The legend of Carl Crawford, UCLA point-guard recruit
And now to ruin a great story — the bane of a blogger.
Carl Crawford, the Dodgers’ new left fielder, was a three-sport star at Jefferson Davis High in Houston. So much so, the story goes, that UCLA offered him a basketball scholarship to play point guard.
That’s a heck of a tale, though it does have one problem — it’s not true.
The 6-foot-2 Crawford said it never happened.
“No, I signed with Nebraska to go play football and baseball,†he said Friday at his introductory news conference. “UCLA didn’t offer me any scholarship.â€
Even though it says so, right there in Wikipedia. Even though it’s been repeated by newspapers.
Crawford said he last played high school basketball his junior season. Not that he doesn’t still appreciate the game.
Told that former high school basketball stars Matt Kemp and Dee Gordon have said they want to play Dodgers part-owner and Hall of Fame guard Magic Johnson in a game, Crawford’s eyes brightened.
“I’d definitely like to be in on that game,†he said.
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