Kindness Boomerang

As my last blog of the semester I wanted to leave the class with a message. Something I have notice growing up in this day and age, people seem to be more individually focused. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying everyone but a vast majority are primarily focused on themselves. Only worried about what matters to them personally. Unwilling to think from another persons perspective and contemplate how something could effect someone else.

 

As early as preschool we are all taught the Golden Rule, "treat others the way you want to be treated." Somewhere along the line most of society forget this rule or chooses not to obeyed by it, which saddens me. I want to have the faith in a complete stranger but I cant. I want to believe that the news I hear and read is honest but I cant. I want to believe that if I needed help or was in danger it wouldn't take someone I know to assist me.

 

I have always been a firm believer in karma. What comes around goes around. Therefore, do good and good will happen to you. As a new father venturing into parenthood I am hopeful this self-centered attitude society has seem to adopted will fade out so my son and his friends can live among each other in peace and harmony unaffected by selfish actions of others.

Can we all just get along? Look out for each other as a whole? For the better of humanity?

 

Please take a few minutes to watch this video and think about the message it carries.

 

 

"Because KINDNESS keeps the world afloat"-Life Vest Inside

unWAREable

Sunday, March 31st, I witnessed one of the most horrific sports related injury EVER! Unless you have been living in a cave or completely oblivious to the sports world, you should know about March Madness. If not, its the NCAA men's basketball bracket style tournament of 64 teams to determine the National Champions. Sunday, the Duke Blue Devils played the Louisville Cardinals in the elite 8, quarterfinals. Towards the end of the first half Louisville guard Kevin Ware went to close out on a three point shot. He jumped up in the air with one hand raised to contest the shot, as normal, and then IT happened.

(if you have a weak stomach you may not want to watch this... honestly)

The immediate reaction from everyone in the building makes you realize the severity of the injury. The stands went silent, benches collapsed, and poor Kevin laid there in agony. In case you chose not to watch the video, the Louisville guard landed awkwardly on his right leg after contesting the shot and broke his leg in the most gruesome fashion. Emotions of the Louisville players and coaching staff were uncontrollable. The training staff immediately went to Kevin and covered the injury as much as possible. Fans in the stands who didn't even know Kevin were doused with tears of sympathy. In the of all the chaos and emotion Kevin Ware had one simple message for his team before he left in the ambulance to go the hospital, "Just win the game". That's right, they still had the second half to play. And while the bone is sticking out of his leg, possibly a career ending injury, Ware has the state of mind to use this as motivation for his team. And motivation is was. Louisville came out with vengeance in the second half putting away Duke by 20 points and advancing to the Final Four.

After the game, social media was flooded with post, comments, pictures, and status update about the injury. In one day, Kevin Ware received over 1.2 million twitter mentions. IN ONE DAY! I wrote one of those, telling him "You are in my family's thoughts and prayers. We hope a full and speedy recovery for you and a National Championship for your team/family. YOU DESERVE IT! #GoCards"

This injury effects me in a lot of ways, as an athlete, a fan, and an inspiring basketball coach. I know I will never forget the moment in sports history and I hope some of you will keep Kevin in you thoughts and prayers.

GO CARDS!!!!!!!!!

HARLEM SHAKE!!!!!!!!!!!

So there is a new video sensation that has sweep the nation, The Harlem Shake. The video is a group of people dancing and going crazy in ridiculous outfits to a techno beat. Pretty plain and stupid right? Well the trick is to one up the last video by having more people and crazier costumes. Here is what I'm talking about.

 

OK if you watched the whole video I'm sorry. You could have stopped after the first minute to get the picture. As you can tell I'm not the first to hear about this, actually the video that claims to be the "original" has over 29 million views. Just goes to show how powerful these social media sites really are. Why does a video as pointless as this can get so popular? It definitely would not have happened without YouTube I'll tell you that.

 

With that said.... this one is the best!

The Greatest Turns 50

The greatest basketball player to ever step on the hardwood is turning fifty years old this month. Yes, Michael Jeffery Jordan turns fifty on February 17th. To give you a brief history of why MJ (Michael Jordan) is the best, here are some of his accomplishments  He has been voted regular season MVP fives times, He has been an all-star fourteen times and named all-star MVP three times, he has won six NBA championships (more than any other player EVER), AND was named MVP in every NBA finals series he played. He averaged more points per game for his career than any other player with 30.12 pts. The list goes on and on. Regardless who plays in the NBA today or how great they may be, they will always get compared to "the greatest".

From as far back as I can remember Michael Jordan has been the epitome basketball. Why? Well, not only does his game speak for its self. He also became one of the most sought after celebrity endorsers in the 90's. Anything from shoes to cereal boxes, they all wanted a part of MJ. In fact, I can remember my freshman year of basketball try-outs, 18 of the 19 kids trying out had on Jordan's basketball shoes. Nike signed Michael Jordan to a shoe deal in 1985 for 5 years for 2.5 million dollars. He was the first athlete to have a shoe named after himself. Now, "CNBC reports that the Jordan Brand first topped $1 billion in annual revenue in 2009." (www.seekingalpha.com/article/649131)
ESPN has made an entire week contributed to Michael Jordan's birthday. They have showed all of his greatest moments, highlights, interviews and press conferences so the younger generations that do not have the privilege nor ability to watch "the greatest" can at least be educated. Any basketball fan should know...NEEDS to know, the extreme competitor that was Michael Jordan. His career has for every changed the sport and the marketability of athletes, not just in basketball. Thanks to Michael Jordan, Lebron James was able to sign a seven year $93 million contract with Nike as a rookie, David Beckham signed a lifetime deal with Adidas for $160.8 million, and Cam Newton received the largest endorsement deal as an incoming rookie in the NFL from Under Armor in 2010, topping the previous mark by Reggie Bush and Adidas at $1.2 million. Owners and General Managers of sports team are using endless resources to scout players that could potentially bring their franchise the next "Michael Jordan".

BUT, There will only be one JORDAN! Enjoy the show!