04/19/23 Never a doubt about Damar. – Radically Rational

04/19/23 Never a doubt about Damar.

I only did a quiet fist-pump Tuesday when we got official word that Damar Hamlin has been medically cleared to return to NFL active player status. Why not a more robust celebration? Because I never had a doubt, and there is no medical reason for him not to play. Every time I’m close to giving up on humankind, a Damar Hamlin lifts me up.

This looks to me like a make or break year for Mac Jones in New England. I hope he “makes,” and I think the Bill O’Brien’s return to the Pats as OC will help. Yes, Belichick is the GOAT, but he really hung Mac out to dry in 2022 by putting career defensive coaches on the offensive side of the ball. Jones is an interesting case to me. You can win with him, but you have to put the right pieces around him, including coaches.

Every offseason, I get excited about some random NFL team’s prospects for the coming season. This time it’s the Lions. Something great is going on in Detroit.

You know who else is gonna be pretty good? (Not that they’re a random team.) The Steelers. I promise.

Andy Reid never misses a thing. Andy insists on having a veteran backup QB. The Chiefs signed Blaine Gabbert on Tuesday. Yup. He’ll slide in nicely to the role previously well-filled by the now retired Chad Henne.

This pre-draft intrigue is getting good! Let’s see what the Texans, Cardinals and Colts do. The Panthers say they have not given Bryce Young assurances that he will be the top pick. Appearances at least say otherwise.

Draymond Green gets a one-game suspension for performing sneaker-stomping “CPR” on Sabonis’s chest. Green should have gotten at least 15 games, carrying forward to next season if necessary.

Do you smirk and snort a little bit every time the Spurs insist they’re not going anywhere? Well, you know, not this week…

Congratulations on that 200^th career win, Kershaw. You’ve always come off as a good dude, and a gracious one.

The Astros still can’t get to .500.

Hockey players are tough. I mean real tough. “HOW TOUGH ARE THEY?” Hockey players are so tough that Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron returned to a playoff game within a period Tuesday night after getting his face sliced by a skate, kinda like roast beef at Arby’s. How many stitches? Well, 75 if you’re counting. Hockey players never count.

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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.