Ahhh - it has been a phenomenal 11 days of vacation. Food, friends, family, fun, and staying up way too late playing games. But alas - tomorrow I go back to work. I actually go back and go on the road - so a double-whammy. It will be busy - but that just makes everything move faster.
The other big news of the day is that I won my fantasy football league! Well, one of the several that I play in. So it was a vacation that ended well.....now to work on all my other New Years Resolutions.
Hope everyone else had a great vacation!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Craig James and his family are a disgrace
I know I promised a story about how I was nearly mauled to death by a vicious wolf during my run yesterday. After watching tonight's Alamo Bowl - I feel inspired to comment instead about the whole Mike Leach situation. (Plus, unless I'm a zombie who would rather blog than search for human brains - you're probably astutely aware that I was not killed by a wolf).
Since the primary reporters of the Mike Leach firing are predominantly the friends and cronies of Craig James I feel we will never get the full truth of what happened to lead us to this point. But I envision something along the following lines:
-Adam James is a lazy, mediocre football talent that preferred to leverage the connections and influence of his father rather than working hard and achieving on his own merits.
-Instead of staying home from practice or trying to actively rehab his concussion - Adam showed up to practice to be an instigator and refused to practice. He probably even told Leach that he needed to be 'out of the sun'
-Leach, tired of James' laziness and attitude decided to give him exactly what he asked for - the darkest place he could find
-Before the event, I suspect that Craig James consistently pestered Tech coaches to give his son more playing time. (While this is not uncommon for many fathers - I suspect Craig tried to leverage his ESPN connections to try and force Tech's hand)
-When his precious little snowflake was told to sit in a climate-controlled room for upwards of 3 hours (oh the horror!), Craig again threw his weight around with university officials asking for termination
Instead of being laughed out of the room - the regents agreed and terminated a coach who took Tech to national prestige, 10 consecutive bowl games, a winning record, and a brief flirtation with national championship hopes last season as the Big 12 Coach of the Year. And why? Because he asked a kid with a famous daddy to sit in a room during practice. A request that not one trainer objected to at the time of the request. He didn't abuse anyone.....no hitting an assistant coach in the face and breaking his jaw (Tom Cable), no unethical cheating practices (Bill Belichick). Heck - he didn't even throw a tantrum on the sideline like another famed Tech coach for another sport.....Bobby Knight. All those offenses would be far more serious - and yet not one of them lost their jobs over it.
To anyone who might say the request is too harsh.......in America - the great part is that we have the right to stand up and say that we object. Adam James never did. Playing football is not a right, it is a privilege. Part of that privilege means listening to the people in charge. If they say you run 5 miles - then you run 5 miles. If they say to give 200 push-ups....don't think that 75 push-ups will satisfy the request. If you don't like it - you can quit at any time. If you don't fill the request - there will be consequences (loss of playing time, loss of starting role, etc.) Adam James never listened to the people in charge.
The most aggravating thing has been the coverage that paints Craig as a loving dad and Leach as an overbearing tyrant that was out of control. The people berating Mike Leach for this 'inhumane' treatment stemming from a 'ridiculous' request are the same ones that with their next breath lay into Brett Favre for having the unmitigated gaul to challenge his head coach when an order given didn't make any sense. I guess for the ESPN reporters - you should ALWAYS do what the coach tells you to do......unless you are the son of an ESPN analyst. In that case - you obviously know much more about football than the coach and your opinions should always be reviewed first.
I do hope we'll eventually know the full story. If it's like I suspect - then I hope Leach gets plenty of money from Tech and their athletic director gets fired. If it's not how I think it is - then I will stand corrected.
Since the primary reporters of the Mike Leach firing are predominantly the friends and cronies of Craig James I feel we will never get the full truth of what happened to lead us to this point. But I envision something along the following lines:
-Adam James is a lazy, mediocre football talent that preferred to leverage the connections and influence of his father rather than working hard and achieving on his own merits.
-Instead of staying home from practice or trying to actively rehab his concussion - Adam showed up to practice to be an instigator and refused to practice. He probably even told Leach that he needed to be 'out of the sun'
-Leach, tired of James' laziness and attitude decided to give him exactly what he asked for - the darkest place he could find
-Before the event, I suspect that Craig James consistently pestered Tech coaches to give his son more playing time. (While this is not uncommon for many fathers - I suspect Craig tried to leverage his ESPN connections to try and force Tech's hand)
-When his precious little snowflake was told to sit in a climate-controlled room for upwards of 3 hours (oh the horror!), Craig again threw his weight around with university officials asking for termination
Instead of being laughed out of the room - the regents agreed and terminated a coach who took Tech to national prestige, 10 consecutive bowl games, a winning record, and a brief flirtation with national championship hopes last season as the Big 12 Coach of the Year. And why? Because he asked a kid with a famous daddy to sit in a room during practice. A request that not one trainer objected to at the time of the request. He didn't abuse anyone.....no hitting an assistant coach in the face and breaking his jaw (Tom Cable), no unethical cheating practices (Bill Belichick). Heck - he didn't even throw a tantrum on the sideline like another famed Tech coach for another sport.....Bobby Knight. All those offenses would be far more serious - and yet not one of them lost their jobs over it.
To anyone who might say the request is too harsh.......in America - the great part is that we have the right to stand up and say that we object. Adam James never did. Playing football is not a right, it is a privilege. Part of that privilege means listening to the people in charge. If they say you run 5 miles - then you run 5 miles. If they say to give 200 push-ups....don't think that 75 push-ups will satisfy the request. If you don't like it - you can quit at any time. If you don't fill the request - there will be consequences (loss of playing time, loss of starting role, etc.) Adam James never listened to the people in charge.
The most aggravating thing has been the coverage that paints Craig as a loving dad and Leach as an overbearing tyrant that was out of control. The people berating Mike Leach for this 'inhumane' treatment stemming from a 'ridiculous' request are the same ones that with their next breath lay into Brett Favre for having the unmitigated gaul to challenge his head coach when an order given didn't make any sense. I guess for the ESPN reporters - you should ALWAYS do what the coach tells you to do......unless you are the son of an ESPN analyst. In that case - you obviously know much more about football than the coach and your opinions should always be reviewed first.
I do hope we'll eventually know the full story. If it's like I suspect - then I hope Leach gets plenty of money from Tech and their athletic director gets fired. If it's not how I think it is - then I will stand corrected.
Friday, January 1, 2010
In my dream home....
So on this fine first day of 2010 - I find a seemingly innocuous program called HGTV DreamHome 2010. As they're going through the show - all of the rooms look fantastic...they come fully furnished, include a new GMC SUV, and $500,000 in cash. All of that sounds pretty good. But it's really a trap:
1. The value of the home is $1.5 million. If that's treated as income - the taxes alone are going to be close to $600,000. The $500,000 that you get? You really only walk with $300,000 (about half of your tax burden for the house)
2. The house seems to be in the middle of nowhere. The views are striking, but it would be like selling me a house on the moon. Lots of space - great views of Earth.....but pretty limited resell opportunity.
3. The "media room" in this dream house is a 50" TV in a rather ordinary looking room. The dream of a home theater is to feel like you are in a.....wait for it.......movie theater (not a living room). A dream home should have stadium seating that swivels to a table with automatic drink dispensers and I would get to the room via a hidden door and moving walkway (a la the Jetsons)
So one viewer will be given a massive tax bill in the middle of nowhere and still won't have a real home 'theater'. Also, I'm sure there's a better than average shot of being eaten by wolves after dark. (No scientific evidence of that - just a hunch)
Speaking of wolves - tomorrow I will recount the harrowing tale of how I narrowly escaped a grisly death on the first day of the year.
1. The value of the home is $1.5 million. If that's treated as income - the taxes alone are going to be close to $600,000. The $500,000 that you get? You really only walk with $300,000 (about half of your tax burden for the house)
2. The house seems to be in the middle of nowhere. The views are striking, but it would be like selling me a house on the moon. Lots of space - great views of Earth.....but pretty limited resell opportunity.
3. The "media room" in this dream house is a 50" TV in a rather ordinary looking room. The dream of a home theater is to feel like you are in a.....wait for it.......movie theater (not a living room). A dream home should have stadium seating that swivels to a table with automatic drink dispensers and I would get to the room via a hidden door and moving walkway (a la the Jetsons)
So one viewer will be given a massive tax bill in the middle of nowhere and still won't have a real home 'theater'. Also, I'm sure there's a better than average shot of being eaten by wolves after dark. (No scientific evidence of that - just a hunch)
Speaking of wolves - tomorrow I will recount the harrowing tale of how I narrowly escaped a grisly death on the first day of the year.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
And So it Begins....
The first of several resolutions.....to be more communicative and interactive on the web. My plan (note the careful use of the word) is to post something small each day about whatever crosses my mind. Most likely it will be related to something awesome in the world of marketing, something annoying on the road (my pet peeves), or something that I think of that I want to teach my child. Basically, it will be my internal monologue captured in a publicly accessible blog. Let's face it - it will be as populated as the arguments I have with myself in the corner, but it seems more socially accessible.
I have two goals on here:
1. To keep it going for at least a month
2. To not write the most boring, uninteresting drivel known to man.
So with that......let's begin. Happy New Year 2010!!!
I have two goals on here:
1. To keep it going for at least a month
2. To not write the most boring, uninteresting drivel known to man.
So with that......let's begin. Happy New Year 2010!!!
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