Throughout my many years of playing and then coaching football, one theme remained constant. Coaches would always talk about the ability to "overcome adversity." Just writing those words brings back memories of countless speeches I heard and later gave. I bring this up to share with you the story of this kid from a rural Colorado town. This high schooler sat at his mothers side as she died and then a couple of days later led his team to the league title by pitching a no-hitter AND hitting four home-runs. Damn good way to respond to adversity. This is why I love sports so......
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Post 100 - Random Musings
Yeah, I know. Its really been awhile since I last posted. I gave myself blogger's block. I noticed that my next post would be my 100th so I wanted it to be special and really good. Bad idea on my part. Instead of just continuing as normal, I ended up not posting anything at all. All the drafts I had ready to go have long since become moot. So I'll restart my blog with some things I think I know.
I think the NCAA has just said "Fuck It" regarding legitimately trying to enforce its by-laws. Look at the recent evidence. A whole firestorm of allegations surrounded Cam Newton and he was allowed to play and win the National Title. Ohio State players were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl when they by rule should have been ineligible. The UConn Huskies won the basketball National Title while their coach was found to have broken the rules and he like the Ohio State players and coach will be suspended NEXT season. The NCAA has said the hell with this and said let's just make all the money we can now. The organization can not be taken seriously anymore. I think the recession changed the NCAA's thought process. Member schools lost a ton of revenue during the recession. Many big donors stopped giving as their assets plummeted. Athletics however still brought in the dollars. I think the NCAA is loathe to mess with the golden goose during these tough economic times.
I think it's a bit sad that we are witnessing greatness fade away in these NBA playoffs. For the first time in my life, I understand what the old sports writers were talking about when they said it pained them to see Willie Mays stumble out of the batters box his last season. The writers would also say that they couldn't bare to watch Muhammad Ali's last few fights. These were always the two primary examples of what happens when athletes hang on too long. Well we are witnessing the fade of greatness in these playoffs. I turned on these playoffs only to discover that Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have all crossed over from veteran to just plain old. Just last year these players were fighting for the title and looked like they had at least 2 or 3 more seasons of greatness. Now the end of their careers are clearly in sight. Oh they will still be in the league, but their collective ability to dominate exists no longer. Its stunning to watch but as they say, Father Time is undefeated.
The Los Angeles Dodgers can not meet payroll! How the hell does that happen? I know Frank McCourt's divorce attorneys have told him that he will not be able to keep the Dodgers and fulfill the requirements of any divorce settlement. Yet he still maintains that this is his team and he will maintain in ownership. Dude, sell the team, take the 2 to 3 hundred million that you will have left of your estate and walk away.
Bad things happen when young people tweet. Just this week, a star Seatlle high school basketball player got his Athletic Director fired because he tweeted about having a Spanish class with only 2 other students. What's the problem you ask? Well that school district has had strict budget cuts and there is no way there should be a class with only 3 students. So this tweet brought investigators to campus and nothing good has ever nor will ever come out when investigators start looking into the grades and curriculum of student athletes. Apparently the kid also benefitted from favorable "grading" & scheduling all along.
Another example is Rashard Mendenhall. Apparently he is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist and tweeted such last week after Bin Ladin's death. He wondered how planes could take down a skyscrapper. He also said we only heard one side of the story. Hmmmmm ok. Regardless of what I think of his statements, my first thought was this dude is about to get fired by someone. Sure enough his main sponsor, Champion, fired him two days later. I'm all for freedom of speech. I also realize that there are consequences for said speech. And now Rashard has learned that too.
Well there you have it. Post 100. Thank you to my followers. Its a great feeling to have my voice heard and I appreciate you guys reading my drivel!
I think the NCAA has just said "Fuck It" regarding legitimately trying to enforce its by-laws. Look at the recent evidence. A whole firestorm of allegations surrounded Cam Newton and he was allowed to play and win the National Title. Ohio State players were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl when they by rule should have been ineligible. The UConn Huskies won the basketball National Title while their coach was found to have broken the rules and he like the Ohio State players and coach will be suspended NEXT season. The NCAA has said the hell with this and said let's just make all the money we can now. The organization can not be taken seriously anymore. I think the recession changed the NCAA's thought process. Member schools lost a ton of revenue during the recession. Many big donors stopped giving as their assets plummeted. Athletics however still brought in the dollars. I think the NCAA is loathe to mess with the golden goose during these tough economic times.
I think it's a bit sad that we are witnessing greatness fade away in these NBA playoffs. For the first time in my life, I understand what the old sports writers were talking about when they said it pained them to see Willie Mays stumble out of the batters box his last season. The writers would also say that they couldn't bare to watch Muhammad Ali's last few fights. These were always the two primary examples of what happens when athletes hang on too long. Well we are witnessing the fade of greatness in these playoffs. I turned on these playoffs only to discover that Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have all crossed over from veteran to just plain old. Just last year these players were fighting for the title and looked like they had at least 2 or 3 more seasons of greatness. Now the end of their careers are clearly in sight. Oh they will still be in the league, but their collective ability to dominate exists no longer. Its stunning to watch but as they say, Father Time is undefeated.
The Los Angeles Dodgers can not meet payroll! How the hell does that happen? I know Frank McCourt's divorce attorneys have told him that he will not be able to keep the Dodgers and fulfill the requirements of any divorce settlement. Yet he still maintains that this is his team and he will maintain in ownership. Dude, sell the team, take the 2 to 3 hundred million that you will have left of your estate and walk away.
Bad things happen when young people tweet. Just this week, a star Seatlle high school basketball player got his Athletic Director fired because he tweeted about having a Spanish class with only 2 other students. What's the problem you ask? Well that school district has had strict budget cuts and there is no way there should be a class with only 3 students. So this tweet brought investigators to campus and nothing good has ever nor will ever come out when investigators start looking into the grades and curriculum of student athletes. Apparently the kid also benefitted from favorable "grading" & scheduling all along.
Another example is Rashard Mendenhall. Apparently he is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist and tweeted such last week after Bin Ladin's death. He wondered how planes could take down a skyscrapper. He also said we only heard one side of the story. Hmmmmm ok. Regardless of what I think of his statements, my first thought was this dude is about to get fired by someone. Sure enough his main sponsor, Champion, fired him two days later. I'm all for freedom of speech. I also realize that there are consequences for said speech. And now Rashard has learned that too.
Well there you have it. Post 100. Thank you to my followers. Its a great feeling to have my voice heard and I appreciate you guys reading my drivel!
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