Team chemistry

A reprint of my Aug. 20 SlapShots column

Many factors go into forging a championship team.

Talent, fundamentals, a good system that maximizes the strength of the players, coaching and a myriad of other tangible building blocks go together to build a team can that compete with the best. But it’s often intangible characteristics that separate a great team from the good ones.

Pundits call it chemistry. Anybody involved in sports has seen that team. The one that just seems to click. The one that may not match up in the overall talent department, but comes together on the field and slays giants. The one with players that seem to enjoy being around each other as much as they enjoy playing the game.

The Woodford County High School girls' soccer team exemplifies that kind of team chemistry and it appears another Yellow Jacket squad may have ripped a page or two from the soccer team’s handbook.

The Woodford volleyball team under new head coach Meredith DellaGuistina dropped its first two matches of the year, winning only one game in the process, but the young squad exudes a confidence and a sense of purpose lacking last season.

Much of last year’s struggle stemmed from the team’s youth, and while the squad enters this season with a year of experience under its belt, the team still isn’t exactly gray around the temples. After losing only two players to graduation last spring, the Jacket varsity roster still includes only two seniors.

But if nothing else, this team seems to believe in each other. During last week’s varsity match against West Jessamine, the Hive reverberated with the sound of cheering, both from the freshmen and JV squads, and the players on the bench. The Jackets played with emotion and intensity, and despite the loss they seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves.

“That’s as much enthusiasm as I’ve seen in a ballgame in a long time around here,” local photographer Steve Blake said, adding that the team’s spunk made watching the game a lot of fun.

I have to agree. There was an energy in the gym that I have never seen at a high school volleyball match. Even during the lowest moments of the game, a constant stream of encouragement, cheering and laughter echoed around the Hive.

Credit DellaGuistina. The new Jacket skipper said that she’s emphasized creating team chemistry.

“We’ve been working on that – trying to build the team as a family and as a sisterhood and friendship.”

I have a feeling that the new coach’s efforts will soon begin to pay off in the W-L column. This team may not have the talent or experience to challenge the top squads in the state, but as the chemistry continues to percolate and the squad gains a little seasoning under its new coach, I have a feeling the Yellow Jackets will creep up and surprise some teams.

I encourage everybody to make it out to watch this team. I can’t promise you a victory, but from the looks of things, I feel pretty safe in guaranteeing you a fun time.

Quick Shots

Woodford County High School volleyball coach Meredith DellaGuistina got some good news on Aug. 14. The International Olympic Committee voted to include women’s boxing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. That opens the door for DellaGuistina, a world class boxer, to make a run for the U.S. team.

The volleyball match against West Jessamine also provided a comedic moment. Some of the freshman players held up signs with the letters W-O-O-D-F-O-R-D painted on them during the game. But they had a little problem with the order, creating a unique and creative spelling of their school’s name. The good news is that they have four years to figure it out.

I was sad to learn that the Arena Football League will cease operations. The AFL issued a short statement on Aug. 4 announcing the shutdown. The league cancelled the 2009 season earlier in the year. Arena Football League 2, with teams in small and medium size markets will continue to operate. The Kentucky Horsemen play in AL2. I was never a huge fan of indoor football, but I followed the Tampa Bay Storm at a distance. The team came to Tampa in 1991 and won five ArenaBowl Championships. In the years before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Lightning rose to respectability, the Storm provided the lonely bright spot in the Tampa Bay sports landscape. There’s just something disconcerting about an entire league fading into the past.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans got a rare treat. The 88 actually led a few laps in the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Earnhard took fuel during a late caution, relinquishing his lead. But with fresh tires and no worries about running out of gas, the fan favorite drove back through the pack to finished third. Jimmie Johnson led the most laps, but ran out of fuel in the end. Earnhardt is arguably the most popular driver in NASCAR, but his recent performance doesn’t seem to warrant the hype. He last won 43 races ago.

Quote of the Week

“Here is the lesson and reality. All the legal language in the world about moral turpitude will not cause Coach Ricky to lose his job. Why you ask? Because Pitino wins basketball games and that is ultimately much more important than teaching students and players about morals, honesty and trust.”
- Chicago Now columnist Corri Fetman

Puck to the Head

I should fly a puck at Rick Pitino’s head, but that’s just too easy, so this week’s puck flies at the head of San Francisco 49ers draft pick Michael Crabtree. The wide receiver from Texas Tech was drafted 10th overall. But he was projected higher than Darrius Heyward-Bey, who Oakland picked in the seventh spot. So based on pre-draft hype and his projected selection ahead of Heyward-Bey, Crabtree wants a contract higher than the $23.5 million the Raider draft pick signed. Basically, Crabtree wants his contract to reflect that he was the higher selection – except that he wasn’t. He called anything less than the $23.5 million Heyward-Bey will receive, “unacceptable.” Are you kidding me? Crabtree has yet to catch pass one in the NFL and he thinks $23.5 million is unacceptable? I think it’s this clown’s ego that is unacceptable.

The tyranny of the urgent

A reprint of my Aug. 7 SlapShots column.

Sometimes the tyranny of the urgent can keep us from focusing on what’s important.

For that reason, I think it’s healthy to get away from our day-to-day routine from time to time. Every once in a while, we need to just step away and refocus.

I spent the last week in West Virginia and Florida with my wife and kids. We hiked mountain trails, basked in the sun on the beach and saw some pretty cool historic sites. But the best part was the uninterrupted time with the kids, quiet moments with my wife and an opportunity to visit with family we don’t often get to spend a lot of time with.

For an entire week, I was totally disconnected from the world of sports. I didn’t watch any games, didn’t surf the Internet and scarcely glanced at a newspaper. About the closest I came to athletic competition was a pretty intense battle between the kids and grownups in the license plate game (More on that in a moment.) Oh – and there was a pretty good round of Frisbee with my son … and some boogie boarding in the surf. But I digress.

While I was gone, the Yellow Jackets hired an interim men’s basketball coach and the Woodford County High School worked out an agreement to keep Walker Terhune as its athletic trainer. While I was sitting on the beach last Wednesday, the Woodford Sun went to press, just as it always does.

It all went along just fine – without me.

I will admit, there is something slightly disconcerting in knowing I am not indispensable. But also something very liberating. Sometimes I get too wrapped up in my routine and forget the truly important things. Sometimes the outcome of a game seems so all-important, but in reality, it means nothing in the big scheme of things. Sometimes I get all wrapped up and stressed out about things that just don’t really matter all that much.

This last week was a reminder to keep my focus on the important. Family, friends and moments spent gazing at the wonder of the world add far more value to my life than many of the things that eat up hours like my daughter’s hungry algae eater on the side of the aquarium.

This doesn’t mean that we don’t do our jobs. Sometimes we simply can’t ignore the urgent. It is urgent, after all. But I do think it’s a good idea to recognize that we aren’t indispensable. It’s healthy to know that if we pause for a moment to tend to the important, the world won’t stop spinning. It’s a good thing to just stop and let things go.

It’s okay – try it.

Now about that license plate game…

I will freely admit my extreme competitive nature. My wife shares this personality defect – or strength, depending on how one looks at things. If there existed any doubt that we are both out of control, it vanished somewhere between Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

The license plate game is a great way to pass time on long car rides. It’s a simple game. Try to find license plates from all 50 states throughout the course of the trip. We decided to spice things up a bit and play adults against kids. I must admit; the kids did pretty well. They were keeping pace with us and it was looking like the game could end in a tie. We had a couple of states they didn’t, but they had a couple on us as well.

My wife and I were sweating it a bit until we found our opportunity to grab an almost insurmountable advantage. On our way down to St. Augustine, a van with Alaska plates passed us. I nudged my wife. She saw it too. A wicked grin. The kids were in the back; all three absorbed in the Nintendo DS.

Advantage – grownups.

While basking in our near certain victory, we decided to pull off and grab some lunch. Subway was sounding like a good, healthy option. But as I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the Alaska van sitting right in front of the door. No way to get in without the kids seeing the plate.

Advantage – lost.

Suddenly the Waffle House across the way was looking pretty good. I’d been craving a waffle all trip. And besides, who eats healthy on vacation?

So I did a quick turn out of the Subway lot, explaining my sudden need for breakfast. The kids were fine with that.

Advantage – grownups.

Quick Shots

I know you are dying to know who won. Grownups, of course. We lacked only four states: North Dakota, Wyoming, Vermont and Hawaii. The kids had none of those and also missed South Dakota, New Hampshire and Alaska, of course.

The more I watch NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, the more I become a Jimmy Johnson fan. His crew chief, Chad Knaus, has as much to do with my growing respect, as Johnson’s driving – and he’s no slouch behind the wheel. I love the fact that the team never gives up. In the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, Johnson was running strong when he started to experience engine trouble. Several pit stops later, the crew found the problem, a bad sparkplug. By the time the team got the number 48 running right, it was three laps down. But Johnson patiently kept at it, taking advantage of cautions to work his way back to the lead lap, then blew through the back of the field to salvage a 12th place finish.

Kudos to Woodford County Schools for stepping up and getting the job done, keeping an athletic trainer at WCHS. It was good to see everybody involved focus on student safety. It says a lot for the priorities of all of the school officials involved.

Quote of the Week

“We’ve come close in a lot of races this year and come up short. But definitely had some angels with us today.” – An emotional Denny Hamlin after winning the Pennsylvania 500. Hamlin’s grandmother died earlier in the week.

Puck to the Head

I’m going to step out of the sports world to shoot this week’s puck at the heads of slow drivers in the left hand lane.

My personal greatest sports moments

A reprint of my July 30 SlapShots column in the Woodford Sun.

I’m heading out of town for a week vacation on Friday, July 24, so needing to write a column way ahead of time, I wanted to do something a little different. I got to thinking about all of those lists pundits like to put together – you know, the greatest this or that in history. So, I decided to create my own. I have compiled a list of the top-10 greatest sports moments in my life. These are the events that meant the most to me, not necessarily because of their historical significance, or their greatness in the big scheme of sports, but because they involve my teams, my emotions and my sports passions. That is after all what keeps us watching, eh?

10. Cincinnati Reds win 1975 World Series over the Boston Red Sox, Oct 22, 1975
I was 8-years-old when the Big Red Machine won the first of its two back-to-back World Series. I was like a lot of kids during that time. I loved baseball. I played in the local youth league, collected baseball cards and organized impromptu games with the other neighborhood kids in a nearby vacant lot. And the Reds were my team. Johnny Bench was my hero. This was my first experience watching a favorite team win a championship. It was a dramatic one too. Carlton Fisk blasted a 12th inning home run off the foul pole in left field to give the Red Sox a 7-6 victory in game six. That made for an early lesson in sports disappointment, which only made Cincinnati’s 4-3 win the next day that much sweeter.

9. USA defeats the Soviet Union in the Olympics Feb. 22, 1980
Quite frankly, this would rank higher if I had a better memory of it. We watched the game at a Mr. Gatti’s pizza place in Ohio or Indiana because I was up there competing in a swim meet. I don’t know that I had ever watched a hockey game before that, but just about everybody in the country watched that one. I don’t really remember the game at all, but I do remember the pride of being an American and taking down the hated Soviets. Those of you old enough to remember the Cold War understand this. For you younger folks, I’m not sure I can even think of anything to compare it with. And I do vividly remember the complete pandemonium that broke out in the restaurant when the U.S.A. scored the go-ahead goal. The game also sparked my lifelong love for hockey.

8. USF beats the University of Louisville 45-14 Sept. 24, 2005. This was the year before I started classes at USF, but I was already a fan of Bull football. The win over the ninth ranked Cards was USF’s first victory over a team in the top 10. That it came over Louisville made it even better. The rise of the Bulls’ football program makes for a pretty amazing story in and of itself. The team began playing in 1997 as a D-II squad. USF held its first team meeting under a shade tree because the school didn’t have football facilities on campus. The win over Louisville was a classic David slays Goliath story, and you gotta love those.

7. Florida Gators win National Championship with a 24-14 win over Oklahoma, Jan. 8, 2009. Ahh – it’s good to be a Gator football fan. This was the team’s second National Championship in three years. I really respect Tim Tebow, both as a player and a person, so I was thrilled to see him hoist the BCS trophy. And look out SEC because Tebow will be back this coming season.

6. Florida Gators win National Championship with a 41-14 win over Ohio State, Jan. 7, 2007. The 2007 National Championship gets the edge over 2009 because the Gators not only brought home the hardware, they exposed Ohio State and the Big Ten for the perennial overrated sensations that they are.

5. Tampa Bay Rays 3 Boston Red Sox 1, game 7 ALCS, Oct. 19, 2008.
This would rank higher if I cared anything about baseball. Loved the game as a kid, but something happened over the years and I just have no passion left for the boys of summer. But it was still a thrill to watch the hapless Rays make it into the World Series, especially beating the Red Sox, my second most un-favorite team in the world of sports. (Top honors in that category goes to the Detroit Red Wings.) I lived in the shadow of Tropicana Field, and like most St. Petersburg residents, ignored the Rays for many years. I started paying some attention when Stu Sternberg bought the team, running that clown Vince Namoli out of town and injecting some life into the franchise. Most fans thought the new ownership was taking the team in the right direction, but I don’t think anybody imagined the Rays would make the run that they did in 2008. Another little guy overcomes the big boy story.

4. USF beats fifth ranked West Virginia 21-13, Sept. 29, 2007. I would argue that the 2007 win over the Mountaineers was the signature victory for the Bulls’ football program. It thrust USF into the national spotlight. This win was so special to me because I felt a part of it. I was a student at the time and this was my school. I only got to watch the first half of the game. The USF hockey team was in Miami that weekend playing Florida Atlantic University. I remember our entire team was crammed into this tiny bar attached to the rink watching the first half. As the Bulls took the early lead, we were all going nuts. It was one of the most exciting fan experiences I’ve ever been a part of – sharing that moment with my teammates and fellow Bulls. We had to go get ready for our own game at halftime. We didn’t even know who ultimately won until after the hockey game. The coaches wouldn’t tell us anything, wanting us to focus on our task. By the way, the Ice Bulls beat FAU 5-3 that night.

3. Florida Gators win the National Championship with a 50-20 win over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl Jan. 2, 1997. I’ve been a Gator fan since I was a little kid. Even though I spent most of my growing up years in Kentucky, three years living in Ormond Beach as a child was enough to make me a Floridian in my mind. When I attended UK in the late ’80s, I went to the Wildcat-Gator games and cheered for Florida. So watching the Gators win their first National Title in my lifetime was a pretty big deal. Beating Florida State to do it made it that much better. That the Gators’ only loss that year came at the hands of the Noles just weeks earlier made it that much better. The rivalry between Florida and Florida State is something akin to UK’s rivalry with Louisville in basketball, to put things in perspective for you Kentuckians.

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers win the Super Bowl 48-21 over the Oakland Raiders, Jan. 6, 2003. For so many years, the Bucs represented ineptitude and futility. From the ridiculous creamsicle uniforms to the successive years of losing records, Tampa Bay was the laughing stock of the NFL. And from the team’s first season in 1976, I was a fan. I actually owned one of the old orange jerseys. I wish I still had it. I moved to Clearwater in 1991 and my favorite team became my hometown team. It wasn’t easy being a Bucs fan. The joke was that you could leave a ticket on your car windshield in the parking lot of the Big Sombrero, as old Tampa Stadium was known, and when you returned, you’d have five tickets. I once went to a Bucs game against Green Bay and there were about 35,000 Packer fans in the stadium. It was embarrassing. But I’m nothing if not loyal, and that loyalty paid off when the Bucs finally became World Champions. I can’t even describe how amazing it felt to see the team that struggled for so long finally win. The emotional words of Bucs radio announcer Gene Deckerhoff as the clock hit zero sums it up. “Buccaneers win! Buccaneers win! Buccaneers win in San Diego! We are kings of the world!”

1.Tampa Bay Lightning wins the Stanley Cup with a 2-1 game seven win over the Calgary Flames, June 7, 2004
I don’t have a whole lot of sports memorabilia in my home. Now my office is a different story, but other than items from my playing days at USF, there isn’t a whole lot displayed in my house. But one piece of sports history does hang in a prominent spot in my living room. It’s a framed copy of the St. Petersburg Times from the day after the Lightning won its Stanley Cup. The photo on the front page featured Tampa Bay captain Dave Andreychuk lowering the Cup toward his lips for a kiss. It’s an iconic image. I will admit that I am a pretty emotional guy, and I am passionate about sports. But the night the Lightning won the Cup was the only time I’ve shed tears of joy as a fan. It was so amazing – so emotional. I have followed the team closely since it came into the NHL. In fact, I moved to the Tampa Bay area the summer before the inaugural season. I attended countless games and was a partial season ticket holder. Like the Bucs, the Lightning franchise spent many seasons serving as the butt of countless jokes. Lightning ineptitude started in the front office and extended to the ice. There were many years of frustration for Lightning fans. I was here in Kentucky when the Bolts finally won. In fact, I was at work at the airport in Louisville. Fortunately, there were no flights on the ground, and I was able to slip into a dark office and catch the end of the game. As the Lightning skated the Cup around the raucous St. Pete Times Forum, I was alone in this office, awash with emotions and memories, jumping up and down – a few tears trickling down my face. It was kind of surreal. It’s amazing how team can connect an individual with a community. I was 1,000 miles away from Tampa, but I felt I was a part of it all.

Quick Shots

As I look over my list, I realize how fortunate I’ve been as a sports fan. A lot of big moments. Many great memories. This is a very personal list, but for me, it’s probably the most special list I could create. Because it’s about my memories – my connections to the sports and teams that I love.

One lesson from my life as a fan, loyalty and persistence eventually pay off. Stay off the bandwagons!

I would love to hear about some of your sports memories. Write me at sports@woodfordsun.com

Quote of the week

“Gone like a freight-train, gone like yesterday Gone like a soldier in the civil war, bang bang” –Montgomery Gentry (I’ll see you all after my vacation.)

Puck to the Head

Hey, I’m on vacation. You don’t expect me to be wasting times shooting pucks around, do you?

A most common battle

A reprint of my SlapShots column from the July 23 Sun.

“It would have been a hell of a story.”

I turned the TV on just in time to watch the plot unravel.

Tom Watson missed an 8-foot putt on the 18th hole that would have clinched the British Open championship. Had that putt found the cup, the 59-year-old would have become the oldest player to ever win a major championship. But the ball stopped short and the dream evaporated moments before the happy ending.

“It was almost – the dream almost came true,” he said.

Watson’s age seem to catch up with him on that last hole and through the playoff.

“Those last 30 minutes, he aged about 30 years,” ESPN analyst Rick Reilly said.

After missing the putt that would have won him the championship, Watson fell apart in the playoff. He looked old and tired as his drive failed him, leaving him in the rough on the second playoff hole. He worked out of it to save par, but he found the rough again on 17 (the third playoff hole) and couldn’t recover. Stewart Cink played a mistake free playoff and walked away with the Claret Jug for his first major win.

But the spotlight eluded the winner.

I have to admit, I felt sorry for Cink. After sinking a 12-foot birdie on 18 to put him in position for the tie, Cink played superbly through the four playoff holes, but nobody really cared. All eyes focused on Watson. The disappointment in the gallery seemed like a physically tangible entitiy on the final hole, as if the fans could actually reach out and touch it.

But nobody left Turnberry more disappointed than Watson.

He wasn’t just there to be there – he was playing to win.

“It tears at your gut, just like it’s always torn at my gut,” he said.

While his strength and stamina may have diminished over the years, Watson’s desire to compete and win remains strong.

When Watson won the last of his eight major championships, I was a junior in high school. In the 1983 British Open, Watson nailed his drive, putting the ball 15 feet from the hole on the 18th to set up an easy two putt to take home the Jug. To nearly replicate that feat 26 years later amazes.

What really impressed me about Watson’s 2009 Open run was that he wasn’t willing to settle for a moral victory. He was competing to win. That is after all why we compete. Watson could easily use his age as an excuse. But he didn’t. He thought he could win. He expected to win. And his disappointment testifies to that competitive fire that made him so great in his heyday.

But as with all of us, no matter how hard we battle, age eventually works us over. A reporter asked Watson if fatigue factored in his poor playoff performance. Did he run out of gas?

“It looked like it, didn’t it?” he said. “It didn’t feel like it, but it looked like it.”

Boy, can I relate.

I think that’s what captivated me about Watson’s Open performance. I saw in Watson my own battle against the ever-encroaching menace of age. I know how it feels when the mind wills a performances the body can’t quite deliver. I’ve momentarily overcome my own aging physique, playing as well as I did in my 20s - only to fall just short. And I’ve felt the sting of disappointment. That’s one thing that age doesn’t diminish.

As time passes, Watson will look back on the 2009 British Open with pride. He’ll recognize his amazing achievement and he’ll bask in the pride of knowing he competed at the highest level while approaching senior status.

But today, there’s just disappointment – and probably some pretty sore muscles.

I understand Tom. I understand.

Quick Shots

Some commentators complained that Tom Watson’s British Open run somehow diminished the game of golf. They said that if a 59-year-old could play with the best in the world – even for a week, it doesn’t say much about the sport. They worried that Watson’s performance would hurt the game. I disagree. Until Sunday, I had never watched more than five minutes of any golf match. Yet I remained glued to the TV for two hours as the drama of the final day at the Open unfolded. Good stories create new fans. Who could write a better storyline for the 2009 Open?

Age may well finally overtake another old-timer. Lance Armstrong faded in the first Tour de France leg in the Alps, as teammate Alberto Contador took the yellow jersey. It’s becoming clear that Armstrong will not win his eighth Tour championship. He’s accepting the role as “support rider” for Contador. But even in defeat, Armstrong continues to show the class that makes him a true champion. “A day like this really shows who’s the best, and I wasn’t on par with what is required to win the Tour. That’s the reality; that’s not devastating news or anything,” he said. “I gave it everything that I had, and I wasn’t the best.”

Jody Meeks made a quite an impression during NBA Summer League games for the Milwaukee Bucks. The former Wildcat averaged a team-high 19 points through five games. In averaging 32 minutes per game, Meeks shot 56 percent from the field, 53 percent from three-point range and 82 percent from the free-throw line. He was playing against other rookies, but his performance may indicate Meeks made the right decision in moving on to the NBA.

Woodford Sun sports has 97 fans on its Facebook fan page. If you are a Facebook user, look us up and join in. I would love to see us crack the 100-fan mark this week.

Quote of the Week

“Thank you for a one week break from the Tiger Woods era”
-From an ABC thank you segment on Tom Watson after the British Open

Puck to the head

This week’s puck flies at the head of Antoine Walker. The former University of Kentucky and current NBA basketball player was arrested July 15, a day after a warrant was issued for three felony counts of writing bad checks. Walker allegedly amassed $822,500 in gambling debts. Police arrested the forward at Harrah’s Casino in South Lake Tahoe. Are you kidding me? They arrested a man with over $822,000 in gambling debts in a casino? No – he doesn’t have a problem.