Monday, April 27, 2009

My Epiphany & the Best Two Months of the Year

In 'The Simpson's Movie', Homer has an epiphany and returns to Springfield to save his family and the town. While I was in Chapel Hill, NC for the CSRI Conference, I had an epiphany of my own, though there was no one to save. The epiphany was a simple realization that I could live anywhere within the continental US. I have lived in the northeast for all of my 38 years. Many of my vacations have also been in this region, from Washington DC to Cape Cod, MA. I don't believe there is anywhere better in the world to live than the area between Washington DC and Boston. A lot of our nations history has been formed here and some of the greatest cities in the world are found in this area. My realization came as a surprise to me personally because I never pictured myself living outside the region. I love the four seasons and the more uptempo lifestyle. I'm sure Chicago and Los Angeles also have that type of intensity as well. A few of my classmates didn't want to leave Chapel Hill mainly because the found the people to be so friendly and the intensity was dialed down a bit. I enjoyed some of these aspects as well, but I liked the fresh clean air and somewhat laid back style. Some of that could be contributed to my age or my back problems also. A couple of the professors at the conference asked me about graduate school but I am more worried about finishing my degree 21 years after I started. I did look into grad school, however, and found one in the Midwest, which seemed right for me. That obviously will require a move to another part of the country and a new experience. I'm looking forward to it, but let's worry about the year I have left in school, first.
HOCKEY FANS-I have not forgotten you. This is the best time of the year for those of us who enjoy pucks and the best 2 months of the year, the Stanley Cup playoffs. This year's field seems wide open, especially given the way the first round has played out. Who pictured New York or Anaheim being in the positions they are now-having a top seed on the verge of elimination? Anaheim-San Jose has been one of the NHL's better rivalries the past 3 or so years but the Rangers stealing games from the Caps and the Caps going to a 20 year old goalie to help them comes as a bit more of a shock. Vancouver and Boston dominated their opponents thoroughly but how will they fare with a big layoff before the next round? For the non-hockey fans, get on board and enjoy the passion, energy, and intensity the playoffs have to offer. Until next week, keep learning!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

College sports, celebrity citings and visiting a landmark

The wise philosopher (and guitar legend) Keith Richards once said, "you meet a lot of great people on the road." I found this to be true at the CSRI conference last week. http://www.csriconference.org/ Ironically the first people I met in Chapel Hill, NC were from a school here in Pennsylvania about three hours away. The next person I met was a professor from a school in Massachusetts. Despite being a Montreal Candiens fan, he was all right. I learned a lot from talking to him. A lot of the people I follow on Twitter were at the conference as well. It was another interesting aspect of the conference. The panels, speakers, and presentations were excellent. The thing I didn't really hear were voices for the solutions to some of the problems in college athletics. I've always felt that smart guys in college athletics, like Bob Knight and Joe Paterno, have good ideas but often seem to be dismissed as old men trying to turn back the clock on college sports. Paterno has spoken about possibly paying players and Knight has too many ideas to mention in a single blog. I understand that college presidents and athletic directors may be hesitant to bite the NCAA hand that feeds them, particularly at BCS schools. Jeremy Bloom gave a passionate speech about changes and things coming from his well publicized dispute with the NCAA. He's one guy who's been through the system but lacks a lot of power. The NCAA is as tough to challenge as Major League Baseball's players union, the most powerful union in sports and the third most powerful in the world. College sports have become big business like it or not. The days of people seeing Larry Bird for the first time in the 1979 finals are over. Nowadays, you could see Bird on YouTube or ESPN, among other media outlets. I myself have good ideas to eliminate the BCS and create a playoff as well as a solution to the one-and-done player in college basketball. Much like Jeremy Bloom, I have minimal power with the NCAA. Heck, the power i have in my own household is often called into question. Despite my one negative thought, the conference was great. The professors and students who run it did a hell of a job and lined up some quality people to speak and present their research. Also a shout out to the Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery, Marriot Chapel Hill, and 007, the greatest cabbie in all the land. Other than that there were other interesting aspects of the six hour road trip. We met comedian Lewis Black at Top of the Hill Thursday night. He was great and very friendly to all the autograph/photo seeking fans. BJ Surhoff, former Orioles outfielder and Wyatt Cenac, best known for his work on the Daily Show. We took an eight mile field trip to Duke University to take in some of the architecture and Cameron Indoor Stadium. It is one of the great sports places I've been to and someplace you should go, like Wrigley Field. Looking at the banners, the retired jerseys, scoreboard and all the history was a special moment I won't soon forget. The other cool thing about the trip was the chance to spend time with classmates I might not get to otherwise. It was also a chance to see two of my professors let their hair down. I do want to apologize to hockey fans. I know I promised some in this week's blog, but my ability to watch games was limited due to attending events and limited tv coverage in some places. Next week, a life altering epiphany I had on our trip and playoff hockey. Until then, go Bruins and keep learning!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Twitter, technology in the film industry, and chasing a dream

As I mentioned last week, I was going to try to learn Twitter. It's a great way to meet people you may not actually meet otherwise in your little corner of the world wherever it may be. I also told my daughter and another classmate how to use it. Imagine learning technology from a 38 year old! Anyway, I've made some friends and several sports contacts along the way. I did everything from quote funny movie lines to talking sports with baseball and basketball fans. If I have a problem with Twitter, it would be that it somewhat over values the mundane details of our lives. How many of you cared that I went to physical therapy twice last week? Or that I watched "Wyatt Earp" (the Kevin Costner version) on Sunday? The only celeb I'm following is Kevin Pollak. He had me at "Canadian Bacon". I also learned about the movie business and how technology, in particular, enhances it. I can put myself on the moon or in a city I've never been to, like London. Maybe eventually, movie directors and producers won't have to film on location. For those of you that may have missed it, I coach basketball. Coached middle school this year and though our won-loss record was subpar, all eight of the kids developed as players which is always my main goal. Anyway the school year ahead may forbid me from coaching and I was asked if I'd rather coach or graduate. I honestly had to think about it. I love coaching more than breathing and enjoy being at the gym and teaching most of all. So this week I applied for a coaching position with Harvard's Men's Basketball team as an assistant to Tommy Amaker. Those of you who are old enough may remember him from Duke as part of their backcourt in the 80's. He has also coached at Seton Hall and Michigan. The chance to learn from someone like that, combined with my respect for the Ivy League was too much to resist. The Ivy League offers no athletic scholarships and doesn't have a conference tournament, so the regular season sets up a 'winner take all' scenario. The old school mentality suits me. I know its a longshot to get the job but I figured I'd try. Sometimes you have to chase the dream. I'm known as a chaser at the poker table too, should we ever find ourselves face-to-face over some hold 'em. Next week, the CSRI Conference and my favorite time of the year, the Stanley Cup playoffs. Stay tuned and keep learning!

Monday, April 6, 2009

hello all

Welcome to my blog. I'm Jason and my blog is about things I have learned over the course of the week. I'll generally write posts on Mondays, about the previous week and what I learned as a parent, as a man, as a 38 year old college student and as a citizen of the world. I'll talk about things I am passionate about like coaching basketball, sports, music and other world happenings. Grant it I am not up to speed on all things, and musically I'm very set in my ways. On to random things I learned over the past week. The Final Four is the best event North American sports has to offer. Super Bowl Sunday is nice but it is one day, with two weeks of hype preceding. I was pulling for Villanova personally. As a coach, I've been where Jay Wright was on Saturday night. Your team gets the looks and percentage shots but they don't fall. Its gut wrenching and ages coaches. I'm learning about Twitter which should make for an interesting post next week. I was disappointed to see Bob Hurley Sr. ommitted from the Basketball Hall of Fame class as a contributor to the game. 24 state titles and 100 plus players given scholarships to Division I or Division II programs and off the mean streets of Jersey City, NJ. The year I graduated high school, 1989, he had one of his best teams and was voted national champs. Anyway, I'm off to school for a meeting on a "field trip" we are taking shortly, so I'll be back next week. Keep learning!