Sisyphus and The Way I See It #76

According to a Starbucks’ cup that I read recently:

“The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating -- in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around a rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.”

On the subject of the Greek myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus wrote:

“Je laisse Sisyphe au bas de la montagne! On retrouve toujours son fardeau. Mais Sisyphe enseigne la fidélité supérieure qui nie les dieux et soulève les rochers. Lui aussi que tout est bien. Cet univers désormais sans maître ne lui paraît ni futile. Chacun des grains de cetter pierre, chaque éclat minéral de cetter montagne pleine de nuit, à lui seul forme un monde. La lute elle-même vers les sommets suffit à remplir un cœur d’homme. Il faut imaginer Sisyphe heureux.”

So who’s right? The coffee shop or the Nobel prize winner? Qui dit la verité? Both messages are very similar, yet one is likely to garner more attention. Based on how our society has been watered down, it seems more people pay attention to the international conglomerate. Rather than contemplate Camus’ essays, they read a partially developed statement, think for as longs as it takes to finish the cup, and believe that they are making a difference.

Sisyphus commits to pushing the rock up a mountain so others won’t die: a self-less act. It seems that he has no alternatives, as he has committed to a life of endless toil. Yet he shouldn’t kill himself because he can still do better. He improves himself and is happy as a result.

There lies the problem with the coffee cup, it doesn’t acknowledge that the physical and mental are not separate, but complementary. Self-evaluation and analysis by the internal critic is not tyrannical but nurturing.  Commitment on the basis of somatic urges cannot defeat the fear of failure. It remains in any domain where the participant cares about the outcome. Understanding and managing the fear is the only way to control it.

“A la fin d’une vie, l’homme s’aperçoit qu’il a passé des années à s’assurer d’une seule vérité.”

If Sisyphus was merely present on the hill and pushed the stone up casually, he would still demonstrate commitment yet it is uncertain whether he would be happy. Only by defeating obstacles on a daily basis , intellectually, and overcoming absurdity will he guarantee personal satisfaction.

What I Learned this Summer, Part III

Earlier, I wrote about trying to learn as much as possible from other sports. According to a moderately recent study, the skills and attributes that volleyball coaches believe are important to success are not necessarily those that determine the winning team during each match. For whatever reason, the coaches put more value on physical attributes and experience when victory was actually primarily determined by the ability to pass the ball, agility to change direction, and shoulder flexibility (Marey, Boleach, Mayhew, & McDole, 1991, p. 163). This is not merely an indictment of volleyball coaches but an advisory that coaches of all sports need to be mindful of their assessment techniques.

Scotty Bowman: A Life in Hockey is an awful book. The writing is simplistic, contradictory at times, and there are bizarre spelling mistakes. The book does not follow a linear timeline. I think the life of Scotty Bowman would be an interesting topic for a book but this is the literal example of poor execution. During his coaching stints with St. Louis, Montreal, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, Bowman experienced plenty of success but some failures. He was characterized as a manipulative personality who employed ingenious hockey strategies.

His mistakes with Buffalo and St. Louis largely stemmed from a lack of patience. He would trade a player because of a minor gripe and often didn’t receive proper value in return. His success came in Montreal and Detroit when strong general managers such as Sam Pollock and Jimmy Devellano refused his trade suggestions. Even Bowman acknowledged this fact when he said how he “has more experience, more patience,” a development which allowed him to win nine Stanley Cups.

Inner Skiing by W. Timothy Gallwey and Robert Kriegel contains good mental training tips and delves into the topic of Tachypsychia while skiing. The high speeds and panoramic views create a mental state where one feels totally at one with the mountains. Gallwey and Kriegel devote a good part of the book to being sensitive and observant. They feel that it is important to remember how a particular skill feels, especially when done correctly. They write about appreciating the environment, using all five senses, and getting as much feedback as possible. Awareness increases control.

A memorable chapter described how the best self-image when attempting to improve oneself is no self-image at all. The authors feel that an open mind has no limits and allows one to reach their potential. A skier may fear increasing their speed or attacking more advanced hills. They can dispel their fear by analyzing the perceived dangers and understanding what they are doing.

Mental fears (as opposed to physical fears which will release hormones such as adrenaline) lead to muscles tightening and infrequent breathing. The athlete may move stiffly or apply inappropriate technique adjustments in order to prevent injury. Each action takes more effort and endurance is reduced. Coaches must help athletes eliminate these fears in order to reach their peak potential.

Football Scouting Methods by Steve Belichick may not offer current football advice but it illustrates the importance of thorough thinking and detail. Bill Belichick’s father was a long-time assistant coach at Navy who revolutionized football scouting, enabling the service academy to achieve many upsets on the football field. Tips that still apply to any coach include self-scouting to eliminate predictable tendencies, asking outsiders to scout your team as a form of self-assessment, and evaluating the scouting report after the game has concluded. Belichick believed that a coach should keep good written records of each players’ skill level and what strategies were successful or required improvement over the years.

On his scouting reports, Mike Krzyzewski has a spot for “Our Offence vs. Their Defence” and “Our Defence vs. Their Offence” to remind himself of the key points for each games and anticipate what adjustments might be made during games.


Source: Marey, S., Boleach, L. W., Mayhew, J. L., & McDole, S. (1991). Determination of player potential in volleyball. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness , 31 (2), 161-4.

What I Learned this Summer, Part I

Earlier, I described a desire to become a more empathic leader. I hoped to become better at building relationships with other coaches, players, and people in general. I endeavoured to become more sensitive as to what others were feeling and discover how I can help student-athletes on and off the court and inside and outside the classroom. To do so, I read a couple of books which described examples of excellent relationships that resulted in personal development and basketball championships: Red and Me and The Gold Standard.

Bill Russell’s tribute to his mentor Red Auerbach was a quick read that contained several amusing anecdotes. The two worked well together was that Auerbach was tolerant of Russell’s idiosyncrasies because he performed on the court. Auerbach respected all of his players equally but treated them differently, according to their needs and wants. The coach may have a stern image, but he was always open to feedback from others and willing to take suggestions from players.

Russell did not fit the mold of a traditional Association centre but Auerbach did not try to change him; he adapted the Celtics’ systems to suit Russell’s strengths. Likewise, when Bob Cousy arrived in Boston, Auerbach did not curtail his extravagant ballhandling and fancy passes; so long as the ball got to the right person at the right time, Auerbach didn’t care how it got there. Throughout his career as a coach and a general manager, Auerbach never became set in his ways: he perceived how things were changing around him and adjusted his philosophy accordingly.

Mike Krzyzewski talks about taking the time to understand the situation and the people involved (whether it’s the superstars who comprised the Redeem Team, international basketball, or possible opponents). One of the reasons that he titled his book “The Gold Standard” is because he chose not to have “rules” for the basketball team but rather “standards” that the team would live up to, like playing hard every shift, being on time, and representing the United States with pride. He had spoke to some of the team leaders (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Jason Kidd) to get their suggestions and turned this support into buy-in for the entire team.

A lot of Krzyzewski’s coaching was done on a one-on-one basis. He didn’t hesitate to ask players what they wanted but at certain points during the two year quest for Olympic Gold, he put his foot down and told the team that they were not living up to their standards. Also, Krzyzewski relied on the entire team staff, ranging from assistant coaches to trainers to help sense the mood of the team.

A coaching strategy that I employed with Ontario Basketball’s Elite Development Program over the summer was to try and debrief players as soon as they came off the court. This became an opportunity to provide more personal feedback and also learn more about what each player was thinking and feeling at the time.

What I Hope to Learn this Summer, Part III

The new Roger Federer - the one who makes mistakes, occasionally fails, and realizes his limitations - is much more interesting than the old one. Last year’s Wimbledon between Federer and Nadal featured superior tennis but this year’s match between Federer and Andy Roddick was equally as tense.

To complete the French Open-Wimbledon double, Federer needed to honestly re-evaluate his game in order to improve it. At Roland Garros, his improved ability to slide on the baseline was paired with a new drop shot; at the All England Club he was forced to serve impeccably and persevere as his best shots were foiled.

Federer defeated Roddick because he knows how to overcome adversity and change. On the bright side, Roddick is finally a threat to win Grand Slams again because he has evolved his game to become more versatile. Increased mental and physical fitness also helps his cause.

The development of Federer and Roddick over recent months signifies that no athlete should ever stop improving. When the opportunity to increase their level of physical skill passes, an athlete can work on the mental side of the game.

Self-actualization demands continuous learning and I endeavour to learn more from other sports over the summer. There are many excellent resources and it is simply a matter of locating them, reflecting, and adapting them to the appropriate sport.

Managing My Life by Alex Ferguson another example of a thoughtful and persistent triumph. The Manchester United manager experienced a mixed bag of success and failure as a player and rose through the coaching ranks steadily. He was almost sacked as manager at Old Traffold a couple of times but persisted and attained the level of elite achievement where he resides currently.

In his mind, one of the integral components of his philosophy is his tendency to deconstruct every failure and learn what could be done better. Another tenant is the belief that no player, manager, or club should be satisfied with less than their best. Ferguson’s coaching career is forty years of learning from masters, treating others how he would want to be treated (sometimes a professional, sometimes a person), and continually moving forwards. He is a role model for all sorts of coaches and managers. Even his offensive strategy for soccer, based on rhythm and ball possession, contains elements that could influence a basketball coach.

Ferguson’s work the most eloquent book about sport that I have read. It shatters the stereotype that jocks must be dumb and challenges other athletes and coaches to do better. There is never any reason not to communicate in a dignified and respectful fashion.

I am also scheduled to read Scotty Bowman: A Life in Hockey, Inner Skiing by W. Timothy Gallwey and Robert Kriegel, and Football Scouting Methods by Steve Belichick because they emphasize sound coaching, mental training, and game preparation respectively. In the month of August, when I work on Task 4: Nutrition and other units at the National Coaching Institute, I hope to base my work on a theme such as “What Basketball Can Learn from Other Sports.”

What I Hope to Learn this Summer, Part II

Teaching ex tempore, incorporating current events, finding stories of local interest, and attempting to follow student trends in order to make them part of the course enhance my teaching style but I feel that I can do better. I really want to create lessons that are significant for the class and meet their needs, hopefully engendering the same enthusiasm for marketing and finance that I have. I want to discuss major issues and make students stop to think.

During the spring, I read No Logo by Naomi Klein. I think that it can be a good resource for both high school and post-secondary marketing instructors. To me, the book is meaningful because it advances issues initially raised by legends of the field like Theodore Levitt but illustrates the argument with examples that students can relate to. The publication date on some articles sometimes causes students to tune out so for that reason alone, excerpts from Klein’s exposé are more accessible.

(Obviously, globalization is one of a litany of pertinent issues in the field of marketing.)

In 1972, Al Ries and Jack Trout authored a paper entitled “The Positioning Era Cometh”; in 2000 Klein published her book. Both works - and countless others - describe brand dominance, beginning with the advent of the television age and continuing until today’s age of increased communication and information, and its effects on consumers. Ries and Trout look forward several decades whereas Klein recounts recent marketing history and analyzes what consumers should do next. Levitt’s prescient article about Globalization discusses how global companies will overtake the neighbourhood store and what will happen to local economy, although he is not as austere as Klein.

Once brands overtake products - from shoes and clothes to phones and communication to schools and politicians - and image supersedes quality, modern life bursts at the seams with noise. The public space is imbued with logos, conversation littered with slogans. Sometimes I feel that we don

I don’t think that we ask enough questions. What is the point of education aside from providing a critical framework to analyze the reasoning behind actions? The actual fundamentals of globalization - importing, manufacturing, transporting, storing products - are soon forgotten but the trend affects the lives of students on a daily basis. I want to imbue the marketing course with significance, inspiring inquisitiveness.

It’s like asking a student why they bought a gold-coloured Cavaliers baseball hat: did they buy it because New Era makes the most durable and comfortable hats on the market or because they think LeBron James is cool? Or it may be merely because Chris Brown wore it in a photo posted on TMZ. I don’t care either way but I hope they understand why they made the decision.

If it’s possible to delve that deeply into an subject these days...

I have far fewer answers to my problem than I would like and I hope to gain some insight by reading, studying, and learning from others at an OISE/UT Additional Qualifications course during the month of July.

What I Hope to Learn this Summer, Part I

I hope to improve my ability to deal with people and egos, to better motivate student-athletes and demonstrate more empathic leadership. I recently read Competitive Fire by Michael Clarkson and learnt many facts that I hope to apply in the coming year. We often discuss how it seems that teenagers have a “fight or flight” mentality but there is a scientific basis to the argument. Under pressure, the brain releases hormones, such as adrenaline or noradrenaline, that can cause aggressiveness, increase feelings of fear, and inspire the body to perform faster, higher, or stronger.

All people, including athletes, need to manage these feelings. Teenagers at school or on the court may be sensing this stress for the first time. It is up to coaches to transform aggressiveness into confidence and fear and tension into increased focus. Some players need to be reminded of a comfort zone, such as the gym where they had fun as a child. Others need a combination of assurance and encouragement so that they channel their urge to defend their ego in a positive direction. It may be necessary to put the sport or evaluation into perspective so fear of failure is not catastrophic. Mental sets at the beginning of class or practice can help a group of student-athletes develop their ability to focus or one-on-one discussions afterwards can give an individual the boost they need to get through the day. Or it may be necessary to simulate game conditions in practice and help players visualize a successful performance.

The ideal of Tachypsychia is very intriguing. During a competitive situation, the brain releases hormones which allow the person to perceive more information. This creates the impression that time has slowed down, a player can see gaps in the defence, or that the ball has entered the net a moment before it actually does. Inducing that feeling - and handling it in a calm manner - is a challenge for a coach.

Visualizing that a big game is just another pick-up game back home is similar to thinking that the audience for a big PowerPoint presentation is comprised of friends and family. Focusing intently on a foul shot and ignoring distractions is similar to excelling on a final exam. That is why I want to help others handle stress better.

There are so many different strategies to maximize the affects of arousal that a coach may need to treat every player differently or a teacher may need to attempt multiple techniques with different groups of students. Sensing what is appropriate for each occasional is an aptitude that I wish to improve over the next two months. In addition to my own personal reflection, I hope to read Red and Me and The Gold Standard. The former is an account of the unique relationship between a superstar and an elite coach (Bill Russell and Red Auerbach) and the latter is the story of a team comprised of multiple egos under extreme pressure (the 2008 United States “Redeem Team.”

Why We Make Mistakes

Why We Make Mistakes provides anecdotal evidence about why humans repeatedly commit the same common errors. The books is written like a concise summary of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink and Outliers books that imparts more information in less words.

The book outlines countless ways that someone can make a bad decision, from drivers to surgeons. There is no universal remedy to reduce blunders but overconfidence and a failure to understand and make use of feedback were consistent among multiple missteps. The old adage repeated by Winston Churchill seems to be appropriate: “Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.”

Building upon Gladwell’s books, author Joe Hallinan writes that it is not simply enough to complete 10,000 hours of an activity, one must intelligently analyze their performance and learn what could be improved. When acting quickly, humans should be aware that brains process information according to previously established paradigms: we see what we expect to see. Keeping an open mind and adjusting to the situation can reduce oversights.

The Green Bay Packers

Instant Replay by Jerry Kramer and Run to Daylight by Vince Lombardi helped popularize the sport novel - a famous author partnering with an athlete or coach to bring fans into the locker room - whereas Vince by Michael O’Brien is a regular biography that benefited from popularity of those other works. Lombardi’s report of a week during the regular season is the most succinct and provides the best coaching advise and Kramer’s account presents the viewpoint of a thoughtful player throughout a championship season. On the other hand, O’Brien’s cursory biography does not introduce any new information or anecdotes that are not available elsewhere. Three ideas stand out after reading these three books about the Packers’ dynasty in the 1960s.

Building Relationships: Vince Lomardi is much more sympathetic than his grizzled and hardened public image would suggest. After Paul Hornung was placed on waivers and claimed by the expansion New Orleans Saints, Lombardi showed immense regret, balancing his desire to make the right move for the team by exposing the aging running back with his feelings for the man. The coach led the toughest training camp in the N.F.L. but also insisted upon daily team building activities, some as basic as singing during team dinners.

Flexibility: One of Lombardi’s favourite expressions was “Run to Daylight,” signifying that the backs and receivers did not run set routes but took advantage of the opportunities presented by the defence. “Run to Daylight” could also serve as one of the integral tenet’s of basketball’s motion offence.

Perspective: Jerry Kramer, the Hall of Fame guard, spoke about how the team peaked for critical games and took minor setbacks in stride. Although the season was not divided into macrocycles, peak and taper periods were included. The team members shared a very balanced outlook and common goals. The veteran team employed chemistry, communication, intelligence, and teamwork to defeat younger, more athletic, and bolder teams.

On Snooker

I was positively uncertain about the content of this tiny tome when I purchased it at the used book store. Reading the synopsis on the reverse, I gathered that Mordecair Richler was an avid fan of the game who would include anecdotes from throughout his life. Perhaps the author would delve into the kinship between the literati and elite athletes or outline the importance of competition in a young man’s life. Perhaps he admired a professional athlete from afar or found similarities between creativity on paper and canvas and creativity on felt (and by extension grass or hardwood since certain skills permeate all sports). I bought On Snooker anyways because I knew only one fact about the volume: that it would be well-written.

Accomplished author Richler weaves a myriad of player profiles together to describe the typical snooker athlete. Despite the formal nature of the sport, the black-tie attire, and the complex rules, snooker players face as much pressure as any other athlete. The sport possesses such a fine margin of error that minute miscues can trigger a run by the opponent and the end of match. Each frame begins with the same setup and players aim to make a similar sequence of shots. However, matches are always unique, a characteristic attributable to the mental not the physical aspect of snooker. Complete concentration during competition and practice is required for success.

Snooker players seem to have problems with gambling and substance abuse. Irrespective of the nature of the match, players must be able to leave the outcome on the table and move on. The skill level has risen so dramatically that the life of a champion snooker player is almost as short as an N.F.L. running back.

Lastly, Richler ruminates about the role sport plays in life. Even the most erudite character can take pleasure by supporting the Montreal Canadiens or boxing from Madison Square Garden. For many, it’s necessary to enter the playing field and prove their abilities to themselves, more than anyone else.

ESPN: The Uncensored Story

Michael Freeman’s book about the birth of ESPN offers many lessons about entrepreneurship and marketing, largely focused on persistence and the benefits of competition. Many people turned down the concept of a 24/7 sports network yet the founder Bill Rasmussen kept pushing because he believed that he had a good idea. The networks at the time were extremely myopic in their vision for the future of television which permitted cable networks like ESPN, CNN, and HBO to steal countless viewers, talent, and advertising revenue.

Whilst the new blue-chip brand’s humble beginnings were fascinating, the amount of alcoholism, sexual harassment, gambling, and drug abuse were quite dismaying. It goes to show, I suppose, that workplace stress can really take a toll and that it is important to support employees. According to one anecdote, employees who had been drinking in the studio and were forced to continue the habit outside by the satellite dishes only stopped because a rumour spread that drinking near the dishes could cause infertility.

ESPN Senior V.P. and Executive Editor changed a great deal in the company to keep it relevant and innovative and make it more professional. The company is hardly perfect but it identified a target market and catered to it to become a worldwide success. The book was entertaining at times but boring during other chapters. ESPN: The Uncensored Story would have benefited from a more concise writing style, but it was worth the $5.99 at BMV Books.

Paradigm Shifts

Recently I read War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest and Coach: The Life of Paul “Bear” Bryant. The books chronicled three iconic college football coaches during a time when their profession and the world around them were evolving at breakneck speed. The first book is about the Hundred Yard War and how the coaches reacted to each other and unrest on their respective campuses; the second book focuses on Bear Bryant’s life, especially his time in Tuscaloosa.

Thomas Kuhn, in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions talks about how a paradigm - a set of rules and structures - can limit those who make use of it. When scientists encounter information outside their paradigm, they are likely to modify it to suit their needs or ignore it outright.

Hayes, Schembechler, and Bryant coached for many seasons and developed their own philosophies and paradigms regarding coaching. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, players changed along with football strategy. Hayes continued to manage his team with an iron fist while emphasizing defence and the running game, but Schembechler and Bryant kept an open mind an adapted themselves to the new situation. Both the Michigan and Alabama loosened team discipline and made use of new offensive strategies to remain relevant.

All three of the coaches made mistakes earlier in their careers by overtraining their teams prior to critical bowl games - which they lost as a result of fatigue - but Schembecher and Bryant were more perceptive and less likely to repeat their mistakes like Hayes did over the years. At the end of War As They Knew It (and his career), the Ohio State coach was left wondering what was wrong with his campus and his country but his counterparts at Michigan and Alabama were more likely to look inwards and change themselves to keep pace.

All three coaches intimidated their assistant coaches over the years and used their stature as a way to bully younger staff members. Bear Bryant had the right idea about making up his staff, saying: “A lot of coaches are guilty of surrounding themselves with the same old same old. But I never hire a coach unless he knows something about the game that I don’t.” Towards the end of his career, Bryant would delegate a great deal to staff members, partially because of his failing health but also because he trusted his assistants immensely. Hayes may have let his standards slide during his last few years in Columbus but Bryant never did. Throughout his tenure, coaches and players alike dreaded the ominous clanking of the head coach’s tower, meaning that he was coming down from his observation post to give someone a tongue lashing.

"This Is Russia”

Dave King wrote King of Russia during the 2004-05 season when he coached Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Super League. The diary contrasts the professional hockey systems in Russia and North America and records observations about daily life in Russia. In post-Communist Russia, the country is modernizing from Moscow outwards but it is not quite there. Despite all best intentions, transportation and distributions quandaries occasionally arise and corruption remains a problem. King encounters some bizarre situations where it is best not to ask questions because “this is Russia.” Unfortunately, King is also able to chronicle how the Russian economy is distilling into two classes: the very rich and the destitute (a problem occurring in other cities and countries, including Toronto).

King often admires the work ethic of players at all levels of the club program (echoing Gladwell’s 10,000 horus theory) and the Russian/Soviet ability to mesh different sport tactics and training methods together in order to better their teams (Lloyd Percival’s The Hockey Handbook receives a shout-out). Russian players work on physical conditioning (especially quadriceps muscles) from a very young age and skill is developed over thousands of repetitions. An hour practice might be divided into only three drills. Despite this work ethic, King finds that the team finally hits its stride after Russians with N.H.L. experience model the way and lead by example on the ice.

Questions abound at first about how the Canadian will survive in the Super League but King successfully introduces North American ideas such as power-plays and penalty killing systems and line match-ups. Even in the K-League there is not a single answer to every problem.

Outliers

Like Blink and The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell weaves a number of seemingly unrelated pieces of anecdotal evidence to create his latest work Outliers. The fundamental premise of the book is that conventional wisdom about success is flawed: factors publically praised are irrelevant and success or failure can be determined by a few core factors.

Gladwell raises a salient point that many of athletic and academic cut-off dates favour those born early in the year. Basketball Ontario and other organizations have realized this and have implemented strategies to provide more coaching for those born late in the year and recognize reliable indicators of talent not based on age. The author also mentions that nobody reaches a gifted level unless they put in ten thousand hours of practice. Then Gladwell talks about the nebulous nature of opportunity and how many diligent workers never receive a key chance to succeed.

The final half of the book includes a half-baked chapter about how Southerners may have short tempers and self-control may be passed down through the family like speech tendencies. Apparently, communication errors cause most plane crashes and the clarity in the relationship between supervisor and subordinate depends on culture. Lastly, it is argued that Asians perform better at math because of a more logical naming system for their digits and more hours of schooling.

Some of these points seem sensible when explained, even though they may be superficially counterintuitive. The problem with picking evidence in order to create an entertaining, quirky book is that sample size is very small. Gladwell interviews a partner at the firm who is his literary agent; many of the examples are not arbitrarily selected. The first hundred pages are more solid than what follows - which is highly inconsistent - and relevant for coaches and player development. The rest of the book is largely for entertainment only and does not absolutely prove the thesis it set out to establish.

Common Sense

Common Sense begins with the opinion that representative democracy is simply the extension of the Welch House meeting where all residents would convene to determine matters of utmost importance. This small meeting expands to become the Trinity College Meeting, which becomes the Joint College Meeting. Finally, the population becomes so large that it is impractical for everyone to convene in one place at a single time and individual constituencies elect one of their own to represent them.

If the representative is typical of the citizens, he will faithfully advance their interests -- because they are his interests. If the representative is not cut from the same cloth as his electors, he will not be in touch with their needs and wants.

So far, Barack Obama has been a very charismatic candidate and present: a seemingly regular person doing an important job who believes that family comes first, enjoys playing sports, and advocates a transparent administration. The media has showered the new president and his family, news headlines have focused more on moving into the White House and inauguration dresses rather than the issues of the first 100 days. In creating a new celebrity family, society has ignored the fact that the two year electoral cycle has created a country where only a select few possess the wherewithal to contest high office.

Obama may inspire a paradigm shift in politics and new constructive solutions but for the moment he is a link a chain of elite presidents that has included Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. It seems as if the last representative to honestly personify the electorate was Ransom Stoddard.

In his inaugural address, Obama meant to quote George Washington but usurped the words of Thomas Paine instead: “Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it.” Paine wrote that account in his work: The American Crisis; In Common Sense, he logically outlines a case for separation from England, detailing how each citizen could gain.

Whilst discussing the potential economy of the new country, Paine describes how the thirteen colonies could make hundreds of ships - in order to make war or for sale - foreshadowing the United States reliance on the military-industry complex (I also read Hugh Laurie’s The Gun Seller recently; it was fair but much less amusing than A Bit of Fry and Laurie). Paine goes on to say that “America doth not yet know what opulence is.” The philosopher criticizes the divide between rick and poor yet has no idea of the absurdity of the size the gap will grow to. Common Sense claims that Americans fight neither for revenge or conquest.

Paine proceeds to address an appendix to the Quakers, advocating peace and the separation of church and state. My edition included a chapter entitled Agrarian Justice, which argued for a sort of natural type of justice without property ownership. Paine’s intent was to raise the standard of living of every citizen, not just the richest landowners. Perhaps the new administration will finally make good on that promise of equality.

Understanding Media

Recently, CNN has revamped the format of their programmes to include more subtitles. Immediately after a guest says something, it is posted in the bar at the bottom of the screen. According to Marshall McLuhan in Understanding Media, this will turn television into a slightly cooler medium and require greater audience participation to keep up with the addition information that they are offered. Highlighting the key point - along with the visual medium - will increase audience retention of that specific information relative to a written article or radio broadcast. However, the phrases are so superficial and pedantic that the viewer will learn nothing; Mr. McLuhan would predict that the audience won’t pay as much attention to the speaker explaining the details and focus on keeping up with the statements on screen.

While it makes a great number of predictions about media as an extension of man’s self, the book is a little long. Some anecdotal evidence is interesting but esoteric and not germane to McLuhan’s argument. On the other hand, the work is very thorough and breaks down many components of daily life, ranging from radio and telephone to games, automobiles, and weapons.

The seminal argument is that it’s not what is on the news that that is important, but how the fact that people are communicating in new ways which is changing how modern life is structured. What becomes unfortunate is that the book (a hot medium) will likely scare away many prospective readers who have been conditioned to receive their information in little bunches as opposed to seeking it out and processing it themselves. So McLuhan may put forth correct theories but less and less people will be aware of them and understanding the effect on their daily lives.

The Best and Brightest

“Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it,” according to George Santayana. According to David Halberstam’s book, The Best and the Brightest - which exposes how the Kennedy and Johnson cabinets of the 1960s handled Vietnam - it may not be so simple. John F. Kennedy’s administration had lofty goals: some of the most educated men in the country sought to redefine the role of the United States on the world stage. Some sought to curtail the arms race, others sought to establish a new, modern “Great Society” back home. Despite their best intentions and their amazingly bright minds, they failed miserably. Although the scholars had many good ideas, they lacked the aptitudes to implement them properly.

“The charts look good,” said Walt Rostow, National Security Advisor to Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1967. Yet despite that claim, the situation in Vietnam was worsening. Those making decisions didn’t have the proper statistics and consequently made incorrect choices. Many Far East experts had been purged from the State department and few individuals with experience in Southeast Asia remained to analyze the events.

Some information was false due to incompetence, other information ignored because decisions makers didn’t want to acknowledge what was happening. The United States viewed the war quantitively (believing their shear numbers advantage would win), rather than qualitively (and acknowledge that the Viet Cong was employing a different type of warfare). Some information was even falsified in order to avoid excessive media coverage. Ironically, when Johnson’s team lied about the true cost of the war, it wasn’t that the country couldn’t afford the higher figure but the fact that he had lie that helped bring him down.

“He’s my intellectual,” said Johnson about Rostow. Johnson was somewhat paranoid about Kennedy’s appointees and how they treated him. Advisors were hired based on the opinions, not their ability to understand a situation. Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense, was fired because he opposed an escalation of the bombing in North Vietnam. Aides were reluctant to bring their superiors information that might seem negative or pessimistic.

Throughout the administration, there was widespread refusal to admit wrong and accept weaknesses. Once the conflict escalated, the United States felt reluctant to withdraw because they didn’t want the world to think they were conceding defeat to a Communist country. There was also a reluctance to change and alter a course of action once it had been understand.

To me, a surprising fact was that many of the cabinet came from families that had advised the president a generation before (and some families continued to advise a generation later). Although they claimed not to be political, personal grudges and mistrust permeated the administration.

“The only difference between the Kennedy assassination and mine is that I am alive and it has been more tortuous,” complained Johnson during the 1968 primary season. Halberstam has written a detailed history of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. The book covers how people achieved their positions at the time and what happened after it all fell apart. It was not one decision that led to the disaster in Vietnam but many small choices, some made repeatedly.

“All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds Awake to find that it was vanity; But the dreamers of day are dangerous men. That they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible,” recited T.E. Lawrence after World War I. The 660 page chronicle is incredibly fascinating and sometimes depressing. Any leader can learn from this text and improve themselves and their team. Any person could read this, or Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and wonder how the same mistakes are made over and over again, even today.

Sport in Canadian Society

The anthology, Sport in Canadian Society, contains theses about gender, violence, class, and other issues in sport. Although published in 1991, the chapter regarding media remains very salient. The authors believe that broadcasting sporting events can lead to a slippery slope wherein ratings influence telecasts in many ways. For example, a legitimate sport like skiing could be replaced by a dilatory exhibition like arm wrestling on A.B.C.’s Wide World of Sports or commentators might go beyond describing the action and actually create their own storylines. Competing for viewers, the networks distort the competition more and more, in order to create a product that appeals to more viewers.

Watching yesterday’s Raptors-Heat game, I couldn’t help but feel that the game was irrelevant. Spurious activities abounded: the mascot held up placards during play, Rasho Nesterovic was digitally inserted into Saturday Night Fever, and many fans missed the first few possessions of each quarter because they were getting food. Association basketball is tepid and rarely engaging for a full forty-eight minutes. So I watch the weak-side, the trail official, or the post play.

It’s difficult to focus on the weak-side because the Air Canada Centre is excessively loud. It’s much more serene to watch at home but given the attendance figures, Serenity Now is not what the fans want. Instead of educating spectators about the game, teams in the Association have changed the experience to create a noisy, abrasive, and overwhelming experience. For many people, the competition is secondary to whether they can take home a mediocre slice of pizza (too often after a mediocre game.)

Best Seat in the House

Spike Lee’s “basketball memoir”, Best Seat in the House, provides a unique perspective on the sport and frank commentary. Despite his film background, Lee is tremendously knowledgeable about basketball and how it is intertwined with New York City’s culture.

He has attended hundreds of games, from Game 7 of the 1970 Finals when Willis Reed emerged from the locker room to deflate and defeat the Lakers to Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Finals when the Knicks returned to the Finals for the first time in twenty years, and he describes the city’s euphoric reaction to these moments. Thousands of citizens, young and old, play ball - few succeeded in the Association while most few short - and they (wrongly) indentify themselves with the sport.

Lee comments on the role that psychology played in Michael Jordan’s career. Jordan always had an edge over his opponents, gained by repeatedly owning them on the court while befriending them off of it, and he would not hesitate to take advantage. To him, winning was paramount. Jeff Van Gundy called Jordan a “con-man” (and the Knicks were subsequently lit up [repeatedly]) but Lee admired this tactic, despite what Chicago did to the Knicks over the years.

Lee also discusses how General Managers do not pay enough attention to a free agent’s environment while tripping over each other in order to sign the latest superstar. Salaries are spiralling out of control but nobody asks “why is that guy so good?” or “who made that team so great?” in enough detail. Consequently, players like Larry Brown (1996 Dallas Cowboys) and Troy Glaus (2002 Anaheim Angels) sign huge deals and never duplicate their performance because the players who protected them are no longer around.

Legends were interviewed and said that modern players possess a sense of entitlement. George Gervin claimed that they wouldn’t take anyone’s advice, from college and professional coaches to former players, and few reached their potential. Others, like Bill Bradley, commented that overall skill and team play have disappeared as players become more one-dimensional. Michael Jordan never stopped listening to Dean Smith and Phil Jackson and continued to improve. The Association may have become bigger and better over the past twenty years but the level of play has not followed suit.

Cities

Recently, I read Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities and Jonathan Mahler’s Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning. Due to her residence in New York City for many years, Jacobs’ theory is illustrated by the real-life examples of politics, economics, and city planning recorded by Mahler in his study of 1977 Gotham.

Both authors display a strong understanding of history and the events that have led to the current state of New York City. Unfortunately, both possess a rambling writing style that creates many excruciating chapters. Editors have jobs because they do good work.

Written in the 1960s, Great American Cities is somewhat dated; a revision would have brought the ideas up to date. There are some prejudiced comments that no longer apply. For example, women don’t stay at home to supervise children and hiring women to work as elevator attendants in dangerous apartment buildings are somewhat dated. I don’t think that race necessarily equates with socio-economic factors but Jacobs’ treats the two as the same.

Many of Jacobs’ premises are illustrated by narrow examples, instead of studies. Jacobs’ talks about understanding a problem before trying to solve it and lists three types of problems: simplicity (two variables, X and Y), disorganized complexity (countless variables, solved with statistics and probabilities), and organized complexity (interconnected variables, such as life sciences and city planning). The third type requires people to think about problem-solving processes and observe how small clues demonstrate how the larger systems are operating.

Yet until the final chapter, Jacobs does not provide any examples of such complicated problems. Mahler does a far better job showing readers how Reggie Jackson and the New York Yankees inspired citizens, how Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post influenced the mayor’s election, and how neglect by police and politicians incited the rage and frustration of the riots in Harlem. Great American Cities often takes five pages to describe how street-lights should favour buses; Bronx is Burning jumps from issue to issue at a sometimes frenetic pace, which is welcome because it seems to symbolize the organized chaos of New York City.

Both show, sometimes comically, sometimes tragically, how too many levels of government botch projects because of comical misunderstandings. Jacobs recounts how several public housing buildings in New York City burned down because of a mix-up between three agencies delayed fire inspections by up to a year. Mahler writes about how incompetent unionized management at Consolidated Edison caused a huge blackout during the hottest time of the summer because they couldn’t make key decisions. Several cumbersome entities are shown as creating the economic justification for their existence, rather than serving the people who need their help.

Jance Jacobs believes that cities are complex functional systems of order, not chaos. Despite this sophistication, basic common sense and understanding can be employed to make things better. Diversity is important, cities are integral in raising children and modeling the way, people must have pride in their communities, roads should give preferences to transit and vehicles such as delivery trucks which stimulate economic growth. Don’t concentrate all the interesting cultural buildings downtown because then there will be no reason for people to stay in their own communities. Little things that would still work today despite the age of the book.

Whether a reader reaches the end of Great American Cities (I did, barely) or not, I think that there are two crucial points that can apply to any field. One, understand the crisis and create solutions that address specific problems. Two, “life attracts life” as Jane Jacobs, and whether using technology or cities or something else, people are still interacting with each other and it’s important to appreciate how this energy makes various places, events, institutions, traditions, buildings, etc. attractive and how it can’t be simply removed and relocated somewhere else.

Finally, I can start reading Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling.

Crashing the Borders

Harvey Araton, sports columnist at The New York Times argues a two-fold thesis in his latest basketball work, Crashing the Borders: How Basketball Won the World and Lost Its Soul at Home. On one hand, basketball has reached incredible heights of popularity world-wide, becoming second to soccer as international players take up the sport and professional leagues thrive across the glove. Meanwhile, basketball in the United States is deeply troubled.

Television ratings barely reach a third of the highs recorded by Michael Jordan in 1998 and less than a half of what “Magic” Johnson attained in 1980. Fundamental skills are lagging and poor performances abound in international competition. Most importantly, the game is wreaking social havoc across the country: taking advantage of poor communities, ignoring the education of student-athletes in order to promote the “Next One”, and casting aside skill development in favour of winning games.

As outlined by David Halberstam (and countless others), Michael Jordan was one in a million. Jordan ushered in a new age, pairing sport with media to sell products and earn unimaginable sums of money. Most people, including players, see only the riches. “Magic” Johnson has said repeatedly that what separated Jordan from his peers was his mastery of the fundamentals and intense competitive spirit, attributes lacked by many young American players. However, European teams practice six hours daily, a work ethic fuelled by the players’ desire that permits all team members - from guards to posts – to develop exceptional skills, especially shooting, ballhandling, and footwork.

In many ways, basketball is exemplifying trends that can be found throughout modern pop culture. Poor players are exploited and cast aside in a manner similar to what happened to Britney Spears at the 2007 M.T.V. Video Music Awards.

College isn’t for everyone and there are definite questions regarding whether student-athletes receive and education and learn critical life skills while playing collegiate basketball. Certainly, many don’t graduate. Araton quotes observers, like Spike Lee, who argue that the system is racist. To some degree, that is an easy answer which is also inflammatory. The system is definitely elitist, a description that I feel better explains a number of the book’s examples.

As summarized in Breaks of the Game and Playing of Keeps, a sense of entitlement has evolved among players who want the benefits of success without the requisite work. When the U.S. National Team falls short at the 2004 Olympics, excuses pervade the subsequent press conferences. Few take responsibility for their short-comings, blaming bad F.I.B.A. officiating instead of bad outside shooting.

This sentiment has fostered a lack of respect for the opponent, demonstrated by taunting behaviour at the 1994 World Championships or complete dismissal of George Karl’s scouting report of Argentina in 2002, arrogance that may have contributed to a very ignominious loss.

Araton hopes that the November 2004 brawl at the Palace of Aubrun Hills between the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, and fans is rock bottom, a nadir that inspires everyone begin improving themselves and the sport. There are a number of highlights in the Association today, showcasing the joys of the game and its ability to bring people together.

The Detroit Pistons - built by Joe Dumars as a true team of complementary players - defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 Finals, team defense overcoming a collection of individual stars. The San Antonio Spurs paying tribute to Red Holzman by excelling at both ends of the court, adept at all manners of play. The Phoenix Suns, led by the enthusiasm and creativity of Steve Nash, winning with great skill and also having fun.

Game of Shadows

Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, authors of Game of Shadows, make a compelling case concerning the use of performance enhancing substances in sport. Designer steroids (such as the Clear and the Cream) or Human Growth Hormone have powered numerous athletic achievements, from baseball’s home run chases to the 2000 Olympics. After reading the book, it is difficult to take any sporting record seriously.

Where is the line? Where do vitamins or natural products like flaxseed oil end and controlled substances like steroids or H.G.H. begin? Lance Armstrong’s decision to devote his entire career to train for the Tour de France gives him an advantage over competitors who contest a full cycling season. How is that different from Barry Bonds’ choice to sculpt his body so he can maximize his ability to hit for power?

Sport has been plagued by a lack of consistency and fluctuating standards. According to the authors, Jason Giambi was a B.A.L.C.O. regular yet Bud Selig has announced that he will not be penalized because he admitted his transgressions. Steroids were not banned in baseball before 2003, so what grounds remain to sanction Bonds? Perjury, arrogance, and rudeness?

Ty Cobb, Cap Anson, and numerous friends of former Veterans’ Committee members are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. There is no reason to retroactively place an asterisk besides Bonds’ records (besides, he passed baseball’s drug testing programme and won two M.V.P. Awards in 2003 and 2004).

Drug testing could be an exact science yet some athletes have created the impression that the results are vague and imprecise. Also, uniformity is lacking because of differences across the globe, such as those between W.A.D.A. and the U.S. Track & Field. Sport requires standards: to clearly outline what is permitted and what is not and to enforce the rules.

Professional sport is unwilling to seriously do this. First of all, professional sport is for entertainment only (i.e. N.B.A. officiating). Secondly, early deaths in wrestling have established that although there is a severe cost to anabolic steroid use, athletes are still willing to knowingly cheat in order to chase fleeting fame.

Until the murky situation is clarified - and Game of Shadows suggests that it’s far more pervasive than most people think - it isn’t possible or fair to prosecute athletes for doing things that were previously within the rules. Perhaps fish oil will be banned tomorrow; what a high performance athlete eats is radically different a “lay-person’s diet” that there is hardly any connection.

Where is the line? How do we know what athletic accomplishments are legitimate and which were aided by other substances? Why is pine tar treated differently than H.G.H.? Why can Mark McGwire have an exhibit in Cooperstown while Joe Jackson cannot? I think that sport should reboot all of the rules and proceed under a system where anything goes or ban all cheating.

Meditations & More Than Meets the Eye

Morpheus proves a pseudo-philosopher in the Matrix Trilogy, much like Marcus Aurelius in his collection of musings, Meditations, and Optimus Prime in the summer blockbuster flick, Transformers. The latter two offer interesting ideas but fall short of anything truly significant, like Tony Soprano quoting Sun-Tzu or mentioning Machiavelli to Dr. Melfi.

Marcus Aurelius repeats themes regarding man’s control over his own destiny and how the world and universe will carry on irrespective of one’s actions. One memorable point: “even if you burst with indignation they will still carry on regardless.” Another: the potential of the directing mind to speak loudly with actions, exhibiting values with deeds. Unfortunately, the reflections become somewhat repetitive as the Roman Emperor rambles.

Optimus Prime and the Autobots demonstrate how actions can speak louder than words, defending Earth from the insidious Decepticons. Prime’s retort to Megatron that humans “have the right to choose for themselves” is a perfect example of Choice Theory among people and robots.

Otherwise, the film offers a reasonable screenplay containing humourous moments and skilled actors in compelling roles. At other times, lazy convoluted writing, such as recurring representations of government stereotypes and too many plots, causes the film to drag as it approaches two and a half hours.

Polonius remarked that “brevity is the soul of wit,” an opinion somewhat lost in these two works, which could have been better had their creators decided to stroke their egos less. I’d rather read Meditations but in my ideal quality world, I’d prefer to watch Transformers written and directed by Marcus Aurelius. If such a film existed, I’m certain the witty banter among the characters would be unsurpassed.

The Blind Side

Michael Lewis’ latest novel, The Blind Side, is part-sport, part-economics, part-psychology, and part-sociology. While writing an article about his high school baseball coach that was published as the novella Coach, he re-connected with teammate Sean Tuohy, who was adopting a 6-5, 350 pound offensive lineman who played left guard for the Briarcrest Christian School football team that Tuohy coached. That student-athlete, Michael Oher, became a living example of how sport and money have become intertwined while the rich and poor and black and white have grown apart.

At the beginning of the book, Oher is a marginal student and physical freak living on a friend’s couch, wishing to be the next Michael Jordan. Lewis describes show teachers, tutors, adoptive family members, teammates, and friends help Oher learn about school, sport, and life. It’s an uphill struggle but the moral of the story - for teachers and coaches - is that it is critical to consider the learning styles of each student-athlete to ensure that they are doing their best. Oher is motivated and works hard but he doesn’t reach his potential until others identify his strengths and weaknesses and adapt practices and class.

Ultimately, everyone can make their own choice: LeBron James can choose whether to be aggressive and crown Rasheed Wallace or pass to Donyell Marshall, Michael Oher can live on the streets of Hurt Village or apply himself to get an N.C.A.A. Scholarship. Obstacles appear in the form of an investigation by the House along with academic and social challenges but Oher persists and achieves his goals.

As he did in Moneyball, Lewis describes how the commercialism of sport has created an artificial world separate from regular day-to-day life. Increased demand for throwing and other skills possessed by quarterbacks led to record salaries for the position, which trickled down to the positions that protect the passer. Increased popularity of college football led to greater pressure on coaches to win, an outcome that required more and more recruiting to realize, which is why an African-American high school student with below-average marks received numerous benefits that his peers did not.

Nevertheless, Michael Oher and those who supported him still had a choice: whether or not to work hard to succeed. They did and The Blind Side has a happy ending for this particular case.

Of Mice and Men and Method Acting

John Steinbeck’s East of Eden retells the story of Cain and Abel, depicted by the Trask family as generations move from Connecticut to Salinas, California. East of Eden was also adapted to the screen, directed by Elia Kazan and featuring James Dean.

Although Steinbeck and Kazan have achieved the peak of their professions - the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Academy Award for Best Direction, respectively - Kazan clearly outshines his literary counterpart in bringing the oft-repeated story to life.

Two main differences: Steinbeck challenges the Bible for length whereas Paul Osborn’s screenplay focuses on the last third of the novel and the book loses realism by starkly depicting the characters in black and white extremes as opposed to the film which permits the characters to exist in shades of grey.

James Dean’s immense skill, combined with his untimely demise, has made him a Hollywood icon and he carries this picture. If it were solely up to Steinbeck, one wouldn’t care much about Caleb Trask but Dean’s performance demands the sympathy of the audience.

The book was a chore, the film a joy. Kazan didn’t do much relative to his potential but his use of CinemaScope to make Eden (Salinas, California) come to life and askew camera angles to illustrate the turmoil felt by Caleb, the film’s protagonist. As usual, I don’t see why Dean’s character is the out of control scoundrel that others accuse him of being and feel that he’s one of the most rational people in the film.

Obviously, the parallels to the Old Testament foreshadow the miserable conclusion but there remains a positive message that any Choice Theorist would approve of. The film excludes the character of Lee, the Chinese servant who is more literature than any of the Anglophones who employ him, and consequently loses a large part of Steinbeck’s philosophical contemplation.

In the novel, when confronted with dozens of examples of good and evil distributed along a timeline nearly a century in length, an interlocutor like Lee is valued for serving as a bit of a philosopher for dummies and for curtailing the reader’s urge to throw the book out by imparting interesting ideas largely lacking throughout the text.

Nevertheless, whether audiences experienced East of Eden on film or as part of Oprah’s Book Club, everyone can get the message. “Timshel”, Adam Trask’s last words to his son Cal, a Hebrew excerpt from the Bible meaning “Thou mayest” or “you have a choice”, are applicable to any athlete, student, or person. In the end, you’re responsible for yourself, nothing is pre-ordained, and there’s always a chance to make things better.

A remake of the film is scheduled for release 2009. This production serves as an example of how there is always a choice to pull the plug on a project like this and preserve a perfectly good legacy.

I Never Had It Made

Jackie Robinson - who debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers fifty years ago - recounts his career in sport and business in his book, which he titled I Never Had It Made.

Although known primarily among the general public for his baseball career, Robinson devotes scarcely more than a third of the book to the topic, covering his experiences in politics, business, and raising a family. Two basic lessons that the reader can take away are how adversity affects all sorts of people and it’s important to preserve nonetheless and that it is never to late to change one’s course in life, if one is willing to work and learn.

Robinson’s exploits on the diamond show athletes from all sports the value of smart, aggressive play and a determined, competitive nature. Obviously, his role breaking baseball’s colour barrier and the dignified way that he handled himself is a well-known positive example.

Throughout the autobiography, Robinson isn’t afraid to admit occasions when he did not succeed and would have acted differently if he could choose again. Nobody’s perfect and the ability to self-evaluate and reflect, irrespective of success or failure, is an important skill in life and sport.

Individual and Team Honours

“I think back to the people who would drop by my office and say, ‘keep your head up’ when you’re feeling down. Publicly, when I was out and about, I kept my head up, you’re never going to show people that you’re struggling with things on the inside, but when you’re sitting in your office by yourself and you’ve lost three or four in a row and people come by and say kind words, you remember those times.”
- Sam Mitchell

The Toronto Raptors bested the New Jersey Nets 89-83 in Game 2 of a first-round series and Sam Mitchell claimed the Association’s Coach of the Year Award today. The former far supercedes the latter because it is the first playoff win in five seasons but Mitchell’s citation is also meaningful because it is significant of team effort and was earned because Toronto’s coaches and players kept their heads up and succeeded despite adversity, illustrating a number of clichéd verses written over the years.

April is the cruelest month. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and sorry he could not travel both, Sam Mitchell finds a thrill in bucking fate and riding down the endless odds. Il a mis son manteau de pluie, parce qu’il pleuvait, et il est parti sous la pluie. His is not to make reply, his is not to reason why.

Oh, all the places he’ll go. If he can dream - and not make dreams his master, if he can think - and not make thoughts his aim, if he can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same, his is the Earth and everything that’s in it.

“It is the eye which makes the horizon.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preparation and attitude are two of the few things that a coach or athlete can control on game day. I’ve found the offensive sets that the Raptors run to be completely anemic occasionally (Tuesday’s win was encouraging because it shows that Toronto can compete with New Jersey and won’t settle completely for a perimeter game if faced with a combination of a zone defence and crucial no-calls) and Mitchell’s brief experience means that he has much to learn about coaching.

H.A. Dorfman comments on the fine line between athletes who are focused on accomplishing goals and those worried by negative self-talk. Greg Maddux’s mantra is to “execute pitches”; Dorfman believes that pitchers should try to “control the strike zone” or “attack the hitter” because those who fret that “they don’t have good stuff” are doomed to be hit hard.

Likewise, Sam Mitchell has been instrumental in helping this younger team come together and reach their potential. Mitchell has modeled how to remain positive and self-evaluate correctly and the team has benefited from his perspective. Coaching in the Association is exceptionally difficult, as Bob Hill demonstrated when he got a pink slip as Mitchell was getting the Red Auerbach Award.

There is room for improvement throughout the organization and it’s possible that the best path through the yellow wood is the one that Sam Mitchell is traveling. Also, props to my 2007 Championship pick, the Phoenix Suns, for not repeating last year’s mistakes and running the Los Angeles Lakers off the court during the first two games of their first-round series.

Basketball Is My Life

Reading books by Red Holzman or Bob Cousy describe playground basketball before World War II and the early days of the Association with enough detail to provide one with an excellent appreciation of the game’s history.

Basketball Is My Life: Quaintly narrated in a conversational tone, Bob Cousy’s first literary effort was written after the Boston Celtics’ first Association title in 1957. The book lacks meaningful insight into basketball but the key theme is work ethic: in basketball, business, or life. Obviously, Cousy devoted significant time to the sport but basketball is not his life. Nevertheless, given the obstacles that he faced, his drive was as critical to his success as his skill.

Cousy - one of the greatest ballhandlers of all-time - struggled to make his high school team because of his size and experienced difficulties catching on with a professional team after his career at Holy Cross. Boston passed on Cousy in the draft and Tri-Cities traded him to Chicago which folded, allowing the Celtics to draw his name out of a hat in a dispersal draft.

He also experienced a number of failures in the business world before starting a successful sports camp. One chapter describes the trials and tribulations faced by the nascent N.B.A. Players’ Association -- initially the idea was opposed by both players and owners. Without the efforts of Cousy and his contemporaries, today’s players would not have the salaries and lifestyle that they do.

The Loud Last Roar: Cousy recounts his final game, Game 6 of the 1963 Association Finals vs. Los Angeles. The text is somewhat dated and not as memorable as his first book. The point guard makes several astute points about the importance of reading the defence and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of teammates.

After winning the championship in his final game, Cousy would coach at Boston College for six years successfully and would later coach the Cincinnati Royals franchise with inauspicious results, although he did originate a number of strategic tactics that are now commonplace, for example using timeouts to save possessions.

Three Lessons from Red Holzman

Red Holzman coached the New York Knicks during the 1970s, an era when the team won two Association titles. Knicks players included Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Willis Reed, and Earl Monroe - among others - and they were one of the first squads to utilize pressure defence throughout the entire game. The team is also fascinating because a number of very intelligent players executed a motion offence selflessly and because of Willis Reed’s comeback in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals. It seems like everyone on the team wrote books so naturally the coach has written four, of which I read two: Defense! Defense! and Red on Red.

One of the books’ most attractive traits is Holzman’s frank commentary, using real players and teams to describe real systems and situations. The realism enhances the books, which contain many intriguing coaching ideas, such as:

Using Film to Study the Opponents: Holzman was one of the first coaches to review tapes when scouting. Knicks coaches held private film study sessions with individual players and optional team sessions before games, often screening game tape in the locker room as players dressed. This proved to be very influential, as the role of technology in sports has increased exponentially since.

Holzman also made use of a scouting network, similar to what Red Auerbach did with the Celtics, to evaluate players. At the time, many coaches did not devote much time to scouting, a field that has become an entire industry today.

Handling Pressure: Holzman adopted a casual attitude when dealing with officials, the media, and other influences in the Association. “Final is final,” he would say when he explained how he would deal with a tough loss or a bad call. It’s not that he abandoned his team on the court or didn’t reflect upon games afterwards but he had played enough basketball over the years to know not to dwell on one particular moment.

Teaching Players to Think: The Knicks were fortunate to have many smart players, like Bradley, Reed, Jerry Lucas, and Dave DeBusschere who put a great deal of thought into their games. The coaches encouraged this by allowing players to make suggestions that were honestly considered. For example, after Willis Reed suffered a hip injury in Game 5 of the 1970 Finals, Bill Bradley proposed that New York use a 1-3-1 set with him in the pivot (perhaps inspired by Princeton) to draw Wilt Chamberlain away from the basket. The Knicks came back to win that game and the series.

The Knicks also structured their offence to allow for opportunities to read and so that players could use their mental skills in two-man and three-man situations. As a result of the unique collection of basketball I.Q., the seven players from the rotation and the coach of the 1972-73 Association champions have been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Reality Check

Stanley Kubrick died shortly after completing the final edit of Eyes Wide Shut, a modern adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s novella Traumnovelle. Both analyze the juxtaposition of dreams and reality, the conscious and the sub-conscious, differently. Schnitzler’s work lacks the sexuality that smolders throughout Kubrick’s film but the written word offers a medium to communicate all of the protagonist’s thoughts - expressed and repressed desires, future plans and regrets - accurately depicting how he is no different from any other person.

Eyes Wide Shut delves into what is real and what is not. Is Bill’s sequence of unsuccessful sexual adventures more real than Alice’s fantasies? Did any of the experiences actually occur? Bill (or Schnitzler’s Fridolin) says: “no dream is just a dream”; to some degree the film is a two and a half hour grey area.

Kubrick utilizes several common elements, such as the telephone or the doorbell, to interrupt the tension at critical times, as if to portray how the morning always disrupts dreams. Whatever manifests itself overnight, the real world always continues unabated.

There is the question about where does one reveal their true self, which neither work truly exposes. If one mismanages a six-point lead and calls two timeouts at inopportune times, does that make them likely to do so in the real world? Where can one draw the line? According to Kubrick and Schnitzler, such a line can’t exist. At least the two end-outs diagrammed will work in either subconscious or conscious thought.

Fridolin devotes extensive time to second thoughts and hypotheses that Bill does not. He is possibly a more realistic character as a result of that reflection. In Citizen Kane, Bernstein tells Thompson about he woman that he briefly glimpsed on a ferry sixty years previously, yet he has not gone more than a month since without thinking about her. So what the subconscious decides to keep and discard to often an arbitrary question that nobody can answer.

Go Up for Glory

Go Up for Glory - Bill Russell’s precursor to Second Wind (a frank and honest account of sport and life that I thoroughly enjoyed) and Russell Rules (a seemingly clichéd book about leadership that I hope to avoid as long as possible) - is a fascinating account of his youth and career with Red Auerbach’s Boston Celtics.

One particularly remarkable theme is the idea of an incredibly thin line between success and failure: choosing a collegiate scholarship instead of a job in a shipping year because of a chance encounter with a scout, focusing on the game of basketball skills instead of juvenile delinquency because a coach made Russell the sixteenth member or his fifteen player team.

This theme is exemplified by Russell’s account of the 1965 Eastern Conference Final seventh game. Leading Wilt Chamberlain’s 76ers 110-109, Russell simply needed to inbound the ball for the Celtics to run out the clock and win. However, the inbounds pass deflected off of one of the support wires connecting the basket to the ceiling of the Boston Garden and Philadelphia was awarded possession.

Russell fronted Chamberlain in the post, forcing Hal Greer to chose another target. John Havlicek rotated down and stole the inbounds pass, guaranteeing the Celtics a trip to the Association finals. Boston had gone for a comfortable position, to dire straits, back to victory in a matter of moments, all based on one or two inches.

Another popular concept with Russell is the desire to win. Russell has won two N.C.A.A. championships, eleven Association titles, and an Olympic Gold Medal. Everything that Russell, Auerbach or the rest of the Celtics did was designed to help win another title. Despite their serious goals, there was also a sense of humour in the Celtics’ locker room and this helped relieved the tension of a long season immensely.

Obviously, Auerbach also possessed a phenomenal ability to motivate the team with his intensity and his basketball knowledge enable him to able to meld a diverse group of players into a solid unit. Since every player accepted their role and stayed within it, the 1956-69 Boston Celtics were the definition of a successful team.

Three Lessons from Joe Lapchick

Lapchick chronicles the life of Hall of Famer Joe Lapchick, who links the barnstorming Original Celtics to the explosion of college basketball in New York City and Madison Square Garden to the New York Knicks and the origins of the Association to the introduction of television to the sport. Despite the fact that Lapchick last coached St. John’s when the teams were known as the Redmen - as opposed to the Red Storm - the book remains relevant to today’s player and coach.

Placing Value in People: Many commented that Joe Lapchick was not the most technically astute coach but coaches such as Bob Knight applauded his skill in handling people and situations. Former players still remember how Lapchick demonstrated confidence in their abilities. His gestures may have been small but the thoughtfulness behind them was encouraging and memorable.

Lapchick was also one of the first coaches to delegate significant duties to the assistant coaches, a strategy now employed throughout college basketball. Assistant coach Lou Carnesecca was allocated responsibilities concerning defence and scouting; later he succeeded Lapchick as Head Coach at St. John’s and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Character: Lapchick maintained his sense of fairness irrespective of the circumstances. Once, during the infancy of the Association, after home-town officials missed an obvious goaltending violation by the Knicks, he stopped the game and told the scorer to add two points to the opponents’ tally.

He was also a key part of the integration of basketball, likely due to the respect engendered by the rivalry between the Original Celtics and the New York Rens. Lapchick and Ned Irish signed Sweetwater Clifton from the Harlem Globetrotters and persuaded other teams to do likewise.

Development of the Game: Joe Lapchick, Nat Holman, and the rest of the Celtics were integral to the development of the game. As players, they pioneered expert dribbling and quick ball movement. Afterwards, many became coaches and shared their skills and knowledge with others. Lapchick won four National Invitational Tournaments and Holman claimed both the N.I.T. and N.C.A.A. Tournament in the same season at C.C.N.Y..

It’s appropriate that Lapchick rests next to five Bobby Knight volumes on my bookcase. Knight was one of many younger coaches and players Lapchick helped and the Texas Tech coach still refers to his mentor as “Mr. Lapchick” to this date. Lapchick would counsel others even if it was against his best interests if his advice would help the person or the game of basketball.

The Rivalry

Can determination trump talent? Apparently so, according to The Rivalry by John Taylor. The battles between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain and their respective teams are detailed within the context of the growth of the game throughout the 1960s. Chamberlain was one of the most prolific post scorers in the history of basketball yet during the ten seasons that their careers overlapped, Russell and the Celtics claimed the Association title nine times.

The book delves into the psychological warfare waged between the two. For example, once Russell blocked Chamberlain twice on the same possession. When Chamberlain recovered the loose ball, Russell told him to “take it” and let him score. Over the years, Russell appeared to have gotten inside his adversary’s head and controlled their match-up despite less talent.

Russell and the Celtics put individual accolades aside in favour of winning. Boston dominated the Association for over a decade because players focused on what they did best; Russell was not offensively gifted but prided himself on playing defence, rebounding, and starting the fast break. Whilst Chamberlain accumulated statistics, a reputation as a coach-killer followed him from team to team.

It’s unlikely that another team will ever exhibit the same selflessness that Bill Russell’s teams displayed. But his career demonstrates what can be achieved in the right circumstances: two collegiate titles, eleven professional championships, and an Olympic Gold Medal.

That Championship Season

Myriad films have employed basketball as a plot device (Hoosiers), a Sisyphean obstacle for the protagonist (Hoop Dreams), and an outlet for a character’s creativity (Finding Forrester); That Championship Season utilizes the sport as a symbol of what has been lost.

Four high school teammates reunite with their coach twenty-four years after their state championship triumph. During the intervening years, they have married, pursued their careers, and gone their separate ways.

“We lost something boys.”
- Coach Delaney

Subtle changes were made to the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same title. For example, the play emphasizes how compromising their personal values in the pursuit of winning is largely responsible for the characters’ dysfunction but this is only introduced late in the film. On the stage, greater blame is laid on the actions of Coach Delaney but he appears to be the glue that keeps everything together on screen.

The key theme is unchanged: glory fades but the people remain. The former teammates can recreate the last-second play that won the final game but interactions off the court later than evening illustrate how they are no longer a team. The Fillmore H.S. team was successful because it accomplished goals that they players could not have reached independently.

As adults, lacking the focus provided by participating in something significant, the players have hurt themselves and each other. The players’ names may be engraved on a silver trophy but a high school title that they won when they were teenagers cannot carry them through life.

That Championship Season illustrates the affect a coach can have on a player. The final member of the starting five hasn’t been seen in a quarter century because of resentment over the methods used to achieve victory. While extreme representations were necessary to keep the play and film dramatic, coaches should still be mindful of their influence, even on a smaller scale.

“Never accept anything less than success. It’s a philosophy.”
- Coach Delaney

Tex Winter said that one is only a success at the moment they are performing a successful act. Afterwards, it’s time to more on to the next target. Only after Coach Delaney brings the players together again and inspires them to work on George’s mayoral campaign are they able to put aside their differences, move forward with their lives, and become a team again.

Four Lessons from Lute Olson

Reading Lute!, an autobiography by the longstanding coach of the Arizona Wildcats, provided interesting food for thought. First of all, the calm and composed appearance of Lute Olson belies an insatiable enthusiasm for basketball and unwavering loyalty towards those who play on the teams that he coaches. Olson’s fifty-year career links the game’s past to its present, from Pete Newell and John Wooden to Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski, from the Pacific Coast to the Mid-West and back.

The book is typical of most sports autobiographies and will not contend for the Pulitzer Prize. Yet the text remains capable of imparting several lessons from Olson’s coaching philosophy. If I were to highlight one critical concept from the entire book, it is that creativity -along with the flexibility to adapt - is an essential coaching attribute.

Thinking Outside the Box: Once, while coaching the U.S. National Team, Olson ordered Mugsy Bogues to guard Drazen Petrovic because he felt the 5-3 guard would disrupt the Croatian’s propensity to dribble immediately after receiving the ball.

Adapting to the Team’s Personnel: Olson has always practiced a fast-break, freelance offence and recruits players with skills suited to that style of play. While remaining trye to the fundamentals, he doesn’t hesitate to adjust some of the details to make the most of the roster, for example introducing a three-guard offence when required, a set that is now common throughout the game.

Helping Players: Both of Olson’s wives have provided guidance to the players he has coached. Recognizing that players and coaches can’t become friends until after graduation, Olson ensured that the players knew that they had a network that supported and cared for them.

Managing the Little Things: Olson analyzes the game tirelessly, looking for any little edge. For example, when Steve Kerr played for the Wildcats, Olson insisted that he catch the ball in a jump-stop in order to accelerate Kerr’s release for occasions when he was guarded by opponents who were taller and quicker.

The Last Season

I am sorely disappointed with Phil Jackson. Irrespective of the tremendous work he has performed during the current season, he took an enormous step back in the coaching profession due to the publication of his fifth novel: The Last Season.

Jackson’s chronicle of the 2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers season seems to break several confidences. What happens in the huddle, the locker room, the team bus, the plan, training camp, the video room, or an office should stay within the team, despite the dollars a publisher may promise. Apparently, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson have a very tenuous relationship; how will detailing the conflicts between them help the two reconcile?

Secondly, several key situations are detailed where Jackson makes a decision in the face of enormous reservations. The cynic hater might say that Jackson sabotaged certain games in order to bruise Bryant’s credibility in the war of public opinion. The novel acts as a more of a tool to get a ten million dollar salary than clear the air or discuss coaching philosophy.

These Lakers are a perfect example of dysfunction, from the top down. However, Jackson does convey several useful pieces of information: the sensitivity needed to relate to fragile egos, subtle refinements to the sideline triangle, and interesting game management ideas. Perhaps most importantly is the strong case he makes for flexibility in a world that is constantly changing.

Having read Jackson’s work from Maverick to More than a Game, I sincerely hope that The Last Season is The Last Novel.

The Wages of Wins

Reading The Wages of Wins by David J. Berri, Martin B. Schmidt, and Stacey L. Brook raised interesting questions regarding assessment and evaluation. Factions contributing to victories and the rational behind coaching decisions were studied among other issues. Statistics are more prolific than ever before but whether the numbers are correctly applied remains to be determined.

Scoring and wins

Fortunately, the authors scrutinized the Association extensively, finding that scoring is highly correlated to winning. Therefore coaches should play the five players who contribute to the highest scoring rate (who also limit the opponent's scoring rate).

A player can affect points per possession by scoring more points and maintaining possession of the ball. Shooting efficiency, rebounding, steals, and turnovers are key variables. To keep the issue simple, I will deal with offensive factors and assume that the same issues are relevant on defence, but in reverse. A good defensive team should force the opponent to take tough shots, rebound the ball, and steal the ball when possible.

Apparently, rebounding (maintain possession with an offensive rebound and ending an opponent's possession with a defensive rip) is better correlated to winning that actually putting the ball in the basked. Likewise, when calculate individual Win-Shares, preventing turnovers or causing opponents to turn the ball over permits a player to compensate for below average scoring ability.

Decisions

When awarding minutes and contracts, the authors found that coaches and general managers tend to view basketball as five 1-on-1 games instead of one 5-on-5 game and attribute too much weight to scoring. I thought that Berri, Schmidt, and Brook ignored the elements of leadership and chemistry. When variables become intangible, analysis becomes incredibly complicated.

Lingering questions that are not addressed by The Wages of Wins:

1. What about the player who inspires teammates to work harder?
2. Points lead to Win-Shares but who gets the Win-Share when a ball screen leads to a basket?
3. Are there elements that permit a team to become greater than the sum of its parts?

I've studied this issue somewhat and found that it is possible to isolate successful combinations of players. The impact of leadership and player chemistry on a game that is played 5-on-5 in its finest form but can be isolated but film review, software like Dartfish, and comprehensive statistics are imperative.

Assists

Surprisingly, the assist statistic is largely negligible and not correlated to winning. I think it is still a positive occurrence because an assist or a pass that leads to an assist is unlikely to result in a turnover and will probably move the ball into a location from where a higher percentage shot can be taken.

Scoring "runs"

The authors dismiss the idea of momentum but a team that shortens oppoentn possessions by rebounding well, maintains control of the ball, and takes a good shots is likely to curtain runs by the opponent while simultaneous being predisposed to making runs of their own.

Irrespective of offensive skill the numbers and empirical evidence reveal that a team cannot give an opponent too many easy first (bad shots and turnovers that feed the fast break) and second (offensive rebounds) chances. "One and done", "the ball is 24K gold", "we're fighting an uphill battle", and other coaching aphorisms are entirely apropos when a team is losing control of the ball and the game.

The increased role of numbers and details guys

" Guys are sharing the ball and it looks good."
- Mike D'Antoni

On the Phoenix Suns coaching staff, Mike D'Antoni often makes decisions by "feel" whereas Marc Iavaroni provides more tangible analysis and facts. Like the heroes of The Princess Bride combined the cunning of Westley, the strength of Fezzik, and the speed of Inigo Montoya, a multitude of perspectives are present on successful teams.

Three Lessons from Jack Donohue

Recently, I read Dream Big Dreams: The Jack Donohue Story by Mike Hickey, a thoroughly entertaining biography that is required reading for Canadian Basketball coaches. Both Andy Higgins - who knew Coach Donohue personally - and I found the book to be very insightful and had difficulty putting it down. I've listed three lessons any coach can take from Jack Donohue's life and coaching career.

Helping Players: Jack Donohue helped the Canadian Senior Men's National Team, the College of the Holy Cross, and Power Memorial players, among others, lessons about teamwork, responsibility, sacrifice, and enjoying life, that they remember to this day. He exemplified the potential of the coach to shape the lives of young people. Although the players may have questioned Donohue at the time, they now appreciated how much he helped them improve themselves.

Players must understand their role on the team, receive an opportunity to do what they do best, and know that that someone on the team cares for them (source: Author Unknown). In the coming months I will try to follow Coach Donohue's lead and stress these aspects of my coaching philosophy.

Donohue never abandoned a friend when they were down, including acquaintances who were incarcerated, Al McGuire during his illness, and Steve Konchalski when he was fighting Basketball Canada (successfully) over his wrongful termination. He maintained his relationship with players and coaches from New York City like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jack Curran, and Lou Carnesecca for the rest of his life.

Technical Fouls: While coaching Power Memorial as an opponent was shooting foul shots, Donohue strode onto the court and took the ball from the player's hands. He refused to give it back until the official listened to his concerns. (I once had to call timeout to speak to an official about a technical foul that he assessed to a U.T.S. player for using profanity; perhaps I should have been more forthright.) When the U.S.S.R. was taking Canada to the woodshed, Donohue entered the court, assumed a defensive stance, and began guarding the Soviet ballhandler.

After the "T", Donohue exclaimed that "someone on this team has to play defence." Like my colleague Kash stated this afternoon: "different players are motivated in different ways and a coach must know what buttons to push." Caring for players means standing up for them during games.

Supporting Other Coaches: Donohue was known and appreciated for the help that he provided to other coaches and the Coaches of Canada organization. Many coaches in Canada are part of the Donohue family tree (Ken and Kathy Shields, Steve Konchalski and Doc Ryan, Jay Triano, Olga Hrycak, Leo Rautins, and Chris Critelli). Coaches must not only mentor players but others in their profession, a responsibility Donohue never shirked.

Once, Donohue and a friend were volunteering at a local high school practice when the school's Athletic Director walked into the gym and asked them to identify themselves. Donohue introduced himself as the former coach of Canada's Senior Men's National Team. The A.D. asked them to leave because they didn't have the "proper qualifications" to coach at that school. I know another Athletic Director who forbade a former Canadian Olympic coach from making an appearance at his school but illuminating the error of his ways will inspire neither a critical self-evaluation nor spur the school to improve their methods.

A March to Madness

The execution during the second half of Tuesday’s Duke-Carolina was poor. There were some very sketchy turnovers and players did not display good awareness of the time and score situation. Case in point, the Heels were down three with about eighteen seconds to play. Two-for-one is a viable strategy but you need to go for the quick two quickly. Instead, Carolina ran around with like chickens with their heads cut off, tried a two with mere seconds remaining, missed, and fouled.

Carolina had used their last timeout after a score to set the defence. They executed good ball pressure and - after forcing Duke to call timeout - fouled Greg Paulus, who was an excellent choice. During the timeout, Roy Williams should have sent two plays in, one in case Paulus makes the foul shots (which he did) and one in case he misses and they only need a two. Apparently nobody was listening. Nevertheless, Carolina is a young team and can learn from these mistakes.

Duke on the other hand is not playing up to its experience. There are four seniors in the seven man rotation. They have to play more calmly under pressure. The A.C.C. is a tremendous conference and I highly recommend A March to Madness but Duke must curtail these nail-biters. Mike Krzyzewski said it’s not the number of minutes a player plays that count but the intensity of those minutes. Mental focus can help win games down the stretch (vs. Boston College, vs. Florida State) but mental focus also includes taking care of business and seizing control of the game in the first half.

The Carleton Ravens could fall into the trap of letting a bunch of teams run with them. They don’t and they kill teams from the opening tip onwards. The Ravens are motivated and focused enough to make the most of the talent and win three consecutive C.I.S. National Championships. Of course if they played Duke they’d lose by thirty-seven points.

Freakonomics

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt interesting book for the guy who likes to generate “controversial” discussions at parties. So sumo wrestlers cheat, drug dealers live with their parents, and real estate agents receive a higher closing price when they sell a house that they own themselves. OK. Steven Levitt delivers his arguments in a light, easy to read, slightly esoteric format.

The economics are sound. Basically the pretence is that every individual is interested in maximising their utility. OK.

The most contentious chapter concerns Levitt’s belief that the decline of the crime rate in the late 1990s was caused by the legalisation of abortion in the 1970s. As a result of Roe v. Wade, indigent women who would have otherwise brought a hardened criminal into the world received abortions. However, I feel that the issue is far more complex and involves multiple factors.

It’s sort of like that TV show where the dude finds a briefcase containing details of his imminent death and attempts to change the future. Is changing his behaviour enough to cheat death or did he die because of the actions he took in light of this new information?

Levitt makes a very solid statement that incentives drive behaviour. I definitely agree; the world is comprised of choices and consequences. Levitt’s point is similar to Choice Theory: individuals choose to behave the way they do because this behaviour fills a need. People are responsible for their actions because they responded to an incentive and chose to maximise their utility.

(On that note, why don’t we teach more decision-making in schools?)

I believe that intrinsic motivation is much more powerful than extrinsic motivation. Coaches steer the ship but if the players believe personally in the ship’s direction, much less short-term coaching is required. According to Levitt and Choice Theory, coaches must create meaningful incentives to engineer the actions they desire. Every student-athlete is an individual and this is easier said than done.

The Gifts of the Triangle

I’ve been reading a lot of my Tex Winter books lately. The Triple Post Offense - also known as the ubiquitous “Triangle” - never stops giving. It is not an offense that can be run in every situation but it provides some good teaching points to break down freelance and early offense principles into easy to learn pieces. Most interestingly, if one were to employ elements of the Triple Post set, they could hide a lack of size in the post and create a wide variety of scoring chances with an undersized line-up.

Go Figure

Phil's back in LA. Go figure. As Red Auerbach said, “Never take anything for granted in basketball or any other sport. Anything you think can’t possibly happen not only can happen but probably will happen.”

After writing The Last Season, I’m mildly surprised that Jackson accepted with the Lakers job. How can Jackson regain his integrity after airing a season’s worth of dirty laundry in print? Like the book, taking a $10M/year (or whatever) deal from the Lakers amounts to a cash grab.

I have similar feelings about Larry Brown and the Cleveland Cavaliers job. It seems like Brown could be doing more to keep his eye on the ball and help the Pistons.

In the end, it is by your actions that you shall be known. Larry Brown has a reputation that precedes him. As Adrian Wojnarowski wrote on ESPN.com, “No pupil has ever come closer to Dean Smith's genius on the floor, and gone further from his character off it.”

Larry Brown and Phil Jackson are not the only ones who demonstrate less than exemplary behaviour. You have to watch out yourself, especially in the coaching profession. I wish I was smart enough to handle all the political games that are part the profession these days but I’m also glad that I steer clear of them.

In The Maltese Falcon, Kaspar Gutman toasts Philip Marlowe: “Here’s to plain speaking and clear understanding.” There’s merit in that phrase. The short-term hit you take if you stand up for yourself can be aggravating, demeaning, unpleasant, or all of the above, but you are much better in the long-term if you remain true to your principles.

It’s perhaps a tad clichéd for a basketball coach to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance due to the Phil Jackson connection. The book was recommended twice to me by someone I respect highly so I’m giving it a read. As mentioned in Hoop Dreams, Jackson gave that book to John Paxson to read one season.