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The Cowboys will put on full pads and start hitting each other Monday. CeeDee Lamb is WR-1 now, and the trainers are watching him closely for signs of overwork. Lamb did not take any team snaps in Saturday’s practice. As thin and unsettled as that receiving corps is, holding Lamb to a pitch count seems smart to me.

Those “Guardian Cap” padded helmet shells are getting mixed reviews at NFL training camps. Maybe you’ve seen them. They’re soft padded overlays that fit over the top of players’ regular helmets. Their use is mandatory at training camp practices for offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers and tight ends. The Guardian Caps have proven to significantly reduce impact to the head, and the hope is that they will help cut the number of annual training camp concussions. For the most part, the players have rolled with it, although J.J. Watt had done some good-natured faux griping. But Jets’ coach Robert Saleh isn’t sold. Saleh has expressed concern that the shells have emboldened players to use their helmets more than they usually would, and that players may have a difficult time re-adjusting once the shells come off the week after the second preseason game.  Color me agnostic for now.

The ‘Niners are losing defensive linemen left and right. The latest casualty is DT Maurice Hurst, who suffered a torn biceps Friday and will need season ending surgery. This comes as Arik Armstead is down for at least a few weeks with a sprained knee and Hassan Ridgeway will be out for about the same amount of time with a quadriceps strain. Two years ago the ‘Niners’ season was wiped out by an epidemic of injuries. Last year, they stayed relatively healthy and got within a millimeter of the Super Bowl.

A salute to retiring defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, who was a consummate pro in eleven years, the first ten of them in Washington before a final season in Philly. Kerrigan retires as Washington’s all-time sack leader with 95.5 and was selected for the Pro Bowl four times.

The NFL player under the most pressure heading into this season? Tua. It’s time for him to don his “No Excuses” jeans.

That was a rough loss for the Astros and a rare blown save opportunity for reliever Ryan Pressley Saturday night in Houston. The Astros carried a 4-3 lead over the Mariners into the ninth inning, but Seattle pinch-hitter Abraham Toro smacked a two-out, two-run single to boost the M’s to their first win over Houston in their last six meetings. That was Pressley’s first blown save since June 23.

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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.