Benghazi. "I'm going to build a wall." E-mail servers. "I love women." Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton. Brexit.
For one day, my social feed is thankfully devoid of the above and is instead populated with photos and posts from friends and family at lakes, in the mountains, on vacation or at home, surrounded by the trappings of this holiday where we celebrate our country's independence. Ribs, hot dogs, beer, grills, campfires, fireworks, swim suits, road trips, red/white/blue - it's all there.
Thank you for taking the day off, America - we're a better place when we come together to celebrate our union versus showcasing our dis-union.
Happy Independence Day 2016!
Monday, July 4, 2016
Sunday, June 26, 2016
My Dad...and my love of sports
It's been a year. And, not a day goes by that I don't miss my father.
On June 26, 2015, my father passed away. He was 83. He was a shell of his former self physically when he passed - age and various infirmities had taken away his strength, his endurance and, sadly, his mind given the onset of early Alzheimer's.
I miss seeing my father's eyes twinkle when seeing his grandchildren and his great granddaughter. But, selfishly, what I miss most are all of the postgame phone calls between the two of us - the calls that would come after a Kansas Jayhawk win as he would always want to dissect the game. Our calls after losses were less frequent and, if they occurred, always a few days after the fact.
My observation point in Section 10 is a legacy from my Dad. My love of sports came from his love of sports; my desire to compete came from his competitive spirit; my enjoyment at coaching kids came from his devotion to the many youth that he coached in baseball, basketball and football.
On this day - the one year anniversary of his death - I give thanks for the man he was, the impact he had on others, the enormous influence he had on his family, and the way he taught me to understand the joy of sports, the highs of winning, the lows of losing, and what it means to be a loyal fan.
Rock Chalk, Pops - I think you'd like the looks of this year's Kansas hoops squad!
Rest in peace, Dad.
On June 26, 2015, my father passed away. He was 83. He was a shell of his former self physically when he passed - age and various infirmities had taken away his strength, his endurance and, sadly, his mind given the onset of early Alzheimer's.
I miss seeing my father's eyes twinkle when seeing his grandchildren and his great granddaughter. But, selfishly, what I miss most are all of the postgame phone calls between the two of us - the calls that would come after a Kansas Jayhawk win as he would always want to dissect the game. Our calls after losses were less frequent and, if they occurred, always a few days after the fact.
My observation point in Section 10 is a legacy from my Dad. My love of sports came from his love of sports; my desire to compete came from his competitive spirit; my enjoyment at coaching kids came from his devotion to the many youth that he coached in baseball, basketball and football.
On this day - the one year anniversary of his death - I give thanks for the man he was, the impact he had on others, the enormous influence he had on his family, and the way he taught me to understand the joy of sports, the highs of winning, the lows of losing, and what it means to be a loyal fan.
Rock Chalk, Pops - I think you'd like the looks of this year's Kansas hoops squad!
Rest in peace, Dad.
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Making the NCAA regular season relevant
Welcome to March - the month where millions of Americans suddenly take interest in 68 teams that try to shoot a round leather ball through a rim and net. Never mind that 34 games each have been played by these teams - it's all about what happens in March, right?
For all of the wonder of March Madness, far less attention is paid to the three plus months of compelling rivalries, record-breaking individual performances and the ebb-and-flow of team development.
Why is this the case? Obviously, the finality of a-loss-and-you're-out in March Madness heightens the drama. So too does the development of individual stories that create tournament drama, e.g., Georgia State coach Ron Hunter - everyone's favorite coach with a broken ankle, who fell off his coaching stool in excitement when his team upset Baylor last year.
There are steps that can be taken to enhance the relevance of the regular season but no move would be bigger than requiring that all #1 NCAA Tournament seeds achieve the pre-requisite of winning their regular season conference title. That policy would significantly alter those currently projected as top seeds for the upcoming tournament, i.e.:
- Kansas would qualify given its status as Big 12 conference champion.
- So too would North Carolina qualify as winners of the ACC regular season.
- Michigan State would slip to the #2 seed line as Indiana was the Big Ten's regular season champion.
- Virginia would also not quality for a #1 seed - they finished second in the ACC.
- Villanova, a loser to Seton Hall yesterday in the Big East postseason tournament championship game, would quality for a #1 seed as regular season victors in the Big East.
- And, Oregon would also qualify as they won the Pac 12 regular season.
This shift in approach would net this probable lineup of #1 and #2 seeds in the 2016 tournament compared to Joe Lunardi of ESPN's current (as of 10:30AM CT today) bracketology:
#1 seeds - Kansas, North Carolina, Villanova, Oregon
#1 seeds (Lunardi) - Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan State, Virginia
#2 seeds - Michigan State, Virginia, Xavier, Oklahoma
#2 seeds (Lunardi) - Xavier, Villanova, Oregon, Oklahoma
It's a small shift but it's one that immediately places needed extra focus on the regular season and the quest to win regular season conference championships.
For all of the wonder of March Madness, far less attention is paid to the three plus months of compelling rivalries, record-breaking individual performances and the ebb-and-flow of team development.
Why is this the case? Obviously, the finality of a-loss-and-you're-out in March Madness heightens the drama. So too does the development of individual stories that create tournament drama, e.g., Georgia State coach Ron Hunter - everyone's favorite coach with a broken ankle, who fell off his coaching stool in excitement when his team upset Baylor last year.
There are steps that can be taken to enhance the relevance of the regular season but no move would be bigger than requiring that all #1 NCAA Tournament seeds achieve the pre-requisite of winning their regular season conference title. That policy would significantly alter those currently projected as top seeds for the upcoming tournament, i.e.:
- Kansas would qualify given its status as Big 12 conference champion.
- So too would North Carolina qualify as winners of the ACC regular season.
- Michigan State would slip to the #2 seed line as Indiana was the Big Ten's regular season champion.
- Virginia would also not quality for a #1 seed - they finished second in the ACC.
- Villanova, a loser to Seton Hall yesterday in the Big East postseason tournament championship game, would quality for a #1 seed as regular season victors in the Big East.
- And, Oregon would also qualify as they won the Pac 12 regular season.
This shift in approach would net this probable lineup of #1 and #2 seeds in the 2016 tournament compared to Joe Lunardi of ESPN's current (as of 10:30AM CT today) bracketology:
#1 seeds - Kansas, North Carolina, Villanova, Oregon
#1 seeds (Lunardi) - Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan State, Virginia
#2 seeds - Michigan State, Virginia, Xavier, Oklahoma
#2 seeds (Lunardi) - Xavier, Villanova, Oregon, Oklahoma
It's a small shift but it's one that immediately places needed extra focus on the regular season and the quest to win regular season conference championships.
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