05/30/23 0-151 – Radically Rational

05/30/23 0-151

There’s a reason why NBA teams trailing 0-3 have never come back to win a playoff series in now 151 attempts. It appears to be very difficult.

Game One of The Finals between the Heat and the Nuggets Thursday sets up as the old “rest vs. rust” question.

Let me jump ahead to the, say, six “page” story that lies ahead. The Nuggets will win their first NBA title.

You could take everything I know about hockey and inscribe it on the head of a pin with room enough left over for the Gutenberg Bible. But this should be a helluva Final (no “s”) between the Panthers and the Golden Knights. Sure, I’ll watch…

This could only happen to the Raiders and could only involve Jimmy G. Lemme get this straight. The Raidahs just let Garoppolo sign a waiver in place of giving him a comprehensive physical exam prior to signing him? Because they knew he wouldn’t pass a physical? And JG has since undergone foot surgery and may not be ready for the start of training camp? And now he WILL be required to pass a physical. And if he doesn’t, the Raiders can terminate Jimmy’s $72 million contract? And so Brian Hoyer may be the Raiders’ starter, at least for a while?

This is what happens to a team whose owner uses a salad bowl to cut his hair.

Decisions, decisions. The SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey will have to decide whether to play an eight- or nine-game conference football schedule going forward. I hope they pick nine, because that means more blood. But there are a lot of factors to consider, including tv revenue, competitive fairness, bowl eligibility and how it might impact the expansion of the CFP to 12 teams. That’s why Sankey gets the big bucks.

Nurse! Stat! The Sixers reportedly will hire Nick Nurse as their new head coach, succeeding the whacked Doc Rivers. I’m happy Nurse is getting another shot. I thought he got a raw deal in Toronto.

It was all good until it wasn’t. The Astros and Twins were tied at five in the tenth inning Monday night in Houston until Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers cracked a two-run homer. Dammit. But that was quite an inspiring return for the Twins’ Royce Lewis, who homered and drove in four runs in his season debut, a year to the day after he crashed into an outfield wall and wrecked his right ACL. Hombre.

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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.