I joined a group of guys for breakfast today, all of which are a generation older than me. There’s bruised arms, hearing aids, an occasional shuffle to the restroom behind me. They’ve all reached milestones I once thought were distant dates in an unknown galaxy, nearer to a predetermined fate none of us can avoid. As today reinforced, it’s a […]
Flawless in Transition
I’m accustomed to seeing coaches successfully communicate with Special Olympics athletes. I’ve run the Summer Games soccer venue for 12 years now, and I’ve witnessed the full array of responses from athletes, both to coaches and officials. What I saw this past weekend, however, was one of the best pre-game speeches I’ve ever witnessed. A 70+ year old coach sat […]
An Unceremonial Goodbye
I’ve been following this possibility for a couple weeks, and yesterday it happened. Gene Stephenson, the long-time coach that started the baseball program at Wichita State University and brought the program to prominence on a national scale, was fired yesterday by athletic director Eric Sexton. It was apparent at the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament here a few weeks ago that […]
The Balk Off Win
As the ending of baseball games go, this was unique. Trailing 9-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, local favorite Illinois Wesleyan University mounted an improbable rally against North Central College that led to one of the more bizarre endings to a baseball game I’ve ever witnessed. Enter Matt “the Cat” Adams. The long-time “assistant director of […]