A Christmas Story

We were preparing to go to my mother’s house for Christmas Eve when my youngest protested about having to wear jeans instead of sweatpants.

“It’s a party,” I explained. “You have to dress up a little.”

A superb arguer, just like his father, Clark provided his usual well-reasoned response, “Well, I didn’t have to dress up for Andrew’s birthday party.”

I was highlighting the difference between laser tag and Christmas Eve when my oldest chimed in.

“That was Andrew’s birthday,” he said. “This is Jesus’s.”

Silenced, at least for the moment, Clark put on his jeans.

Lessons from the Bahamas

My family traveled to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving to watch the University of Louisville play in the Battle 4 Atlantis basketball tournament and to enjoy some winter warmth. Here are a few things we learned during our trip.

Leap of Faith or Atomic Wedgie?

• Southwest Airlines “can’t control the weather.” At least that’s what they told me ad nauseam after I missed connections because of fog in St. Louis. I’m still trying to figure out what fog in St. Louis had to do with either Louisville or Fort Lauderdale.
• A $12 mango daiquiri is good, but not $12 worth (with tip) of good.
• Forget Chris, everybody hates Duke. My U of L gear always evoked a refrain from fans of other schools of “Beat Duke.” Wish we could have.
• Treat yourself to the grouper at Twin Brothers, even if you have to go outside to find the restroom.
• Senior Cardinal guard Peyton Siva is not only a terrific player, but an outstanding leader. When I peeked underneath the bleachers at halftime of the championship game against Duke and saw him bring the team together for a players’ only huddle, I knew the Cardinals were going to make a run at it, which they did.
• Get your bearings before you get on the rapids / wave attraction at Atlantis or you may get trapped in some kind of time space warp.
• Before the season, I figured Gorgui Dieng was the player the Cardinals could least afford to lose. That’s before I knew of the talents of Montrezl Harrell and the heart of Steven Van Treese. Van Treese’s story is particularly compelling. If Rick Pitino had had his way, Van Treese would’ve been playing for Division II Bellarmine instead of going toe to toe with Duke’s Mason Plumlee in a battle of top five teams.
• They ought to change the name of the “Leap of Faith” to the “Atomic Wedgie.”
• VCU fans are fervent. I particularly enjoyed the big guy with ram horns and cape, although I don’t think he possessed any actual super powers.
• When cars drive on the wrong side of the road, you’re never sure whether they’re coming or going. Just to be safe, apply “look both ways” liberally.
• Sometimes it’s a good thing when you can’t find the Big East Network. (Think football).
• Heed the wave warnings. Those things hit like Michael Bush.
• The only thing in the Bahamas with bolder and more unpredictable moves than Russ Smith is a Bahamian taxi driver.
• Just because you can charge everything to a room key, doesn’t mean you have to. Otherwise, you might order a second $12 daiquiri.

Dribs and Drabs from Card Country

Having finally wrung out my poncho and gloves from Saturday night’s rain-soaked Louisville win over Cincinnati, I thought I’d open the tap and drip out a few last thoughts on the thrilling overtime victory.

No more fair weather fans. Cardinal fans tend to be self-loathing. We complain about the lack of support. We say fans come too late, wander from their seats too much and leave too early. All are legitimate complaints. But here’s one thing you can’t say about U of L fans: They aren’t the fair-weather sort. Saturday’s crowd was 50,000 strong (coaching pun intended) from beginning to end on a rainy, cold October evening.

The good hands people. Louisville’s wide receivers are among the finest ensemble cast since Seinfeld. Eli Rogers, DeVante Parker and Damian Copeland have all made fantastic catches. By comparison, the Washington Redskins’ receivers dropped more passes on Sunday than the Cardinals have all season.

A Strong decision. In overtime, with the Cards needing only a score to win, U of L head coach Charlie Strong put quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s golden arm on ice to set up a game-winning 30-yard field goal That proved to be the right call, but it sure worried me, particularly in adverse conditions. I would have had Teddy take at least one shot at the end zone, which the Bearcats wouldn’t have expected. Congrats to kicker John Wallace for hitting the field goal and silencing any second guesses by hacks like me.
 

The defense is getting better, by George. With three interceptions, U of L’s defense seems to be finding some playmakers. Among them is George Durant who deflected a pass and rushed from the edge like a heat-seeking missile.

A kick in the keister. U of L’s kick coverage continues to be a pain in the behind. The kick is typically low and short. As a result, returners get a good head of steam going and are rarely stopped before reaching midfield. Cincinnati’s game-tying drive late in regulation benefitted from yet another poor effort on kick coverage. At this point, it might be better to just routinely kick the ball out of bounds.

A fragrant flag. Strong drew a flag for arguing an official’s call about whether a muffed punt should’ve been or touchback or a safety. Despite being the dumbest rule I’ve never heard of, the official was apparently correct on the touchback call. I’m more suspect on the flag. South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops both pitched similar fits over the weekend with nary a yellow a hanky in sight.

Plus, that ref’s yellow towel could’ve been used for something far more practical, such as wiping the water off my seat.

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.