Going Meta-Meta On Yo' Ass

The one-year anniversary fest continues, and with it comes a new award. The Rasheed Wallace Award (for best, coolest, and most original, but who for some reason occasionally disappears from the action for extended periods of time) goes to... well... the 'Sheed Award. For those who don't remember, the 'Sheed Award was supposed to be a special commemoration given out to anyone in the cricket world (player, commentator, coach) who emulated the great Rasheed Wallace, of NBA fame, and told the truth for once. Anyone who was asked a question and, for once, answered openly and without pretense. None of the usual sportsman bullshit -- not the vague, Tony Robbins victory babble, nor the "We need to work tighten the screws" vacuities of the dumb and mediocre.

The inaugural winner of the 'Sheed Award was Marvan Atapattu, who dubbed the Sri Lankan selectors "muppets" in the middle of the tour of Australia in November. That original blog post handing him the 'Sheed was also probably the consensus favourite for post of the year from the Outside The Line editorial board.

Unfortunately, we haven't seen any more winners of 'Sheed Awards, not because there have been no inflammatory statements in the few months since then (the whole Harbhajan/Symonds/Hayden fracas definitely attracted headlines), but because none of those statements have been released for any motive that wasn't self-serving. That is not the spirit of the 'Sheed. Its purpose is to commemorate, quite simply, the art of keeping it real. No macho posturing crap.

(Note:- Just quickly... that entire incident with Harbhajan was simply a bitch fight of the worst kind, from start to finish -- no light, no heat -- and I wanted nothing to do with it, which is why I didn't comment on it at the time. A century ago, the whole matter would've been resolved with a quick five-minute punch-up by the locker rooms, after stumps, on the first day of the series. In 2008, it gets dragged out for weeks in the tabloids, and then fizzles away into nothing. Cricket needs a real fight soon... what kind of hyper-docile, sedated society do we want to live in that we can't a few athletes smacking the gob out of each other every once in a while? Seriously, how cool would it be to have a highlights reel like this one below, only for cricket?)

Anyway, that whole "no self-serving motives" rule should probably discount Ray Jennings from eligibility for a 'Sheed Award. But since he's at least aiming his ire at Graeme Smith, that worthiest of targets, we'll give him a pass.this once. So congratulations Ray Jennings!! For saying what needed to be said, you are awarded a prestigious 'Sheed! Enjoy your glory.

Comments

[Cricketwithballs]

Did you see the all star game, sheed had booked a trip overseas and got the last minute call up so he just threw three pointers out of his ass allnight.

[D.S. Henry]

I didn't actually watch the game -- since, you know, the whole thing is a farce and all -- but I did hear Sheed was a last-minute replacement, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if all he did was toss a few long-range treys at the end of quarters. (Was he shooting them left-handed? It wouldn't shock me... he's more than capable.)

I had no idea you were an NBA fan, though, J Rod.