Winners Never Quit

What a ride, thrills and chills ups and downs, and more stress than anyone would want to deal with. There have been heroes and villains good luck and bad luck and everything in between. The Rangers have just completed a bounce back game and once again showed the heart and grit of a true champion. No one knows what's going to happen going forward but this seems like a good time to step back and look at what this Rangers team has accomplished, and what they have meant to New York and the league. Number one let's start with the fact that the Rangers have been playing hockey like they are now for almost 2 years, a very long time for a team in any sport to play at the highest level night in and night out and perform with such success. Last year they came within a couple of posts of winning the Stanley Cup, and backed that up by winning the Presidents Trophy this year. The separation between top level professional teams is very small and to consistently win for this amount of time speaks to everything that an organization needs to be successful. Good coaching, commitment by the players, good execution, talent and good front office decisions to stay on top. The Rangers are a likable team, a bunch of "Blue Collar Guys" playing on Broadway. The NHL is full of players like that, it is part of the charm of this sport and one reason the players never lose respect for who they are or where they are. The Broadway Blues have had some great players and some great moments but over time consistency has eluded them as far as winning championships. This team is on a run that started in 2014 and there's still a story to be written, but this "Band of Brothers" is the real deal, a championship caliber team that would be competitive in any sport. Believe it or not the Rangers are only a little more than halfway to their goal. Champions never quit they just keep trying, just like the Rangers. Sports is full of one hit wonders. To me greatness is defined by consistency overtime. The ability, talent, and commitment to do it again. The Stanley Cup chase is truly a gauntlet requiring every ounce of dedication that athletes can give. Maybe the cup doesn't end up in New York, but there's no doubt in my mind that in the last two years New York Ranger fans have had the privilege of watching a true champion perform. LETS GO RANGERS...

Wouldn't It Be Nice

What does it say about a Society where no one is accountable or guilty of anything, and the guilty party becomes the accuser. Spin, spin and more spin. GUILTY rule 101 when you are caught claim Foul and accuse the law of being unfair. GUILTY rule 102 explain that you are not the only one who is perpetrating the crime, as if that makes it okay. Deflategate is just a symptom of our societies decay.  No one is ever guilty anymore. It's always someone else's fault, or I had a good excuse, or I didn't  know better etc.  She made me mad so I hit her, it's not my fault. He pushed me so I shot him, it's not my fault. I needed the money so I stole it, it's not my fault and on and on. And politicians are worse . The great host of Meet The Press, Tim Russert  wrote a book about being a parent, and in it he stated that the hardest thing to teach your children is accountability.  How to be responsible for your actions and to really understand right from wrong. I'M LUCKY my kids get it they learned well, but there are millions of adults in today's world that don't get it. Brady' s agent says the problem is the NFL is on a conspiracy laden witch hunt. Of course they are they want nothing more than to tarnish their brightest star yeah right. What a moron Yee is, oh wait a minute I get it, he's knows that's ridiculous but it deflects the limelight away from Brady. Maybe he's not a moron. GUILTY RULE 103 if you are guilty and can't hide change the argument...politicians learn this tactic very quickly. The bottom line here is that getting away with something doesn't mean you weren't guilty; and despite evidence to the contrary in today's world the ends still don't justify the means. Did Brady do the deed of course he did anyone who has any insight about this matter would concur. Brady won but at what cost, his reputation and credibility will never be the same.  Many people will always hate him. For those who want to try to defend him please get some help. What's really sad is that it took 3 months 243 pages of documentation and lots of money to do the dance. Tom Brady is not the first or will he be the last person that will ever push the envelope, cheat, or lie about something in life, but wouldn't it be nice if he started a new trend in society and became accountable for his actions. Well we can all dream can't we?

THE ENEMY FROM WITHIN

The world we all live in is a complicated and difficult landscape to navigate.We are all challenged everyday to fight the good fight and walk the right path. To deny that racism and prejudice exists in the world is naive and ignorant, and to say that it is not a problem is just plain stupid. The only thing that is worse than being racist is someone who chooses to fan the flames of racism with little regard for the truth or objectivity. Stephen A Smith has a history of prejudicial and inflammatory comments. He is a divisive voice in the arena. Most recently he stated “that if you hit a woman, it’s Ok, because sometimes she might have deserved it.”And we thought male chauvinism was dead. But the most common theme for him is his racism. He is constantly taking non prejudicial situations and trying to make them racially charged. He often says their are never enough black coaches in pro sports. Whatever grains of truth that comment may represent his commentary ignores the progress that has been made in that area and paints all the world as black hating zealots. Not a good way to move the needle .He has most recently trashed Chip Kelly of the Eagles for cutting 2 black players and keeping supposedly an inferior white player. He stated this was strictly a racially motivated decision, forget the fact that maybe it’s due to salary cap issues or more to the point a bad fit for the team. He’s pumping the race card, no surprise for him. His newest commentary is about Randy Gregory and his potential loss of draft status as a result of his drug use. In Smith’s most recent venture into non objectivity, he rails about the fact that Gregory is singled out only because he is black. When the truth is he has been busted twice before in 2014 for drug use. Obviously this is not a new issue for Mr Gregory, but regardless Mr Smith continues to exhibit his propensity for defending the black community at all costs and making everything a racial issue. ESPN cannot hide in the background. They know he is controversial and yet continue to provide a platform for him to spew his garbage. People that have a public platform and have this skewed a perspective are not only inflammatory but undermine the process of making things better by people who really understand the problems of race. If you look at the world and all you ever see are racist people maybe they are not the problem....

Thanks Jon, It's Been Real

It's very rare that an individual can create a new genre, and at the same time impact a generation the way Jon Stewart has. He became not only the voice of a generation but its truth seeker and it's conscience. He brought millions of young people to the table. He became the voice of reason in a society gone mad. Politics, war, genocide,  apartheid, dictatorships, racism, and more were all targets for Stewart's wit and criticism. He helped us all feel less despair and in the process realize there were still voices of reason in the world. One of which being his. Nothing was untouchable for Jon Stewart. The truth about issues always screams the loudest and his commitment to that made him unique and special to all of us whether you agreed with his perspective or not. His commitment to the greater good was always his strength. After listening to his analysis of current issues one would wonder why everyone is so confused, when it was so clear to us. His mission was simple but difficult, to help simplify all the spin and no one did it better. The  issues he tackled on his show were hot buttons for the country and the world; but never did I feel he ever had his own agenda or did it with any hatred or vitriol. A very special person indeed. His generosity to his brethren is seen with his shows alumni dotting the television landscape everywhere. Truly a gracious leader. His show really put Comedy Central on the map and he made us all think a little harder and hopefully a little better. So Thank You Jon Stewart. Your show had value and left a mark. A hell of a legacy. My guess is we will be hearing more from Jon Stewart. To his legion of fans he might say "keep the faith" or more than likely “Are you kidding me”.

Leader of the Pack

Spygate, Playgate, Deflategate, what's next. It really doesn't matter the die has been cast. Love em or hate em the New England Patriots have managed to permanently label  themselves as cheaters. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Is Belichek a great coach yes is Brady a great  quarterback yes.Their resumes say so , they  stack up to other NFL Dynasties very nicely thank you. Belichek manages the hand he is dealt better then anyone else has, and Brady would be a star  in any era. They don't trash talk and they carry themselves the way that professionals  should. I get that and I respect that,but then  there's the dark side. There is a dent in their armour and it can't be repaired. Too many incidents to many questions , people and players in the league don't trust them or respect them. Its really sad that an organization that's been this successful will be thought of by many fans only as cheaters. Not the legacy anyone would want. Have other teams in all sports pushed the envelope sure and that dynamic will continue, and that doesnt make those teams any better than the Patriots. In most areas of life business,  politics, entertainment,  sports, it's good to be the leader of the pack.....But not in cheating.

From Prototype To Just Plain Hype

Building a successful business or organization is a task that requires a special and unique skillset that is as hard to find as it is to execute. That's one reason why people that live in that world and are successful are worth so much to their employer's. Whether it's Business, Education, Politics etc. the challenge is always the same. The most transparent business to watch this dance evolve in is sports. Iconic Franchise's are better and more successful because they are better at doing the things necessary to stay on top and win consistently. Player development, free agency, coaching, salary cap management, talent evaluation, trades, and the draft. Historically the most prolific prototype franchise at doing this successfully has been the New York Yankees. Let's not waste time quoting the stats, they are the most successful organization in sports. The real question now is what the F#*/*! are they doing now. The Yankees showed everyone else how to take advantage of free agency, trades, player development, etc. and now it seems they don't have a clue about how to do this for themselves anymore. Over the past number of years it seems that  other teams are able to get better players and give up less than the Yankees have been able to do. Free agents seem to be more willing to sign for less money and go other places other than New York. It's never been easy for the Yankees to trade or sign free agents; no one wants to do them a favor. They are the big boys on the block and the other teams look to exploit them as much as possible before giving them any help. Success breeds contempt. But it's more than that, New York is a star driven City, George Steinbrenner knew that and went for the gold, and turned the Yankees from a 8.8million dollar franchise into a 2.4 billion dollar monster. That's old news but what's not old news is the current demise of the Yankees. There are many reasons for this and the solutions will not be quick in coming. The Yankees are dealing with a farm system that has produced virtually nothing for 10 to 15 years, they are maxed out on the luxury tax salary cap formula, they have overpaid for aging free agents and gotten very little back in return, they don't seem to have a gameplan to develop younger players and their farm system once the Diamond of Major League Baseball now offers very little in trade bait options. The last few years have seen the Yankees overpay for other teams players and then let their successful homegrown players walk as has been seen most recently with David Robinson. New Yorkers demand a winner especially with the Yankees. It's hard to rebuild on the run and the Yankees have had a decade and a half of success starting in the mid nineties and Yankee fans certainly are spoiled. With other small market teams winning championships it makes the Yankees look even more lost. It can be done the St Louis Cardinals have been in 4 straight NLCS’s, and their last World Series team had 23 homegrown players on the roster. Brian Cashman is very good at filling holes in the lineup during a stretch run, now he needs to learn how to fill holes in the lineup for the long run.

The Good Ol' Days

An interesting thing happened to me today when my son asked me how excited I was about the upcoming NFL season, and for the first time I really wasn't sure how to answer him. I grew up in the era where the Packers, Giants Cowboys, 49ers and Bears ruled the roost and every team had legendary players many of whom eventually ended up in Canton. Then came the Steeler dynasty of Bradshaw, Swan, Jack Lambert and Franco Harris, and then we had the run of Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott et al. And of course we can't forget those boys with the silver helmets and those big stars on their heads in the 90's. A lot has changed since then, players, league rules, safety issues, instant replay, steroids etc. More often then ever the story in the NFL is about Gun possession, murders, spousal abuse, drugs, and the beat goes on and on. The NFL on opening night had 31 active players on rosters that were suspended for one violation or another and could not start the season. And then there is the rules issue, DB'S can't defend, Defensive linemen can't tackle the QB's. No one can fumble anymore (knee down knee down). Don't tackle to high or too low or you'll see mister yellow. Those poor defenseless receivers. I get the concussion issue, and it's a real concern. But football is our modern day warfare; fought by our modern day gladiators and it's a very violent game. Unfortunately it's part of the equation. It's hard to legislate safety in a car crash. Legends like Dick Butkus, Ray Nitchke, and Jack Lambert would be banned from the game today. One final thought, with all the new rules and penalties now in force, I know the first thing I look for @ the end of a play is Mr.YELLOW box on the screen. It shouldn't be that way. And then there are the endless reviews. Penalties, touchdowns, field position, in or out of bounds, Geeeez. A real cynic might say football has become a game of penalties and instant replay. But the NFL is bigger then ever. Truly a marketing miracle, and that's fine. Hey I like football a lot too, but somehow I don't think this is what our founding fathers had in mind.