Category: Blog

I was sad to hear about the passing of Hall of Fame football coach Don Shula, 90, today. One of the NFL’s coaching legends, and arguably its greatest, Shula personified excellence on and off the football stage.

Over a career of 33 seasons as a head coach in the league (7 with the Baltimore Colts, and 26 with the Miami Dolphins), Shula led his team to victory a record 347 times with a winning percentage of .660 (regular season and playoffs combined).

What’s more, Shula led the Dolphins to five Super Bowls, winning two of them. The most memorable was perhaps the 14-7 Super Bowl VII triumph over the Washington Redskins, which earned his team the only undefeated season in NFL history.

I was blessed to have spoken with Mr. Shula several years ago, and I’m thankful for his kindness in offering some of his recollections of the 1981 NFL Playoff Game between his Dolphins and the San Diego Chargers for my book about that memorable game, known as “The Epic in Miami.”

My prayers and condolences go out to his family and friends. Rest in peace, Coach Shula.

http://gty.im/52645033

Bundesliga Champions: A Closer Look

Here is a look at the Bundesliga clubs that have won the most titles since 2000. Bayern are far and away the leader thus far.

A Tuesday of Champions

I’d been waiting for this day to arrive. The German side that I follow – Bayern München – drew one of the toughest remaining clubs in this season’s Champions League, FC Liverpool, and the first leg was scheduled for today.

Alas, it’s Tuesday, so as much as I wanted to steal away from the office to catch the game at a local pub with other Bayern fans, I did the dutiful thing and stayed close to the workplace.

I had to settle for catching the broadcast on my mobile phone. At least part of it since for a time I was away from WiFi.* The 1980 version of me would have been so jealous!**

Back to the game, but first, a little backstory.

The truth is, I actually caught a Liverpool game on the telly at a local pub with San Diego lads who regularly “up the Reds” at the venue. No, I hadn’t switched sides. My nephew, who was visiting from Chicago, was a big-time fan, and emphasized the importance of catching the Sunday morning game during his stay…at 7:30 a.m. San Diego time.

Anyway, I love a good European football match in mid-winter and said I was game. It was an enjoyable experience, especially because I had no skin in the game, and Liverpool registered the win to make my nephew’s day.

Fast forward a couple of months and lo and behold, my nephew’s team and my team were drawn to play each other in the Champions League’s Round of 16.

Ahead of today’s match, we kept things civil, my nephew sharing a Liverpool fan’s graphic of the combined European championship hardware earned between Liverpool and Bayern. I returned a wish of good luck, and we were both ready to see a positive result in the first leg of this titanic tie.

The game ended in a 0:0 decision at Anfield, making the second game at Bayern München’s Allianz Arena next month an achievable stepping stone to the Round of 8 for either team.

My nephew and I will both have our eyes on the prize, and hopefully on the telly and the next round.

*Sure, I have an unlimited data plan, but I don’t want my Internet access throttled back to the stone ages of the 1990s.

**Back in the day, I had to resort to calling “1-900-976-1313” and loadings handfuls of change into the school lobby pay phone to get the latest Dodgers scores in the 1980 NL Playoffs.

It’s amazing to think about when one person can touch the lives of millions.

Especially when it’s for good.

The singer Aretha Franklin, who died this past week at the age of 76, was one of those people who had such an outreach through her music.

She rose to fame right around the time I was born in 1968, so I didn’t discover her music until years later. What she was able to achieve in her life is awesome. She produced 20 No. 1 singles on Billboard’s R&B chart and more than 50 that soared into the chart’s Top 10. She was also the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame for her contributions.

Her style?

I think the Washington Post’s J. Freedom du articulated it beautifully the other day:

“A graceful mezzo-soprano stylist, Ms. Franklin had remarkable range, power and command, along with the innate ability to burrow into a lyric until she’d found the exact coordinates of its emotional core.”

Ms. Franklin awakened emotions and brought inspiration to people.

Embed from Getty Images

Like many people, the songs that first come to mind when Ms. Franklin is mentioned are “Respect,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Think,” and “I Say a Little Prayer.” But her library of work is much more expansive.

I would suggest everyone to go back and listen not just to the hits above but find out about her other recordings. In fact, if you have Sirius XM Radio, the satellite music service has devoted one its channels to replays of her music. Or one can look up her discography online and hear and see her performances. If one touches you or impacts you in a special way, share it with your family, friends as well as to the public through social media.

Aretha was one of those special people who influenced millions through her soulful compilations.

Let’s make sure it continues to reach millions more.