It's That Time of Year Again

This blog began at the genesis of this year, 2008. I have used it repeatedly to share my opinion, reflections, frustrations and joys. But the timing has not allowed me to write about something I hold very dear to my heart. Something I have been able to only scratch the surface of thus far in my blog. This wonderful, fulfilling, action packed, emotionally pulsating, roller coaster of a ride with drama, physicality, strategy, glory, sorrow, pain and anticipation is the not baseball, not basketball, not hockey, not tennis, not golf but football. Sweet, sweet, football.

Many friends of mine know my intense passion for this game and my teams. Most share the same feelings with varying degrees of intensity. Our conversations routinely morph into topics of football no matter where we try to start. Most of the time we just get right to the point and debate our ideas of roster moves and needs and coaching strategies or assessments of the above. To paraphrase my brother who may not even remember saying this: "There are three things in this world I love. My wife, my daughter and SPORTS! (To the chant of charge!) Sports, sports, sports, sports...." Of course, those were my words in place of his but with the same passion and voracity. Today, football goes in the "sports" slot of that famous line. I love baseball and basketball. But football is just so much better. The late George Carlin loved to lay out the toughness of the sport compared to baseball, but that is one of many aspects that put football at the top of the list.

Let me get to my point: The offseason provided many headlines for my Browns that I could have written about. The draft is always fun to watch even with no picks for my team until the third round (thanks to a Day 2 trade). The Spring Game in Columbus is a scrimmage teaser for those of us feening for the sport we love. But with my beloved Cavs fighting for a playoff run, I was more interested in sharing those thoughts at those times. So now my football discussion can and will begin in earnest.

Today marks the opening of Browns training camp. Plenty of new faces dawn the practice fields in Berea. Phil Savage has gone out of his way to sign much needed help on the defensive side of the ball. Shaun Rogers (Lions) and Corey Williams (Packers) will help out on the line. This improvement should allow the defense as a whole to improve as a steady pass rush will create more and better opportunities for the linebackers and secondary to do their jobs better. Donte Stallworth was an important acquisition with the injury to Joe Jurevicius. Resigning Jamal Lewis was important as well. The offensive line was the best its been since Kosar was behind the line in 1986. Cribbs has the return game looking good and Dawson is solid.

I would like to see another RB signed to add some needed depth there. Lewis is injury prone and while our current guys are good in spot duty, I just don't feel they can carry the load for several games if Lewis goes down. The defensive backfield scares me the most. I hope Romeo can scheme his way through the passing offenses we face this year or McDonald ends up being a stud. I am not too confident in either.

Overall, the schedule is not kind to the Browns this season. They won't be sneaking up on anybody either. We may be better than last year and still finish with a worse record. But the division just may be weak this year as well which means a worse record may still get them in the playoffs as ironic as that may sound. With that said, the AFC North will probably be dominant and the Browns will go 5-11.

(Notice no Brett Favre in that post?)

The Buckeyes have just about everybody returning this year outside of Vernon Gohlstein. I still think they have one of the best coaches in college football. The Big Ten will still be weak. There is no reason they shouldn't make it through the season, except unexpected injuries, with more than one or two losses. The problem is, with the past two disappointments in the BCS National Championship to the SEC, they are considered overrated throughout the nation. They will need to go undefeated with convincing wins over USC, nagihcim and any other surprise team (see Illinois last year) AND hope there is only one other undefeated team to even get a shot for the third straight year.

Doesn't it demonstrate how powerful the Buckeye football program is by the fact that they have been in three National Championships in six years with several other BCS bowls in between? Wow. And the recruits keep coming.

Boeckman should be solid with a whole season behind him. Wells has proven he can rush the football. The receiving corps are solid. The defense is experienced and talented. Don't let the national media fool you either....they are fast. Their 40 times are just as quick as the speedy Pac 10 or SEC. As much as I love Tressel he needs a defensive coach who can scheme better for spread offenses. They need to convert on third downs in big games better. I almost wish he would go back to old school Tressel ball that everybody hated and slow the game down to a brutal turtle pace. But the defense needs to be dominant. The verdict is out on that. With the experience and talent, one would think they will be.

Carson Palmer has initiated the talk with his anti-Buckeye talk. The first punch has been thrown. I know more is to come. I love it. This game is going to be so hyped. It will make the OSU/Texas games look like week one, nonconference cupcake games (see UM v. App St.....uhhhhhhhh no, don't. Doesn't really fit my example. But its fun to be reminded of it isn't it?) I can't wait. I just hope our Buckeyes take the high road and keep their mouths shut only saying the company line, "USC is a great team. Coach Carroll is a great coach. Just look at all their trophies. I'm just glad we get a chance to play them and see how we match up. It will be a true test of where we are and where we need to be." Let the fans and alumni say all the trash.

So this is the first of many posts regarding my true love. Football. I pray my teams are exciting and relevant all the way to January. Otherwise, my wife is in for many depressing weeks ahead from me. Mondays are never fun in the Huey household after a loss. Even if one of the teams won. This year some of those Mondays will be Tuesdays. Needless to say I haven't had many good autumn Monday in years!

Is this Fatigue?

Let me tell you...this post is all about me unleashing some venom.

I am really cranky, irritable, and tense. I don't want to work on this house anymore. I feel like we have been racing to get things done for months now and we still have so much more to go. I thought I'd feel some satisfaction from crossing off things on the to do list but each thing that gets scratched off turns into two or even three other things to do!!!

Also, I feel guilty because there have been numerous people helping out. My wife is doing more than I am doing. Her expectations are a bit higher than mine. Her parents have helped out tremendously with their expertise. As I blogged before, fixing things is not my forte. I need much help and education. So I shouldn't be so tired of this.

In addition to the frustration over the amount of work, we have spent a tremendous amount of money on these things. If I have to watch my wife buy any more flowers, paint, brushes, light bulbs, blue tape, box cutters, door stops, carpet, carpet padding, floor tiles, glue, light fixtures, towel racks, top soil, grass seed, pipes and pieces for pipes I never heard of or knew about, and so on...I will gouge my eyeballs out slowly and mercilessly. I can't even pay for this because I am dead broke. Ok, ok not really broke, but broke after the bills are paid. Nobody's filing for bankruptcy here.

So far my vacation has consisted of ripping out bushes and mini-trees, growing grass. pulling weeds and planting a garden, pulling more weeds, cleaning the shutters, painting the garage, three bedrooms, outside trim, pulling off wallpaper in the basement, painting that basement, fixing two bathroom sinks, putting up a towel rack, taking down and putting up two light fixtures, fixing two three lights, getting new carpeting, fixing baseboards and putting in three new vents, boxing up clutter and taking out furniture not used anymore, finding a plumber to fix the leaks we didn't get, calling to get bulk trash pickup and then finding out we have to dump most of it somewhere ourselves, hearing nobody will help with the shutters leaving us to deal with them despite the fact that they are too high up for our ladder, dealing with a misquote by the stupid people at Home Depot and still going back to fix another mistake they made on the price, dealing with the nickel and dime crap they put us through with the charges for installation (easy one time charge of $199 my ass!) and planning with the wife and in-laws how to do it all.

And I still have to paint the back exterior steps, plant more grass, level more of the backyard, paint the rest of the garage, move furniture while the carpet people install because moving furniture wasn't in their contracted amount, figure out how to rid ourselves of the piles of trash in our garage, fix the smoke alarm and CO2 alarm, fix the front outdoor water socket, fix the back patio exterior outlet, seal the driveway, steamclean the basement carpet, paint my daughter's room, clean the place up and down and more that I have forgotten.

I'm really pissed off.

My poor daughter is getting bored and my patience with her is nonexistent. Her mom takes her all over the midwest to amusement parks, county fairs to ride rides and meanwhile we have her watch us work. We try to let her help us paint, she loves that, but she drips it all over the place. I am trying not to take it out on her or my wife but they are getting the brunt of it.

I am glad this is happening when we have time, the summer. To think how stressed I would be if I was teaching through all of this? Missing my football on the weekends? Oh my, my, my. To think if I had to do this on my income alone? Fortunately, my wife makes enough to pay for this while I keep cranking out the monthly bills and debts. We haven't had to put any of this on credit cards.

This was my attempt at venting....exhale.



Ok, I feel better now. Tomorrow is a new day. Day of more work...but new attitude.

Positive Affirmations

Recently I learned something new about our behavior and feelings. I hope it is going to change the way I view things or think of things. The power of thought is much more powerful than I anticipated. In a round about sort of way I may have already known this but never acknowledged it. Now, it is time to address it and use it for good and not evil.

I was aware of the chemicals and hormones racing through our bodies all the time. These chemicals dictate how we feel and react to things. They play a major role if not THE role in our perception of reality. These are the things that make me feel there is no God or a puppeteer like God. Today is not that kind of blog post though. These chemicals can be triggered by the thoughts we create in our heads. Therefore, we can control our feelings to a certain degree through our thoughts. I don't mean to be so cut and dry and make this out to be an easy task. This is obviously easier said then done or our whole world would be quite different and the need for counselors and therapists would be much smaller.

Throughout my life I was fortunate to have two parents who made it a point to compliment me and avoid too much negativity. Of course, I still had to find a problem with that as I progressed through adolescence. My poor parents couldn't win. They managed to avoid being those overbearing, negative parents killing their kids confidence and self-esteem and did everything they could to build it up and I STILL complained about their parenting. My issues were that I would have a false sense of accomplishment and so I made it a point to cut myself down and ignore and positive remarks they gave me. To this day I have a hard time taking compliments even though I cherish every little one and starve for them. I usually find ways to rationalize how the compliment is not true or too positive. I can't just leave well enough alone and say thank you. Also, I am so afraid of getting insulted or criticized that I try to cut myself down first to avoid any criticism from someone else. I figured if I got the first punch in, the others would not get a chance.

So decades of creating these negative thoughts in my brain have hard wired it to the point that I automatically have these negative feelings about much of what I do. Any time I do something, I naturally react negatively towards it. Therefore, I feel bad about myself and lack confidence much of the time.

I have never had major panic attacks but from what I have heard and learned, they are pretty much adrenaline rushes. Chemically, they are the same as a rush of excitement. The difference is the feeling attached to it or the context of the adrenaline rush. Many times panic attacks or anxiety attacks or general feelings of fear or even sadness can be induced by thoughts. You see something happen and you react to it or think about it. These reactions or thoughts in the brain produce the chemicals that create that "attack" or the feelings of fear, sadness and so on.

With that in mind, you can control your feelings. I have been doing this by thinking negative thoughts about myself on purpose leading to low self-esteem and lack of confidence or general feelings of fear and sadness. What I should be doing is forcing positive thoughts in my head. I need to get to the point of making this routine. These positive thoughts will produce the chemicals that create happiness and confidence. The adrenaline rush would then have a more positive context to it and feel more like a roller coaster than a panic attack.

But let me tell you this won't be easy. The logical, left brain dominated self that am I will analyze things to a point of pure negative and not allow those positive chemicals to flow. The Huey Karma will have its way with me. The hard wired brain that is my head will be a tough one to plow through.

For now, I am going to try to recite positive attributes I consider myself to have each morning. I am going to use my dad's technique of pounding my heart and saying, "Today's gonna be a good day." Hopefully, this will foster a more general sense of confidence and self-esteem. I highly recommend you to join me.

Like Guy Smiley on the old SNL skits......."and dawgonit, people like me!"

MMA and Young Children

ESPN's Outside the Lines ran a story this morning (Sunday, July 20) on the growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts and its effect on young children joining the sport. This prompted a great opportunity to debate the ethics of introducing kids to such a violent sport at an early age.

Mixed Martial Arts is the new boxing. It is gaining mass popularity within the male 18-35 demographic. I admit that even myself, a passive, nonconfrontational guy has found some mild interest in it. I would prefer watching it over boxing for example. There is something appealing about guys beating their brains in although I would never want to do it myself. I also have a little person on my shoulder telling me there is something wrong about it.

The ethical argument regarding MMA in general is one I choose not to blog about here. Instead I'd like to reflect on the ethics of youths' participation in MMA. There are physical and mental/emotional questions to be answered regarding this subject.

For example in terms of the physical aspects of MMA, do we want to allow our children to participate in an activity in which the risk of injury is high? The injuries could also be very serious. The types of stress and movement required are not good for growing, developing bodies. But we promote football which is a physical sport. Also, with obesity among our youth and general population in the U.S. on the rise along with the number of hours we all play video games or watch tv instead of doing physical activity, shouldn't we be looking for more active experiences for our children? Isn't MMA another avenue to pursue? Many kids don't like sports but enjoy this kind of activity. So why disallow it?

Mentally and emotionally, are kids ready to handle the brutality of beating another human being to a pulp and intentionally hurting them or submitting them? Is it a good thing to teach this aggressive way of thinking? Don't we want to avoid that and limit or discourage that behavior in our society? But doesn't violence already exist anyway and the best way to avoid it or handle it is to be prepared to defend or protect yourself? If done right, doesn't this provide a structured way to educate youth how to handle confrontation and build confidence that they can handle a confrontation appropriately no matter how it ends up? See Karate Kid.

Obviously there are two sides to this issue. Quite frankly, the guy representing the pro-MMA side didn't convince me with his argument at all. That could be because there is no substantial evidence or reasoning to prove to me that MMA is good for young kids. So after watching the so called debate on OTL with Bob Ley, I felt the same way I did going in. Once again, I am riding the fence.

I love the idea of providing more excuses for youth to exercise and get involved in an activity. Studies have shown for a long time that getting involved in things is generally positive for kids whether it is swimming, football, drama, band or any other organized group. My wife and I (as well as my daughter's mother), intentionally get my daughter signed up for various things for this reason. Socialization is important. Exposure to different interests is positive. Learning different skills is a bonus. There is that fine line between exposing and pushing too hard that my wife and I are trying to walk with her but we feel we do this by not forcing here into anything and not requiring success. We also have valued variety through soccer, swimming, skill building, speech, library visits, zoo visits, amusement parks, parks in general, bike riding and more as we plan to enroll her in dance, tumbling and other varied activities.

So I like the angle that it gives an physical activity for kids to enjoy. I also like the "idea" of teaching self-defense and using this avenue to teach methods of handling confrontation without violence first. But this is where things get blurry. Many forms of martial arts have already been doing that for years, decades, centuries I would think. MMA is taking those art forms and infusing the violence, not teaching how to avoid it. The proponents can try to work the Martial Arts angle of self-defense all they want, but really...who's buying it? I am not. Granted, I have never set foot in a MMA match or gym so I have no idea what really goes on in there. It could be liked wild, caged dogs trying to kill each other (a la Mike Vick) or it could be instructors teaching the values of self-defense as a last resort. I tend to lean more to the violent approach.

I also worry about the physical harm we are risking with our youth when we have them perform the moves and holds that are part of MMA. The bones are not yet fully grown. The muscles aren't mature. The brain is yet to develop fully. The physical abuse and wear and tear grown adult fighters go through is bad enough. The last fight I saw had one guy bleeding profusely from his head to the point that the mat was soaked in red. It was kinda cool, but brutal. I couldn't imagine a child dealing with that.

I think it is good to teach kids the value of discipline, training, setting goals, dealing with scary situations, working hard, gaining confidence, exercise, keeping a healthy body and handling defeat or victory with honor. These are important things. I think sports in general do this. While I agree that MMA can help promote and teach these, it borders on using the wrong methods to do so unleashing a monster along with these values. Kids may not comprehend what is being taught correctly and become more likely to grow into violent, aggressive, egotistical meatheads that handle everything with physical intimidation, the lowest of intelligence.

Once again, I think things come down to the parenting of the child. I am not going to judge parents who are trying to do what's right. I understand there can be positives taken from this, but it is absolutely critical that the parents are highly involved and making sure the kids are not taking this the wrong way. I worry that won't happen. I worry that most parents allowing their kids to be in MMA at a young age are doing it for the wrong reasons. But that happens in other sports too. Football is glorified while displaying many of the same problems that I am claiming MMA will.

There should be an age requirement for the safety of the children. Or there should be major limits put on what is allowed and not allowed in competition. These are musts in my mind. Coaches or instructors should really teach alternative methods to handling confrontation and promote it and value it legitimately and seriously. Again though, I just worry that the two can't go hand in hand despite what the proponents of MMA say.

MMA is not going to go away. It is growing and hasn't even peaked. But if we are going to allow our kids to get involved, it needs to be regulated in a major way. And our kids who join need to be more mature and grown that we are allowing now.

Shameless Cheese Blog

I was thinking the other day how Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" is such a bad song yet so catchy. In fact I have thought many times over that it is my favorite cheesy dance song. There is something about it that makes me want to dance. Yes. I should be set in front of a firing squad and shot for writing those words.

But it is the God honest truth and I have other bad songs that make me want to dance. Of course, I use the term dance loosely in that I cannot dance worth a nickel.

Another song that usually works...."Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees. Of course that song brings out the inner John Travolta in so many people as they, errrrrrrr....we do that silly pointy dance every time it comes on at a wedding or old timers dance club. But I'd rather dance to this than most of the current hip hop out there today.

Yet another groove is "Groove is in the Heart" by Dee-Lite. I love to get down to the beat with this one. I like the moments of stop.......then start again. And the weird sounds like pops and counting and what not. Good stuff.

I have to include the techno favorite from my days at those crazy trippy lighted, trance clubs where everyone (except me) was on some kind of speed or Ecstasy or whatever people do at those places. "Sandstorm" by Darude was always one of my favorites there as I liked to bust a move to it. An electronica artist I have a guilty pleasure for though is Alice Deejay. She had a number of good songs I loved to move to in my car nonetheless.

Oh, I am gonna pay for this post but screw it. Hopefully you guys have some other shameless dance songs you fall victim to from time to time. I know I missed some.

Major League Baseball All Star Game

Of all the All Star games in the major sports here in the U.S., I have always liked the baseball All Star game best. The NBA's Saturday night competitions are better than the home run derby on the All Star Eves but not by much.

I felt as though I should comment on the marathon All star game that took place this week in MLB. Sports talk radio is all over the "problem" of the long game. I suppose it is not good to take an exhibition game into the wee hours of the night on the east coast. I also understand that wearing out pitchers in a meaningless game in terms of the teams themselves who pay the players is taking a risk that isn't fair.

But let's go back several years when the game ended in a tie and the whole sports talk jocks were up in arms about how bad that was and how it needed to be solved. Also, let's remember that this game isn't meaningless to all the teams. The winning league field advantage in the World Series for its representative so the teams in the pennant race do have a reason to win.

Since everyone has their solution just like they have a solution for the BCS, here is mine for what it is worth.......

I think the game should be played out in extra innings to get a winner. I think the managers should manage with that in mind as the game progresses and saves pitchers. As they get closer to the end, they can use them for 1/3 of an inning to get every team's representative a chance to play so the fans can see "their guy." Regardless of how the manager uses the pitchers, it makes them actually do their job and "manage" the game (By the way, how about all my " and " in this post? Enough?) But I would alter the rules a bit in that the players who were substituted for earlier in the game to get more players a chance to play for their fans, can return to the game in their previous spot in the lineup and field. This can only be done once per player and can't happen until after the ninth inning.

I still need to think it through to work out the kinks but I'm counting on commenter's to help me with that. Share the flaws you find in this idea and if you have an idea to fix them, go for it. Also, you can give your idea as well.

Thinking About How I Teach Social Studies

I am in the midst of a book titled, "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James W. Loewen. It is more of an indictment on the American History textbooks used in high schools around the country than it is the teachers who use them.

As I read through the book and the interesting, little-known-facts he presents that contradict what has become common knowledge of our country's history, I go back and forth between intrigue and pessimism or skeptical thinking. I am not questioning whether his statements are true as he provides evidence for his points, but his opinion. I believe there is some need to write the textbooks the way they have been despite these errors and misconceptions. It depends on the grade level of the reader and their cognitive development at the time they are presented with the information and objective of the lesson or chapter.

All in all though, it is discouraging how inaccurate and incomplete our education of our own history is to the younger generations. What may be scarier is that it has been incomplete and inaccurate for numerous generations already including my own! Therefore, much of what I read is new to me and hence, the intrigue and excitement to read.

This post is not to review the book or even discuss any of the specific historical events presented in the book thus far. Instead, I am choosing to write about how I, a fourth grade teacher to a predominantly minority class, will continue to teach American history (Ohio history to be more specific according to grade level standards set by the state and district in which I teach) after reading this book and gaining the knowledge that what I teach as fact may be only pieces to the whole story at best.

In fourth grade I can initiate good discussion regarding many of our states historical events but there is a ceiling to what they can developmentally grasp. Also, there may be relevant subjects that are just inappropriate for them to discuss. I want to respect their parents decisions to what they expose their ten year old children to even if they walk in the classroom with T-shirts covered in profane, offensive language and watch music videos or wrestling matches that cheapen women and glorify violence. In the end I need to keep my side of the street clean.

But, the main objective I have gained from this book is the general idea that history is not a concrete, stagnant pile of facts, but a fluid, multifaceted flow of events that should always be questioned. No one factor plays a role in the wars, discoveries, laws, decisions and so on that took place. There are many previosu events that effect these other events we learn. Also, many of the events we read about effect what we do today even centuries later.

I think it is THAT idea of cause and effect that needs to be fostered more than the dates, people and events. Memorizing these facts don't lead to the kind of knowledge that can be used in most of the workforce later in life.

In addition to cause and effect, the encouragement to question what they learn and how to go about questioning it needs to be fostered. Fact memorization won't create a love for learning. But discussion and debate just might.

The curriculum I teach already tries to address cause and effect in several ways. There are chapters that discuss this specific skill. What I'd like to do is find a basic, low maintenance way to incorporate these kinds of discussions in every lesson topic.

Really, I just want to instill the overall open mindedness to possible differences than what we read. I'd like my students to realize more evidence can be found. That history is fluid. What we think is true may not be true or may have more to it. Therefore, it is ok to challenge what is considered "factual." Of course, this would need to be tempered appropriately because questioning just for the sake of questioning may just confuse students more than guide them.

I'd like to share several examples from the book. We all know the basic story of Hellen Keller (Chapter One: Handicapped by History)but rarely touch on the majority of her life as a major player in women's suffrage. I was never taught about her political views and the contradictions of these views to the pick yourself up by the bootstraps message her story is used to portray. While we learn from her story as a deaf and blind, wild and out of control child who learned to read and write and educate herself, that you can do anything if you set your mind to it and work hard...just look at Hellen Keller, she didn't feel as though that was possible for many people in our country due to their economic situation. She was born into a wealthy family and believed without the resources her parents were able to obtain for her, she would have never accomplished what she did. This belief led her to an outspoken socialist stance which has been frowned upon and therefore, left out of our lesson regarding her.

We all know the story of Columbus (Chapter 2: 1493)and how many holes have been shot into his glorified mystique, but did we ever learn that there is evidence that other people were exploring the Americas long before him? Do we truly acknowledge the accomplishments of the Natives who were already there in the first place?

Related to the Columbus story which can be a long post in itself, I also thought it is interesting that slavery is usually taught in the context of the African slave trade and its effects on the American Civil War. I don't remember the fact that Columbus was enslaving the American Indians as well. And the American Indians enslaved other American Indians as did Africans of other Africans and obviously the Europeans enslaving Africans. In fact you can find evidence of slavery in various forms today. This is a subject that goes well beyond the Civil War in America.

Finally, that last sentence reminded me of how we generally teach the Civil War as the North being the "good guys" and the Confederacy being the "bad guys." The Civil War had so many different factors playing their part that it is almost a perfect opportunity to show how history can be viewed differently through different colored lenses. And it can be used to demonstrate the way numerous factor play numerous roles in one event. It is not as black and white as, well, black and white people and slavery. The economy, states rights and more also played roles. Many different people had many different points of views and beliefs and motivations.

So, as I proceed through this book and enjoy reading about my country's history and the things I didn't know or didn't think to question when I was learning it, I plan to keep reminding myself to allow my students to question it. To question me. It would be nice if they learned that they could go "look it up" and actually did.

But that's a whole other blog post.....motivating my students, sigh.

Retirement in Sports

I read today that Trent Dilfer is retiring from the NFL. After a long, mediocre but relatively proud career (he did win one Super Bowl) including a stint with my beloved Cleveland Browns, I bet he will not be making a comeback.

But that's the point of retirement! According to dictionary.com , retire means to "withdraw or remove oneself."

Can someone please inform Micheal Jordan, Roger (Roid-ger in some circles) Clemens and most recently the publicity addicted Brett Favre? Of course these are just a few of many including: world famous soccer superstar Pele, Weed loving, newly Canadian Ricky Williams, basketball stars Charles Oakley, Bob Cousy, Wilt Chamberlain, boxers George Foreman, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Muhammad Ali, tennis stars Bjorn Borg and Martina Navratilova and Olympian Jim Thorpe.

It is understandable that athletes in general have a hard time ending their careers. In order to be as successful as they are to get to the point of being a professional athlete, they need several particular traits including a competitive nature. This competitive nature or fire is what most likely plays the largest role in their lack of commitment to the "real world" of retirement because nothing in the "real world" can match the competitive nature of their job.

Also, as referenced at http://blogs.newretirement.com/2007/12/16/top-sports-anti-retirement-stories/, athletes deal with other contributing factors such as retiring at a younger age than most workers, addiction to the fame and publicity, addiction to the excitement of pro sports, and depression from the major life changes taking place.

With that said let me make it known that I am getting tired of the gone, back again story of Brett Favre and Micheal Jordan. Granted, Jordan managed to continue his excellence the second time around in Chicago showing that retiring for the baseball diamond was a mistake worthy and capable of being rectified, but to retire and come back again?! That was too much.

Brett Favre has commandeered the headlines in Green Bay and nationwide for several seasons now playing with spectators' emotions and interests about whether he will return to football or not. I try to understand his inability to stick with his retirement decision but this is getting old. This time around he held an official press conference to announce his retirement. But within weeks we heard about the locker remaining unavailable to other players and hints of a return. Now he is text messaging the front office of the Packers while they are on vacation. And ESPN has it on day and night. Kids at the Boys and Girls' Club are asking questions of the head coach Mike McCarthy about the possible return. Poor Aaron Rodgers, the QB in waiting for a number of years now, is continuing to answer for Brett's decision more than his own job.

It is as if Favre cannot take the spotlight leaving him. He has to keep control of the spotlight by throwing out just enough to bring it back to him so he can deny any of the rumors and "wash his hands" of the story. Yet, as soon as the media finally looks elsewhere, like clockwork, here come Favre again. So I spend my rides to softball listening to what team Favre would best fit in if Green Bay doesn't want him back. I also hear what Green Bay should do since Favre is a legend and it would be sacrilegious to get rid of him despite the serious need to move on and build for the future. And finally, what teams that Favre could play for are on the Packer's schedule meaning there could be the iconic Favre beating the home team Pack and the Lambeau crowd actually cheering since they love Brett more than the Packers.

I can't take much more of this. Mid summer is such a dry time for sports with baseball being the only real relevant sport of the major three in the U.S and 24 hour sports television and radio need filler but how about bringing some more smaller sports to light like Arena Football (C'mon Gladiators!) or soccer, or the upcoming Olympics instead of beating the same, tired story to death. I bet if the media stays away, eventually, so will Favre. But why would they when we, the fans, don't stay away either. I suppose if I want this to stop, I need to stop watching.

Oh no way. Nuh uh. H to the no!

"It's gonna be a GTD"

I have several phrases I say from time to time as we all do. My wife likes to tease me because I say them alot and she finds them rather humorous. Her use of them later is awfully cute, especially when they are used incorrectly. Most of my "favorites" or most commonly used sayings are sports related. Those of you who watch sports may use them as well and think nothing of it. I never did...until the wife pointed them out.

The first phrase I tend to use is "that was in your wheelhouse!" I have heard that used in baseball to reference a pitch that is located right where the hitter's swing is comfortably and most efficiently crossing the plate to hit the ball with power. For instance, Grady Sizemore hits a home run and Rick Manning comments during the replay, "Wow! That was a fastball right in his wheelhouse and he CRUSHED it." I like to use the term generally as I speak about somebody doing something very well or easily. A good example would be in the classroom when a particular student who is good with math nails a complicated, multi-step math question and I commend her by saying, "Ciara, that must have been in your wheelhouse, eh?" Usually that reply would be followed by a questioning, confused look from Ciara with a "yeah I guess so" remark.

The next phrase I like to use is "light a fire under his a$$!" This term is common and I am not sure where I heard it but I use it to describe motivating somebody. I mean who wouldn't be motivated by flames on their bottom? Unfortunately, the billies down here commonly use it to refer to spanking someone which I don't mean. So I get in trouble sometimes using it when it is interpreted that way and I don't mean that at all.

Another comical phrase I have used in softball and still get laughed at for is "red underwear!" This is code for red light meaning stop. In softball I mean to stop swinging or don't swing at the pitch because there are 3 balls and only 1 strike (we start off with a strike for those not "in the know." It makes the games go faster.) The strategy can be debated but my point is: if you can get a walk for free, go for it. Don't risk getting an out when you can get on base with no risk at all. Also, you have a strike to waste so if he pitches one you still get another chance. My wife and teammates say it wrong though.....on purpose. They spew out "red dress!" or "red stockings!" or something red and feminine. But I am hitting so bad this year that I really shouldn't say much at all.


Last but not least, "game time decision" is a phrase I use regularly when referring to a choice I wait to make until the last moment. This phrase is used frequently when players are injured and not sure if they will play or not until they see how they feel at the start of the game. There are other uses for this phrase as well like when managers or coaches decide who they play for reasons other than injuries right before the start of the game. So my wife laughs when I generalize this phrase to decisions regarding dinner or what outfit to dress my daughter in or whose car we take or everyday decisions like that.

We were laughing about this the other day as we talked about how this phrase could work in a beer commercial. A group of guys are making decisions about pregame activities but they know one thing will be involved: A GTD beer brewed fresh from the clear, cool rivers of the Appalachians. Now that's a Game Time Decision we can ALL agree with!

Be Kind Rewind

My wife and I decided it would be a good idea to mellow out the other night after a difficult week of bad news, fear, worry, relief and life changes to rent some movies. She satisfied her guilty pleasure with 27 Dresses while I played on the computer and we shared in watching Be Kind Rewind starring Jack Black, Mos Def and Danny Glover as well as Mia Farrow.

Like music, I am the last guy you want to go to to get a credible, educated review of any art form but those of you interested in a regular guy's opinion of a movie, here is mine:

Overall the movie has your basic premise. A fledgling video store stuck in the VHS era trying to stay open in a Jersey town outside of NYC while the zoning committee wants to tear down the nearly condemned building to put up brand new condos or something along those lines. Of course there is a big, new chain video store competing for business (see Barbershop) but its role feels minor.

Throughout the movie I found myself drawn to Mos Def's character, Mike, for some reason. He just seemed like your average guy trying to do the right thing keep the store up and running for Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) who he seems to look up to. That appealed to me. Jack Black continued to play the same character he seems to play in every comedy I have seen him do...the silly, goofy guy dancing around and singing absurd things. But I have been a sucker for that I guess. You never really know what Jerry (Black) does for a living or what role he plays in these people's lives other than "the odd friend."

The movie really isn't anything to write home about. I imagine the critics would blast it up and down. I mean the plot revolves around unrealistic events. For some reason Jerry thinks the power plant is messing with his brain on purpose and he tries to sabotage it getting magnetized in the process which later leads to him erasing all the tapes in the store. The plot finally takes off from there but the whole power plant things seems irrelevant except for an excuse to get all the tapes erased.

The meat of the movie is the remainder as Mike and Jerry try to remake all the movies and do a terrible job but the customers still like it. It is all a bit of a stretch. Nonetheless hi jinx ensue and it becomes kind of a fun ride as the community comes together. The weirdness of it all attracted me in the same way that Weird Al Yankovic's UHF did from almost two decades ago. I had much fondness of UHF for some unknown reason. ("Badgers?! We don't need no stinkin' Badgers!!)

In the end it has the feel good moment of the town coming together to make their own movie instead of ripping off other movies. It was about their local Jazz musician hero Fatt's Miller I think.

It was a "neat" ending for an easy going, movie. Not one I would go out and recommend to everybody or call one of my favorites. I doubt I will see it again, but it was pretty good. It fit the mood my wife and I were in perfectly. We laughed, we enjoyed the oddity of Black and got caught up in the simplistic story.