Sad But Not Unexpected

ESPN is reporting that former heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison has died. He was 44. Having just turned 44 myself, I have followed Morrison's career from afar.

Morrison was never a great boxer. But holding a championship title, even briefly, as well as appearing in a Rocky movie kept Morrison around the headlines from time to time. But Morrison was often a note on SportsCenter due to his multiple run-ins with law enforcement (which included a stay in prison) as well as a contested HIV-positive blood test in the mid-1990's.

What might have been, never was.

Here's The Point: All too often we hear about athletes or celebrities who "push the envelope". Those who eventually "fall off the cliff" because they live their life so close to the edge. Very seldom do things end well for them. Sometimes they die at age 44. And while their demise is sad, unfortunately it is not unexpected.