By MONTE DUTTON

Spanning the globe, making observations regarding the constant variety of sport, the heartbreak of psoriasis, the pain of arthritis, and the flammability of money when it’s laying around. …

If this isn’t a mess, it’ll do till the mess gets here.

Few spectacles are more pleasing than watching Ja Morant play basketball. His entourage apparently thinks the NBA is out to get him. His 25-game suspension was mild. An NBA star can’t be flashing guns around, not at a time when so many are being shot down in the streets. He doesn’t have to be a role model, or even someone he’s not, but he’d best not show up on Dateline. I don’t want Morant banished. I want him to meet his coach, not Keith Morrison.

It’s tough being a multimillionaire, but few are inclined to show pity. Some even think it a good problem to have.

Remember that song, “I Fought the Law, and the Law Won”? As a general rule, that’s the way it works.

Years ago, NASCAR’s Tony Stewart used to grouse about the demands of stardom. “I just want to race,” he said. “I didn’t sign up for all these media obligations.”

Uh, check the fine print.

The late David Poole said, “Now, look, Tony, if you want to climb in your little sprint car and run dirt tracks five nights a week, you can start tomorrow, but if you’re going to race at this level, there are certain obligations that come with the territory.”

A man who pays millions is liable to expect something in return. Let me direct your attention to page 17, second section, fourth sub-section, third line: “Straighten up yo’ ass.”

Fans, owners, TV and radio networks, sponsors, consumer products, etc., invest in athletes. A price must be paid in return. Many athletes live in suspended adolescence. At some point, they either grow up or burn up.

Morant got himself into a mess, out of it and back into it again.

Next up? Apparently, Zion Williamson, who appears to be headed down that Johnny Manziel, Desean Watson, Ja Morant nowhere road. It’s pretty smooth right up to the cliff.

Money can’t buy love, money can’t buy love. It can buy a whole lot of stuff, but money can’t buy love. Love is better at buying money. The more money someone has, the more recreational sex costs. There are lots of hidden charges. A nice, round number is, oh, about what you got.

Regarding another of these scandals, a man I knew said of a powerful figure, “I think his ego got so big, he thought he was invisible.” That sentence has stuck with me ever since.

It’s easy to understand how it happens. If I had that kind of money when I was in my 20s, no telling how out of control I would have been. Fortunately, I’ve always had the advantage of poverty. I’ve never been able to afford that kind of trouble. I’ve always had to make my trouble on the cheap.

Draymond Green did not exercise his option with the Golden State Warriors. That doesn’t mean he won’t return. Perhaps he’ll get a better deal. He should stay. Green won’t be as good for another team. He is passionate and can’t control those passions. He’s a much better player for a good team than a bad one. If he joined, say, the Charlotte Hornets, he’d be in trouble before the end of his first game. Put him on a losing team, and he’ll spiral out of control, and it’s not like he doesn’t do it a lot already. Some players fit bad teams. Green isn’t one of them.

The Warriors are acclimated to Green’s eccentricities.

I enjoy hearing Green do interviews. He’s a charming guy when he’s in his right mind. He’s wound tight. Some people are. Most do things in the heat of battle or passion they wouldn’t otherwise.

They are still responsible for their actions.

The most important player on a pro football team sits on the bench.

The casualty rate of starting quarterbacks is somewhere between hitting the wall at Talladega and the sand of Omaha Beach.

The pro game is entertaining because quarterbacks run more now. When Cam Newton got to the pros, I worried he might hurt the defensive players. If he’d been built any more like a tank, his name would’ve been Abrams. He was washed up before he was 30. I always figured when he moved on, he’d become the Terminator, not terminated.

I’m not worried about whether or not Bryce Young can play. I’m worried if he can survive. Lots of rookie toys get broken before the wrapper and ribbons have been sent to the dump.

Donate to sports coverage here by becoming a patron or by writing a check payable to DHK Sports c/o Monte Dutton at P.O. Box 768, Clinton, S.C.  29325. To buy my books, check out MonteDutton.net.

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