05/12/23 LET THE GAMES BEGIN! – Radically Rational

05/12/23 LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

The NFL doesn’t even have to play football games to spark excitement. All it has to do is announce that it is going to play football games. The schedule reveal was a hit. It always is. Things got real last night when we found out who is playing whom, when and where. I’ll have plenty of time to highlight some of those shiny matchups. For now just consider that the schedule includes 14 playoff matchups from last season, the most in league history. We even get a SB rematch as the Chiefs host the Eagles in Week Eleven.

Didn’t you always think the Sixers and Celtics were headed for a Game Seven?

And didn’t you always think the Suns would set? Some things never change.

The Lakers had better hope they close out the Dubs tonight in Game Six. They don’t want to go back to the Bay.

I think we all got numbed to Tom Brady’s career stats before he retired “for good” last February after 23 seasons. Almost 90,000 passing yards. Ten Super Bowl appearances. Seven SB wins. Forty-eight playoff games, including 35 wins. No wonder Patriots owner Robert Kraft is throwing a party for Brady at the team’s home opener. And Brady has some free time, since he’s not going to start his broadcast career with Fox until 2024.

Brett Favre has dropped his defamation lawsuit against sports commentator Pat McAfee. Favre wasn’t going to win anyway. McAfee was well within his rights when he went after Favre for allegedly siphoning off Mississippi welfare money to fund personal pet projects. Favre still has defamation suits pending against broadcaster Shannon Sharpe and Mississippi Auditor Shad White. He won’t win those, either.

Drip, drip, drip. There always seems to be new and concerning information regarding former Georgia defensive tackle and new Eagle draft choice Jalen Carter. We found out Thursday that Carter was driving with a suspended license on January 15 when he was involved in a a drag racing crash that resulted in two deaths.

Looking for a fresh and exciting career in sports? Establish anonymous tip hotlines through which athletes and coaches can report suspicious gambling activity. A firm named U.S. Integrity has done exactly that. These recent incidents in both college and professional sports have been alarming.

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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.