Sports Blog: 12/17/21 – Radically Rational

Sports Blog: 12/17/21

I’m not opposed or even resistant to football analytics. They are a useful tool. They should not be an unchallenged dictator.

This is not second-guessing. This is not “Friday morning quarterbacking.” I was screaming at the tv the first time Chargers Coach Brandon Staley went for it on fourth down. For the rest of the game, I toned it down to just quietly shaking my head.

I understand that Staley wants to play aggressively. I understand that he wants that to be part of his team’s identity. I also understand his team was playing the Chiefs, and he felt understandable pressure not to answer touchdowns with field goals.

I get all that. Here’s what else I get. Seven may be greater than three, but three is greater than zero. (Does Lockhart Elementary School rock, or what?)

Baseball is pure analytics, and that’s cool. But managing a football game requires the seat of your pants as much as it does your cerebrum and stat charts.

Here’s kind of my standard on stuff like that. If you elevate your chances of losing by going for it and failing to a greater degree than you elevate your chances of winning if you go for it and get it, then don’t do it!

“Can I win the game right here? Can I maybe lose the game right here?” If the answer to the first question is no, and the answer to the second question is yes…IT’S A BAD IDEER!

It’s all “cost/benefit.”

A lot of that has to do with what stage a game is in. Staley started going for it WAY too early last night, and then got WAY too stubborn and “dug in” after that.

One more thing. Staley and his staff might want to spend a little less time on analytics, and a little more time figuring out how to cover the other team’s tight end.

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Paul's Bio

I clearly have the attention span of your median fruit fly.Look! Airplane!

Sorry. I’m back.

It’s both a curse and a blessing. I’ve never bought this stuff about, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But I do think that a wide range of life experiences helps us grow as people, and helps us better relate to other people. I’ve been fortunate. And I am beyond grateful.

I show up on time. I go like hell. I’m a good listener. I hold myself accountable. I own my mistakes. And I have a natural and an insatiable curiosity. I’m never afraid to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t. But then I try to find out.

The flip side is I’m a lousy ballroom dancer and my clothes sometimes fit me funny.

Stuff matters to me. I care. But while I take that stuff seriously, I try hard to never take myself seriously. As a result, I have sometimes been told, “Paul, it’s hard to tell when you’re serious and when you’re just having some fun. Which is it? Serious or fun?”

My answer is “yes.” But I think that is a legitimate criticism. I promise I’m going to work on that.

This has been the quickest and strangest half-century I’ve ever experienced. During that period, I’ve been afforded amazing opportunities in news and sports journalism across all platforms. I have taught wonderful students at the high school and collegiate level. Always, I learned more from them than they did from me. I’ve been a high school administrator. I spent ten seasons as a high school varsity football coach. I’ve been an advertising executive. I’ve hosted nationally syndicated television entertainment shows. In maybe the biggest honor I ever received, I was selected by NASA to be “Chet The Astronaut” for the “Land The Shuttle” simulator at Space Center Houston. (All I can say there, is “Do as I say, not as I do.” I put that thing in the Everglades more often than not.) Most recently, I just wrapped up a decade as a television news director, during which time our teams distinguished themselves in holding the powerful accountable, achieving both critical and ratings success.

What does all that mean? It means I am profoundly grateful. It also means I’m ready for “next.” So here we are. Radically Rational. It’s an idea I woke up with in 2017. I scribbled “Radically Rational” on a piece of notebook paper and used a magnet to stick it on our refrigerator. I saw it every day, and it just would not leave me alone.

I am second in charge at Radically Rational, LLC. My wife, Jo (also known as BB), is the president. Clearly, I have failed in my attempt to sleep my way to the top of this organization.

I hope you will learn that I’m loyal as a Labrador. But I will admit that this doggie can bite every now and then. My promise to you? I will show up on time. I will go like hell. I will listen to you earnestly and attentively. I will hold myself accountable. I will never be the least bit hesitant to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t.

But then I’ll try to find out. Let’s do it.