Once again Urban Meyer, who is a great coach, is sending the win at all cost signals with his 1/2 game suspension of Brandon Spikes.  1/2 a game vs. Vanderbilt?  Come on, gouging a guys eye?  What if he would have blinded the guy in that eye?  Maybe what we are really seeing is “The Code” in action.  Prison yard behavior should have no place in professional sports and in college that accountability should be driven home.

Tomorrow KIRO goes sports becoming the official ESPN radio affiliate in Seattle, a town that couldn’t support two newspapers and where the local sports section is about 3 pages long now.  I have mixed feelings here.  I love the timing because tomorrow starts the annual “bigger dance” which I can’t stand, I like the basic line-up but it another of the national vs. local media battle that has been washing out local character.  I hope this station can reach a good balance of local flavor and complete coverage.

What kind of suprise should it be that an "American Company" doesn't require its employers to speak the language of the country.  All other companies in the US require their employees to communicate in the same language.  This isn't a matter of racism it is a matter of being able to communicate to your customer which in golf is the fan, the sponsor and that is two things: playing golf and communicating with the customer.  If a US player wants to compete in a non-US based company, I would expect them to learn the language of that country.  This is another case of making athletes different from every day workers or maybe it is perpetuating idea that athletes are lacking in non-sports intelligence.  If you have a motivation to take the position, you have to agree to the requirements and the requirements in high-dollar sport is the ability to drive revenue with advertisers/sponsors and fans.  I am trying to convince my kids to learn useful second languages so that they can compete for positions and to help them better understand others and their culture because a core part of culture is tied into the language used.

That said, of course being able to address a global market is raising the value of many sports leagues and it is a great value to the LPGA to have international players that draw an even wider audience to the sport than having only American players would afford. 

As I turn from CBUT's broadcast of the games in China today to look out my office window here in Redmond it would appear that the summer weather here in WA matches that of Beijing.  A few days ago it was hot and humid, now it is a torrential downpour.  This could be the way to get the UW stadium rebuilt, fix Key arena, get in some more use for the Hawks and Mariners stadiums, and get a solid pool complex.  Vancouver takes the Winter Olympics, Seattle takes a summer Olympics.  We already have great venues for the boating, biking, triathlon, and many other events.  It would be great for the University, great for tourism with a great tie to Asia and apparently we have the perfect weather.  We certainly can beat the air quality.  Unfortunately the idea is probably a little big and beyond the grasp of our fine politicians but it is a nice thought.

Last year around now, Laker fans were sitting a bit concerned about the state of Kobe vs. Laker Management.  Favre can't trust management, sounds familiar.  Favre is disappointed because management hasn't gotten the readily available resources he needs to win a championship...again familiar.  Management isn't going the  direction needed by the face of the team who is not as young as he was before and sees time slipping away as the team tries to develop talent, talent that may take it beyond the life of the current star.  The debates raged back and forth who would Kobe play for last year, how can the relationship ever be repaired, shouldn't the Lakers just trade this bad blood away and move on.  Now a season later Zen rules again, they came up short but Kobe loves management, management loves Kobe and the young talent evolved. 

This story is different because the young talent that needs to grow is Favre's replacement and the Lakers were still looking for Shaq's replacement, not Kobe's but just as this was again damaging to Kobe's image, he recovered and hopefully a viable way forward can be found.  While most can understand the drive and desire to win and can relate to grumbling about management and our jobs.  But the publich "He said, She said." frankly we can all do without that.

I am and will be probably till the end of the year in shock about Brett Favre's announced retirement today.  Here the season ended a bit down after the miracle run and the thought was wow, they are a year ahead of schedule so just wait till next year.  Now I am left to wonder after some pretty great years how long the next doldrums will last for Packer fans. 

I totally understand the thought at this point that mentally Favre just doesn't think he can do another year and it is better to end with after a great year than one year too many.  It also speaks to how hard this year was and what it took to elevate the team around him to accomplish what they did.  That in turn makes you wonder "what if..." like what if the Packers could have pulled in Randy Moss?  If it wasn't going to be a one man show could Favre done another year?  It also makes me wonder will this stick?  Is this the answer he would have given in previous years had he made the decision in Feb/March instead of dragging it out?  And thus will he change his mind?

No matter what I have to say thank you Brett for all you have done for Packer fans for these past 16 years.  It was a run of focus and determination and a love of the game that connects deep with what the Packers are.  Things that take me back to my childhood and Coach Lombardi.  And this quote that crossed my desk today I think is fitting:

“Success in life is a matter not so much of talent and not so much of opportunity but rather of concentration and perseverance. The man who succeeds above his fellow man is the man who early in life clearly decides his objective and towards that objective he directs all of his powers.” - Vince Lombardi

This is a great description of Brett Favre and if he can't put forth the concentration then I can just say thanks for all you've done.

Shaq did play with new energy when he first went to Miami but I have to look at this as a panic move in response to the Lakers move and hte growth in Bynum.  Miami though I think gets the best of this deal but Shaq can't be completely dismissed, he is still a defensive presence, we are still a couple months away from when the season starts for Shaq and he can just stay on the defensive side of the court for 1/2 of their possesions because he isn't going to be down and in position before 4 seconds tick off the shot clock.  2 more years at $20M per year for a backup center...what a deal.

Wow, just flipped to the game from the GB/Dallas game and what a pasting the Celtics are handing out to the sorry NYC Knickerbockers 48 to 26 before half-time.  The Celtics are executing at a very high level right now but NY is just a poor excuse for a team especially for the talent that they have.

Packers had a comfortable lead in Q4 at 31 to 12 with the ball 4th and Goal they go for the field goal instead of the Patriots current game plan of going for it.  This did buy them 3 points but then Detroit answers with two touchdowns pushing it to 34/26 creating a shift in momentum, bringing the crowd back into the game, and that would not be the case at 38/26.  When you take the foot off the gas, you do get the sfe play but you loose momentum.  A stone rolling down the mountain doesn't slow down on its own half way down the mountain, i tjust keeps collecting power.  The choice may not be terminal here but in professional sports it isn't about "playing fair" or worrying about the other teams feelings...that is great in little league (maybe).  In business you don't decide that gee we have been doing great in business and our competitiion is stumbling so lets cut them a break or bring in our second string.  You may use the advantage to develop the next generation and you do it by continuing to perform all out because you may not get the momentum back.

There has to be stats on the teams that have been most succesful when they are in a two out hole and when it comes to baseball but I am not a fountain of knowledge on baseball stats but the Sox have been solid through the playoffs stretching inningsand scoring in two out situations.  You can see it really affect the opposing team.  The opposing coach just really gets that "what are we doing out there?" look.  This along with the fact that the majority of the line-up is now making solid contact with the ball and the Sox pitching ready to settle in could make this a quick sweep.   I want the Sox to win but I do love an epic seven game series.

What an amazing 3 games and a great illustration of a team digging deep and all contributing.  It was the example of the experienced team vs. the young team.  We get to play that over now with the Rockies, a young exciting team that has made an awesome run.  The Sox have the homefield and I believe in a long series hold strong advantage and unless the Rockies can somehow keep their roll going right from the start, this will be another great world champsionship for Boston. 

 GO SOX!!!

Watching tonight's game between the Seahawks and the Aint's I had to wonder if it wasn't the Seahawks two seasons ago that was the real abberation and that the only reason this team went to the play-offs last year (and maybe still this year) is that the division is entirely pathetic.  As much as people were saying Brett Favre should have retired until this season, I would say his old coach is in that same position.  Why go for it in the last sequence rather than get the FG and then live another day potentially with the on-side kick?  Instead that just wrapped up the game and the play calling except for that push down the field was baffeling at times. The running play on 3rd down?  The team has a pathetic run offense, the passing offense just isn't in synch the majority of the time and the defense got blown out on the run.  New Orleans executed the perfect plan, hit quick, take out the 12th man then let the pathetic home team operate as usual.  There may be a chance to make the play-offs but who cares, unless the team has a ramatic change it will just get blown out in the first round.  Maybe we should be making inquiries about a certain coach who used to be in San Diego before his old team invites him back.

The Celtics looked pretty awesome yesterday.  Then again the competition wasn't much.  But at root, the big three seem to really fit together very well already and it will be great that the east is getting back to the game  and not in a long-view way that would have happened had Boston gotten the 1 or 2 pick but in an immediate fashion through smart GM moves.  I hated seeing the tanking last year but I like what Ainge did once he saw that his "strategy" failed him and he would have to make it happen.

My second "real" job was with a great little company in S. CA. called Digitalk.  Anyone who knows much history of object-oriented programming will know Digitalk as the first company to commercialize Smalltalk on the PC.  It was an awesome company to work for and those were still the days when being in the tools business was fun and a vibrant community of small providers.  The guy who hired me to the position is Mike Arrigo and I learned a great deal about marketing and product planning from him.  We have remained in contact over the years as we have travelled on through the technology universe. 

Last week I got mail from Mike pointing to a new website he had setup.  This time one to talk about a run he was going to take at qualifying for the Olympics sailing Finn class boats.  The Finn is a great little single-handed sailer with a long history in the Olympics.  But more, I love that Mike for the last 18 months has made a determination to find a balance of time in a busy father/husband/coach/worker/sailer life to do a lot of extra training and take a shot at a dream.  When I was a young runner in HS, I had dreamt a little of the pentathalon or decathalon but not with enough determination or skill to make it a reality.  Now as sport, professional and amateur seem to continuously be assaulted with scandal and cheating I am glad to see this person that I know to be honorable go for the Olymipic dream, facing other sailers that are far younger and with no obligation except to train and race.  This is the heart of the true Olympic spirit and amateur athletics and while it may not end in Mike's qualification to race in the Olympics this time around, I applaud the effort and the drive to dream and perform.

Danny Ainge is making this the off season to prove that he can get a job done and that there is more life to Boston sports than the Pats and Sox.  A line-up of Allen, Garnett and Pierce is similar to the Lakers taking the big shot to add Malone and Payton to the Kobe/Shaq duo and hopefully this one will work better and in the east should turn them from floor mats back to a real franchise but they are definitely selling the chateau to get this done and making a huge shift from build for a future to do it now.  I would like to see it happen for the players involved but I am dissappointed because I wanted to see the Big Ticket with the Lakers.

Overall I would give Ainge pretty solid marks at this point for getting the deals done.  It is going to take a bit more tweaking to give them depth and flexibility match-up wise but the Garnett trade has been talked about for a long time and with all 3 healthy they have a nice inside-outside offense and decent D.

This just makes me sad.  I hope at this point that it all proves untrue.  5 play off games this year that could have had the outcome of the entire playoffs changed...we know in the west that there were some series like this.  I am often suprised that in more sports these type of things as well as pete rose type of things don't come to light more frequently.  I don't suspect any grand conspiracy that the league wants specific teams to win but I do expect that people with much at stake financially do have and will do all they can to increase the odds of their "investment" providing a nice return.  Along with the behavior issues in sports this will put a big clamp on the idea of an NBA team in Las Vegas though the location really doesn't make a difference, there are casinos and gambling everywhere.

ESPN is about to hit the second round of "Who's Now" and I have caught a few "episodes" on sports center and it seems they aren't quite hitting the mark here.  The matchups aren't compelling, the format isn't quite there and so far it seems like they are only pulling 120K votes per day which is pretty poor when you compare this to all star votes (which is debated as loosing relevance and interest) or the "benchmark of who's now": American Idol.  Which leads me in general to think this is something that we don't really care about.

Laker guards looked decent.  Farmar shows the time that he has spent in the league nice assists, good shots, good general defense though not fastest in the league.  Coby Karl plays really smart and they made a nice pair but he isn't under contract.  Crittenton struggled a bit more but his knowledge of the triangle should help him fit but he is going to take time. Team has way too many turn-overs...sound familiar to regular season last year.  It will be interesting, especially if DFish comes back to the fold to see how the Lakers guard situation plays out.  Derek working with the two young guys could accelerate their development but beyond these you still have Sasha, Mo Evans, and a set of free agents like Smush, McKie, and Williams who should all go away and Sun Yue can just stay in China.  No matter what the guard position is a bit of a mess still. 

Ere had a few nice plays and depending on this series maybe he could head to the Defenders no one else really stood out in this game for the Lakers.

Kobe has met with Laker Mgmt and has started to put a lot of material on his site including footage of his basketball camp and Vivo Foundation.  These show the community player not just an all about me but trying to bring broader experience etc. to memberso fo the community.  Now, it is time for Kupchak to get some work done at summer league and figure out how to get a KG or Jermaine O'Neal deal done.  However, this may be a challenge right now because teams will want to know what is happening with Odom's surgery if he is to factor into this.  None the less, something has to get done this summer, the team was on pace for a 52 win season at mid-point last year but it wasn't going to get it done in the play-offs.  Kobe was over the top and should have gone about this a different way but he is also really passionate about the game and showed tremendous growth last year acting as a leader and a facilitator.  This year with no change will lead to 55-60 win season and if they can do this the Lakers could play with poisition to aid in play-off bracket  but they need to make a move this year or next before Portland, Seattle, etc. mature and become the next problem in the west.  Because Kobe has the competitive nature he has I have to believe he would take more satisfaction in making the run through the west rather than being in the weak east, that is given the same outcome of winning it all. 

Steve Elling on the Daily Schnoz with Mitch this morning took an interesting line in talking about performance enhancing drug testing for golf.  What about drugs for ADD or anything else that aids focus and concentration since these are key to golf and many other sports.  Is it a matter of a perscription?  Afterall track atheletes have also been dq'd taking cold medications.  You can see especially in golf where the game is 80% between the ears that various "mental medications" could have a positive affect.  If "Red Bull gives you wings" is this a unfair advantage to a player who doesn't drink it?  Is it simply a matter of now we know that steroids can be bad for us?  The win of Caberra over Tiger this weekend pitting the young and athletic vs. the traditional chain smoking pudgy golfer will certainly continue in the minds of many.  I have a cousin that was a decent golfer who became the chain smoker because he saw Arnie and every other pro out smoking to "settle" their nerves and maintain focus.  We have certainly learned the smoking while it may provide mental benefits is overall damaging to our health. 

Do we only care about physical advantage like muscle strength, response time, lung and blood oxygen  capacity or are mental issues also an issue?    Is it a matter of natural vs. synthetic?  IE if you can grow it in the ground and eat it then it is fine but if we create it in a synthetic form it is bad?  Like creatin for instance.  Is it a matter of a fair playing field or a matter of health?  Or just some sense of morality?  Baseball may have been the driver because we wonder if we value the record breakers but do we value the record breakers of today that grow up training their whole life and who have incredible advances in training regimens, equipment, etc?  Much of what we do, athelete or not, is about gaining competitve advantage, winning the job, getting the deal, beating the odds.  It is about learning the skills and tricks of the trade, it is training hard, eating right, putting science to work.  We have a long way to go in determining what kind of advantage is fair or right.