True Enough

I feel sufficiently chastised.  No doubt, I will fully admit that I'm a pessimist.  And I know I CAN change that, but it's pretty hard.  BUT… politics?  Not a good analogy.  Hollywood?  Fair enough.  But not politics.

Politics is an essential part of our democracy.  Without our political bodies such as state legislatures and congress, we don't function as a society.  Politicians make the policies and laws that govern the lives of all of us.  Their decisions affect 314 million people.  Politics is a necessary part of life, and I don't think you can say the same about professional sports.  

I can whole heartily agree with the Hollywood accusation.  About the only good thing that comes out of that is a good movie now and then.  

You've made some good points, but for something that isn't essential to our lives (like pro and college sports), I don't know why I should be digging to find some good so that I can justify their existence.  We don't need college athletics to generate loyalty, growth, and academic achievement in young men and women.  Those things could be as easily developed with positive impact on our world through volunteerism, but nobody is paying millions and millions of dollars to broadcast teams volunteering at inner city youth centers.  

I'm not saying that sports is inherently bad.  It's just another thing that has been hijacked and perverted.  

Interestingly enough, you have to look pretty damn hard to find good news about ANYTHING these days.  Good news doesn't make money for TV networks.  Do you think a "Good News Network" would work?  Maybe there is a market for it.

Not enough

Marc, I’m not sure whether my opinion on the topic will pull you back from the ledge or encourage you to fling yourself off. But I’ll share the punch line: your experiences and comments related to sport are not different than any other business, industry, or organization. I’ll share a couple examples:

Politics. You reference the desired interest in worthwhile topics, specifically mentioning the geography of Syria our political leaders. There is no shortage of ill-behavior in our political world. Misuse of public funds, idolization of political figures in lieu of serving our country, privileged access, fraudulent activity, misconduct, sexism, etc? All of those issues exist today in our political environment. I’m as exhausted with the politicizing of violence and the rhetoric of bipartisanship as I am of the debate of paying college players and the recent allegations against Oklahoma State’s athletic program.

Hollywood. You want to see the concept of privileged, spoiled, the rules don’t apply behavior at its greatest, and with the smallest return on investment towards anything beneficial to society, then Hollywood should be your bailiwick. At least someone’s getting educated while Oregon is pouring its money into their football facilities. Who is benefitting in any way from the tongue wagging of Mylie Cyrus. Drugs, shock-style media efforts, no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity-stunts.

But the real takeaway here is instead of focusing on all the bad in a population, why don’t we focus on the good. For every Oklahoma State there is a University of Iowa: a program that has placed loyalty (much to Ed’s chagrin), growth of their young athletes, and academic achievement above the winning at all cost mentality that pervades many college athletic programs. And instead of demonizing all politicians, I’m trying to find reasons to believe that our political leaders are operating in their constituent’s best interests and searching to support local leaders, republican or democrat, which I believe cross the aisle for the best of their citizens. Of note, I’m having trouble finding those people. We all need to remember that for every Mylie Cyrus there is a Gwyneth Paltrow, for every Dennis Rodman a Lance Berkman, for every Tiger Woods a Roger Federer.

Look to the good my man!

The only friend that I could find is a 5' 5" communist dictator who calls himself the "Supreme Leader"

Dennis Rodman has always been somewhat entertaining because he’s such an idiot.  But now he’s pissing me off.

Rodman has apparently decided that he’s going to be a regular in North Korea, help them prepare a basketball team for the 2016 Olympics, maybe even write a book about Kim Jong-Un.  You can read about it here.  It pisses me off because we are talking about a country that is one of the worst violators of human rights in the world.  It’s a totalitarian regime that is contrary to everything that we value in America.  Rodman has always been a freak show, and maybe this is just another one of his stunts.  I don’t know.  But for me, it’s just going too far.  If you take a few minutes to read through the Human Rights Watch report, this is no laughing matter.  In 2011 I read a book based on the testimony of some of the few people that have escaped North Korea, and it was extremely depressing.  Rodman says Kim Jong-Un is a “good guy”.  And in his ignorance, he believes it.

Rodman claims that all this is not just a play to make money, although I have no doubt that he is profiting from this little adventure.  I know that he’s managed at least one commercial out of the deal, in which he has the audacity to joke about the fact that North Korea has nuclear weapons and threatens to use them on a regular basis. 

Ha ha.  So funny.

Sexual orientation baiting is the new race baiting

Rant time.  

TWICE in the past week I've seen articles that imply that perhaps the sexual orientation of an athlete is affecting whether or not the individual is being signed to a contract, and in both cases, I think it's a bunch of crap.  I've never liked Al Sharpton, because I think he's a race baiter.  I haven't identified a poster child for sexual orientation baiters, but give it time and one will emerge.  For now Phil Taylor will have to suffice.

Phil Taylor, in that fringe sports periodical known as Sports Illustrated (sarcasm) supposes that Jason Collins is currently an unsigned free agent due to his announcement a few months ago that he was gay.  Never mind the fact that in his 12-year career he's averaged 3.6 ppg and 3.8 rpg, and those numbers include his "prime" years.  Only once in the last five years has he averaged more than 1 point per game (and it was 2.0 points per game!) and more than 1 rebound per game (and it was 2.1 rebounds per game!)  How much would you pay for a guy who averaged 1 point and 1.5 rebounds per game last year?  How much?  $1.4 million you say?  Well, that's good, because according to the collective bargaining agreement, that's the minimum amount you'll need to pay him.  

But he's not signed yet because he's gay.

Kerry Rhodes, a safety for the Arizona Cardinals last year, is a little bit different.  He's got the stats.  Last year he was ranked as the fourth-best safety in the NFL.  Since then, there has been some questions about his sexual orientation.  He denied that he's gay, but some people think that he is based on some photographs and information by people close to him.  Jay Busbee of Yahoo News supposes that it might be the reason nobody has signed him this year.  Is it possible that instead, it had something to do with the fact that he turned down a $3 million guaranteed contract from the Cardinals in the off-season?  Could it be that he's not signed because other teams showed interest but he didn't accept any of their contract offers because they weren't high enough?  Could it be that he's on the wrong side of 30, or that he's entering his 9th year in the league?  Rex Ryan is not necessarily a trusted source, but he has commented on the attitude problems that Rhodes brought when he was a Jet.  Rhodes is known for leading a "Hollywood" lifestyle, which most teams don't appreciate in a player because it causes distractions.  Who wants to play football for the league minimum $840K that he would be due if he signed with one of the teams that were interested?

But he's not signed yet because he might be gay.

I don't believe it, and I'm not buying it.  As much as I rail against the "win at all cost" in pro sports, most teams wouldn't care if you were a polygamist who was married to a goat AND a chicken.  If you can put up the numbers AND the price is right, they'll hire you.  Just ask Dennis Rodman.  

I'm not falling for the sexual orientation bait.  

When is enough enough?

I don't consider myself to be naive.  I know that it is nearly impossible to live a life that isn't somehow, in someway, supporting something that isn't purely good.  In fact, I don't think there is much in this world that could make the mark of "100% good - no side effects!"  A long time ago when we lived in Spain we knew of a guy that would not eat or buy anything in any establishment that sold alcohol.  In Spain, that pretty much meant that you NEVER went out to eat.  Even McDonald's sold beer.

But when do you say, "Enough is enough.  I can't support this anymore"?  It is the struggle that I've been having as of late with sports in general, but more specifically professional/college sports, and even more specifically football.  I'm reaching a point where I'm not sure I'm comfortable supporting it anymore, and I don't know what is the next step to take.

I could list a whole litany of stories from the past year or two about player misconduct, but there is so much more to it than that.  This is another issue that could fill a book if I took the time to fully explore all the thoughts that swirl through my head in regards to this issue.  This blog post will only scratch the surface, and this is the point where it probably gets discombobulated.  Hold on to your hats.

Using public money to fund stadiums, ridiculous ticket prices (and those two coupled together which limits access to the wealthy; not a good use of public money), idolized sports stars, outrageous salaries, privileged access, fraudulent college activity, win at all cost, violence, overlooking misconduct, the lie of education, weekends that revolve around sports, fan-dom, posses, sexism, the lie of player health…. where do I stop?

Oddly enough, I have been getting Sports Illustrated for the past year or so.  I'm not sure why, since I usually spend about 5-10 minutes flipping through it before I toss it in the recycle bin.  But I actually read an article in this week's issue, part one of a five-part investigative report on the Oklahoma State University football program.  The cover reads, "The Dirty Game: Sex, Drugs, Cash, Fraud, Whatever it Takes."  I wish I could say that it surprised me, but it didn't.  It just confirms some things that I've always assumed were happening in MANY Division I football programs.  I don't doubt that it happens in other sports too.  I wasn't surprised, but it still bothered me.  I know we've argued about all of this in the past, and I know we will continue to argue about it in the future.  I was wrong years ago when I "declared" (see previous blog) that nothing good comes out of college sports.  I know that's not true.  But there's just too much crap that comes with it.  

I can't help but get a little disheartened when people can talk for two hours about the latest NFL power rankings but they can't locate Syria on a map.  I wonder what it says about our culture when we know RGIII's stat line from Sunday but we don't know who are the Secretaries of State or Defense.  We are concerned enough about a college football playoff system to hold congressional hearings about it, but no one wants to talk about doctor shortages or shrinking education budgets.  ESPN alone will make $10 billion in 2013, and the total of federal spending for education in 2013 will be approximately $98 billion.  For me, sports has climbed way too high on the priority scale, and it's because we have placed it there.  

I'm not saying that I'm going to totally walk away from sports.  I was talking this through with Jennifer and I was thinking of things like fantasy basketball, for example, which I REALLY enjoy.  I wonder if I could actually walk away from stuff like that.  Even as I've been writing this blog, I flipped over to my Yahoo page a couple of times to check some scores (although I rarely watch sports on TV anymore).  But the truth is that I'm not so much into professional or college sports that it would be hard to walk away altogether.  I hardly ever watch pro sports on TV, and college - well, I never watch college sports on TV.  I don't watch ESPN anymore, and I haven't listened to the ATH podcast for a long time.  It's just not a big part of my life.  Maybe that's why it seems easy to walk away.

Jennifer cautioned me on writing on this topic because she thought it would come off as very judgmental of people that ARE really into sports, including some huge Iowa Hawkeye fans in the family.  Please don't misunderstand me - I'm not trying to sell this as something that everyone should do.  It's a personal choice that I'm considering and I'm not hoping to carry everyone that I know with me.  Have you ever known those vegetarians that look down their nose at you with judging eyes as you are trying to enjoy your hamburger?  Yeah, that sucks.  But I also know vegetarians that do it as a personal choice and have no problem with others who choose to eat meat.  That's kind of where I'm coming from on this.  It's just me.

Am I crazy?  Am I just a victim of the media and what they choose to focus on?  Why does it bother me so much that LeBron James received a police escort so that he could get to the JayZ/Kanye West concert on time?  Is it ridiculous for me to hope that the pastor can make it through a sermon during football season WITHOUT a Chargers reference?  

I'm on the edge, about ready to jump.  Who wants to talk me off the ledge?

Another "D" post?

Intriguing article for sure.  The question of why some forms of creating "an improved version of yourself" is acceptable (surgery) and others (doping) are not is a tough one.  I guess I don't have to give an answer right now, since we'll still be talking about this in 6 months, a year, and five years from now!

I noticed an interesting article today about how Adrian Peterson's recovery from ACL surgery is putting
a lot of pressure on orthopedic surgeons, because all athletes want to bounce back as quickly.  It's interesting that in the article a doctor, speaking about Peterson, says, "His body - it's just different."  That New Yorker article makes me wonder what the sporting public would think is excessive in regards to Performance Enhancing Medical Procedures (PEMP - yeah, I just made that up).  Isn't a blood transfusion a medical procedure?  Don't football players suck on 100% oxygen sometimes?  Should that be illegal?

Thanks a lot Brad.  You've added an additional can of worms to the pile of cans of worms that we have heaped in front of us on this issue already.  Well, the good news is that if we keep this up or a couple of years, we'll be able to compile it into a book.  I know at least three people that would buy it!

The next chapter of doping conversation

I thought this was an interesting article on the plague of doping that actually intersects our opinions and priorities for the two sports of baseball and cycling. And Malcolm Gladwell is a talented author with a focus on research and data mining which makes me appreciate and value his opinion on the subject.

See Gladwell New Yorker Article HERE...enjoy!

Moving sucks

Ed, I certainly can empathize with you guys in your change of your entire way of life.  You would think that after moving so many times, it would get easier as most things do after you do it repeatedly.  But I must say that hasn't been the case for Jennifer and me.  It seems to get harder every time.  Maybe it has something to do with what you mentioned Ed, that as we get older it gets harder to deal with change.

You've identified, through your personal experience, many of the difficulties with a move, and I think the biggest one is the social networks.  You hit the nail on the head when you said that in a sense you have an automatic or instant social network because of your work.  I don't have any experience in the civilian corporate world but I'm guessing that as a SVP you are "accepted" to a certain degree right out of the gate.  That helps with your transition, but unfortunately does very little to make the transition easier for Holly and the kids.  It's not like they can go to work with you every day.

Jennifer and I usually try to reestablish a social network through church.  That's always where we've found it easiest to be accepted quickly and establish authentic relationships.  Different things work for different people, but I think it's important to try and establish a similar environment to what you had previously.  I know that the swim club that you want the kids in has a long wait, but if it was me, I would find another swim venue in the mean time.  Swimming on a regular basis will provide some familiarity for them, and the physical exertion will help alleviate anxiety as well.  Hopefully the kids will find friends and activities through school as well.  That will probably happen naturally considering how awesome your kids are.

I imagine the person who is struggling the most is Holly.  She doesn't have a salon or clients, no colleagues to see every day, etc.  Because of all the flux she also probably isn't able to balance five insane schedules perfectly as she did in KC, and I'm sure that provided a significant boost to her self-worth.  I have no doubt that it won't be long until she is back there again, but in the mean time, I'm sure it's incredibly difficult for her.  Jennifer has struggled the past couple of times that we've moved in that critical time between having the house set up and finding employment.  At least until the house is set up there is some distraction, a job to stay engaged in, but once that's done, there is nothing to do but face the reality of a new life in a new place.

The hardest part of moving is the loss of friendships.  I don't care what anybody says (I don't mean to be a debby downer here), but long distance relationships just don't work.  With all of the media and tools available today like Facebook, Skype, Facetime, email, texting, etc, friendships through digital bits and bytes just isn't the same - it can't fill the void.  People find satisfaction in face to face relationships, and unfortunately with a move, those have to be established anew.  I think we can all attest that it's nice to talk on the phone or to discuss things through the blog, but there's nothing like getting together as a family or for a brothers weekend.  If it wasn't any better than Skype, we wouldn't ever spend the money for plane tickets and use vacation time to see each other.  That is the most difficult loss during a move.

I wish I had some magic answers to make the transition easier, but as you noted, change is hard.  If I made any recommendations, it would be to be very intentional about establishing friendships.  Everyone wants to "play it cool", but don't wait until your house is perfect to invite people over to dinner.  Since you are in a brand new place, I would try to establish some new family traditions.  Sometimes trying to make everything exactly the way it was before just makes the reminder of things missed more poignant, so establish some new things that will make the family appreciate the new environment.

My last recommendation would be to give everyone time to grieve the loss of life in KC.  No matter how awesome Denver may be or will become, you all lost something when you left KC.  You lost the life that you knew, and everyone loss takes a time of grieving.  The timeline is different for different people.  Let Holly, the kids, and yourself express those feelings of loss.  "It's time to get over it and move on" is NEVER the right answer for someone who is grieving.  You may be aware of this concept from change management theories in the business world.  You have to allow people to grieve the loss.

I'm always amazed by the unseen transition that happens over time.  Things probably feel really strange in your new home right now, but one day you'll find yourself in Atlanta or Amsterdam, and you'll think about how you miss home and can't wait to go home, and the place that you'll picture in your head will be Parker and your house there.  And you'll try to figure out when exactly you started to feel like it was home, but you won't be able to identify that point.  It just happens over time.

I feel for you guys, but I know you'll get through it.  I know that you're thrilled to be so happily employed, but just remember that you don't have to convince yourself that it's wrong to miss some things from life in KC.  KC will be a part of your life forever!

Change is Hard

"Change is hard, you fight to hold on, you fight to let go."   -Daniel Stern, The Wonder Years

As a contrast to the post I just wrote, the personal transition associated with my job change has been a trying one - for my family and for me.  

Moving to Denver was necessary step for me to be so happy professionally, but doing so has come at some short term cost to my family.  Holly and the kids don't have the advantage of work colleagues to help rebuild their social network and regimen and this gap is something that persists and we are trying to close as we settle in in our new home.  

Swimming and other athletic activities (track and field, basketball, etc.) have been the lynch pin for social activities for the kids and unfortunately many of these haven't yet started.  The particular swimming club we really want our kids engaged with is full so our kids are on the wait list.  Speaking with a swimming parent who's child is in the club told us the wait could be over a year!  That won't work for us.  

So, we need to find other ways to connect and build our social networks here.  Church is one way, and participating in other school activities (football games, clubs, etc.) are yet another outlet.  The neighborhood is yet another avenue that we have yet to fully explore.  

My point here is not to draw sympathy, but instead to recognize how important it is that we remain nimble enough in our lives to accept change.  

Marc and Jen are intimately familiar with this having moved to new places so many times.  I'm sure it's always been challenging to them, but they've adjusted - in some places quicker than others I'm sure.  Their insight would be interesting and I hope this prompts Marc to blog he and Jen's experience.   

Brad and Sheila also are undergoing a massive but more subtle change associated with their kids getting older and all the associated change that comes with that.  Having been through that it would be interesting to hear whether Brad and Sheila have handled it similarly or differently than Holly and I did.  I suspect that latter.  

And even Mom and Dad Baldwin are also dealing with the change associated with our move, and finding new ways to connect and keep in touch with their grandkids, now a time zone away.

Change is hard, and oftentimes made harder by one's age and a limited exposure to it.  I really think changes is easier when you are young.  You're not as attached and that makes letting go and attaching to something else easier.  Also, when someone has the adult choice of becoming "set in their ways" they often do just that - and then change is required and they must suddenly break from the life they built, and somehow adapt to the new.  It does happen as one can't underestimate the human capability to adapt to change, it's just much harder than if they were more nimble and accustomed to change to begin with.

So what do we attach ourselves to so prominently that makes change so hard?  It's people in most cases.  Family, friends, colleagues, coaches, parents, teachers, etc.  It's not about abandoning the relationships that have been built, but continuing in one's desire to grow and develop new relationships that compliment our existing ones.  Existing relationships change, and new ones must fill in the gaps.  Now that's the trick.    

Even with the changes that life has thrown at me and my family I consider us novices in the change game.  The kids are older and it's a proven fact that changing schools and friends as teenagers is more challenging than other ages.  Holly and I are struggling as well, mostly because we see the struggle the kids are having.

It's only been a few weeks.  

I know that patience and time will cure the ills we are all feeling as a family right now about the transition and the move.  Friends will be made, activities will consume our effort and energy, and the newness of our new home and new lives will diminish.  We'll find our routines, and life once again will return to the normal, hectic pace that we are all to familiar with.

I'm thankful for the adversity associated with this change and know we'll be stronger as a family having gone through it, together.    

Labor Day 2013

Labor Day means more to me than it ever has this year.  Last year at this time I was struggling professionally.  Trying to develop an HR consulting business while wondering whether my heart was really in it or not.  Some days were good, more were not so good, and I longed for a routine of working for a company that appreciated my skills and what I could do to positively impact company results.

Today I'm fortunate to be working for such a company - ARCADIS.  Professionally I'm as happy as I can ever remember.  Great company, great people, great team, and the role I have suits me perfectly.  I feel so fortunate.

Happy Labor Day!