Random Thoughts (January 23, 2010)

The mortgage is due tomorrow. Do you think my boss will kill me if I don't finish this presentation by tomorrow? My kids college tuition bill has been on the desk for a week. Did my wife just say that she is pregnant? Let's be honest, everyone has stress. The likes of Urban Meyer, Jim Calhoun , and every other coach in the country with the pressure to win big or find work elsewhere are different from the rest of us for two reasons. 1. They make a shitload of money to do their job. 2. Every move they make - good or bad - is covered by the national media. Meyer announced tonight that he will coach Florida's spring practice. This comes just weeks after his sudden retirement/leave of absence announcement. Meyer has been hospitalized multiple times for stress and for a 45-year-old man, he is not healthy. However, it does not look like he is going to be giving up coaching anytime soon. Calhoun, the 67-year-old Hall of Fame coach at UConn, is currently on a temporary medical leave of absence due to stress. He was not on the sidelines today as his Huskies defeated top ranked Texas. With the Big East schedule getting rolling, do not expect to see Calhoun out of action for too long. Coaches like Meyer and Calhoun can financially afford to walk away from their jobs but they are the type of people who are too driven to just retire. Most people who suffer through stressful jobs to make sure they can pay the bills probably think that they are crazy for continuing to work but that is exactly what they will do. They are coaches. They will do their jobs. They will recruit, design practices and game plans, and give their souls to find ways to win their next game. We live in a country that is getting lazy and complacent. Working hard is losing its value. People like Meyer and Calhoun should be applauded for working their asses off to be the best they can possibly be at their jobs... I am not naive enough to think the NCAA will not come sniffing around Kentucky's basketball team at some point in the near future but when you remember for a second that the Wildcats were on the outside looking in on last year's Tournament, it is amazing to think that John Calipari has built a team worthy of being No. 1 in the country... If I had a top pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, there are just few names that I would consider. The list starts with Kentucky's John Wall and includes Georgetown's Greg Monroe, Ohio State's Evan Turner, Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma's Willie Warren... I still think that a healthy Celtics team can win a championship but they look really old lately... Enjoy Oliver Purnell tonight...