..but, I could be wrong.

2011-07-27T22:04:00.001-04:00

The National Football League lock-out is over.

The millionaires (the players who also double as their own small-corporations with annual revenues that top the gross national product of third world countries) and the billionaires (the ones who run countries have even more resources, luck and friends in key places) have come to terms.

That means we (the guy who works the third-shift, the swing-shift and the guy who wishes he had shift will once again end up paying the check for the enterprise) will have a football season. Indianapolis will also have its first Super Bowl this February and that's a good thing. It will be an even better thing if I am there.

The NFL is determined to play, and do give them credit for working out the details. I mean, after all a guys got to make his $5 million a year. Some owners are squeaking by with only $50 million per. Could you imagine the audacity of actually expecting a player to work for a living. Maybe Dallas owner Jerry Jones has a bake sale to cover operating experiences or Jim Irsay in Indianapolis hosts a car-wash.

That aside, I don't really begrudge players making lots of money. I'd make it if I could. They do go through a lot to play professional football. I don't have the current data, but I believe the average NFL career is three years. To get a pension from the NFL, something most old-timers don't get, you have to play seven years. You have just a short-time to make your fortune and probably the players will never have that opportunity to earn that much jack ever again.

They, the players, aren't without blame, they are just a little less at fault. They have very little sympathy from me. They have just been able to wrangle a very nice piece of the pie from the owners.

My real issue is the monopoly, the trust, the cartel or whatever term that implies business exclusivity used to describe the NFL. The elite owners in the world's most powerful and most successful sports league, ever.

They've got cash from licensing from the sale of almost every conceivable product or souvenir imaginable. (My favorite is the official NFL team train set you can buy in the Sunday newspaper ads) Like an infinite fountain, only with money, owners have revenues flowing in from every direction: television rights, cable TV rights, satellite program packages, radio broadcast rights, even live updates on your HTC. Let's not forget the basics like ticket sales, personal seat licenses, parking passes,

If you can charge for it, the NFL owners do. They are masters of getting every last dime from we the people.

Hold on. Is it really the owners fault? I mean really. We the fans have blown this game or all our games into something more than a past-time.

Can you blame the owners for wanting more and more money from fans? I mean really, we've been doling it out for years. Far be it for them not to put their hands out to collect it, especially when we are so quick to pay it.

Like the addict buying more drugs after losing yet another job, or unemployed guy using his money to buy lottery tickets. Neither know the, or want to admit they have a problem.

And of course when the training camps open in a few days, including the Colts at Anderson, we'll be there with arms wide open ready to embrace them as if neither has done anything wrong.

It really hasn't. They are just giving us what we say we want with our dollars and our attention.

Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

An American Tale: The Shuttle

2011-07-21T11:21:00.002-04:00

When the black rubber of the front wheel touched down on the alabaster blanket of pavement, it was over.

Five decades (and seven presidents) packed full of planning and dreaming are now nothing more than memories to be stored.

Through good times and bad times, recession, and maybe depression depending on who you ask, the Space Shuttle was constant. There was tragedy, twice our nation wept over the loss of a shuttle. Challenger was lost on launch in 1986. Columbia was destroyed on re-entry in 2003.

Now Enterprise (just a test unit), Discovery, Endeavor and soon to be Atlantis will just be giant models for display. Other component parts have been dispatched like a NASA garage sale, an engine going here, a few of the orbiter units going to museums there.

These trophies from our limitless youth, mean little without its symbolism.

The space shuttle was another one of the things we Americans hung out hat on. A button-bursting source of pride that made us, even if just small part of us fling our shoulders back and made us proud to be Americans.

The shuttle outlasted Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, another Bush and Obama.

Disney couldn't have dreamed a plan like this.

There may be better engineered cars in Europe, so the argument goes. There may be better technology from Japan. At the end of the day, in the toughest, must unyielding test of all, manned space travel, no one, but no one can do space exploration like the good ole' USA.

We said we could do it and we did.

It wasn't just that We Did it. It was that were able to do it.

We did it first, we did it best. Some 135 times we shook our first, pointed to the sky like a contemporary Columbus and said we can do it. Then cut through cloudy ceiling feeding the fanciful notion that we American's are a special breed.

And don't let anyone tell you anything else, that's what the space shuttle was all about.

Sent from my BlackBerry® powered by Virgin Mobile.

Fifty years ago Yankee slugger hits 61 in 1961.

2011-07-09T13:23:00.005-04:00

Maris Remembered

I guess history is determined by the person who records it.

That is, whoever that gate keeper is, he has the power to make it important or insignificant.

Fifty years ago one of baseball's greatest records was re-written. It's been broken a couple times since so I suppose its not as newsworthy, but no one has really talked a lot about 61 in 1961 - Roger Maris' feat of breaking Babe Ruth's single-second record of 60 home runs.

For the fanfare and attention that historic campaign attracted, its stunning how little its discussed by the man on the street. I don't float in East Coast circles or get a chance to talk to fans in the Bronx some who still say he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but all in all, I think his feat garners little attention.

Little as in never.

Baseball history has moved on. First Mark McGuire and then later Barry Bonds. But, no one even dares to entertain the discussion about how its a different game today then it was when our parents or grandparents went to the ballpark. And no one ever talks about shorter fences, higher altitudes and lively baseballs and how the game has been diluted by expansion.

Let alone steroids.

That's not just me waxing nostalgic about mythical time when the game was pure or similar Pollyanna nonsense.

During the early 1960s, the Yankees captured five pennants and two World Championships. Mantle and Maris were iconic, but never like they were in 1961. The M&M boys tallied 115 homers, 163 runs scored and 268 runs batted in. BeforeMantle's late September infection, the two were in lock-step waging a friendly battle for the would-be single-season home run mark. Mantle finished with 54 round-trippers.

They were as similar as the day is to night. One loved attention they way you love a visit to the dentist. The other was a quotable as Bartlett's.

Maris, all of 27 years-old, was from North Dakota, and never really got into all the Big Apple offered. He as about as comfortable around the press as white socks are to black wing tips.

His teammate, Mickey Mantle, had an electric smile that would set flashes off for a three mile radius.
Despite his humble Oklahoma roots, Mantle was practically born to be a Yankee.

Maris was a transplant from the west after getting his start in Kansas City, at a time Missouri River was the west.

Never Maris would never hit more than 33 home runs or drive in 100 RBI in a season, 1962. The numbers good enough to win the AL MVP for the second-straight season.

If clothes make the man, Maris best seasons were ithe seven he spent in Yankee pinstrips (1960-66).

He would only play six more seasons, and retire with only 275 career home runs and 850 runs batted in his 12 year career with a .260 batting average.

His numbers are hardly a case for the Hall of Fame, just like Don Larson's perfect game, Johnny Vandermeer's back to back no-no's, but I think we can agree his place in baseball history is secure.

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T17:28:00.005-04:00

Happy Fathers Day

Sixty some summers ago Bob Jackson was trying out for the St. Louis Cardinals on one of their tours of the Midwest . The team was bird-dogging for the next diamond in the rough. Another Stan Musial. There were no bonus babies then, no superstars tracked since junior high for their five-tool skills. You had to beat the bushes in the small towns and sandlots across the country.

My father, or so the story goes, made it to the second day of the camp. The experts liked his ability to make plays, but didn't think he could hit major league pitching. He was excused from the rest of the experience. He wasn't meant to be one of the boys of summer, unless you count some church softball games decades later.

Sometime around that time, he found himself hunkered down a hundred yards or so near the 38^th parallel as part of mortar crew sending volleys unto a enemy hill. The hill wasn't named, just classified by a few numbers. Just another objective in the Korean Conflict.

Dad's never talked much about his experiences. A few photos here and there or maybe a story or two when you catch him at the right time.

There aren't tons of medals for valor or injuries received in battle. That's not dad. Just another American who didn't ask for the job, but willing went because around the world because his country called him to the frigid battle ground called North and South Korea.

For twenty years or more he'd work a full-time factory job and farm more than 100 acres. We raised just about everything at one point or another, cattle, sheep, hogs, chickens and even pickles.

This August would mark 55 years my parents were married. (Mom died in 2001) Just a few months after she graduated high school my father wasn't going her get away. I have a black-and-white photo of their wedding day. Dad 's waving like he's the President boarding a helicopter departing the White House.

My parents weren't heroes. They weren't world-travelers or scholars. Nothing, I suppose that attracts praise in the headlines these days.

But what they did do was work hard, and continues to do is work-hard and be who he was meant to be, dad to me, my brothers and sisters and grandpa to a slew of grand and great-grand kids from Mississippi to Colorado.

They were was faithful. Faithful to their kids, their friends with a common decency to everyone. The first to help, even if pushed into it by mom. Dad always had time to help.

There is no better song that captures the legacy my parents left than this.

Just the farm, photos, memories,a stubborn streak, a tradition of hard-work and a genuine appreciation for anyone trying to do the right thing.

Thanks Mom and Dad.

Someday, sooner than I can imagine, my daughter will only have memories and a often-misinvested legacy from me. God-willing, I hope Dakota will say the same.

Facing death, CNN sports legend embraces life

2011-04-07T11:15:00.009-04:00

This article hits home, my little girl turns two in May. I can't imagine missing all successes and joys, and not leaving her a legacy good and bad to remember her goofy, weird, dad by.

King Solomon said life is a but a vapor, comparing to how quickly it passes.

Here' the article -

(REPRINTED FROM CNN)

Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares an intimate conversation with CNN legend Nick Charles about the final fight of his life. Coming soon on "Sanjay Gupta, MD".

Santa Fe, New Mexico (CNN) -- Nick Charles looks into the camera, as he's done thousands of times before. Except he's not calling a boxing match for sports fans around the world.He's talking to an audience of one: his 5-year-old daughter, Giovanna.

Over the last 40 years, Charles has covered every major sporting event, from the Olympics to the Super Bowl to the Kentucky Derby. He's covered some of the most classic boxing matches -- when Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson, when Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear, when Roberto Duran quit and told Sugar Ray Leonard, "No mas."

Yet this is the toughest taping he'll ever deliver, a message from beyond the grave. For his little girl.

As Charles stares into the lens, he projects the essence of a fighter -- tough, rugged, still smiling despite the bruises of battle. His wife of 13 years, Cory, holds the camera.

Gone is his patented mop of black hair. Twice voted the sexiest sportscaster in America, Charles has undergone rounds of chemotherapy that darkened the circles under his eyes and "make me look like I'm halfway in the grave."

On August 4, 2009, Charles was told he had incurable bladder cancer. He was given four to six months to live if he opted for no treatment. With treatment, he could expect about 20 months.

"I want the biggest guns you can fire at me," he told the doctors.

He's into his 21st month now. Each day, each hour, each breath is a gift.

He's fought this hard for Giovanna and Cory, to build a foundation for them after he's gone. He knows what it's like to long for a father's love. He only has a dozen or so memories of his own father.

"My little girl needs a good daddy more than anything right now," he says. "This is a gift from God where I need to build these memories for her, so that I'm not a blur."

The family has begun making preparations. They meet with a counselor regularly. When he was diagnosed, Charles told Giovanna he was sick -- that his hair would fall out. This time last year, she looked at him with her big brown eyes and asked: "Are you going to die?"

"Everybody will sometime," he told her, "but we will always be together. But I'm not going anywhere today. I feel great. Now let's go out and play."

Weeks earlier, Charles and his wife sat down to tape the first in a series of birthday videos he's leaving for Giovanna. The camera rolls. Charles sings. In TV terms, he nails it.

Giovanna Charles, the girl daddy loves with all his heart
Because she's cute, because she's smart

Because she's sweet, because she's strong

Because she's so much fun!

'A gift from God'
Giovanna races around the family's spacious contemporary adobe home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Still wearing the princess shoes from her 5th birthday party the day before, she clicks across the tile floor, squeals of delight bouncing off the high ceilings.

"A gift from God," Charles calls her. "A blessing who came to me late in life."

He has three grown children from two previous marriages. His impending death has brought him closer to them -- including a 39-year-old son who sat with him during chemo sessions.

His focus has been on his youngest girl, keeping a written journal since she was born, and recording the birthday videos after his diagnosis. He only recorded a handful; he was sobbing so much off-camera he could barely hold it together to go past her 11th birthday.

When Charles mentions Giovanna by name, he chokes up. Every few days, he walks into her room and looks in her closet, at the princess outfits and leotards. He pictures her prom dress hanging there years from now, knowing he'll never see her in it.

He breaks down and cries.

For Cory, the pain is unbearable, to witness the slow decline of the person you love.

The woman Charles calls his rock, the love of his life, collapsed when she and her husband first learned of his illness.

A producer for CNN International, she has continued to work because it keeps her focused.

Yet she's already begun a grieving process to prepare "for when he won't be here.

" She's in touch with bereavement groups and camps to help children who have lost a parent.

When Giovanna recently saw her mother crying, the girl consoled her.

"Don't worry," she said, "Daddy will always be in your heart."

"You can never know what it will feel like when someone dies and is gone and how you will handle it," says Cory, 45.

"From young widows, I know the feeling is profoundly sad, especially when somebody has such a presence as Nick."

Both are willing to speak so openly about their ordeal because, as Cory puts it, "too many Americans fear death."

Adds Charles, "I embrace it." He fights through fear.

Charles has always set goals in life: short-term, mid-term and long-term. He'd like to live until one more Easter, until his dream home is complete in early May, until his 65th birthday on June 30.

"I don't know how long I have. " Just waking up to live one more day is blissful.

In January, he called off all treatment.

"I said, 'I can't take this chemo any more. It's going to kill me before the cancer.

I want to feel everything in life while I can."

In the evenings, as the sun sets, Charles stares out the window and

contemplates life. Looking back at him are the mountains that surround his home.

The pain arcs through his body. His toes feel frozen.

"God, if you're ready to take me," he says, "I'm in so much pain.

Please, I'm ready to come home.

But Charles says he feels "the presence of Christ in the room . saying, 'This isn't the time yet.

"One time, he sat right with me on the bed.

The mountains are known as Sangre de Cristo, the blood of Christ.

Charles focuses on three peaks.

"Mommy, Daddy, Giovanna," he says.

A sign they'll always be together, a sign of eternity.

He says a special prayer for Giovanna: "Don't let my daughter find me.

Lessons for a champ

Happy 7th birthday, my darling.

You're in 2nd grade now.

I bet you're playing the piano very wellProbably learning many languagesI just wish you the best life offers -- always.

Charles shuffles through his kitchen when his cell phone rings.

He pulls the phone from his pocket.

It's Mike Tyson.

"MIKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" he says.

He beams with enthusiasm.

The two men speak by phone three or four times a week.

They talk about life lessons and philosophize about Aristotle.

Tyson has young children, too.

He asks about being a good parent.

On this day, they hastily arrange a visit.

"I want to see you again," Charles says.

"You're a true friend, Mike, and I love you!"

The two reunited for the first time in years in early March.

They sat in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the same place where Tyson took a chunk out of Holyfield's ear in 1997.

This time, Tyson wasn't dishing out punishment or acting in a rage.

He was talking and listening, absorbing everything Charles had to tell him about life.

"I love you, brother," said Tyson.

"I pray for you every day.

He told Charles to not give up, to keep hanging in strong -- that he needed him here longer.

Tyson clutched Charles' hands for 15 minutes.

He refused to let go.

When autograph seekers approached, Tyson flashed a bone-crushing look.

They quickly scattered.

In Tyson's heyday, when he was the world's dominant boxer and one of sports' notorious bad boys, Charles would offer him advice.

The reporter saw an inner-city kid who grew up without consequences, a young man with a lot of self-loathing, a guy with a lot of pain.

Charles knew the feeling.

He grew up poor in inner-city Chicago, the son of a taxi driver who was mostly absent from his life.

In grade school, during the frigid winters when his dad didn't pay the heat bills, Charles would curl up in bed with his mother and brother to stay warm.

He struggled in high school.

He had no mentors.

He was too busy working late-night jobs at produce docks in desolate Chicago neighborhoods.

Once, his boss pointed to mounds of rat feces, threw lye all over the floor and handed the 17-year-old Charles a pair of gloves, rubber boots and a hoe.

"I'm inhaling this lye and I had to scrape all this stuff off.

I said to myself, 'I need this job.

I can't tell this guy to go take a flying leap,' " he says.

"But I also said to myself, 'I'll never be trapped again in life.

Never.

' That was a watershed, life-changing moment for me.

It really drove me to the point where I had focus in my life.

Years later, when boxing promoter Don King first introduced Tyson to Charles in the 1980s, King shouted in his loquacious style, "He's one of us! He's a real guy! He came from nothing!"

At a time when Tyson trusted no one, he listened to Charles.

"You can break me in two if you want," Charles would say before giving any advice, "but let me throw this out to you.

He told him about his own hard-scrabble life, of longing for a father's love, of the power of forgiveness, of digging deeper to better understand oneself.

Now, as Charles nears death, Tyson is like a sponge.

"He recalls conversations we had," says Charles.

"He wants me to amplify it more.

He wants to know what I've learned, because I've made mistakes in my life.

"I try not to dwell on the mistakes.

You can't undo them.

But I do try to fasten onto the positives, the things that drove me.

Charles says he got married too young, was too immature to know what a relationship entailed.

He worked into the wee hours of the night.

His job kept him on the road.

He first married at 22.

He had a son, Jason, and a daughter, Melissa.

He stayed married for eight years; Melissa was a toddler when he divorced.

His second marriage lasted about a dozen years.

They adopted a baby girl from Korea.

Katie, now 24, recently qualified for the Boston Marathon, he boasts.

Divorce is an ugly thing, and "innocent kids get hurt and lost in the middle.

"I caused a lot of pain.

I ripped apart lives," he says.

"If I have a regret, that's it.

I love all of them.

He's recorded 10 hours of oral history -- essentially his life story -- for all his children to hear after he's gone.

"With my illness, they've offered me a massive amount of forgiveness.

Steak, scotch and dad

I can't even imagine 8 years old!You're probably riding horsesYou're probably standing up on the horse without a saddle.

That would be what I would expect from youBecause you're so athletic and strong and beautiful.

Charles longed for a relationship with his father, a machine-gunner in World War II who fought in ferocious battles in North Africa and Italy, earning a Bronze Star for his valor.

His father was rarely around to spend time with his two sons.

He drove taxis at night.

Other times, he just disappeared.

"He was a voracious reader," Charles says.

"The few nights he was home, I used to sit with him and read.

He'd have a pot of coffee on.

It was the summer.

We didn't have AC.

It'd be 80 degrees outside.

"I was maybe 15.

I would just sit with him and read until 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning, so I could just be next to him.

He still remembers the books they read: Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead" and William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury.

"He did the best he could with me.

I've come to peace with him.

His father was there for him on the most important day of his career, when he auditioned for his first television job in Springfield, Illinois, in the fall of 1970.

At the time, the young Charles drove a taxi.

He'd graduated a few months earlier from Columbia College Chicago, where he studied communications and journalism.

Father and son drove the 200 miles to Springfield together, the son in a freshly pressed suit, his soon-to-be signature hair perfect.

After a two-hour audition for WICS, Charles hopped back into the car: "Dad, I think I did pretty good.

The two dined on steak and scotch.

"It was the greatest day.

I felt like we were two men who had bonded.

Two days later, he got the job.

He took a pay cut to enter the television business: $130 a week as a sports anchor, compared to $200 driving a taxi.

Born Nicholas Charles Nickeas, he was told by his news director that his Greek name was too ethnic, to change it to something more "vanilla.

At age 24, Nick Charles was born.

In two weeks, he went from driving a taxi to having his face on the sides of buses.

Less than two years later, Charles took a giant professional leap, replacing a beloved sports anchor in Baltimore.

His boss in Springfield told him, "Nick, you're making a huge mistake.

Charles endured months of angry phone calls from viewers and hostility among staff for replacing a legend.

"It cut deeply.

Yet he persevered.

Soon, he was No.

1 in Baltimore -- and viewers loved him.

Before the world would come to know him, there would be stumbles.

He was canned from a station in Washington in 1979.

He thought about quitting TV altogether.

The man who People magazine would eventually rank among the most handsome in America went into radio.

"I enjoyed the humility."

In January 1980, his life changed forever.

He got a call about a 24-hour news network being formed in Atlanta by Ted Turner.

Charles became the first sports anchor in CNN history.

And it's at CNN where he shined.

In his prime, he teamed up with Fred Hickman on "Sports Tonight.

" The two had chemistry, charisma and dynamism -- a duo of boundless energy.

They beat ESPN in ratings when both upstart networks were battling for every viewer.

Hickman, who grew up in Springfield, had long been a fan of Charles.

"Back when I was a kid," Hickman says, "I remember thinking, 'Nick was the coolest guy ever!'

"We just clicked from the very beginning," Hickman says.

"In television, you always have personality conflicts.

Nick and I never had one.

Nick and I have always had a tremendous relationship.

Viewers tuned in every night to catch the latest sports news.

Topps put Charles' million-dollar smile on a bubble gum card -- rare for a TV personality.

Women swooned.

In airports, it was hard to go unnoticed.

Fans would say: "I love you, Nick Charles! And I hate that guy Chris Berman on ESPN!"

The black-maned, olive-skinned beauty always had a line for them.

"Please don't use that word -- hate.

Berman is a friend.

The feelings were mutual.

"We were competitors but we never felt that way," says Berman.

"I have nothing but good things to say about Nick Charles -- nothing but admiration -- and I'd like him to know that.

Charles' field producer in those early days was Jim Walton, now president of CNN Worldwide.

He and Charles traveled the globe together, eating at cheap food joints and working long hours.

The two were in Tokyo in 1990 when Tyson faced a weak opponent named Buster Douglas.

They didn't plan to do many stories.

Everyone in press row picked the undefeated world champ to win in the first round.

Charles had gone to Tyson's room the night before the fight.

He saw a man who wasn't taking Douglas seriously.

Tyson wanted to get the match over and fly back to the States.

But the unthinkable happened.

Douglas knocked out Tyson in the 10th round.

"We scrambled," says Walton.

Always a lover of literature, Charles told viewers that Douglas "threw the book at him and it made for bad reading," one of his most famous lines.

"It speaks to the uncertainty," Charles now says of the match, "that anybody's cloak of invincibility can be ripped away.

Charles left CNN in 2001 when the network dropped sports.

To this day, he and Hickman remain one of the longest anchor duos paired together in television.

From CNN, Charles moved to Showtime to cover boxing.

Walton says Charles had always been drawn to the sport because "he had to fight for everything he got as a kid growing up.

It's that trait that's helping Charles in his current battle.

"He's handled this like a heavyweight champ," says Hickman.

"If I can do as well living the rest of my life as he is living out the rest of his, then I will consider it a success.

Charles cries when he talks about the strength of boxers.

He knows the sport is barbaric; he readily admits that.

Yet when he looks at the ring, he sees young men like him from the inner city.

Charles, who boxed as a teen, says his upbringing "gave me a love of people who want to make it so bad.

"You're going to get hit.

You have to take pain to get it," he says.

"You have to fight through fear.

On that day in August 2009, when he was first given a death sentence, he promised himself: "There's no way I'm going to wimp out on this.

'Peace came over me'

Oh, happy 9th birthday.

And I hope you're listening to Mommy all the timeAnd I hope you're listening to music you love,Maybe traveling to wonderful places.

It's just such a beautiful worldAnd so many glorious places to explore and just be captivated by.

Charles walks with a limp, part of the side effects of chemo.

His famous hair is now gray, sparse and closely cropped.

He's taken phone calls from Bob Costas, Willard Scott and countless other television stars and athletes.

He likes it even more when he hears from interns, cameramen, producers and fans -- the blue-collar people who always rooted for him.

Not many people, he says, are fortunate enough to attend their own memorial service.

A slow death allows that.

His brother died of a sudden heart attack in 1988 at age 43.

His father died in 1975, his mother in 2003.

He's the last of his immediate family.

He reads the Bible often.

He sprinkles "God bless you" in his conversations.

He says his wife "brought me back to the Lord" in the 1990s.

He's spent these final weeks with those he loves most.

He's picked the music for his memorial service -- Edward Elgar's Sospiri op.

70, with the cello played by Sol Gabetta.

"It lifts my spirits.

Last month, he signed off on television for what is likely the last time after calling a featherweight fight on HBO. "Why am I doing this?" he told viewers.

"To inspire others to do what they love."

"I had a smile on my face all night," he says now. "I was on fire!"

He's talked with counselors and hospice workers about his final week.

It will go something like this: He'll lose his appetite first.

After three days, he'll be unable to swallow and feel like he's drowning.

His liver will stop functioning and other organs will follow.

The cancer will take over completely.

He'll be given morphine to ease the pain. As a Christian, he struggled with that concept.

He wanted to make sure he wasn't committing suicide.

"We're not pulling the plug on you early," he was told.

"We're just keeping you comfortable until the end."

With those words, he says, "Peace came over me."

"I can't believe I feel so good about the last week of my life, but I do.

He hopes his final words will be to that beautiful girl, Giovanna: "I'm going to heaven to prepare a place for you and we're going to be together forever.

Charles has traveled to 70 countries; he has one journey left.

He hopes his first interview when he gets there will be with Jesus, followed by a round-table discussion with Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Mohandas Gandhi and the Rev.

Martin Luther King Jr.

"I'd ask them: What motivated them? What sparked them?"

When that day comes, he says, he'll dance around the ring, his head held high, a smile on his face.

"In the 12th round, somebody is going to raise my hand.

I'm going to be victorious.

"I finally got my life right.

Nicks Tips for Life

Don't get married early
Travel the worl
Have a love of language and literature
Learn to love your own company so you're not needy
Ask yourself where do you want to be tomorrow? What about in 5 years, 10 years?
What do I require in a relationship? What am I capable of giving?
Enjoy little moments and turn them into ecstasy.
Fasten onto the positives of life

Not Talented? NY Times Bill Rhoden Needs to Freshen His Take on Butler Basketball

2011-04-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

Interesting response to why Rhoden thinks Butler lost in the national title. Not Talented? NY Times Bill Rhoden Needs to Freshen His Take on Butler Basketball

Lockout opens new opportunities

2011-03-12T11:25:00.002-05:00

I like the NFL. I like college football, I like high school football, I like Arena Football and I like its disowned relative indoor football.

I suspect I’d like Canadian Football, I probably would watch the United Football League. Because its my job, I am at d3football game practically every weekend.

That’s not to mention every possible form of professional and amateur sports live, in person or on tape-delay. We’ll just go somewhere else.

Maybe, I am in the minority, I suspect I am not the exception. A NFL shutdown doesn’t bother me. It’s not like we don’t have other alternatives.

I don’t want to see it go. The NFL is probably the greatest sports product in the history of mankind.

But, it’s not like we can’t live without it. And maybe the super corporations, that is the NFL owners, and small, one-man operations, the players, don’t understand, or don’t care. I suspect both.

When you go to your favorite restaurant on a packed Friday, you can’t get in. You go somewhere else. Maybe it’s that new place you’ve heard about. Maybe it’s going home to cook. But, do you stop eating, of course not.

We’ll still have plenty of fantasy football in some way or another. Gamblers will still find something to bet on. Us media types will still cover something.

Let’s be real, the adults among us don’t lack options. Maybe this will give us a chance to finally clean the garage, to finish that project.

Maybe even just spend time with our family or friends and we finally invest our time and money in people who really can benefit from it.

..but, I could be wrong.

John Maxwell on Excuses

2011-02-25T12:51:00.003-05:00

... I can do this another time... it's not my fault... at least it's done...
Excuses, we all have them. We all use them some time or another. Doesn't matter what the reason is, it's about taking an easy way out.

It's about not doing your best. It's about expecting someone else to cover for you.

It's about being tired or not having energy.

Leaders don't make excuses, according to John Maxwell. Doesn't mean they don't have excuses, it means they don't use them.

Watch this:

So, you want to be a sportswriter...

2010-09-22T22:43:00.000-04:00

I am sharing this link....

So, you want to be a sportswriter …

Shelby Strother / The Detroit News

The letter was handwritten, more polite than most, and it began: “Sir, I am interested in becoming a sportswriter and would like any suggestions you might offer to help me …”

What are you, nuts?

Hunter S. Thompson, whose doctorate in gonzo shields the fact he once made a living writing about sports, has said, “Sportswriters are a kind of rude and brainwashed subculture of fascist drunks whose only real function is to publicize and sell whatever the sports editor sends them out to cover.”

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2010-07-17T11:31:00.001-04:00

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Try it for yourself

2010-01-11T21:04:00.002-05:00

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GOODBYE SUMMER, - REPOST

2009-08-04T14:29:00.000-04:00

I originally posted this in 2006, just as true now as ever.

I am so not ready for high school football. I love the game. Football truly is the greatest thing to happen to the fall since the hayride. I just hate the first week of the season. It’s the mad dash to get everything finished. The commercials, the audio, everything. It’s like tax season for the tax evader. Okay maybe.

I think I know why it just bugs me. Every August 13, I am hit with a sobering fact. I am not 22 and this cocky, brash, goofy college student matriculating in Huntington County.. I am a brash, goofy, flippant, sometimes ingenious sportscaster. It’s the idea that my misspent youth is slipping further into the cobwebs of my mind. It is pretty dusty there.

August is the last gasp of summer defending its turf. Pack up the shorts and the lemonade, soon it will be hot chocolate and long johns. Can Geritol and Metamucil be that far behind. Speaking of behind, there’s that visit to the doctor in a few years for that one check up… Oh boy. Don’t remind me.

But, there is something great about football in the fall. It’s reminder that you can not only endure the cold and bitter, you can thrive on it. You can dig deep and wrap your arms around it and you can let it define you. It does define you it grabs you. It says with the help of my friends I can get through. It says I am not in it alone… with a little bit of work even the high-tech game of football is simple and understandable in the context of all its parts.

And those parts are like life. You have to have every one of them, you have to have each one in combination together or you’ll get crushed. You’ll lose out. My friend, look at your life, look at its component parts. Are you neglecting anything? Think about it and really answer what am I missing. What can I do to really re-tool and reinvest myself for the rest of my life?

There was a motto from the football coach at my high school, we’ll actually too. The opportunistic Woodlan Warriors operated under the rallying cry of “Make it Happen.” You had to take responsibility. You had to define the moment. You had to make life your own. And there was another saying that coach would say. “Don’t count the days, make the days count. Pretty simple. Fill your moments with hard work and effort and get after it.

So, bring on football. Bring on the fall. I don’t have to love it, but I can enjoy it.

Head first into hypocrisy

2009-07-29T07:24:00.007-04:00

It's been more than twenty years since Pete Rose was banned from baseball. It's obvious he did it. It's obvious his playing career merits inclusion in the Hall of Fame.

Now with a new firestorm of opinion and reports, there is substantial talk that Commissioner Bud Selig is considering welcoming him back.

The Dowd Report and all 200 and some of its pages document evidence of Rose betting -including betting on his own games as a manager. Through bank, telephone, betting records, witness and Rose himself, it's clear he bet on the game.

He admitted to gambling in his book. He agreeded to the terms of the settlement - a lifetime ban from the game. (Rose was granted a concession in which he could apply for reinstatement once a year for as long as he lived.)

Every major and minor league lockerroom has a sign that clearly states Major League baseball's stand on gambling. It's called Rule 21b

Has Rose even admitted shame or apologized? If he was actively showing remorse or getting involved with programs that show a change of character.

There is no question he knew his actions and he knew the risks. Baseball has banned more than 20 players since 1919 for betting on the game.

Baseball has even leveled bans - which were overturned later - for Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays for signing autographs at a casino in 1973, well after their induction to the Hall. There punishment wasn't related to the on-field performance of a team.

I think lifting the ban is a bad idea - but, given Selig's track record, it will probably be yet another disaster he brought about.

Re-instating Rose is a horrible precident. What do you do with the players like Shoeless Joe Jackson who should be in the Hall based on his numbers. His involvement with gambling is much less dubious then Rose.

How do you apologize to him? How do you make it right?

Baseball is saying one of it's most sacred - and critical rules doesn't matter.

It also begs the question of steroids. The Barry Bonds (allegedly) Mark McGwire's, the Sammy Sosa's and other players who had stellar careers and were artificially aided. I might add while most of baseball was aware of it and chose to ignore it.

It's very convenient to sweep the integrity issue under the rug, saying it's about numbers and the results. Sports aren't intended to be a moral showcase. No doubt it isn't.

But the game is played with a standard, with rules, with courtesy and understanding. That's how the game operates. The rubrick calls for three strikes, three outs, nine-innings.

The rule also states betting on baseball is grounds for a lifetime ban. There can be no compromise on this rule. That's why its not called professional wrestling.

Baseball has to take the high road. A task that I don't believe it has the fortitude or ability to do.

Here's my suggestion: Put Rose in a seperate display at the Hall of Fame. His records, his accomplishments all the great things he did as a player and maybe the one or two good things he did as a manager. Also present his gambling problem. If he's overcome it document that. Be sure to include the other players who were banned and make a case for why integrity has to matter to the fans. How baseball in 1919 had to make a statement to protect its authenticity.

Perhaps shed light on the problem of gambling and the web of problems it creates and the lives broken. It's not to humliate Rose, but provide a fair tribute to his career, while clearly making its case about gambling.

We can forgive Rose and other players who did worse things. Even one of us needs a fresh opportunity and grace. We can't ignore the problems, but we can build on them...and sometimes the best thing that can happen to us, is a bad thing.

Dean Jackson | Create Your Badge

One man's trash, another man's treasure.

2009-07-25T21:13:00.006-04:00

Every one has a story. A stuffed animal once loved by a boy or a girl. A dog earred comic book helping to pass the time. I spent the better part of two hours this afternoon at a local antique store. I didn't really plan to go into the store but the window displays of old furniture, a 1930s telephone and a radio lured me inside.

As I strolled through the aisles, I was flooded with memories. A table that looked like the one mom had from grandma. A Pillsbury doughboy doll like the one I had as a kid. An ocassional Fisher-Price playset. Old magazines, LPs, cassettes... seems like forever since we used them.

I couldn't help wonder the stories these artifacts would tell. The birthday present, the anniversary gift, maybe a doodad from a vacation.

Then I had to stop, a recent funeral and upcoming family reunion and a new baby all combine to challenge me to consider what memories am I making. What am I doing to leave legacy to friends and family.

I believe memories are what keep us churning ahead in the tough moments. Those mental monuments that make us stop and reflect on a lesson and a lifestyle.

Proverbs 10:7 says The memory of the righteous will be a blessing. Are you creating blessings for those around you?

Is the AFL's timeout the end?

2008-12-16T11:17:00.002-05:00

Reprinted from OurSportsCentral, December 15, 2008
by Dean Jackson

It seemed to happen so quickly, but it really didn't. Like most things, the collapse of the Arena Football League wasn't all that sudden. It was the result of a long set of choices, or lack of action.
I suppose we should have seen it coming. In the late 1990's came the AFL's version of the players union, eventually came expansion and partnership with NFL owners.

There was even a time when the rumor was the NFL was going to make the AFL its minor league. Some speculated the Arena League would take on an NFL trademark.

Maybe Arena Football started believing its press releases. Maybe "rock-n-roll" football thought in order to be another major league sport, it had to spend like a major league sport. Lots of ink, lots of B-roll, but at the end of the day, very little to back it up.

We've all read about franchise values increasing from $500 thousand to $10, $12 or $15 million. We saw the sticker, but did we kick the tires?

There are great players. I am interested to see what trickles down to the indoor leagues. I am told af2 teams have been forbidden from signing AFL guys, but we'll see. I believe most of these guys, or at least a good number simply want to play ball and will do so for $200 a game.

Count me on the side of saying a time-out isn't the answer. Out of sight, out of mind very well could translate into off my radar, forever.

I hope I am wrong about the AFL's future. I really hope you can say to me at this time next year, "You were wrong."

At least if you are playing, you still are in the hearts and minds of your fans and sponsors. Give them something to hold their attention while you worked things out. Instead, this says we aren't willing to consider the potential financial loss of 2009 as an investment. Things are so bad we'll call a do-over. We can't salvage what we have. Let's reheat it in 2010 and serve it up as a new menu item.

Is that a good signal to send to fans? Do you feel comfortable slapping down $500, $1000 for season tickets for that?

When the big four major leagues had their labor strikes, they had a solid fan base built over decades. While fans were soured, they did come back. I don't think Arena Football can afford to do that to its fans. Just a quick look at their television ratings on ESPN, and there isn't a lot to lose.

If there was a fan base, that is outside the venue, we'd still be watching games on over-the-air NBC.

There are tons of choices and little extra revenue to share. I can't see it coming back to AFL pockets.

There are a few franchises I can see folding.

It's a gamble that Arena Football can't afford to take... but I could be wrong. I hope I am.

Dean Jackson has broadcast Arena and indoor football and hosted the popular "Under the Roof," a weekly podcast devoted to indoor and Arena football on OurSports Central from 2005 to 2007.

by Dean Jackson
December 15, 2008 - Arena Football League (AFL)

It seemed to happen so quickly, but it really didn't. Like most things, the collapse of the Arena Football League wasn't all that sudden. It was the result of a long set of choices, or lack of action.
I suppose we should have seen it coming. In the late 1990's came the AFL's version of the players union, eventually came expansion and partnership with NFL owners.

There was even a time when the rumor was the NFL was going to make the AFL its minor league. Some speculated the Arena League would take on an NFL trademark.

Maybe Arena Football started believing its press releases. Maybe "rock-n-roll" football thought in order to be another major league sport, it had to spend like a major league sport. Lots of ink, lots of B-roll, but at the end of the day, very little to back it up.

We've all read about franchise values increasing from $500 thousand to $10, $12 or $15 million. We saw the sticker, but did we kick the tires?

There are great players. I am interested to see what trickles down to the indoor leagues. I am told af2 teams have been forbidden from signing AFL guys, but we'll see. I believe most of these guys, or at least a good number simply want to play ball and will do so for $200 a game.

Count me on the side of saying a time-out isn't the answer. Out of sight, out of mind very well could translate into off my radar, forever.

I hope I am wrong about the AFL's future. I really hope you can say to me at this time next year, "You were wrong."

At least if you are playing, you still are in the hearts and minds of your fans and sponsors. Give them something to hold their attention while you worked things out. Instead, this says we aren't willing to consider the potential financial loss of 2009 as an investment. Things are so bad we'll call a do-over. We can't salvage what we have. Let's reheat it in 2010 and serve it up as a new menu item.

Is that a good signal to send to fans? Do you feel comfortable slapping down $500, $1000 for season tickets for that?

When the big four major leagues had their labor strikes, they had a solid fan base built over decades. While fans were soured, they did come back. I don't think Arena Football can afford to do that to its fans. Just a quick look at their television ratings on ESPN, and there isn't a lot to lose.

If there was a fan base, that is outside the venue, we'd still be watching games on over-the-air NBC.

There are tons of choices and little extra revenue to share. I can't see it coming back to AFL pockets.

There are a few franchises I can see folding.

It's a gamble that Arena Football can't afford to take... but I could be wrong. I hope I am.

Dean Jackson has broadcast Arena and indoor football and hosted the popular "Under the Roof," a weekly podcast devoted to indoor and Arena football on OurSports Central from 2005 to 2007.

2008-10-16T08:45:00.002-04:00

When the Phillies defeated Los Angeles last night, it made me stop and think back to a younger time for me. Another time when the Phils were playing in a World Series.

It was the first time I really dug into baseball. I mean really cared. The year was 1980. It was a hard fought National League Division series with a highly favored Houston Astro team, if I remember right. (I still see Jose Cruz crying after the loss in the dugout.) It was Mike Schmidt who blasted homers 48 of them or something while playing pretty strong at the hot corner.

I was all of 12 years old, a sixth grader at Harlan Elementary School. Ronald Reagan was charming a nation of voters wanting change. It was a trip to Chicago’s Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry. It was Roger Staubach ending his scrambling in Dallas. (It was me worrying about what would happen to America's Team)

It was Philadelphia, it was Kansas City. It was two of baseball’s marquee superstars: Pete Rose and Kansas City’s George Brett. And, in the benefit of discretion, Brett’s publicized medical condition. But...I digress. (Pun intended) Let’s not forget that wonderfully crazy centerfield waterfall at what was called Royals Stadium.

It was the Bull – Greg Lusinski – lumbering in left field. It was Steve Carlton winning 24 games. It was a Tug McGraw, his antics and positive attitude had a national thinking – we gotta believe.

That was 28 years ago. That’s the thing about sports, there’s always another story, the latest greatest next thing. It’s another reminder that your time on top of the mountain will be short. A not so sweet lesson of life, this too will pass.
Pete Ross was (is?) destined for the Hall of Fame. Ronald Reagan moved us from a national “depression”, recession and stood up to Soviet aggression.

Tug McGraw moved from being a baseball player to being the dad of music icon Tim McGraw and cancer victim.

Brett and Schmidt are etched into displays at their respective halls of fame. Luzinski – just a name connected to a couple World Series champions.

Staubach gave way to Danny White, then Troy Aikman and any number of other quarterbacks since.

And me, a 40-year old writer-broadcaster-publicist that’s left wondering how did I get this old so soon

Kicking the Crutches

2008-07-30T16:17:00.003-04:00

Last winter I broke my knee ice skating. (Yes, I'll go ice skating again.) It's one of those moments that I can use to show off wounds for years. There's a nice scar about 4 to 6 inches that stretches over my left knee. Ask me I'll show you sometime.

For about 6 to 8 weeks I had to use crutches to get around. I hated it. It was pretty hard to be immobile, but I got through it. Here are some observations I gathered during that time.

While I'm referencing literal crutches, I want you to look at the things you may be using as crutches in your life. Friends, relationships, alcohol, your job -- whatever.

Crutches are temporary: You really aren't meant to be using them for very long. You have to focus on getting off them.

You aren't really walking:You are hobbling, you are just one step better than crawling.

Keep you safe:When you are on crutches you move slowly, constantly cautious about where you are stepping. You really aren't concentrating on anything but not tripping.

Crutches don't promote growth:You can't build muscle or strength if you aren't using your own legs. When you are leaning on something you aren't getting better.

They frustrate you:You know you can do better and its a test of patience.

Keep you dependent:You tend to trust your tools then who you are. You aren't challenged.

Flimsy:They don't really provide much support if you really needed it.

That's What Love is

2008-07-23T09:30:00.003-04:00

I heard this song on the radio this morning. I don't know what's going on in your heart, I don't know what's happening with your "Love"...but I thought you might appreciate this...

THAT'S WHAT LOVE IS
By David Phelps
It’s the only thing worth life and death
It’s the first moment and the final breath
It’s a broken heart keeping a solemn vow
And a lost soul being found
You pray for faith when it’s hard to believe
You choose to stay when it’s easy to leave
And when hope is gone you’re the one who keeps holding on

That’s what love is
When you give until there’s nothing left
And it makes you give the very best
That’s what love is
It can make you laugh and make you cry
It can let you down and lift you up so high
When you find the only reason left to live
That’s what love is

It’s the dream you give up for someone else
It’s being strong when you’re weak yourself
Though it tears you up you trust again
Hatred loses and forgiveness wins
You turn your cheek when you want to fight
Sell all you have and lay down your life
And when hope is gone you’re the one who keeps holding on

It’s reaching out and holding on so someone else will know
Love is in the not letting go

The Problem of Pain

2008-07-20T22:45:00.004-04:00

So much off my life is about impatience. I hate to wait for things to happen. I like the quick fix and I like to make things happen. Right or wrong, I love to do it by the seat of my pants.

I’m about getting on the fast-track for a job (which I never have able to do), or having the right contact or taking one more assignment.

Most of you know I am going through a deep heartbreak and it cuts to the center of my soul.

Yesterday I as I was ambling through the streets of Chicago I was struck with an interesting nugget of truth. The problem of pain, isn’t pain its self. It’s how we seek to avoid it.

I am not talking about head aches or the hurt of a broken knee cap after an ice-skating mishap. (Yes, my knee is back to almost 100 percent. I am not running or jogging, but I didn’t do it that much before.) I am talking about the hard lessons of life. Losing a job, healing a broken heart, the death of a loved one or even hard, labor-intensive work – they all have something wrapped inside them that we have to go through to understand and grow from.

This description lacks biological depth but, It’s when a butterfly is in a cocoon – the butterfly has to fight its way out to be beautiful, other wise it would still be a caterpillar.

Twenty years ago in college – a close friend and staff member told me something very hard to swallow. But, yesterday I think I finally grabbed hold it. He said, “Dean, you typically avoid doing the hard-things.”

Yesterday somewhere between the Borders across from the Water Tower and the Chicago River I found it.

Every hardship usually has a lesson that we have to learn in the midst of it. It usually has a lesson about me that means I have to dig in and crawl through. It means I have to look myself straight in the eye and see myself. I have to take responsibility and I have to embrace the pain, before I get the lesson.

It’s kinda like this, up till recently, when I was bored – I would grab something to eat. Not that I was hungry, I wanted to be busy. I didn’t like being inactive. Other times, I’d get on the phone to talk to a friend rather than just be quiet and think… still other times, I’d jump online and surf the internet.

Nothing wrong with any of these activities, but they are often just spinning our wheels when we should be listening to ourselves think.

We seek to avoid discomfort. Actually, that’s WHAT we should be seeking. Something about pain and the unpleasant that makes us be honest, forces us to our knees to find an answer.

That’s why some people look to drugs and alcohol. Others in relationships – any relationship – or maybe it’s a new job. Change of scenery or personnel always gives you something to hope for rather than look inside. It could be a hobby. Just something to get our minds distracted.

Here’s my deep thought of the day. Pain hurts! But, it can heal us. You don’t have to like trouble, but you do have to go through it – eventually.

A wise friend of mine, used to tell me “you can’t outrun your problems.” You can’t. Those issues say more about who we are, why we are, and why we are were we are. Our issues aren’t built by situations, they are revealed by them.

I am a huge student of history and military conflict. So often when a major battle was underway, what did a solider do? He’d settle in for the long haul. Win or lose, they knew they would not be moved. In World War II and in other conflicts, they’d dig a fox hole.

In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace implored his men to fight and defend their lands. Even to the point of death they understood that it wasn’t about the fight, it was about the future of a free Scotland.

This is also about your own victory – It may not be quick, it may not be easy, but I believe you’ll be better for going through it and understanding why.

Here’s your shovel, let’s dig in.

Luckiest Man: Lou Gehrig retires on this date

2008-07-04T00:00:00.005-04:00

This is a repost of a blog entry created July 4, 2008.

Sixty nine years ago today, Lou Gehrig said goodbye to baseball. Stricken with the early stages of ALS, Gehrig takes to the field at Yankee Stadium one last time. As you know, a great ballplayer who was part of those dynastic New York Yankees teams in the 1920s and 1930s.

Here's a tribute to him and the value of facing your adversity with a positive, conquering attitude.

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

I have been to ballparks for seventeen years and I have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day?

Sure I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t have considered it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins?

Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy?

Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat and vice versa, sends you a gift, that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in the white coats remember you with trophies, that’s something.

When you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body, it's a blessing.

When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that's the finest I know.

So I close by saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an an awful lot to live for. Thank you."

Gehrig's Obituary

Only death could stop him

Below is the heft of the original obituary. Though Gehrig's death was grieved by many, the event was (as Gehrig's luck tended to go) overshadowed by a bigger international event - Kaiser Wilhelm, despised German emperor that played a key role in World War I, died the same day.

Printed in New York Times, June 3, 1941:

Gehrig, "Iron Man" Of Baseball, Dies at the Age of 37

Rare Disease Forced Famous Batter to Retire in 1939 - Played 2,130 Games in a Row

Set Many Hitting Marks

Native of New York, He Became Star of Yankees - Idol of Fans Throughout Nation

Lou Gehrig, former first baseman of the New York Yankees and one of the outstanding batsmen baseball has known, died at his home, 5204 Delafield Avenue, in the [Riverdale] section of the Bronx, last night. Death came to the erstwhile "Iron Man" at 10:10 o'clock. He would have been 38 years old on June 19.

Regarded by some observers as the greatest player ever to grace the diamond, Gehrig, after playing in 2,130 consecutive championship contests, was forced to end his career in 1939 when an ailment that had been hindering his efforts was diagnosed as a form of paralysis.

The disease was chronic, and for the last month Gehrig, had been confined to his home. He lost weight steadily during the final weeks and was reported twenty-five pounds under weight shortly before he died.

Member of Parole Board

Until his illness became more serious Gehrig went to his office regularly to perform his duties as a member of the New York City Parole Commission, a post he had held for a year and a half following his retirement from baseball. Ever hopeful that he would be able to conquer the rare disease - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a hardening of the spinal cord - although the ailment was considered incurable by many, Gehrig stopped going to his desk about a month ago to conserve his strength.

Two weeks ago he was confined to his bed, and from that time until his death, his condition grew steadily worse. He was conscious until just before the end. At the bedside when he died were his wife, the former Eleanor Twitchell of Chicago; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gehrig; his wife's mother, Mrs. Nellie Twitchell, and Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn.

It was said last night that funeral services would be private and would be held tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock in the Christ Episcopal Church in Riverdale. The Rev. Gerald V. Barry will officiate.

The body was taken this morning to the E. Willis Scott Funeral Parlor at 4 West Seventy-sixth Street.

Record Spanned Fifteen Years

When Gehrig stepped into the batter's box as a pinch hitter for the Yankees on June 1, 1925, he started a record that many believe will never be equaled in baseball. From that day on he never missed a championship game until April 30, 1939 - fifteen seasons of Yankee box scores with the name of Gehrig always in the line-up. He announced on May 2, 1939, that he would not play that day, and thus his streak came to an end.

But as brilliant as was his career, Lou will be remembered for more than his endurance record. He was a superb batter in his heyday and a prodigious clouter of home runs. The record book is liberally strewn with his feats at the plate.

From Meet the Press to Meet Jesus

2008-06-13T23:03:00.000-04:00

This is a post I just finished reading from my friend and former co-worker Dave Macy. Regardless of your theology leanings (if at all), Dave brings it home. We all will face death.

I am not trying to be flippant with that title..just real. I liked Tim Russert, and his sudden death was shocking to me on a personal level for more than a few reasons.

I will be 58 on July 12th. Tim was 58. I spent 30 years in radio broadcasting and journalism but obviously did not reach the pinnacle of a broadcasting career like Tim did. But anyone in the biz would consider him a colleague. Tim was a Catholic-- I grew up Catholic, and it was in 1997 that I was born again. I know some people will raise an eyebrow and say "you're one of those born agains", but Jesus said unless one is born again he will not see the Kingdom of Heaven.

Was Tim Russert conservative or liberal? Who cares-- he was a fine interviewer and cared more about the truth from those he probed than most journalists. He became the standard in a town (DC) where most notable figures have no standards. He will be missed. Is he irreplacable? NO. But his death --any death-- affects us all. The immortal bard John Donne said it best: "No man is an island...each is a piece of the continent, a part of the whole. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.

Dave Macy is a former radio broadcaster and the founder of Doubt Free Living. To find out more visit www.doubtfreeliving.com

A NEW JOB DESCRIPTION

2007-06-25T21:09:00.000-04:00

It was just lunch. A few bites of fried chicken and mashed potatoes, a quick getaway from the world of work.

My best girl (my fiancée) got up to leave, that’s when Millie, a philosopher in an apron, approached.

Millie was a worker at the joint, my girl an intern at a local mental health organization. She’s putting the final touches on her internship. God willing and the creek don’t raise, she’ll have “Dr.” at the front of her name, and “PhD” on the tailgate.

In her job, she deals with the hardcore psychological issues. You name it and she’s probably dealt with it. And she loves it, well most of the time. Not the problems, but the people she sees. All in all, it’s common folk with complex problems trying to get through.

It’s no secret that psychologists are some of the most overworked and overstressed souls anywhere.

Thursday was one of those days when her dream job wasn’t living up to the advance hype.

Let’s backtrack to Millie. A grandmotherly woman, barely five foot tall, but with a lifetime of experience and a heart of compassion.

“Heading back to work?” she quizzed.

The conversation deepened when my girl volunteered information about her job. Millie lit up, and smiled. She told her how in her younger years she worked at the center, when it was a state-run hospital.

She smiled again and offered, “You are doing God’s work.” The two talked a bit more, just before my girl turned to the door. Millie hugged her.

“You come back and see me,” she smiled.

Within minutes she called me. Hundreds of miles away doing a ball game, my girl, wanted to tell me of a God moment. An instant when it made sense. When the tumblers of experience met the lock of reason and a door sprung open.

“It’s not my co-workers, its not the system, its not state regulations. It’s the people and its God that I work for.”

Suddenly my girl’s attitude changed. Her life had an eternal perspective. Things done for others and the things I do in the name of God will last.

I want to encourage you. It’s not the money. It’s not the fame. It’s not the praise of men that makes your job valuable. It’s the fact its what you’ve been entrusted by God to do. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t get worried about whether you get the credit. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Stay faithful. Do your best and give others your best.

Doctor or janitor… Lawyer or Taxi Driver… sportscaster or psychologist. It’s your job given by God for you to do. At least until he finds you faithful and moves you to another… and don’t get caught up in the significance.

God says work has value. Work has dignity. Whatever your hand finds you to do, do it with all your heart.

Col 3:17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus. New Living Translation

ASKING GARY

2007-03-04T21:22:00.000-05:00

FORT WAYNE, Ind., - I don’t know if I’ve ever been as nervous as I was that morning. A few weeks before I wrote a letter to Jennifer’s “Daddee” asking him if I could have his blessing and marry his daughter.

You see Gary Long is a southern gentleman. He is solid, sometimes stoic, but always devoted to his daughter and doing the right thing. A throwback to a time when a man was a man, and bound and determined to do what he said he would do. That’s Gary Long.

In the south, don’t you dare mess with a man’s family, and surely not his daughter. When I picked up the phone, I knew this was it. The phone rang, rang a few more times, I thought I would get a reprieve until I could muster more confidence.

Then he answered and I gulped. I don’t think he heard but I did. Just like that time I was called to the principal’s office. I don’t even think it was this bad that first time on television when I looked like stunned deer staring in red light of the camera.

Not sure what to say, I introduced myself, trying to buy sometime. This was it. Gary didn’t need me to tell him who I was. I don’t know what exactly I said, but, it was some mumbling about did he get the letter… he wasted no time saying, yes and explained that he was always concerned about who would be there for his daughter when he was gone.

I think I heard his voice change, he then said, “I don’t have to worry about that with you.”

For the next few minutes he talked about stuff, including that I might need to consider ministry, and he was sure that I was going to be on ESPN, if I didn’t and had no doubts about my future success. (I don’t know who my mother in heaven convinced to have him ponder my future in the ministry. Laugh. Thanks Mom. You are still doing what you do best.)

Long story short, Gary said yes. I’ll be marrying Jenn before the end of the year. Now, I just have to live up to the expectations, that’s a dilemma.

"She's Everything" by Brad Paisley

She's a yellow pair of running shoes
A holey pair of jeans
She looks great in cheap sunglasses
She looks great in anything
She's I want a piece of chocolate
Take me to a movie
She's I can't find a thing to wear
Now and then she's moody

She's a Saturn with a sunroof
With her brown hair a-blowing
She's a soft place to land
And a good feeling knowing
She's a warm conversation
That I wouldn't miss for nothing
She's a fighter when she's mad
And she's a lover when she's loving

[Chorus]
And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
I talk about her, I go on and on and on
'Cause she's everything to me

She's a Saturday out on the town
And a church girl on Sunday
She's a cross around her neck
And a cuss word 'cause its Monday
She's a bubble bath and candles
Baby come and kiss me
She's a one glass of wine
And she's feeling kinda tipsy

She's the giver I wish I could be
And the stealer of the covers
She's a picture in my wallet
Of my unborn children's mother
She's the hand that I'm holding
When I'm on my knees and praying
She's the answer to my prayer
And she's the song that I'm playing

[Repeat chorus]

She's the voice I love to hear
Someday when I'm ninety
She's that wooden rocking chair
I want rocking right beside me
Everyday that passes
I only love her more
Yeah, she's the one
That I'd lay down my own life for

And she's everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
She's everything to me
Yeah she's everything to me

Everything I ever wanted
And everything I need
She's everything to me

This isn't really how I proposed.

Some thoughts on Life from Roy Williams

2006-12-25T16:50:00.000-05:00

From time to time I find some thoughts from friends and email, here's one of those emails. This one from Roy Williams, he's the author of the "Wizard of Ads" and other advertising strategies. He's also the founder of the Wizard Academy. Check it out at www.wizardacademy.com

It's Always Okay To Begin Again

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul." – G.K. Chesterton

Pay Attention to the Little Things

"It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living." – Terry Pratchett

"No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently." – Agnes De Mille

Know What You Want

"I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can't find anybody who can tell me what they want." – Mark Twain

Don't Think You Know It All

"The more we live by our intellect, the less we understand the meaning of life." – Leo Tolstoy

"And he goes through life, his mouth open, and his mind closed." – Oscar Wilde

Don't Be A Couch Potato

"Literacy is a very hard skill to acquire, and once acquired it brings endless heartache – for the more you read, the more you learn of life's intimidating complexity of confusion. But anyone who can learn to grunt is bright enough to watch TV… which teaches that life is simple, and happy endings come to those whose hearts are in the right place." – Spider Robinson

"If I show up at your house 10 years from now, and find nothing in your living room but Reader's Digests, nothing in your bedroom but the latest Dan Brown novel… I will chase you down to the end of your driveway and back shouting 'Where are the damn books?… Why are you living the mental equivalent of a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese life?'" - Stephen King, to the 2005 graduating class of the University of Maine

You're Going To Have Some Bad Days

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful." – Annette Funicello

"Life is like a train. It's bearing down on you and guess what? It's going to hit you. So you can either start running when it's far off in the distance, or you can pull up a chair, crack open a beer, and just watch it come." – Eric Forman, on That 70s Show

"My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened." – Montaigne

Have Courage

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure." – Helen Keller

"Those of us who refuse to risk and grow get swallowed up by life." – Patty Hansen

Love Your Job

"Work is about a search for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying." – Studs Terkel

Don't Forget to Have Fun"Do not take life too seriously – you will never get out of it alive." – Elbert Hubbard

"Life is truly a ride. We're all strapped in and no one can stop it…. I think that the most you can hope for at the end of life is that your hair's messed, you're out of breath, and you didn't throw up." – Jerry Seinfeld

"Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature." – Tom Robbins, Still Life With Woodpecker

"Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin." – Grace Hansen

Remember the People Who Are Important to You

"There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved." – George Sand

"When you grow up, you have to give yourself away. Sometimes you give your life all in a moment, but mostly you have to give yourself away laboring one minute at a time." – Gaborn Val Orden"I was fourteen years old the night my daddy died. He had holes in his shoes and a vision that he was able to convey to me even lying in an ambulance, dying, that I as a black girl could do and be anything, that race and gender are shadows, and that character, determination, attitude are the substances of life." – Marian Wright Edelman

Today Is The First Day of The Rest of Your Life"Life is a journey, and with every step we reach a point of no return." – Gaborn Val Orden

"Many adventures await you upon the road of life. Enter these doors, and take your first step…" – from a placard above The Horn and Hound Pub

Roy H. Williams

"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset." - Crowfoot, (1811-1890) a Native American warrior of the Blackfoot tribe.

A NIGHT FOR NOSTALGIA

2006-09-17T17:17:00.000-04:00

The Home stands at Lawrence Central's Bruce Field

With Mark Herrmann in the pre-game.

Click to listen to audio

LAWRENCE – Maybe its me, probably is, but Lawrence Central’s Bruce Field doesn’t seem as big as it did some 25 years ago.

Friday night I went back to where all began - My sojourn into sports media. An event so much bigger than life, that it caused me to alter it. The 1981 IHSAA Class 1A state Championships.

I was an old man 13 years that frigid November night in 1981. Over there on the western sidelines, just to the right, no just about there, I sat huddled under plastic against the negative wind-chills, layered in winter clothing.

That night, my high school, Woodlan battled Hamilton Southeastern for the Class 1A title. The Warriors and Royals, an up and coming Indianapolis suburb against rural eastern Allen County that John Mellencamp may have been thinking of when he wrote his ballad“Small Town”

You see Woodlan was the type school that might have inspired John Mellencamp’s ballad “Small Town”. And to the Warriors they didn’t know they weren’t supposed to be good enough to be there. Mixing it all together a coach, Leland Etzler, who was a one-part common sense philosopher and one part football genius who just mixed the ingredients together to as Woodlan weaved together improbable wins over Tippecanoe Valley, Adams Central and North Judson.

It continued for a while, Barry Ehle, who’s now coaching at Woodlan, returned a punt for a touchdown.

There was the questionable placement of a intercepted pass in the endzone. Something about bringing the ball out of the endzone. The old timers still talk about it sometimes.

After battling for more than 44 minutes, normally accurate kicker, Matt Hirsch lined up and then in a moment frozen in time, the kick faded to the right. The kick would have gave Woodlan a 9-7 lead. It never happened. Woodlan lost 7-6 to Hamilton Southeastern.

NO, The game didn’t turn out like we thought it was going to be.

What did turn out, a young man, that was me come face to face with how sports can change your attitude, can give you a passion and give you a mission.

There was something magical. A special something that grabbed the attention of a community and a young man… Two weeks in November that exposed me and others like me to something bigger than I could ever dream.

An interesting note, during the broadcast I was teamed up with Mark Herrmann, the Carmel, Purdue and NFL quarterback. Then later Mark and I visited with Don Fisher, the now legendary voice of Indiana University sports. Both childhood heros of mine.

What a night, what a dream and what a great thing that sports can do to a man and his life.

Brotherly Love

2006-09-10T21:11:00.000-04:00

Family Feud - Manning brothers do battle in Sunday night football

Manning vs. Manning Peyton faces Eli at Giants Stadium. I know exactly what they are feeling. Well, at least I think I do. There is nothing like playing -- and beating your brothers. Dale and Duane are six and seven years older than me. Great at about every sport they try. At least able to make their presence known. I made it known too, but in a bad way. I couldn't stop a ball from rolling up hill. Nonetheless I'd still battle against them in everything from cards to football, baseball, basketball or whatever. And I'd always lose. ALWAYS. Even with the handicaps they'd attach. I couldn't touch them. I was big enough in grade school to big able to play with my brothers and their high school friends. They'd pass the ball my way. But I wasn't an impact player. I knew it. That was until about 1997 or 1998, I was all of 28 or 29 and I was bound and determined to make this my finest hour. It was church softball, Northpoint vs. North Scipio. Dean vs. Dale and Duane. I wasn't gonna let ANYTHING, and i mean ANYTHING stop me from years and years of frustration. I just had this discussion with my friend Joe, he was an outfield on those Northpoint teams. (Like anything I do a queer mix of competition and sillyness. We were like the Globetrotters of softball.) Joe said I turned it up a notch. I'd push for the extra base. I'd hustle just a little more and my eyes burnt with more fury then before. Well, i dont remember much about the game. I remember winning. I remember drilling a grounder past Duane, a pretty sure handed shortstop for a single maybe even a double. I dont remember the score. I do remember the relief of finally doing it. Not bad for little brother

Football Night in America- my thoughts

2006-09-10T20:56:00.000-04:00

Here you go NBC. Here's your chance to get back in the frey. After losing the NFL a few seasons ago, NBC has a lot to prove, It looks like that are well on their way. Here's what i liked about the first broadcast of Football Night in American and Monday Night Football.
The website is one of the most impressive I've seen. A perfect melding of audio, video, graphics and information complimenting a very aggressive production. Check it out for yourself at www.snfonnbc.com. You really need to get on and check it out, check back frequently.
Be sure you check out www.nbcsports.com too, a great source for NFL information including video pods.

What I like
Bob Costas - simply one of the best ever. He's always on his game and even a bad day is amazing.
Sterling Sharp - very good, understated. Very knowledgable and comes off well.
Al Michaels - like Bob Costas one of the best. There isn't much to say that hasn't already been said.
John Madden - some like him some don't. I think he's great. He loves the game, he's into the game, he's real and he's not bigger than the game. But could easily be.

Great graphics, the overall production was very impressive.

What I don't
Cris Collinsworth - I grew up a Cincinnati Bengals fan. I thought Collinsworth was pretty affable. Now I think he's trying to be clown of the group. His insights are limited, his quips sophomoric and as a former player with a lot so say he fails. Its as if he is trying to be the Terry Bradshaw of this group.

Pink - what a weak intro. Great voice. The song is crap

The name: Football Night in America. C'mon. Clearly a rip of from Hockey Night in Canada. Which its not. It's Sunday night, and its not even close to Monday Night Football and the hype that surrounded it. At least yet.
Not sure:
Jerome Bettis - didn't see enough to make a comment

DEAN JACKSON, TV SPORTSCASTER - Coming to a TV near you

2006-08-31T20:36:00.000-04:00

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 - BROADCAST UPDATE - Well! I survived my first television broadcast. I gotta admit it was a lot of fun and lot more fun then I ever dreamed. After more than a dozen years in radio, it finally happened. Hidden earpieces, directors talking in ear, instant replays, last second production audibles, lots of filling, lots of thinking on my fee, my mug on camera, a couple re-takes, lots of hurry up and wait. I can't wait for my next assignment. Friends who watched were impressed, the crew seemed surprised I'd never done tv.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31 - FRANKFORT, Ind-

Frankfort vs. Crawfordsville, Indiana High School football.

About this time tomorrow night I'll be wrapping up my first true television sports broadcast. Not bad for a guy just about three weeks ago had shaved his head on a whim. We'll its grown back and it should look okay. Give me a couple days and I could be challenging Sampson. It's really funny. I had no tape, and I never sent them a resume. I think I simply emailed. Well, should be fun. Have checked in with everyone from the executive produce to the director, to my color commentator, well both of them, one backed out Tuesday. Right now - one eye is on the tv, one eye is on the game notes and research that i've been studying all week.

The Mouse

2006-08-26T12:05:00.001-04:00

Here's a sappy story about our inter-connectedness with our friends and the network of people around us. I got this from an email, hopefully it will mean something to you.

Mouse Story

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

"What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap-- alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer's wife.

The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.

So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey called life.

We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

REMEMBER: EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON. One of the best things to hold onto in this world is a friend.

GOODBYE SUMMER - repost

2006-08-15T19:51:00.001-04:00

I originally posted this in 2006, just as true now as ever.

So, bring on football. Bring on the fall. I don’t have to love it, but I can enjoy it.

...just did it

2006-08-14T23:51:00.000-04:00

I did it. After a few days of pretty serious consideration, I trimmed it ALL off. I just wanted to do something different. I wanted to just do something for me. Something crazy, but not really out of line… I shaved my head. Yes, I literally did. Within minutes the clippers did the trick and move over Vin Diesel. I don’t know why so much, but other than I had to. I was compelled to. No, not to impress anyone, not some personal statement to voice, I just had to. I can’t explain it. So I did, I love it. Might never have hair again. Risky, nah, there’s always a ball cap. It will always grow back

By the way, I just want everyone to know that with Jim Shovlin, Bobby Petras and myself, we'll be the first all shaven head broadcast team in Fort Wayne sports history. Funny thing is, wasn't planned.

The Day Football died

2006-08-13T07:55:00.000-04:00

HAMILTON, Ind., — Friday was a big day in the history of Hamilton High School. You wouldn’t know it.

August 11, 1986. The day football died in Hamilton. Two decades have passed since the Friday night lights of the football stadium ripped through the Steuben County sky.

One man still remembers.

John Dutton was a thirty-something young man when he got the news. It still feels like a punch to the gut every August. A program he was committed to didn’t have the same dedication from the people who we entrust our children’s education to.

Just days before the season was to start, a group of so-and-sos pulled the plug.

John didn’t put me up to this story. Those of you who know John know that’s not his style. He’s not one to desire controversy or ruffle feathers.

This is all my opinion. Be upset at me.

Though I can’t confirm it, I have been told that the program always paid for itself. Critics say there weren’t enough kids in the school who really wanted to play. But there were enough to field a team.

Funny, you know, that the lessons we teach aren’t really followed. We teach young people that sports build character. That it’s not how you win or lose, but how you play the game. That in the process of playing, something happens to you that makes you bigger and better.

But 20 years ago, a school board told about two dozen kids it wasn’t even worth trying anymore. Football wasn’t important enough to fight for. That there was a price tag connected to the high school experience and the school wasn’t going to pay it. It simply didn’t make sense.

Maybe they were lulled into the great insurance liability thinking. Whatever it was, Hamilton will never be the same.

When practically every other public school within 50 miles of Hamilton are playing pigskin, Hamilton kids went to movies, parties, shopping or just stayed home. Lots of educational opportunities in that, don’t you think?

John’s moved on. He’s not bitter. He’s got his football fix, either as a coach or broadcasting at any number of outlets around northeast Indiana. Or if he’s lucky, he’ll take a trip to see his Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio.

But he still misses it. Like an old love, you never forget those memories, the anniversaries, the songs. The way you were.

I wonder if Hamilton misses it. I wonder if anyone just stops and dares to ask, or if the soldiers of September and October just don’t share their hurt and their memories.

Making friends with a rock

2006-08-01T16:51:00.000-04:00

Sioux Falls, SD - I was just going out for a walk. A little distraction while waiting for a ride to the airport. If you do any type of exercise you need to go 30 or 40 minutes to get any benefit. I didn't really have a course, I just set out on foot and went to it. After about 20 minutes of treking across the parking lot and over to the mall I found them. Two rocks.

I kicked the black one away, (kinda symbolic of a situation I was dealing with. I wantetd to just get right of it for a while. It hurt. It wasn't something I was prepared to deal with.) I kept marching kicking the rock a little more, then finally i just let the stone fly. It felt good. It was like saying so long problems because I was walking away. About 10 minutes later I backtracked on the same route. I went over and looked at the rock, picked it up. Of course as you remember it had a white color to it and the gold on the sides. I put it in my pocket. Then I walked over to the other rock, you remember the black one. What happened next stunned me. The black rock was situated next to a little pebble, very close to the pebble. The pebble had its own unique texture and look, but it was the black stone that made me stop. I picked it up. I saw little specks of white on the black rock. Like they were woven into it.

Still curious, I pulled the white rock out of my pocket. I rubbed the black and white stone together. Wouldn't you know. Those same whitish marks came from the rubbing of the white and golden stone on the black rock. I kept rubbing more and more of the dark scuffed away. But something also happened to the lighter rock. It became smoother. The parts that rubbed off on the black rock were smoothed off. The Black rock also had its smooth parts.

I almost cried. I realized this was an object lesson about a friendship with a person who was struggling. A person who needed a friend, a confidant and I needed to be involved with them. That I couldn't check out or quit.

Here's the moral of the story. Our friends need us in their trials and struggles and when we get involved we leave a mark on them and we make their paths smoother. But, the other point, we need them. We need to help and be invested in helping in the lives of our friends. Its in the tough times, the rubbing of adversity that you connect in the lifes of others...and in the the connecting you are molded and your life is smoothed out as well.

Know your limits. Know what is safe for you. But, don't run from your friends in times of need. Stand your ground on what you know is right, but don't withhold yourself from your friends.

I can't wait to tell this story.

Football time

2006-08-01T13:16:00.000-04:00

For those of us who’s world revolves around football, this is the greatest time of the year. It’s just like those days that build up to Christmas or a birthday or a vacation.

The term “two-day” conjures up all type of mystical things. When young men are honed over coals of the August sun and shaped into one team. It’s an object lesson where the sweat and tears of pain and exhaustion symbolize the weakness that is escaping the body.

It’s a man and whistle screaming out orders, as if he were building soliders, not just student-athletes who are playing for fun.

It’s this type of environment that has many a young men comparing military service to playing football. It’s this type of thinking that had General Douglas MacArthur,saying “On the field of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days and other fields will bear the fruits of victory.”

No other sport is so connected to the entire the team. No other sport is connected to hard work and being physical. No other sport its about the mental game. No other sport can you have finesse and power and strategy all wrapped up in one.

That’s why we love football so much. That’s why we have guys living the dream in semi-pro football leagues into their forties. That’s why we watch indoor and Arena football. There are now nearly 100 teams across that play inside of arena. Its why we have about two dozen bowl games, its why the NFL draft weekend is a party. We love football.

And that’s why, I am ready for some football.

TOUR DE FARCE

2006-07-26T13:12:00.000-04:00

We did it again. Well, I mean an American did it, again. Floyd Landis made it happen and for the eighth straight year, an American is the toast of Paris. Not bad for a guy who everyone counted out just a few days before. Media said he lacked heart, lacked style. He doesn’t lack the Yellow shirt now.

My only point is this. Once Lance won it and stepped away, by and large, American’s stopped caring. I know I did.

In fact, I am not sure I even cared when Armstrong was building his dynasty. I know one thing; he put the sport on the front pages. This year I really didn’t know until it was over.

Congrats on the win, but know one really cares. Now where can I find those America’s Cup results? (When’s the last time you heard anything about Yachting greatest event. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ same here.)

Back to the grind stone.

2006-07-25T12:42:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in any new information. It's been a very busy month of July with major projects for Playmaker Productions every weekend. I promise I'll have some new things posted this week. Thanks for the e-mails and the notes of encouragement. Unfortunately none have included donations. (Just kidding.) From Terre Haute, Indiana to Port Huron, Michigan to
Sioux Falls, South Dakota and back, its been a crazy time of travel for high school all-star games to indoor football and more.

Remembering Randy Walker

2006-06-30T18:23:00.000-04:00

For seven seasons Randy Walker had been quietly establishing Northwestern University football into a solid and consistent program in the Big Ten.
(photo courtesy Northwestern University Sports Information)

An apparent heart-attack ripped his life and season number eight away Thursday night.

At 52-years old, he leaves behind his wife, two children, three bowl appearances at Northwestern and thousands of lives touched as a coach and friend.

As I reflect on the sad and sudden news, I can't help but be reminded by the simple truth. We all will have the same destiny. We all will lose our lives. Some of us choose to live life, some choose to endure it, some don't even have a clue.

I don't know if Randy was prepared for his death, I suspect he was. Coaches are the types who prepare for everything. I stop and wonder about my own immortality. I wonder about the goals I've reached, the lives I've impacted. It's pretty scary. I am not sure I like the few answers I find.

I do know this. We have a choice to give or keep. We have a choice to be couragous or frightened. To protect ourselves, or to pour ourselves into things that make others better, that change lives and change the world.

Some say Randy Walker lost his life. I say no, he gave his life. So he never lost it, he invested it in something bigger then himself.

Recently a unheralded movie hit the big screen - End of the Spear. It's the story of Christian missionaries who literally gave their life to invest in men, women and children of a brutal native tribe in the jungles of the Amazon in Ecuador. One of the men who was killed, Jim Elliott penned a quote years before:

"He is no fool that gives up what he can not keep,

to gain what he can never lose."

Randy Walker literally gave up his heart and life for the game of football and for the men who played it.
Read more about Randy Walker

Off the Ice

2006-06-22T09:05:00.000-04:00

Here's a story of my friends Guy and Nicole Dupuis and their miracle baby from the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.

Cherishing the gift
Prayer sustained Komets defenseman and his wife in an off-ice challenge
By Blake Sebring bsebring@news-sentinel.com
Guy and Nicole Dupuis believe sometimes God reaches down to tap them on the shoulder. Sometimes it’s to remind them of something. Other times it’s to get their attention, and once in a while it’s just to let them know God is there.
They’ve had quite a few taps lately, and luckily, they’ve known exactly what each one meant. The Komets defenseman and his wife used their faith to provide stability and strength during a very trying challenge late in the season.
When Nicole was six months pregnant with their third child, she started carrying extra amniotic fluid and having pre-term labor problems. On Feb. 7 the doctor reported several troubling areas in the ultra-sound test and wanted the couple to see another doctor.
The second doctor agreed the child had several abnormalities and was 70 percent sure the baby had Trisomy 18 which affects 1 of every 3,000 births; or Trisomy 13, which occurs in 1 of every 5,000 births. In either case, life-sustaining measures are not recommended before birth. They were told the baby likely would not live to be born, or would not live for very long thereafter.
“The baby was in a breech position and the doctor explained that a normal delivery would result in his death,” Nicole said. “The doctor said he wouldn’t recommend a cesarean section because the baby would likely die at or shortly after birth.”
Further tests were ordered.
“He tells us there’s a 70 percent chance that the baby is not going to survive a few days, a week or two months and a 30 percent chance he might make it two or three years,” Guy said. “He did not think this was a child with Down syndrome.”
Devastated, Guy and Nicole went home to begin mourning the death of their son, to pray and prepare their children Brooke, 9, and Mitchell, 7. The four decided to name the baby Matthew, meaning “Gift of the Lord.” Their priest, Father John Kuzmich at St. Vincent’s Catholic Church, met with them to pray.
After Guy and Nicole told a few family members and friends, a prayer chain started that grew to include hundreds and then thousands of people. A call from a friend in Bakersfield, Calif., where Guy had played in 2002-03, said there were more than 600 people praying for them.
“What was comforting for us and helped us through was taking the attitude that life is a gift and if God gives us an opportunity to have Matthew for a few hours, weeks or months, we were going to cherish that gift,” Guy said. “That helped us to be positive and more optimistic. It was out of our control and in his, and that helped us.We’re his parents and if something happens and we don’t get to meet him here, then we’ll get to be his parents one day in heaven.”
When Nicole experienced signs of preterm labor, she called her doctor and told him she wanted something to stop the labor at least until further tests came back.
“I just couldn’t live with thinking that delivering this child was going to kill him since he was breech,” she said.
Four days later, the report came back saying the original diagnosis was wrong. The problem was Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome. The doctor was baffled and asked how aggressively Nicole wanted to be treated.
“Whatever I have to do, I’ll do to keep the baby in there,” she said.
Meanwhile the family continued to pray, as did thousands in expanding prayer chains. Nicole would lie in bed each morning praying over the baby. Some people congratulated them on having a Down syndrome baby.
“People we would talk to were like, ‘I’m sorry and I hope this doesn’t offend you, congratulations,’” Nicole said.
“Whoever gets congratulated that their kid has Down syndrome? For me that was great. I wonder if it happened that way so that we’d be excited for Matthew to come into our family.”
There were other moments when they felt God’s tapping. Guy had left Fort Wayne and the Komets in 1999, but came back this year when his family needed to be at home with Nicole’s parents, friends and their church. Nicole’s parents live next to family friends Jenny and Joe Bockerstette — who have a daughter Amy with Down syndrome and co-founded the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Indiana.
“We already had a group of people in place to both educate and support us,” Nicole said.
When Nicole was 28 weeks into her pregnancy, because of the extra amniotic fluid she measured as if she was 38 weeks along. The doctor checked her weekly to see if she needed some fluid drained. The procedure carries a chance of infection or miscarriage so she dealt with the discomfort.
“We kept asking people for prayers and they kept asking other people,” Nicole said. “I got a card from a lady I don’t know who had a child with Trisomy 18 that died a couple of months after birth. She just wanted to let me know that she and her husband were praying for Matthew. I was so touched that they knew his name let alone were praying for us every night.”
“Honestly, the way that our friends and family prayed for us and asked others for prayers was amazing. We certainly didn’t feel alone going through this.”
During this entire time, Guy continued to go to practice and play defense for the Komets. He missed one practice and one road game. His teammates supported him and a couple said they were praying for him.
When he was at the games, he gave his cell phone to Komets trainer Shawn Dundon in case Nicole called in an emergency, because she was still experiencing signs of preterm labor. A couple times he was within a few seconds of going onto the ice when he’d call Nicole to see if he should play or not.
“It affected me emotionally somewhat,” Guy said. “…You have your normal mind-set before you go to the game, but I’d be home being wrapped up in all of this. It was difficult, but it also gave me a little time to focus just on hockey and have a release. I wasn’t able to do that every game. It takes a toll on you.”
After playing exceptionally well in February, his statistics slipped down the stretch, but he was still named the Komets’ best defenseman. The Komets ended their regular season April 15.
The next day — on Easter —Matthew was born.
“We both burst into tears because he was six weeks early,” Nicole said. “We knew that with Down syndrome he could have a lot of complications anyway, but coming this early we knew he could be in a lot of trouble.”
It was determined an emergency cesarean section was necessary, and Matthew was born 18 inches long and weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces.
While Matthew stayed in intensive care for 12 days, his father would go to practice and then sleep at the hospital. He left with the Komets on Thursday for the playoff series against Rockford. The Komets were defeated in five games.
Finally, Matthew got to go home, where Guy’s mother had arrived from Canada to pitch in along with Nicole’s parents. The family kept asking for more prayers.
“I honestly believe it’s the prayers that have made him as healthy as he is,” she said. “He’s real strong. He has already rolled over at six weeks. From here we just love him and take care of him like we do our other kids.”
Several weeks later, as Nicole holds Matthew in her lap to feed him, a heart monitor’s lights flash from the floor. Everywhere Matthew goes the monitor gets picked up and goes with him. He’s been quarantined for a few weeks to protect him from infections, but has consistently gained weight.
As a friend of the Dupuis’ said, if ever there was a perfect family for such a baby to be born into, this is it. God has given him to a family that can handle the problems.
“Let’s see what the future holds for him,” Guy said. “Right now we are focusing on the blessing that he is in our lives. He really is a gift from God.”
As he sleeps in his mother’s lap, Matthew has no idea he has already affected thousands of people.
“He’s been pretty blessed and he doesn’t even know it,” Nicole said. “We don’t feel like God is done working miracles with him.”

Getting Caught

2006-06-20T08:04:00.000-04:00

Current Indiana University coach Terry Hoeppner (photo) had just finished the main part of his talk, when a member of the audience asked how he was able to grow Miami University into the national spotlight, while keeping a good name for the program. Implying that success requires a compromise of integrity or character.

Hoep as he's called, was gracious and smiled. He talked about Ben Roethlisberger and others who were part of program. He talked about looking for good people and good athletes. Finally he understood that excellence was a continual process. That process ultimately had to come down to the players and it had to be intentional.

He didn't wring has hands and give the "boys will be boys" rationale, he didn't stop at good intentions. He and his staff made it daily priority to keep character at the core of his program.

Then looking over the crowd of high school coaches, players, media and parents he stepped away from the podium... and said.. "we have a motto. Get caught doing the right thing at the right time, for the right reasons."

Coach took it further and posted it in the Red Hawk lockerroom.

His logic is simple. You are gonna get caught. You are gonna have moments when you can't be prepared for, so get in the habit of just doing the right thing. Don't just have publicity moments of signing autographs or interviews, but instead understand that EVERY moment is a moment were you can make a stand.

What Hoep is saying, live a life of integrity. That is, be who you say you are. Even in those private moments be true to who you are and what you say you are, and what you belief. You can't take a moment off. And if you don't do right, take responsibility and make changes.

What are you compromising on? Something that you aren't proud of but, justify it? Remember this unless you are consistent, you aren't "it."

Now remember the quote:

GET CAUGHT DOING THE RIGHT THING,
AT THE RIGHT TIME,
FOR THE RIGHT REASONS

New York, New York

2006-06-18T15:08:00.000-04:00

Not taking a risk, is risky.

I am breaking way from the sports theme for a bit. In light of news from New York. But, I hope you receive it just like it touches me.

Gotham - the Big Apple -New York, New York - big, bossy, bombastic and an All-American city.

The Empire State Building, Grand Central Station (see photo) and Central Park.

The Yankees, The Mets, The Jets, The Giants (if you count New Jersey), The Knicks, The Nets, The Rangers, The Islanders and then all the tradition of those great teams gone by... and the college teams, and even now a number of minor league teams dotting around the great city.

I love it. No, I adore it and dream of my next visit back. Maybe its like in the movie Hoosiers when the boys from Hickory looking up the seemingly cavernous Butler Fieldhouse and say, "Boy this barn holds a lot of hay!." The idea that there ain't much like this back on the farm.

I don't know if I ever want to reside in the Big Apple, but its a special place to me.

Today, I've been hearing the reports, apparently pretty believable, of a terrorist strike on the New York Subways. The strike was planned for February or March in 2003. If it happened, I would have been right there in the thick of it.

Crazy how life is a walk on a tight rope of danger. Then I thought, I would still enjoyed my time, I still would have visited. I'd done the same, had a strike happened.

New York has changed a lot since those first attacks on 911. People are more accommodating, they are more gracious and much much warmer.

But, New Yorkers are still a proud people. Their chip is still there, and they aren' t going to be intimidated or shaken by a momentary act of so-called bravery dictated by a mysterious figure who is in hiding. (That's some courage, right there.)

Bravery isn't mustering strength for a one-time action. Bravery is standing your ground because you are right and taking a change to live for it. Bravery is also knowing when you are wrong and admitting it. Bravery is having principles even if no one around shares them.

Sounds of Silence

2006-06-17T09:51:00.000-04:00

Today's post features an article from the Indianapolis Star The story speaks for itself.

Center fielder excels in silence

The crack of the bat. The ball popping a mitt. The umpire bellowing a third-strike call.
Baseball has many unmistakable sounds.
Norwell High School center fielder Scott Woodward wouldn't know. He is almost completely deaf.
Norwell will play Jasper Saturday in the Class 3A state high school baseball finals.
Woodward, a junior honor student, leads the Knights in many offensive categories.
He tracked down several fly balls and hit a two-RBI double that gave Norwell the lead in the Knights' state semifinal 7-1 victory over West Lafayette.
"Scott does a lot of things for us," coach Kelby Weybright said. "He has the tools to play at the next level."
A severe case of meningitis nearly killed Woodward when he was 14 months old. The disease left him deaf in one ear, and he has just 20 percent hearing in the other when he wears a hearing aid.
"With his impairment, you would think that he would stay secluded," pitching coach Kurt Gray said. "That is the opposite with Scott. The kids absolutely love him."
Woodward's condition affects him little on the baseball field, his coaches said. On defense, the speedy outfielder calls for any ball within his range. Left and right fielders know to back off.
"Scotty takes everything," Gray said. "He takes anything he can get, and the two guys beside him know it. His peripheral vision is so good, he knows what is coming at him."
In special circumstances, the coaching staff uses signals to help Woodward. When Woodward leads off second base, for example, a coach will use an arm signal if the shortstop is creeping up behind him for a pickoff play.
The signals are more important on the football field, where Woodward plays cornerback, receiver and place-kicker. Players make eye contact to relay a signal at the proper time, said Tom Neuenschwander, Norwell's director of football operations.
"They just know to look at each other," Neuenschwander said. "It's hard to describe, but they grew up with him. They know where he is going to be."
Baseball is Woodward's passion, his father, Kevin Woodward, said. Several Division I teams are interested in him.
"We are very fortunate to have Scott because, for all purposes, he died when he was 14 months old," Kevin Woodward said. "He has been a blessing.

By Mike Rasor, Indianapolis Star mike.rasor@indystar.com, June 16, 2006

The point is simple. Despite the depth of your handicap, and we all have something, don't we, you are still responsible to get back up and go. Don't make excuses, get after it.

Moving on...

2006-06-14T19:04:00.000-04:00

Early this week I interviewed Kevin Mackey, the former Cleveland State and minor league basketball coach. He's now a scout with the NBA's Indiana Pacers.

I asked him about his now famous fall from grace and how he got back.

If you remember, in 1990 he was busted for drugs and fired as the coach at C-State. Its pretty hard to keep a job working with young adults after you were nabbed out side a crack house drunk and with cocaine in your system.

Some people would live in shame, would go into hiding and just refuse to move ahead.

He talked about living a double life. Talked about playing the game as a father and coach. Talked about being addicted and finally realizing he hit rock bottom. His life was a living hell.

In the interview he said, "it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth losing everything because of his addictive behavior. No fancy jibber jabber. No buzz words. Just realization that he was out of control.

"If you are lucky you will be arrested, if you aren't lucky you'll be dead," he said. "I had to find something to replace it with. I had to find something better."

You see we all have an addictive behavior. Some its just like Mackey, its drugs or alcohol, some of us its work, some of its bad relationships or casual sex. But we all have a behavior that could destroy us. A crutch that we lean on to keep from walking on our own two feet.

I asked Mackey if he deals with the shame. He said he did, but had to remember, that when he dealt with the problem, it was in the past. He keeps that problem in the past.

What do you have in your past that you keep digging up?

What do you have that when the going gets tough you go to?

Is it making you better, or just keeping you from accepting responsiblity and helping you escape reality?

What have you filled your life with that's better than your addiction?

You can't move on until you find it.

If you want to hear part of the interview with Kevin Mackey click here -

click here for the interview

Paying your dues

2006-06-11T19:28:00.000-04:00

His name is Matt D'Orazio. He's a pro football quarterback. Today he won a championship, and unless you are a super sports fan his name probably doesn't mean much to you.

He's an Arena Football Football quarterback for the Chicago Rush. The Rush held off the Orlando Predators to win Arena Bowl XX.

I've had a chance to interview him a couple times for one of my radio shows.

Matt and Chicago are the portrait of persistence. Matt is an unassuming, simple midwestern boy from Ohio. From what I've been told. He's the type of guy you'd want to marry your daughter, or as your child's teacher. He doesn't have an impressive resume. He started out a small NCAA Division I-AA school, then transfered to a tiny Division III school. He had a great career, but make no mistake he wasn't gonna be first-round pick in the NFL draft.

That didn't stop him, for the better part of four seasons, he played bounced between AFL teams and the minor league af2 system before finally earning a starter's job with Columbus in 2005.

This season, veteran AFL coach Mike Hohensee signed the underated D'Orazio. Now, they are celebrating the ArenaBowl XX title.

I asked Matt earlier this week, "Did you ever feel like giving up and getting a real job?"

D'Orazio, a devout Christian modestly answered, "No, not at all this is what i am supposed to do. Besides, my family and friends would never let me give it up. This is about them as much as it is for me."

Its not a Super Bowl, but it is a title and D'Orazio has a lot of people to visit and a piece of "bling on his finger so show off to his friends.

Think about this...

Who are you living for? Your friends? Yourself? Your family?
What is your definition of success and who's keeping you on task?
Have you given up too much on something you love?

Another friend give me some advice last week about something very important to me that I was ready to move away from. Her advice...

"Fight, Fight, Fight... you'll not get it without the effort and risking it."

for more on Matt click here

Being comfortable

2006-06-09T17:28:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine turned me on to one of those online DVD rental services as a result i'm taking in the myriad of movies I should have watched on the screen. The latest is "Million Dollar Baby" starring Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.

Swank's character Maggie Fitzgerald leaves Missouri ahd becomes a boxer. Eventually she returns home to give her mother the deed to a brand new home. Her mother was incensed. Maggie wanted to make life better and give her an amazing gift. Instead, the mother was finding fault with the house, saying it didn't have applicances. Maggie said, "they are coming." The mom says, i can't afford this i'm on welfare. Maggie said, "I'll send you money." Every time the mom was looking for excuses, and all of them were pretty weak.

You see, the family was happy being poor and being on welfare. They didn't want to work. Day-after day they became comfortable in their run-down shack.

Toward the end of the movie, we find out the family never bothered to sign the deed. If they did, they'd have to get off welfare.

We do the same thing, start to enjoy the status quo. We are content to just get by. Maybe its lazy, maybe its fear, maybe its understanding. Maybe its indifference..no matter what it is.. its wrong.

I believe that we as people are meant to soar, to excell and to make difference... not just take resources and time from others. If you are comfortable, not challenged and content make the changes. Don't put it off.. Make a decision today to get it right.

Watching from afar

2006-06-08T02:17:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine coaches soccer in Chicago. I mean IN CHICAGO. The campus and athletic facilities are literally carved out between buildings. If you’ve ever ridden “the L” to Wrigley Field, you’ve probably seen it for yourself.

A few years ago my friend was approached by a stranger after practice. The man lived in a nearby apartment had been watching the team daily for quite some time. He confessed that he watched through a telescope. He saw the good, the bad… everything.

The man was a member of a prominent soccer team in the Soviet Union years and years ago. Largely confined to his apartment, all he could do was watch through a telescope and remember his own glory days.

A strange thing happened over time, the elderly man was confronted with a team that wasn’t like any he ever played for. The team appeared to have a different motivation then winning alone.

He saw players and coaches laughing and hugging. He saw anger, but it wasn’t the same kind of fiery passion. He was confused. He watched more and more and became more and more confused. That’s what finally pushed him to visit a practice in person and learn more about a team that cared about each other.

The lesson is simple. We are being watched and scouted everyday. For some it might be a job opportunity or a promotion. Others it’s just a natural curiousity. The bottomline is this, you’ll be remembered for being an influence in a life, either good or bad. If you aren’t making an intentional decision, you probably aren’t making much impact.

Steroids

2006-06-05T20:39:00.000-04:00

One of my friends coaches baseball. He loves the game more than life, and in many respects its been one of the few constants in his life. Sometimes in balance sometimes way out of whack.

Today he told me of being face to face with steroids. Almost every program that he was involved with in his adult years had someone offer to connect him with performance-enhancers.

“As easy as drinking this water,” he said. “I had them in front of me. The guy offering them to me was living proof they did work.”

He told me about all the things that steroids promised, he told me a compelling medical case for disciplined use of steroids.

Then he looked at me, saying I didn’t use them because I knew using them was wrong. That he knew that he’d disappoint his parents. He knew that he’d be doing wrong. It wasn’t a moral issue, it as just black or white, he couldn’t justify it in his mind.

It’s because he had someone counting on him

That’s just it, if you don’t have someone investing in your life, challenging you to do right, you don’t have a reason to do better… I don’t care what age you are get someone who’s wiser than you and spend some time learning from… and while you are at it, find someone you can invest into.

WALK THE LINE

2006-06-04T18:55:00.000-04:00

I am gonna break away from the sports theme this time. Well, its kinda sports related. I am typing this on the way to a indoor football game. I just finished watching the movie, “Walk the Line” the truth-life love story of Johnny and June Carter Cash. Hollywood dolls up any story, but the jist of the story is that when Johnny Cash was in his worst moments June Carter stood by him as a friend. From what I saw, even though he was married, she tried to do right and avoid ruining Johnny’s already troubled marriage. That’s not to say Johnny wasn’t pushing every step of the. It’s a story of a woman who was committed to a person and the right thing… or trying to do the right thing. That commitment carried on to June’s parents. About an hour and fifty minutes into the movie, it dawn on me just how committed the Carter’s were to the seemingly nare-do-well Cash. A drug dealer came to Johnny’s house. The Carters were there watching and trying to get him help. Just as the pusher came to the door, he was greeted by June’s parents brandishing double-barrel shot guns. Naturally the dealer high-tailed it away.

But what you don’t see, these seemingly good-natured, loving, moral people were willing to do whatever it took, whatever it took to keep their friend John ny Cash from plunging deeper, even if it took a little shotgun-diplomacy. That wasn’t their nature, but they did it.

We all need friends like that, friends who don’t put up with our destructive life-styles, that will lay it on the line. That’s more than just good feelings, that’s love. That’s an intentional discussion.

The Babe

2006-06-01T09:55:00.000-04:00

Babe Ruth. His name like no other name says what is great about baseball. Even though most of us never even saw him play, more than a half century since his death he’s still bigger than life.

The sepia toned movies of the big man lumbering around the bases. Even if you don’t like baseball, you know Babe Ruth. In my minds eye, I see, the Bambino with a crown on his head and winking.

In a few days, a local auction will sell an autograph from the games greatest legend. It could fetch more than $1,000 dollars. I won’t be surprised. I wondered what could make a symbol of a man so valuable.

Let’s consider. He was a man that was perfect for the times he was living in. It’s a classic example of the right man, right place, right time. Baseball was fighting to recover from the Black Sox gambling scandal.

How did he become one of the greatest names in sports. Here’s what I think.

1. He was consistent - He did what he was supposed to do as a ball player. His success wasn’t short-lived he was able to come up big when needed.

2. He was real - Babe Ruth, I am sure was a lot of things, but he was excited about life
and the opportunities it presented. Not all of them good choices, but he was enthusiastic. He wasn't ordinary.

3. He cared - He understood that success was to be shared. As much as I think of the home runs, I think of his love for kids. He cared for baseball.

4. He had a great team around him - The New York Yankee dynasty is still considered one of greatest of all time. Everyone still measures their success against the Bronx Bombers. Those team mates played to his strengths and covered his weaknesses. There are some that say Babe Ruth wouldn’t have been as great, without Lou Gehrig batting right behind him.

5. He understood his limits - The late 1920s, Ruth was making more than the President of the US. The Babe laughed and said, “I had a better year.” His role was to play baseball and help the Yankees win. His job wasn’t fight Nazi tyranny in Europe.

6. He took risks. At one point, he struck out more than any player in the game. You can’t hit the long ball, generally, if you are watching balls go by.

7. He was good when he had to be. He didn’t hit a home run, or even get on base every time that he came to the plate. He just was good enough, enough of the time to make a difference.

And really aren’t those same things true for us. Want to make a difference in the lives of others, build a legacy in your family, your friends, your co-workers. Remember these concepts. You probably won’t be remembered by the rest of the world, but your memory will mean the world to those who knew you.

note: The baseball sold for more than $22,000.

Laps

2006-05-31T20:16:00.000-04:00

Years ago I worked as an evening announcer at a radio station. It happened to be on the campus of a small college. The station was tucked away in the far corner of the property right next to the building was a track. Yah, a running track and it was quite popular.

Sometimes I’d just go outside and watch the runners. I’d think wow, that’s what I call commitment. Running isn’t fun. Running is what you do to get you where you want to go faster than walking. That’s what I thought until one of my friends started to stop by the track.

Every afternoon, like clock work he was there. Running sprints, doing laps. Just working, it wasn’t fun work, but he gutted it out. You see my friend was a hockey player and he knew the game would eat him alive if he didn’t get in condition. He was at the top of his game, and he was still working hard.

That was eight years ago, he’s still playing past 35 and he’s still in all-star shape. For my friend training has kept him strong and kept him around.

Do you want to stick around, do you want to thrive? Commit to positive behaviors that make you a better person. Invest in activities that make your character stronger and get away from things that you know are unhealthy. What’s unhealthy, anything that doesn't make you better.

That could be bad relationships. Behaviors and habits that are know you shouldn't be doing. The bottomline, everything comes with a price.

For my friend, the reward is being able to make a living off a sport. Compared to that goal, no price is to high to pay.

Is there a price that you aren't willing to pay?

Barry Bonds

2006-05-29T21:28:00.000-04:00

So let the questions and doubt begin. Sunday afternoon Barry Bonds knocked number 715 out of the passed Babe Ruth and he’s seemingly locked into a collision course with 755 and Hank Aaron. One of baseball’s must hallowed milestones.
It’s a great moment sure, a secondary record, of course. Did you realize how little has been made of it. Even baseball doesn’t know what to make of it.
That’s because there’s a cloud that hangs over Bonds. A stigma that asks, “Did he or didn’t he?” I am not going to criticize Bonds or make him an example. I don’t know.
What I do know is this – the fact there are so many rumblings and questions make for a lot of doubt. Doubt that keeps you from being secure, that’s doubt that keeps you from being sold on the guy.
If you are leader who wants to make an influence on others, you can’t dabble in any behavior that creates doubt. If you are a pastor, that’s called avoiding the appearance of evil. It’s called integrity. Its that statement about you that keeps questions from forming around you.
Wise men count their steps and their words and understand what they want their life to stand for and then they conform to a standard.
That’s integrity.

Welcome

2006-05-29T21:00:00.000-04:00

Hello to those of you who may be reading this. These thoughts aren't necessarily new or fresh or even my own. I write them as I try to understand everyday life and the lessons it teaches, especially through the world of sports and athletics. Some may be about professional sports, others may simply be about something i discovered some where along the way. I would love to hear your thoughts as well.