The Lawrence Journal-World reports that former Kansas University forward Thomas Robinson “fought off the tears” when he learned that the Sacramento Kings had made him their choice in the first round of this year’s NBA draft. “I made it,” Robinson was quoted as saying, exhaling between sentences. “I mean, I made it…”
Meanwhile, we are told, “it came as a relief” for ex-Jayhawk Tyshawn Taylor when he was finally taken with the 41st pick by the Portland Trail Blazers, who traded his rights to the Brooklyn Nets. “I was just staying ready, being alert, and just being happy, looking forward to the opportunity,” Taylor was quoted as saying. “I knew that any team that was going to take me was going to want to play me right away.”
While reading all this, suddenly, in the background, I hear Roberta Flack singing, “The First Time, Ever I Saw Your Face…” And then the song fades to another one by Sarah McLachlan, who looks at me mournfully and says, “Every ten seconds in America, an animal is beaten or abused…”