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Basketball Ramblings

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Hopefully, now, the comparisons will stop.  LeBron James is not a better basketball player than Michael Jordan.  Sorry Scottie Pippen.  You were wrong.  James might be an incredible physical specimen and could probably beat most one-on-one, but champions like Jordan have something more than physical ability when the pressure gets intense.  In the fourth quarters of his championship runs, Jordan always did something to amaze me (And usually break my heart as I wasn’t a Bulls fan), whether it be a steal, a pass, or a shot.  His will to be the best elevated him beyond his physical skills.

Bill Russell had that, too.  So did Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird.  They played their best when all was on the line.  Last night, the Heat and LeBron quit with over two minutes to go in an elimination game.  They simply stopped competing.  It was obvious by their body language, their lazy defense down the stretch, and then their decision not to foul in the last minute until that stupid foul with .18 left when the game was over.  I can’t imagine Michael Jordan ever letting his teammates quit in the Finals under any circumstances.

It’s not entirely James’s fault that he doesn’t have that will to win the others had.  All his life, he’s been told he’s the best, and he didn’t have a Dean Smith or John Wooden to mold his competitive spirit during his late teens.  Instead, he had multi-million dollar endorsement deals with commercials touting his greatness.  Anyone’s ego would get over-blown under those circumstances.  In many ways, he’s the perfect symbol for his generation–all flash and style, no heart.

I’m happy for the Mavericks, especially Jason Kidd.  They deserve to be champions because they fought for it.  Jason Kidd has worked as hard as anyone to win this title, and I respect his tenacity to get back to the Finals and get another chance.  The Mavericks played as a team, and even in the two losses, they battled until the end.  It was an entertaining series that came down to one simple equation: a good team fighting together can always beat a collection of individuals, no matter how athletic those individuals might be.

General Posts

Friday Afternoon Ramblings

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“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

 Calvin Coolidge

I live by these words.  I now lecture on them in every class I teach.  If my students learn nothing else from me, I hope they learn the lesson of persistence.  History is littered with the successes of the the people who had the courage to push forward despite failures, setbacks, naysayers, critics, self-doubts, and struggles.  Thomas Edison comes to mind.  So does J. K. Rowling, who was rejected by 12 publishers before one accepted the Harry Potter series.  Colonel Sanders fought back from bankruptcy in his 60’s.

In graduate school, the will to write was crushed from my spirit.  My creativity and passion literally withered away, and I was left a hollow shell of a person.  For three to four years, I didn’t write anything to speak of, and I look back at that period as one of the bleakest of my life.  I gave up on myself, and looking back, I’m ashamed of that as much as anything in my life.

Life has knocked me down many times.  From the shotput accident, to graduate school, to the divorce, to the struggles to launch my writing career, the most important lesson I’ve learned is to keep fighting, to find my inner strength and believe in the possibilities of the future.  Three years ago I had every excuse to quit, and be perfectly honest, I nearly did.  Losing my children was by far the worst thing I’ve experienced.  Without them, nothing mattered.  Many nights I saw no hope of ever recovering from the loss, no hope of ever achieving success, no hope of being the man I wanted to be.

But something inside me held together, and I came to know that if I didn’t press on, I truly had no hope.  But if I fought with everything I had left, I at least had a chance to get to my feet.  Today, I’m a better man for it.  Nothing has been easy, but now, every little success is more fulfilling, each victory that much sweeter.  I won’t consider myself a success until the farm is running and my writing is profitable, but I will not stop “pressing on” until both of those have been accomplished.  If you are reading this and facing adversities of your own, please know that you too can overcome any obstacle and find your success.  All you have to do is dig in and fight with everything that’s in you.  And if you are willing to do that, good things will eventually come your way.

General Posts

Memorial Day Ramblings

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Let me preface this entry with a disclaimer: my purpose is not to offend anyone.  But it seems as though too many people don’t understand the point of Memorial Day.  This is not a day to honor our troops.  That’s Veteran’s Day in November.  Memorial Day is the day to remember those who gave their lives in service to our country, and while veterans do make up the majority,  I would argue that this extends beyond the military to include firefighters, police officers, and even teachers.

Again, I’m not disrespecting the sacrifice of those who have served, but this holiday is called Memorial Day for a reason.  It’s when we are supposed to remember those who gave their lives in service to others.  There is no greater sacrifice one can make for their country, and today, we are supposed to keep their memories alive.  Last night during the race, time after time, the announcers and drivers honored our troops and thanked them for their service.  While there’s nothing wrong with that, not once did I hear them articulate the true meaning of this holiday.

My uncle, Jimmy Fulford, was murdered in the line of duty as a Florida State Trooper.  He was killed by a bomb hidden in a microwave meant for a drug dealer’s ex-girlfriend who knew too much.  Jimmy was a great man, respected so much that thousands attended his funeral and thousands more lined the roadside to pay their respects.  He gave his life patrolling a lonely stretch of highway on a quiet Sunday morning.  Today, I honor his memory by thanking him for his sacrifice.  He was a good father, a good trooper, and a good man, and he left this world much too young.  Thank you, Jimmy.  May you rest in peace.