If you never had the chance to see Chris Herren speak it is a must see. I had the chance to see Chris speak in 2015 at the annual. four-day ECAC-SIDA convention held in Falmouth that year. Yes he was speaking to a room full of SIDs but it was eye-opening to our responsibility as athletic administrators. As athletic administrators we have to tell our student-athletes to make good choices for the team, the school and more importantly themselves both professionally and personally.
Another Simon Sinek video? Yes I know I've quite obsessed with any video or interview he does because he makes some extremely valid points about leadership, being a leader and the importance of knowing why you do what you do.
The general consensus of the 366 days that made up the year 2016 (it was a leap year folks) was similar to the feeling of getting hit by a bus then getting dragged along the street for about two miles. Good analogy? Well I'm tired off all those analogies.
It was tough year no doubt about that. We lost a lot of big, powerful names from world of entertainment, sports and politics as well as some tough personal losses. David Bowie, Prince, Mohammed Ali, Janet Reno, Craig Sager, Carrie Fisher, our favorite TV mom and dad, Mrs. Brady (Florence Henderson) and Dr. Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) as well as many others.
Throughout the whole year campaign ads were shoved down our throats. The presidential debates were atrocious to watch and we all begged for the election to be over. And when it was, we, as a nation, were in a state of shock.
It was a weird year - heck the Chicago Cubs are World Series Champions! How's that for being the apocalypse. But was 2016 really as terrible as some may lead us to believe? Or was it a year to teach us something? How to be strong. How to be resilient - you get back up when you get knocked down. In times of struggle you have to remember to persevere and push through no matter how muddy the waters get because you will come out cleaner and stronger on the other side.
Maybe it was simply to make us remember who we really are and that you can't try to be someone you're not. Just like the Jason Aldean song I Use What I Got and "Passed every 'no' after 'no' after 'no' till I get a 'yes'...I don't worry about what I'm not, I use what I got."Keep moving forward until you get what you want. It's about the process and the journey, not the destination.
Everyone that we lost in 2016 was lived by that motto. They were themselves. They were vibrant, lively people. Just look at the late-NBA sideline reporter, Craig Sager who was best known for his vibrant and colorful suits as well as the role he played as Gregg Popovich's adversary in sideline interviews. That was him. It wasn't an act.
2016 was a year that was given to us on purpose. It was given to as a test of our resiliency. To make sure we bounced back up after we hit the ground. To quote Dude Perfect's Tyler Toney, "remember in life it's always better to be a bouncy ball than a hacky-sack." It pushed us to the edge of the cliff but not as much to make us fall. It challenged us in ways we didn't want or expect to be challenged. But we will come out victorious in 2017.
I'll end with with a quote from one of the smartest, strongest and toughest guys I know and something each and every one of you can take into the new year:
"Today is a good day to have a good day!" - Dan Horwitz
In today's world where everyone is competing to be the best and get to the top, sportsmanship is falling behind. The opening clip with the little league kid from South Carolina pulling an A-Rod and knocking the ball out of the the first baseman's glove then pouting in his next at-bat demanding his coach challenge the play is poor sportsmanship. It's being lost in today's world of sports.
Those index cards the people are holding in the music video are real secrets people have about themselves or their situations. So remember everyone has problems and everyone is dealing with things.
Lyrics:
Let me know that I've done wrong
When I've known this all along
I go around a time or two
Just to waste my time with you
Tell me all that you've thrown away
Find out games you don't wanna play
You are the only one that needs to know
I'll keep you my dirty little secret
(Dirty little secret)
Don't tell anyone, or you'll be just another regret
(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)
My dirty little secret
Who has to know
When we live such fragile lives?
It's the best way we survive
I go around a time or two
Just to waste my time with you
Tell me all that you've thrown away
Find out games you don't wanna play
You are the only one that needs to know
I'll keep you my dirty little secret
(Dirty little secret)
Don't tell anyone, or you'll be just another regret
(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)
My dirty little secret
Who has to know
The way she feels inside (inside)?
Those thoughts I can't deny (deny)
These sleeping thoughts won't lie (won't lie)
And all I've tried to hide
It's eating me apart
Trace this life out
I'll keep you my dirty little secret
(Dirty little secret)
Don't tell anyone, or you'll be just another regret
(Just another regret)
I'll keep you my dirty little secret
(Dirty little secret)
Don't tell anyone, or you'll be just another regret
The elephant in the room in the NFL is not player health hazards, it's not player concussions; it's the coaches' health. In the past few years there have been more stories of coaches being rushed and/or spending nights in the hospital.
The latest coach to fall victim to this trend was New York Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles.
Before the Jets were set to travel to New England, Bowles was admitted to a New York hospital and did not travel with the team to New England but did meet the team just before the game. After a 41-3 trouncing, Bowles announced to the media it was kidney and gall stones that sent him to the hospital.
There's no doubt that coaching, at any level is particularly stressful, but when you're an NFL head coach it is even more hazardous. When in-season, coaches work 15-hour days, getting into work at 5:30 in the morning and sometimes staying until 10:30 at night. In some circumstances, they don't leave the stadium. In other cases, they will have a cot in the office where when it gets too late into the night they will sleep instead of driving home only to get an hour of sleep before having to be back at work. It's a grueling lifestyle and it's not for everyone.
But one thing that is always surprising is Bill Belichick's health. You don't hear a lot of about the status of Belichick's health. You don't hear out of the Patriots "Belichick has been taken to the hospital" or he "collapsed on the sideline." He's remained relatively healthy compared to some of him contemporaries.
Some of it may be obvious. In the NFL Films' A Football Story on Belichick, he's spotted walking on a treadmill in the morning while studying plays and it appears is if it is a daily thing he does. Belichick is a routine-oriented guy. He doesn't do anything outside of the normal for him.
He's 64 years old, the age when most people start to relax and retire, but Belichick shows no signs of stopping. Football is his life. It's always been his life since the days when he was a little kid studying Navy game film with his father, Steve. It's the same thing with Tom Brady, who is approaching 40 and the end of his Hall of Fame career but shows no signs of a drop-off.
Their lives have been built around football. Everything was football. They don't know how to live without it. So in order to keep it going for as long as they can continue, they know they have to take care of themselves. Hence why Brady eats avocado ice cream. Belichick may not go that far but he's taking care of himself. He sleeps when he can. Stays away from the bad food and probably limits his alcohol consumption.
Additionally, even if something had happened to Belichick it would be a huge distraction and we all know how much he hates the "D-word." If something happened, Bob or Jonathan Kraft would have to address it to the team, coaching staff and the media. The media would be asking questions to only Bob and Jonathan but also to Brady, Edelman, McCourty and other members of team who are allowed to talk to the media. It would be a huge distraction.
Even if it's not for his own personal health reasons, it's for the team's benefit and Belichick looks at that too.
We've all experienced this same things when we get on the subway. Overcrowded, no seats, the person that wants to talk, eavesdropping on a conversation that really wasn't meant for you but the funniest part is our reaction to each one.
Who are you on the subway?
Kramer - The eavesdropper, using your knew found "knowledge" to benefit yourself.
"His father was a mudder. His mother was a mudder."
Elaine - Being stuck in her worst nightmare and overcrowded train, next people she really couldn't care about.
George - Stretching the truth about what he does to a woman who starts talking to him on the train.
Despite missing the first four games of the season after accepting Roger Goodell's punishment, Tom Brady is showing why he is the "Greatest Of All Time." Since he returned from his suspension he's carried the Patriots to their 14th AFC East Division Title, ninth first round post-season bye and, potentially, locking up home field advantage for the sixth time.
The Patriots are 10-1 since Brady returned from serving his time with the lone loss coming against the NFC's Seattle Seahawks in mid-November. And that loss can be chalked up to a "distraction" loss which Belichick hates more than press conferences. Regardless, of that game, Brady has been putting up some serious MVP-caliber numbers - throwing 25 touchdowns with just two interceptions while nearly averaging a first down per completion (8.2 yards). He has posted an outstanding 110.7 quarterback rating - second to only Atlanta Falcons' quarterback Matt Ryan's 115.5, who is also in contention for the MVP.
However, the national football media and fans outside of the six states of New England, are reluctant to name Brady as the MVP especially Brady- and Patriot-hater, Max Kellerman. Did Brady kill Max's dog or steal his high school girlfriend? The hatred Kellerman has for Brady is off the charts and so wildly off-based that he should be locked up in an institution for the clinically insane. Stephen A. Smith, who never appeared as an ESPN personality to support the Patriots, thwarted Kellerman's re-marks in the video to the left with these little things called facts. It's amazing how facts can change the perception of a conversation. Mindblowing!
Now some of the reasons from the ESPN pundits are valid. The most coming reason for not awarding Brady the MVP is, simply, he only played a quarter of the season and they want to be fair to those players who played in all 16 games. That's a fair statement. No argument here.
Another valid reason is the Patriots went 3-1 in Brady's absence. They didn't go 0-4 - heck they didn't even go 2-2 which is what many people outside New England expected them to do. They went 3-1 with their back-up quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo (aka #MyJimmy, for you Julie) and back-up to the back-up, rookie Jacoby Brissett. And their only loss was to the Buffalo Bills where they started the rookie QB from NC State, who was informed he was started only HOURS before game-time.
But wait a minute. Pump the breaks. Let's go back to those first four weeks of the season Remember everything that was really going on. It simply wasn't the Patriots going 3-1 without Tom Brady.
Hop in the time machine and turn the dial to September 12th - the day after Patriots defeated the Arizona Cardinals, on the road, 23-21 behind Garoppolo. At the beginning of the season the Cardinals were thought to be contenders this season so the Patriots, going in without Brady were underdogs. No one thought they would win so it was as shock. Times were good in Patriot Place. But it wouldn't last.
The following week, even though the Pats beat the Dolphins to improve to 2-0, But back the truck up, Garoppolo also left the game at the end of the first half after falling on his throwing shoulder and thrust-ed the third-string Brissett into his first pro game. For the first time in 16 years the Patriots had a quarterback issue. Garoppolo was not going to be healthy enough to play in the Patriots Thursday night game against the Texans so Brissett got the nod. But the story is far from over.
In his first pro-start, Brissett injured his thumb against the Texans. What? The third-string quarterback is now injured. These type of things that happen to the Browns and Rams but not to the Patriots. Remember folks, people were really talking about bringing in another quarterback and even starting Julian Edelman - who hasn't played quarterback since his days at Kent State eight years ago.
These things truly don't happen to the Patriots and fans outside of New England were smiling. Finally, New England is dealing with the problems we all have - quarterbacks getting hurt and not staying healthy. Aside from the 2008 season, Brady's been lucky to have avoided an injury that would've kept him off the playing field for an extended period of time unlike some of his contemporaries . (Must be that avocado ice cream from his personal chef Allen Campbell.)
But unlike other teams that deal with problems at the quarterback position, the Patriots were going to get their guy back. Brady was going to come back. And that meant more to the team than going 3-1 in his absence.
Brady is a smart quarterback. He doesn't make bad decisions by trying to throw to receivers in tight coverage. He throws the ball where only his receiver can catch it and if they don't catch it's incomplete or out-of-bounds. Additionally, in a time where more quarterbacks are mobile and are using their legs to get out of jams, Brady isn't afraid to take a sack instead of making a dumb decision, risking an interception by throwing downfield when no receiver is open. On the extremely rare occasion, he does scramble out of the pocket, he knows how to fall so he doesn't injure his throwing shoulder. So Brady being slower than molasses in January, works out well for the Patriots.
It's not just the numbers he puts up it's his ability to stay on the field week-in and week-out. It's his reliability that the Patriots can depend on him every day in practice and every Sunday that makes him the MVP. It's not the numbers. It's the fact that he is there.
That's why Tom Brady is your 2016 NFL MVP. Sorry, Roger!
Patriots Football Place
Bill Belichick is one of the top coaches because of one thing. He gets the most out of all his players no matter what their skill level. He knows how to work with everyone and get them to 'do their job' which is the hardest thing to do as a leader. Belichick may be a football genius but he is also a true leader.
Grayson Allen is the reason why people hate Duke. Seriously, it always seems as if Duke has a bunch of guys that are just unlikable and the men's lacrosse rape scandal 10 years ago didn't help the cause. They are just unlikable guys. It's like a curse. If you go to Duke no one's going to like you.
Allen's current assistant coach, Jon Scheyer was hated amongst other college fan bases. Every time Duke traveled, opposing school's student sections would all chant his name over and over again in taunting manner. Late in the 2009 season in a road game against ACC foe, Virginia Tech he, legit, travels with the basketball and the officials fail to call a turnover, instead he gets the foul call and goes to the line for two.
If you haven't seen the video, I highly recommend you go watch it. I've taken the liberty of embedding it in this blog. Scheyer looks like a five year old who is just learning the game and is trying to keep the other boys from taking the ball, not understanding that you have to dribble - which is a basketball fundamental that is typically covered in youth basketball.
But Scheyer was a high school phenom. As a senior in high school, he scored 21 points in 75 seconds to bring Glennbrook North back from a 13-point, 71-58, deficit in a state tournament game. Great accomplished, right?
Yes, scoring 21 points in the last 75 seconds to bring your team back in tournament game is a huge accomplishment but it wasn't a state championship game. It was a HOLIDAY tournament! A HOLIDAY tournament.
Not trying to do anything to deny how good of a player Scheyer was in high school and during his four-year career at Duke but it did not translate into a successful professional career. After graduating in 2010, he signed on with the Houston Rockets Development League team the Rio Grande Valley Vipers but never made it to the big stage. Before becoming a coach for his alma mater he played overseas in Israel and Europe. Great college player that was about it.
By accounts from coaches, professors, classmates and teammates, Scheyer was a good kid off the court who was known for being shy but got good grades. The exact profile of Duke players.
They recruit and bring in the All-American high school players who are not only great on the court but are outstanding students in the classroom and the community. Yes Duke has high academic stands but they are essentially bring in the Homecoming Kings. They guys who can do no wrong in high school. The popular ones who always get the girl. They never had to face adversity in their life.
Before Scheyer, there was J.J. Redick, who as Blue Devil from 2002-2006 and was thought to be the best college basketball player. He had a little swagger to him. When he drained a three-pointer, which he was known for, he celebrated. Everyone was swooning over him. Commentators loved him but opposing fans hated him. Their hatred for him was so great that it got personal like during his sophomore year when Duke was on the road in College Park, Md. for an ACC game against Maryland. Towards the end of the game the Maryland student-body began chanting "F-You, J.J." each time he went to the line while attacking his younger sister.
Like Scheyer, Redick was a good kid from a good family. He majored in history while minored in cultural anthropology - an odd minor for a Division I college basketball player. Redick was culturally well-rounded.
However, unlike Scheyer, Redick has had a little more success at the professional level being drafted by the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft (11th overall). After seven years with the Magic and one stint with the Milwaukee Bucks, he is in the NBA with Los Angeles Clippers but he is no where near the dominant player he was in high school.
Today is no different. Grayson Allen is one of the best college basketball players in the game the today. He, too, came from a good family that could afford to send him to a prestigious prep school. Super competitive kid growing up according to former coaches. That competitiveness is why he, too, became a high school phenom and landed him at Duke and opportunity to play for the legendary coach, Mike Krzyzewski. But that competitiveness comes with a dark side.
Allen doesn't know how to harness the competitiveness and it comes out in immature acts like in Wednesday night's game against non-conference Elon University as well as three other times last spring. He doesn't know how to respond when he is faced with a little bit of adversity so he decides to stick his leg out there and trip his opponent. Allen's never had to deal with any sense of adversity in his life. He was always the best. He was the best player in youth basketball, middle school, high school and through the first two years of college.
No one was better than him. Now he's competing against players who are equally as talented and tough and he doesn't know how to respond. It was clearly evident in his reaction when the official hit him with a technical foul. He acted a like a four-year-old throw a temper-tantrum after being told he can't have desert because he didn't finish his broccoli. It's like he didn't expect there was going to be consequences for his actions and was surprised there was. He is a perpetual child with his immature actions.
This is no excuse for Allen's poor decisions because he is also a junior and is supposed to be a leader for the younger players.
With all the media attention this has generated in the last 24 hours, there is no doubt that Coach K's decision to suspend Allen indefinitely was made not just by him. This a was directive from Duke's administration team. There was no other way around it. It had to be done.
Allen needs to learn how to control him emotions on the court and turn adversity into an advantage like his predecessors: Redick and, assistant coach, Scheyer, have done. It's about maturity. It's time for Allen to grow up and be the man and leader he can be.
It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously Pacing 'round like little boys do And in his hands he held a pair of shoes His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe And when it came his time to pay I couldn't believe what I heard him say Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time You see she's been sick for quite a while And I know these shoes would make her smile And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight He counted pennies for what seemed like years Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here" He searched his pockets frantically Then he turned and he looked at me He said Mama made Christmas good at our house Though most years she just did without Tell me Sir, what am I going to do, Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out I'll never forget the look on his face when he said Mama's gonna look so great Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time You see she's been sick for quite a while And I know these shoes would make her smile And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love As he thanked me and ran out I knew that God had sent that little boy To remind me just what Christmas is all about Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time You see she's been sick for quite a while And I know these shoes would make her smile And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight
Video of Patriots' newly acquired wide receiver Michael Floyd's DUI surfaced last night via the police officer's body-cam and of course it brought a lot of attention with it.
In case you happened to have been in a 48-hour coma and are just now coming out, the Pats acquired the former Cardinal after he was release after falling asleep drunk at a red light in Scottsdale, Arizona. When police found him, his car was still in "drive," his foot on the break and eyes closed. Police said he slept through two light cycles - yes that's right folks TWO light cycles.
But the biggest reaction that came out of of the video being released is one from Boston Globe Red Sox writer Pete Abraham. Moments after the video was released he tweets one of the officers at the scene escalated the situation.
Not too sure about how everyone else who has seen the video - if you haven't seen it yet it is here - but there was no way one can say the officer made things worse. Let's take it step by step and really see if the officer was "escalating" the situation.
The police cruiser is behind Floyd's Cadillac Escalade SUV in the far left lane at a red light with a car to his right. When the light turns green, the the car to his right proceeds through the light along with three other cars but the Escalade does not move.
It looks to be a short while later, the officer grows suspicious, gets out of his cruiser and starts to approach the Escalade. Some time has to have elapsed because when the officer is approaching the Escalade you can visibly see another police cruiser in front of the Escalade meaning the first officer called for back-up.
When the first officer reaches the driver's side window, he looks in and see's Floyd's head back, mouth wide open and eyes closed. The officer yells over to the other officer "hey I'm going to try to wake him up."
The first attempt is relaxed, knocking his flashlight on the window and calmly saying "Scottsdale Police." No response. He then yells over to his fellow officer, who's name is Chuck, on the other side the car asking if the other door is unlocked. Negative.
Knowing that the car is still running and still in gear, the officer knows he has to find away to wake up the individual or he would be putting others at risk. He uses the flashlight to knock on the window a few times. No response again. Growing more concerned for others safety including the safety of his fellow officer, whose cruiser is parked directly in front of the Escalade, he bangs on the window harder and announces who he is. This time Floyd wakes up, disoriented, and the officer instructs him to put the car in "park,"and turn off the car twice.
After instructing Floyd to turn off the car and unlock his doors multiple times, Floyd rolls down the window. But he still does not turn off his car or put it in park which aggravates the officer. Floyd was doing nothing the officer was asking, no wonder he was getting pretty aggravated and asks another officer for assistance so he can unlock the door to put the car in park.
Even when the officers asked Floyd to get of the car, he initially resisted and the officer had to repeat himself and help guide him out of the car. They didn't pull him out of the car. They didn't even touch him. They were just doing their job. It was Floyd, who was being the problem.
He had no idea what was going on and wasn't listening to the officers. Floyd appeared shocked when the officer told him what he had done and did not know the precise location where he was - although he did know he was in Scottsdale.
None of the officers' actions were aggressive or escalating the situation. Just like in all walks off life when a person is not listening, you tend to get pretty aggravated and upset but they didn't act on it and get hostile. They actually remained pretty composed. If the officers got physical with Floyd then we'd be having another discussion but they didn't. They handled it exactly the way they were trained to handle a person like Floyd.
That's why I tend to support the police officers because there are more officers who are handling bad situations correctly opposed to those who run rogue and get physical when dealing with a frustrating situation.
On a side note, I wouldn't want to be Patriots P.R. man, Stacey James right about now.
