The calendar indicates that we are fast approaching the time for football season to get under way. While many of us are thrilled with that notion it is a cause for concern for many others. Every year football season brings excitement, anticipation, and unfortunately new incidences of concussion. Presently the NFL is involved in a one billion dollar settlement involving former players who have developed debilitating diseases stemming from the concussions they received while on the field. The settlement covers approximately 21,000 athletes who have retired from the National Football League. Sadly, it is expected that a third of these players will develop Alzheimer’s or dementia at some point in their lives as a result of the injuries they sustained while playing professional football. Others are likely to experience the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
It is undeniable that the sport of football brings a lot of joy into the lives of those who participate in playing it and for millions who are thrilled to watch it being played. Sadly, the joy does not come without a price tag. It is heart breaking to know that the lives of so many of those gifted athletes are jeopardized by playing the sport they so dearly love.`
The 2014-2015 professional basketball season wrapped up two short weeks ago with the Golden State Warriors taking home the trophy. Now it is time to get set for the upcoming season which does not officially start until mid October. Teams are deciding who they will keep and who they will cut loose and who they might be fortunate enough to pick up in tonight’s draft.
The athletes who wore the basketball uniforms of the Utah Jazz ended their season on a much better note than they started it on but they are still in need of improvement. Last years draft was kind to the Utah team who ended up with two good players; Dante Exum and Rodney Hood. Tonight the Jazz will go into the proceedings with the 12th, 42nd and 54th picks. Obviously they would like to be in a better position to pick up some strong athletes but it is anybodies guess how it will all turn out. No matter how you think it is going to go the “trade factor” tends to throw things off.
The team has some very definite needs. They are weak in the point guard position, and need additional help in the perimeter scoring and defending areas.
Rumors always abound this time of year and tongues are wagging that perhaps that Jazz would like to resign Paul Millsap who played with the team for seven years before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Since his younger brother Elijah now plays for the Utah team that would be an interesting addition.
We’ll know more tomorrow about the direction the team will be heading in the upcoming season.
If you have ever had a child play sports you have likely had the opportunity to witness various styles of coaching. Some of those coaches might have believed in winning at any cost while others may have been more interested in the development of character along with skills. Those who were genuinely interested in the individual as well as the athlete were typically the best coaches and were the most admired and respected by their players. Certain coaches tend to make their practices a time of drudgery and frustration while others have the ability to see the benefits of having fun at the same time their teams are learning technique.
Recently one of the greats in the coaching world was honored with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. This honor was bestowed upon Dick Motta, who spent 25 years of his life in the field of coaching. He served as head coach for the Chicago Bulls from 1968-1974. While in that position in 1971 he won the Coach of the Year Award. He coached the Washington Bullets from 1977 until 1980. During that time he lead the time to a National Basketball Association Championship.
The next stop for Motta was with the Dallas Mavericks where he coached with his unique and admired style from 1980 until 1987.
Coach Motta retired in 1997 after stints with the Sacramento Kings and the Denver Nuggets. Likely every one of those teams that he coached during his tenure benefited from his “make the game fun” style of coaching.
Dick Motta was unique in another way as well. He was one of the very few coaches in the NBA who did not play basketball in high school, college or on a professional level. He did, however, rise to the top of his chosen profession. He ranks among the top ten coaches in the NBA to accumulate the most victories with their teams. That’s pretty impressive for a guy who didn’t have much anything to do with the sport during the early years of his life.
The sixth and final game of the 2014-2015 series was played last night and concluded with the guys in the Warriors basketball uniforms taking home the trophy. The great play of the entire team was lead by superstar and MVP Steph Curry and series MVP Andre Iguodala who poured in twenty five points apiece to ensure the victory. Happy day for the Bay Area fans who have gone forty years without a championship. Their teams produced all year long and deserved the convincing win.
Meanwhile the Cleveland Cavaliers and their fans are lamenting being ever so close to the victory that LeBron James desperately wanted for his hometown. James played brilliantly as he typically does but he just did not get enough help from his teammates to realize his dream.
It was a great series which leaves basketball fans eagerly anticipating the next season.
The final series in the NBA Championships has been an interesting one. The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers seem fairly evenly matched. Their first five games have been action packed and exciting with many lead changes as well as long runs of scoring for one side or the other.
It appears both teams are in it to win it and are playing with great intensity.
Steph Curry has moments when nothing seems to be falling for him and then all of a sudden he’s in the groove and can’t seem to miss. Golden State fans are loving it when he’s in his stride. On the other side, when LeBron James puts on his Cavaliers basketball uniform, watch out. He is truly a phenomenal player with skills envied throughout the league. He has his work cut out for him tonight however, as his team is down 3-2. It will help that they are playing on home turf but his teammates are going to have to step up a bit more to clinch the win. It promises to be a thrilling match-up.
Sadly, one of the things that people get a lot of enjoyment from, the field of sports, seems at times to be riddled with corruption. We hear of baseball players being suspended for using performance enhancing drugs and much loved athletes who sail across finish lines in their sponsored cycling jerseys only to learn of their substance abuse and subsequent fall from grace. All areas of sports seem to have examples of those who disrespect their sport by using illegal substances, or cheating in some way or another.
Most recently the news has been full of reports of abuse in the world of Soccer. FIFA (Federation International De Football Association). Charges have been made that this organization is guilty of deep-seated corruption, including racketeering. Soccer is recognized as the most popular sport in the world and generates billions annually. It appears that large amounts of money have been flowing into the accounts of various executives in exchange for favors. Seven individuals have been indicted and could receive sentences of up to 20 years if they are convicted.
Abuse has been suspected in this organization for many years and it is good that something is finally being done about the corruption. It is sad that such greed has to infiltrate areas of our lives that we derive so much pleasure from.
It’s a fair assumption that everyone would like to enjoy success. We would all like to do well at the things we attempt. Why is it that while some of us put in the time and effort we do not achieve the kind of results that we would hope to see? Others sometimes appear to put in less effort and yet end up doing well at almost everything they do. Why is this?
Certainly there is no one factor that is completely responsible for this but rather it is usually a combination of many variables. First, we’re all built differently. Some body types are naturally more able to excel at certain things that others. There is also the component of drive which doesn’t always get as much credit as it deserves as an element of winning. Having the tenacity to stick with something until you achieve the success you want can override many deficiencies in other areas. Most of us are familiar with the story of the tortoise and the hare and are aware of how the determination of the tortoise won out.
Being committed to a goal is often the first step in achieving it. Lackluster attitudes hamper success. We see this time and time again in sports and in life. Right now the NBA Championships are underway. It is a testimony to the need for determination and drive as we watch the athletes in their various basketball uniforms play through exhaustion and injury.
While it would be wonderful to have all the physical components that would help achieve success, it may be even more desirable to have the mental outlook that would ensure positive outcomes in whatever activity that we engage in.
It is a very good thing that there is a sport for each season of the year. Most of us look forward to the beginning of the season of our favorite sport and thank goodness when that season comes to an end there is another sport to keep us going.
Watching our favorite players running and shooting in their basketball uniforms and trying to emerge victorious over their opponents helps to get us through the long months of winter. If we’re lucky and our favorite team is successful, we can watch them play clear until June. Then it’s time to settle in for some baseball as that season is just getting under way. That takes us through the hot months of summer until world series time in October which brings us back to the beginning of the basketball season again.
In the meantime there is a long season of football which gears up in the summer with training camps and which starts in earnest in September. We can have a long season of watching our favorites excel in their various football jerseys until the culmination which is the Super Bowl; the season scheduled to take place on February 7th, 2016.
In addition to all that excitement, there are also golf matches to enjoy, tennis games to entertain, soccer tournaments to view, etc.
It is a good thing that there are sports to watch and keep us cheering about all throughout the year.
There is a school of thinking that suggests young people who want to play a sport in college need to focus on only one sport in the years leading up to that time. The reasons for this are varied. One reason is that coaches are demanding that their players be available for all games, practices, etc and that gets in the way of requirements of additional sports. Another reason is that the competition level becomes so intense that one needs to devote themselves to improving their skill levels in their sport of choice if they hope to find a place on a team.
There are, however, differing opinions on whether this is the right strategy. Many college coaches are now saying that they prefer players who are skilled in two or more sports than those who have put all their eggs in one basket. The numbers bear this out. This year only 5 of the recruits that were signed by Ohio State to play football had not been a multi-sport athlete. The other 42 athletes wore basketball jerseys or soccer jerseys or baseball jerseys each season in addition to playing football.
Some medical professionals feel that playing multiple sports is a better choice for maintaining one’s physical health as well. They say that the repeated stress on joints, muscles, etc involved in playing one sport only on a consistent basis results in fractures and chronic injuries to ligaments, tendons and muscles. They claim that different sports use bodies in different ways and that perhaps a change is as good as a rest in restoring our bodies.
The jury is still out on which approach is best. In the meantime, research indicates that the vast majority of college and professional players have been multi-sport athletes.
In the world of sports, as in everyday life, it is wonderful to encounter people who actually make a difference in the lives of those they come into contact with. While we’ve likely all heard stories of nightmare coaches who intimidate and bully their players. We’ve also heard stories of heroes who shape and mold their players into good athletes and even more importantly, good people.
Lucky are those individuals who find themselves under the tutelage of such a person. Former athleteic protoges of Jay Fullmer would fall into that category. Mr. Fullmer passed away recently at the age of 78 after a lifetime of helping others accomplish the very thing that was denied him, a career in the boxing ring. Jay longed to strap on a pair of boxing gloves and give his all against any opponent that would challenge him but sadly due to health issues he was not able to pursue that goal. Instead he challenged his energies toward helping others to be the best they could be. When you think about it, isn’t that really the measure of success anyone could be proud of?