The Drive:
        I remember as a boy growing up, there was no bigger sporting event than the World Series. Seriously. Except maybe a boxing match—seriously! Wow, have times changed. The NFL clearly rules the roost, the NBA is back to being—almost unnoticed—-and baseball—I’m not sure how to categorize it. What happened? Well, let me take a shot. I think we’ve changed as a society. We simply don’t have time to focus on 162 games, then the playoffs. It’s a run and gun, text and email, go and go and go society. Baseball is slower game, with much study and consideration DURING the game. It’s not what life is today. Do you know what is?  The NFL!  Not the old, grind it out NFL. Today’s NFL. Rules favor offenses, passing, scoring, big plays. Up and down the field. Nonstop, three hours, over. A whole week to consider it, talk trash,  then bang—3 more intense hours. That’s life today. And that’s why the NFL rules. That and a good marketing strategy!
 
    The Fairway:
          The world of college athletics turned out to be a big veneer. What you see out front is not at all what lies behind it. I always thought that the governing body, the NCAA, had control over things. That institutions couldn’t join one conference, change its mind, then bolt…and so on….and so on. But they can. And they are. Over and over and over. I always thought there was some kind of higher power, group of powerful people at the big oak conference table, making sure things were done correctly. Morally. Yeah, right. That doesn’t exist in college sports, and I would venture to say it’s disappearing from our everyday lives as well.  So when Missouri decides, that will in turn, decide West Virginia’s fate, which may then in turn, decide Temple and Memphis’s fates…without a second thought. Instant gratification leagues, in a society which supports such behavior. And so on.

  The Green:
      1st and 10 has had quite a season so far, if I must say so myself. Thanks in large part to the content(great games, great drama!)...and our new producer—Whitney Law—and new director—Dave Ruffo—we’ve had consistently top knotch shows throughout the year. I will knock on wood(my head)—and keep luck on our side that the mysterious equipment bug doesn’t bite us anytime soon, and that we continue to roll towards another successful finish of the season—which culminates at the 1st and 10 Player of the Year banquet in December. It’s a special time—enjoy!

  The Jar:
      It’s at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.—-Emil Zatopek

Note: Emil is the runner I grew up trying to train like, and be like, along with Steve Prefontaine. In the 1952 Olympic games in Helsinki, he won the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and marathon in the same Olympics. It was his first ever marathon, and he decided to run it at the last minute.