a rant for a second about the NBA lockout:
the owners are saying they'll go no higher than 50/50, but that's only for the Basketball-Related Income (BRI), which is the only money from which the players get paid. but the OWNERS still make money off the luxury boxes, and the additional rake from concessions and every other use for the arena, none of which the players get any share. so the players SHOULD get more than 50% because they're more than equally important to the success of the league.
it's not the owners who are exciting the fans, it's the owners who are willfully overpaying Sam Dalembert and Charlie Villanueva. it's not the players' fault the owners are idiots. they shouldn't have to pay for someone else's mistakes. it's ridiculous and befuddles me. if someone hires you and is willing to pay you a certain amount and the reserve from which they're paying you is only a fraction of the total amount of money they're making, wouldn't it make more sense to analyze the way the other fractions are being spent?
they should recognize the country's economic struggles and LOWER TICKET PRICES. then more butts are in the seats AND more money comes in. would you rather have one $10 or three $5's? it's simple, but the owners are too greedy to make a prudent decision that might, oh, SAVE their franchise because they're too afraid that people still won't show if the cost goes down. but the fans aren't going because they can't afford the freaking tickets, not because of disinterest, as evidenced by all the high TV ratings last season. those ratings, btw, were because of all the new PLAYER news, not because Mark Cuban was wearing a new extra medium tee or because Jim Dolan got some new Just For Men for his goatee.
i don't care if his beard is weird. i don't care how involved Cuban gets during the games. i watch to see the players and no one else. more than any other sport, they are the reasons people watch, the characters in the drama, exposed for all to see.
yes, the players are going to make a lot of money regardless. but, if you offered to give up about $160 million in negotiations, wouldn't you want the other side of the table to at least try to meet you some where in the middle of those concessions?
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
It's Not About You
I'm a pretty resilient guy. It's not like I've had the worst life, but I haven't exactly been prancing through meadows either. It's hard sometimes -- especially when you're in the midst of the storm -- to make yourself available for others, but I know it's something that must happen and something which can help you find the freedom of healing. The last week and a half have been a classic example of that. I've been forced out of a place where I can digest my own happenings and have to make sure that others can do what needs to be done.
It would be nice to have some time for myself, but maybe this is where that's going to have to happen.
It would be nice to have some time for myself, but maybe this is where that's going to have to happen.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Almost
So close to a dream, I can almost touch it.
I've just got to reach out and grab it.
No slippery fingers this time.
I've just got to reach out and grab it.
No slippery fingers this time.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Foundation
Everything can change in a matter of days. Most things we think are constants can vanish in seconds. The only true constant is the One who makes these things happen.
He is everlasting.
No amount of Earthly fluctuation can alter that.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
- Matthew 7: 24-25
He is the rock that keeps things steady in the midst of the storm.
He is everlasting.
No amount of Earthly fluctuation can alter that.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
- Matthew 7: 24-25
He is the rock that keeps things steady in the midst of the storm.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Don't Call it a Comeback
For whatever reason, I'm not a guy who can learn from others' mistakes. I have to feel the sting before I can realize that something is a bad decision or that someone is bad for me. Sure, I've got common sense and have kept myself out of potentially harmful relationships or from making potentially catastrophic decision, but many times I've still needed to get burned to understand that putting my hand in the (figurative) fire isn't a good idea.
We're not talking huge things, mind you, but big enough for me to be affected.
I made some bad decisions affect my mindset far longer than they should have.
While reading a column by one of my favorite sportswriters Bill Simmons (can't believe I just admitted that, but I guess after reading a vast majority of his columns and his 700-page book, I suppose it's true), I came across something he said while talking about Tiger Woods.
He's been beaten down for his transgressions -- not just his actions, but the backlash that stemmed from it -- and it altered everything about his life. But at The Masters he finally started playing like the old Tiger, the one that captivated audiences and left courses smoldering from his inferno. Here's what Simmons said, when talking about what he's supposed to say to his son when talking about Tiger:
"I am supposed to think that he's a poor role model -- that he's an adulterer, that he's selfish, that he's a phony, that he behaves badly on golf courses, that he's someone I wouldn't want my son to emulate some day. That's horses---. I want my son to know that people screw up, that nobody is perfect, that you can learn from your foibles. I want my son to watch "The Natural" someday, hear Roy Hobbs say, "Some mistakes you never stop paying for," and know that it's not just words in a movie. I want my son to know that you haven't lived until you've fought back, that you haven't won until you've lost, that you can't understand what it's like to relish something until you've suffered, too. I want him to understand that it's the 21st century, that we sit around picking our heroes apart all day, that we expect them to be superhuman at all times, that we get pissed off when they aren't, that it's hypocritical if you really think about it."
A couple lines stopped me dead in my tracks while reading. Clearly, I'm no hero, and I've never done anything so bad as Tiger's poor marital decisions, so it's a little different. But maybe I needed to read that line about living. And losing. And suffering. And maybe I needed to give myself a break for not being perfect. The only thing a perfectionist really knows is the life-long struggle to be something that can never be attained. Maybe it's OK to realize that last part.
The last few months, I've really been trying to find me again. Sure, we all change, but it just felt like something was "off". Bit by bit I've been making strides toward finding that lost man, reconciling what happened to me and my past decisions that may have affected those things. I am not perfect, but I don't have to be. Simply a human, on the verge of reclaiming everything.
We're not talking huge things, mind you, but big enough for me to be affected.
I made some bad decisions affect my mindset far longer than they should have.
While reading a column by one of my favorite sportswriters Bill Simmons (can't believe I just admitted that, but I guess after reading a vast majority of his columns and his 700-page book, I suppose it's true), I came across something he said while talking about Tiger Woods.
He's been beaten down for his transgressions -- not just his actions, but the backlash that stemmed from it -- and it altered everything about his life. But at The Masters he finally started playing like the old Tiger, the one that captivated audiences and left courses smoldering from his inferno. Here's what Simmons said, when talking about what he's supposed to say to his son when talking about Tiger:
"I am supposed to think that he's a poor role model -- that he's an adulterer, that he's selfish, that he's a phony, that he behaves badly on golf courses, that he's someone I wouldn't want my son to emulate some day. That's horses---. I want my son to know that people screw up, that nobody is perfect, that you can learn from your foibles. I want my son to watch "The Natural" someday, hear Roy Hobbs say, "Some mistakes you never stop paying for," and know that it's not just words in a movie. I want my son to know that you haven't lived until you've fought back, that you haven't won until you've lost, that you can't understand what it's like to relish something until you've suffered, too. I want him to understand that it's the 21st century, that we sit around picking our heroes apart all day, that we expect them to be superhuman at all times, that we get pissed off when they aren't, that it's hypocritical if you really think about it."
A couple lines stopped me dead in my tracks while reading. Clearly, I'm no hero, and I've never done anything so bad as Tiger's poor marital decisions, so it's a little different. But maybe I needed to read that line about living. And losing. And suffering. And maybe I needed to give myself a break for not being perfect. The only thing a perfectionist really knows is the life-long struggle to be something that can never be attained. Maybe it's OK to realize that last part.
The last few months, I've really been trying to find me again. Sure, we all change, but it just felt like something was "off". Bit by bit I've been making strides toward finding that lost man, reconciling what happened to me and my past decisions that may have affected those things. I am not perfect, but I don't have to be. Simply a human, on the verge of reclaiming everything.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
In Remembrance
My mom has always felt I needed a father figure. My biological wasn't there, so she's gone out of her way to find men from whom I could learn and grown. I was never too interested in all of that, feeling that things needed to be organic. It always felt so forced.
The same was true when she began dating someone while I was away in college. I resisted him every time he tried to have some sort of impact on my life. I hadn't had a father for my first 18 years, it made no sense to me to have one now. He never stopped trying.
Now, 11 years after he became the kind of man to my mother that she truly deserved, he is gone. And now I realize that the man who never could remember that I don't like nuts in cookies is the same one who never stopped supporting me in any way he could.
For that, I am forever grateful.
Lyman Gilbert.
Three-time bronze star recipient and World War II veteran.
Great and kind man.
The same was true when she began dating someone while I was away in college. I resisted him every time he tried to have some sort of impact on my life. I hadn't had a father for my first 18 years, it made no sense to me to have one now. He never stopped trying.
Now, 11 years after he became the kind of man to my mother that she truly deserved, he is gone. And now I realize that the man who never could remember that I don't like nuts in cookies is the same one who never stopped supporting me in any way he could.
For that, I am forever grateful.
Lyman Gilbert.
Three-time bronze star recipient and World War II veteran.
Great and kind man.
Monday, February 14, 2011
jumping for joy
It's hard for me to put myself "out there" romantically.
Not that I've never done it or anything. It's just...it always seems like when I really try to extend myself and let a girl know how I feel about her, it always ends up with me picking up the pieces.
It's enough to dent a guy's confidence. Don't get me wrong; I know exactly what I'm worth as far as a potential spouse and all that. I'd like to think I'm a pretty good guy and will be a great husband if that situation ever presents itself. But, come on...
Ever since I was a young buck, I've tried to woo the lady. Whether it was love notes in 5th grade on Valentine's Day or poems in college, I've kept coming up dry.
And yet, I find myself, once again on the ledge. Ready to leap.
Happy Valentine's Day everybody.
Not that I've never done it or anything. It's just...it always seems like when I really try to extend myself and let a girl know how I feel about her, it always ends up with me picking up the pieces.
It's enough to dent a guy's confidence. Don't get me wrong; I know exactly what I'm worth as far as a potential spouse and all that. I'd like to think I'm a pretty good guy and will be a great husband if that situation ever presents itself. But, come on...
Ever since I was a young buck, I've tried to woo the lady. Whether it was love notes in 5th grade on Valentine's Day or poems in college, I've kept coming up dry.
And yet, I find myself, once again on the ledge. Ready to leap.
Happy Valentine's Day everybody.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Saboteur
(Soooo...that was a little longer "tomorrow" than I'd anticipated. Oops.)
My dating history is like one cautionary tale after another. That's not to say these ladies are bad people or whatever, but just aren't right with/for me. Most of them I've known -- on some level -- from the beginning.
In thinking about all this, I think I've really gotten down to the true root of it, but that's a little too personal for a public blog, so if you'd like to know you can ask. But I do believe I've nailed it down. I hope that it leads to meaningful growth with or without someone.
My dating history is like one cautionary tale after another. That's not to say these ladies are bad people or whatever, but just aren't right with/for me. Most of them I've known -- on some level -- from the beginning.
In thinking about all this, I think I've really gotten down to the true root of it, but that's a little too personal for a public blog, so if you'd like to know you can ask. But I do believe I've nailed it down. I hope that it leads to meaningful growth with or without someone.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Revelation
I've been rattling something around in my head for the last few days and it's too late to give the full hypothesis right now, so I'll just leave it by saying this...
I sabotage my own relationships.
More on this soon, most likely tomorrow.
I sabotage my own relationships.
More on this soon, most likely tomorrow.
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