Last night we witnessed (well, not all of it) one of the best Elite 8 games ever played between #1 seed Kentucky and #3 seed Notre Dame. It was back and forth in the last few minutes that I was fortunate to see and in the end, Kentucky prevailed.
It reminded me of a game ten years ago that may go down as the best Elite 8 game of all-time, as well as the greatest comeback in NCAA Tournament history…. and I missed it all.
It was 2005 and my Fighting Illini was the #1 seed in the Midwest. They have easily dispatched of Farleigh Dickinson and Nevada in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis and had beaten UW-Milwaukee and Satan in the Sweet 16 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. The victory setup a showdown with #3 seed Arizona, At stake – a trip to the Final Four in St. Louis. Illinois hadn’t been to the Final Four since a trip in 1989 to Seattle that saw them lose a heartbreaker to eventual National Champion Michigan.
For those of you that don’t know me very well, I get VERY involved in my teams games. So much so on occasions that I will have to turn it off because I get too worked up. It actually affects me physically in certain situations, depending on the level of the game. Since I had gotten married five years earlier I promised my wife that if the game was going to get me angry and worked up that I would turn it off. She had learned this first hand, along with her mother, in 2001. Illinois was playing, of all teams, Arizona for a chance to go to the Final Four. I couldn’t watch it in the room that they were in and once the game was over and my Fighting Illini lost, I needed to take a walk to cool off. Lesson learned.
Saturday, March 26, 2005 was a nice Saturday. Our oldest son was 17 months old at the time and Rebecca was pregnant with our second child. My wife took advantage of my nervous energy and asked me to help her clean the house. I obliged. I set the channel to CBS and turned off the television. I decided that I would turn on the TV and check the score every so often so that I knew where Illinois stood, but wouldn’t get crazy during the game, especially in front of my young son.
Something to remember – this particular Illinois team had grown into my favorite Illini team of all-time, surpassing the Flyin’ Illini of 1988-89. That team had expectations of going to the Final Four, and did, only to fall short. We knew the team in 2004-05 was going to be good; we just weren’t sure how good. We got our first idea when Illinois hosted Chris Paul and #1 ranked Wake Forest on December 1st. It was a blowout. Illinois won 91-73 and it wasn’t even that close. The Illini lead by 30 at certain points in the game and cruised to victory. I didn’t get a chance to watch that game because I was back in school to become a high school teacher. Being the superstitious guy that I was, I decided to play that card all year; and on March 26 it was no different.
As I had planned, I turned on the television at certain points in the game to check the score. At the half, Illinois led by two. I was satisfied with this as Arizona was 30-6 at that point and still a 3 seed. Illinois went undefeated in the regular season until the last game when they lost at Ohio State on a last second shot. I personally thought this was good for the Illini as they didn’t need the pressure of being undefeated going into the NCAA’s (like Kentucky this year). I got very jittery and was doing various things to once again fight against my nervous energy. Finally, I turned the TV on again to check the score and saw that my cherished Fighting Illini were down 14 points with just under four minutes to go.
It was a gut punch. It’s difficult to describe the feeling that I felt at that point. I can, without reservation, say that it was the lowest I had ever felt as a sports fan, and still is to this day. I slumped down in front of the couch and tried not to throw up. I looked at my wife and told her that I did NOT want to talk to anyone.
Something else about sports fans that’s interesting – the more passionate you are about a team, the more smack you’ll get from fans of other teams when they lose. When my new students each year find out I’m a Bears fan their initial reaction is “You know they lost to the Colts in the Super Bowl, right?” No, I didn’t realize that at all, thank you for informing me of this. Ugh. It’s so tired and old. If I had a nickel…
Anyway, I digress. As I was wallowing in my despair that night in 2005 the phone began to ring. I assumed they were coming out of the woodwork to either give me grief or console me. I still didn’t want to talk to anyone. My wife answered the phone and politely told my brother that I didn’t want to talk to anyone. He told her to tell me to turn the television on. Other friends called and each time my wife told them I didn’t want to talk and each time the friends implored her to have me turn the television on. Finally, my brother called again (another fanatic Illinois fan) and was very emphatic with my wife about telling me to turn the television on – I vaguely remember a possible cuss word but neither he nor her can confirm this fact.
Finally, I relented and turned the TV on and the first image I viewed was Roger Powell celebrating. Huh?!?! What happened? I was befuddled. In some weird alternate universe my Fighting Illini had comeback and won the game. My brain kind of froze. I didn’t know how to react. I kept watching the Illini celebrate. Luckily, we had gotten this newfangled contraption called a Digital Video Recorder or DVR. It was a TiVo and since the channel had never changed it had recorded the entire game. After finally realizing that Illinois truly had won the game, I rewound the DVR and watched the most epic comeback ever in the NCAA Tournament.
The conflicting emotions I felt that day were very interesting. Absolute overwhelming pride in my team that they had dug themselves out of the hole and won the game, but disgust in myself for not watching it live.
Every year during the NCAA Tournament I always browse to YouTube and watch ‘The Comeback’. It beings back mostly good memories, but I still have the deal with my wife. J
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
My Bucket List
Everyone I know has a bucket list. It's a rite of adulthood I guess. Anyway, one of the items on my bucket list is to write a book. At first it was just to be a published author, but I've accomplished that goal.
I was approached by one of the teachers who ran the Transition to Teaching/MAT program at the University of Indianapolis where I worked to get my teachers license and my MAT. He wanted to write a book about the first ten years of their program and was choosing one student from each year to write a chapter. He wanted me to write the chapter from our year. I was floored....and accepted as quickly as I could. I would like to share that chapter with you. Why? I want to start to build the foundation for my upcoming GoFundMe video that I am going to create to assist me in writing my book while I'm still teaching.
Here is the link to read it on a website in case you don't want to read it via the following post - The First Ten Years. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I was approached by one of the teachers who ran the Transition to Teaching/MAT program at the University of Indianapolis where I worked to get my teachers license and my MAT. He wanted to write a book about the first ten years of their program and was choosing one student from each year to write a chapter. He wanted me to write the chapter from our year. I was floored....and accepted as quickly as I could. I would like to share that chapter with you. Why? I want to start to build the foundation for my upcoming GoFundMe video that I am going to create to assist me in writing my book while I'm still teaching.
Here is the link to read it on a website in case you don't want to read it via the following post - The First Ten Years. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Thanks,
Shawn
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You Just Know
This was a common response that I would receive when I would ask a married friend how they knew they had found the right person to marry. It would drive me CRAZY. How do you “just know”? Do you wake up one morning and feel different? Is it a flash of light in the sky with hymns playing in the background? Or did they just beat you into submission? I never understood that answer…until I met my wife. Then I got it. But the funny thing was – I thought it only applied to marriages. Boy was I wrong.
As a kid growing up in Central Illinois I loved many things. Sports, for instance, were a big part of my childhood. To this day I am a completely ridiculous over-the-top fan of my teams. So as I got into high school I thought that my career choices would veer in that direction. As a sophomore I decided to look into becoming the Athletic Trainer for the football and basketball teams. The coaches were very open to teaching a student how to tape ankles and knees because it gave them extra time to prepare for practice and games. And as a late bloomer (and I mean LATE) it gave me the chance to be involved in our school’s sports teams. During my junior year I started to look at colleges that had solid athletic training programs and I had narrowed it down to two, the University of Iowa and Northern Illinois University. I took my ACT, applied to both, got accepted to both and then began my decision making process. Well, that was easy; Big Ten School versus smaller state school was no contest. I decided I was going to the University of Iowa.
I began changing my allegiances in the sports world to Iowa from Illinois, I was that sure. And then came the day where I was going to send in my housing deposit and my parents told me that they wanted to talk to me. They had decided that they were not going to let me go to Iowa. As I mentioned before, I was a late bloomer. At this point in my senior year I was probably just a shade shorter than my Mom, who stands all of 5’1” tall. Yeah, that late. I was heartbroken, but at the same time I knew my parents were looking out for me. So I felt as if this was a sign that I wasn't supposed to be in athletic training. I enrolled in the local community college and had to decide what I was going to study. It came down to two choices – business and teaching. I LOVED cool commercials, especially the ones that NIKE had come out with starring Bo Jackson. But I also loved reading about World War II and American History. The final decision came down to this – my Dad was a blue collar worker at Caterpillar Inc. He helped build the chassis’ for the tractors. After watching him work his tail off and go on and off strike with his union I decided I was going to go the white collar route. I majored in Marketing.
After my first year at the community college I transferred to Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. In May of 1990 I was the first person on either side of my family to graduate from college. It was a very proud moment for me. During my senior year my best friend from growing up had called me and asked what my plans were post-graduation. I told him my only plan was NOT to live at home. He had gone to Purdue University and began to look at Indianapolis as a possible destination. His family had grown up just north of town, so we had contacts already in place. I thought and prayed about it and decided I would join him.
After trying to break into some jobs that involved marketing, I fell into the Information Technology field. It excited me because I have always enjoyed being familiar with the cutting edge of the newest technology, if I wasn't able to own it. I progressed fairly quickly through the ranks and into other companies while honing my skills. In 1996, I joined a company called EDS and was making over $50,000 a year. I thought I had it made. In 2000, it got even better when I got married to the love of my life. We decided to build a house and it looked like the pattern for the rest of my life was set. So then why was I unhappy?
Let’s go back to 1996. While I was on a trip to Florida on vacation I got a call from my parents. They told me that my Dad had a brain aneurysm and was going to have surgery on it the next week. Needless to say, I was floored. I went back home to Illinois for the surgery. In a weird twist of fate I was the first (along with my Mom) to see him after surgery. My dad was 6’3” and about 300 lbs. His friends at work called him Bear. He was our family’s rock. And to see him in his hospital room, helpless and vulnerable….it rocked me to my core. I stepped out of the room and wept uncontrollably. I was devastated. It got worse one week later when I got the call at work that my Dad had passed away from blood clots to both his lungs and his heart. I went into a downward spiral. All I cared about was pleasing me.
You are probably wondering – wow, thanks for depressing me and what does this have to do with teaching? It will make sense shortly, I promise.
In the next few years, I got married to my soul mate, who was a second grade teacher. I was jealous of her time off during her breaks and her summer vacation and made sure to let her know about it. I still wasn't right in my head and one day my wife told me she spent the night in our closet crying. She told me that I wasn't me, the real Shawn. I was just a shell of myself. This is when I took stock of my life and knew some things needed to change. And lucky for me, some things changed without me having to do anything myself. The technology company I worked for decided to cut my entire division and I lost my job. I was ecstatic. I was so tired of it and needed a change. My friends called me the happiest unemployed person they ever met. In a span of four weeks I was able to get another job at a local credit union….doing technology. At first, I was just glad to have a job because we had just moved into our house four months earlier. Yes, I was burnt out on it. However, I was at a place where they got the right people and then saw where they fit best as opposed to trying to put someone in a position and hoped they stuck. My place happened to be doing marketing for a small subsidiary business within the credit union. I assisted the Saleswoman on making her presentations, doing mailings and newsletters, creating and running a symposium on our company’s software….all the things that used my creativity and people skills. While at the credit union I decided that I needed to further my education in order to get where I thought I wanted to go. I enrolled in the Anderson University MBA program. It was a great program and I enjoyed being back in the educational system. Aha! Is it starting to make sense yet?
We were placed into cohorts and I immediately bonded with my fellow classmates. Yes, the homework and projects could get tedious, but again, I was enjoying the educational experience. I was also enjoying my marriage. It was at this time that we decided to start a family. And sure enough, we got pregnant very quickly. I couldn't believe I was going to be a father. This was a seminal moment in my life. Let me explain. As I had been taking classes I had this weird feeling. It was sort of like I was in a right size, wrong shape moment of my life. For example:
All these events, along with becoming a Dad myself, came together and made me really think hard about what I wanted to do with my life. I thought about my Dad and how he did what he loved. It wasn't about a paycheck, it wasn't about status, it wasn't about having stuff, it was about doing what he loved to do, whether at work or in his personal life. Pardon me while I interject my faith in this story, but I truly felt as if God was calling me to teach. I had heard plenty of storied while growing up in the church about people being “called” to do God’s work. I always thought it meant going to Africa and living with nothing while being a missionary. Again, I was wrong.
It was a Sunday night. My wife and I had just finished watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition (ironic, isn't it?) and I just knew I had to tell her what I was feeling. As we went into our room I finally broke the news to her that I felt as if I should become a teacher. Did I get the response I expected? Yes. She became very upset and emotional with me. She doesn't like change and she had enough to last her for awhile with all my job issues. It was going to be more money, more time, more everything. I told her we should sleep on it. Honestly, I just wanted to stop her from killing my dream more than anything. I lay in bed knowing in my heart that this is what I should do. After I fell asleep I had the most vivid dream about being a teacher in a classroom. I woke up and knew that this was a sign and that I had to tell my wife. But after the previous night’s discussion I was a little guarded about telling her this news. I bit the bullet and told her about my dream. She began to cry. I thought, here we go; the volcano is going to erupt. And then she told me that she had the exact same dream – me teaching in a classroom. We both began to cry as we knew that I needed to become a teacher.
Thus began the process to find out how I could become a teacher. Luckily, the state of Indiana has a program called Transition to Teaching. This allows individuals from the business world to enroll in a university where they would enroll in classes designed to educate them on the teaching process. The individual’s undergraduate degree determines the subject matter for that individuals teaching license. As mentioned earlier, I have a degree in marketing so my content area was going to be Business. As I began to look at the universities in the Indianapolis area that had the T2T teaching program with the Business content area it became very clear that there might be a problem. Almost all of the programs were full-time programs and that was something I was sure I couldn't do. Not with one son just being born and my wife being out on maternity leave. My decision was essentially made for me. There was one program that had the Business content area and night classes – the University of Indianapolis. Again, it felt as if all the planets were aligning for me.
My first day on campus, after a full day of work mind you, was a breath of fresh air. I felt really charged up and ready to tackle the opportunity that lay ahead of me. But I was also nervous; I had so many questions. What were the teachers like? What were my fellow students like? Would I understand any of this “teaching” talk? There is always a shred of doubt that comes creeping in once you finally come face-to-face with challenge that is a career change. And I was 35; was I going to be the old fart? I knew I didn't act my age, but it was still a concern. As I entered my initial class I was one of the first ones there so I got to choose a good seat, but the little boy in me came out hoping that someone would sit by me and that I wouldn't look like a loner or a loser. Gradually, all the students arrived. At the time I had no idea of the relationships and friendships that would form from this group of people. Looking back, I was truly blessed to be in this specific cohort at this specific time. Dr. Mendenhall was our first instructor and he made us feel so comfortable. The aura that he exuded sent me back to a time when I was in middle school. He was the teacher that I wanted to make proud of my work. I knew immediately that he cared about his profession and that he cared about the program. And that means a lot because I then immediately cared about the program myself. I bought in from day one. We had the requisite get-to-know-you activities that first day and I got to meet some very cool people. Again, I “just knew” that this was the right place for me.
The other major instructor that I was going to have in this program was Dr. Ridgway. She and Dr. Mendenhall have to be the two most important figures in the teaching career of any of the students that go through the University of Indianapolis. They are amazing people, as well as, teachers, advocates, friends, and peers. Dr. Ridgway made me feel as if she was my older sister, watching out for me and making sure I took the right path and did things the right way. They both took great pride in nurturing us and molding us into teachers. I wish I could truly describe how I feel about them in words, but it’s difficult. Yes, I have not kept in touch with them regularly since I graduated (a bad habit I am trying to break), but they are part of what I do in the classroom every day. Each one of my students is being taught by them while they are being taught by me. And that is the best gift that I can give to them.
There were a few other students who I bonded with in our cohort. I got along with everyone; our cohort was a fantastic group of people. But there are certain ones that you just jell with on a personal level. Adrienne Qualls, Heatherly Hite and Scott Riley were the individuals that I instantly bonded with on a personal level. We formed our own little community within our cohort. Our personalities meshed and we had a good time in class. It was important to me that I enjoyed this experience to the fullest. I knew that this was my calling, but I wasn't about to kill myself by putting undue pressure on top of life’s pressures that already existed. I can look back now and smile when I think about the topics, assignments, projects, deadlines and whatever else was thrown at us while in the program. And these three people were a major reason for that. I can’t thank them enough for being there for me. And I hope I was there for them.
Now I know there were occasions where other members of our cohort probably felt as if we were a little too lackadaisical in our attitudes or that we didn't care, but I can assure them that this was not the case. I am a person who likes the find the humor in any situation. And my situation was that I was a new Dad, working full time, and going to school to change my career completely. I needed the humor. It helped me survive. At no point in the program did I ever not take my work seriously. I tell my students that to this day – I will always try to smile and have fun, but I do take my teaching seriously. And that’s another thing that I learned in this program. I cannot call teaching my “job”. I can’t say that I am going to “work”. It’s neither. It is my life now. I teach and I go to school. And I can’t even put my head around the thought of ever going back to the 9-to-5 life again.
The curriculum was pretty straightforward. Since we already had our content areas set, the professors’ job was to teach us how to teach. In my case, I think I learned more watching how they taught then what they taught. I know I still use teaching strategies in my classes that I saw Dr. Mendenhall and Dr. Ridgway use in our classes. Every step of the way, whether it was 505, 506 or Climate and Culture, the professors’ taught us and modeled to us the different methods of teaching. My favorite parts of the classes were when we actually got to teach a lesson or had to come up with a creative way to present curriculum to students. Back in high school, as mentioned before, I was a late bloomer. During our sophomore year all students were required to take a Speech class. Being the runt in the class didn't exactly bolster my confidence when standing in front of people and talking. I got to my Speech class on that first day and almost wet myself. It was full of the popular, smart and athletic students in my class. I was terrified. Our first speech was introducing another member of the class to the entire class. I know for a fact my voice shook like Peter Brady’s (time for a chaaaaange) when I gave this first speech. I also know that I cried the night before because I was so scared. If you talk to my mom now, she’ll probably tell you that I cried before every speech that semester. I've blocked most of it out of my brain at this point. But I do remember one important thing. After our last speech our teacher was handing out our grades and she commented on how well spoken the class was from beginning to end. At that point she made note to the class that there was really only one person with significant improvement from the first speech to the last. She no more got those words out of her mouth when she handed me my grade…and at the top she had written – nice improvement. I was on cloud nine. I had made it through. Whew!! Now here I was 20 some years later taking classes so that I could talk in front of people every day. And I loved it. Miracles never cease.
We weren't offered the luxury of having Dr. Mendenhall or Dr. Ridgway for our content area pedagogy class (unless your content area was foreign language) so I was curious, not only how the class would be run, but who would be running it. Once again, the Big Man upstairs was looking after me because the Business area teacher was a fantastic educator named Paige Balka. She had a presence about her when she was in front of our class. There is something a little bit different about being a business teacher. Many of us have spent time in the business world prior to becoming a teacher. You could tell from the first time you met Paige that she brought a very business-like attitude to the classroom. And that was something that we, as new teachers, needed to see. She was demanding of us and our work. But at the same time, she did have a sense of humor and a very personable side once we got to know her on a personal level. It was extremely helpful to have a model for us as business teachers as we were learning our craft. She was also very instrumental in helping us find our way within the curriculum of business. It’s a different bird. Things like marketing, technology and finance are very fluid. It isn't like Algebra where formulas never change or English because verbs are always going to be verbs. We have to adapt to the ever changing times and Paige was great at showing us strategies to use to enable us to keep up. I consider her an extremely important part of my teaching life (again, though I haven’t maintained very good contact – sorry Paige).
Around this time I could see the opportunity to student teach closing in fast. I was excited about the chance to actually get into a classroom, but dreading the part where we don’t get paid. My wife and I were discussing our options quite a bit as Christmas rolled around in 2004. We were on our way from Alabama (where most of her relatives live) to Chicago (where my family was gathering) when we thought she was getting sick. We just assumed it was the stress of the holidays and all the travel. The holiday season ended as January rolled around and things started to get back to normal. By this point, our first son, Brannon, was almost 14 months old. It was a fun time as a Dad. On my 3rd or 4th day back at work my wife, Rebecca called and asked if I wanted to meet her at home for lunch. I told her I didn't have time and didn't think anything of it. Once I got home, Brannon was with the grandparents and it was just the two of us. She proceeded to tell me that she wasn't sick – she was pregnant again. Huh-wha???? I was shocked. I had thought we were taking the precautionary measures making sure we wouldn’t get pregnant due to my upcoming student teaching. Now THIS threw a kink in the plans. I was certain that this was going to be the derailment of my plan, as if I hadn't learned a single thing through this entire process to this point. Rebecca and I talked about the possibilities of moving my student teaching to the spring once the child was born and we had some to time to get everything squared away. I have to admit I was extremely disappointed at this point. To be at the juncture in this process where I could see it and taste it, yet think that I would have to postpone it was heartbreaking. So I did what every student in the MAT program should do, I talked with Dr. Ridgway and Dr. Mendenhall. We discussed our situation and they let me know that some schools will hire students in the process of getting their licenses on what’s called an emergency license. This means that the school couldn't “find” anyone else to teach the class and that the state should grant the eventual teacher a license to teach with until the completed license was obtained.
OK, now I had an option. They would keep their eyes and ears open and I would constantly check the Indiana Department of Education website for possible jobs. As if it wasn't stressful enough with everything I had on my plate at the time, rolling the dice everyday to see if a possible teaching opening was available for someone with my credentials added to that pressure. Yet again, I doubted the path I had been set on (see a recurring theme here?) and started to give up hope. Since my undergraduate major was Marketing, I needed to look for a position in the Business content area. These jobs aren't exactly a dime a dozen, because those classes are elective classes. Students aren't forced to take business classes, therefore business departments are relatively small and jobs scarce. However, I did have quite a bit of professional experience in the Information Technology area – 12 years to be exact. So those were my choices.
You know that butterfly feeling you get when you see something you've been looking forward to for quite awhile? I got it one day when I saw that Westfield High School had an opening for a Technology teacher. This applicant needed to have experience teaching computer hardware and software classes to the students. Hey, that’s me! So I applied, and got my first experience in filling out application forms for schools. As if that wasn't enough, there was a section of the application where I needed to answer questions on how I would handles certain situations and students. It was very interesting and stressful at the same time. The most important thing I did for myself was not try to answer the questions with the answers they wanted to hear, but with my genuine responses. I clicked the submit button and began to dream.
About a week later I received a call from the Westfield-Washington School District. They wanted to interview me about the Technology teacher position. Hallelujah!!! I got a bite, but can I reel them in? I went to the interview more nervous about any interview I've ever had in my life. And then a funny thing happened. This giant red headed man took me into his office and then setup a video camera on his desk. He explained that they videotape all of the interviews in the district and should an applicant pass the first interview, they forward the video on to the school and its administrators. This threw me for such a loop that I forgot to be nervous. To top that off, he explained that he was going to give the interview with no emotion so that I would not take any nonverbal cues from him and be completely sincere with my answers. And he did exactly that – the most deadpan, monotone interview I have ever had in my life. The scene was so bizarre that it just fit my situation and I felt pretty good after the interview. I hoped I would hear something soon.
THE NEXT DAY, Stacy McGuire, the principal at Westfield High School, called me and asked if I could come in and interview with her. Wow!!! I was on cloud nine. The second I walked into her office and we began to talk, I just knew this was right. Her demeanor fit perfectly with my personality, yet I could sense her authority and love for her job. She graduated from WHS herself so she was very invested in the school. She explained that the questionnaire that was part of the application was to discover the teaching personality of the applicant. This part of the application process weeds out teachers who do not have the teaching philosophy they are looking for in potential teachers. My teaching philosophy came up as student-centered, which triggered my application to move on in the process. After we talked for awhile she explained that she needed to go to the Superintendent and the School Board to let them know that I was the candidate they wanted for the job, but since I didn't officially have my license yet they would need to apply for an emergency license.
And yet again, I waited…..and worried. Hey, do what you do well. It took a lot longer than I had hoped but I finally got a call from Stacy and she said that my emergency license was approved and that I was going to be hired. Praise the Lord!!! I was not going to have to postpone my student teaching!! Not only that, but I was also going to get paid while I student taught. Unbelievable. I didn't think it could get any better. And then I met my Cooperating Teacher. Her name was Becky Sondgeroth and she had gone through the University of Indianapolis program as well, so she knew exactly was I was going through in every phase of my introduction to public education. We met a couple of times and everything just felt so comfortable about the time and place for me. As if the entire process wasn't all lining up for me from the very beginning, here I was ready to be a full-fledged teacher. It was a great feeling. I met all of my fellow business teachers, as well as some teachers who had classes near me. I got along well with everyone. It was destiny.
Funny story – being a brand new teacher in the district, I needed to attend New Teacher Orientation a couple of days before school started. As you remember from earlier, my wife was pregnant with our second child during this whole process and he was about to be born. Since she had a Cesarean Section with our first son, she was going to have the same for our second son. We were given a couple of dates to choose from, one of which was August 15. That date struck home for me as it was my birthday. We chose that day because I just thought it would be super cool to have a son with the same birthday as me. Well, guess what day New Teacher Orientation happened to fall on? Yep, August 15. I got up that morning with a smile on my face that you couldn’t blast off with a jackhammer. My first order of business was to go to the Orientation, where I had to let them know that I was leaving at noon so that we could have our son. August 15, 2005 will always be one of the greatest days of my life because it was my first day in my new profession of teaching, my first day at Westfield High School, and my birthday. My friends say I should have bought a lottery ticket that day….but I had a few things going on and couldn't find time.
Back to Westfield, the first day of school came and I woke up and was surprisingly calm. Normally I am pretty nervous about new and unexpected occasions. But that morning, I wasn’t. Good sign. I got to school, went to my classroom, and waited for the students. I’ll never forget that feeling I had that first day. It was the most confident I had ever felt with any job in my entire life, and I owe that all to the University of Indianapolis MAT program for preparing me the right way. After the day was finished, the shop teacher, Doug Orahood, came by my class to ask how my first day was at school. Right before he left, he asked “So, do you feel like a teacher?” I smiled and responded, “I am a teacher.” I just knew.
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You Just Know
This was a common response that I would receive when I would ask a married friend how they knew they had found the right person to marry. It would drive me CRAZY. How do you “just know”? Do you wake up one morning and feel different? Is it a flash of light in the sky with hymns playing in the background? Or did they just beat you into submission? I never understood that answer…until I met my wife. Then I got it. But the funny thing was – I thought it only applied to marriages. Boy was I wrong.
As a kid growing up in Central Illinois I loved many things. Sports, for instance, were a big part of my childhood. To this day I am a completely ridiculous over-the-top fan of my teams. So as I got into high school I thought that my career choices would veer in that direction. As a sophomore I decided to look into becoming the Athletic Trainer for the football and basketball teams. The coaches were very open to teaching a student how to tape ankles and knees because it gave them extra time to prepare for practice and games. And as a late bloomer (and I mean LATE) it gave me the chance to be involved in our school’s sports teams. During my junior year I started to look at colleges that had solid athletic training programs and I had narrowed it down to two, the University of Iowa and Northern Illinois University. I took my ACT, applied to both, got accepted to both and then began my decision making process. Well, that was easy; Big Ten School versus smaller state school was no contest. I decided I was going to the University of Iowa.
I began changing my allegiances in the sports world to Iowa from Illinois, I was that sure. And then came the day where I was going to send in my housing deposit and my parents told me that they wanted to talk to me. They had decided that they were not going to let me go to Iowa. As I mentioned before, I was a late bloomer. At this point in my senior year I was probably just a shade shorter than my Mom, who stands all of 5’1” tall. Yeah, that late. I was heartbroken, but at the same time I knew my parents were looking out for me. So I felt as if this was a sign that I wasn't supposed to be in athletic training. I enrolled in the local community college and had to decide what I was going to study. It came down to two choices – business and teaching. I LOVED cool commercials, especially the ones that NIKE had come out with starring Bo Jackson. But I also loved reading about World War II and American History. The final decision came down to this – my Dad was a blue collar worker at Caterpillar Inc. He helped build the chassis’ for the tractors. After watching him work his tail off and go on and off strike with his union I decided I was going to go the white collar route. I majored in Marketing.
After my first year at the community college I transferred to Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. In May of 1990 I was the first person on either side of my family to graduate from college. It was a very proud moment for me. During my senior year my best friend from growing up had called me and asked what my plans were post-graduation. I told him my only plan was NOT to live at home. He had gone to Purdue University and began to look at Indianapolis as a possible destination. His family had grown up just north of town, so we had contacts already in place. I thought and prayed about it and decided I would join him.
After trying to break into some jobs that involved marketing, I fell into the Information Technology field. It excited me because I have always enjoyed being familiar with the cutting edge of the newest technology, if I wasn't able to own it. I progressed fairly quickly through the ranks and into other companies while honing my skills. In 1996, I joined a company called EDS and was making over $50,000 a year. I thought I had it made. In 2000, it got even better when I got married to the love of my life. We decided to build a house and it looked like the pattern for the rest of my life was set. So then why was I unhappy?
Let’s go back to 1996. While I was on a trip to Florida on vacation I got a call from my parents. They told me that my Dad had a brain aneurysm and was going to have surgery on it the next week. Needless to say, I was floored. I went back home to Illinois for the surgery. In a weird twist of fate I was the first (along with my Mom) to see him after surgery. My dad was 6’3” and about 300 lbs. His friends at work called him Bear. He was our family’s rock. And to see him in his hospital room, helpless and vulnerable….it rocked me to my core. I stepped out of the room and wept uncontrollably. I was devastated. It got worse one week later when I got the call at work that my Dad had passed away from blood clots to both his lungs and his heart. I went into a downward spiral. All I cared about was pleasing me.
You are probably wondering – wow, thanks for depressing me and what does this have to do with teaching? It will make sense shortly, I promise.
In the next few years, I got married to my soul mate, who was a second grade teacher. I was jealous of her time off during her breaks and her summer vacation and made sure to let her know about it. I still wasn't right in my head and one day my wife told me she spent the night in our closet crying. She told me that I wasn't me, the real Shawn. I was just a shell of myself. This is when I took stock of my life and knew some things needed to change. And lucky for me, some things changed without me having to do anything myself. The technology company I worked for decided to cut my entire division and I lost my job. I was ecstatic. I was so tired of it and needed a change. My friends called me the happiest unemployed person they ever met. In a span of four weeks I was able to get another job at a local credit union….doing technology. At first, I was just glad to have a job because we had just moved into our house four months earlier. Yes, I was burnt out on it. However, I was at a place where they got the right people and then saw where they fit best as opposed to trying to put someone in a position and hoped they stuck. My place happened to be doing marketing for a small subsidiary business within the credit union. I assisted the Saleswoman on making her presentations, doing mailings and newsletters, creating and running a symposium on our company’s software….all the things that used my creativity and people skills. While at the credit union I decided that I needed to further my education in order to get where I thought I wanted to go. I enrolled in the Anderson University MBA program. It was a great program and I enjoyed being back in the educational system. Aha! Is it starting to make sense yet?
We were placed into cohorts and I immediately bonded with my fellow classmates. Yes, the homework and projects could get tedious, but again, I was enjoying the educational experience. I was also enjoying my marriage. It was at this time that we decided to start a family. And sure enough, we got pregnant very quickly. I couldn't believe I was going to be a father. This was a seminal moment in my life. Let me explain. As I had been taking classes I had this weird feeling. It was sort of like I was in a right size, wrong shape moment of my life. For example:
- As I worked with my cohort they constantly told me that I explained things well and that I would be a good teacher.
- I enjoyed listening to my wife’s stories about her classroom and the experiences she was having on a daily basis
- As I was in class, I started to focus more on how the material was being presented than what was being presented
All these events, along with becoming a Dad myself, came together and made me really think hard about what I wanted to do with my life. I thought about my Dad and how he did what he loved. It wasn't about a paycheck, it wasn't about status, it wasn't about having stuff, it was about doing what he loved to do, whether at work or in his personal life. Pardon me while I interject my faith in this story, but I truly felt as if God was calling me to teach. I had heard plenty of storied while growing up in the church about people being “called” to do God’s work. I always thought it meant going to Africa and living with nothing while being a missionary. Again, I was wrong.
It was a Sunday night. My wife and I had just finished watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition (ironic, isn't it?) and I just knew I had to tell her what I was feeling. As we went into our room I finally broke the news to her that I felt as if I should become a teacher. Did I get the response I expected? Yes. She became very upset and emotional with me. She doesn't like change and she had enough to last her for awhile with all my job issues. It was going to be more money, more time, more everything. I told her we should sleep on it. Honestly, I just wanted to stop her from killing my dream more than anything. I lay in bed knowing in my heart that this is what I should do. After I fell asleep I had the most vivid dream about being a teacher in a classroom. I woke up and knew that this was a sign and that I had to tell my wife. But after the previous night’s discussion I was a little guarded about telling her this news. I bit the bullet and told her about my dream. She began to cry. I thought, here we go; the volcano is going to erupt. And then she told me that she had the exact same dream – me teaching in a classroom. We both began to cry as we knew that I needed to become a teacher.
Thus began the process to find out how I could become a teacher. Luckily, the state of Indiana has a program called Transition to Teaching. This allows individuals from the business world to enroll in a university where they would enroll in classes designed to educate them on the teaching process. The individual’s undergraduate degree determines the subject matter for that individuals teaching license. As mentioned earlier, I have a degree in marketing so my content area was going to be Business. As I began to look at the universities in the Indianapolis area that had the T2T teaching program with the Business content area it became very clear that there might be a problem. Almost all of the programs were full-time programs and that was something I was sure I couldn't do. Not with one son just being born and my wife being out on maternity leave. My decision was essentially made for me. There was one program that had the Business content area and night classes – the University of Indianapolis. Again, it felt as if all the planets were aligning for me.
My first day on campus, after a full day of work mind you, was a breath of fresh air. I felt really charged up and ready to tackle the opportunity that lay ahead of me. But I was also nervous; I had so many questions. What were the teachers like? What were my fellow students like? Would I understand any of this “teaching” talk? There is always a shred of doubt that comes creeping in once you finally come face-to-face with challenge that is a career change. And I was 35; was I going to be the old fart? I knew I didn't act my age, but it was still a concern. As I entered my initial class I was one of the first ones there so I got to choose a good seat, but the little boy in me came out hoping that someone would sit by me and that I wouldn't look like a loner or a loser. Gradually, all the students arrived. At the time I had no idea of the relationships and friendships that would form from this group of people. Looking back, I was truly blessed to be in this specific cohort at this specific time. Dr. Mendenhall was our first instructor and he made us feel so comfortable. The aura that he exuded sent me back to a time when I was in middle school. He was the teacher that I wanted to make proud of my work. I knew immediately that he cared about his profession and that he cared about the program. And that means a lot because I then immediately cared about the program myself. I bought in from day one. We had the requisite get-to-know-you activities that first day and I got to meet some very cool people. Again, I “just knew” that this was the right place for me.
The other major instructor that I was going to have in this program was Dr. Ridgway. She and Dr. Mendenhall have to be the two most important figures in the teaching career of any of the students that go through the University of Indianapolis. They are amazing people, as well as, teachers, advocates, friends, and peers. Dr. Ridgway made me feel as if she was my older sister, watching out for me and making sure I took the right path and did things the right way. They both took great pride in nurturing us and molding us into teachers. I wish I could truly describe how I feel about them in words, but it’s difficult. Yes, I have not kept in touch with them regularly since I graduated (a bad habit I am trying to break), but they are part of what I do in the classroom every day. Each one of my students is being taught by them while they are being taught by me. And that is the best gift that I can give to them.
There were a few other students who I bonded with in our cohort. I got along with everyone; our cohort was a fantastic group of people. But there are certain ones that you just jell with on a personal level. Adrienne Qualls, Heatherly Hite and Scott Riley were the individuals that I instantly bonded with on a personal level. We formed our own little community within our cohort. Our personalities meshed and we had a good time in class. It was important to me that I enjoyed this experience to the fullest. I knew that this was my calling, but I wasn't about to kill myself by putting undue pressure on top of life’s pressures that already existed. I can look back now and smile when I think about the topics, assignments, projects, deadlines and whatever else was thrown at us while in the program. And these three people were a major reason for that. I can’t thank them enough for being there for me. And I hope I was there for them.
Now I know there were occasions where other members of our cohort probably felt as if we were a little too lackadaisical in our attitudes or that we didn't care, but I can assure them that this was not the case. I am a person who likes the find the humor in any situation. And my situation was that I was a new Dad, working full time, and going to school to change my career completely. I needed the humor. It helped me survive. At no point in the program did I ever not take my work seriously. I tell my students that to this day – I will always try to smile and have fun, but I do take my teaching seriously. And that’s another thing that I learned in this program. I cannot call teaching my “job”. I can’t say that I am going to “work”. It’s neither. It is my life now. I teach and I go to school. And I can’t even put my head around the thought of ever going back to the 9-to-5 life again.
The curriculum was pretty straightforward. Since we already had our content areas set, the professors’ job was to teach us how to teach. In my case, I think I learned more watching how they taught then what they taught. I know I still use teaching strategies in my classes that I saw Dr. Mendenhall and Dr. Ridgway use in our classes. Every step of the way, whether it was 505, 506 or Climate and Culture, the professors’ taught us and modeled to us the different methods of teaching. My favorite parts of the classes were when we actually got to teach a lesson or had to come up with a creative way to present curriculum to students. Back in high school, as mentioned before, I was a late bloomer. During our sophomore year all students were required to take a Speech class. Being the runt in the class didn't exactly bolster my confidence when standing in front of people and talking. I got to my Speech class on that first day and almost wet myself. It was full of the popular, smart and athletic students in my class. I was terrified. Our first speech was introducing another member of the class to the entire class. I know for a fact my voice shook like Peter Brady’s (time for a chaaaaange) when I gave this first speech. I also know that I cried the night before because I was so scared. If you talk to my mom now, she’ll probably tell you that I cried before every speech that semester. I've blocked most of it out of my brain at this point. But I do remember one important thing. After our last speech our teacher was handing out our grades and she commented on how well spoken the class was from beginning to end. At that point she made note to the class that there was really only one person with significant improvement from the first speech to the last. She no more got those words out of her mouth when she handed me my grade…and at the top she had written – nice improvement. I was on cloud nine. I had made it through. Whew!! Now here I was 20 some years later taking classes so that I could talk in front of people every day. And I loved it. Miracles never cease.
We weren't offered the luxury of having Dr. Mendenhall or Dr. Ridgway for our content area pedagogy class (unless your content area was foreign language) so I was curious, not only how the class would be run, but who would be running it. Once again, the Big Man upstairs was looking after me because the Business area teacher was a fantastic educator named Paige Balka. She had a presence about her when she was in front of our class. There is something a little bit different about being a business teacher. Many of us have spent time in the business world prior to becoming a teacher. You could tell from the first time you met Paige that she brought a very business-like attitude to the classroom. And that was something that we, as new teachers, needed to see. She was demanding of us and our work. But at the same time, she did have a sense of humor and a very personable side once we got to know her on a personal level. It was extremely helpful to have a model for us as business teachers as we were learning our craft. She was also very instrumental in helping us find our way within the curriculum of business. It’s a different bird. Things like marketing, technology and finance are very fluid. It isn't like Algebra where formulas never change or English because verbs are always going to be verbs. We have to adapt to the ever changing times and Paige was great at showing us strategies to use to enable us to keep up. I consider her an extremely important part of my teaching life (again, though I haven’t maintained very good contact – sorry Paige).
Around this time I could see the opportunity to student teach closing in fast. I was excited about the chance to actually get into a classroom, but dreading the part where we don’t get paid. My wife and I were discussing our options quite a bit as Christmas rolled around in 2004. We were on our way from Alabama (where most of her relatives live) to Chicago (where my family was gathering) when we thought she was getting sick. We just assumed it was the stress of the holidays and all the travel. The holiday season ended as January rolled around and things started to get back to normal. By this point, our first son, Brannon, was almost 14 months old. It was a fun time as a Dad. On my 3rd or 4th day back at work my wife, Rebecca called and asked if I wanted to meet her at home for lunch. I told her I didn't have time and didn't think anything of it. Once I got home, Brannon was with the grandparents and it was just the two of us. She proceeded to tell me that she wasn't sick – she was pregnant again. Huh-wha???? I was shocked. I had thought we were taking the precautionary measures making sure we wouldn’t get pregnant due to my upcoming student teaching. Now THIS threw a kink in the plans. I was certain that this was going to be the derailment of my plan, as if I hadn't learned a single thing through this entire process to this point. Rebecca and I talked about the possibilities of moving my student teaching to the spring once the child was born and we had some to time to get everything squared away. I have to admit I was extremely disappointed at this point. To be at the juncture in this process where I could see it and taste it, yet think that I would have to postpone it was heartbreaking. So I did what every student in the MAT program should do, I talked with Dr. Ridgway and Dr. Mendenhall. We discussed our situation and they let me know that some schools will hire students in the process of getting their licenses on what’s called an emergency license. This means that the school couldn't “find” anyone else to teach the class and that the state should grant the eventual teacher a license to teach with until the completed license was obtained.
OK, now I had an option. They would keep their eyes and ears open and I would constantly check the Indiana Department of Education website for possible jobs. As if it wasn't stressful enough with everything I had on my plate at the time, rolling the dice everyday to see if a possible teaching opening was available for someone with my credentials added to that pressure. Yet again, I doubted the path I had been set on (see a recurring theme here?) and started to give up hope. Since my undergraduate major was Marketing, I needed to look for a position in the Business content area. These jobs aren't exactly a dime a dozen, because those classes are elective classes. Students aren't forced to take business classes, therefore business departments are relatively small and jobs scarce. However, I did have quite a bit of professional experience in the Information Technology area – 12 years to be exact. So those were my choices.
You know that butterfly feeling you get when you see something you've been looking forward to for quite awhile? I got it one day when I saw that Westfield High School had an opening for a Technology teacher. This applicant needed to have experience teaching computer hardware and software classes to the students. Hey, that’s me! So I applied, and got my first experience in filling out application forms for schools. As if that wasn't enough, there was a section of the application where I needed to answer questions on how I would handles certain situations and students. It was very interesting and stressful at the same time. The most important thing I did for myself was not try to answer the questions with the answers they wanted to hear, but with my genuine responses. I clicked the submit button and began to dream.
About a week later I received a call from the Westfield-Washington School District. They wanted to interview me about the Technology teacher position. Hallelujah!!! I got a bite, but can I reel them in? I went to the interview more nervous about any interview I've ever had in my life. And then a funny thing happened. This giant red headed man took me into his office and then setup a video camera on his desk. He explained that they videotape all of the interviews in the district and should an applicant pass the first interview, they forward the video on to the school and its administrators. This threw me for such a loop that I forgot to be nervous. To top that off, he explained that he was going to give the interview with no emotion so that I would not take any nonverbal cues from him and be completely sincere with my answers. And he did exactly that – the most deadpan, monotone interview I have ever had in my life. The scene was so bizarre that it just fit my situation and I felt pretty good after the interview. I hoped I would hear something soon.
THE NEXT DAY, Stacy McGuire, the principal at Westfield High School, called me and asked if I could come in and interview with her. Wow!!! I was on cloud nine. The second I walked into her office and we began to talk, I just knew this was right. Her demeanor fit perfectly with my personality, yet I could sense her authority and love for her job. She graduated from WHS herself so she was very invested in the school. She explained that the questionnaire that was part of the application was to discover the teaching personality of the applicant. This part of the application process weeds out teachers who do not have the teaching philosophy they are looking for in potential teachers. My teaching philosophy came up as student-centered, which triggered my application to move on in the process. After we talked for awhile she explained that she needed to go to the Superintendent and the School Board to let them know that I was the candidate they wanted for the job, but since I didn't officially have my license yet they would need to apply for an emergency license.
And yet again, I waited…..and worried. Hey, do what you do well. It took a lot longer than I had hoped but I finally got a call from Stacy and she said that my emergency license was approved and that I was going to be hired. Praise the Lord!!! I was not going to have to postpone my student teaching!! Not only that, but I was also going to get paid while I student taught. Unbelievable. I didn't think it could get any better. And then I met my Cooperating Teacher. Her name was Becky Sondgeroth and she had gone through the University of Indianapolis program as well, so she knew exactly was I was going through in every phase of my introduction to public education. We met a couple of times and everything just felt so comfortable about the time and place for me. As if the entire process wasn't all lining up for me from the very beginning, here I was ready to be a full-fledged teacher. It was a great feeling. I met all of my fellow business teachers, as well as some teachers who had classes near me. I got along well with everyone. It was destiny.
Funny story – being a brand new teacher in the district, I needed to attend New Teacher Orientation a couple of days before school started. As you remember from earlier, my wife was pregnant with our second child during this whole process and he was about to be born. Since she had a Cesarean Section with our first son, she was going to have the same for our second son. We were given a couple of dates to choose from, one of which was August 15. That date struck home for me as it was my birthday. We chose that day because I just thought it would be super cool to have a son with the same birthday as me. Well, guess what day New Teacher Orientation happened to fall on? Yep, August 15. I got up that morning with a smile on my face that you couldn’t blast off with a jackhammer. My first order of business was to go to the Orientation, where I had to let them know that I was leaving at noon so that we could have our son. August 15, 2005 will always be one of the greatest days of my life because it was my first day in my new profession of teaching, my first day at Westfield High School, and my birthday. My friends say I should have bought a lottery ticket that day….but I had a few things going on and couldn't find time.
Back to Westfield, the first day of school came and I woke up and was surprisingly calm. Normally I am pretty nervous about new and unexpected occasions. But that morning, I wasn’t. Good sign. I got to school, went to my classroom, and waited for the students. I’ll never forget that feeling I had that first day. It was the most confident I had ever felt with any job in my entire life, and I owe that all to the University of Indianapolis MAT program for preparing me the right way. After the day was finished, the shop teacher, Doug Orahood, came by my class to ask how my first day was at school. Right before he left, he asked “So, do you feel like a teacher?” I smiled and responded, “I am a teacher.” I just knew.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
How to Fix the WWE in 10 Easy Steps....
Yes, my blog is a reflection of my faith - but I don't think being a professional wrestling fan is a sin. I know many fellow Christians who are huge WWE fans. Therefore, I will now channel my inner David Letterman and give you the Top 10 Ways to Fix the WWE...
Now on to fixing my favorite sport, MLB….
- Vince McMahon retires – I realize we are talking about the patriarch of the WWE but it’s become obvious to me that it is time for him to hang it up. Vince has long been fond of the muscle-bound big man, which ironically looks a lot like Hulk Hogan looked for him back in the 80-90’s. He struggles to let guys like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels get over because they weren’t big enough. And they are two of the best wrestlers ever, in my opinion. Even recently he had to cave in to fan support for Daniel Bryan even though Vince wanted Batista vs. Orton to headline WrestleMania XXX. You would have thought he’d learned his lesson, but the WWE is continuing to push Roman Reigns into the spotlight so he can take on Brock Lesnar in the main event at WrestleMania XXXI. The fans protested and they were appeased for a while when Bryan faced Reigns at FastLane for the chance to meet Lesnar at WM, but Vince won out (he does, after all, own the company) and Reigns v Lesnar is on in Levi’s Stadium. The problem here is the wave of wrestling talent working their way to the top is the athletic type. Bryan, Rollins, Ziggler, all of NXT for crying out loud (and I’ll get to them later). You’ve got to understand and have the pulse of the landscape and the audience and I believe Vince has lost it on both accounts. Move into retirement Vince and let HHH take over.
- Speaking of big, burly dudes – put the Heavyweight Title on someone who appears on TV more than once a month. I can understand to a point why Lesnar was given the belt, but at this point, it’s gone too far. The champion is the face of the company. Promoting the company is of the utmost importance to the WWE as they rely on those promotions to lead to ticket sales, WWE Network subscriptions and viewers of their shows. If the “face of the company” isn’t on television or at live shows every week it diminishes the title…and the company. Don’t get me wrong, Brock is a beast and I love every moment of every Paul Heyman promo. But the main guy has to be the main guy. It’s difficult to tell stories about the chase for the belt without the guy holding the belt even being there. WrestleMania has to produce a change in the title picture – whether it’s Reigns winning the belt or Rollins cashing in – it needs to happen.
- While we’re on the topic of belts…jettison the US Title and create a Television Title, which is defended EVERY week on television. You’ve got TWO television shows on cable each week. You mean to tell me you couldn’t create a stable of performers who could view for the belt week in and week out? Create an atmosphere of reverence for the main titles by having them defended rarely on television. It makes the pay-per-views (if that’s what we’re still calling them) more appealing (which leads to more network subscribers). I know I’d be more apt to watch the shows live if I knew a title was going to be on the line before I even tuned in. And with the depth of the current roster, there are plenty of guys who you can slot in this title picture to make it intriguing At the same time, the WWE is giving guys a chance to prove themselves on a smaller scale to ascertain if they are worthy of being moved up into the Intercontinental or Heavyweight Title pictures. It just makes sense!
- Build the Tag Team division. It needs to have significance again. Back in the day there was the Hart Foundation, the Bulldogs, Demolition and others all vying for the belts. It was a great scene and those matches could headline PPV’s they were so good. Somewhere along the line the Tag Team division got lost in the wayside. Again, harkening back to my previous point – the talent base has such depth that it’s possible to grow the division. I love the Uso’s, but to be honest, I’m sick of them. Give us other teams thrown into the mix. The WWE threw together Cesaro and Kidd and look what happened. There needs to be a multitude of tag teams to make the division strong and healthy. It’s almost as if the WWE throws tag teams’ together just so they can break and have a singles push. That’s NOT THE PURPOSE OF TAG TEAMS. Give me the days where I rooted hard for Windham and Rotundo to get their shot at Volkoff and the Iron Sheik; or the Bulldogs taking down Beefcake and Valentine (yes, I’m aging myself here); or Demolition getting a shot at the Hart Foundation. Please, I beg of you – build the tag team division!
- Decide on NXT. Is it going to be a feeder system for RAW and Smackdown or is it going to be a brand/entity unto itself? From all the news I’ve seen, NXT is having better shows and matches than the big boys on the main roster. We’ve been through the Raw v Smackdown brand split and that didn’t work. Does HHH think that NXT has enough stroke to live on its own? That’s the question they have to decide. Because if it is a feeder system, it’s glaringly obvious that certain superstars need to be on the main roster; especially within the women’s division. If it is to stand alone will it be a purely WWE Network entity or will it eventually get a cable TV slot? Will it have monthly PPV’s? Yes, they have run some special shows as if they were PPV’s but without the grandeur of the main roster. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to see Kevin Owens, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor, Charlotte, and Sasha Banks, etc face the current superstars preparing for WrestleMania.
- While we have the thought of Charlotte and Sasha Banks fresh in our minds, make the Women’s division a true wrestling division. Enough of this Diva crap. Either they’re wrestlers or they’re divas – one or the other. Granted, “Total Divas” is a huge coup for the company, but the only “real” wrestler in my opinion is Natalya. The others are eye candy that they’ve tried to train to become wrestlers so they can get TV time. It’s not working! Look no further to NXT to see the women who are true wrestlers. And guess what?! They’re attractive too. Funny how that works. Put the Bella’s as managers or reporters, keep Nattie, Paige and AJ Lee and jettison the rest unless they can cut the mustard on the mat. And change the belt while you’re at it to a legit belt. The image girls are looking up to now is Ronda Rousey. Get with the times and make them legit performers who are strong women.
- Take some of the old horses out to pasture. Yes Kane, Big Show, Christian, Goldust, and Mark Henry, I’m talking to you. You’ve been great performers over your careers and we thank you for your service, but it’s time to move on. Remember back into 1997, when the then WWF was struggling to gain traction against the ever-growing power called WCW? Vince had just told Bret Hart that he couldn’t abide the 12-year contract Bret had signed because it would put him in “financial peril”. Fast forward to Survivor Series, the Montreal Screwjob happens, Bret leaves, Shawn Michaels is the main guy, he hurts his back severely and the WWF needs new guys to build their brand on. Who do they look to? The young guys at the time. Some of these names you might recognize – Steve Austin, The Rock, and HHH. Yep. Vince had no choice but to give them a chance and they took the ball and ran with it. Do that again Vince, er, HHH (see point #1). It doesn’t have to be the Attitude Era again, but the WWE has a lot of young talent waiting for that chance.
- Three hours is too much content, so scale RAW back to two hours. It is a LONG time, three hours. I was fortunate enough to have a weekend radio show on the Internet for a few months as a test and it was a three hour show. Could we fill it? Yes. But we had umpteen different sports we could talk about and that made it easier for us. The WWE only has so many storylines to choose from for RAW. And lately it feels like they are just stretching the show out until the pinnacle of the show (right before 11pm). I want two things in my wrestling shows – wrestling itself (novel concept, right) and crisp, concise promos. Here’s where they lose me. We don’t need 20 minute promos for content they can condense into five minutes. WAY too much talking. Add to that the fact that many of the guys aren’t the best at promos (I’m looking at you Roman Reigns and Randy Orton), yet the still keep forcing them down our throats. Go with the good talkers, shorten the promos, give us quick, efficient matches and go home. I would be infinitely more willing to watch two hours live, than taping the current three hours and fast forwarding through the boring segments.
- Smackdown has become the forgotten show for WWE; it’s not “must see TV” as it used to be so I think that Paul Heyman should return to writing Smackdown. If you’ve watched the DVD “Ladies and Gentlemen, My Name is Paul Heyman” you watched as he described his time writing Smackdown (and if you haven’t watched the DVD and call yourself a pro wrestling fan – shame on you. It’s fantastic). Not coincidentally, the Heyman-Smackdown era garnered the best ratings in Smackdown history. The storylines were tight and exciting. He was building new starts like John Cena, Batista, Brock Lesnar and Edge. Pretty impressive resume builder there for Mr. Heyman. Let’s be honest – all the writings teams could use an overhaul. However, if Smackdown starts to bypass RAW in the ratings then RAW will become competitive and raise their game. It’s a win-win for everyone.
- Finally, and this one is a tough one to swallow, but get rid of Michael Cole as the head announcer for WWE. An issue we’ve all noticed lately is a change in the announcing teams for the television shows. Jerry Lawler was moved off of RAW and on to Smackdown and Booker T was added to RAW. I don’t think that’s the problem. I believe Michael Cole is the problem. First, I’ve have no ill will towards Cole. I’m sure he’s a great guy but announcing for wrestling needs a certain set of talents which I don’t think he has in his arsenal. The crux of the issue is storytelling. This is the most important attribute an announcer can have – to help convey the storyline through their announcing. Very few men have been able to master the trait – Jim Ross is the best. Gordon Solie (what little I saw of him) was fantastic and someone that is extremely underrated was Joey Styles in ECW. All of these men were able to add to the match and the story being told. I don’t believe Cole does that at all. It’s almost as if he’s just a shill for the WWE Network most times. Again, this isn’t a character assassination. It’s about the business and I deem it necessary for changes in the lead announce position for someone who can add to the show and allow viewers to really dive into the storylines.
Now on to fixing my favorite sport, MLB….
Until next time,
Shawn
Monday, March 16, 2015
NCAA - National Cash Acquiring Association
Everyone and their brother is going to fill out a bracket this week. I get it. And many pundits will offer you their takes on each region and how it will shake out, according to their expertise. I will also do both…and share them with you. But today I need to rant about the NCAA and the Selection Committee.
First, I’d like you to watch a video. Yes, it is 20 minutes long, but it hits all of the points that are a precursor to what I am about to say. Granted, I do NOT condone the language and some of the innuendos that appear in the video. It is an HBO show; therefore you will have some salty language. Again, I don’t excuse it but I would ask you to look past it to see the bigger issues.
After viewing the rant from John Oliver I realized that I probably shouldn’t have gotten as upset as I did yesterday during the brackets reveal. However, I don’t like enduring, voluntary hypocrisy. The committee chair can come on my television and spew his rhetoric all he wants. This tournament is about one thing - $$. And they’re going to try to squeeze the most out of it as possible. Quite frankly, that ruins it for me and I LOVE this time of year.
So why do I feel this way? Here are a few reasons why:
Until tomorrow (hopefully),
Shawn
First, I’d like you to watch a video. Yes, it is 20 minutes long, but it hits all of the points that are a precursor to what I am about to say. Granted, I do NOT condone the language and some of the innuendos that appear in the video. It is an HBO show; therefore you will have some salty language. Again, I don’t excuse it but I would ask you to look past it to see the bigger issues.
After viewing the rant from John Oliver I realized that I probably shouldn’t have gotten as upset as I did yesterday during the brackets reveal. However, I don’t like enduring, voluntary hypocrisy. The committee chair can come on my television and spew his rhetoric all he wants. This tournament is about one thing - $$. And they’re going to try to squeeze the most out of it as possible. Quite frankly, that ruins it for me and I LOVE this time of year.
So why do I feel this way? Here are a few reasons why:
- First and foremost, the pod system may be the worst change to any athletic event in the history of time. The committee states they are concerned about “keeping teams close for travel reasons” when we all know that it’s about selling more tickets. This produces match ups just for that reason. Example, a possible 2nd round match up (I will not EVER call the First Four the first round) between Wichita State and Kansas. You cannot tell me that it is just a coincidence that this match up may occur…and that it takes place in Omaha, NE.
- The major conference teams get more “credit” than they deserve. One of the reasons we watch the tournament is for the upsets. This is when mid-major teams can make their names – like a Gonzaga or Butler. Even if an underdog only wins one game the fans love it. So how does UCLA, Oklahoma State and Indiana get in the tournament? How is Wichita State get a 7 seed and UNI get a 5 seed? Listen, the Missouri Valley is a great conference. GREAT players have come through the Valley – Larry Bird, Hersey Hawkins, Xavier McDaniel, Antoine Carr, Paul Pressey, Kyle Korver and Doug McDermott just to name a few. Don’t undersell the mid-majors. A LOT of the big boys won’t play them in the pre-conference schedule because they’re afraid they’ll lose to the “little guys”. Give them some credit. Dayton last year ring a bell?
- Common sense goes out the window. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that ALL five teams from Indiana are in the Midwest Region. Seriously? Not a single committee member stood up and said “Guys, Indiana is a basketball-loving state. Do you think we should have all their teams in one region?” C’mon. For crying out loud, they put Dayton in a First Four game….that is played in DAYTON. If that doesn't scream ‘we’re in it for the money’ I don’t know what does.
- Squeezing every last drop of money possible. To sit there, with straight faces, and tell us that college athletics aren't about money but about student-athletes may be the biggest lie in society today (not withstanding and government officials). The NCAA makes a bajillion dollars off the television deals for the tournament AND people will ALWAYS follow their teams if they make it in the tournament. Why then should there be the need for changes like a ‘pod system’? The only logical reason is to make more money. That takes us back again to the hypocritical stance of the NCAA having the student-athletes best interests in mind. I refer back to the video for sources of this accusation.
- Integrity takes a backseat. Finally, why are Athletic Director’s on the Selection Committee? Isn’t that a complete and utter conflict of interest? They are ALL AD’s with one Associate Commissioner added in. FIVE of the committee members’ schools are in the tournament. I’ve never believed that this scenario does not have an effect on the seedings and bracket placement. It’s human nature to help out friends. How ethical is this process? While I understand that these gentlemen are professionals, but with so much money at stake it becomes a slippery slope. And it’s one I do not like at all. The basketball committee needs to look at the football committee for guidance on how to create a worthy selection committee.
Until tomorrow (hopefully),
Shawn
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Free Agent Madness
Yesterday was insanity. Leave it to the NFL to overtake the news at a time when conference tournaments are in full swing preparing for the NCAA Tournament and Spring Training games are being played as we prepare for the 2015 MLB season. It just goes to show you that the NFL truly is king.
There’s been a lot of talk about who has landed where, but let’s take a look at who’s left and where they might go…
1. DeMarco Murray – he’s #1 with a bullet on the available FA list. The Eagles appeared to be swooping in to sign him until they inked Ryan Mathews to a 3 year deal today. That would look as if it puts them out of the running…but you never know what Chip Kelly has up his sleeve. Obviously he can return to Dallas, but I have a strange feeling that Ole’ Jerry is going to put his eggs in the basket of a Texas native who might want out of where he is now – Adrian Peterson. Oakland has a ton of money to spend, but they’re Oakland and most people would say the same goes for Jacksonville. However, with the signing of Julius Thomas, Murray may want to form a core with him and Bortles. They now become intriguing. MY PICK – JAGUARS
2. Terrance Knighton – a pure nose tackle, the big man has interest from quite a few teams. He can return to Denver where he’s played for the last two years. He was drafted by Jacksonville but I don’t see any interest there. However, it does mean he’s played with Jack Del Rio as a coach for his whole career. Does that mean he goes to Oakland? Two other teams to look at are the Bears and the Redskins. Both run 3-4 defenses and are looking for that run-stopping, block-hogging guy in the middle and Pot Roast is just that guy. He’s allegedly visiting with Washington today. The Colts are also interested in him but with the signing of Cole, Gore and possibly Andre Johnson can they fit him in their salary structure? MY PICK – REDSKINS. They have a history of over-paying for free agents and I see this as the case for Knighton.
3. Brian Orakpo – he’s been an outstanding rush linebacker for the Redskins in his career so far but it’s going to be interesting to see if Washington wants him back after his third pectoral injury. They franchised him last year and signed him to a one-year deal, but you have to think the injury bug is a concern for the Redskins. The Titans are interested in him as they are looking for a rush linebacker. The Cardinals are also interested according to NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport. MY PICK – TITANS
4. CJ Spiller – Another player that has been injury prone his whole career, but is shown the door in Buffalo after they traded for LeSean McCoy. The teams interested in him are fascinating because they are all potential playoff contenders. Can Spiller sign with one of them and make a difference? Dallas is interested but I can’t see them having Spiller be their #1 back if they lose Murray. Philadelphia is in the mix, but again, with the signing of Mathews and the interest in Murray, who knows what will happen with the Eagles. Two AFC East teams are also interested. One being the Jets, but that just doesn’t feel right to me. Now the Patriots are really interesting here because they just lost Shane Vereen to the Giants and need another RB to complete their mix that Belichick likes to employ. MY PICK – PATRIOTS
5. Greg Hardy – my final selection has a lot of baggage to deal with should he be signed. He is still on the Commissioner’s Exempt List at this time, but like NFL.com states, with his age and production you know there will be teams interested. They mention a number, six, that might be interested but don’t give out any names. Here are my thoughts:
a. NY Jets – money to spend and could use another DE. Jason Babin is getting up there in age but is an OL and they could use a bookend to Wilkerson.
b. Patriots – Belichick has been known to take on a reclamation project or two (Dillon, Moss, OchoCinco, etc…) and again, with Hardy’s age and production he’d be a great fit in NE.
c. Titans – they’ve got cap room and their DL is nothing to write home about
d. Dallas – looking at their roster, they need a legit pass rusher to help solidify an improved defense. And Jerry is a guy who will take a chance on someone like Hardy.
e. Chicago – they didn’t get the production they would have like from Jared Allen and Hardy could be a nice fit as a rush OLB. After the debacle with Lamarr Houston last year the Bears need a solid pass rusher to put pressure on Rodgers, Stafford and Bridgewater.
f. New Orleans – their roster is being gutted by cap restrictions but they need a good pash rusher in the mix. But this is a LONG shot.
MY PICK - COWBOYS
1. DeMarco Murray – he’s #1 with a bullet on the available FA list. The Eagles appeared to be swooping in to sign him until they inked Ryan Mathews to a 3 year deal today. That would look as if it puts them out of the running…but you never know what Chip Kelly has up his sleeve. Obviously he can return to Dallas, but I have a strange feeling that Ole’ Jerry is going to put his eggs in the basket of a Texas native who might want out of where he is now – Adrian Peterson. Oakland has a ton of money to spend, but they’re Oakland and most people would say the same goes for Jacksonville. However, with the signing of Julius Thomas, Murray may want to form a core with him and Bortles. They now become intriguing. MY PICK – JAGUARS
2. Terrance Knighton – a pure nose tackle, the big man has interest from quite a few teams. He can return to Denver where he’s played for the last two years. He was drafted by Jacksonville but I don’t see any interest there. However, it does mean he’s played with Jack Del Rio as a coach for his whole career. Does that mean he goes to Oakland? Two other teams to look at are the Bears and the Redskins. Both run 3-4 defenses and are looking for that run-stopping, block-hogging guy in the middle and Pot Roast is just that guy. He’s allegedly visiting with Washington today. The Colts are also interested in him but with the signing of Cole, Gore and possibly Andre Johnson can they fit him in their salary structure? MY PICK – REDSKINS. They have a history of over-paying for free agents and I see this as the case for Knighton.
3. Brian Orakpo – he’s been an outstanding rush linebacker for the Redskins in his career so far but it’s going to be interesting to see if Washington wants him back after his third pectoral injury. They franchised him last year and signed him to a one-year deal, but you have to think the injury bug is a concern for the Redskins. The Titans are interested in him as they are looking for a rush linebacker. The Cardinals are also interested according to NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport. MY PICK – TITANS
4. CJ Spiller – Another player that has been injury prone his whole career, but is shown the door in Buffalo after they traded for LeSean McCoy. The teams interested in him are fascinating because they are all potential playoff contenders. Can Spiller sign with one of them and make a difference? Dallas is interested but I can’t see them having Spiller be their #1 back if they lose Murray. Philadelphia is in the mix, but again, with the signing of Mathews and the interest in Murray, who knows what will happen with the Eagles. Two AFC East teams are also interested. One being the Jets, but that just doesn’t feel right to me. Now the Patriots are really interesting here because they just lost Shane Vereen to the Giants and need another RB to complete their mix that Belichick likes to employ. MY PICK – PATRIOTS
5. Greg Hardy – my final selection has a lot of baggage to deal with should he be signed. He is still on the Commissioner’s Exempt List at this time, but like NFL.com states, with his age and production you know there will be teams interested. They mention a number, six, that might be interested but don’t give out any names. Here are my thoughts:
a. NY Jets – money to spend and could use another DE. Jason Babin is getting up there in age but is an OL and they could use a bookend to Wilkerson.
b. Patriots – Belichick has been known to take on a reclamation project or two (Dillon, Moss, OchoCinco, etc…) and again, with Hardy’s age and production he’d be a great fit in NE.
c. Titans – they’ve got cap room and their DL is nothing to write home about
d. Dallas – looking at their roster, they need a legit pass rusher to help solidify an improved defense. And Jerry is a guy who will take a chance on someone like Hardy.
e. Chicago – they didn’t get the production they would have like from Jared Allen and Hardy could be a nice fit as a rush OLB. After the debacle with Lamarr Houston last year the Bears need a solid pass rusher to put pressure on Rodgers, Stafford and Bridgewater.
f. New Orleans – their roster is being gutted by cap restrictions but they need a good pash rusher in the mix. But this is a LONG shot.
MY PICK - COWBOYS
There you have it. My picks for the best 5 free agents on the market that aren't aligned with just one team. It's been quite a conversation piece the last few days here in Indianapolis. I'm just ready for my Bears to make some more moves..... *ahem - Cutler for Brees*
Oh yeah, in case you didn't see it - the Young Guns took center stage in Mesa yesterday amid all the NFL free agent news. Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant went back-to-back-to-back against the Indians. Oh baby I'm ready for baseball.
Until next time,
Shawn
Monday, March 09, 2015
A New Day
No Monday Musings today as it is the start of a new day in the life of this blog/website. I've had a vision for awhile about a sports website that could report sports news but be just a little different than everyone else. I've been a Christian my whole life and it is an important part of who I am as a person. I can't deny that. At the same time, I've also not been a person who always puts my religious perspective into my sports takes. On very few occasions do the need to mix the two occur.
It's very simple. At my church we discuss sports ALL the time. Christians aren't different than anyone else when it comes to sports. Yes, we may like athletes like Tim Tebow more than the secular fan because of his faith, but again, it's not a proselytizing purpose. For example, should an incident like the Ray Rice incident occur again I truly believe many Christians wonder how to react to it. Our God is a forgiving God, but he also asks for each gender to be submissive to the other in love (Ephesians 5:22-33).
It can be a slippery slope but the Bible is the truth and that's where I'll go if necessary. However, for the most part I will reports sports...and some professional wrestling because I'm a huge fan of that as well. Maybe some pop culture stuff like movies, music and TV may pop in occasionally as well.
There you have it - a new day. And I'm excited.
Until next time,
Shawn
It's very simple. At my church we discuss sports ALL the time. Christians aren't different than anyone else when it comes to sports. Yes, we may like athletes like Tim Tebow more than the secular fan because of his faith, but again, it's not a proselytizing purpose. For example, should an incident like the Ray Rice incident occur again I truly believe many Christians wonder how to react to it. Our God is a forgiving God, but he also asks for each gender to be submissive to the other in love (Ephesians 5:22-33).
It can be a slippery slope but the Bible is the truth and that's where I'll go if necessary. However, for the most part I will reports sports...and some professional wrestling because I'm a huge fan of that as well. Maybe some pop culture stuff like movies, music and TV may pop in occasionally as well.
There you have it - a new day. And I'm excited.
Until next time,
Shawn
Saturday, March 07, 2015
Friday, March 06, 2015
Bye Bye Brandon...
I’m depressed. Totally devastated.
The Chicago Bears traded my favorite player, Brandon Marshall, today to the New York Jets, reportedly for a 5th round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. We’ll get to the reported compensation a little later, but now I want to focus on the fact that they Bears just traded the best WR they’ve had IN MY LIFETIME.
From the time I was born, I was bred to be a Chicago Bears fan. My father was a huge Gale Sayers fan so it was only fitting that I began a lifelong love affair with the Bears. Being born in 1968, my first few years alive saw the Bears as inept and horrible, but I was too young to care at that point. It was about 1976-77 that I really began to pay attention. This coincided with the Bears becoming halfway decent and making the playoffs for the first time since their championship season of 1963.
The first GOOD wide receiver I remember noticing was James Scott. He wore #89 and was a decent WR and caught 50 balls in 1977. That ranks as the 58th best season for a pass catcher in Chicago Bears history. It’s fairly obvious from that ranking that the Bears were a ground and pound team for most of their existence. At that time, they had a particularly good running back named Walter Payton. You might recognize the name. Only eight times BEFORE James Scott had the 50 catches in 1977 did a Bears receiver catch more than 50 passes and half of those were turned in by Mike Ditka, who played tight end. Eleven of the top 40 receiving seasons in Bears history are from RB’s or TE’s. So it’s abundantly clear that the Bears have never been a mecca for wide receivers. When the all-time receiving list is littered with names like Curtis Conway, Marty Booker, Bobby Engram and Marcus Robinson, your history isn’t exactly a who’s who of wide receivers.
Let’s look at Marshall’s stats for his time in a Bears uniform. In three short years, he is already 8th all-time in receptions, 11th all-time in yards, and tied for 5th in TD’s. THREE YEARS. His three years rank 1st, 4th and 27th as season for Bears receivers. He’d be higher in all those categories had he not been injured for a three games last year. He still totaled 279 catches for 3,524 yards and 31 TD’s in those three years. That is the best stretch for ANY wide receiver in Bears history.
Aside from production, Marshall did have his issues. Now, I’m an old school kind of guy and the off the field incidents bother me for any athlete. But as someone who has a “mental illness” as I do (depression) I can completely understand, but not condone, his pre-Chicago behaviors. While in Chicago, he was a model citizen for two years. It was this last year that bit him in the rear. The “Inside the NFL” gig was a problem. You’ve got to be concentrating on the game that week and not flying to NY for a TV show. At the same time, he got into a Twitter spat with a Lions fan that ended with him challenging the fan to a boxing match….for charity. Finally, he had issues with radio personalities in Chicago, specifically calling ESPN1000 host Carmen DeFalco a clown. Again, I’m not condoning this behavior, but as real and emotional as he is the last two instances make sense. And are those enough to warrant a trade? Not in my opinion. Add his production on the field to the issues and it’s a travesty that he was traded. I really hope Ryan Pace and the Bears front office aren’t using these instances as the reasons for trading Marshall.
It’s difficult when your favorite player is traded off of your favorite team. I loved Marshall’s passion to win while on the playing field. I loved his commitment to mental health awareness off the field. I have a hard time believing this was a salary cap move. Yes, it does create some cap space, but as the guys on Waddle and Silvy always say, “Who you going to replace him with?” The Bears have time to fill that hole, but it won’t be the same for me this year without BMarsh on the field.
Good bye Brandon. I’ll still wear your jersey proudly.
The Chicago Bears traded my favorite player, Brandon Marshall, today to the New York Jets, reportedly for a 5th round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. We’ll get to the reported compensation a little later, but now I want to focus on the fact that they Bears just traded the best WR they’ve had IN MY LIFETIME.
From the time I was born, I was bred to be a Chicago Bears fan. My father was a huge Gale Sayers fan so it was only fitting that I began a lifelong love affair with the Bears. Being born in 1968, my first few years alive saw the Bears as inept and horrible, but I was too young to care at that point. It was about 1976-77 that I really began to pay attention. This coincided with the Bears becoming halfway decent and making the playoffs for the first time since their championship season of 1963.
The first GOOD wide receiver I remember noticing was James Scott. He wore #89 and was a decent WR and caught 50 balls in 1977. That ranks as the 58th best season for a pass catcher in Chicago Bears history. It’s fairly obvious from that ranking that the Bears were a ground and pound team for most of their existence. At that time, they had a particularly good running back named Walter Payton. You might recognize the name. Only eight times BEFORE James Scott had the 50 catches in 1977 did a Bears receiver catch more than 50 passes and half of those were turned in by Mike Ditka, who played tight end. Eleven of the top 40 receiving seasons in Bears history are from RB’s or TE’s. So it’s abundantly clear that the Bears have never been a mecca for wide receivers. When the all-time receiving list is littered with names like Curtis Conway, Marty Booker, Bobby Engram and Marcus Robinson, your history isn’t exactly a who’s who of wide receivers.
Let’s look at Marshall’s stats for his time in a Bears uniform. In three short years, he is already 8th all-time in receptions, 11th all-time in yards, and tied for 5th in TD’s. THREE YEARS. His three years rank 1st, 4th and 27th as season for Bears receivers. He’d be higher in all those categories had he not been injured for a three games last year. He still totaled 279 catches for 3,524 yards and 31 TD’s in those three years. That is the best stretch for ANY wide receiver in Bears history.
Aside from production, Marshall did have his issues. Now, I’m an old school kind of guy and the off the field incidents bother me for any athlete. But as someone who has a “mental illness” as I do (depression) I can completely understand, but not condone, his pre-Chicago behaviors. While in Chicago, he was a model citizen for two years. It was this last year that bit him in the rear. The “Inside the NFL” gig was a problem. You’ve got to be concentrating on the game that week and not flying to NY for a TV show. At the same time, he got into a Twitter spat with a Lions fan that ended with him challenging the fan to a boxing match….for charity. Finally, he had issues with radio personalities in Chicago, specifically calling ESPN1000 host Carmen DeFalco a clown. Again, I’m not condoning this behavior, but as real and emotional as he is the last two instances make sense. And are those enough to warrant a trade? Not in my opinion. Add his production on the field to the issues and it’s a travesty that he was traded. I really hope Ryan Pace and the Bears front office aren’t using these instances as the reasons for trading Marshall.
It’s difficult when your favorite player is traded off of your favorite team. I loved Marshall’s passion to win while on the playing field. I loved his commitment to mental health awareness off the field. I have a hard time believing this was a salary cap move. Yes, it does create some cap space, but as the guys on Waddle and Silvy always say, “Who you going to replace him with?” The Bears have time to fill that hole, but it won’t be the same for me this year without BMarsh on the field.
Good bye Brandon. I’ll still wear your jersey proudly.
Tuesday, March 03, 2015
Monday Musings....a little late
Sorry for the late edition of the musings…but our furnace went out (again) Sunday night so I didn’t have a chance to compile the list. But today, we’re all good.
- At the end of last week, Chicago took a collective kick to the groin as two of the best players in the city, Patrick Kane and Derrick Rose, both went down with significant injuries. Let’s address D-Rose first. This is the third knee injury for Rose in a short time span. That has to raise a red flag. Granted, it was his meniscus, which apparently hadn’t healed fully from his second knee injury. From all I’ve seen and heard, it’s taken quite a toll on Derrick mentally to come back from the second knee surgery. How will this affect him? He’s not on his own time table anymore. After his surgery it was made known by the doctors that the meniscus was clipped and that he should be back in 3-4 weeks. And that’s when the Bulls will expect him back…just in time for the playoff surge.
- Kane, on the other hand, in a very nebulous play, fell into the boards and broke his collarbone. He had surgery and is out for 12 weeks. This is extremely more significant than the Rose injury for a few reasons, in my opinion. First and foremost, he won’t be available until the Western Conference Finals IF the Blackhawks advance to that point. At the same time, for a team that has struggles to score, losing their leading scorer does not bode well for them. Luckily, in the time since the injury, Stan Bowman has made some key acquisitions (along with salary cap relief) in order to maintain their position as a Stanley Cup contender. Only time will tell.
- Ronda Rousey is the baddest woman on the planet. In her title defense against Cat Zingano, it required all of 14 seconds for her to defeat Zingano and retain her title. After taking the time to watch all of the fight (I jest) it’s glaringly obvious that Zingano’s mistake was bull-rushing Rousey. While meant to catch Rousey off guard it only opened Cat up to the arm bar that Rousey so famously imposes on her combatants. If you blinked you missed it. Can we please give Rousey some competition?
- Another sad day in Chicago this weekend as Chicago White Sox legend Minnie Minoso passed away at the age of 89. Minoso broke the color barrier on the South side of Chicago. Two years later, Ernie Banks would break the color barrier on the North side of Chicago for the Cubs. Losing them both in the same year is a tremendous blow for the city of Chicago and their baseball fans. In yet another substandard effort by the National Hall of Fame, Minoso was not inducted before his death. His time in baseball shows that he belongs in the Hall. It’s pretty disgusting that two of the major icons of Chicago baseball were not inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame before their passing so they could appreciate the honor. Minoso, along with Ron Santo, will forever be adored by Chicago baseball fans. And I agree with Bruce Miles (Chicago Cubs beat writer for the Daily Herald - @brucemiles2112) that the annual Crosstown Cup should be renamed the Banks-Minoso Cup in honor of these two great athletes.
- Curt Schilling took to the Internet to defend his daughter this weekend in regards to knuckleheads and social media. If you have not read his article yet, please go to https://38pitches.wordpress.com/ and read his post. It’s pretty disturbing. I've always felt that social media is a chance for cowards to be “courageous” and I use that term VERY loosely. Because what they post is not courageous at all, it’s disgusting, vulgar and downright reprehensible. Back in my day we had a condition called ‘liquid courage’. It boiled down to the fact that if you’d had enough liquor you’d say things you normally wouldn't say. Lucky for us, we didn't have social media so if we were idiots only the people around us at the time heard it. It wasn't on display for the whole world to see – FOREVER. And that’s where I feel this generation needs to learn a few lessons. There are very few things in this world that we get more passionate about then sports. I love being on Twitter when my teams are playing so I can converse with like-minded fans about the contest. But there’s always the imbeciles who use it as a platform to spew vitriol and hatred to those people they disagree with on subjects. It’s unbelievable to me that someone would have the chutzpah to post content with such animosity on their mind. Schilling decided to do something about it…and I applaud him loudly. He posted comments on his blog so readers could see who posted the awful comments. From what I have read so far today, one poster lost his job and another is suspended from the college he was attending. Good for them! It is sad that social media has devolved to this level when there is so much good that can come from it. Today’s youngsters need to understand the importance of the digital imprint they leave on society. Maybe, just maybe, instances like this will wise them up to the perils of not using filters when online.
Let's do this, @Cubs and @whitesox. The #BanksMinosoCup. My short @dailyherald take. http://t.co/ymwhr7QzpE
— Bruce Miles (@BruceMiles2112) March 1, 2015
That's it for today. Later this week I may get into Franchise tags and players that are now available in free agency in the NFL. The cap has risen to $143 million, so it bodes well for some. MLB previews coming soon too!
Shawn
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Life Lesson from Sports....and my Dad
I love being a parent. It's so much fun to experience life on this end now as opposed to when I was a kid. Recently, two instances brought back good memories of my Dad.
For those of you that don't know, my father passed away in 1996. I was 27 and he had been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. The bigger problem was that a few months earlier he had broken a bone in his foot and got up on it too quickly. He had blood clot issues which caused him to go on blood thinners. He was still on the medication when he received the news about the aneurysm. He needed to wait for this blood viscosity to get back to normal before he could have the surgery. Luckily, he made it to the surgery. It went well. He was recuperating in the hospital without any issues. Six days after his brain surgery he was being helped to the bathroom when he dropped dead. Bill Crull was killed instantly by two pulmonary embolisms and an arterial embolism in his heart. He was 51.
Back to my point, I signed my littlest son up for Little League this last week. This was the time of the year growing up that was the most difficult for me to endure. I was ALWAYS ready for baseball season. Knowing that the winter was ending, spring was coming, and baseball was starting left me giddy with hope. I wish both my sons played ball now. My oldest just hasn't shown the interest and I allow him to be his own young man, it's just hard for me to understand why you wouldn't play baseball. I would bug my Dad to death about sign ups for Little League. Deep down, I'm sure he loved it, but I would drive him crazy about it because I loved it so much. I was also one of the very few players who enjoyed having my dad as the coach. He always seemed to know me better than I knew myself and he encouraged me in that way so that I would realize those skills. The ONLY thing I wouldn't do that he wanted me to was steal home with a right-handed hitter at the plate. I could never trust my teammates to read the sign correctly when a misinterpretation meant a baseball bat upside my head. I miss those times.
The second memory from this week was one of the best lessons I've ever learned in life from my Dad. Every year our Little League (Rome Little League in Rome, IL) held a post season awards ceremony. Each of the teams from the different leagues would gather and each league/team would present awards in front of everyone else. Each team, regardless of league, gave out three trophies - MVP, Batting Average and Sportsmanship. The 12 year old players had an overall best player trophy called the Gotch Award, named after a young man who played in our league but died tragically in a fire at 12. The 13 year old players had an overall best player trophy called the Stoecker Award named after a major sponsor of our Little League. Now, I fancied myself as a good ball player. Yes, I was an All-Star every year but I never imagined myself (in reality, I dreamed about it though) winning one of the two big awards. For me, it was all about the MVP. Batting average can come down to one AB so that didn't bother me much, but to be deemed the Most Valuable Player on your team was the highest honor you could receive. You were the best. And isn't that what every aspiring Cubs center-fielder (my dream as a kid) hopes for?
Well, I never won it. And by the time I reached 13 I'd had enough. Oh, I didn't go award-less. Nearly every year I won the Sportsmanship trophy for my team. While I loved being a great teammate and playing the game the right way, I just wanted the approval that I was good. So here I am as a 13 year old and the evening awards ceremony is over, I've just won the Sportsmanship trophy again and we're headed to the van. I'm steaming because I felt like I had a great year and was deserving of the MVP award. It was just me, my Dad and my brother and I got to ride in the front seat on the way home.
** side note - isn't it great the things we manage to create when we have siblings? Heaven forbid one sibling get to ride in the front seat on the way to a destination and I don't get a chance on the way back? And I had an older brother and two younger sisters, so it was always a discussion, for lack of a better term. :) **
As we got into the van I took the trophy and threw it down between the two front seats and proceeded to exclaim to anyone who could hear me, "I'm sick of winning this stupid trophy. I want to be recognized as the best player on the team" (Yes, it's been a few years but I feel like it's OK to use artistic license on my own words). The look on my Dad's face sent shivers through my spine. It wasn't a look of anger or trepidation but one of disappointment. And not the "I can't believe you screwed up and I'm disappointed in your actions" look, but one that sent him into uber-father mode. He looked at me and said, in so many words, "Son, I could not be any prouder of you right now. To me, that award is the most important award you can win. It shows that we've taught you to be a great person, which is much better than being a great ballplayer."
At that moment, I was both mortified that I had done what I'd done with that trophy and yet ecstatic that I made my father proud. I picked my trophy up, dusted it off, and held on to it with great zeal. I took it home and set it up with all of my other sportsmanship trophies and displayed them proudly. My father taught me that how you play is more important that how well you play. Always be above reproach on the field of play. I'm glad I made him proud.
I hope I can pass the same lesson on to my sons....
Monday, February 23, 2015
Monday Musings
It is that time of the week again, and MAN it was a full weekend. So let’s get after it!
- For the second week in a row I will start with a non-sports take. The Oscars were held last night in Hollywood and while I never watch the ceremonies closely (I’ll get to that in a minute), I do like to predict the major 6 award winners – Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress. Most years I put in some research, look at trends, follow the Golden Globes and make my picks. And most every year I get five out of six correct. There’s always that one award that goes against the grain and snags me every time. This year, my research was non-existent and it showed in my picks. I couldn’t decide on the three close categories – Director, Picture and Actor. I assumed that Director and Picture would be tied together as they usually are and it came down to “Birdman” or “Boyhood”. As far as Best Actor went it would come down to the two Golden Globe winners, Michael Keaton for “Birdman” or Eddie Redmayne for “The Theory of Everything”. My thought processes was that Richard Linklater would be rewarded for his innovation and receive the Academy Award for Picture and Director. At the same time, I thought that “Birdman” wouldn’t get shut out and that Keaton would win for Best Actor. Wrong on both accounts. I wish I understood the premise of having an Awards show that only gives out two major awards within the first two hours! Living in the Eastern Time zone it’s almost midnight before the good awards are presented. I’m an old man and can’t stay up that late. Fix it!
- All the planets have aligned and we are finally getting the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fight in May. Yawn. It’s two years too late. I recognize that the fight will still draw a mass of pay-per-view buys and that’s really what this fight is all about anyway. But fans wanted to see these two fight at their apex and that moment has passed us by. It is a shame that they got caught up in minutiae and robbed us of them at their peak. I won’t watch.
- Another big story this week was the B1G conference stating they were “considering” a proposal that would force incoming freshmen to redshirt in order to adjust to college life. This reeks of hypocrisy on so many levels. First and foremost, these are the same conferences who have added member schools to make them larger in order to have a conference championship in football…which makes them MORE money. Second, this also allows the conferences to secure TV funding for a conference specific station….which makes them MORE money. And now you’re going to tell me that you care about the student-athlete enough to force them to sit out a year? Idiocy. Kids get it now. They understand that college athletics is their minor leagues and realize that if the schools are going to exploit them for money making initiatives then the students will turn around and use the schools to help them get to the professional levels. It’s ridiculous. And we haven’t even mentioned that this initiative would have to be across the board for every conference. At the same time, college basketball would suffer because I don’t see the NBA changing the “must go to college for one year” rule. That is completely incompatible with this proposal. Stop insulting our intelligence.
- The NFL combine is taking place in my hometown of Indianapolis as we speak. I find the combine interesting on so many levels. It reinforces the fact that the NFL is first a business because all of these coaches and GM’s want to make sure they get ample reward for their investment. But I also believe that the drills and such can be overvalued. Look at Tom Brady. His combine showing was mediocre at best. But he’s a winner. I love the following video synching Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston in the 40-yard dash. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the #1 overall pick in the draft and they are completing their due diligence on both QB’s. but many scouts can get caught up in the “measurables”. If that were the case, Mariota would be the consensus #1 pick. He ran faster, jumped higher, tested better and so forth. But then they threw. At that’s where Jameis showed his ability. It’s such an inexact science which is why it’s so fascinating.
Post by Will Brinson.
- Sunday was the 35th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice. This is the greatest upset in sports history and I’m not sure there can ever be anything to replace it. At this point in my life, it’s hard to comprehend that this even took place 35 years ago. I was 11 and remember where I was when I heard that the Americans had won. It was the early game and was being tape delayed for TV. We found out over the radio that the US had beaten the Russians and we went crazy. We still watched it and sat at the edge of our seats the entire game even though we knew the outcome. More than anything it was uplifting for us as a nation because we were getting our teeth kicked in on the news every night. Iran and Russia were bullying us (and others), gas prices and availability were poor, and it was just a depressing time in our nation. And the face that a sports team could lift up entire nation just shows the power of sports. Do I believe in miracles? Yes!
- The most active trade deadline in NBA history took place this last week. 37 players, not including picks, were swapped between teams. It was fun to watch…except for the fact that the Pacers did nothing. This was a bad move on Larry Bird’s part and I think it will come back to haunt him for years to come. Point guards were available (Dragic, Lawson) and this was an opportunity to pounce and begin to rebuild with youth around a recuperating Paul George. But Larry stood still. West, Hibbert and George could have been moved to clear cap space, acquire assets, and obtain draft picks to reform the monster.
- The NHL continued the 2015 Stadium Series this weekend with a tilt in the newly constructed Levi’s Stadium in San Jose where the hometown Sharks took on the Los Angeles Kings. Aside from the facts that the game is in a warm weather location and that the stadium is so large that fans aren’t close to the action at all, the daring of the LA Kings to wear white pants with a white jersey totally threw everyone for a loop. They looked like pajamas. Awful.
- Speaking of Los Angeles, apparently the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders are teaming up to build a joint stadium in LA. I’m sure the NFL loves this as they’d rather have two teams in the second largest market in the US than just one. But it’s the details that I’m fascinated with in this scenario.
If the Chargers and Raiders both move to LA, one would go to the NFC. I'm hearing both would be OK with it in order to make the move happen.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 20, 2015
- Here's where it gets interesting. The NFL does not want an unbalanced conference or an unbalanced schedule. which means a team in the NFC would have to move to the AFC in order to facilitate this move by the Chargers and the Raiders. Let's look at the NFC West - the Seahawks and 49ers are such bitter rivals at this point I can't see either one of them moving. The Cardinals are intriguing, but there's also the rumors of the Rams wanting to move to LA as well. As two of the older teams in the NFL it's going to be hard to ask one of them to leave for the AFC. At the same time, I would think the Chargers would move to the NFC, if for no other reason than the rivalries with the Raiders and the Broncos and Chiefs are too strong from the AFL days. I anxiously await to see how this plays out...
Until next time,
Shawn
@illini3sc
Thursday, February 19, 2015
My Guilty Pleasure
The time has come for me to address my biggest
guilty pleasure – professional wrestling. Let me stop you right there – your
first statement is going to be “you know it’s fake, right?” First and foremost,
the word to use is “scripted”. The winner is predetermined, but the action is
anything but fake. Just ask the multiple wrestlers who have had neck fusion
surgery from all of the wear and tear (i.e. Edge). I’ll leave it to one of my
favorite Twitter follows, Julie DiCaro, for the best explanation yet about
professional wrestling:
We know wrestling is fake. So are movies. So are TV shows. It's entertainment. Let's not judge what fake things people like to watch.
— Julie DiCaro (@JulieDiCaro) January 26, 2015
In my youth I stumbled across the WWF (at the time)
on a Saturday morning and watched as the All-American boys, Barry Windham and
Mike Rotunda wrestled the evil duo of a Russian, Nikolai Volkov and an Iranian,
The Iron Shiek. I was fascinated. It just so happened that it was the match
where the Americans took the Tag Team Titles from the villains. My parents
weren’t thrilled that I was watching wrestling so I couldn’t keep up with it as
I wanted to, so I needed sources. My source told me that, not long after that
match, the Russian/Iranian duo won the Tag belts back and Windham and Rotunda
broke up. Bummer. Fast forward a few years and I am a freshman in college. One
of my buddies from church happens to be a wrestling fan, so we begin to talk
about it and my interest in rekindled. This was in 1987 – the year of
Wrestlemania III. As my curiosity towards wrestling increased, the (in my
opinion) greatest wrestling card of all-time took place in Detroit, Michigan.
And the match that hooked me for life was the most epic match I have ever seen
– the battle between Randy “Macho Man” Savage and Ricky Steamboat for the
Intercontinental Title.
I’ve been a fan for life ever since. And I never
leaned towards one particular company either. I would watch WCW on Turner on
Saturdays, the WWF on Saturdays and Mondays, didn’t matter. And then this rogue
company on the East Coast started showing up on local cable networks we had on
DirecTV called ECW. I was blown away by the storytelling and the violence. I’m
not a violent person and I don’t particularly care for constant “hardcore”
wrestling, but at the time it was innovative and fresh. Well, as the story
goes, the Monday Night Wars happened and WWE won out and is currently the main
wrestling promotion (I’m not into TNA at all, can’t tell you why).
So there you have it; my back story on my affection
for professional wrestling. Now on to more important details…
If you follow wrestling at all, the pinnacle of the
sport is WrestleMania. It takes place in the first week of April, most often on
the Sunday between Final Four days. The last two months leading up to
WrestleMania write the stories that will play out in the penultimate event.
This is our current position. It’s been written, ad nauseam, about the disaster
that was the Royal Rumble. I won’t bore you with details other than this (in
case you’re not up to speed on your pro wrestling storylines) – this winner of
the Royal Rumble faces the champion in a title match at WrestleMania. This
year, Roman Reigns, a former member of the faction The Shield, won the Rumble
and was set to face Brock Lesnar at WM. But a funny thing happened on the way
to San Jose…the fans revolted….again! It happened last year as the “chosen
one”, Dave Batista, was roundly booed after he won the Royal Rumble because the
fans wanted upstart Daniel Bryan to win the RR and headline WM. The WWE
listened and changed storylines leading up to WM building Bryan’s ascent,
leading to him defeating HHH, Randy Orton and Batista to win the World
Heavyweight Title. Lessons learned, right? Wrong. The WWE botched it again by
“force feeding” Reigns down the fans throats as the new “face of the company”.
And the fans didn’t like it. It’s been covered very eloquently by my favorite
wrestling writer, Grantland.com’s
David Shoemaker here
and by other writers as
well.
Here’s where I come in. I will now write the stories
for the upcoming WWE PPV, Fastlane (which by the way, goes to show you how out
of touch they can be – doesn’t this sound like a DisneyFX cartoon for 8-10 year
olds?), as well as WrestleMania.
Reigns/Bryan/Lesnar
Where do we currently stand? In the uproar after the
Rumble the WWE quickly changed course and created some interesting plot twists.
In an episode of RAW after the RR Seth Rollins wrestled Daniel Bryan, with the
winner receiving a match with Reigns at Fastlane. The winner of the match at
Fastlane then faces Lesnar at WM. Obviously you’ve picked up from my header
that Daniel Bryan won the match at RAW and now faces Reigns at Fastlane. Reigns
has been a bit edgier lately, which has helped him, but I think the fans still
want Bryan at WM.
Here’s my idea. What is the one thing Reigns lacks?
Mic skills. What wrestler is leaving the promotion after WM? Brock Lesnar. Who
is an “advocate” or mouthpiece for Lesnar that will be out of work after WM?
Paul Heyman. See where I’m going here? If the fans are going to boo you, like
they did to Rocky Maivia, then give them what they want. Let the bloodlines merge.
At Fastlane, Heyman shows up during the Bryan/Reigns match at ringside. He will
“taunt” Reigns, continuing his spiel from the night after the Rumble to Reigns,
telling him not to let his family down. In the end, Reigns goes after Heyman,
gets counted out and catches him in the ring. At which point, the celebrating
Daniel Bryan gets a beat down from Reigns and Heyman with Roman becoming the
new “Paul Heyman guy”.
The next night on RAW Heyman gets on the mic and proceeds
to wax poetic about how ignorant the fans are and that they have no idea what
they want. Break down the veil of kayfabe and acknowledge that Lesnar is
leaving after WM and that he picked out Reigns as the one to carry his torch
when he leaves. Heyman then continues to eschew the fact that once Lesnar beats
Bryan at WrestleMania, he will lie down and let Reigns pin him to become
champion, a la Million Dollar Man and Andre the Giant. Reigns will then get on
the mic and say it’s always been about the title and this was the best way not
to get screwed and it’s “about what’s best for….(dramatic pause) me (him).” Mic
drop. End of show.
Fast forward to WrestleMania…Daniel Bryan now has
the unenviable task of defeating the beast Brock Lesnar. The match goes as most
would imagine, very similar to Lesnar beat down of Cena at the last showdown. Complete
domination by Lesnar over Bryan. Reigns comes down to ringside during the
match, waiting for his moment to get his hands on the belt. The Authority comes
down to make sure Reigns doesn’t get involved. They obviously don’t want Bryan
to win but don’t want Lesnar laying down for Reigns either. As the match
reaches its zenith, tempers flare and the Authority and Reigns get into a
scrum. Heyman comes to help and Lesnar is distracted. This allows Daniel Bryan
to catch Brock by surprise and beat him for the title. Heyman, Lesnar and
Reigns are livid and start to cause issues with the “New” Authority (more on
this later) and others. Hiding in the crowd, however, is Seth Rollins with the
briefcase. He sneaks into the ring while Bryan is celebrating and clobbers him
with the briefcase, which no one sees, and then cashes in his MITB shot. He
pins Bryan to become champ. After he wins and his arm is raised with the belt,
Reigns come streaking in from the outside and spears Rollins to end the show.
And thus begins a feud between Rollins and Reigns.
Rollins
Who does Rollins fight after losing to Bryan on RAW
for the chance to wrestle Reigns at Fastlane? No, not Randy Orton. How about
Dolph Ziggler? Think about the match the two of them would have at WM…shades of
Savage/Steamboat float in my head. Make it more interesting by putting the
Money in the Bank briefcase up for grabs. How do you set it up? We’ve had the
Authority mess with Ziggler, amongst others, in recent weeks. Use that
storyline to setup the match and then let the two go at it. Rollins wins, but
you need to set Ziggler up for a push to main event status.
At the same time, at Fastlane, Rollins needs to call
out J&J Security, Kane and the Big Show and lecture them about the perils
of failure. Let them know that he’s held the briefcase for an extended period
of time but is not getting any help from them to reach his goal of being World
Champion. Therefore, he has decided that they are all fired as members of The
Authority. He then sends out a directive to all the superstars in the back that
if they want to be on the fast track (or Fastlane, if you will) to the top then
they can align themselves with Rollins.
Cena/Rusev
It appears as though the WWE is trying to create old
Hulk Hogan 2.0 with Cena by pitting him against the evil Rusev. BOR-ING!!! What
good does it do for Cena to become the US Champ? Absolutely nothing. First, WWE
needs to change the US Championship to the TV Title and have it defended every
week on television. Second, get Cena and Rusev out of that picture – they are
main event players. Obviously, the WWE is setting up a rematch for
WrestleMania, so the outcome at Fastlane looks like it will be Rusev by DQ or
interference.
Personally, I believe Cena is the guy to make so
many of the young potential stars in the WWE. It was a role played very well by
Terry Funk in his later years. There needs to be someone to bridge the gap
between older starts (i.e. Big Show, Kane, etc…) to the new generation of
superstars. Cena is that guy. The only problem is, I believe he needs to
embrace his heel side to do it right. I grasp that he is a huge ambassador for
the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But today’s fans don’t recognize a true babyface
and a true heel anymore. It’s blurred lines. When Hogan turned he was pure heel
and it was pure magic. His heat was white hot and it set the industry on its
ear. Cena has the stroke to make the same waves. Turn him at WrestleMania –
make the match with Rusev his turning point. Then post-WM have him put over
younger guys like Barrett, Rollins, Ziggler, Ambrose, Reigns….even Zayn, Owens
and Balor.
Wyatt’s
The program is set for Bray Wyatt to take on the
Undertaker. I love this potential matchup but the major issue is that Taker
goes away after WrestleMania and what’s left for Wyatt to do? Here’s what I
would suggest – bring back “the family”. Only it’s not Harper and Rowan. It’s
Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and Cody Rhodes. All 2nd/3rd generation
wrestlers who are sick of what’s happening in wrestling today and have decided
to join the Wyatt Family to save the world. They can all run in at the end of
the WrestleMania match with Taker to help beat him down after he beats Bray.
Bray will start to cut promos about the new family right before and after
Fastlane in his buildup with Taker.
I have LOTS of other ideas as well, but I don’t want
to bore you as I’m almost at 2,000 words now. I’ll keep posting my WWE thoughts
as time goes on….but I’m interested to know what you think. Comment or tweet me
@illini3sc.
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