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Completely by accident, South Beach Hoosier happened to discover this afternoon that the newest Sports Illustrated -just two weeks after Hollywood rewarded the film producers of Al Gore's 'so-called' documentary with a Best Documentary Oscar- decided to use Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis as their coverboy to illustrate their lead story on "Sports and Global Warming" by Alexander Wolff titled,simply enough, "Going, Going Green."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/03/06/eco0312/
They even make mention of H. Wayne's bubble in Davie, one of the few good things that Nick Saban ever accomplished as Dolphins head coach:
"Searing heat is turning that rite of passage of Texas high school football, the August two-a-day, into a one-at-night, while at the game's highest level the Miami Dolphins, once famous for sweating players into shape, have thrown in the soggy towel and built a climate-controlled practice bubble."
Additionally, though you wouldn't know it by looking at how truly crummy Biscayne Blvd. looks on the the way to downtown Miami, with all the Palm trees coming down,
http://www.transitmiami.com/2007/02/fdot-plan-to-pave-over-palms-is-finally.html
Wolff writes, "Scientists told the NFL that Super Bowl XLI would put one million pounds of carbon dioxide into the air -- not counting air travel to Miami -- so the league planted 3,000 trees around Florida in an attempt to pull at least that much of the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere."
Unless I'm mistaken, those trees will take about 25-30 years to actually become a factor.
While I can appreciate the general sentiment, since it's not the sort of agitprop article I initially feared, a photographic look at the crazy, over-the-top gas guzzlers driven by pro athletes might've really hammered that same point home in a MUCH more interesting way, esp. NBA players, who necessarily require vehicles larger than normal.
Tricked-out AND GREEN? I'd actually like to see that!
To be honest, this story sort of reminds me of those quasi-environmental stories on fish and hunting that Sports Illustrated did so much of in the mid-70's, usually in July or August after doing a story on some new baseball phenom or some team that was suddenly swooning.
Issues with titles like "Dodgers in a Dogfight" with young LA Dodgers on the cover.
When I was a kid growing up in North Miami Beach in the '70's, on Friday afternoons, as I'd walk home from school (at first, Fulford Elementary and then later, JFK Jr. High) the anticipation I felt inching closer to my mailbox and that upcoming week's issue was palpable.
I still remember those covers like it was just yesterday, since they helped form many of my initial thoughts and feelings about individual athletes and personalities I'd never see in person in pre-cable, pre-Heat, pre-Marlins, pre-Panther Miami, if they weren't NFL or ABA players.
I distinctly recall that the first issue I ever received in the mail in 1971 had Scottish auto racing legend Jackie Stewart on the cover.
Frankly, SI was how I first became aware of auto racing and its myriad personalities on the track and behind the scenes, though the Herald's excellent auto racing Gary Long certainly did his part then.
If you've never heard of it, I highly recommend www.SIcovers.com which offers framed old SI covers for the bargain price of $19.95.
It's a great resource that I often used when living in Washington, when trying to think of unusual gifts or stocking stuffers for sports fan friends who were otherwise hard to shop for. Check it out and you'll see that I'm right!