S7s: May 1- Springing into May

1) Kaida turned 4 last week. She had a party in SC yesterday. My brother, Chhay, also just got back from 6 months of deployment so it was a double celebration. And got to see a lot of other kiddos. It was great family time.

2) Speaking of birthdays, god daughter Sydney turned 9. She's growing so fast but she still thinks I'm great so I'll take that for now.

3) Yesterday was the North Henderson High School prom. I drove back from SC, got home around 9:00, changed and caught the end of the prom. I'm glad I made it back. It was great to see all the students dressed up and there were a few that I was very happy to catch. My wrestlers looked sharp and my track team was gorgeous. Everyone seemed to be having fun.

4) My favorite quote of the last week occured when we were outside I noticed what turned out to be fertilizer on the track. Not knowing what it was yet, I asked aloud what was on my track. One of my girls replied, "Grass seasoning". Dunno, I thought it was hilarious.

5)  We went to a meet at Western Carolina this week. The boys took first out of 15 teams. The girls placed 11th. I love WCU's facilities and Coach Williamson and his staff are great to us. The best thing about the meet is that, as coaches, we don't have to work any events or time. That's very rare. It was nice just to watch my athletes jump and throw.

6) I was really amazed by today's sermon. Charles McGowan was the guest preacher and he spoke on Matthew 16:13-17. 

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

I have read the passage before, but read it all wrong. In verse 18, I always assumed it was Peter that was the rock the church would be built on. It turns out that it's actually Peter's answer in verse 16 that is the Rock: Jesus the Messiah is what the church will be built on. 

Also, verse 18, about the gates of Hades... I always assumed that Hades cannot overcome the church. McGowan says that the church is marching on Hades and the gates built to keep the church out cannot win. The church is based on the Messiah  and Jesus cannot be held back by mere walls. 

7) NFL Draft thoughts:

• Laremy Tunsil better be a game changer. If he flops, the Dolphins have wasted another first round pick, a la Dion Jordan. 
• I don't love the Dolphins draft. But not being splashy sometimes is good.
• Panthers took three defensive backs in a row. Josh who?
• I hope Jared Goff is more Aaron Rogers than Brady Quinn.
• I like Denver's pick of Paxton Lynch. 
• I also love that Denver got Adam Gotsis in the second round. Go Jackets!
• DJ White makes plays. I hope he makes the Chiefs roster. 

S7s: Jan 10

1) Exam week at North Henderson (and a lot of other schools). My kids seemed to have done well. I'm not at liberty to talk about the tests but I feel good about what we accomplished this semester and I hope that they were able to carry that over into their tests. I hope that they also know that they are not defined by the tests.

Big kudos to our testing coordinators, who organized, planned and prepared hundreds of tests, computers and separate setting placements each day. It was a pretty smooth week and that's because there was a lot of cooperation, planning and communication happening.

2) Republican debate last week, here are a few thoughts:

• I hope they know that they are not running against Barack Obama. You would think they were.
• Remember when Ben Carson was relevant? 
• On that note, who's Carly Fiorina?
• I feel as Trump has reached his high water mark.
• Drop the matter on Cruz's eligibility, Trump. How about you run on issues?
• Christie doesn't want you to forget that he's still there. 
• I can't believe that the American servicemen captured and then released by Iraq was even an issue. They were legally detained and then released. The candidates sounded like we should have started a war over it.
• Jeb Bush is the invisible candidate, but he still win the nomination.
• I think it will be either Rubio or Cruz. 

3) I should have mentioned it in last week's Sunday 7s: Ken Griffey, Jr. Congratulations on the Hall, Kid. Such an effortless swing, the backwards hat, great athlete and fun to watch. And then there was the smile. He looked like he was having fun. If not for injuries, his numbers may be even more staggering. And, as far as we know, he is free from all the doping allegations that followed the greats of that era. Someone said the fact that Junior was hurt proved he wasn't on performance enhancing drugs since drugs help you heal faster.

4) I officially said goodbye to Pompey on Friday. Signed the title over and handed the keys to my nephew, Benny. Real sentimental moment. I was very attached to that car. I hope Benny loves it half as much I loved it. Things worked out well: I got a little money for my car (3 times what the dealer was gonna give me), helped my nephew out and even got my roof rack sold!

John Hart drove me down to deliver the vehicle. We made a stop at the Beacon for some "A-plenty":

5) I must confess: I fell asleep during the 3rd quarter of the College Football Championship Game. It was a good game though. Kudos for Alabama for playing well and being gutsy with the onsides kick. Clemson has nothing to hang their heads about: they played excellent and Watson is a legit star! They'll be in the conversation next season for number 1. 

Here are the final rankings according to me: 1) Alabama 2) Clemson 3) Ohio State 4) TCU 5) Stanford 6) Oklahoma 7) Michigan St 

6) Huge week for the wrestling team. We won on Thursday against Smoky Mountain 74-4. On Saturday, we went 5-0 to win the Ram Duals at TC Roberson. Our record is now 23-4, 4-0 in the WNCAC. 23 wins sets a new school record for wins in a season. The old record was 22, set by the 2011-2012 team. This week is rivalry week: West Henderson on Tuesday, East Henderson on Friday.

I think what I like best about this photo is not that we won the Ram Duals, but how much fun it looks like the team is having and how much they like each other. I'm really blessed with a great group of kids.

7) The NFL is popular because they give us great entertainment. Up until Alabama-Clemson, most bowl games were lame. They were lopsided. Last week's first round games in the NFL were very exciting and this week's even better. You had Carolina take a 31-0 lead and barely hold on to win. Arizona won in improbable ways, Kansas City mismanaged the clock and Peyton holds off an injury ridden Steelers team. Great stuff.

Predictions for next week:

• Carolina is playing too well and getting great efforts by more than Newton. As good as Larry Fitzgerald was yesterday, he can't carry the Cardinals out of Charlotte with a victory. Carolina by 6
• I am pulling for Manning. But New England has been like his Kryptonite. And, when's the last time 2 number 1 seeds played in the Super Bowl. As much as I'd like to see Carolina-Denver, I have to pick New England by 3.

S7s: Jan 10- Brotherhood

1) Friday night, January 8, we held a reunion for the 1996 West Henderson Dual Team State Championship team. 20 years ago, a young coach took a bunch of talented and committed individuals and together won a State Dual team title. We wrestled two matches that finals night because of inclement weather earlier in the week. We beat North Wilkes in the Regional Finals 28-26.

In the state finals, we beat East Davidson by the score of 28-26. There were big wins by Damon Blackley and myself over two of their better kids. There was a bite that ended up being huge points for us. Casey Manuel got a pin to put us up by 5. Troy Sapp bumped up to heavyweight and stalled his way through the match to give us the win.

As special as winning the State Title was, I think mostly back to the brotherhood. I miss wrestling but I miss more the being on the team. We struggled, worked and cried together. We laughed with one another and pushed each other. Damon and I traveled to countless off season tournaments together. Stephen and Ebert were practice partners. My brother was on the team. Michael and I were the co-captains. We had a coach that pushed us, cared for us and that we believed in. I don't remember the state title match as much as I remember the wrestling room, picking up Nick early in the morning for AM practices, trying not to get slammed into the back of the bleachers at West. That was a special team and I was honored to be part of it. We accomplished great things-- 2 undefeated seasons, 5 individual state champions and several state placers-- but it's the brotherhood we built together that made our team great and made Friday special.

2) This TED talk resonates with how I feel. I have not served and cannot put myself in the position of a soldier, but I think I understand the "brotherhood". There's a special connection when you have to sacrifice, sweat and hurt together. Brotherhood and friendship are not the same. You don't have to like someone to have a brotherhood. But the cool thing is that we our team honestly all liked each other. And we had a brotherhood.

Soldiers are willing to go back to war because of the brotherhood, not because they love war. I'd go back not as much for the wrestling, but for the brotherhood. These guys were that special.

3) One of the youngest members of Terry Lee Varnadore, who was a freshman in 1995-1996. Terry Lee died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on April 23, 2011. Our group came up with the idea of a Terry Lee Courage and Leadership award that will go to a deserving wrestler every year. The award will hang in the West Henderson commons for everyone to see and for Terry Lee to be honored. This wasn't just some award because we felt bad that a guy died in combat, but this was so that people would remember and know that Terry Lee was a man of honor and character.

It was both heartbreaking and an honor to get to hug his parents. When the award was presented to his parents, I got pretty emotional. I got to meet his two daughters, who are both precious and adorable. The older one reminded me of her dad so much. The gym was full of love and laughter, but there was still a hole in our hearts. There were several members of our team that couldn't make it on Friday to the reunion, but Terry Lee's absence hurt the most. 

Terry Lee; The Fallen

Times News; West 1996 Title Team; Varnadore Honored

4) Last week was a really good week of classes for me. My kids were at it, trying to get things done and be ready for exams this week. I have never liked the state's mandate that schools start no earlier than August 25. It means we don't finish our first semester until after Christmas holidays. We have to reteach to get ready for exams because of the break rather than just review. 

Also, the state, in their brilliance, has created tests that can take 10 days to score. So we have to give "incompletes" if they don't have test scores back. This makes no sense-- if you're a senior and are in danger of failing a core class, you need to know immediately whether you have to retake the course. Of it it is second semester, you need to know if you're eligible to graduate.

And this article resonated with me: The Real Problem with teaching in NC

5) Up and down week for the wrestling team. We broke a losing streak to Pisgah on Tuesday by a score of 42-25. Our kids wrestled tough and we got several big falls. I was really proud of our effort and toughness. The win puts us at 17-4 for the season and 3-0 in the conference.

Yesterday was a day of growth for us. At the Fandetti Brawl, we got beat up some. We battled and fought, but lost lots of tough matches. The competition was stellar and while we are a good group, it showed that we still have work to do. We had 5 placers, but our highest kid was 3rd. We were humbled in some places and in other places we showed that we were fighters. Our potential is there, we still have high ceilings individually.

6) NFL Playoffs have been pretty fun. All the road teams won. Green Bay ended up running away from Washington. Chiefs in a blow out. But some notes:

• Bengals-Steelers: dirty and ugly play by Burfict. I hope Antonio Brown is okay. Bengals lost their cool at the end. Fumble. Personal Foul. Personal Foul. That set up the game winning field goal.
• I feel so bad for Vikings kicker Blair Walsh. He'll never live that down. I guess you'll see more coaches going for game winning field goals on 3rd down to get the second shot in case of a miss. 
• I think that the Panthers wanted to play Green Bay or Minnesota rather than Seattle.
• Predictions: Chiefs over Patriots, Broncos over Steelers (especially if Ben is banged up), Carolina over Seattle, Arizona over Green Bay.

7) College Championship Prediction: Clemson 33, Alabama 27

S7s: Dec 3- Ode to Pompey

1) Happy New Year! 2015 was indeed a great year for me. Lots of highlights and some trying times. Blessed with a great career, friends, church and community. I got to share in some really cool moments. Had a neat moments of reflection. I worked too hard sometimes and not hard enough during others. I'll post my photo review later, but in the meantime I am stoked at what 2016 has to offer this soul of mine.

2) I bit the bullet and did something that will surprise and shock a lot of people: I bought a new car. My old car, affectionately named Pompey, has been a rock for 15 years and over 230,000 miles. She still runs strong, but has some issues that older cars get. I was looking for a replacement and found a good deal on a 2012 Mazda 3. It leather heated seats, moonroof and gets 40 MPG on the highway. I will miss the stick shift (still on original clutch) and all the great adventures Pomp and I had. She drove to Alaska! She's been to Colorado twice, RAGBRAI and Nova Scotia. There have been countless trips to Atlanta and we've hauled bikes to almost all those places. 15 years is a long time together and I bought her new, so there is a lot of sentimental value. I'm hoping this new car is half the car that Pompey was.

3) There are "militia" members who took over a National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon. I biked through Harney County in 2015 and spent a night in Burns. A few gripes:

• The same people who call these guys heroes and militia would also call similar people standing up to "oppression" thugs, terrorists or traitors. Double standard 1.
• The same people who claim patriotism are the first to cry foul, tyranny and offense when they don't get there way. The ones say they stand behind the Constitution don't bother to follow the methods set by the Constitution to change laws, amend policy and effect change.
• These people are like Westboro Baptist: attention hungry, disillusioned and narrow minded. They don't want to understand or try to be part of a nation that is diverse and made of many people, needs, interests and beliefs. 
• Double standard 2: if others are offended or feel put off, they are told to suck it up and not be so damn easily offended. If they are offended or feel put off, it is acceptable to throw a tantrum and issue threats with lots of firearms.
• I do feel, in my limited knowledge, that maybe the jail time for the Hammonds might be excessive, we do have a legal process for appeals. You know, the Constitution. No where in the law of the land does it advocate taking matters into your own hands.

4) Instagram Top Nine: babies, bikes, outside! 

5) Quote of the Week: "Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart."

6) Wrestling competed in the Holy Angels Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The tournament featured 66 teams and North finished 11th. We only entered 7 wrestlers. Josh Blatt beat the #1 4A wrestler in the state in overtime in the finals. Paul Searcy had three tough matches in a row to win at 145 lbs. We had three other placers in the tournament and three place in the JV Tournament. It was a great weekend, this team showed lots of heart.

7) The college bowl games have been lame. Too many blow outs. Clemson played well and Alabama looked angry. Could be a great National Title game. Hope it's not a blow out.

In the NFL lots of action this week:

• Chip Kelly out in Philly. Sort of a surprise. Thought he'd get one more year.
• Welcome back Peyton Manning.
• I hope the Dolphins find the right coach.
• Tom Coughlin: classy guy. I hope he enjoys retirement and doesn't return to coaching. 
• Is there a bigger mess than Cleveland? What a train wreck-- from personnel to coaching. But it all starts at the front office.
• Congratulations to Carolina. They looked great. 
• I want a Panthers-Broncos Superbowl.

Sunday 7s: Dec 27

1) Last Sevens of the year. New year starts on Friday. I'm not much of  a New Year's guy. This year, we leave early on Friday morning for a tournament in Charlotte, so New Year's will be low key-- much like it is every year for me.

2) Christmas was grande around here. It involved some driving, but saw lots of the family and especially excited to see the kiddos.

• Weird weather: I've been wearing shorts the last few days. And just a tee shirt. Highs in the 70s the last few days.
• We've also had lots of rain. Got a break today and yesterday, but last week was basically a lot of rain.
• Brother, Ang, made it in from Oregon on a last minute decision. We weren't expecting to have him around, so it was good for him to be able to make it home for us. I know he was happy to be around the family also.
• We rocked Scrabble and laughs late into the night. It was fun. I lost because I had nothing but vowels. 

3) I ran in the 2nd Reindeer Run, hosted by North alum Ryan Jones to benefit the Jones Family Scholarship. Last year, it rained. This year, it rained. But it was a good time. I ran 26:28. I had three wrestlers also run, but they all beat me. Great turnout by North Henderson faculty and alumni.

4) I still have yet to figure out what exactly Boxing Day is. Happy Kwanza and Festivus to everyone else though.

5) We got a group ride in on Tuesday. Thought we were going to get rained out, but the rain held off long enough for nine of us to hit the trails. The route we rode was Spencer Gap, Fletcher Creek, back to Spencer Branch and the bottom of Fletcher Creek again. Brian fell, being his first ride clipless, and dislocated his shoulder. He had to walk out. Shawn dressed up as Santa. That's no lie; photos below to prove it.

6) I miss being around my wrestling team. I am thankful for a time of mental rest and recovery. We are back at it on Tuesday. Congratulations to Brandon Johnson for being the WNCAC Defensive Player of the Year and, announced this week: Times News Defensive Player of the Year and Citizen Times All WNC Team. Jacob Garrett made the Times News team and was honorable mention for All WNC.

7) NFL is close to ending it's regular season. 

• Dolphins will once again be home for the playoffs and played inspired today.
• Why would you not give the ball to Tom Brady in OT, Bill?
• Panthers lost, which I argue is good. Too much pressure being undefeated and they are still in control of their destiny for homefield advantage.
• I think Arizona is really, really dangerous. Don't overlook them.
• I hope the story on Manning and PEDs is not true.

I Hate/Love Football

I'm pulling for Oregon tonight in the BCS Championship. I need an excuse for a bulleted list, so here's why I like the Ducks:

• State of Oregon > State of Alabama. Salem tops Montgomery, Portland tops Birmingham. Oregon has Crater Lake, Alabama has well, Biloxi. Oregon wins big.
• Duck might not be the toughest mascot, but at least Oregon can decide on one. Unlike the Auburn Tigers/Eagles. Plus, Ducks are original. There are 46 four year colleges that use Tigers (and 74 that use Eagles). Info from this interesting article.
• Autzen Stadium cooler than Jordan-Hare Stadium.
• Oregon's offense is cooler to watch. Makes you tired they move so fast. And anyone can use hand signals and runners, Oregon uses these to call plays:
• I also think there's something dirty about Auburn. I have no proof, but the Newton saga just stinks. If it smells like poop, it just might be poop. And I do believe that Auburn all-world DT Nick Fairley is a dirty player because of his late hits and unnecessary roughness . Mighty talented, but dirty.
  

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I hate the BCS. TCU won a quality football game against a pretty good Wisconsin team. They finished 13-0. Bowl apologists, please never ever tell me again that every game matters. Obviously it doesn't. A team should not win every game and not get a chance to play for a championship.

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Is College Athletics a Sweatshop?

Interesting read. Continuing the spirit of bulleted lists:

• College Athletes have to do an amazing thing by balancing social, academic and athletic obligations. Greg Strobel, head wrestling coach at Lehigh University told me he tells his athletes they can excel at two of the three, but not all three. So they have to choose. But they also get preferential selection of classes, housing and academic tutors. They have lots of help.
• College football programs generate lots of revenue and the poor athletes get nothing from it. I must apologize and say I do not for one moment feel sorry for a big time football or basketball player. They get equipment, training tables with the best food, per diems and leave college with no debt. You know who's starving? I was. And many of my friends and other regular students who had to work their way through college. You know who else is starving? Collegiate wrestlers, gymnasts, lacrosse players and other minor sport athletes. Please don't tell me, Tyrelle Pryor, that football players can't make it.
  
• I would not be opposed to paying college athletes on top of their scholarship. It needs to be something universal across the NCAA, or else Texas, Alabama and Notre Dame will become the Yankees of college sports by paying their athletes the most. Maybe something like you can pay college football players $500 per month, minor sports $250.
  
• I would like to see football and basketball scholarships become more of a loan. If you do not get a degree in 6 years from your first semester (that even lets you go pro and work towards a degree), you are contractually obligated to repay the value of your scholarship. Then maybe we would see more student-athletes in these sports. The ones who are using it for a stepping stone to the pros can then give back to the school that assisted them.

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Final word: As the NFL season winds down, there is a talk of a lockout by the owners. The NBA collective bargaining agreement is expiring soon also. There's lots of things that need to be worked out, but if anyone in the know is reading please remember:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics have January 7 unemployment numbers at 9.4 percent.
  
• Tom Brady is guaranteed 48.5 million in his new contract, $72 million with incentives. I would have to work about 970 years just to reach just his guaranteed money.
• Reggie Bush's 2009 salary was just over $7 million. He ran, caught or returned the football 144 times that year. Basically, he got $48,611 for each time he touched a football.
  
• US Census data has median US income in 2009 at $49,777.
• If there's a lockout, we'll come back to football eventually. But we'll be hurt because many of us will not understand or be able to relate with millionaires who do not have enough money.
  
• Some will wonder why, when they cannot find employment, these men who get to play a game for a living do not want to work.
  
• I hope there is no lockout, because I do love football. But if there's no NFL, I'll ride my bike more, hike after church and pay more attention to the college game.
  

Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday. Colts-Saints should be a great game. Two great cities, two great teams and two great quarterbacks. You have classy coaches, respected owners and loyal fans. Here are some thoughts on the two stars of the big game:

Peyton Manning- Yeah, I understand that he can be overexposed. And all those hand signals and audibles before the snap can get annoying. But he's so good at what he does and here's the evidence:

• Dude is smart, but he also studies like no one else. He is always watching film and between series he is looking at photos and making a lot of the adjustments himself. No one is more prepared than Manning and no one is better at making strategic adjustments than him. Peyton was blessed with a lot of talent, but he works as hard as anyone else. When he showed up to do Saturday Night Live, he arrived at NBC studios with binders of stuff he had studied and was diligently taking notes during planning. If he takes SNL this seriously, imagine how serious he takes Sundays.
  
  
  
• Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon: The Colts drafted two no names at wide receiver. Peyton's favorite, Marvin Harrison, was not resigned last season. Anthony Gonzalez, the slot receiver who played so well last season, was lost for the year with a knee injury. What do they do? They develop gems from gravel. Collie came out of the 4th round from BYU. Garcon? He was drafted in round six from Division III Mount Union. I believe that "champions" make those around them better. Michael Jordan did that. Drew Brees, of the Saints, does that. Peyton and the Colts do that so well.
  

- Drew Brees - I like Drew Brees, because he has achieved so much at so many levels in spite of the "experts". He is not supposed to set passing records and be the starting quarterback in the Super Bowl, but here he is. Signed in 2006, Brees has embraced New Orleans. The Crescent City needed a hero and Brees was that on many levels through his gameplay and his charitable efforts.

"Winner" might be one of the most overused cliches in sports. We've really watered down the meaning. But I mean it when I say Drew Brees is a "winner":

• A three-sport star, he led Westlake High School (Austin, TX) to a perfect 16-0 season and a Texas 5A State Championship. Both were firsts in school history. Despite being the 1996 Texas 5A Player of the Year, he was not recruited by the Texas powerhouses: hometown Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Texas Christian. At 6 feet even, he was considered too small. His college choices for football: Big Ten bottom feeder Purdue and Ivy League Brown.
• At Purdue, a school overshadowed by Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, etc, Brees was the Maxwell Award (for best college player) winner and a Heisman finalist in 2000. That season, he led the Boilermakers to their first Big Ten Championship and Rose Bowl appearance since 1967. Winners overachieve and make those around them better. Brees took Purdue past the tradition powers of the Big10 conference to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl.
• Most scouts thought Brees still too small for the NFL and that his arm strength was inadequate. Still, the San Diego Chargers took him in the second round of the 2001 draft. He beat out the famous (though old) Doug Flutie (see video below) for the starting job.
  
  
• In 2004, the Chargers drafted NC State quarterback Philip Rivers with the 4th pick in the NFL Draft. This was essentially a vote of no-confidence for Brees. Rivers held out of training camp and Brees played the entire season and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl.
• In 2005, Brees injured his shoulder while trying to recover a fumble. A free agent, Brees was offered a very un-lucrative contract with the Chargers (they basically chose Rivers) for someone who was just voted into his second consecutive Pro Bowl. He wanted to go to Miami, but Nick Saban (aka Satan), did not believe his shoulder to be healed. So Brees ended up in New Orleans post-Katrina.
• And what has Brees done in New Orleans? Rallied the city behind the Saints (remember, the Superdome was a Katrina refugee camp), given money to local schools, started the Drew Brees Foundation, and advocated locally and nationally on behalf of the city of New Orleans. Oh, and he took the Saints- formerly the "Aints", who wore bags over their heads to games, one of three franchises to never play in Big Game- to their first ever Super Bowl appearance.

Sunday Observations - Jan 18

- Three day week at school this coming week. Pretty exciting. Much needed too.

- Wrestled at Fandetti Brawl at Science Hill High School in Johnson City yesterday. Love to the tournament because 1) good competition from TN, NC, VA, KY, AL and LA and 2) they serve these great home cooked potato chips in the hospitality room. We'll be back next year.

- Perhaps I am starting to like the cold more. The high on Friday was 28 and I was never really bothered. Or it just means my body is shutting down.

- An old friend living in Oklahoma City had triplets yesterday. It's perhaps the most amazing thing that I have seen in a long time. Congrats to the Leclercqs. This is Sophia, the oldest of the three (Cooper and Isabelle are the other two):

Crush of the Week:
I have to be careful with this one, because I don't want to get too gushing. It really is hard to truly make judgments on the character of a person without really knowing that person. That's why I try not to make judgment on people on TV and in the spotlight. I try to differentiate between judging an action or decision and judging a person's heart.

That being said, I adore this man. Tony Dungy epitomizes so much of what's good about people. Writers like Peter King and Don Banks praise what a great person Tony Dungy is. Great coach, even better person is the concensus. King says that he has "never covered a more decent man in my 29 years in this business." That's high praise for the first black coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl championship.

When he was at Tampa Bay, the word was that Tony Dungy was a good coach that would never win the Super Bowl. He didn't scream and cuss enough. He wasn't mean enough.

When he interviewed with the Colts, he told the ownership that if they wanted a head coach who was going to live and sleep in the office they should look elsewhere. He wanted to be able to take his kids to school and perform his job of being a father and husband.

When his son, James, committed suicide in 2005, lots of people's hearts broke and sympathy was abound for the Dungy family. Remarkably, Dungy did more consoling to guests at the memorial than he was consoled.

Potential Hall of Famer and former Vikings receiver Cris Carter was contemplating coaching at a high school. He called Coach Dungy for advice on the decision. Dungy told Carter that when he asks NFL prospects about who has influenced them the most, one of the most common responses is their high school coach. Then he told Carter, "maybe I should have been a high school coach". It reminded me of the influence I have as a coach of young men and women and the importance of my role in developing not just athletes, but also individuals.
Dungy is not done. He will continue to serve, just in a different capacity. Maybe you will see him doing commentary on television. Most of his time will be spent with his family and continuing in prison ministry and other community service. He has spoken about his passion for young black men and I could see him working in some inner city program to help blacks get training and stay off the streets.

Whatever he does, the NFL has lost a great man. The NFL's loss is someone else's gain because Dungy will be active in something. And that something will benefit from the patience, love and wisdom of Tony Dungy.

Mike's Tirade

I love Mike Singletary. I don't know if he's going to be a great NFL coach in San Fransisco or anywhere else. I just know that he has passion. He wants players to play for the TEAM, not themselves and he wants them to play as hard as he did when he was a linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

I remember watching Singletary's last game as a Bear and NFLer. It was 1992 and I was 14 years old. He was a sure Hall of Famer. The game was all but over and I don't remember who won. But I do remember Singletary getting the call to go back into the game. He thought he had played his last down and his career was over. His eyes got really big. I saw a player who loved the game of football and, at that moment, to get another chance to play the game he loved one more time excited him as much as ever before. Nothing he did when he went back into the game changed his legendary status for better or worse. But those eyes... man, those eyes said everything about his passion for what he did.

I'll never forget those eyes.
We need more Mike Singletarys.

Confirmation: Now Bring on the Party

Boss is in, the show is on...
NFL is the greatest show on Earth.