I figured that I had blogs on a number of subjects, but not our simulations! Since I spend much of my time setting up or working on my beloved Oakland Baseball Simworld, I decided to change that. Here's our newest blog on it, and all you have to do is click on the title of this post.
If you've not ran my simulation, give it a go. It's used at many of the major college sport management schools -- high schools too! I swear, you will become addicted to it.
It's just $12.50 per student per class, and for a one year account.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Mike Silver on Tony Dungy
My longtime friend Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Michael Silver wrote a very good and reflective column on Indianpolis Colts' Coach Tony Dungy in the wake of the passing of his son James. Most of his work is here, and the entire column can be read at CNNSI.Com with a click on the title of this post.
Leaning on faith
Dungy will reach deep inside as he mourns for son
Michael Silver
Because Tony Dungy is such an inspirational man, because nearly everyone who meets can't help but admire him, it's tempting to believe that he's capable of overcoming any horrific circumstance, even the most tragic occurrence imaginable.
As Dungy and his tight-knit family cope with the death of his 18-year-old son, James, who died of an apparent suicide early Thursday morning, the pain and grief, undoubtedly, will be overwhelming. That this awful experience will play out publicly makes Dungy's burden seem unfathomable.
Yet if anyone in pro football is capable of carrying on, in the near- and long-term, it's this deeply religious, inherently decent man.
"The thing that will get him through this is the same thing that has gotten him through all of the hard times -- losing his mother, and then his father," said Jets coach Herm Edwards, who grew close to Dungy while working on his staff in Tampa Bay. "His faith is what will get him through, somehow. But it's so, so tough."
I called Edwards on Thursday evening looking, I guess, for some sense of comfort. Ostensibly, as a journalist, I wanted to get his reaction, but every question I asked or considered asking seemed hopelessly forced, trite or inappropriate.
Earlier, I had spoken briefly with one of Dungy's former players in Tampa, Cleveland Browns quarterback Trent Dilfer, who I knew would be taking this news as hard as anyone in the NFL. Two years and eight months ago, at a memorial service for his 5-year-old son, Trevin, Dilfer delivered an amazingly poised, unplanned speech that brought 2,000 attendees to tears. Since then he and his wife, Cass, have displayed strength and grace on a daily basis, but that doesn't mean the pain is gone, or will ever disappear.
Unlike Dilfer, who endured months of soul-searching before deciding to return to football, Dungy's nightmare coincides with the stretch run of what has thus far been a magical season. If he returns to guide the Colts through the playoffs, and possibly the Super Bowl, Dungy will feel the coalesced support of a sports-watching nation.
Yet at some point the insanity of the playoff run will fade, and he and his wife, Lauren, will continue to be tested in ways most of us, thankfully, cannot imagine. That's when he'll draw on 51 years of sincere, principled living and figure out some way to endure.
Understand that Dungy, more than anyone I've met in his profession, has put family and faith above football on the most basic of levels. Not only did he help launch All-Pro Dad, later becoming the nonprofit organization's national spokesman, but he also made a point of interacting with his children, eschewing the sleep-at-the-office madness to which most of his peers have succumbed...
Leaning on faith
Dungy will reach deep inside as he mourns for son
Michael Silver
Because Tony Dungy is such an inspirational man, because nearly everyone who meets can't help but admire him, it's tempting to believe that he's capable of overcoming any horrific circumstance, even the most tragic occurrence imaginable.
As Dungy and his tight-knit family cope with the death of his 18-year-old son, James, who died of an apparent suicide early Thursday morning, the pain and grief, undoubtedly, will be overwhelming. That this awful experience will play out publicly makes Dungy's burden seem unfathomable.
Yet if anyone in pro football is capable of carrying on, in the near- and long-term, it's this deeply religious, inherently decent man.
"The thing that will get him through this is the same thing that has gotten him through all of the hard times -- losing his mother, and then his father," said Jets coach Herm Edwards, who grew close to Dungy while working on his staff in Tampa Bay. "His faith is what will get him through, somehow. But it's so, so tough."
I called Edwards on Thursday evening looking, I guess, for some sense of comfort. Ostensibly, as a journalist, I wanted to get his reaction, but every question I asked or considered asking seemed hopelessly forced, trite or inappropriate.
Earlier, I had spoken briefly with one of Dungy's former players in Tampa, Cleveland Browns quarterback Trent Dilfer, who I knew would be taking this news as hard as anyone in the NFL. Two years and eight months ago, at a memorial service for his 5-year-old son, Trevin, Dilfer delivered an amazingly poised, unplanned speech that brought 2,000 attendees to tears. Since then he and his wife, Cass, have displayed strength and grace on a daily basis, but that doesn't mean the pain is gone, or will ever disappear.
Unlike Dilfer, who endured months of soul-searching before deciding to return to football, Dungy's nightmare coincides with the stretch run of what has thus far been a magical season. If he returns to guide the Colts through the playoffs, and possibly the Super Bowl, Dungy will feel the coalesced support of a sports-watching nation.
Yet at some point the insanity of the playoff run will fade, and he and his wife, Lauren, will continue to be tested in ways most of us, thankfully, cannot imagine. That's when he'll draw on 51 years of sincere, principled living and figure out some way to endure.
Understand that Dungy, more than anyone I've met in his profession, has put family and faith above football on the most basic of levels. Not only did he help launch All-Pro Dad, later becoming the nonprofit organization's national spokesman, but he also made a point of interacting with his children, eschewing the sleep-at-the-office madness to which most of his peers have succumbed...
The Return of Martina Hingis - and a new Women's Tennis Blog!
Click on the link of the title post to read about the planned comback of Matina Hingis to Women's Tennis, at SBS Women's Tennis Blog.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Merry Christmas from Zennie's Zeitgeist!
Here's wishing you and yours a very wonderful Christmas and very happy holidays!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Paris Hilton gets new dogs to fight title of "World's Worst Dog Owner'
From Ireland Online - Paris Hilton is hoping to distance herself from her newfound title as the world's worst dog owner, by purchasing two new puppies.
The hotel heiress recently acquired the undesirable title from magazines The New York Dog and Hollywood Dog, days before the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals named her as the worst dressed celebrity for her love of wearing fur.
But 24-year-old Hilton, who counts a ferret, a kinkajou monkey and a goat among her list of pets, is undeterred and recently took ownership of Chihuahua puppies Tokyo Blue and Harajuku Bitch during a trip to Japan.
She says: "That's it, no more pets for now."
To read about Paris Hilton's lesson for sports marketing click here
Britney Spears back on top!
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Britney Spears reclaimed the top spot on Yahoo!'s annual list of the most searched-for terms on the Internet, with all of the top 10 coming from the world of entertainment, says the Hollywood Reporter.
Spears has been No. 1 for three of the past four years (outpaced last year by "American Idol").
Rounding out the list, in order, are 50 Cent, Cartoon Network (specifically its "Adult Swim" lineup), Mariah Carey, Green Day, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Eminem, Ciara and Lindsay Lohan.
But Britney...woo, those legs!
Tony Dungy - A great man who will prevail
I've never met Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy, but I feel like he's my brother. I have always been a fan. When I was invited to the Octagon party at the Houston Super Bowl, I has hoped Dungy, an Octagon client, would be there. I had a new defensive front idea I wanted to share with him. So, paper and diagram in hand, I went. Unfortunately, he didn't come to the event. I was sad, but eventually had a good time.
Still, I felt it was less without the attendance of the most respected coach in the NFL, and someone America seems to have adopted.
From one perspective, since we share what some call the "Black Experience" in America, I suppose he is. So, I, like others and really regardless of color, root for Tony.
We cheer for him not just because of his success, and how it contributes to the erosion of social racism, but because we like the man he is: steady, determined, faithful -- decent. To me Tony is untouchable. I couldn't -- and still can't -- understand why the Tampa Bay Bucaneers let go of this man. But he landed in a better place: Indy.
His son, James Dungy, in the best place one can be: Heaven. The Lord only knows what was happening to him in the last moments of his life. But the Lord will also take care of him. God will take care of Tony, too.
No, Tony's team will not go undefeated. The Colts will be in the playoffs with home field advantage, and a new resolve, as if they didn't have one already. And now it seems as if everyone in sports is rooting for them and him. They deserve it. Tony deserves it.
But even if it doesn't happen that he is able to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy in February 2006, Tony Dungy will always be high on the mantle of great people in sports and in life.
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