A Thin Line between Vince and In”Vinc”ible

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Since this video was recorded Vince Young has regained his starting position as Quarterback of the Tennessee Titans and has led the team to a 5-1 record since relieving veteran Quarterback Kerry Collins. But this resurgence takes place amidst a mine field of contextual events that outline the life of Vince Young dating back to childhood. I’m not sure that a scripted characterization of a hard luck story in a movie would look much different than Young’s bio.  Fatherlessness, a drug addicted mother, antagonizing from neighborhood kids, booing fans and the murder of  mentor/surrogate Steve McNair by his mistress all make for a less than ideal launching pad. That’s the hand Young was dealt so now he’s playing.

The moving anecdotes that often accompany an athlete’s rise to stardom can quickly be forgotten because of the appeal of the “right now”. Right now Vince Young represents the Nashville community because he’s winning again.  But isn’t there a thin line between the  false perception of invincibility and destitution? It’s a thin line because of how Vince Young, for instance, so desperately needed and now lacks a trustworthy influence to combat his haunting past. It’s a thin line because a 26-year old professional isn’t pardoned the same way a 15-year old prep amateur is. And it’s certainly a thin line because the more successful he becomes, the harder it will be for him to receive meaningful insights regardless of the source.

Vince Young is in a Tiger Woods-like crisis minus Earl Woods influence, the distinguished fan base, a wife or a legendary career already behind him. Vince Young has come so close to the line that divides WHOLENESS and DYSFUNTION that it’s eerie. And I’m not certain he’s aware of the line or his proximity to it. But one thing that’s sure is that he’s not alone. Tons of kids grow up poor and gifted but if the supply of quality mentors runs thin in America, you can bet we’ll see more “Vince Youngs” in a uniform that looks far different than a Titans one. Let’s be bigger than the sports that consume us and develop the people who become athletes, even idols .

Kobe Bryant’s glimpse of What’s Bigger than Kobe Bryant

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There’s probably a certain amount of community service hours required for NBA players and their respective franchises. And why not since the Association does more than $3 billion in revenue annually according to Plunkett Research, Ltd. That’s not a typo. I said $3 billion. Needless to say, the very face of professional basketball is like a rare part for a  finely crafted foreign sports car. Kobe Bryant is one of several rare parts but the NBA as a whole is the car built for speed and performance. Marketing ploys and public relations aside,however,  Kobe’s involvement with a local program like After School All-Stars provides a tangible influence for which inner-city kids are desperate.

“Founded by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2002, After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles (ASAS-LA) is a leading after-school program provider whose programs educate, enlighten and inspire thousands of middle and high school students each day. Activities are centered around health, fitness and nutrition; the visual and performing arts; and youth leadership and community service learning.”

So often I ask, “What is the difference between Kobe talking to poor students from an inner-city charter or public school and him talking to kids from Upland, CA for instance.” Upland is a city located about 40 minutes east of downtown Los Angeles and there are poor kids in Upland but murder is less prevalent. There are homeless in Upland but the effects of substance abuse appear less pervasive.

After-School All-Stars is a reminder that without intervention, destructive cycles among the poor are perpetuated. Raise your hand if you like the following outside your window: VIOLENCE, HOPELESS APATHETIC CHILDREN, IDLE MINDS, IGNORANCE, etc. We know that the existence of these factors are either the result or the cause of some of society’s greatest ills.  Poverty can be a trap because of something as simple as learned helplessness. Those of us fortunate enough to live in places devoid of graffiti, police helicopters and negative role models have difficulty grasping how important it is for Kobe Bryant or any other notable athlete to endorse community action. We have to remember that neither  success nor its perceived possibility is formed in a vacuum. Somewhere in low-income communities across the nation, a junior higher could be one after-school program away from avoiding life as a stereotype fueling statistic.

Can marriage survive professional Sports?

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Ex-wife of NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing talks on the subject.

What’s needed for the structure of professional sports to be a better support of the family unit? Or should we leave pro sports alone?

(Pro Athlete Wives) Click on the link below for another wife’s perspective.

Where’s the manual for being a pro athlete’s wife?

Alyssa Milano’s Star Power Play

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Television star Alyssa Milano  joins an extraordinarily selfless campaign and before we call her fadish, look at the lessons we can take from what she’s doing to literally put her money where her mouth is.

The story of charity: water – The 2009 September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.

alyssa0401http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alyssa-milano/im-giving-up-my-37th-birt_b_384981.html

Not only is this an inspiration that selflessness can ineffably change the lives of those suffering but also a reminder that with a little imagination, you can put wheels on your passion to help others . Let’s join the cause of Charity: water and appply their model to our respective callings.

Ecclesiastes 11:1-2

Mark Cuban’s Good Crazy Side

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There’s a crazy side to professional basketball that has nothing to do with tabloids and ethics. It’s actually a “good crazy” kind of like when you were a kid and ran into your English teacher at the grocery store. That was weird because teachers aren’t real people who eat food and drive a car. But there’s something fun about seeing things out of context like this video of Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

Cuban has had his share of negative publicity stemming from juvenile conversations with an opposing  player’s mother in the stands or infantile exhibitions protesting referees. But to see him at a World Wrestling Enteratinment (WWE) event gettin’ his butt handed to him is just fun to see, even if staged. Sorry to ruin the myth for those of you who still think wrestling is the real deal. (You and I should also talk some time about a certain fairy who allegedly exchanges money for teeth.)

Flanking Cuban at the arena that night were Shawn Merion and Drew Gooden, Dallas Mavericks players, and if I didn’t know better, I would’ve expected them to form a three-man tag team to challenge the fellas in the “shorter-than-Daisy Duke” briefs. But they didn’t. And I was disappointed. Nevertheless, I was reminded that basketball can and should be fun on and off the court. It’s nice to see an NBA player throw out a pitch at a Dodgers game or Steve Nash go, literally, toe-to-toe with a soccer great doing tricks at halftime of an exhibition game. These instances humanize the superhuman. Here’s to Cuban being rammed into an 8′ table in front of Screaming WWE enthusiasts.

Is Tim Donaghy a Rogue?

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…or are there others? Do you really think that there’s one official in the entire NBA who decided to become a cheater while all of his colleagues stayed the  straight and narrow? Tough sale for me. Pete Rose bet on baseball, athletes use performance enhancing drugs, infidelity is prevalent, etc. In Language Arts classes I used to teach students how to write persuasive essays. They were required to use three types of appeal to convince readers that their argument was sound. Logical Appeal was one of them and basically held that your support should lead the reader toward a conclusion your position just makes sense – it’s more logical than that of the opposition.

To the point, if sports is riddled with questionable practices that are mildly reprimanded, except for Pete Rose’s suspension from baseball, why don’t we logically assume that Tim Donaghy is on to something? No one likes a rat and Donaghy is a rat but you know that axiom about the thickness of blood contrasted with water? I don’t subscribe to it blindly. If your brother robs for a living, he shouldn’t get a pass because you’re a police officer. I’d drive my own brother to jail if he was a danger to society. So if Donaghy has embellished the truth that’s one thing. To say that he’s totally errant is another. The camaraderie of NBA officials is similar to that of players, perhaps even family. They work, travel and likely eat together. Why wouldn’t they protect one another? I hope the NBA can take a healthy, even if sacrificial, step through this process to produce a truer form of competition.

Steve Nash is Corny

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Steve Nash Boot Camp Mentality

Few players I’ve ever seen make “corny” work like  Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns. A buddy of mine played against him in college when Steve was at the University of Santa Clara. I believe the words he used to describe Nash were, “Relentless, competitive and accurate. He just wouldn’t stop.”

Adding more to his game and his team is how this unassuming, soccer loving Canadian point guard became arguably the best guard in the NBA the last five years. Nash knows he’s not the most naturally gifted athlete but he’s skilled through repetition – the kind of routine practice that usually separates even the elite players.

Nash makes it clear to the young premier point guards at his camp that one day you’ll square off against someone as good or better than you. It’s at that point that you better be able to trust your previous commitment to improvement. When a game comes down to who makes the least amount of mistakes, so many athletes are exposed by a failure to rehearse game movement in game locations at game speed. In other words, the level of practice is far less rigorous than that of the test – the game.

I like Steve Nash despite his uniform (I hate the Suns). I have great respect because he competes against the man in the mirror everyday. He knows full well that he plays a sport dominated by one ethnic group. He’s not in that group. He doesn’t care.  And while a two-time Most Valuable Player Award recipient, the truth is that white basketball players often have to work twice as hard to earn credentials in the upper echelon of hoop. He’s proof that “Skills pay them bills, son.” Honing a craft is a lost art and we do well to recapture the gumption needed to press toward perfection through the most consistent and competitive rehearsals we can configure. At all times we’re either in need of refinement or in need of helping another refine. I vote to reinstate the Steve Nash boot camp mentality effective immediately.