03/18/23 Shocking! – Radically Rational

03/18/23 Shocking!

“Let’s go shock the world.”—Fairleigh Dickinson Coach Tobin Anderson’s pre-game mission statement to his team.

Mission accomplished. Consider the world shocked. Purdue was shocked, certainly.

The most amazing thing to me about the 16^th seeded Knights’ upset of #1 Purdue? FDU is the shortest team in the country, with a roster whose average height is 6-1. Yet the Knights scored only two fewer points in the paint than did the ginormous Boilermakers.

The Spurs didn’t really blow a 29-point third quarter homecourt lead and lose in overtime to the Ja-less Grizzlies, did they? The Spurs are now 0-5 in OT this season.

You got nothing to be smug about, Lakers. You led the Mavs by four with 7.2 seconds remaining. Final score? Mavs 111, Lakers 110 on a game winning three by Maxi Kleber with 0.2 showing.

Guys like playing with Jimmy G. That’s always been evident. He’s an easy hang, and he wins. Garoppolo during Friday’s introductory news conference with the Raiders: “I don’t want to be given anything. I want to earn it.” That will play well with his new teammates. All that guy needs to do is stay healthy. He missed 30 games due to injury in his six years with the Niners. But he’s also 44-19 as an NFL starting QB, including four playoff wins.

Hanging onto Cooper Rush was critically important for the Cowboys, IMO. He’s still in the QB room after signing a new two-year, $5 million dollar deal. Rush kept the Cowboys’ season alive in 2022, going 4-1 as the starter while Dak was out with a broken thumb, beating the Bengals, Rams, Giants and Commanders. Here’s reality in today’s NFL. A team is only as good as its backup quarterback.

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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.