JOHNNY LAW

Sometimes it's fun to break the rules. Push the pedal to the floor and let the adrenalin take over your body. Then Johnny Law sticks his face where it don't belong. The Red & Blues flash in your rear view and you get a couple seconds to decide what to do. Pull over or Floor it? I might be a little crazy but I'm not stupid. Of course I pull over.

Always behaving & obeying the rules can get pretty drab after a while. It's natural behaviour to test the limits to see what one can get away with. As a child, me and a friend of mine were little pyros. We'd always steal matches from cabinets in the houses, then go outside, look for a quiet place and light one. Nothing major or anything that could be considered arson, but mischievous all the same.

Athletes in any sport from an early age are taught sportsmanship, but as they get older and mature into young adults the rules stretch progressively. As a 13 year old in teener ball, I can remember being encouraged by my coach to dirty-up the baseball when I pitched. "This way the ball will not carry as far or get hit as hard," he told me. When I played high school ball, I no longer needed a coach to tell me to break or stretch the rules. Whether it was pine tar on my black alluminum bat or pitching with some sandpaper inside my glove, all the tricks had been taught and learned.

 It seems in America we are encouraged to test boundaries. Nearly everyone gets a second chance right? We are the country of second chances. Doing wrong is practically a right of passage in our culture. Americans may be more human than any other culture or country. We grow up in a cauldron of psychological fire and grow into a single piece of steel. We're not all forged the same, but we endure similar experiences and say hi to each other along the way. Maybe even throw a ball around with each other. Though we make mistakes, eventually we learn to be fair and balanced. And aggressive and a little arrogant, and confident and loud but always willing to help. Johnny Law is also always willing to help so I've learned to respect him. But don't get too comfortable Johnny Law because I do appreciate my freedom to get away with a little mischief:) America The Beautiful

Side Note: I could not find who captured this photograph so I could give them credit. This is one of the Best images ever taken in Sports and one of my favorites. Dennis Rodman is shown at his very best going all out to retain possession of the basketball. One of the greatest rebounders ever and an American original; flawed and brilliant, The Worm.