Well, you knew this was coming, didn't you?

First thought: If Floyd Mayweather Jr. really wants a fight with Manny Pacquiao, this is no way to get it. If I'm on a boxing commission, I take what he said about Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin as evidence he's taken too many shots to the head and shouldn't be medically cleared to fight.

Second thought: The Lin phenomenon, like most phenomenons, isn't about any one thing.

Yes, the fact he's an Asian-American in a sport that's never had an Asian-American star is one reason this story's sprouted centipede-al legs. But another is the fact he's a former walk-on at Harvard who was holding down the end of the Knicks bench and was about to be cut. Another is the fact he scored more points in his first four games as a starter than anyone in NBA history. Another is the fact that he's doing this in New York, where everything tends to get played larger-than-life (not to say larger-than-warranted a lot of the time).

All that is why this story's blown up so big. And as to Mayweather's assertion that black players do what Lin does every night and never get recognition for it ....

Well. First of all, no one's ever done what Lin's done (see above). And second of all .... sure, Floyd, no one ever reads/hears/sees highlights about Chris Paul or Kobe or LeBron or Derrick Rose.

Please, child.