because it was the only chance you would get to see National League baseball stars play. There was no inter-league play back then. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente were stars that you only saw occasional highlights. (No YouTube either.)

One of my favorites was Willie Mays. He had all the tools. Most importantly, he played the game with joy and excitement, like his pants were on fire. He played most of his career with the Giants, originally in New York, then in San Francisco when the team moved. Toward the end of his career, the Giants traded Willie to the New York Mets.

No catch was routine when Willie was 42.

One summer day, the Mets and Willie, were on the NBC Game of the Week. I anxiously tuned in the game. At this time Willie was about 42 years old, and a shadow of himself. But I watched him at bat. Same stance, same swing, same nuances. But a much different result. I watched Willie swing at a pitch and missed. Then he lost his balance and fell over in the batters box. There was a gasp. The announcers didn't know what to say.

In 1973, the Mets made it to the World Series, and put old Willie in center field in Game 3. Willie tripped going after a fly ball. He later tripped again running the bases. He was done. The great Willie Mays had stayed in the game too long.

Both Willie Mays and Lebron James are icons of their sports. Their careers are only compared to the greats of the great. Lebron James is by no means finished. He still has a long time to go. But make no mistake. He is on the downside of his career. No one ever knows if the downside is a gentle slope, or a steep decline. Time will tell.

Lebron played this season at age 34. Statistically he did very well. But the biggest statistic - wins and losses, suffered. Lebron will not be in the playoffs this year. The last time Lebron was not in the playoffs he was 20 years old. The Lakers were a bad team this year. They were plagued by injuries. So was Lebron. When the season started, everyone was excited in SoCal because the Lakers played pretty good. But as the season wore on, everybody, including the team, seemed to loose interest.

Lebron as a Cavaliers rookie.

But when he was younger, Lebron could elevate the level of play of his teammates. Take a look at the Cavaliers roster before he left for Miami. They weren't exactly a bunch of all-stars. Yet the Cavs did make it to The Finals against San Antonio back then.

Next year, when he is 35, the Lakers will try to surround him with better players. They may make the playoffs. But I don't see any more rings for Lebron. Injuries increase with age.

Lebron gets blocked by a nobody.

I don't think the move to Los Angeles was a basketball move anyway. I think it was a business move, and to be more involved with business contacts. Lebron's production company, SpringHill Entertainment is doing very well.

I'm sure Lebron would like to play with his talented son, Lebron Jr. In order to do that, he would have to continue to play till he's 40. That might be painful to watch.

In the future I don't want to see Lebron James trip going down the court on a fastbreak, or miss a dunk. But Father Time is undefeated.