With a foot injury suffered at an exhibition at Seattle Pacific University last weekend. Begs a couple of questions.
1) Is the fact that it happened in Seattle some sort of sad (sick) cosmic payback for Oklahoma City stealing the Sonics?
2) Who will have the longer NBA career, Chet Holmgren or Bill Walton? Due to numerous foot and other injuries, Walton played in 468 games over 10 seasons. I hope Holmgren fully recovers, but I think I will take the under.
Opines Richard A. Friedman, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College.
“The truth is, when it comes to vacation, rest and relaxation aren’t just overrated. They might even work against the very things a trip is meant to cultivate: a mental reset, a sense of relaxation, happiness. A better vacation is one in which vigorous exercise features prominently. That way, you can take a break not just from work and routine life but also from the tyranny of self-absorption.”
Okay doc, what do you suggest then?
“Recently, a close friend and his wife invited my husband and me to join them on a cycling vacation. I was a bit nervous; I’m a serious swimmer but not an experienced cyclist. Riding 30 to 40 miles a day through Vancouver’s impressive hills for five days sounded like hard work, not pleasure. But by the end of our first day of riding, I was overtaken by euphoric calm.
The work of managing hills by bike has a special way of commanding your attention. I was so busy thinking about whether I could hold my pace for the next rise and how fast I could go downhill without wiping out that I had no time to think about myself. I started looking forward to getting up early and hitting the road. I took in the mountains and forests, dense with cedar and fir, but my focus was really on the bike and the road.”
But this entire Humble Blog is based on the need for more introspection. If everyone is just hammering up hills on two wheels, are we really better off?
“In fairness to the rest-and-relaxation lobby, some introspection is indeed good for you, and being able to tolerate idleness and boredom is a sign of psychological strength. I’m a clinical psychiatrist, and I know well that self-understanding is a cherished goal of therapy. But too much self-examination doesn’t make you happier or more enlightened. Besides, vacation is not the time to work on that skill. You can incorporate moments of idleness into your daily life if you want to get better at sitting with yourself, but vacation is a time for feeling good and escaping responsibilities, including the ones to yourself. Accordingly, you should do what makes you feel good, and that’s activity, not idleness.”
Got it.
As an endurance athlete, I’m keenly aware of how my brain waves fluctuate markedly during most workouts. If I’m going uphill and/or into the wind, my focus narrows a lot on the task at hand. If I’m descending and/or with the wind, my mind drifts to numerous other non-athletic things. I might even begin writing the next blog post.
All movement is good, but add some intensity in on occasion. Even on vacay.
Need some volunteers to come over and throw flour at me.
Serena and everyone else. When you retire, really, really retire. Please don’t talk about “seeing a light at the end of the tunnel”. Don’t talk about it at all, just Nike it. Don’t ever comeback. Set a tournament or date and stick to it. For evs. Thank you.
Vin Scully (1927-2022).
From John Gruber’s heartfelt remembrance.
“Most fittingly, it was Vin Scully at the mic for Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit home run in game 1 of the 1988 World Series, the Dodgers against the A’s. I was 15, watching it live with my friends. Who else to call such a moment in Dodger history? The whole at-bat epitomizes Scully’s gift. He let the drama build. Gibson was unable to start the game because he had not one, but two injured legs. The man could barely walk, let alone run. A mere hit could tie the game. Dennis Eckersley, the best relief pitcher in all of baseball, on the mound. Two outs. The count full. Then: ‘High fly ball into right field, she is … gone!’ And then, for 70 seconds, as Gibson hobbled triumphantly around the bases, as his teammates celebrated at home plate, as the full house at Dodger Stadium erupted in ecstatic pandemonium, Scully said not a word. 70 seconds. The moment belonged to Gibson, the Dodgers, and their fans. And then, this: ‘In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.'”
The GalPal and I were walking on the Hermosa Beach bike path when diners at a beach-front restaurant erupted. We pressed in to marvel at the replay.
Use the link above to watch and listen to the magical at bat. The fateful pitch was outside. Gibson reaches for it, and because of his injured legs, doesn’t really turn on it. How the hell did that ball clear that fence?
From a New York Times reporter who followed the Former Guy during Thursday’s LIV Golf pro-am.
“He had. . . not finished a hole after his blast from a bunker had failed to reach the green and was nestled in some nasty rough. Instead, he had his caddie pick up the ball and march to the next tee. On another hole, when a birdie putt rolled nearly six feet past the hole, he casually scooped the ball up to end the hole, apparently conceding himself a par. Try that this weekend in your match with your usual foursome. Or any foursome.
At other times, a Trump mis-hit would simply be ignored. As if understanding the drill, his caddie would retrieve the golf ball from the sand or deep rough and walk forward.”
Hardly news. Why would anyone, paying any attention, expect him to play it as it lies and count all his strokes?
Athletic competition is the key to remaining semi-sane these days.
And right now is peak sports. Let me amend that. Peak niche sports. Your Seattle Mariners with their 14th straight victory. Stellar performances at the World Track Championship meet down Interstate 5 in Eugene, Oregon, also known as TrackTown, USA. The thinning of the Jumbo Visma herd in the Tour de France with the podium still to be determined.
And most memorable, Cameron Smith is the ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’. That’s a title I would love to have some day. Maybe next year.
You’re a huge cycling fan. Can’t get enough of the Tour de France. Like most professional cycling fans, you wonder what kind of convos the riders in the peloton have with one another. I’m happy to provide a little flavor flav from today’s stage.
Ron Roglic: On the way to the start today I almost got hit by a guy in a big truck with a bumper sticker that said, “We The People. . . are pissed.”
Dennis Bernal: Biden supporter?
RR: Haha. Shit, don’t take your anger, or more likely victimhood, out on me.
DB: Maybe he’s more into bumper stickers than voting.
RR: Yeah. It’s not my fault he’s deplorable.
From the Pac-12. . . Final Draft.
While we are extremely surprised and disappointed by the news coming out of UCLA and USC today, we have a long and storied history in athletics, academics, and leadership in supporting student-athletes that we’re confident will continue to thrive and grow into the future. The Pac-12 is home to many of the world’s best universities, athletic programs and alumni, representing one of the most dynamic regions in the United States. We’ve long been known as the Conference of Champions, and we’re unwavering in our commitment to extend that title. We will continue to develop new and innovative programs that directly benefit our member institutions, and we look forward to partnering with current and potential members to pioneer the future of college athletics together.
From the PAC-12. . . Initial Draft.
While we are extremely surprised and disappointed by the news coming out of UCLA and USC today, we have a long and storied history in athletics, academics, and leadership in supporting student-athletes that we’re confident will continue to thrive and grow into the future. Let’s keep it real though. UCLA never could tackle. On the other hand, we acknowledge we may never recover from the loss of USC’s cheerleaders. We’ve long been known as the Conference of Champions, and we’re confident that when we complete negotiations with Azusa Pacific and Biola, God will bless us with many, many more. Until then, remember Easterners, you can always find us playing at 1a.m. on Fox Sports.
Pressing Pause 