Wednesday, June 9, 2010

John Wooden, In Memoriam

Photo courtesy the NY Daily News.

Last Friday, UCLA basketball coaching legend John Wooden passed away from natural causes at the age of 99. He won 10 national titles and single-handedly transformed UCLA into a basketball powerhouse. He is a two-time Hall of Famer, inducted in 1961 as a player and 1973 as a coach. Wooden served during World War II as a Navy lieutenant and was a devout Christian. His Pyramid of Success is as much a part of his legacy as his coaching resume. To commemorate his coaching excellence and passion for shaping mens' lives, here are some of his quotes:

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

"Never mistake activity for achievement."

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

"Be prepared and be honest."

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

"Ability is a poor man's wealth."

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."

"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

"Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts."

For his Pyramid of Success, see this LA Times graphic. And for a more complete look at Wooden's life, read Jeff Eisenberg's column at Rivals/Yahoo. The last two paragraphs will make you shed a tear.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Spelling Bee Highlights

Occasionally, I watch the National Spelling Bee. Some of the kids' reactions are priceless. These are some highlights, courtesy ESPN:

Friday, June 4, 2010

Lakers v. Celtics in a Nutshell

I'm heading out of town for the weekend, so here's a quick video on the history between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, the two franchises with the most titles in the NBA (Celtics 17 titles, Lakers 15). The Lakers-Celtics rivalry is easily the biggest in basketball and one of the most famous in sports. Video courtesy YouTube user xiehaorong:

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Blown Perfection

Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga. Photo courtesy customauthenticjerseys.com.

Last night, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was on the brink of the 3rd perfect game this season, but his bid was derailed by one Jim Joyce. A perfect game is one of the rarest feats in baseball, and this season there have already been two (Oakland's Dallas Braden against Tampa on May 9 and Philadelphia's Roy Halladay against Florida on May 29). Last night, with two out in the bottom of the 9th, one batter away from the perfecto, Galarraga pitched to Jason Donald and made the out at 1st, but umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe, spoiling the perfect game. Video replays clearly showed Galarraga had Donald out at 1st.

There has been a lot of debate as to whether or not instant replay should be used in baseball. Currently, it is only selectively used on home run calls but it should be expanded to safe/out calls on the basepaths. With expanded instant replay, calls like the one last night will happen less and umpires like Joyce won't have to deal with the public backlash like he and his wife have today (he's behind home plate in today's Tigers-Indians game).

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Roethlisberger Returns

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned to practice on Tuesday for the first time since the NFL handed him a six-game suspension in April for violating the league's "personal conduct policy". While Big Ben's relationship with the city of Pittsburgh has soured, his teammates are giving him plenty of public support. Receiver Mike Wallace was quoted as saying, "He's a man and everybody makes mistakes. I just feel like he's the leader of our team. Anytime he comes back we accept him for who he is." Video of his teammates below, courtesy ESPN:



And for further analysis, here's ESPN's Trey Wingo, Cris Carter, and Marcus Allen discussing what Ben has to do to regain the team's confidence:



Personally, I'm with the Steelers fanbase on this one, since this isn't the first time Roethlisberger has had questionable decisions. For further reading, here's the original FTRS post stemming from Ben's Georgia incident here.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Free Agent Summit

LeBron James, left, starts a highlight reel dunk on Amare Stoudemire. Photo courtesy YouGotDunkedOn.com.

Last week, Dwyane Wade made noise by announcing he'd talk to fellow NBA free agents LeBron James and Joe Johnson before deciding where he wants to play ball next season. He forgot Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire, and STAT is making sure it's known he wants an invitation. Should all five meet up for the so-called "free agent summit", it could shift the balance of power in the NBA. It's a given the New York area teams, the Nets and Knicks, will want to sign at least one of these five players. Doing so would start to bring the NY teams back towards contention again. Likewise, should any of these five players leave their respective franchises (Wade - Miami, James - Cleveland, Johnson - Atlanta, Bosh - Toronto, Stoudemire - Phoenix), these franchises would slide way down the contender scale.

From ESPN:
Last week, the NBA said Wade did not break any league tampering rules with his comments. Under league rules, players cannot tamper with other players, though it's a given that players talking among themselves not only happens, but is impossible to regulate. The NBA metes out discipline only in what it said are "the most egregious" cases, and said Wade's comments "do not meet that standard."