Few thought he could do it. All he needed was a chance. When he finally got one, the whole world noticed.
Are we talking about Jeremy Lin? No, we’re referring to Al Pacino, whose portrayal of Michael Corleone helped make “The Godfather” a smash hit 40 years ago.
Pacino had to work hard to make believers of [...]
There’s no such thing as an overnight sensation. By the time a star has emerged before the public, he has put in thousands of hours of work behind the scenes.
It was true in the case of the Beatles, who worked years in a night club in Germany. They honed their craft and by the time [...]
Sometimes a rule is more than a rule.
The Boston Red Sox have banned beer in their clubhouse this year, and the edict reminds them that they have only one job: to win games.
That’s something they neglected to do at the end of last year, when the team went missed the playoffs in what will forever [...]
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 [...]
How would you like to get better at whatever you do? It’s simple. Just take a trip in your imagination to Red Wing, Minn., where the first North American ski jumping exhibition took place 125 years ago today.
Ski jumping came to North American with immigrants from Norway, and it took hold in Minnesota [...]
Martina Navratilova, perhaps the best female tennis player who ever lived, once said, “I just try to concentrate on concentrating.”
Her phrase comes to mind as I digest a recent post on Larry O’Connor’s blog, Run4yr life. Larry is a marathoner preparing for Boston in April. From the sound of this post, he has reached a [...]
On Wayne Gretzky’s birthday — he turns 51 today — I always think of practice and of Gretzky’s father, Walter.
One day, when Wayne Gretzky was already the greatest hockey player in the world, he was practicing with his team, the Edmonton Oilers. Walter watched from the stands.
Afterwards, the two drove home together.
“You just wasted two [...]
In his first year as coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Coach Jim Harbaugh led the team to its first playoff berth since 2002. On Saturday the 49ers host the New Orleans Saints, another franchise that has prospered after decades of futility.
How? How do turnaround artists show people how to win?
Harbaugh said something that really [...]
You can say with confidence that at least one of this weekend’s NFL playoff games will be decided by a field goal attempt that either is made or missed.
For instance, the Denver Broncos, who play the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, would not even be in the playoffs were it not for Matt Prater. He kicked field [...]
Three factors — the NHL’s recent Winter Classic, the cold wave in the Northeast, and a conversation with mental toughness guru Craig Sigl — made me think of the Canadian game of shinny.
Shinny is a simple variation of ice hockey in which one player tries to keep the puck, and all the others try to [...]