Slump-Busting
Hating the Yankees for Their Money
Every time a fan rises to cheer the Yankees, you can bet there’s someone somewhere who doesn’t feel the love.
Yankee-hating goes to another level in these tough economic times, when multi-millionaires win the World Series as millions of people look for work.
Dr. John Tauer, a psychologist blogging for Psychology Today, examines Yankee-hating, using his normally [...]
Victory and Adversity
By the time we see them, players in the World Series are already wearing the trappings of a big-leaguer.
But it wasn’t always that way for them. David Eckstein, named the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 Fall Classic, was a college walk-on who earned his scholarship only through persistent work. Cole Hamels, who won the [...]
Becoming an Expert
As Melanie Oudin enjoys her status as tennis’ newest sensation, a few paragraphs tucked into the bottom of an Associated Press story tell her secret.
According to the story, Oudin, who has reached the quarterfinals of the U.S.Open, has followed the classic pattern for achieving expert performance.
“Melanie and (her twin sister) Katherine began hitting tennis balls [...]
The Role of Mistakes
Imagine a sports landscape in which there were no mistakes.
Dave Johnson has done so, and what he sees isn’t pretty. The rallies go on forever, the score is endlessly tied, and there is no game. No sport. No thrill.
Johnson, president-elect of the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association, has written a thoughtful piece on the [...]
Miracles Do Happen
Today marks an astonishing anniversary in baseball history. On this date in 1951, the New York Giants lost a game, and fell 13 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers with only seven weeks to go in the season.
In baseball, being 13 games behind with only seven weeks to play usually means only one thing: Wait til next [...]
Using Humor
Last night comedian Don Rickles was a guest on Craig Ferguson’s talk show.
Rickles is a legend who gained fame through his good-natured insults. Sure enough, the minute he got on the stage, he jabbed everyone in sight: the host, the audience, everyone.
Pretty soon everyone in the building was in stitches. Rickles’ comedy is a perfect [...]
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
Perhaps you’ve seen the video of a recent daredevil stunt in which a kayaker plunged over a 180-foot waterfall.
This extreme sport says everything about how much you accomplish in your life and career.
Warning: I am not telling you to go out and ride over a waterfall. However, it is a good idea — in fact [...]
Rickey Henderson’s Self-Talk
Teammates love to tell stories of Rickey Henderson, a superstar character who is to be inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame today in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Henderson, for instance, once neglected to cash a $1 million check. Instead, he had it framed.
But one incident makes perfect sense. It came one day after he struck out. [...]
The Company You Keep
You know the old saying, “You’re known by the company you keep.”
It’s only partially true.
What’s closer to the truth is: “You’re DEFINED by the company you keep.”
There is another saying: “You are the average of the five people with whom you spend the most time.”
For instance, if you hang around a lot with people who [...]
Buzz Aldrin’s House
Last night my friend, Dr. Rob Gilbert, made a bit of a pilgrimage.
He went to nearby Montclair, N.J., to walk past the childhood home of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. On the 40th anniversary of the day man first walked on the moon, Dr. Gilbert, a sports psychologist, stared at Aldrin’s home.
“To look at the house [...]
