Usain Bolt fan says not so fast on Reggie Bush comparisons
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I wrote a story Sunday on ESPN’s new speedometer graphic that showed Reggie Bush got up to 22 mph on one of his two punt returns for touchdowns against the Vikings. In it, I referenced a chart showing Usain Bolt averaged 23.07 mph in his world-record 9.69 100-meter race at the Beijing Olympics.
In the story, I wrote that there’s a difference between averaging a speed over a distance and reaching a speed at any given point. I also wrote that Bush was wearing a helmet and pads, carrying a football and making people miss. Still, a few readers considered the mere mention of Bush and Bolt in the same sentence to be blasphemy.
I got an e-mail from Rich Perelman, who wrote: ‘In his world-record 100 m of 9.69, (Bolt) reached a top speed of 27.3 mph and AVERAGED 26.6 for his last 50 meters, including his slowdown at the end. That’s 25-30% faster than Bush.’
Wow. Thanks, Rich.
And, as for the humorless ones, the Bolt dolts with their Dolphin shorts in a bunch over the comparison?
-- Sam Farmer