Sandy Koufax and Joe Torre in Conversation : Twilight of the Idol

Roland Griffith

03 March 2010

they were never the sole ones in limbo last Sat. night. Plenty of folk have been waiting for Koufax to claim something for a considerable time. It was potentially my favourite sports autobiography of that decade, a deserving sort of follow up to Roger Kahn's classic The Boys of Summer. I had also been considering Koufax due to the imbroglio faced by quite possibly the planet's's current best athlete"as dominant with a 7-iron as Sandy was with the curve"one Mr Eldrick Woods, whose several times over cheating has fueled the gossip machine these winter months and was adequate to spur the making of a TMZ Sports, a golem I fear that sportsman and fan alike must endure well into this sports decade..

In another, more polite time, Koufax's reply Sat. night to the press characterizing him as a playboy bachelor""I don't know I had a good time""would have been adequate for a Tiger Woods, and whatever work he wanted to do at home would be his and his family's business alone. We need ashamed press meetings and photographers stationed at rehabilitation facilities. A world where, improbably, one can become famous simply for being famous, or for once being famous and now being seriously disturbed.

It's far worse for people that have established their celebrity thru real accomplishment. Koufax and Woods cut to the core of the link between fan and sportsman, voyeur and celebrity. As the Local Sports Reporter ran thru his career statistics, you might virtually feel Sandy squirming in his seat.. As the evening went on, though , you might feel Koufax opening up more and starting to uncloak the sort of conversationalist people who know him best have before hinted at. What do Dodger fans have to anticipate anyway? Manny the Moper, pouting his way thru his walk year? Why not concentrate instead on Sandy, who, as many a Jewish parent has told their kid, once declined to pitch on Yom Kippur. Dodger convention, from Sandy Koufax to Joe Torre. You are God damn right we are living during the past. We are going to send you the most entertaining Los Angeles Dodgers articles, videos, and podcasts from across the web. Are you fascinated by covering your favourite groups and sports? Do you need to share your Bleacher Report activity in your Facebook activity feed? Become fans of your Facebook chums hooked up to Bleacher Report? Join Bleacher Report you should register for that functionality to work.