Tip of the Week

As we approach the 4th of July it’s important for those of us in the USA to reflect on who and what we are as a nation.  Our democracy is not something that our founders began and which will continue automatically.  Democracy is something that is continually being remade by its people.  When the Code…

We have read a number of statistics that talk about the drop-out rate of umpires and referees.  In many youth leagues covering a wide variety of sports it is not uncommon for there to be only about one third of those who begin continuing into a third season.  Why?  Some of it is financial –…

Phil Mickelson has announced that he’ll skip the U.S. Open in order to attend his daughter’s high school graduation.  Golfers know that the Open is the only major championship that Phil hasn’t won (he’s finished second six times), and so skipping this tournament is not like any other week.  But his daughter’s graduation is more…

This is the time of year for graduations – we graduate from one grade to the next, or from one school to the next.  Whenever we graduate we have reason to celebrate, because we have achieved a significant milestone.  It may be that we have not been as successful as we would have liked, but…

On the first playoff hole Jason Day missed a four foot putt to lose the Byron Nelson PGA tournament on Sunday before a national television audience.  It was one of those moments that we can all identify with – missing an easy putt, a foul shot or layup in basketball, an easy shot in tennis,…

Maria Sharapova was suspended from tennis for a year (reduced from two years) for a drug violation.   Having served her time, she recently returned to tournament play and was given wild card entry into several tournaments, but the French Federation decided not to give her a wild card for the French Open – she will…

The miracle wasn’t that Jim Abbott had a ten year major league career, or that he threw a no-hitter for the Yankees in 1993. The miracle was that he had no right hand.  His career inspired Kevin Ewing, a high school senior and also a pitcher with no right hand.  Ewing watched hours of film…

Aaron Hernandez is a tragic figure.  He committed suicide in prison last week while serving a life term for murder.  From the time he was 17 years old,  he had had a series of serious brushes with the law.  The question that should be haunting all of his teammates, coaches and friends from his first…

We have all seen the video of the passenger who was dragged off the United airlines flight, suffering a concussion and broken teeth in the process.  And we all have our opinions about the mistakes that were made by United – beginning with the CEO who almost immediately said that the appropriate procedures were followed. …