COURTSHIP

Your first love; was love at first sight. Is it still; or have you not asked enough questions. Is it a perfect match or is it as they say; opposites attract….

Is the Selfie for self reflection or self propaganda. If you look at yourself everyday you won’t notice any changes but if you look far enough back you will see the truth. Social Media has changed our lives forever and in result; sport. It is easy to see the benefit that it has provided but will this be the NBA’s Kodak Moment.

If you have ever fell in love; you know, as you can recall it all. For me it was love at first sight. The beginning of the 90’s was the changing of the guard in the NBA; the game would become physical and rivalry would get it’s definition.

As we look in the mirror; the NBA has come full social circle and I ask is this love or was that lust. I may not believe in love at first sight but I do believe; opposites attract.

PHYSICAL ATTRACTION

IT'S DEFECTIVE

Every October we celebrate Columbus Day and his discovering of the New World. It wasn’t North America or South America that he first exploited; it was Cuba…

A priest, a boxer, a ball player and a call girl all get on a boat…

This isn’t a joke. Though the story of Yasiel Puig isn’t a new tale; as Cuban’s have been defecting from their home land for decades, it is just now becoming main stream and that is the joke. Like him or hate him; the story of Yasiel Puig and his journey is so far fetched, Hollywood wouldn’t even been able to conceive it.

[YAHOO STORY: YASIEL PUIG AND THE US COAST GUARD]

[LA MAGAZINE STORY: YASIEL PUIG- ESCAPE FROM CUBA]

[ESPN STORY: YASIEL PUIG-NO ONE WALKS OFF THE ISLAND]

Coming This Fall: A story for a generation; about a liberation, a story of inspiration. Communism, Corruption, Drug Cartels, FBI’s Most Wanted, Big Business. With only the currency of potential; he would risk his life with his life. A story about a boy who wouldn’t stop running down his dream and sometimes the only way to reach home; is to leave it. 

The father of the sex and slave trade comes to mind when we reserve for Columbus Day; as sometimes, it’s the defects that outshine. Yasiel Puig came sprinting on to the scene to have one of the best debuts in baseball history. He would steal the imagination of a nation; that he now can call home. Who knows how the story will end; as we are just now learning how it began, and the only thing that will make this story better; is if we can celebrate it in October.

HOME RUN 

THE WEEKEND

THE WEEKEND

A weekend; where a boy can become a man and man can be a boy

A weekend; of indulgence; mostly of laughter and the nectar of the gods

A weekend; of getting away but always becoming closer

A weekend; where the same stories will be told year after year

A weekend; where Tall Tales and Blue Falcons will live on in infamy

A weekend; in remembrance of those who no longer can join us

A weekend; in which friends and family long await their invitation

A weekend: where Christmas itself can’t rise to this Valley

A weekend; if we are lucky we might even get to throw some lead

A weekend that is so perfect that nostalgia can’t even add to the euphoria.

RAT SHOOTIN'

A KODAK MOMENT

What inventions have changed your life; changed the world? It was 1975 and Eastman Kodak Company just invented the digital camera and it would revolutionize the way we would look at the world…

Medicine and in particular Higher Medicine is arguable the worlds’ greatest achievement. In the last 200 years our life expectancy has doubled and our population has increased 7 fold. No wonder we call naturopathy alternative medicine.

Every year we keep finding new diseases; and eventually their cure. As long as we get better; we don’t care about the fine print or even the side effects. It’s not a new concept that medicine itself has created more diseases but we never ask the question; collectively what were we suffering from?

Charles Darwin didn’t just believe in natural selection he also believed in photography. He was there during its infancy and knew photography would be a great marketing tactic. He would become the most photographed scientist of his time and the photograph would help develop his theory on evolution.

Who was happier; people from the 1800’s or today? Have you ever considered that medicine is the worst invention in mankind. Charles Darwin spent his life telling a story that no-one heard of, no one would believe. But he proved that there is always two ways to look at something. In 2012 Kodak filed bankruptcy; in direct result, of the success of the digital camera.

A PICTURE NEGATIVE 

THAT'S SICK

Would you wish the Flu on your kids, on yourself, on your enemy... Every year the same question gets asked over and over; are you getting the Flu Shot? I respond unequivocally that I am taking a shot.

It was 1997; game 5, he scored 38 points and he had the flu. The Flu Game; as it is romantically referred to. It wasn’t his best game but it was his most memorable and it would cement the legacy that is Michael Jordan. 

It was 1977; week 10, he ran for 275 yards and he had the flu. It doesn’t have a catchy name as it speaks for itself. It would be another 23 years before that record would be broken and it would be the foundation of Walter Payton’s career.

I have never been to Chicago but wind isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. The only way to beat the flu; is to out run it. The only way to beat it’s fever; is to get hotter. No one wants the flu and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone; especially my enemy.

GUT REACTION

DEAR ABBY

I call it Nostalgia; you may just call it memories but I continuously seek those moments again…

If I were to show you one picture that would describe me; it wouldn’t be of me. It would show you about family and friends, my passions and my dreams. It would take me back to a time when sports were pure and the world was small. If I were to show you that same picture you would think it better described Americana. There is something about a little league team in a pizza parlor that really hits home for me.

Even for someone like myself who has a sunny disposition it is easy to get down on what the world is becoming. But I am easily reminded of what America was and can be once again. The Pizza Parlor; a slice of Americana and a part of my American dream.

ABBY’S SPECIAL

OFFICIAL VIEW

Spousal Support is always discussed in postmortem. Is your Coach leaving; is always asked at the most inopportune time. Don’t continuously ask your spouse if there have been any transgressions; as eventually they will support your notion…

Most things are done with the very best intentions. Instant Replay was introduced to Sport so we could procreate perfection. However; Jim Joyce knows, it was a Perfect Game even though there were flaws. Is it time for a reconciliation or even a divorce.

Do you love your job? Do you love your spouse? Do you truly believe in the one? There are a lot of must lie situations in life. There are no stupid questions; just stupid people, that ask them.

As the NCAA Tournament comes to an end I have only one take away and that is Instant Replay should be taken out of Basketball. In sport there are very few black and white calls an official makes. Instant replay forces a situation to be black or white. In basketball the simplest of call (out of bounds) can be more complicated than the decisive block/charge.

It’s not that hard to explain why the divorce rate is going up; technology. Your accountability and the truth are being checked continuously and no one is perfect in life or sport. Let’s stop asking the question; was the official right, as he may have officiated your wedding.

COACH SPEAK