All things sports

Today I shot a legitimate 83 at the Naval Base. The 83 included no mulligans, no do overs, no improved lies, no balls thrown onto the fairway from behind a tree, and no picked-up putts. I've been keeping a golf notebook where I write about how I played, what happened, how to improve, etc. Its been very helpful and I've definitely improved faster because of it.

I've also heard about some football quarterbacks who do this, notably the Manning brothers and Tom Brady. They keep extensive notes of what happens both in practice and in competition, and it shows. They have five super bowl championships between them.

I recently also read about how Michael Vick claims to have been "the last to arrive and the first to leave" practices and team meetings when he played for the Falcons. Michael Vick has not won or even appeared in a Super Bowl.

There are obviously many things that go into a championship in any sports. And one of them is certainly the realization that talent alone will not win a championship at the highest level. There will eventually be other players in the field or match or game that are equally as talented and are also trying harder.

There is a certain "championship" mentality. I think Kobe Bryant has it. He berates team mates to get better, expects improvement, expects clutch performance. At times he demands it. This mentality drives some people away, notably Shaq, but also many lesser players like Smush Parker, Kareem Rush, Gary Payton, etc.

Kevin Garnett is also a standard setter and enforcer. He loves to practice, loves to set the bar high and then see if anyone can exceed it. Garnett is a champion.

To improve, to succeed, to win, one must really embrace all facets of competition: practicing, mental preparation, and competition. Lacking any one these things represents a flaw that will eventually be exploited.

We often don't know the true persona of a team until it has passed; until the heat has been turned up high and we see what they are made of. If they succeed then we look back for tiny clues of their future success. If they fail then suddenly there appears a million hints, a million reasons.

Does LeBron has this? I don't know. What has he done to expand his game?

What is the heart of a champion?

The heart of a champion. What does it mean?

I honestly think that is just means a tremendous focus on a singular goal; a focus so sharp it excludes all other goals. Nothing else can really be in focus when compared to this one goal.

And I see it in sports all the time. When a coach starts writing books, he's done. Especially in football.

When people achieve great success and then spread themselves too thin in the ensuing limelight, believing they have the Midas touch, only to discover that while they were out partying a person who was practicing and honing their skills the entire time has come and taken their spot.

I read about how Dwight Howard was touring and doing lots of things non-basketball related during the offseason. After he just got embarrassed on a national stage for his lack of freethrow shooting skills and post moves.

Thats not the heart of a champion. Kevin Garnett practices like a mad man, preferring to be the first player at the gym in the morning and the last person to leave.

LeBron James gets to a big game three hours early to practice shooting and get warmed up. I read before the 2007 Finals when he was demolished in four games by the Spurs that he learned it from Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan does that for EVERY game. TD is champ. LeBron is still ringless.

And personally, I doubt they will win it this year. Shaq is not a great teacher and not one to inspire others to work harder.

Lastly I noticed how Charles Barkley can't fix his golf swing. He gets half way to the ball in his downswing and then hesitates for a split-second and then resumes swinging. Its the dumbest thing you could imagine. And the funny part is that he doesn't have the mental acuity to overcome it!

Its incredible to want to get better and be unable to even swing the club smoothly. Let me ask you this: would Michael Jordan tolerate his mind and body conspiring to do something as stupid as that? The answer is no. And thats why MJ is a six time NBA champ and Charlest Barkley is not.

MJ could use his mind and willpower and force his body out of its comfort range and natural desires and mold it into whatever he wanted to. He wanted a postup game, he got one. Whatever his weaknesses were, he worked at them until they were strengths.

With Charles Barkley there is none of that. Just natural ability and thats it.