When Jeffrey Epstein was a kid, he had only one desire and that is to grow really tall, but he didn’t. Sad to say, he suffered from the so called “no hops” the white man condition. In one of the last competitive ball games he played he gave up 6 inches and 80 pounds (Jeffrey is quite skinny) to the opposing teams center. Their center left the league following the game simply because he got demoralized by his defense. Jeffrey Epstein has heart, so feels he’s entitled to write about exhibitions of heart in sports.

I first saw Kevin Garnett and the Fabulous Forum, then the home of the Los Angeles Lakers. This was when KG was still young and in the middle of a ten year deal promising him the biggest paycheck in the league for its duration. He played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He would’ve been excused for bailing out in some games, considering the times. However, he did not. The night I caught a glimpse of him, the Lakers were already taking over the game from the opening quarter. It was apparent who is winning the game even before half-time. KG played as well as he could, each and every moment of the game. The guy has heart.

Heart is a strange animal. Once it kicks in, it pushes one to do things that appear impossible to do. It’s powerful stuff, but temperamental and delicate. Dennis Rodman is most likely the finest example. I saw him in one of the very first games of the season he played out on the Lakers as coached by Kurt Rambis. I had great seats and I witnessed something truly unique. From the opening tip, Dennis took over the entire game and not once did he even take a shot. It was a remarkable view. A few weeks after that game, I once again watched another Laker game. The Lakers and Dennis were not pleased with Kurt’s training thus the unimpressive year. You could see the heart just melt away. There after Dennis was merely mortal.

But back to Kevin Garnet. It is hard to understand why the MVP went to someone else rather than to KG during his first year playing for Boston. He put heart and toughness and work ethos and defense into the Celtics. He transformed the culture and the locker room of the franchise. That’s a one-in-a-decade person. The year after that he was seriously injured and he ended up looking forward to next year and next season. He was not in good shape and he did not look so excellent during that year. But my perception is that if it had been any other player, they would have taken the year off for more rehabilitation. You could tell KG was frustrated at his body for letting him down. He did not like the concept that dedication is not enough to make up for his bodily restrictions. And here we are, the beginning of a new season and he has the hops and the range of movement and the pace and quickness that were absent all last year. Jeffrey Epstein believes that it be worthwhile to watch him and see how far he can get with his heart.