Win Comes with Loss (of Sleep)

I felt grumpy Saturday after my beloved Louisville Cardinals ran their record to 5-0 with a slim, come-from-behind, 21-17, victory at Southern Mississippi on a soggy night in Hattiesburg. But my fellow Cards fans were surprisingly upbeat on Twitter.

Their comments included these themes: 

• Yee Haw, we’re 5-0!
• Oh well, the conditions were horrible and we won.
• Maybe we needed this scare anyway.
• Everything is irrelevant until Big East play starts. 

Perhaps it was because I was up past my bedtime reading Twitter instead of going to sleep, but I couldn’t be as optimistic. Sure, I’m happy to be 5-0, but U of L has now played 10 quarters of pretty uninspiring football.

They blame the rain, but I don't.

The Cards have played in the slop for the past couple of weeks, but so have their opponents. Conditions aren’t always going to be ideal. Both teams have to adapt. So I’m not ready to pull a Milli Vanilli and blame it on the rain.

In terms of needing a scare, the Cards have had three straight. Louisville nearly coughed up a 36-7 lead against North Carolina before breaking up a potential game-winning pass. They came from behind to beat Florida International of the Sun Belt conference. Then, against Southern Miss of Conference USA, they had to both come from behind and hold on. If U of L hasn’t been scared straight yet, then it’s probably not going to happen.

By comparison, Southern Miss was throttled 42-17 just a week earlier by Western Kentucky University. I bet WKU also beats FIU by a greater margin than Louisville. Although I respect what Willie Taggart is accomplishing at Western, that shouldn’t happen.

Finally, there’s the notion that what really matters is the conference schedule and its attendant BCS bid, not these lackluster road games at FIU and USM. However, even with West Virginia leaving for the Big 12, the Big East looks tougher than expected. Just ask Virginia Tech of the ACC, which lost to both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Additionally, although Charlie Strong’s teams have shown the ability to improve throughout the season, I’m not convinced that U of L’s defense is suddenly going to snap to attention once conference play starts.

Some people think this could be a pretty special season. After all, Louisville returns most of its key players from last year’s Big East champions. Others believe the Cards might be a year away because of their youth. After five games, it seems cases could be made for both. Today, I’m leaning toward the later, but maybe just because I need some rest. 

Isaacson Shows Jobs' Genius, Madness

Apple founder Steve Jobs was a man who was complicated as his products were simple.

I recently read Jobs biography, written by Walter Isaacson. Even when I finished, I couldn’t figure out whether to admire Jobs or pity him.

I picked up the book because I was interested in insights regarding one of the great visionaries of our time. However, I feared the book would amount to nothing more than a very long Apple press release. To Issacson’s credit, he somehow got the notorious control freak to release his grip and allow the author to tell the full, fascinating story.

The book drags a bit in the middle. For instance, I could have lived with less discussion of open code vs. closed systems. But other seemingly extraneous material, such as Jobs’ relationship with Bill Gates, could not have been missed.

So how do you best describe the late Steve Jobs? Imagine the most difficult person in your life. Now multiply that by a thousand.

Jobs co-founded Apple in a garage and parlayed it into one of the nation’s most admired and financially successful companies. He left his fingerprints all over some of the greatest innovations in a host of industries, including personal computing, cell phones, retailing, music and even movies (through Pixar). In the process, Apple created legions of loyal fans who swear by the simplicity and elegance of its products.

Isaacson tracks each of these great developments from their genesis to completion and all the pain-staking details in between.

Despite Jobs successes, he was neither personally nor professionally satisfied. Issacson suggests this stems from him being placed for adoption as a child. Although Jobs ended up in a loving home, he never got over feelings of abandonment.

Perhaps this is why he could be so cruel, especially to people closest to him, including his own family members. He kept some of Apple’s first employees from sharing in its financial gains and eventually got run out of his own company because of his volatile temper. In his personal life, Jobs had a child out of wedlock and initially chose not to be in her life, just as his own biological parents had done with him.

Jobs eventually returned to Apple to orchestrate some of its greatest accomplishments, including the IPod and IPad. But the ending isn’t nearly as redemptive as it seems. He continued to struggle with professional and personal demons until his death.

According to Isaacson, Jobs wanted to revolutionize other industries, including television. It would have be fun to see what else he would have created. On the other hand, the destructive path in getting there wouldn’t have been any fun at all.

Teddy Bridges Troubled Waters for U of L

With an outstanding freshman campaign behind him and a bright sophomore season ahead, who wouldn’t want to hitch their wagon behind the considerable talents of University of Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater?

Bridgewater

Today, Bridgewater’s recruitment seems like such a no-brainer. He may have been one of Louisville’s most important signings ever. Yet, if you reverse the clock more than a year, there were some people who believed Cardinal Head Coach Charlie Strong was actually making a mistake by pursing Bridgewater.  

At the time, U of L already had a commitment from another highly regarded quarterback in local product Damarcus Smith. As the thinking went, Strong was putting Smith’s commitment at risk by courting another quarterback. Some of Smith’s staunchest supporters took to the message boards. They criticized Strong for disrespecting a local kid who was loyal to the program in favor of a pie-in-the-sky guy from Florida. 

Whether it was because of Bridgewater’s signing or not, Smith did renege on his commitment to the Cardinals, just as some predicted. He went to the University of Central Florida instead, flamed out there and wound up at Western Kentucky University. He still hasn’t played a down in college. Meanwhile, Bridgewater reversed U of L’s football fortunes, leading them to a share of the Big East title with a series of gritty performances. 

Recruiting is such a crap shoot. Who knows what would’ve happened had Strong never pursued Bridgewater. Maybe Smith would’ve accomplished just as much or more. Maybe not. I, for one, am glad we didn’t have to find out.

Kids Take Celebrity in Stride

Things that would make our bucket list, often don’t even register with our kids. I was reminded of this twice in recent weeks. 

First, I read about Stephanie Decker visiting the White House with her husband and two children. Decker is the woman from Clark County, Indiana, who saved her kids by covering them with her body during a tornado. In the process, she lost parts of her legs. President Obama heard Decker’s inspiring story and invited her family to visit. 

Clark and Rondo

The opportunity to visit the president of the United States in his home is heady stuff for anyone ... except, perhaps, kids. “My kids don’t get it because they’re young,” Decker explained. “But one day they will understand.” 

As a father of two, I relate to Decker’s comment. Although we’ve never met the president, my kids have had lots of opportunities, too. They are always grateful, even if they don’t always appreciate the gravity of the situation. 

For example, my son, Clark, recently had the opportunity to play basketball with Rajon Rondo at Rondo’s basketball camp. Yes, that’s Rajon Rondo, the NBA All-Star. Just a few weeks earlier, we stayed up late at night to watch Rondo confound the world champion Miami Heat on television. Now, Clark was passing the ball to him. Yet, when I picked Clark up, he neglected to mention it. In fact, I wouldn’t have even known it if the camp photographer hadn’t told me she snapped a picture of them together. 

Clark was more likely to tell me about the french fries he ate for lunch. That’s just the way kids are. As I’ve previously written, they are more impressed by ice cream than celebrities, sports superstars and political leaders.

Nevertheless, you can bet that I’m framing that Rondo picture. Like Decker said, Clark will eventually come to treasure it.

Matlock or Mayberry?

Like everybody, I knew of Andy Griffith from the Andy Griffith Show. I enjoyed that show. But for me, the enduring Griffith is the one from my afternoons – the man in the seersucker suit and not the one in the sheriff’s uniform.

To put it another way, I’ll take the Fulton County Courthouse over Mayberry.

Lawyer or Sheriff?

For as long as I can remember, national cable network WGN has broadcast reruns of Griffith’s “Matlock” in the afternoons. Whenever I was at home during the day, for whatever reason, I usually watched it. Afternoon television could be pretty meager without Ben Matlock, particularly in cable’s early days.

Ben Matlock was there for me when I was at home sick, with a sick kid, freelancing, job searching or working from home. I could always squeeze in Matlock between Benadryl, naps, interviews, phone calls, errands or assignments. When I couldn’t watch closely, Matlock still provided the background noise.

I often joke that I realized it was time to kick up my job search after I’d been through the whole Matlock series once and started through it again. That’s a lot of people wrongly accused, hot dogs eaten and $100,000 fees collected.

During that time, I even started to take note of guest stars that I previously missed, such as Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” fame.

Although the series ended in 1995, Matlock holds up pretty well. In fact, when I recently dressed for the Kentucky Oaks, I patterned myself after good old Ben. Matlock’s longevity is quite a tribute to a guy who could’ve been forever typecast as Sheriff Taylor. In Griffith’s honor, WGN should run a Matlock marathon. I might not tune in though. I’ve been through the entire series already … one afternoon at a time.