poor kid

If you saw what happened to Clippers' Shaun Livingston's knee last nite than you know how gruesome it was. I don't want to meet the person that doesn't turn their head away when they see that. I have a weak stomach as it is but I literally saw the first half-second of it and I turned off the TV. I don't have the heart to put the video up here. You have to google it on your own.

I heard he was laying on the ground screaming in pain and the trainer had to snap his kneecap back in place just to alleviate some of the pain. I also heard when he was on the ground his toes were point in the wrong direction... His diagnosis today was even worse than what they thought yesterday. Dislocated kneecap, he shredded all his ligaments including his meniscus and separated his patella from his fibia. I feel horrible for the kid, he's only 22.

He had so much potential and could've been superstar. He had it all snatched away on a freak accident with noone around. His career might be over and he's looking at atleast 8 months of recovery. Not only that, he didn't even get the big contract that was due to him. I hope he saved some money. He doesn't even have a college degree since he jumped from high school straight into the pros.

So why am I so sympathetic for this kid who has still made more money up than I have? He's an athlete who got unlucky just like anybody else so why do I feel horrible for him? I have a secret.

One late, winter nite in the bitter wet cold of the Arizona desert, my best friend and I were walking across a slick bridge that led to the green on a golfcourse. It was one our traditions to sneak out there and hang out when we were kids. He had just come off ACL surgery and rehab for it. Well... he slipped and broke his kneecap.

I've always thought it was my fault. I convinced him to come out, I chose that place to go chill at, I should have been carrying the heavy stuff, I should have given him a better warning. I felt so guilty you can't even imagine.

I was afraid to tell him about it because I thought he would hate me when he realized it was all my fault. It came out after being pent up for a long time once when we were drunk. He knew had no hard feelings towards me. In fact, he laughed it off as ridiculous. I felt so much better about things after that. But after Shaun Livingston's injury for some reason the guilt is back.

It's ok though. Bad things happen to good people for no reason and there's like 1 million little variable that could've changed the outcome. When those things line up nature takes its course...