Down But Not Out

Last night I watched the Boston Redsox win the American League Championship Series after trailing 3 games to one. It was a great comeback, and in most cases it would be their biggest comeback but for the Redsox, that distinction came in the 2004 play-offs.
In 2004, the Redsox came back from a 3-0 deficit and it was against, no less, the Yankees. Not just the rival of the Redsox, but the Evil Empire itself. It was like the Forest moon of Endor all over again!

This time is was a measly 3-1 deficit. Highly unlikely, but not thought of impossible. That is what I think is the miracle.

It used to be that once a team got down 2-0 in a series, it was considered over. History does not record a lot of 2-0 survivors, but enough not to dash all hopes. But 3-0 or 3-1? Fans are normally sucking down bullets at that point. But Boston has shown that it does not need to be that way.

And what about the National League Champions, the Colorado Rockies? They swept though their two series 3-0 and 4-0, but theirs is a story of seemingly insurmountable odds. They had to win like 14 of their last 15 games of the regular season just to make it to a one game play-off for the wildcard spot. In that game they were down by two runs in the 13th inning and yet found a way to win. They may have earned themselves a couple of series sweeps since that time, but they are comeback kids nonetheless!

This year’s baseball play-offs are the example that will be used for years as the “never give up” season. The season Writers and Speakers will write and talk about for years. Especially if one of these teams get way out ahead and the other one comes back. As a writer and a speaker, I am watching this storyline with much interest!

“Sorry honey. I have to watch this game, I’m working.”

Hope Lost?

It happened. My beloved A’s lost the first game of the season. Shut out no less! The opportunity of going undefeated is over. There are however, 161 more games to be played this season. It might be premature to hang up hope already.

One of the reasons I like baseball is the fact that there are so many games, that any team is bound to win a number of them. In fact the difference between the good teams and the bad teams is not all that different, except in extreme cases. A good to great team will win 80-100 games. A very poor team will win 30-50 games. The average team’s victory totals are somewhere between those numbers. That is still a lot of opportunities to enjoy victories.

To start off the season with a win or a loss is irrelevant. To start off with a streak of wins or losses is irrelevant. The season lasts from April until September. Each day is a new game and has no connection to the game or games already played. Anything can happen on any day, on any pitch.

Isn’t life the same? Each day is its own “game”? Yes it’s true consequences do extend past the length of a day and can be really significant, but doesn’t each day live a life of its own? If we started each day having learned the lessons of the days before and yet set out fresh each morning, wouldn’t we also not be able to celebrate the “wins” as they come.

Life is full of victories and of setbacks. Enjoy the victories. Learn from the defeats. Both are fleeting. The trick is to work at it until the victories outnumber the defeats.

Holy Toledo!

Driving home last night, I was saddened to hear about the passing of Bill King, the man behind the mic for the Oakland A's, Raiders and Warriors.

Let me first say, I'm not the most knowlegeable fan of Bill King, in fact, reading about him last night, I learned more than I ever knew. But I am and always have been a Raider and A's fan. Growing up on the East Bay through the 70's, were there any other teams??!

I mostly became familiar with Bill King as he called the A's games on all those afternoon games while working on the windmills on the Altamont Pass and all the nights while fishing for "stripers" on the Delta. "Holy Toledo" will forever be etched in my memories of all those games.

I am no longer in the Bay Area and am outside the normal radio waves of Raider and A's broadcasts but I actually thought of Bill while watching Albert Pujols' game winning homer the other night. The thought of "Holy Toledo" crossed my mind as the ball sailed into the rafters of Minute Maid Stadium and I wondered if Bill King was still at it. I got my answer.

The call of "Touch Down, Raiders!" is another sound bite that will always remind me of Bill King. I moved away from California his final year of Raider Broadcasts, so he IS the voice of the Raiders as far as I'm concerned.

A very nice summary of Mr. King's work can be found at: Mychael Urban's Article

Here's an excerpt:
"King's accounts of Raiders games, including the infamous "Heidi" game against the New York Jets in 1968, the "Sea of Hands" game against Miami in the 1974 AFC playoffs, Dave Casper's "Ghost to the Post" touchdown reception that gave the Raiders a 1977 playoff win at Baltimore, the memorable "Holy Roller" play against the San Diego Chargers in 1978 and "Old Man" Willie Brown's interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl X are regularly replayed and will forever be a part of the game's lore." As they and he should be.

So long Bill. Thanks for your work you did so well.

Bad Monday

How do You feel after a rough weekend?

URBAN MEYER WEEK: Investment and Responsibility

We've looked at the "what", now let's dive into the "why". Why is this guy so successful? (cont.)

I recently heard an entire speech about Urban Meyers and his "investment" philosophy. Simply put, success comes to the ones who invest in being successful. In football terms it means the team doesn't just show up to the game. They have conducted extensive weight and strength training to be fully prepared physically. They have studied the game to be prepared mentally. They have practiced their game plan so that it has become perfect. They have anticipated the opponents game plan so they are not surprised or unable to adapt. They have become fully invested in the game.

"There's no such thing as luck, there's a big word called investment. If there was luck, why work as hard as we do. I've never been involved in a game where the most invested team lost.

Taking responsibility is a trait that is getting more lost everyday. A winner assumes responsibility for his or her own actions. In the life of a college coach that also means taking responsibility for the lives of many young people who have never ventured away from home before.

"Our coaches are responsible for every aspect of the kids' lives - academic, spiritual, social. We are their fathers away from home."

Besides football games he wins, Urban Meyers takes responsibility for the ones he lost and the kids that play for him.

URBAN MEYER WEEK: Respect and No Fear

We've looked at the "what", now let's dive into the "why". Why is this guy so successful? (cont.)

Urban Meyer respects others and who they are.

"I'm involved with every player. I know every player on this team. My wife is involved and knows everyone of these kids. There's not a kid on this team that can walk through this door and I couldn't tell you his story."

"Everybody has something in their life that they have to share. Nobody wants to, but to be close, they have to. We take pride in being close. As a coach, I have to know those stories and respect where the players come from. If you respect that, there's a chance they're going to respect you, and you'll get more out of them."

When you respect others they in turn respect you. If you are to surround yourself with winners, they have to want to win with you.

Urban Meyers does not fear losing, only not being as prepared as he should have been. After that, there isn't anything to do. This is not a cope out, but a philosophy that leaves one with no excuses and no regrets no matter the final outcome.

"Some people fear losing. I don't. If they're better than us and they play better, they're going to win. But if we fail because we didn't see a certain thing in practice or because we missed something on film, then that's what drives everybody here."

If you fear losing, you will always hold back and not give it your all. What happens if you give 100% and lose? So most hold back a bit, so that there is always room for improvement. Urban does not. It's all or nothing, and if all wasn't good enough to have more points on the scoreboard at the end of the day, the job was still accomplished. The amazing thing is that in most cases, losing is not what happens.

URBAN MEYER WEEK: Excellence and Working

We've looked at the "what", now let's dive into the "why". Why is this guy so successful?

He demands excellence. When he takes over a program he expects nothing less.

"I think the community expects a good team, the student body expects a good team, and we expect a good team. It's very important to come out first, full of passion, energy and juice".

When excellence is expected, nothing else can be offered and expected to be accepted.

Urban Meyer never expects to be outworked. This extends past his opponent's coaches and players, past his own coaches and players, and past his own expectations.

"Back as a player, I was always the hardest working guy. I would be so upset with myself if I wasn't. Was I the best? I was average, but I outworked everybody. As a coach, am I the smartest? No. But I believe that in a lot of areas I outwork a lot of guys".

You don't have to be the most talented, just the hardest worker.

URBAN MEYER WEEK: Winning

Urban Meyer is a winner. The "why" is important, but just to get a glimpse of the "what", let me give you a sanpshot of what is meant by "a winner" in football terms:

Utah Highlights (2003-04)

• 22-2 overall record and 6-1 mark versus BCS teams
• Directed Utah to a perfect 12-0 record in 2004 and became the first school from a non-Bowl Championship Series conference to earn a berth in a BSC Bowl (Fiesta)
• Utah finished as the MWC winner for the second-straight season to become the only back-to-back outright champion in the league's existence
• Squad averaged 44,112 spectators per game, breaking the school record of 41,478 set in 2003
• 2003 marked the school's first outright conference championship since 1957
• Became only coach in program's history to win conference crown in debut season
• 86% conference winning percentage in '03 was the best since 1953
• Road sweep of Brigham Young, Colorado State and Air Force in 2003 was a Utah first
• Utah ended Brigham Young's NCAA record 361-game, 28-year scoring streak to complete the 2003 regular season

Bowling Green Highlights (2001-02)

• Biggest turnaround in the NCAA in 2001
• First winning season at BGSU since 1994
• 17-6 overall record and 5-0 versus BCS teams

Overall record in 4 years as Head Coach 39-8 (.830)!!!

Utah and Bowling Green the year before he arrived 7-15 (.318)!

Anyone who can move into downtrodden programs and turn it around like that, has my interest.

Now let's find out what makes Urban tick...

URBAN MEYER WEEK: Who is Urban Meyer?

Who is Urban Meyer??! Urban Meyer is the Head Football Coach of the University of Florida. Now before you stop reading because Mike is going into another football story, you may want to reconsider. This guy, Urban not Mike, is a winner and more importantly a leader. This week we will be reviewing this guy, and if you don't see the reason why I admire and wish to emulate him, well, I guess we just come from opposite sides of the street.

Urban Meyer came to Salt Lake City before continuing on to Florida to replace an icon of a coach (for Utah standards) who had run his course and guided a very talented team to a 5-6 record. The first year his team finished 10-2 followed the next year by a 12-0 year.

Luck? I don't think so. Two years is not enough to change over your team enough to call it entirely your own as players go, but Meyer had this team firing on all cylinders. What makes the difference? What kind of leader inspires a team to such heights? What can we learn form Coach Urban Meyers?

1) He wins wherever he goes (Florida is currently 4-1)
2) He demands excellence.
3) He is willing to outwork everybody else.
4) He respects others and who they are.
5) He is not afraid to fail.
6) He believes in investment.
7) He takes responsibility.

Hope everybody enjoys Urban Meyer Week!

"The Snake"

As a Raider fan, I must , at least for the time being, live in the past. And there is no brighter Raider past then the days of Kenny "The Snake" Stabler.

In all honesty, I was much too young to remember Kenny or any of the other past Raiders with a lot of details, but I knew I liked them. I used to draw pictures of #12 in class, tell people he was my hero, and walk with the Raider Swaggar whenever I sported my Raider jacket.

There was no ESPN in those days. I never knew stats. I never knew the standings. But it seemed to me they won a lot and as far as I knew THEY were the best. The Steelers, of course, were cheaters-- kind of like the Patriots of yester year.

Now that I can look back on the past with a little bit more of information thanks to the above mentioned ESPN, or better yet the internet. You know the Raiders were pretty good. They may not have the number of trophies like the "STEAL"ers, but during the 70's especially- if you were going to the Superbowl, you had to get past Oakland. (7 of 11 AFC championship games involved Oakland between 1970-80)

In our society, second best is not important. Even if you are second best more consistently then anyone is first. How many people make fun of the Buffalo Bills because they lost four Superbowls in a row? How many teams have been to four Superbowls in a row? One.

In my book, I would rather root for that team that is the one to get past. The team, year after year, is the team the others know they have to beat if they are to be good. The team everybody hates, everybody loves to watch loose, the team nobody but them enjoys the victories--but I guess that is why I'm a Raider fan.

RAIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Head Over Heels (Part 2)

(Continued from yesterday)

As the running back lumbered toward me and as I was fulfilling my obligation to close the gap between us by moving toward him, all the coaching and months of drills and practice were echoing over and over in my head. “Bend your knees. Get low. Power into the tackle”. Of course there was also the other voice in my head screaming, “Look at the size of that thing! Run Away!!!”
As the two of us were about to meet “officially”, I had a quick, but strong, shot of confidence and almost started saying, “I think I can. I think I…” and then POW!! Hope, confidence and all the hours of training could not compensate for the extra 95 pounds of running back.
Like a B.B. hitting a freight train, I went straight backwards and quickly noticed how I was seeing clouds instead of grass. At one point, my feet swooshed by as if running through the clouds. I was airborne, spinning head over heels, and slightly dazed.
Now nothing makes a big…sorry, huge running back happier then to run over the top of a vanquished opponent. This running back was to make no exception. And as I hit the ground and found myself on my back, I noticed the big boy again entering my space, this time exactly over me.
If one is upright and one extends one’s legs, there will be a penalty flag. It’s called tripping. If one is flat on their back and extends one’s legs straight up, it’s called a tackle. I stuck my legs straight up in the air and made the tackle. I agree, the style was not anything for the highlight reel, but it worked then and the two or three other times the two of us met later in the game.
My old football coach, Coach Hatch taught that it was the small things that mattered. But when you’re dealing with a big thing, a huge thing, bigger then you might be able to handle, I am sure Coach Hatch would advise, “Just do what you can”.
All dignity aside, of course.

Head Over Heels (part 1)

I was a whopping 145 pounds at the conclusion of my High School Junior year football season. Weight training was now to begin for the upcoming season and goals needed to be set. I figured I would need to be at least 160 pounds by the start of the next season to secure a starting position. I began to eat.

I ate everything that moved, and anything that didn’t. I took on a job at Hardee’s not only to earn money to afford double lunches at school, but also to clean up on extra food at work! For months, I ate and lifted weights. I would do anything if it had the promise of raising my weight to my goal.

Opening night, I had done everything I could and I tipped the scales at 150 pounds. I had only gained 5 pounds! My ambition had earned me the starting spot of defensive back on the varsity team, the 5 extra pounds would have to do.

Everything went fine for the first two games and then we played Granger High School. Granger high school ran a tough running game anchored by a huge 245 pound running back. 245 pounds! He outweighed me by almost 100 pounds! I was a defensive back, but with their style of running attack, there was a very good chance he and I would meet.

Meet we did. About half way through the first quarter, the big…no HUGE running back cleared the end of the line and started making his way into my territory. It was the two of us, one on one.

(continued tomorrow).