Football Almost Over

My son's football season is almost over. He has really stepped it up concerning taking on more responsibility as far as getting homework done and having all his football gear ready. It will be sad when the season is over. He has worked hard and really enjoyed himself. I have enjoyed watching him and learning with him. He has four practices left and one game. The weather is just now starting to behave like football weather and watching football while there is a chill in the air and leaves are falling is special.

Next question...when does his basketball season start?

Sports Fan Update

Let's start with the good news. My White Sox are still clinging to a small lead in the AL Central. Hopefully we can hang on. Some more good news is that my Notre Dame Fighting Irish are now 2-0 with a defeat of the Michigan Wolverines! They really put it to 'um!

Now for the bad...My Chiefs are really stinking it up! We got beat by the Raiders today! That is embarrassing. I don't know how they are deciding who to play at the quarterback position but it almost looks like they are flipping a coin!

I guess two for three isn't bad.

So Far So Good...In the Sports World

So far it is a good time for me to be a fan of the teams that I am a fan of. The White Sox are winning their division and the Lakers are up 3-0 in their series against the Nuggets. Hopefully the Lakers can bring home another title! It would be nice for Kobe to be able to validate his MVP status without Shaq around.

Another couple of positive notes about sports...the Yankees are sucking it up and the Cubs are ahead of the Cards!

Glory Days

I was doing my walk tonight in the mall and listening to my Zune. "Glory Days" by Bruce Springstein came on. I got to listening to the words. I haven't heard that song in forever! As I am listening to the words I am thinking, "Man, is that the truth!". I mean when I get together with my friends, especially from high school, we sure get to talking about the "glory days". We talk about the plays, the dusty plaques, the tarnished trophies, and all the fun we had , especially playing sports. The funny thing is that all those things that made me part of what I am today don't mean anything on most days of my life currently. Nobody cares if I was all conference. Nobody cares if I had a big hit to win the game. I must be getting old because it doesn't really matter to me if people do know that. What matters now is what you are now. I still would like to tell stories of my friends and I in sports but I know that that would bore most people to tears. The only person that I really struggle with not telling these stories of my past to is my son. I want him to know some of the highlights of my life but I don't want to bore him with ancient stories of my past. Is that wrong? I guess my dad told my brother and I plenty of stories so maybe that's why I hold back some. If you remember your days in high school I am sure that those days bring back some of the best memories of your life. It is that way for me but presently I keep them to myself most of the time. It kind of scares me because I know if I don't talk about them, and relive them in my mind, that I will start to lose those special memories. I have never been one for "I did this" or "I did that" but I do want my kids and their kids to know something about their father's and grandfather's past. So is it right to talk about the "glory days" and bore your family and friends to death or should you just concentrate on making the most out of the present? I would like to think you could do a little of both! I am thoroughly enjoying life right now but I would also like people to know what put a sparkle in my eye in the past. I guess for now I will stay with the present but the next time I see one of my high school buddies I don't think I will be able to make that same promise. I guess I can sum my feelings up by saying always keep looking forward but never forget the past.

Parkour and Free Running

"Parkour is the art of moving through one's environment in the fastest, most efficient way possible." A person that practices Parkour is called a traceur. Free running involves more tricks than just Parkour.

I have seen these guys on TV and they are pretty impressive. I would venture to say that YouTube or Myspace would have quite a few videos on this "art-form". This "sport" originated in France. If you happened to see Live Free or Die Hard you have seen this sport in action. One of the "bad guys" used Parkour to become a deadly weapon. In the article it is said to be like a combination of martial arts skateboarding without the board, and gymnastics.

Search Xin Sarith Wuku on YouTube. He hosts one of the most popular parkour videos on YouTube. It has had more than 18 million views!

In Between Holidays

Thanksgiving is over and I am glad to be back writing. I had a good Thanksgiving over at my parents house and I didn't over eat...amazing! My wife and I braved "Black Friday" and I have to say that it was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Of course, we did not do the the whole 5 a.m. psycho shopping, but we still went. We went to Walmart in Pekin, IL and Best Buy and a mall in Peoria, IL. We got most of our Christmas shopping done! We were at my parents Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday. It was nice to get home on Saturday. Today was a lazy Sunday and I didn't get much accomplished, but isn't that what Sunday's are for? Good news and bad news from the sports front: The Packers won-BAD, The Chiefs lost- WORSE, LSU was upset-GREAT GAME!, Missouri crushed Kansas-BAD, my Fightin' Irish football season is over- GOOD, my Dukies are 6-0-GREAT!

Christmas is now in the air and I am getting primed for the Christmas season. Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year and enjoy pretty much everything about it. Seeing the kid's eyes light up on Christmas morning is just too exciting to explain. I hope it snows on Christmas, or around Christmas. It seems to make the season a little more magical. My belief in snowfall is that it can snow as much as it wants up until Christmas and then I don't want it to snow anymore after that. It doesn't happen that way but that is the way I would like it.

Due to some health issues I will be missing some time at school. I will also be attending a workshop on Tuesday. It is on podcast training. It should be a great tool to teach with. I just wanted to let you know in case I don't stay up to date on my blog. I will try though!

Sports Burn-out

Let me start off by saying that I played sports all through school and I coached for many years. When I was growing up we played the sport for school only during that season. What I mean by that is that there were no team camps and no summer workouts. We had time to be "kids". We started playing for our school districts when we were in 5th grade. When we had free time, from the time we could walk, we did not play video games (probably mainly because they were extremely cheesy and most parents despised them) but instead we played ball. We played baseball, basketball, and football. My school didn't even have football. I can't even begin to tell you how many hours I spent down at the local basketball court! Do we have to start kids so early in sports because they spend less time playing the sport on their own? Do they have too many things going on in their lives to get the needed experience on the playground? Or do coaches and parents seem to think that starting them this early actually gives the players that much of an advantage? My personal opinion is that starting kids this early could allow the kids to develop bad habits. An example would be shooting a basketball. If a kid in second grade is trying to shoot a basketball, even a women's size and at a shorter hoop, he/she will probably develop poor shooting skills because he/she has to heave the ball to get the ball up to the basket. I also believe if parents push a kid to be a star that this sometimes burns the kid out. I mean, if a kid in seventh grade goes to every summer camp with his team, maybe goes to an individual camp, and goes to all the off season workouts, wouldn't all the joy of playing the sport be eliminated? Maybe they wouldn't be burnt out at that instance but I think that somewhere, in season, it will show that instead of having fun and playing the game, it is a job. I think many parents and coaches forget what sports is about. Sports were developed as an extracurricular activity, something to do in your free time and have fun doing. They were also developed to promote teamwork. I have seen my son, and many of his friends, struggle with grasping a sports concept and being able to "instruction" into action on the court or field. I just don't think kids are ready for competition at some of the young ages they are started at. I think it is perfectly fine to send them to a small "learning" camp that keeps it fun and "wanting to play" alive. If the child stays interested in the sport he/she will have plenty of time to master that particular sport.

All that being said, I think as parents and coaches we are in a catch 22. If you don't push the kids and go to everything that is offered then you will always wonder if that is why the child was not successful. This is a bad situation and I am not sure if I have a solution. We have put ourselves in this quandary.

Another Tragedy

First, let me tell you that I am currently not a pro wrestling fan. I used to be when I was younger. I did know of Chris Benoit. In my opinion, he was a very entertaining wrestler. What happened in his house on June25th is very weird and I am not sure if authorities will ever be able to tell what exactly happened over that previous weekend. All that is known is that three people are dead. Chris was found downstairs hanging by a pulley. His son (Daniel), 7, was found in his bed and it seems that he was choked to death. His wife, Nancy, was found upstairs in the family room with her feet and wrists bounds and there was blood underneath her head. Could steroids have been the cause of this gruesome crime? It is being considered. Could something else have triggered this?

Once again, the saddest part of this story is another child not getting to enjoy growing up. Another child won't get to know what it feels like to drive for the first time with his new license. He won't get to have that feeling you get when you have your first kiss, your first best friend, your senior prom, the day you get married, or the day your children are born. What could possibly be so wrong that death is the only solution that you can think of? I will never understand crimes like this! No child deserves to die like this.

A Dad With Class and Dignity

Derek Fisher has always had class and dignity but it was put to the test on Wednesday, May 9th. His daughter, Tatum, has a rare condition called retinoblastoma, which is a childhood cancer of the eye. She had surgery on Wednesday in New York. Derek does not have class and dignity because he was with his daughter during her surgery. I think any dad would do this for their child. Derek has class because, after he heard his daughter was cleared to go home with the family, he knew other people were also depending on him at his job in Salt Lake City. It would have been extremely easy for him to stay with his daughter and forget about basketball (his job) for who knows how long. He gave his team something to play for and he made a very important 3-pointer late in overtime against the Golden State Warriors. This gave the Jazz a 2-0 lead in the series. I know some of you are saying, "Yeah, but it was just a basketball game." Well, it wasn't! It was his job and that is what he does for a living. I would hope that all of us would take our job this serious and understand that other people do depend on us to do our job. Just because it was basketball doesn't make it any less of a tough decision on his part. In today's arrogance-infested sports arena this type of action should be applauded! GOOD JOB DEREK FISHER, AND I HOPE THIS STAYS IN THE NEWS LONGER THAN THE MANY HORRENDOUS THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN SPORTS DAILY!