KC Can’t Skate

I had never ice-skated before, only roller-bladed. My younger brother Rocky and I would spend countless hours on the back patio pretending to be Wayne Gretzky and Jurri Kurri. KC would sometimes play goalie, but not with roller blades. He was older than us, but KC couldn’t skate. My dad decided...

October 9th, 2012 | Essays, Sports | Read More

Who Fights for the Fighters? What We Can Learn from the NHL’s Rick Rypien and Derek Boogaard

The death of two National Hockey League tough guys last summer—who both participated in the league’s substance abuse and behavioral health program—has sent shock waves throughout the hockey community. Rick Rypien had just signed with the Winnipeg Jets, and Derek Boogaard was the New York...

July 9th, 2012 | Essays, Sports | Read More

Bobby Hurley and Me

If he passed you on the street, you probably wouldn’t have looked twice at him as he was such an average-looking kid. Pale, thin, with somewhat sunken eyes, he was listed as being 6’0” and 150 pounds, though there are those who would have would say that was being generous. Yet, the moment he stepped...

July 4th, 2012 | Essays, Sports | Read More

Running an Ultra: Because It’s There

Among the banter you hear amongst the footfall of runners, you’ll undoubtedly come across the following topics within a week of trails, sidewalks, parks, or treadmills: barefoot running, pacing, nursing an injury, heel striking, upcoming races, and how much 800 repeats suck. But rarely do most...

May 29th, 2012 | Essays, Sports | Read More

10 Reasons Why Baseball Needs Tim Tebow

Baseball’s spring training season is a spring cleaning of sorts. Players are knocking rust off and brushing up on fundamentals, managers are polishing lineups and fans are soaking up sunshine. However, baseball might want to consider cleaning out its vacuum hose because players are still having trouble...

April 4th, 2012 | Essays, Humor, Sports | Read More

Life lessons from overtime, extra innings and five-hour-53-minute matches

News of the record-breaking five-hour-53-minute Australian Open final match greeted me this morning as I checked email. I still can’t wrap my mind around such an intense competition lasting that long. Can you even imagine? The marathon showdown delighted fans around the world, and rightfully...

March 18th, 2012 | Essays, Featured, Meditations, Sports | Read More

Nothing Wrong With Average

I was listening to sports radio on the drive to work the other day—The Dan Patrick Show. Patrick said he was going to interview Todd Marinovich later in the hour. Marinovich is a former NFL quarterback recently featured in an ESPN documentary, “ROBO QB: The Making of the Perfect Athlete.”...

March 13th, 2012 | Essays, Sports | Read More

Football, Improved

Nobody seems willing to state the obvious, so I guess that responsibility falls to me. As usual. Football has peaked. The only direction left to go is down. There. I said it. Now, I realize that there exists “out there” thousands of proponents of conventional wisdom, wisdom that posits this: “Football...

February 22nd, 2012 | Sports | Read More

Joe Pa and Legacy

He won 409 games, but he didn’t do enough. He contributed more than $4 million dollars to Penn State, much of which went towards the founding of the Paterno Library, but he didn’t do enough. He spent over 45 years of his life as the head coach of Penn State, rebuffing repeated efforts by NFL teams...

February 10th, 2012 | Sports | Read More

My Tim Tebow Problem

When I first saw the National Championship winning quarterback who wore Bible verses under his eyes, I didn’t like him. When he began starting for the Broncos, I confess, I looked forward to watching him fail. And when he started winning and “tebowing” on the sidelines, I disliked him even...

February 2nd, 2012 | Sports | Read More

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