Oh Brother

So I’m going to shock you all and not write something about sports today.  One of the things I hoped to accomplish this year was to establish a better relationship with my brother.  I have one sibling and to say that we haven’t gotten along in the past may be an understatement but I want to change that.

If you have a brother or sister and you are close to each other, I am jealous of you.  I want to be close to my brother but the differences between us have always kept us apart.  I will also admit that I’m very hard to get along with at times.  I hold him, like many people in my life, to exceptionally high standards and that’s not really fair to him. 

Tonight, we had the final game of our winter flag football season and I realized that maybe I was on the right track with him.  We are both very competitive people, especially me, and that makes it hard to play well  together, especially when it comes to athletics.  Tonight I realized that we made it a whole season working together and it went really well.   I think it helped that for the first time, we played with all his friends instead of on my turf but I would say we’ve come a long way and I think that we are definitely on the right road towards having the kind of relationship I hope to have with him. 

If you have a brother or sister, learn to enjoy them.  Sometimes it doesn’t come naturally but that doesn’t mean it will never happen.  They may irritate you at times or know exactly how to push your buttons but in the end, they are the ones who will be standing by you when you really need them.    

“Sometimes I want to kill Sarah but I would kill for her all the time.” – Cheaper by the Dozen

Dare To Be Different

After what was a nonstop college basketball filled weekend for me, I decided to end the three day sports fest with a documentary on the one of the most memorable teams in all of college hoops.  ESPN made a movie on Michigan’s Fab Five, their elite basketball team from the early 90’s, and as much as it killed me to have to watch the Blue and Maze of Michigan for two hours, the story made a really interesting point.

For those of you who don’t know, the “Fab Five” is the name given to the crop of freshman recruited by the University of Michigan Wolverine basketball program in 1991.  Now although during the time of the Fab Five, I was more interested in Barbie than basketball, I am very aware of who these players were and what they did. In the college basketball world, this class of freshmen was considered to be the best class ever recruited and it was those athletes that would change the game as the world knew it.  The Wolverines road the coattails of the fabulous youngsters straight to back to back final fours and NCAA championship finals but both times, the iconic team came up short, losing the title to Duke in 1992 and UNC in 1993.  Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson aimed to shock the world and 20 years later, it doesn’t take an ESPN documentary to prove they did just that.

In his interview last night, Jalen Rose made an interesting point.  Basically he said he would rather be remembered as a member of Michigan’s Fab Five than be forgotten as a part of the NCAA title teams that beat them.    Sure the names Christian Laettner and Grant Hill might stand out as great players but few would refer to them as members of the 1992 Duke Blue Devil team that beat the freshman Wolverine’s in their first NCAA Championship appearance.  That year will always be about the five freshmen who went from unexpected to national title contenders.  I can’t tell you who the starting five for the North Carolina Tarheels were in 1993 when they took the title but Chris Webber taking a time out when Michigan had none left, will stand out in history forever.  Even though the Kings of Tabacco Road proved they were superior to the Fab Five in both of those years, it is the Wolverine’s that made the biggest impact on the game. 

They listened to hip hop music and opted to wear big baggy shorts, black shoes and black socks.  Shaved heads, tattoos and earrings gave them a unique look and it was their bash, trash talking, controversial attitudes that made them a constant presence in the media.  People referred to their style and play as playground basketball but regardless of all that, they were nothing short of electric on a basketball court.  I will steal some timeless phrases from broadcasting great Dick Vital and say that these five superstars, the true definition of Diaper Dandies, were simply awesome baby.  Maybe they never won a national championship or fully lived up the hype and potential that they had but these kids infused college hoops with a whole new culture. 

But what goes up must come down and in this case it would be the 1992 and 1993 final four banners that hung in Michigan’s Crisler Arena.  Due to a scandal involving several Michigan basketball players taking money from a booster as college athletes including Chris Webber, the Fab Five’s legacy was erased from the record books.  However, even though you can remove stats and scores or take down banners, you are unable to alter memories.  The Fab Five and what they did will never be forgotten.

Now for the moral of this tale.  What they did in the win and loss column of the stat sheet was one thing but what they did as a team was something completely different.  Sure they were excellent basketball players but they were not unbeatable.  These kids wanted to shock the world and they did just that by daring to be different.  They stood by who they were and played that way despite their critics.  The members of the Fab Five have no national collegiate titles or even NBA championships under their belts but what they do have is a legacy that will live on forever simply because they were who they were.  Not a bad little life lesson for all of us if you ask me.

“Media members would judge us by more than just how we played.  They would judge us by how we dress.” – ESPN Fab Five Documentary

What a Difference a Year Can Make...

Ok I have to say that my life has been all college basketball for the past few days but I'm sure you figured that out from my last post.  Well I’ve said it before but inspiration can be found in all kinds of unusual places and today I found some that I didn’t expect.

Today I’ve watched two games.   At 1pm, I watched the UNC Tarheels defeat the Clemson Tigers in an overtime victory.  It was Carolina’s second come from behind win in two days.  As a diehard Tarheel fan, I was glued to the TV praying with the rest of the UNC faithful, just hoping that they could pull of a win.  This team has definitely figured out a way to test my nerves over the past few days and I’m sure they will be do the same when they play for the AAC title tomorrow.  A year ago you never would have thought that a chance for Carolina to win the conference would have been possible.

I started this blog by asking the question, can 365 days change your life.  Well for the UNC Tarheels it most definitely can.  In 2009, Roy Williams and the Heels stood above the rest as the undisputed #1 team in all of college basketball when they won the NCAA tournament.  In 2010, when the brackets were released, the Tarheels found themselves absent from the field of 64.  In 2011, a victory tomorrow could give Carolina a chance at one of the four number #1 seeds available in tourney. 

As I sit here watching my second game of the day, I see another team rise from a year they would rather forget, to be on the brink of the year they will always remember.  Penn State is playing Michigan State for a chance to play tomorrow for the Big Ten title.  Two years ago, the Nittany Lions were on the tournament bubble and found themselves on the outside looking in but they weren’t going down yet.  A victory in the NIT tournament, gave them the vindication that they needed that year and everyone expected them to be selected for a March Madness spot the next year.  Last year, after a less than stellar season, Penn State wasn’t even a consideration for the NCAA Tournament.  This year, PSU is once again sitting on the bubble and hoping that win today will get them into the big dance.

Can a year make a difference?  Maybe hard work or finding the right pieces of the puzzle to succeed are all you need, but never underestimate determination and heart.  Carolina will be dancing but where will they rank among the rest of the field while Penn State will sweat it out for the chance to get an invite for the first time in ten years.  In the case of both of these teams, a year can make a difference but it will be tomorrow, Selection Sunday that will really solidify that fact. 

"Champions keep playing until they get it right." - Billie Jean King

The Heart of March

This weekend is Championship Weekend in the NCAA world and basketball’s elite will rise above the rest to claim their conference titles.  Some will play like champions while most will feel the sting of defeat.  They will all gain national exposure but it will not quite quench their thirst for greatness.  For each of these disciples of the hardwood, this weekend is nothing more than a prequel of things to come.  They long for something bigger than just the chance to make a run at the conference championship.  They wish and pray to hear their names called on the holiest of all holy days in college basketball.  They hope to worship at the church of March Madness on Selection Sunday.

There are a lot of great traditions in sports but none as exciting and pure as March Madness.  A field of 68 teams will be selected and battle it out over the next several weeks for the chance to hoist the national championship trophy.  It's win or go home.  There are no contract years or endorsements to play for.  Each team takes the court for 40 minutes a night and plays with all their heart for the chance to live to play another day.  For most of them, David will fall to Goliath but for a select few, they will be able to pull off an upset or two and if we are lucky there will be a 2006 George Mason Patriot, a 2010 Butler Bulldog, a 1983 NC State Wolfpack or a 1985 Villanova Wildcat in the mix because every big dance needs a Cinderella. 

So on Sunday, number one seeded teams will go to sleep with visions of climbing ladders and cutting down nets dancing in their heads while 16^th seeded teams will be trying on their glass slippers.  The bubble teams whose invitation to the big dance got lost in the mail will find themselves settling for the not invited tournament and the world will try desperately to harness their inner psychic powers to complete the most accurate brackets.  Fans will live and die by their teams and hope for nothing more than for the madness to last for as long as possible.

Welcome to the heart of March.  Get ready for the madness.

"Kentucky basketball is a big deal, and I'm not the biggest fan - I am just the most notorious one." - Ashley Judd

Birthday Redo

So my birthday was Monday and it pretty much came and went. To be honest, if it wasn’t for all the facebook messages, I wouldn’t have even known it was my birthday. I had a sixteen candles, Molly Rigwald, invisible kind of day. The problem is that I ended my bday alone, passing out in the middle of night from pure over worked exhaustion and Molly got a birthday cake and Jake Ryan. Wouldn’t life be so much better if it were like the movies?


Well lucky for me I get a bday redo over the next few days. I doubt that it will end like a John Hughes movie but I’m sure it will be a great time with the people I care about the most. To be honest, it doesn’t matter what the day, as long as you have amazing people in your life who care about you, every day is special.

This year on my bday redo I’m thankful for the people in my life. I’m happy to have such a wonderful family and I’m lucky to have the most amazing friends in the world. Turning 29 with people who could care less about me sucked but being 29 with the people who are my world is better than anything I ever could have imagined.

Birthdays are all about wishes and wants. What gifts you want for your day or what you wish for when you blow out the candles on your cake. I already admitted that I made a wish this year but the more I think about it, who needs wishes when you have everything you could ever want. Sure there may always be things that I will want in life but I am very aware of all I have and I’d say I’m pretty lucky. 

Jake: “Happy birthday, Samantha. Make a wish.”
Samantha: “Well, it already came true.”
-Sixteen Candles

Give It Up

So I would classify myself as Catholic but I wouldn’t say that I’m overly religious.  My theory on religion is that I like the idea of believing that there is someone larger than life looking out for me or that you can turn to when you need somewhere to go.  Today is the start of Lent and I have to say that is a religious tradition that I think we can all learn from.

Vices.  We all have vices.  Vices can be things that we know are bad for us or things that we shouldn’t be doing but do anyways.  Vices can also be things that over indulge in.  Lent is all about giving up those types of vices.   It’s all about promising to go without something that we really might enjoy in order to show that we can make a sacrifice.

Catholic or not, we can all use a little cleansing in our lives.  Sometimes I think we become too dependent on things.  Food becomes a form of comfort.  Drinks become a copping mechanism or a necessity for a fun night.  TV or Facebook are technology addictions that can sometimes be more powerful and life crippling than most drugs.  Giving up these things can help us grow as people.

I've given up a lot of things over the years.  When I was little, I used to try to get my mom to let me give up school.  My brother and I used to give up ice cream every year because my mom would promise us sundaes at Friendly's at the end of lent.  This year I’m giving up soda to start.  I drink too much of it.  I crave it.  I wish I didn’t but it’s hard for me to go without it when I have an urge for it.  It may not seem like much but it will be a true test of my will power if I can go the next 40 days without it.  Maybe I'll give up something else along the line but for now I definitely want to start with soda.

So what are you giving up for Lent?  A little sacrifice is good for the mind, body and the soul.  Think about it and make a commitment to go 40 days without something you love.  See if you can do.  It might be harder than you think! 

“I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Welcome Home

Well it is my last night and Florida and I can safely say I have absolutely nothing to write about. To be honest, I’m so exhausted that I don’t think my brain can even function properly. However, I said I would write every day so I’m living up to my commitment. All I’ve got for you today is that I love to travel, but sometimes you just want to click your ruby red slippers together and pull a Dorothy. Home is where the heart is or in Dorothy’s case, where Auntie Em is. The world is full of wonderful places but in the end, there’s no place home and I’ve even been more ready to get back to it.


“Home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in.” – Robert Frost