There was a man hanging around the backstop of our little league field. This man was a fan. He stood directly behind home plate and encouraged kids. The backstop consisted of a tall, chain-link fence enclosure and I remember the man leaning against it with his fingers wrapped around the fence. I was up to bat and he encouraged me to keep my eye on the ball and so forth. I got a hit. Actually, that day I got 3 hits, a double and 2 singles. It was my best day in little league. Neighbors and people in our town stopped my mom and I on the street saying they heard I had a really good game. It was special.
What was special to me was that this guy encouraged me and I fed off of it and performed. Not to sound like a poor kid, but nobody else had. Don't get me wrong here, my mother would go on to be a great 5:00 am hockey mom, but I don't remember her going to my little league games. My sisters? Nope. My brother? Well, actually he was an assistant coach, but he was busy helping the pitchers warm up, etc. And my dad, well let's just say the only time he ever spent any time with me as far as baseball was concerned was the day of little league tryouts, my mom made him try to give me some hitting tips in our backyard while I was standing on our patio. Nice.
So, yesterday I was walking our yellow lab Molly and we walked to a baseball field that only had a backstop. I stood behind the backstop and remembered the unidentified stranger who had encouraged me that special day. I am pretty sure he had no idea of the impact his encouragement had, but I do. Thanks man.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Is Denver Dumb?
Money...money changes everything.
The 1st round of the NFL Draft was on a Thursday in prime time this year. My wife and I tuned in and I began to explain to her that the higher you got drafted, the more money you got. Well it wasn't until a few days later that I realized just how much money we are talking about. After researching last year's 1st round picks, I was amazed at the dollar amount of the contracts these people got. For example, last year's #1 pick in the Draft signed a contract for 72 million dollars?! And get this, 41.7 million dollars of that contract is guaranteed! He gets hurt, he still gets paid.
So take the first 4 quarterbacks selected in this year's Draft and let's do a little cost analysis: Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma was selected first in the Draft, so let's give him 72 million dollars for starters. Tim Tebow out of Florida was the next quarterback selected at twenty-fifth in the 1st round, so based on last year's 25th pick's contract, he'll get a mere 13.3 million dollars.
Now Jimmy Clausen out of Notre Dame fell considerably in the draft all the way to the 2nd round, and he is looking at about 3 million dollars. And Colt McCoy out of Texas, who was selected in the 3rd round, can expect a measly 650 thousand dollar contract. Wow!
Here is the rub. Speaking strictly from a financial standpoint, how wise was it for the Denver Bronco's to select Tim Tebow in the 1st round? By most NFL scouts, Tim was the 5th best pro prospect at his position. In other words, unless Denver knew something and knew another team was about to pull the trigger and select Tim Tebow, they could have easily gotten him in the later rounds for a ton less money. Now, is the perception that this guy is worth it, worth all those millions of dollars it is going to take to sign him? You decide.
The 1st round of the NFL Draft was on a Thursday in prime time this year. My wife and I tuned in and I began to explain to her that the higher you got drafted, the more money you got. Well it wasn't until a few days later that I realized just how much money we are talking about. After researching last year's 1st round picks, I was amazed at the dollar amount of the contracts these people got. For example, last year's #1 pick in the Draft signed a contract for 72 million dollars?! And get this, 41.7 million dollars of that contract is guaranteed! He gets hurt, he still gets paid.
So take the first 4 quarterbacks selected in this year's Draft and let's do a little cost analysis: Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma was selected first in the Draft, so let's give him 72 million dollars for starters. Tim Tebow out of Florida was the next quarterback selected at twenty-fifth in the 1st round, so based on last year's 25th pick's contract, he'll get a mere 13.3 million dollars.
Now Jimmy Clausen out of Notre Dame fell considerably in the draft all the way to the 2nd round, and he is looking at about 3 million dollars. And Colt McCoy out of Texas, who was selected in the 3rd round, can expect a measly 650 thousand dollar contract. Wow!
Here is the rub. Speaking strictly from a financial standpoint, how wise was it for the Denver Bronco's to select Tim Tebow in the 1st round? By most NFL scouts, Tim was the 5th best pro prospect at his position. In other words, unless Denver knew something and knew another team was about to pull the trigger and select Tim Tebow, they could have easily gotten him in the later rounds for a ton less money. Now, is the perception that this guy is worth it, worth all those millions of dollars it is going to take to sign him? You decide.
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