One of the stigmas the sports gambling community battles constantly is the idea that we treat players like pieces of meat, evaluating their every move with a cold, rational eye. And that’s what sharp handicappers do. But once the bet is made, there’s still a game to play, and we all have our favorite players.

My favorites might be different from most. For example, Paul Shirley hasn’t played an NBA game since 2004-05. But his writing reveals something about his character that resonates with me and encourages me to cheer for him. I’ve been a fan of such marginal athletes my whole life.

But I’m a bigger fan of those who combine athletic genius with their character. David Beckham and Steve Nash leap immediately to the forefront. And since Beckham’s debut with the L.A. Galaxy was spoiled by injury, that leaves Nash as my personal favorite for 2007. I’m obviously not alone in this.

Sol Campbell is the latest victim of his age. Sol has not only been smarting from a voice mail message left by Steve McClaren informing him of his omission from the England squad; but he’s been openly critical about the lack of “30-somethings”, such as David Beckham, whose names are also missing from England’s team sheet. This begs the question: is the world’s most famous soccer superstar too old to be playing professional sports? Me thinks hogwash.

Beckham may be too old to date Hilary Duff (according to her, not according to Becks) but there are loads of players who are in their prime in their 30s. After all isn’t it when we are in our 30s that our brains finally catch up with our bodies? Granted there is a fine line, a grey area we can call it, when our noggins are ticking at optimal capacity and our body has not yet started its decent into the grave. Whether Beckham is there yet or has surpassed this fine line is up for debate.
If you were to wager a bet according to Becks himself though you might want to count the old fuddy duddy out. Here’s what he had to say about his age: “I find it harder to get out of bed in the morning. It could be because I’m getting older, or it could be because I’ve got three sons.
“For a woman, I think 30 is one of the best ages - for a man, they say it’s all downhill from there.
“You start putting on weight and getting lumps and bumps in places you didn’t have them when you were 20.”
Bye bye David.