Dancing With The Stars - Better Known As Athletes Anonymous

Why didn't I DVR "Dancing with the Stars" last night? Oh, that's right, because I still have my balls attached. Although some of the girls on the show are hot, I just can't seem to muster up the strength to sit through stars ex-stars trying to revive their careers by learning how to dance on national TV. It's a popularity contest anyway. For some reason there always seems to be an athlete that does well in the competition though. Jerry Rice did well the first season and Emmitt Smith won last season. This season has Laila Ali, Clyde Drexler and Apolo Anton Ohno all competing for a chance to be in the spotlight again for 15 minutes. Laila will never get as much attention as her father, Clyde was unlucky enough to have played during the Jordan era and is an afterthought of many and Ohno (who?) ice skates for a living. Look guys, if you really want to be in a reality competition, then take Clyde's approach and go on "Pros vs. Joes". You might actually do something your good at rather than look stupid trying to do the Waltz with a tux on.

I guess I understand their logic behind being on the show, but I'm gonna hate having to hear about how good "Clyde the Glide" did on his Samba routine. It's just wrong! I guess if your really hard up and there is nothing else on TV you can give it a shot. I myself would rather watch the same episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants over and over again with my kids.

Bet On: Will Heather Mills prosthetic leg fall off during a dance routine on Dancing with the Stars 4? (Scroll to the bottom)

Hey Drexel and Syracuse, At Least You Can Still Win the NIT

Selection Sunday came and I'm convinced they have a bunch of kindergarten kids making the decisions behind the scenes. They must have showed the kids some school colors or the mascots and the kids got to choose their favorites. How else would Duke get a 6 seed and Drexel get left out altogether? Some of the interesting first round bracket busters that I possibly* see happening are:

Winthrop over Notre Dame
GT over UNLV
Illinois over VT
VCU over Duke
Gonzaga over Indiana
Oral Roberts over Wash. St.
Texas Tech over Boston College
Creighton over Nevada

East
I definitely think the East Bracket is the hardest (NC, Georgetown and Texas). Durant might score 50 a night, but their still not making the Final 4.

South
This is the second toughest bracket in my mind. You never know with a team like Louisville and Rick Patino and Tennessee could surprise some people too.

West
From the West Bracket I can't wait to see the Pitt vs UCLA match-up (let's get real you know this will happen). I like UCLA making the Final 4 again.

Midwest
Florida strolls through this bracket with maybe a good test against the Wisconsin/Oregon winner. Oregon looked good the other night destroying USC, but Florida is just too good.

These could change tomorrow but at a glance:

My Sweet 16: Florida, Maryland, Oregon, Wisconsin, Kansas, So. Ill, Pitt, UCLA, NC, Texas, Vandy, Georgetown, Ohio State, Tenn, Louisville and Memphis.

My Elite Eight: Florida, Oregon, Kansas, UCLA, Texas, Georgetown, Ohio State and Louisville

My Final Four: Florida, UCLA, Georgetown and Ohio State

Championship: Florida playing Georgetown with Florida cutting down the nets again.

* note: I don't count the 8 vs 9 games as upsets and I reserve the right to change my mind about any of these games at any time.

My Kids Need More Myelin

I think all parents in some form or another would like to think that their kid is better at something then someone else's kid. Did that make sense? Anyway, as a father to 2 boys I find myself thinking that way from time to time. Whether it's watching them on the playground or watching my son play soccer, I can't help to think that I want them to be the best at what they are doing. Is it a normal instinct to want that, or is it what we as Americans have learned to expect? There is no doubt in my mind that competition is a larger part of society here in the United States.

My wife, who grew up in France but who has lived in the US for the last 10 years, has come to see my train of thought. She sees all the other Soccer Moms and can't help but fall into the same game. She asks me if we should be pushing my older son (who's 5) to play more sports. He currently plays soccer and learns Kung Fu. He also goes to a French-immersed school and learns both French and English equally. The problem is that there are other kids that are doing the same thing except they play Baseball or Basketball also. We both think that doing another activity is way too much, but competition wants us to add another activity. Even though the site reads "The Sports Dad", don't think that I'm that psychotic. Sure I want my kids to succeed and do good, but I have never once snapped at them because they didn't do something the way I wanted it. This brings me to the article that I read about "Growing a Super Athlete".

There are two formulas that the authors speaks of that tell the entire story:

Intense Parents + Young Kids + Rigorous Technique + Toughness = Talent

Deliberate Practice + Time = Myelin = Talent

So what makes these kids rise above the rest? I still think it has a lot to do with LUCK. The author does a great job explaining the possibilities though. I guess the question you have to ask yourself as a parent is, "Do I want my kid to lose his entire childhood to possibly be great at one thing?" It's a big step and one in which I don't think I could make. Luckily I don't think we are at a point in which we have to. If the day does arrive in which we do have to choose, I hope it will be the right choice, one not based on competition and one not made by the rest of society.

How to Grow a Super-Athlete (Play Magazine)
Round Up (The Big Lead)