In all that I’ve read, which is only a fraction of what has been written, this quote from Indy Star reporter Mike Chappell is the best. These are words to live by for every athlete, if not every person.

“It’s easy, enjoyable and ego-inflating to face everyone in victory. It’s a different beast to stand tall and face your critics on your worst day.”

According to Chappell in this Indy Star article (hopefully it’s still live), Peyton always did this.

On a lighter note, here’s a funny Onion article about Peyton. Ironically, there’s a tie-in with Mike Chappell, if you make to the end.

Image Source: SI.com

Image from the school's website.

Driscoll Middle School football team’s trick play has been all the rage on YouTube as of late. Even if you aren’t a YouTube junkie, you’ve probably seen the video clip on TV. (here it is for those who haven’t seen it)

Like most people, I got a good laugh out of it. I’m a fan of the occasional trickeration and gadget play on the sports field. However, my mind has been changed about this one.

On the drive in to work I heard Frank Deford’s (It’s Only A Game) take on the play. He offered a different perspective that caused me some chagrin.

I recommend reading his short post but I’ll summarize for those of you who wouldn’t be caught dead on the NPR website.

Being entertained by the embarrassment of an adult is run-of-the-mill TV fare these days. We can even enjoy when a young bully is made to look weak and foolish, but in this instance it was an adult coach taking advantage of a naive youth football team. He exploited the other team’s ignorance of the finer points of football rules. As Deford illustrates in his article (you should read it), it’s one thing when adult athletes attempt to pull one over on an adult opponent or official. This situation is something different. The Driscoll coach, even though he might be a straight-up guy most of the time, belittled and shamed a bunch of kids. And that shouldn’t be acceptable.

I don’t want to see him removed as the coach. No, I think it would be much better if he would apologize to the other team, to his team, and to the community. It’s an opportunity for him to do some real coaching.

P.S. Can you image if there had been one kid on the opposing team who knew he had the right to hit the quarterback in that situation? There would have been some serious poo hitting the fan (and the coach), if that had happened.

This month the sport everyone else in the world calls “football”, aptly named, has our attention. Since most of my attention is dedicated to The Web, I thought I’d start a list of the best world cup websites. This short list is only a start. I hope you’ll help me grow it.

• My favorite. The Onion guide to understanding World Cup soccer.
• Official South African government site for the event.
• Hyundai World Cup contest (One Million Balls promotion)
  *Warning auto-play music. I hate that, but still cool.
• ESPN Soccernet
• Facebook fan page (oops…I mean Like page). Why aren’t there 1 million “likes?” Oh, yeah. Because it’s soccer.
• iTunes, iPhones, iApps for the iCup
• Mashable.com’s World Cup Hub
• UniWatch blog post (great site!)
• Flickr Group for the World Cup
• Coolest World Cup stadiums
• World Cup videos from The Daily Show
• 2010 World Cup on Google Trends. Very interesting!
• LIFE.com photo gallery of the opening ceremonies
• World Cup on Twitter
• Visa promotion on YouTube. People doing the crazy GOOOOOOOAAL cheers.
• And another YouTube channel — Nike Soccer.
• Main FIFA site has to be on the list.
• One of a countless number of world cup blogs covering the soccer spectacle.

That probably doesn’t scratch the surface of interesting World Cup websites but it’s a start. Let me know what you find. And please, no porn, poker, or pills.

*UPDATE

Hack For Eliminating That Horrible Buzzing Sound

NPR World Cup Blog

Lego’s Version of the USA vs England match

While the Bean Field is usually blue for the Colts, I’m hoping it’s blue for the Kentucky Wildcats this year. I’m a big Wildcats fan. Have been my whole life, as far as I can remember, anyway. Their prospects for going to the final game are looking good even though it might be fair to call them the Cardiac Cats.

I don’t care much for the one-and-done approach that many college basketball stars seem to take. In my view, they’re making a big mistake. However, I mostly blame the system and not the individual players. That being said, I’ve got to root for the boys in blue and just hope a couple of ‘em stay another year.

Duke is my least favorite team but I’m going to be rooting for them and Kansas most of the way. I want to see the Wildcats beat the evil blue devils and their coach (he-who-shall-not-be-named) on their way to take on Kansas in the final game. Who could argue that this wouldn’t be a terrific match up between this season’s two most dominant teams.

All in all it should be a great tournament. I can’t wait until the games start. Who are you rooting for?

article here