Monthly Archives: September 2014

THREE FOR BART: Class, Winning, Yelling

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  1. What it was like to cover Derek Jeter – Maybe you’re sick of me pumping this guy’s story – Jeter that is. And maybe you can’t wholly empathize with me that his retirement – as well as Paul Konerko‘s who is from my home state and played for the most storied HS program in the State that my HS team may or may not have beaten 14-2 in the 2002 state Semi-Finals – is the end of an era. I really don’t see a changing of the guard. This was baseball’s last link to what it once was. When it swept me up. And maybe you, too. I’m about to enjoy the hell out of the baseball playoffs. October is great. But this Jeter stuff struck a chord and recounting the “class act” we all lauded him to be (gift baskets aside), well, it just adds to the legend. I wrote it somewhere once that sometimes greatness can be just showing up. Jeter always showed up.
  2. How to always win at rock, paper, scissors – Beyond being an interesting story, this highlighted for me different ways to approach competition or even a problem. You don’t just win one way. This reminded me of a previously #34b link about the More Than One Way to Skin the Efficiency Cat. So I beg you: Think critically. And at the same time I suggest you just go for it. Sometimes greatness is just showing up.
  3. When is it OK for a coach to yell? – Honestly, the article doesn’t really answer the question. Read to get your own takeaways but yelling I can tell you this: Yelling is something you can’t fake. The scariest ‘conversations’ I ever had with coaches were when they were quiet and deliberate. We usually had to run a lot after those ones. We had to run a lot after the loud ones but those sometimes felt more like, “This again? What’d we do now?”

Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

THREE FOR BART: DJ, Pedro, Stroke

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

  1. I Still Want to Hate Derek Jeter but I Never Will – I wrote this three years ago and it still holds true. The DJ love doesn’t mean anything about Jeter or where he lives in the history of baseball. It’s where he lives in our histories. Baseball has changed. It’s different. The next article cites the dramatic changes the game has gone through in the last 15 years. And Derek Jeter was in the middle of all that change. Jeter isn’t just retiring from baseball. He’s forcing us to recognize that we’re going to have to recognize change. Sometimes change sucks.
  2. Dear Clayton; Love, Pedro – And this is why Grantland is fantastic. For the record, I think Kershaw is great. But as we’re recognizing bastions of the past – the retirement of Derek Jeter – then let’s recall Pedro’s relief appearance against that vaunted Cleveland lineup in 1999. He was relieving because he’d previously been injured and his team was on the ropes and then they weren’t because Pedro threw six hitless innings. Pure pitching guts. My favorite.
  3. I Had a Stroke at 33 – Completely unrelated to the aforementioned articles but this is both a haunting and uplifting first hand account of being unable to account things first hand.

THREE FOR BART: Life, Lowry, Littles

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

    1. 7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Life Purpose – This is a great exercise. What is your purpose? Mason basically encourages you to take shit less seriously. Just read the first question he asks. Which reminds me of what I’ll sometimes remind a friend – or myself – of when faced with a decision, “It’s just your life.” Because tomorrow is just an opportunity to tell yesterday’s story. Purpose? Sure, but I’m betting on you getting something right.
    2. You Can Count on Me – So the part I didn’t get to in the above blip was trust. How important is trust? To feel it – both given and received – is empowering. Read Kyle Lowry’s story and how the time’s he’s been trusted and the times he hasn’t trusted have affected his career. Good story.
    3. We all need a reason to smile – at least a little bit – about football. Sports are for fun. And while shit is getting real – very real – on the professional front, well, sometimes we’ve got to chuckle at a couple mom’s incapable of letting go of a sign:

 

THREE FOR BART: Pressure, Greatness, Mary

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

  1. The Paradox of Why Top Performers Fail Under Pressure – And this is exactly why I think, amongst all of the last second or end-of-game scenarios, the toughest one to accomplish is a putt. You’re hovered over the ball with a silent audience and nothing but your own thoughts. I can react to a fastball. I can run a route. I can cross a dribble over and take a shot I’ve taken thousands of times at game speed. I can handle a defense. But to deal with myself? As you might surmise, I’m not a very good golfer.
  2. This is Katie F—ing Ledecky: A Thesis About Kicking Ass – And this is exactly why I want LeBron to win everything and Tiger to be great a few more times and Roger to get at least another slam. Because I love greatness. Maybe it’s because we all want what we can’t have but when I’m on a patio with a grandchild on my lap I want to tell him or her about when I watched Michael Phelps, the greatest olympian that ever lived. I want to see all of the all time greats. Here’s to you, Katie.
  3. Wildcat unbeaten thanks to unlikely victory – And this is exactly why we love sports. Maybe you’re a Cal Bear. I’m a Wildcat. But we keep watching because it happens. Sometimes. Not always but those moments of inexplicable magic in the face of certain doom allows us to keep coming back. Pure and beautiful sports.

THREE FOR BART: K, Efficiency, Captain

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

    1. Krzyzewski responds to Team USA criticism – K SHOTS! I didn’t fully understand the K attacks in the initial article because 1) things didn’t really seem to be directed at him so much as at his empire, 2) USA basketball isn’t really all that interesting unless there’s Gold involved. FIBA doesn’t hold a candle to those NBC broadcasts. Anyhow, the takeaway here is success begets success. I want to play and work with winners. So do you. After all, that’s why you read PacHoops.
    2. More than one way to skin the efficiency cat – My favorite take away was that we remain open to the conversation. I was long averse to advanced stats because the dialogue surrounding them was absolute, limiting to the conversation. Understanding the game beyond the box score has been a great asset to my fandom but it doesn’t make me or better, worse, or otherwise fan. It just helps me understand the game on a different level. It allows me to recognize the process of how my team wins or your team loses.
    3. It’s my hope that you’re as cool as The Captain this weekend –

THREE FOR BART: Shoes, Sheed, Upshaw

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

  1. Don’t hold your breath waiting for other shoe to drop – Earlier this week we saw the semi-overt-and-completely-legal-but-Woj-scolded recruiting practices of Coach K exposed. Well, not really exposed. He’s just doing him. This is a great perspective on shoe business, how it works, and how we want to but shouldn’t frown upon it. Business.
  2. Your annual reminder that Rasheed Wallace is a national treasure – I guaransheed you’ll enjoy this.
  3. 6-11 center Robert Upshaw looks on track to play UW basketball this season – Which is to say that it was in question. Now usually I’d want to expand upon this, probably give it it’s own post. But I’m smack in the middle of a big week with concerts and corporate events so it’s just not going to happen. Please recognize that UW has been size depleted the past few seasons so this improved track for Upshaw is big (pun) for the Huskies. He and the returning Jernard Jarreau will be crucial to improving the Huskies’ defense.

THREE FOR BART: 538, Rookies, Peterson

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

  1. 538 is six months old…where does it stand? – Silver’s website set out to do all of the things that we’re continually loving about sports and our understanding of them. Data journalism is growing and fascinating but it’s time consuming. In this article, some of my own fears of content production are addressed. That stuff is hard and it’s stuff you want to get right. And just because we have data doesn’t mean we explicitly understand the data. It takes time to interpret and businesses don’t always allow for time. PacHoops, fortunately ain’t much of a business.
  2. The Big Leagues – Misleading title. This one touches on how the NBA works to acclimate – both directly and indirectly – their annual crop of rookies. Good read just for insights into a good program. But it’s most overarching theme – unwritten but highlighted by the NFL’s turmoils – is the League’s efforts to empower and improve their players.
  3. Adrian Peterson, The NFL, And Whippings – I don’t have kids. I hope to someday and I don’t know how I’ll discipline them. I do know that I want them to call me Dadam. And I want them to become great people. I have no idea how that will happen. Hopefully I can help facilitate their greatness. This article is perspective on parenting and its byproducts.

THREE FOR BART: Schedule, UCLA, Ski

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

  1. UCLA Basketball Loses Two Players In The Last Week As Jon Octeu Denied Admission – This article neatly notes that the Bruins lost two players expected to contribute quite a bit this season. Depth is overrated but when you’ve only got nine scholarship players and none particularly proven at this level, depth has got to be a question that becomes asked. There really are only three guards on this roster right now in Powell, Hamilton, and Alford.
  2. Determined Askia Booker eager to Lead Buffs – You know I love Askia. I write about it regularly. And also love senior guards so this is Askia’s time to shine in my eyes. Seems he’s got the head on his shoulders to do so as he notes the things he does well and that will let him be successful. Did you know his best offensive season was his freshman year? Did you also know that in that season he took his highest percentage of shots at the rim? Coincidence? I think not.
  3. NBA needs to pull stars from USA Basketball, which is showcasing only Duke’s coach – I’m only going to quote a piece of this article because I think it’s teaser gold:

As much as ever, USA Basketball has been co-opted into a Krzyzewski leverage play for the Duke Blue Devils. If that doesn’t rile Kentucky’s John Calipari, wait until the Duke coach is credited for DeMarcus Cousins’ maturity with the Sacramento Kings this season.

THREE FOR BART: Beer, 9/11, Schadenfreude

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

  1. Colorado Now Selling Beer at Folsom Field – And it’s not because t he football team sucks (they kinda do). Rick George (AD) wrote a letter to everyone and announced this change which is unique within NCAA rules. At first glance/thought, it seems like a joke. They’re selling booze at the biggest party school’s bad football games. But read this about West Virginia’s experience with in-stadium booze. To summarize, crime dropped and revenue rose. Those are good things. Bravo Buffs.
  2. F-16 pilot was ready to give her life on September 11 – This one just speaks for itself.
  3. Maize Malaise: Michigan Mulls Another Year of Mediocrity Under Brady Hoke – If you hadn’t guessed, I’m a RichRod guy and so – I dunno – maybe a part of me shares in his schadenfreude. You might also know that my mom’s entire side of the family is from Columbus. I have a lot going on in this one.

THREE FOR BART: Sophs, Rondae, Oregon

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Three For BART is a daily (or really close to that) drop of three thought provoking articles for your commute or day. Submissions for inclusion taken at: pachoops25@gmail.com

  1. Deonte Burton, Kennedy Meeks lead Breakout Sophomore Formula candidates – Dive into this study (the link) and you’ll find that our own Pac-12 conference gets a shout out. Que Johnson, the Cougar, seems poised for big things as a sophomore based on his limited role with alpha output last season. Additionally, Wynn doesn’t really note that he’ll now be playing in a higher octane offense for Coach Ernie. Look for a study on Pac-12 Freshmen-to-Sophomores in the coming weeks.
  2. Column: To Start, or not to start, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson – Start. You start RJH because he’s likely to fulfill the first four letters of that word, S-T-A-R. It’s not a question but I appreciate the effort and the statistical try at quantifying it. The DW isn’t wrong in noting he was more productive off the bench. But that was a different team. Now, 2014-15, isn’t so much about replacing Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson so much as developing a new identity.
  3. University of Oregon responds to KATU story in letter to alumni – Maybe I’m an idealist, someone who doesn’t think a given action is rooted in pure evil, but I choose to believe Oregon didn’t overtly delay the expulsion of Dotson, Artis, and Austin for APR purposes. But maybe they did. The key point here is I think it’s a great question for KATU to ask because things lined up as such. The school has responded.