One step closer to Cooperstown

Today was a great day for several reasons, but for this post I'm focusing on just one.

For those of us who got to experience the Braves' dominance of the 90's and early part of the 2000's, this season is a sentimental one. Veteran manager Bobby Cox is hanging the spikes up after this season, but to me, there's one item higher on the scale of importance.

Anyone who knows me well knows that Tom Glavine is my all-time favorite baseball player. As upset as I was with the way he was dismissed last year, I could not be happier that the Braves have announced that they will retire his number - 47 - on August 6. Today, Sarah got our tickets to that game. There is no way I will miss that game. I had the opportunity to watch the festivities last season when the Braves retired Greg Maddux' number and I can't wait to see the same for Glavine.

I love watching pitchers in baseball. (You know, I think that's a good topic for a future post.) I will always maintain that the majority of Braves fans didn't know how good they had it with Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz. I think I did though. I had so many opportunities to go watch them pitch, and I never passed one up.

Looking down the road, 2014 is going to be amazing when Maddux and Glavine go into the Hall of Fame together. Mark my words, I'll be there.

What the Olympics, NFL, and NCAA Basketball have in common over the other leagues.

Yes, you read correctly, I just said that football and BASKETBALL have something better than baseball. I'll get to that...

Yesterday, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver concluded in high-fashion, and I haven't even watched the closing ceremonies yet. I'm talking about the USA/Canada hockey game for the gold medal. The game was almost everything you would want out of a "championship" event. There was the neighboring nations rivalry, there was the "home" team on its home soil (even though technically Canada was the "Away" team), there were normally teammates now opponents, and you had a clear favorite in Canada's all-star team vs. a clear underdog in USA's very young team. I almost forgot to mention the previous upset where Team USA stood up to the favored Canada and dominated them just one week earlier.

What made this game so exciting though, was that it was a true case of the popular saying, "Win or go home." For the loser, there was no chance to tie the series up the next day. There was only one simple question going into yesterday's game: Who will step up when it matters and come out on top?

That is the fundamental questions of sports, and, when it gets boiled down, is why most of us watch. The particular sport has no bearing on the question because that question is universal. Ice hockey, ice skating, luge, skiing, track & field, gymnastics, baseball, football, swimming, and yes, curling all come out with an answer to that question.

Sure, you can say that Canada played defensive yesterday for the majority of the game, but so what? In the end, they have a gold medal and Team USA has the silver. Canada won, USA didn't - end. of. story. I love it. There are no questions about the outcome.

I know why MLB, NBA, and the NHL use the series system in their championships. The idea is that they help prevent flukes, and maybe they do to an extent. All you have to do, however, is go back to the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series to question how much they really prevent a weak team from winning. The real problem with the series format is that there is really no drama until at least game 4, and usually not even then. A team can have a bad day, and still have a chance.

In the Super Bowl, if you have a bad day, you're probably going to lose. Same in NCAA Basketball. Same in the Olympics. The question is, can you step up, and not let that happen? That's the question I love about sports.

C25K

Going back to one of my new year resolutions, I have started making progress on my resolution to run a race this year. Last week my wife wrote a post about the running plan she has started and I have decided to undertake the same plan.

Couch to 5K

I'm big on researching before buying/starting anything. I was all ready to go with the "Nike+ Walk to Run" program on NikeRunning.com. It seemed like a pretty good plan to get started. Sarah, on the other hand, started on the C25K program and as she was telling me about it, I realized that the C25K plan would probably have me ready to run a 5K race MUCH sooner. By the Nike plan, it would take me about 24 weeks to be ready for a 5K. Maybe that's good for some people, but I'd like to progress a little faster. C35K's 9 week plan sounds much better to me.

A popular question is always, what gear are you using?

The shoes: Asics Nimbus 11

One of the perks of working for Hibbett Sports is that I get a pretty nice discount, which I must say I've taken pretty good advantage of. Another perk of the job is that I get to spend a LOT of time trying on different kinds of shoes so that I can know how to describe them to customers, while at the same time learning which ones I prefer. It came down between the Nimbus and the Mizuno Wave Creation. The Nimbus is probably the most comfortable shoe I have ever put on. I've now been running twice and have had no trouble with shin splints. That's a big deal for me.

Under Armour

I just can't justify UA's standard prices, so yep, there's my employee discount being used again. However, being that the temperature has been in the low-40s both times I have gone running, these two items have been life-savers. I'll be straight up with you - I don't like skin-tight clothing. At. All. But I have to admit, these work. I'll have you know, though, that I am mindful of the general public and wear a t-shirt and shorts over both.

For those of you keeping score at home, I've added a box on the right where you can track my progress and times. Call it a way for you to keep me held accountable.

As for my next run which is schedule for Friday, I'm looking at anywhere from 98-100% chance of rain. All. Day. This ought to be fun.

Perception and reality

A few weeks ago, I was in a bible study where another guy talked about how Tiger Woods had become his object lesson in why it's best to not put his faith in other people - moreover, celebrities/professional athletes. I knew exactly how he was feeling.

The events leading up to my lesson started during the Summer/Fall of 1998.

Mark McGwire.

I've pulled for the Cubs ever since my childhood, but that summer, "Big Mac" won me over, albeit competing with Cubs slugger, Sammy Sosa for the single season home run record.

I remember the early rumblings about McGwire and steroid use, but I wrote them off as people just trying to create a story. I had read about his use of androstenedione, but since it wasn't banned by MLB at the time, I didn't care. Someone had likened "andro" to creatine to me, and so I didn't dwell on it.

I believed in Mark McGwire. He was the next Cal Ripken Jr. He was one of the good guys. He helped save baseball. Screw Jose Canseco and his stupid book. No educated person would take anything he had to say seriously...right? He was just a washed up, broke, former player trying to make a buck by publishing a sensational book...right?

I banged the drum for Mark McGwire for years, well after most people had come to believe that it obvious that he had been "doping," I was reminding whoever would listen that without a confirmed failed drug test, you have to extend the benefit of the doubt.

Then, on March 17, 2005, I learned my lesson. I was actually excited leading up to that day. Congress had called a hearing in which current and former players would be asked, under oath, about steroid use in professional baseball. McGwire would finally shut everyone up who had been talking trash about him.

But he didn't.

He didn't want to "talk about the past." I put down the drumstick. By saying nothing, he said everything. I sat in a hotel room that day, watching that subcommittee hearing feeling numb, like someone had punched me in the gut and knocked the air out of me.

I didn't give a crap what anyone else said at that hearing. To me, that hearing was about McGwire having a chance to silence his critics with "the truth." I learned that day, however, that the "truth" didn't exist as I imagined it.

Today, we learned, definitively, that where his critics smelled smoke on that day in 2005, and after the 1998 season, and apparently back to the early 1990s - there was indeed fire.

I wish I could say that after the level of disappointment I felt on that day in 2005, I'm not that fazed about McGwire's confession today. For most of this evening, I believed it. But as I finish writing this, remembering how badly I wanted McGwire to be what I wanted him to be, the reality is that it sucks now, just like it did then.

New Year resolutions

My first questions is, who has made a new year resolution in the past and actually kept it? Seriously, I'm looking for success stories here.

By and large, I've pretty much come to look at NY resolutions as set-ups for failure. This is predominantly because of personal lack of success. Over the past couple years, I've made a point of not making resolutions. Looking back, I think that was weak. So I'm attempting it again, and since this is public, we'll be able to keep track throughout 2010.

Because its the system I am most familiar with, each of these are intended to be S.M.A.R.T. goals. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound)

So without further adieu, in 2010, I will:

1. Successfully RUN an organized race - I am not being specific about what race because I don't know where I'll be at different points of 2010. That being said, the Warrior Dash or the Peachtree Road Race look to be good races for a first-time runner. This resolution is in place of the typical "exercise" resolution because in order for me to run in a race, being that I am not currently in the practice of running - I will, by default, be exercising in preparing.
2. Graduate from Kennesaw State University with a 3.5 GPA. Right now, I am sitting with a 3.49 GPA. This coming semester, I have 13 hours, followed by a summer internship that counts for 12 hours. (On a side note, my GPA actually fell after this last semester, during which I made 5 B's.) The fact that I'm above a 3.0 makes me happy when I remember my GPA when I left Harding U.
3. Educate myself a little better on Biblical history. Over the past few years, I've come to feel worse about the fact that I can hold my own in a conversation pertaining to baseball, yet when a Bible study turns to the historical stories that I should remember from my childhood, I can't really offer anything because I don't know. As long as I can remember, I've been more interested in the New Testament - the nuts and bolts of how I need to live. I know this resolution isn't really specific, because I'm going to talk to my preacher about this and get his recommendation. I'll update this one within the coming week hopefully.
4. Make a final decision on whether I am going to use my guitar or sell it. I've been waffling on this for the past couple years. I bought my guitar from a church friend back around 2003 I think. I started off taking lessons regularly, but then ran out of money and stopped. Since then, I have yet to really apply myself with it. Each time I've come close to listing it for sale however, I've failed to pull the trigger because I really want to learn to play it. So if, by the end of 2010, I have not taken up a course of study with it and have not made significant ground on learning to play - I will sell it.
5. Purchase a life insurance policy. I've known about the importance of this ever since Sarah and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Stupidly, I've dragged my heels in actually doing it. Sarah has one through work, but right now I've got nothing, leaving Sarah unprotected if something bad happened. (Do not use this to infer that Sarah is pregnant, this is just something that I need to do, period.)

So there you have it, my 2010 resolutions. Are you making resolutions this year? What resolutions in the past have you successfully followed through on?

My thoughts on the Bowl Championship Series

This post is addressed to an old Harding U. friend, Tiffany, in response to a comment thread started on my DW's blog.

Yecke, did I ever say in my first comment that I had a workable playoff system? Nope. There are two reasons for this. 1) I've heard many different opinions on how to implement one, but I can't say that any one of them is better than the next; 2) ANY of those opinions are BETTER than what is currently in place. That doesn't mean that every opinion I've heard is a good one, it just means that the BCS is THAT BAD OF ONE!!!!

I am not in favor of subtracting any regular season games. We are in agreement that the rivals are what drives college football. (See my earlier comments regarding UF.) So therefore games must be added. Obviously we cannot create a viable "March Madness" of CF. But there must be a way where a championship is earned by defeating other seeded opponents from other regions of the country. There must also be the opportunity for a team to upset a higher ranked team. Right now, TCU, Cincinnatti, and Boise State SHOULD be pissed, because all 3 of them should have a chance to knock off Florida, Texas, and Alabama - but they won't. You and I both know that Texas will play either UF or UA for the championship because a computer decrees it.

The argument that Boise, TCU, and Cincy should have scheduled tougher opponents doesn't hold water. I know you haven't made that statement...yet?...but that's a common misconception. CF scheduling is so screwed up, because nobody knows who is going to be good 5 years down the road. In addition to that, The big boy teams aren't going to schedule teams like Boise because of the conferences they play in. Why on earth SHOULD any SEC team schedule a game against a potential "bracket buster" when they already have the toughest schedule in the country?!?! They're already paying their dues in their own conference. It's the same reason USC (Southern Cal) has to play Notre Dame, Ohio State, and other big time schools - because they can't prove themselves just by beating up on PAC 10 teams...which they can't even do that this year.

Here is the biggest flaw about the BCS. It's not in the least bit about crowning a championship. It's all about $$. All the bowls "around which the fans can rally" to use your words, will continue to pay unheard of amounts to keep it the way it is - because they're afraid of their bowl meaning less than it already does. Why is it that only 4 bowls can hold the title game? $$$. But what about all the other bowls? Are people really "rallying" around the Carquest Bowl...AutoZone Bowl...Brut Bowl...MAACO Bowl...Roady's Truck Stops Bowl...Emerald Nuts Bowl...We Actually Sucked But We Had A .500 Winning Record So We Got Invited To The "We Suck" Bowl...(all except the last are actual bowl games.) The vast majority of the bowls are nothing more than advertisements in the form of a football game. I would bet good money that the insignificant bowls would lose no more money if we moved to a playoff system than they currently make now...if they are even turning a profit.

The BCS is also CASH COW for the NCAA, which I'm sure you are aware, many in education consider to be one of the most corrupt non-profit organizations out there.

Another flaw in the BCS. Last season, Florida played Oklahoma on January 8. Prior to that game, Florida's last game was on December 6. (That's one month and two days in between games for those of you keeping score at home.) Oklahoma's last game ALSO took place on December 6. Seriously, are all of the Insignificant Bowls so important that fans and the actual teams PICKED to play for the championship have to wait more than a month to play one final game? Could we maybe use those 4 weeks in between to work on letting the teams themselves determine who should play for the title? I say yes.

You noted the potential for "career threatening" injuries. I would submit that the risk for injury is greater with a month off in between games and coming in cold, vs. staying in the competitive grind. Plus, who's to say that the top teams couldn't have some sort of "first round bye" in a tournament play system in order for some knicked up players to rest? While we are talking about careers, the teams that currently play for the BCS Championship play a maximum of 14 games. Subtract 1 for teams that don't have to play a conference championship. If a player goes into the NFL and his team makes it to the Super Bowl - you're talking about potentially going from a 14 game CF schedule to a 20 game NFL schedule if a WIld Card game is played.

So here is one suggestion that I think is worth a conversation (I'M ACKNOWLEDGING RIGHT NOW THAT THERE ARE FLAWS): First require all Football Bowl Subdivision conferences to hold a conference championship game, so that all conf. champions end with 14 game schedules. Then begin bracket play. As pictured below, out of the 12 conferences, award a first round bye to the 4 conference champions with the best overall records. Proceed from there. At the most, the title-winning team plays 17 or 18 games.



Flaws with this suggestion:

• The Independents - there are 3 teams not affiliated with a conference, Notre Dame, Army, Navy. Either create new conference with those 3 and additional schools, or absorb those 3 teams into current conferences and go with 11 conferences. Either way, big mess created.
• Season length - potentially longer than NFL; at the same time - helps more more players get acclimated to a longer season
• Needs to ensure motivation of schools to schedule tough out-of-conference opponents - How about this: Suppose UGA and UF tie for the lead in the SEC East to go to the conf. title game. Take the total number of wins of their opponents, not including each other, team with higher of opponent victories goes to conf. title game?

Opportunities:

• 11 games for Bowls to be included in National Title Tournament
• All of the other Insignificant Bowls can invite who ever they want and keep their conference allegiances.
• NO COMPUTERS, NO POLLS. Just wins and losses.

OK, that's enough for now. Discuss.

a quote I really like

"It's not the critic who counts. It's not the man who points out where the grown man stumbles, or how the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who actually is in the arena, who strives violently, who errs and comes up short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who if he wins knows the triumph of high achievement; but who if he fails, fails while daring greatly, so his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." - Teddy Roosevelt