Coaching Tips
How Leaders Set a Tone
Davey Johnson is at it again.
Johnson, who told the 1986 New York Mets to go out and dominate the National League, is trying to put a manager’s imprint on this year’s Washington Nationals.
He told Florida Today columnist John Torres he’s so impressed with his team that it has a chance to be better than those [...]
What John Glenn Can Teach Us All
Fifty years later, we have learned how dangerous John Glenn’s space flight really was.
One expert says there was a one in six chance that Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, would die in the attempt. Glenn made it, but not before enduring a tense re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
“There were flaming chunks of the [...]
The Hardest Part of Coaching
“Honesty is the best policy,” George Washington once wrote.
Too bad he can’t be in the gym when it’s time to make cuts. Sometimes coaches must be brutally honest with those whom they lead, and no one I know likes this part of the business.
Whether you have to cut players, send them to the minor leagues, [...]
How Unity Creates Miracles
A few years back, a survey asked if we lived in a divided country. Fifty percent said yes, fifty percent said no.
Not much takes place in this divided land without people taking sides and shouting at each other.
Just take two big new stories, Jeremy Lin and Whitney Houston.
The saga of Lin and the New York [...]
The Worst Advice People Get
If Rogers Hornsby were alive today, he would be celebrating the start of spring training.
Hornsby, a Hall of Famer and owner of the second-highest batting average in big-league history behind Ty Cobb, would be right there in Florida and Arizona, even though, technically, only pitchers and catchers must be there this early.
At this time of [...]
Gary Carter and Jeremy Lin
Centuries before the hit-and-run, Aristotle said, “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
Then came baseball, and then came Gary Carter.
“Nobody loved the game of baseball more than Gary Carter,” New York Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver said. “He wore his heart on his sleeve every inning he played.”
Carter died yesterday [...]
Jeremy Lin and Selfishness
In these days of Jeremy Lin, it’s not a good idea for anyone to be selfish, or to be seen as so.
Carmelo Anthony, who will be on the court with Lin and the New York Knicks when he returns from a groin injury, is answering questions over whether he will share the ball.
And Alex Ovechkin [...]
Perspective and Jeremy Lin
Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath wrote a book called “I Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow ‘Cause I Get Better-Looking Every Day.”
Now there’s another New York sensation, and we can only wonder what tomorrow will look like for Jeremy Lin.
Lin owns Broadway right now. He’s led the New York Knicks to six straight wins, the latest [...]
Galileo and Valentine’s Day
Happy Galileo’s birthday!
That kind of greeting may surprise you on a day when everyone else is saying, “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
But Galileo, whose birthday is actually tomorrow, has more to do with love than you might think.
His passion for study and observation earned him the title of “father of modern physics.”
“I have loved the stars too [...]
When Performers Inspire Awe
You never know where the train of thought will lead you.
This one began when I read a quote attributed to Whitney Houston, presumably about a time and place when her gift revealed itself to those around her.
“I was aware of people staring at me,” goes the quote. “No one moved. They seemed almost [...]
