Built to Win

On Sunday afternoons during the months of September through January, odds are, someone you know is watching football. In fact, in the fall of 2015, twenty-six of the twenty-seven most-watched shows on television were football games. The one exception was the Republican primary, which was the thirteenth most-watched show over that time span. Football is, unquestionably, the king of all sports in America right now. One could argue that it is the most popular form of viewing entertainment, period.

A View from the Cheap Seats

In the middle of what to some could be considered poetic chaos, there is a disarray of hotel bookings, bus scheduling, vendor organization, food and beverage orders, and official players rosters yet to be released. All those are made by one man. I sat down with Jason Compton, General Manager of the Jackson Generals, who is now in his seventeenth season with the team. The Major League Baseball season has already begun, but the Generals begin on April 7.

Lessons From the Sidelines

We live in a critical society. Social media is mostly to blame for that, along with twenty-four-hour “news” networks and talk radio. Everyone has a voice whether they have anything worth saying or not. If you have a bad experience at a restaurant, Tweet about it. If your hotel bed isn’t as comfortable as you think it should be, grab your phone and give it two stars on Google. I don’t exempt myself from taking part in the reactionary culture in which we find ourselves.

Grizzlies Catch-Up: October 2015

Summer league is a solid indicator of which free agents, development league players, or rookies have the best chance of getting a bench spot during preseason or even regular season. This summer’s MVP for the Grizzlies was easily point guard Russ Smith, but Jordan Adams also performed extremely well. The Grizzlies won the 2015 Orlando Pro Summer League Championship against the Orlando Magic on an offbalance shot by Russ Smith during the second overtime of the final game.

Need and Be Needed

Connections in life are kind of a funny thing. When I think of the people who have influenced me in my past and whose teachings and values I subconsciously carry with me to this day, the difference in each of those people is quite striking. There are few common denominators between them. They range from passive to aggressive, from strong type A personalities to passive type B personalities, from men to women, and any other clichéd opposite I could choose to put in this description.