Good Sheppard needed on the Path

I love this quote from Dante's inferno "In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself astray in a dark wood where the straight road had been lost." If you always saw the road ahead of you, the trip/journey would not be worthwhile. 

Unpredictability is one of life's greatest gifts and nowhere else is this more self evident than in sports. The best leagues to play in are the one's where the championship is up for grabs and unpredictable. Competition drives interest, excitement, desire, and hunger. That's one of the biggest reasons why the NFL is so popular - Parity. When you have 3-6+ teams vying  for the title it creates an ultra competitive environment where on any given day anyone can win.  

These say "your only as strong as your weakest link" and in the ultra competitive environment of sports you often see "a little guy or a guy you don't expect" make a difference.

That's why every team needs a Good Shepherd. Without getting too religious (god knows I am not religious) the metaphor of a Good Sheppard is simple "no one gets left behind". Teams that have players that make other players better and get the most out of everyone regardless of their skill level are always better off. It's easy to pick on your scrubbiest guy, great players are "Good Sheppard's" and make everyone feel important.

The path to the championship is not always clear and you never know when you will need everyone. Instead of tearing someone down try being a Good Sheppard and you just may arrive at your final championship destination in an unforeseen way. Confidence is fragile and Hero's aren't born, they are made from Leadership. Corny but true

Point the 45 the Other Way and Make My Day

I've always been a big Clint Eastwood fan as a Actor
and Director.
 

The guys is brilliant, but I found his speech at the GOP Convention

in poor taste.

While he is totally allowed to Freedom of Speech at least make what you talk about intelligent and clever. This was just good old fashioon goon mudslinging poilitics as it was:

• Not funny
• Disrespectful to the office of the president (implied curses)
• Ignorant - Target Date for Iraq? Are you kidding me? Did he expect soldiers to all get on the Red Eye and fly coach?
• Stupid - Lawyers don't make good presidents b/c they weigh both sides of a decision?
• We need a business man? Did he forget who caused the Recession?

Make my Day and say something smart.

Face it this election really isn't about making these betters for the GOP ... it's about Power. Stop the mudslinging everyone and debate the issues intelligently. Anyone can be a goon, but not anyone can be a leader. Be careful who you point the 45 Clint  b/c when you say something stupid you could be shouting your party in the foot.

Softball Taoism ....Legendary Prediction

Taoism (modernly: Daoism) is a philosophical and religious tradition that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao. The term Tao means "way", "path" or "principle", and can also be found in Chinese philosophies and religions other than Taoism. ^{The Father of Taosim is Lao Tzu and he said :}
 
"Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions"


I can think of no other team in Softball that embodies Perseverance than Inwood's Legends. In about ten years in the league they have only made the playoffs once and have gone winless on numerous occasions. Yet they never quit. This year they are back and even making bold predictions:


They have fun and want to play. More importantly, their team is a bunch of really good teachers who help society in much more important ways. Good Luck Guys. I hope you do better than 2 win... you deserve some softball happiness.

Right Man for this Bronx Tale

It's no coincidence that I am a huge fan of the movie "A Bronx Tale"


and it's strong message as I have a connection to the Bronx. I went through a lot of growing pains there both in High School and softball. Believe it or not the Bronx was the first place I ever went to that had different people. You see I grew up in Washington Heights where everyone was either Hispanic or Jewish. But the Bronx was literally a different animal for me as it had Italians, Blacks, Hispanics, etc and it was wide open as everyone is always hustling.


This year I returned to the BX by playing Softball there on Saturdays. My team has done well and it's been a never dull experience. One thing that I noticed in softball is that every league and borough has a different vibe and needs a different type of umpire. Well a Bronx league needs a Bronx type of official and Noble Avenue has Henry

A96 to the fullest. Good Guy. Right man for the BX.

Everyone needs their own Jiminy Cricket

Jiminy Cricket

is the Walt Disney character who accompanies Pinocchio on his adventures, having been appointed by the Blue Fairy to serve as his official conscience.

Conscience is the mind's ability to distinguish between right from wrong. Commonly used metaphors include the "voice within" and the "inner light". There are moral, legal, ethical, medical, and social forms of conscience that all are based on integrity and acts for the public good. Conscience also plays a big role in Softball, and lately I have been questioning my own.

Example of Conscience Dilemmas:

1. Passing down a controversial league decision -  A team my team was playing a playoff game against couldn't field a team on Thursday after receiving 6 days notice that they were to play on that given date. They led the best of 3 series, 1 game to none, and game 2 was tied after 9 innings. The continuation and game 3 was scheduled for Thursday August 30th. No team will go to the Championship on a forfeit in this scenario, but at the same time the team in question had to respect the league. After deep thought, I have decided to give them a forfeit for the Game 2 continuation and reschedule game 3. This drama Sucks, but my conscious tells me it was the right thing to do.
2. Arguing With Umpires - I gone on some really bad tirades against umpires lately. Some justified. Some maybe not. Either way I lost it. My conscience is torn on this. There has to be more level handedness. Yelling like a lunatic can only go so far.
3. Inwood - 2 Leagues - Mornings and Afternoon.Mornings are fun. Afternoon cut-throat. It's not easy telling someone you should play in this league rather than the other. My conscience tells me to at least try b/c it is responsible.
4. Managing - Show loyalty or go with a better but less reliable player. I want to win but at what cost?
5. Fighting - I've been involved in my share of battles this year. Teammates, opponents, managers, fans, commissioners, etc. Some physical, some verbal, some psychological.  I probably can cut myself slack for some situations, but if the same person is involved in incident after incident, it can't always be the other sides fault.  I can't always blame the other side of the mirror. I have to take responsibility. This is embarrassing. 40 Year old man acting like a toddler and getting into multiple confrontations. My conscience tells me Passion is precious, but I really need to step back and think about why I really play the game and write this blog.  Violence is never the solution.

I may not have Jiminy in my life but I have some really good source of Conscience in my life

 

 

it's time I make them a bit more proud and keep their good conscience with me more often. Otherwise it is all just wasted spirit/talent, and like the quote from "Bronx tale", nothing is worse than that.