Sports Blog: 06/22/2021
The Cartel Known as the NCAA has been busted. And the Earth is still spinning on its axis. An active NFL player has chosen to disclose that he’s gay. And as far as I know we’re still going to play football. The NCAA’s very structure can be reasonably and honestly described as organized crime. The […]
Paul’s Daily Ration: 06/22/2021
The United States leads the world in COVID-19 deaths. Inexcusable. The United States annually leads the world in gunshot deaths. Inexcusable. There is a cynical, systemic effort in an alarming number of states to shrink the size of our legitimate electorate. Its intent is unmistakable. Its targets are obvious. It is a clear and present […]
What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you?
I first heard the verse spoken by poet Robert Bly in the Eighties as he read a poem by Antonio Machado: “What have you done with the garden that was entrusted to you?” It stopped me in my tracks and has echoed in my mind all the decades since. Antonio Machado was a Spanish poet […]
Happy Solstice!
I’m a Summer Baby, so, baby, let’s go! Voting is fundamental, and “truth in labeling” matters. Voter ID Laws? I’m good. Of course voters should be expected to prove they are who they say they are and establish their eligibility to participate in our elections. No argument here. And I frankly find suggestions that some […]
Sports Blog: 06/21/2021
Certainly, elite golfers are elite athletes. I’ve never understood why anyone would question that. Championship golf (not “Coach Hacking) requires strength, coordination, rhythm, stamina, extreme focus and concentration, and the fine motor skills of a neurosurgeon. The idea is to “save the patient.” And the patient is the golfer himself. “Physician, heal thyself,” indeed. Five […]
Everything is rhythm. And rhythm is everything
Everything is rhythm. And rhythm is everything. That’s not astrology or vacuous, pop culture Say-Nothingism. It’s physics. Everything and everybody vibrates rhythmically. See “natural harmonic.” Similarly, every human activity and pursuit has a rhythmic “sweet spot.” My inability to find it largely explains why I am a lousy golfer. But the happy flip side is […]
PAUL’S MEMORABLE ENCOUNTER: Jesse Owens
It was the Spring of 1980. I was living and working in Tucson as sports director at the CBS affiliate, KOLD-TV. I learned that one of history’s greatest athletes was being treated for a terminal illness at the University of Arizona Medical Center.Jesse Owens. The news staggered me. I’ve always been a track buff and […]
Seven on Seven
I want to talk about seven-on-seven. No, dammit! Not a Roman orgy. I’m talking about that shorts-and-tees summer league passing game touch football stuff that high school players, coaches, fans and parents take way too seriously. It can be fun. Throwing and catching a football under any conditions has been one of the abiding joys […]
