1. How Chris McCandless Died – Today I’m going to go to a bar. It’s usually pretty popular for Wildcat football games. I’m going to watch the Arizona-Oregon game and I don’t really think the Wildcats will win. But they might. And the following night I’m going to go to Yom Kippur services. I’m not religious at all. On Thursday and Friday I’m going to attend public events for which not a lot of greater believe will be flowing from me. That’s not necessarily important to me. What is important is that I’m going to be connecting with people. Wildcats cheering me, Jews wishing me a good year. Chris McCandless, if you’ve read Into the Wild, journeyed – well – into the wild only to die alone and to discover that that the world is best shared. I appreciate his spirit of adventure, the kid had some guts, but I’d rather share the adventure. Learn to love the stranger I find along the way. McCandless did. But he couldn’t appreciate the connection. We’ve all got to find our own paths, figure things out for ourselves, but we don’t have to do that alone.
2. Q & A: Sean Miller has deep roster, just needs to ‘sort out chemistry’ – On a lighter note if you’re an Arizona fan, things are looking really good – again – in Tucson. Was just discussing this article with a colleague. We noted Miller is slow to compliment. He won’t always glowingly sing the praises of his players. I even looked it up and his kindest remarks about Aaron Gordon were generally about his attitude. In this article, he says Stanley Johnson is “going to be really good for us.” Digest.
3. The Quiet Genius – In our previously posted #34b, we discussed the greatness of showing up. Mark Helfrich has done a helluva job showing up. What’s more is profiles like these humanize these men we often revere as saintly and unattainable. Does Nick Saban seem to have one relatable characteristic? No. But Helfrich strikes me as an everyman. Who also happens to be at the reigns of one of the most high powered football programs in America. I’m not sure there’s really a Pac-12 basketball equivalent but I will say I get the impression that Steve Alford is taking a Helfichian approach. I’ve liked how he’s handled that program to date, keeping things minimally flashy in the face of both Andy Enfield’s brashness and the magnitude of his role.

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