Bag of Randomness for Monday, September 25, 2017

  • Thanks again to all of you who gave me coaching tips, they all came in handy. I made sure it wasn’t about me, but all about the kids and not to take anything too seriously and just go with it. Our first practice and game were fun.
    • To be honest, I was a bit excited about it, and I can’t remember the last time I was excited enough about something that I kept looking forward to it all week. I actually woke up extra early, a good hour and a half before anyone else in GeedingManor, and ate breakfast by myself. As I’ve aged, I learned the importance of preparation, early arrival, and to properly fuel oneself. If I’m hungry, parched or tired, I become irritable, so I wanted to make sure I had a good meal in me but not one that would weigh me down all day. Pancakes will do that do you. It was also beneficial arriving a half hour early. When I feel rushed and unfamiliar with things, I become irritable. So I wanted to arrive early enough to find the correct field, unload the cooler and equipment from the SUV, get the kids settled, and just get comfortable with things.
    • I went into it knowing it was going to be a long day, so I wanted to have the right mindset, understanding I’m going to be out in the sun for a long while and it’s going to be controlled chaos. This league is designed so that the only practice of the week is forty-five minutes before the game. And after the game, we needed to chill for half an hour until the start of DaughterGeeding’s cheerleading practice.
    • There’s so much to teach these young ones. Other than my son, no one knew what offense, defense, or a touchdown was. We had to work on fundamentals. I started with how to hold the ball. I then had them practice handing the ball off to each other. From there we worked on hiking the ball and then handing it off and then running. Lastly, I had them work on pulling flags.
    • I borrowed something from BoyGeeding’s tee-ball coach. When it was time for the batter to bat, she told the team to get “baseball ready”. I taught the kids how to get “football ready” before the start of each play and to be sure to listen for that phrase.
    • The game started with my team on defense. The opposing team almost scored on the first play except when the running back got to the five-yard-line, he decided to run around in large circles three or four times before spiking the ball on the ten-yard-line and never entering the end zone.
    • I did my best not to show preferential treatment to BoyGeeding. But on the last play of the game, I made sure he got the ball and he ran it in for a touchdown.
    • I would have preferred to have worn my sunglasses, but thought it was best to make eye contact with the kids.
    • My back killed me the entire time. But it was worth it.
    • BoyGeeding wasn’t happy with his tackling skills and I caught him in a cute moment before bedtime. He attached the flags to DogGeedingII’s tail, threw his ball, and then chased him down until he pulled the flag.
    • Funny thing, DaughterGeeding misses her best friend from her old school. To our surprise, her best friend is on the cheerleading squad.
    • DaughterGeeding’s cheerleading instructors are straight out of Central Casting, two young platinum blondes. To add to it, their names are Abby and Gabby.
    • I let DaughterGeeding use my camera, she snapped some decent pics if you are interested. Yes, I did crop them a bit, but I thought she had a really good eye for a seven-year-old.
  • It would be nice to be financially comfortable enough to forego a salary.
    • Hall of Fame basketball coach Geno Auriemma has weighed into Connecticut’s budget battle, offering to go unpaid next year in response to criticism over high salaries at UConn.
  • Most folks would rather hurt their potential by praises than saved by constructive criticisms. However, most folks don’t know how to provide constructive criticism.
  • The University of Iowa does this cool thing where fans will wave to kids (GIF) watching from their hospital rooms. Here’s an article.

  • The insane news cycle of Trump’s presidency in 1 chart
    • The Google News Lab looked at the search trends for stories about 40 of the biggest news events of Trump’s presidency from Jan. 20 until Sept. 1. 
    • The study shows that while Trump’s presidency has been action-packed, the public’s attention span doesn’t seem to last for long.
  • It started in 2009 – NFL teams being on the field for anthem is a relatively new practice 
    • This is an article from last year. I also hear, and I can’t verify it, but the NFL only started to have players on the field because the military paid them to do so out of their advertising budget. Either way, the practice of having NFL players on the field for the national anthem for every game is not even a decade old.
      • It’s a tribute to the NFL’s ability to drape itself in the flag that nobody even realizes that – prior to 2009 – players being on the field for the national anthem wasn’t even standard practice.
      • Players have been on the sidelines for then anthem prior to select games – Super Bowls, post 9/11 tributes, etc. and perhaps teams such as Fisher’s Rams, Titans, Oilers and Bears had their own customs that included routinely being on the field for the anthem. But it’s worth whispering into the hysteria that, “Hey, standing en masse just started seven years ago.”
  • Mental Floss – Why Do We Sing the National Anthem at Sporting Events?
    • After America’s entrance into World War I, Major League Baseball games often featured patriotic rituals, such as players marching in formation during pregame military drills and bands playing patriotic songs. During the seventh-inning stretch of game one of the 1918 World Series, the band erupted into “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
  • Former interim president at Baylor: Some women “make themselves victims.”
  • I watched the new Star Trek on CBS and liked it, but not enough that I want to subscribe to a streaming service to enjoy it. The storyline was okay, I especially like Michelle Yeoh’s performance, but I thought they leaned too heavily on special effects and make-up.
    • “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
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