Honoring Veterans on Veterans Day

Everyone should know that Veterans Day is a day set aside to honor U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen who have fought in foreign wars. It is always celebrated on November 11. This is because World War I (the war to end all wars) unofficially ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. In …

Perfect Example of Sportsmanship

This is it. The state championship. Runners wait all year for this one race. Only the best are here – the best teams, the best runners – all competing for a state championship. You ran all those pre-season miles, you did all that speed work during the season and you pushed yourself thru invitationals, districts and regional meets. It’s all …

Unity Through Listening

For the past several months, Facebook has been filled with political posts – one after another. “I can’t understand how anyone in their right mind would vote for Trump.” “You would have to be an idiot to vote for Biden.” These two people argue back and forth, growing in anger and changing zero opinions. The truth is, I can easily …

Students Must Learn from Home, But Athletes Can Play – Is This Okay?

Joe’s Perspective: As part of my job, I talk with teachers and coaches all over the country. In places like Maryland and Washington, almost all kids are home (virtual learning) and almost all sports are cancelled. In places like Idaho and Florida, almost all students are in school and sports are being played. However, in some states, students are not …

Defying the Odds to Become that 1 in 100 Success Story

Nick Andersen is a quiet unassuming 18-year-old freshman at Wake Forest University. If you saw him walking the campus, you would probably guess he was on the chess club or played the saxophone in the band. He’s not real big. He was offered three scholarships to play football at smaller schools, but he just wasn’t enthused. Andersen wanted to play …

It’s Your Duty to be an Informed Voter and Vote

Earlier this year, I was playing in a golf fund-raiser for a local candidate. When we finished, the congressman asked one of the course employees if he was voting. He responded, “No, I don’t know the issues and I don’t want to be an uneducated voter.” Fair enough, the congressman said and asked the employee what he wanted to know. …

Admiring Greatness

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. The French Open is always played in the spring and the NBA Finals is always played in June. However, due to Covid-19, both of these events were played on the same Sunday in October. And, us fans were treated to greatness. On Sunday, Rafael Nadal won his 20th Grand Slam Title tying Roger …

Life Lesson: Never Celebrate Until You are in the End Zone!

On two separate occasions this weekend, college football players with a clear path to the end zone, got caught from behind. Not because they were slower than the defenders, but because they began celebrating too soon. As they celebrate their “would be” touchdown, they slowed up just a bit and got caught from behind. Please watch and learn, what not …

A Twelve Thousand Dollar Tip of Kindness

During the pandemic, Carlos Valdez ordered a lot of pizza. According to Carlos, “It makes my wife happy.” Their favorite place is Papa John’s.  Each time they ordered the pizza, the delivery guy was an 89-year-old man named Derlin Newey. Derlin was so nice that the Valdez family began to request that Derlin deliver the pizza each time. Carlos thought …

An Unintended Consequence – Tough Decision for High School Athletes

Football Cancelled: On August 15, the MHSAA moved the Michigan high school football season from the fall to a spring sport. This was mainly due to Executive Order 160 from the Michigan governor which essentially stated that contact sports were too dangerous due to Covid-19. Students who played football were devastated, as they had made a commitment to the football …