As I See It

The way I see it, we have lost touch with our purpose and misplaced our desire.

Surrounded by a society of liars, we rarely see what our heart requires.

The way I see it, money has become happiness and greed one's pursuit,

but a wise man knows, loot brings as much happiness as a broken parachute.

The way I see it, we should value life's gifts and bask in the moment,

but that never happens because we don't stop to smell the roses.

I MOVIE: Spartan Baseball

In My Humble Opinion: Charlie Weis

Once regarded as the offensive genius that masterminded the Patriots Superbowl dynasty, Charlie Weis is now hoping mediocrity is enough to maintain a job.

As Notre Dame stands at an unimpressive 6-5 in Charlie's fourth year at the helm, most believe his promises of excellence to the Irish football program was nothing more than wishful thinking. Repeatedly, Weis has failed to come through on verbal commitments he has made to the press, players and fans of Notre Dame.

It was Weis who said upon taking the job the he would have a definite "schematic advantage" having come from such a complex NFL system. It was his belief that he had become so intelligent from learning under Bill Belichek that the college game would be a walk in the park. Weis also said that 6-5 is "unacceptable" for Notre Dame football, yet stands in the midst of yet another mediocre season under his schematically superior mind that wins games on paper but does poorly once kickoff starts.

In my humble opinion it's time to see Weis for who he really is. He is a product of a truly brilliant mind named Bill Belichek who has made those who coach under him look incredibly intelligent when really they are only pulling strings. Notre Dame bought the hype and thought this genius must have been passed on during his stay in New England, but rather the Irish's situation has exposed Weis' inability to run a team on his own.

Maybe the Irish should have considered the fact that he has never owned a significant head coaching job before his stint at Notre Dame. Maybe they should have seen a man who has a boundless mouth but hasn't figured out how to walk his talk. Maybe they should have seen his arrogance as a flaw rather than applaud his confidence.

Rather, Notre Dame forked over $40 million dollars to a man who convinced the fans of "touchdown Jesus" that he was in fact their savior. After only one year of success and plenty of cockiness from the head ball coach, Notre Dame bought his sales pitch and made him the most overpaid man in college football.

Only hindsight shows us our mistakes but four years later it is clear that Weis' boundless confidence was nothing more than a smoke screen. If 6-5 is truly "unacceptable" to you, than in my opinion you should take responsibility for making false promises and step down. If Weis is any sort of man, the $40 million dollars he has been promised should be given back to the school for not following through on a commitment.

Japanese Internment Memorial

Being forced to live behind barbed wire is hardly comforting for anyone, yet there are still venues for freedom even in an internment camp. Some of the Japanese chose art as their outlet, others enjoyed simple pleasures like cooking or socializing.

A popular venue of freedom inside the interment camp was the baseball diamond, where the great Japanese tradition was continued during WWII. As we saw on the memorial, a vignette was devoted to showing how important this game was to sustaining the peace of mind of the Japanese during these testing times.

I can relate to the incredible sense of freedom that they must have derived from this beautiful game. While their conditions were surely more severe then what I have to endure, the baseball diamond is the one place I can go where all my troubles seem to disappear. For the Japanese, it was a refuge that allowed men, delegated to captivity, a chance to derive happiness from a game that gave them purpose. For me, and for many of the men who lived inside the internment camp, baseball was therapy for the troubles of everyday life.

Word of the Week #8

Word: Promulgate (verb)

Def: 1. To make known by open declaration: proclaim 2. To make known or public the terms of a proposed law 3. To put a law into action or force

Sentence: ...and new laws be promulgated with so much solemnity, that before the constitution could be disturbed, there would be time enough for everyone to reflect that it is above all the great antiquity of laws which makes them sacred and venerable, that men soon come to despise laws which can be changed every day; and that when the habit is acquired of neglecting ancient usages in the name of improvement, great evils are often introduced in the endeavour to correct lesser ones.

Source: Jean-Jacques Rousseau "A Discourse on Inequality" (pg 60)

New Sentence: Laws are often promulgated to the public in deceiving ways.

Blog #6 In My Humble Opinion

All but one player who was picked in the first round of last April's NFL draft came to terms on a contract with their respective team. The one disgruntled player who didn't was Michael Crabtree, a highly touted receiver from Texas Tech University who set a number of school records before leaving early for the draft. The long saga of Crabtree's relationship with the San Francisco 49ers has been covered in every bay area newspaper for the past couple months.

After sitting out nearly a month of the season, Crabtree and the 49ers finally came to terms on a six year contract that will pay the receiver over $20 million per year. In my humble opinion, this is a disgrace to the game of football and the business that it has become. Players are now able to demand ridiculous amounts of money before proving anything at the professional level. If they turn out to be a bust like many do, the entire franchise can be set back for years. This has happened in several instances such as Ryan Leaf and Alex Smith, both of whom doomed their franchises from nearly a decade.

Football used to be played by tough guys who cared more about hitting someone in the mouth than hitting the bank. In my opinion this isn't the case anymore as the game has become overrun by greed and the lures of multi-million dollar contracts. In my opinion, if you have proven that you deserve to be paid top dollar then you are entitled to receive due credit, but rookies who are coming out of the draft with no experience should have no place to demand $20 million a year.

If I'm a teammate of Crabtree's on the 49ers I'm making sure he earns his pay. It's clear he already thinks he is better than the current group of wide receivers, but if he doesn't prove that right away there will be a price to pay. Crabtree is setting the bar extremely high for himself, and already polishing a reputation that reflects a "me" before the team mentality.

In my opinion the 49ers made a mistake giving in to Crabtree's demand. Yes, they need his play making ability on the field but at what cost? They allowed a rookie and inexperienced agent to boss them around in negotiations, showing future players who think they are worth more then they are paid that they can do the same.

Link to article: http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_13504478?nclick_check=1

Word of the Week #7

Word: Alacrity (noun)
Def: Promptness in response, cheerful readiness
Sentence: It is excellent, we must all allow; yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way.
Source: Civil Disobedience (Henry David Thoreau
New Sentence: The student's alacrity during class was clearly evident during discussions

Blog #7 NPR Fresh Air/ Terry Gross

I listened to an episode of "Fresh Air" on npr.org hosted by Terry Gross that she interviews the director of the new movie 'Where the Wild Things Are'. Spike Jonze, who also directed 'Adaptation,' is Gross's guest for the 20 minute episode that discusses many features of the film.

Gross knew quite a bit about Jonze's personal career and accomplishments, which made easy transitions from question to question. Jonze seems like a very timid guest judging by his voice, but Gross is very accommodating with her questions and tone.

She opens their interview with a thorough background of the film that was once a children's book. It then transitions into a clip from the film before she explains how the author of the book and Jonze had been friends for 14 years and decided mutually to do the adaptation.

Her questions allowed Jonze to drag on a bit which is well suited for a radio interview, but Gross knew when to cut in and direct the focus of the dialogue in a different direction. This was part of Gross's strategy, allowing Jonze to elaborate on the themes of the adaptation and allowing his train of thought to dictate the order of her questions.

I wouldn't say Jonze had inadequate answers but some of his responses were a little longer than they needed to be. To prevent him from turning monotone, Gross would re-direct the interview by asking a question about the general topic he was discussing.

She made Jonze feel comfortable by laughing at all his jokes and allowing him to speak. She did interrupt on a couple of occasions, but it was done in a skillful and apologetic manner. I don't believe they had much of a relationship before the interview besides being mutual admirers of each others work.

From this interview I learned that the interviewer should allow the interviewee to speak far longer. I also learned a few things about how Gross weaves her questions based upon the material Jonze would give her. Another thing Gross does is ask "how" quite often which I observed is an excellent strategy towards attaining a lengthy response in an interview.

word of the week #5

Bravura
Adj.
Def: 1. Marked by a dazzling display of skill 2. Ornate, showy
Sentence: The way Micky Mantle played centerfield was a beautiful blend of bravura and brawn.
Source: 'The Mick' (a book about micky mantle's life)
New Sentence: The musician played with the bravura of Mozart.

Word of the Week #3

Jubilant
(adj.)
Def: meaning exultant or rejoiceful

"Jubilant Washington players and fans stepped over him, on their way to a riotous purple party that stretched from goal line to goal line."

Source: San Jose Mercury News (USC vs. Washington article)

New sentence: The cheerleader was jubilant when she learned the quarterback was now single

Word of the week #2

Triffle; trifling
To talk in a jesting or mocking manner or with intent to dilude or mislead.
To treat somone or something as unimportant

Sentence: Sometimes I may be trifling, but sometimes I rightfully am

Source: El De Sensei song "Crowd Pleaser"
New sentence: I dont like people who are trifling in asy aspect of life

Blog #2: My Favorite Writing: Rick Reilly

Rick Reilly is a renowned sports journalist who has made a great career out of being both witty and brutally honest about what is going on in the world of sports. I used to read his piece in Sports Illustrated almost every week and fell in love with his humor and writing style. He occupied the back page of Sports Illustrated for many years and you could count on a well thought out and entertaining read about sports and how it often parodies life.
His writing is non-stop comedy to my taste. Reilly is excellent at drawing comparisons between an athlete's features and a material object. For example, he describes Tom Brady's chin as one you could "crack coconuts on." He no longer writes for Sports Illustrated but does appear on a few websites from time to time. Here is a funny article he wrote about Tom Brady that I recall reading a while back. I think you will enjoy it if you know a little about Brady and Reilly as a writer. It's not from a actual copy of SI but rather from an Internet archive so I don't have the page number or anything like that.

Hey, dude, haven't had a date since the Fig Festival 12 years ago? Are you about as cool as a Bob Dole bumper sticker? Do girls walk by you like you're running a seminar on jock itch?

Buddy, your worries are over. Tom Brady, coolest man on the planet, has volunteered to be your new cool coach.

'What are you staring at?' "

Humility. Check.

"I mean, I'm just walking out the door, you know? And people follow me! I have to disguise myself now. I never go out without a hoodie on. My head is always down! I never make eye contact anymore! It's like I'm not even myself!"

True to yourself . Check.

The one person Brady has always wanted to meet is Tiger Woods, but he's never had the nerve to introduce himself, even after he was in Woods's gallery recently outside Boston.

Shy is cool. Check.

His rival for top QB in the league, Peyton Manning, has done every commercial short of adult diapers, but Brady has done almost zero, even though, with his looks and charm and game, he could sell pogo sticks to seniors.

"You realize you're turning down a lot of dough, yeah, but it's just not me. I'm just not going to go out and do a Chunky Soup ad.... Like that [MasterCard] ad Peyton did about, 'Cut that meat! Cut that meat!' -- our D-line yelled that every time he came up to the line. 'Cut that meat!' Man, I'm so glad I didn't do that one."

Integrity. Check.

Ask him: What about a bar in Hollywood? Or a restaurant in SoHo? It would be the hottest joint since Bachelors III! He looks at you like you're from Pluto. "You mean, like Namath's? Oh, man, my mom loved Joe Namath. But I don't think I could pull off something like that."

Modesty . Check.

See, Brady is Namath with a milk mustache. Mothers want him for supper and daughters for everything after. O.K., you might say, but how cool is it to get one woman pregnant (Moynahan) and be dating another (Bündchen)? Well, a) Brady says he didn't know Moynahan was pregnant until after they'd broken up, and b) Brady is aching to be a full-time dad. He was there three weeks ago for the birth of John Edward Thomas Moynahan.

"I kind of cuddled him like a football," Brady says, adding that it's killing him that he can't be in Los Angeles for every sneeze. "I'd love to be out there all the time, year-round, but it's hard to make that a reality. I live here. But I'll start lobbying for off days throughout the year."

Personal responsibility. Check.

O.K., but how about a few secrets? How do we get that Clooney stubble?

"This?" he says, rubbing his cheeks. "I just hate to shave."

Dates? "Whatever you do, keep 'em short. You can't let them know you're that interested. I try to get this across to my best friend. He's really into this girl, but I keep telling him she's got to leave that date thinking, What's wrong with me?"

Machiavellian mind games. Check.

Music back at the crib? "Definitely not Metallica. And no girl music, like Madonna. Something in between. John Legend always works for me."

And that's when he had to go. So that's all I've got. But if you're not dating at least one supermodel within six weeks, I'll double your money back.

"This is never going to work," Brady said as he was leaving.

Firm grasp on reality. Check.

Word of the week

Trite
Def: Hackneyed or boring from much use: not fresh or original

Sentence: You win some you lose some is a trite statement

Source: Giant's Encyclopedia

New Sentence: Your fashion sense is trite, not tight.

Blog #1 All about me

Hey I'm Lyell Marks a 4th year at SJSU. Baseball is what I'm all about but I have a competing passion for journalism which is where I see myself landing after I hang them up for the last time. I don't like the stereotype that comes with most athletes as being dumb jocks who spend plenty of time working on their physical attributes but rarely pay attention to mental progression. It bothers me because I'm someone who believes sports is both a physical gift and an art that takes diligent study to perfect.

I've played baseball for my entire life and for the first time last year I seriously thought about giving it up because of the demands of school and work. Nothing really makes me happier than being on a baseball field and when I finally realized that I was robbing myself of happiness and peace of mind, I couldn't stay a quitter for long.

Baseball is my escape, it allows me to be in a different state of mind, body and even soul sometimes. In the game of baseball, time slows down and you can really live in the moment. Nothing from the past matters, only what you are doing in this instant and where you are heading. Everything about the game is beautiful to me. The smell of freshly cut grass rivals roses for me and dirt stained uniforms are better looking than a nicely tailored suit if Im giving the fashion advice. It is a game where your mind is truly more powerful than your physical prowess and if you can perfect baseball intellect one can truly become a genius within the game.

Baseball is a game where you must be prepared for what is about to happen on every pitch. While critics say its too slow and lacks excitement, those who have actually played the game with any sort of conviction know otherwise. Every pitch, every at bat and every swing carries with it the possiblity for thousands of different outcomes. If your not ready to deal with the majority of those situations you are going to fail because you weren't mentally prepared. Sure the pitcher throws the ball and the batter hits it, but what happens after that is about as predictable as the stock market.