"Jeremy Lin is anomalous in all sorts of ways. He’s a Harvard grad in the N.B.A., an Asian-American man in professional sports. But we shouldn’t neglect the biggest anomaly. He’s a religious person in professional sports." — David Brooks, in his Times column today. 

Let's take a closer look at that opening paragraph.

Lin is "a Harvard grad in the N.B.A.": Only four Harvard graduates have played in the NBA, and none since 1953 prior to Lin.

Lin is "an Asian-American man in professional sports": Lin is the only Asian-American player in the NBA. Only 2 percent of MLB players and NFL players are of Asian ethnicity. There are a handful of ethnic Asian players in the NHL. 

Lin is "a religious person in professional sports": Jesus Christ/God is personally praised for every championship, touchdown, home run, buzzer-beating three-pointer, game-winning field goal, ground-rule double, alley-oop, savvy time-out, etc. 

Does David Brooks know what an anomaly is?