WBC Sports 2

Well, it's been another first week of school at Williams Baptist College, and sports are giving students an excuse to not do homework already. Our ladies volleyball team is now 7-0 and looks like they are ready to conitue the winning ways established last season. Veterans are stepping up into leadership positions, while freshmen are providing plenty of talent across the board. This is also true for the WBC soccer team. Though they lost their first game thursday against Harding University, the freshman showed their talent early but learned what to expect from their opponents. With help from the team veterans, some of which were unable to play, and with a true freshman goal keeper, the team showed some promise. I look forward to bringing more commentary on the WBC sports scene as the season progresses.

Advice for the Start of College

Every year at this time, young freshman enter college campuses hoping to reinvent themselves; what they were in high school no longer matters, they can be anyone they want. From the moment you step onto campus, you want to establish yourself as one of the cool college people. For men, we do this to attract the college beauties that we always heard and fantasied about. However, to many young freshmen men try to be what was cool in high school. They dress like high schoolers, they smell like high schoolers, and behave like high schoolers. I want to offer some advice on how to become a more mature college man, to help attract the ladies and prepare yourself for your career at the same time.

First, your clothing. My wife has taught me how to dress; thanks to her lessons, I am able to teach you a thing or two. I'm going to tell you right now, Ed Hardy is no longer acceptable for a mature man to wear; don't do it. A mature man doesn't need a flaming dragon, or bedazzeled skull on his chest to grab attention from a woman. My closet was filled with Hollister T-shirts when I got married (which was ok but she and I both agreed I needed a change), but I have since focused on adding more mature shirts. I really like Hollister shirts and polos, I also have added several Ralph Lauren Polo and US Polo shirts. I have also added two suits and many different shirts and ties to go along with them; the suits are partly for my wife's enjoyment and for my career as a businessman. I know many young men hate the idea of a suit, but, if you want to succeed in life you will need at least one suit and several different shirts and ties. A man must have a suit for any special occasions, and for job interviews. I told my parents when I was a child that I would never wear a tie, now I own more than fifteen different ties and wear them often. You will need to learn how to match ties and shirts, belts and shoes, and when to wear a certain kind of shoe and with what color suit. By maturing your closet, you will mature your image to the new ladies you want to attract. And trust me, they will notice a more confident you. (P.S. cut your hair; long, in your eyes hair screams childish, not mature and responsible. Visit a true old fashioned barber and get a mature haircut.)

So you are dressing more mature now, but when ladies walk up too you, they don't want to smell fifty different shades of AXE body spray. Don't get me wrong, body sprays are good for a quick smell as you are rushing to work outside or something like that, but not for everyday classes and social events. Plus, I would lose AXE all altogether, Old Spice body sprays are a little more mature smelling. My wife loves the smell of Bod Man Fragrances Sprays by Body Fantasies, Black especially. Cologne should now be you fragrance of choice; now Hollister's colognes are very good but too powerful for a mature man. I prefer Lacoste and Ralph Lauren Polo scents. I have Polo Sport #2 as my main scent right now. This is one area where Ed Hardy is ok, their scents are well suited to everyday classroom activities, perhaps to attract that cute girl in lab. I also recommend R.L. Polo Black, Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, Diesel Iron Man, and Sex and the City for Men. I also think you should try many different scents to find which ones match your personality. Now that I have you covered the scent side I want to tell you that all the cologne in the world won't help you if you don't bathe properly. When it is time to take a shower (and you better shower, no bubble baths in college), what products should you use? I have two brands of shower gel that will work perfectly. Dove for Men body wash and Gillett body wash are perfect for mature men. I personally use Dove but I have used Gillett before and think it is just as good. Shampoo is also important; right now I'm using Suave Professionals, but really any non kiddy shampoo will do.

You are in college now, you a dressing mature, you smell mature, but for some reason you can't attract a girl. Maybe it's because you are acting like an idiot from high school! Mature young women want mature young men; now that you look the part, you have to act the part. Chivalry is your ally, respect is your best friend. Treat them like a lady and they will know you are looking for more than a quick fling. Take the time to make them feel special and always put their needs above yours. Learn how to pronounce the words you say properly: do not talk like a child. My method takes time but it will earn you a long term relationship, not a one night stand. And that is another thing, do not get the reputation as a player; the more one night stands you have, the less women will trust you and rightly so.

So this is my advice, take it or leave it.

WBC Sports

The fall sports season has begun here at my college Williams Baptist College with the beginning of our ladies volleyball season Friday. Our school hosted a small jamboree for several local college teams. Our girls ended the weekend Saturday night going 4-0 to start their season. Our volleyball program has been growing over the past few seasons under the direction of Head Coach Eric Newell. LAst season saw the team breaking the school regular season record and hosting it's first conference tournament game. Though they lost the game, the season was a huge success; after a 10-0 start and a strong finish. This season looks to hold even greater things for the team. Though the team did have a scare Friday night against rival Lyon College when Sr Libero Courtney Melvin was injured. But the team pulled through and finished strong. I look forward to a great season from them.

The weekend also saw the school soccer team finish its preparations for its season open with an Alumni game on Saturday. Our soccer team under second year Head Coach Shane Stoltz had its best season last year and is looking to improve with a host of young talent coming in. I look forward to another great season from them as well, and expect great things in the coming years.

Both our teams are young right now, though they do have a few good veterans to lead the young talent around them. This fall should be a good season for WBC Sports.
Have a great week!

TebowMania

I have to weight in on the Tim Tebow, Mark Sanchez, and the NY Jets situation. The moment the NY Jets organization traded for Tebow, they signed Sanchez's death sentence. I do not see Mark Sanchez staying with the Jets past this season unless Tebow leaves first; even if Tebow leaves, Sanchez may be to hurt to remain a Jet after what they have done to him. I say all this simply because Tim Tebow is one of the most popular players in football today, he can make things happen on the field where other players can't, and he is a winner. I still feel that he lacks the accuracy and know how to truly be a NFL quarterback, but you cannot deny his ability to will a team to victory. Mark Sanchez (who I have never been a big fan of) is a much better QB than Tebow, but he cannot make something out of nothing on a consistent basis. This is exactly what the Jets need right now, because they have nothing. Their star wide receiver is out (Santonio Holmes), and their offensive line is terrible. Lets add to that, their lack of a running game and poor play on defense. The Jets are just plain bad; they need a miracle and who do you think will give them that miracle? I predict that Tebow will be starting by week 3 against the Dolphins. Week 1, the Jets face their division rival Bills, and then in week 2 the defensive monster that is Pittsburgh. Sanchez will not play well against the Bills, but I think they could squeak by a win there, but the Steelers will destroy the Jets and the fans will demand Tebow. My opinion is for the Jets to play out the season at this point, start Tebow, and fire Rex Ryan and GM Mike Tannenbaum after  the season is over. They will need to find a good new head coach quickly so they can then see which QB that coach wants to build around and then use the other to acquire draft picks. I might even trade away both and go after one of the talented QB in the draft next year. These are just my thoughts, and they don't mean much: I like the Jets, I hate Rex Ryan, and I love football, so take all this with a grain of salt. Have a great day!

Dolphins and Tannehill

So the Miami Dolphins have done what we all knew they would do the moment they drafted Ryan Tannehill with the 8th over all pick in this year's draft. We all knew they would start Tannehill this season, and most of us assumed he would be the starter for the season opener. But now comes the hard part, dealing with the fact that Tannehill, and the Dolphins will not win very much this year. Tannehill is talented and could be very good down the road, however, you cannot help but look at the situation he is stepping into. He will have no real target to throw too, and not a lot of help from the running game. I believe Moore would have made a better starter this season had they used their number eight draft pick for a receiver or a running back. Trading away the pick for a more experienced receiver would have greatly helped, or trying to trade up for Justin Blackmon or Trent Richardson would have made even more long term sense. Blackmon would have given Moore an amazing target during the season; Richardson and Bush would have made an amazing combo. They could have even held out for better quarterback prospects next season: Matt Barkley, Tyler Wilson, Landry Jones, and any other surprise players from the season could have been better suited to the team had they elected to bring in a receiver. Remember Barkley and Wilson threw for more yards than Andrew Luck did last season. Wilson did that in the defensive focused SEC. I think the Dolphins will be in position in next years draft to take one of these QBs, though they will miss their chance since they wasted so much on Tannehill this year. Yes, next year could offer them a chance at a high level skill player, perhaps Monte Ball; but that will mean Tannehill will have a bad first season to shake his confidence and will have to break in a rookie target. If the Dolphins had landed Blackmon, they would be bringing in a talented QB with a young, talented receiver already familiar with the system. But, I am not a General Manager in the NFL, at least not yet, but that is where I want my career to end up. If you agree then say so, or even if you don't.
Have a great day!

The Marketing of Mad Men

My wife and I recently started watching the television drama Mad Men on AMC. We are always looking for new shows to watch on Netflix instant play, and we thought we would try this one. Although I find the show a little boring (it is very much a drama, meaning not very much action at all) and I do not like the rampant infidelity, the marketing strategies the main characters discuss in the office are spot on. From the very first episode the main character Don Draper tries to explain to a client that you cannot simply make your old brand become a luxury brand. His client wants her store to be advertised to people that don't care about the prices because they have plenty of money to spare. He tells her that isn't an effective strategy to take. The client says Chanel does it; Mr. Draper replies that Chanel always branded itself that way. This holds true to marketing principles that you cannot make a brand more luxurious. Walmart cannot simply start selling only high end products at high prices, that isn't their public image. there are several other instances in the first few episodes that show great marketing sense. So if you want to learn a little about the marketing world, watch Mad Men.
Have a great weekend!

Preseason Football

Well, it has been a few days since my last post. That was because I really didn't have much to talk about until now. Since my wife and I live on our college campus all year round, I am watching the school sports teams begin to move into the dorms and beginning their preseason workouts. My favorite sport, football, just started it's professional preseason, and all major colleges have started their preseason camps as well. I hope you read my football season predictions for both the NCAA and NFL. Now, with the first weekend of NFL preseason out of the way, I want to give my reflections on my favorite teams and topics. First, Andrew Luck's great performance against St. Louis. Yes, Luck put up good numbers, but remember the Rams are from the elite defenses of the NFL and therefore did not truly test the young star. I still believe the Colts were foolish to let Manning go and very disrespectful to the former face of their franchise, who had earned the right to end his career in Indy. I still feel that Manning will produce more for the Broncos in the next two or three years than Luck will for the Colts. Don't get me wrong, Luck has everything needed to become an elite quarterback in the NFL, but every rookie quarterback should spend one or two seasons learning from an all time great quarterback like Manning. It worked out for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, didn't it? Well, on to my favorite team the Miami Dolphins. Ryan Tannehill showed some promise in his preseason opener. But, this was just the first preseason game and it wasn't great. The rest of this preseason will show if he is ready to lead this team, which I still think he isn't. Like Luck, Tannehill has the talent to be great in the NFL, but lacks the experience and maturity needed to win now. Matt Moore showed promise last year, but with the lose of Chad Johnson, who will either quarterback throw too? Miami's passing game is almost doomed efore the season has even started. I will finish with the talk of the sports world as always: The Tebow and the Jets Show. Tim Tebow didn't look very good in his preseason debut with the Jets, but frankly, neither did the Jets. Mark Sanchez and Tebow both had to handle a complete neglect of blocking by the Jets offensive line. This made Tebow look better, since he is bigger, stronger, and faster than Sanchez, and showed how it won't take long for the Jets fans to turn on Sanchez and rally behind the magical Tebow. Once again, I feel Tebow is a terrible quarterback, but he is a great football player. He will fight every don and never quit until the team has the W. This makes me think the Jets will turn to Tebow fairly soon in the season and will still struggle to get to the playoffs, if they make it at all.

So those are my thoughts for the day. Have a great one!

Student Athletes

In today's social media world, scandals rise quickly and grow much faster than in the past. This year we have seen three major universities go through a horrible scandal. Og course you all know the Penn State scandal, and most of you, I'm sure, heard about Arkansas and the Petrino disaster. However, the University of North Carolina is also struggling with its own scandal, or at least trying to recover from it. But, all these scandals make me wonder, what has happened to collegiate sports? I think I know the answer; we happened. Americans have lost sight of everything that college sports were intended for. They are called student athletes for a reason; they are students first, then athletes. However, modern media and social media have turned them into celebrities. Now, it is more important to be the face of college football than it is to get an education and better themselves. Athletes like Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Tim Tebow, and Andrew Luck have become super stars of the media. Are they bad guys? No! But, young aspiring athletes don't look at them for educational inspiration, they look at them as sports idols. These young people believe school isn't important; focusing on their athletic performance over their educational achievements. Other sports have these same bad role models, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James both skipped college to join the NBA. What kind of example does this set? Is school cool? No, but in the modern job market, a bachelors degree is essential. Now, I'm not saying all athletes are idiots, RGIII has a masters degree, but few kids see that. Children see the media frenzy over the draft and earning potential, and dream about being apart of that. Yes, some athletes try to convince kids to continue their education like Lebron, but how can someone that never even thought about going to college be a good role model telling kids to go to college? I guess I'm just standing on one of my soap boxes right now, but it needs to be said. I feel that universities need to strengthen up their athlete's, academic performance and maintain the league standards. I think the NCAA, though unable to investigate every incident, has done a good job of punishing schools for violating the rules. But, I think the education departments of each state should hold these schools accountable for their slacking off on athletes. But, the problem is the American culture; we don't like hearing about young men and women fighting to earn a degree. We want to see what we think is the glamourous life of athletes. Our perception of what their lives are like is flawed. So, I'm afraid that the problem can't be fixed in the universities, American culture must be changed to save the industry. So, that is my soap box, have a great day.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

With the College and Pro football seasons less than a month away, I want to k now who is as excited about the up coming seasons as I am. My Arkansas Razorbacks are legitimate National Title contenders in the NCAA. The Miami Dolphins, my favorite pro team, however don't look as good. I was very disappointed with the dolphins offseason moves and feel that any expectation of them being above average is unrealistic. The Razorbacks on the other hand had every reason to fall apart this offseason with the Bobby Petrino scandal. But, when I look at them right now, I see the only true test for defending champions Alabama. LSU may be ranked number one right now in the preseason Coaches' Poll, but Alabama is clearly the better team. As long as Knile Davis and Tyler Wilson stay healthy this season, Arkansas is a better team than LSU. Don't get me wrong, LSU has great talent, but they are to full of themselves. Their cockiness is their greatest weakness. Nick Saban never lets his players get big heads, this is one of the many reasons he is the best coach in college football today. Arkansas doesn't have the bragging rights to be cocky. USC could usually be cocky at this point in the season, if it weren't for their bowl game ban over the past few due to NCAA violations years ago. 

My prediction for the NCAA champions are; SEC: Alabama (rooting for/wouldn't be surprised if Arkansas) over South Carolina, ACC: Clemson over Virginia Tech, Big 10: Michigan over Wisconsin, Big 12: Texas, Pac 12: Oregon over USC. National Championship Game: Alabama (Arkansas possible) vs Oregon, Alabama (Arkansas) wins.

My predictions for the NFL season are; AFC East: New England, New York Jets, Buffalo, Miami (I think Bills and Dolphins will have almost the exact same overall record); AFC South: Houston, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Indianapolis; AFC North: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh (I think the Bengals and Steelers will tie their overall records, but Cincy will win the tie breaker), Cleveland; AFC West: Oakland, Denver, San Diego, Kansas City; NFC East: New York Giants, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington; NFC South: Atlanta, New Orleans, Carolina, Tampa Bay; NFC North: Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota; NFC West: San Francisco, Seattle, St Louis, Arizona.

My playoff bracket looks a little like this

Rd 1:

AFC

H. Oakland vs A. Cincinnati

H. Houston vs A. Denver (NY Jets possible)

NFC

H. Atlanta vs A. Detroit

H. San Francisco vs A. New Orleans

Rd. 2:

AFC

H. New England vs A. Oakland

H. Baltimore vs A. Houston (NY Jets)

NFC

H. Green Bay vs A. Detroit

H. NY Giants vs A. San Francisco

Rd 3:

AFC

H. New England vs A. Baltimore

NFC

H. Green Bay (Detroit possible) vs A. San Francisco

Super Bowl

Baltimore vs Green Bay (Detroit)

Champion

Green Bay (Baltimore if opponent is Detroit)

These are my predictions for the up coming season of my favorite sport.

Is Chick-Fil-A the Real Problem?

I am tired of people arguing over the Chick-Fil-A issue when it is not that important. Our nation has so many more problems that are far more pressing than the issue of a fast food chain's leadership voicing their own personal opinion. Since when could a person not express their own view of life? But more importantly, when did squabbling over difference of opinion come before the well being of the nation? Our economy is still in the toilet, despite the governments best efforts to make the toilet sparkle it's still a toilet. This president is making all the wrong decisions and knows it. We are marching straight off a cliff and the liberal leaders are standing back, watching, and laughing as we let them tell us its the right path. Yes I said it, liberals are ignorant to the ways of business and economics. No, I am not judging, I am simply stating the facts. Capitalism is the only economic system that has a chance of working; but it requires freedom of the people. But liberals do not believe in freedom of the people, they believe in the power of the government to provide for the people. Yes I can understand why people would believe a welfare state is better; a state where you don't have to fight for what you need, just tell the government and it will be delivered to your door step. But, I must ask, what kind of society does that create? When people know that what they need will be given to them for nothing, how can you expect a person to have ambition? In capitalism, anyone can achieve anything, but it requires that you have the proper determination to achieve that goal. It will not be handed to you; you will earn it by your hard work, sweat, and sacrifice. Then, when you achieve your goal it will mean so much more to you, because of everything sacrificed to attain it. Another reason I understand the desire to believe in a state where the weak are carried by the strong; I believe it is called redistribution of wealth. However, if the strong must sacrifice everything to care for the weak then who is left to carry them? The strong will become weak and therefore society would collapse because no one would be there to do the heavy lifting. So many people say the class system doesn't work, but without rich people to owner the businesses and purchase the unnecessary products in their lives, the poor wouldn't have work to do. The more money the rich have, the more money they have to spend on the things that poor people make. The more products sold, the more money the poor will have. The more money the poor have, the more they can spend, adding to their own wealth. Eventually, the poor will become the wealthy. Which sounds better, everyone being rich or at least well off, or everyone being poor? Yes you can spout off all the different talking points that say capitalism is evil and breeds corruption, but I ask you this, is it the power and money that corrupts or the lack of punishment for those that do wrong? Our justice system allows child molesters to roam free, allows a thief to sue the person they were robbing, and prevents a person from defending themselves in a movie theatre. And then the criminal can plead insanity and just go to a hospital. Yes, you are insane for raping a little child and for shooting dozens of people that simply wanted to watch a super hero movie. If people feared the consequences of their actions, they would be more thoughtful of the decisions they make. However, you people are to busy trying to make people eat chicken sandwiches, or trying to make them stop them from eating them to even care any more. We watched as Occupy Wall St tried to tell you that rich people are evil and must pay for their evilness. How is that right? They weren't handed the reigns to the companies they run, they fought for that position and have every right to be rewarded for their hard work. Do not blame them for your position; you can be a big shot if you have the will and don't the opportunity to achieve pass you by. So today, I ask you to stop worrying about the things that don't matter. My personal opinions about homosexually will not fix this economy. My hard work will do some good though. A government that doesn't suck every bit of life out of the people, and lets the people take care of themselves will help the economy. So let us put aside the pointless bickering over trifles.
Thanks, have a great day, and God Bless.

The Dark Knight Rises pt 3/3

To conclude my review of the Dark Knight Trilogy, I will finish with Christian Bale's depiction of Wayne and Batman, and Alfred's influence on our hero.
Bale and Nolan created a truely believable world by admitting Batman had issues with himself and his equipment. In the second film, Bale as Wayne asks his friend Lucius Fox to adapt the Batman suit to allow Wayne to turn his head; never before have the Batmans of the modern era admitted that the suit wasn't practical. Nolan's whole notion that the suit was intact military body armor and not just rubber was a leap into reality. Bale's cold off putting attitude as Wayne is understandable, because Bruce has lived a hard life and isn't the social star that Tony Stark of the Ironman series is. Bruce doesn't want the spot light on him, he wants to hide inside his mask, he wants to hide from the pain the world has caused him. This is why I can see myself more as Bruce Wayne and not Tony Stark. Plus Wayne doesn't need a fictional piece of technology attached to his heart to make him a super hero. Wayne uses his skills as a detective and his resources as owner of Wayne Enterprises to help the people less fortunate than he. These traits make Wayne and Batman a super hero that could actually happen in real life. Now I would like to mention Alfred's contribution as Batman's right hand man. Alfred was the voice of reason that reminded Bruce, he had limitations and he couldn't lose himself in the monster of Batman. Alfred kept Wayne from completly losing himself in Batman and losing the very essence of why he created Batman in the first place.
These are just a few of my reasons why Nolan's Batman Trilogy is the greatest movie trilogy of all time. Well, at least it is the greatest super hero movie series of film history.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.

The Dark Knight Rises pt 2/3

In my last post, I discussed the believability and villains of the first two films in the Nolan Batman trilogy. Now I will discuss the villains of the last film and then our hero and his comrades. I am giving you fair warning now, if you haven't seen the last film yet, you shouldn't read this post as it will contain spoilers.

The final villain Batman must face during his time as guardian of Gotham is Bane, the mercinary that is a former member of the Leauge of Shadows. Bane's plan seems to be in completing the mission that Ra's Al Ghul started. Bane uses pain to drive an aged Batman to the brink of defeat. Bane then uses what appears to be the same plan as the Occupy Wall Street protestors by turning the lower class against the wealthy. He also turns the criminals, that are imprisoned by the Dent Act, lose on the city to allow the people to govern themselves. As the city truely descends into anarchy, much like the French Revolution, Bane waits for his true goal, the destruction of Gotham, to occur. These villains each point out how the so called good people are flawed; Ra's taught Bruce that compassion was not a trait his enemies would share, the Joker taught Dent that people don't mind bad things as long as it is according to the plan, and Bane gave the lower class the power over the rich that they always wanted. But now I must describe our hero. Batman/Bruce Wayne is the guardian of Gotham City. The city his father gave his life to help. Bruce doesn't agree with Ra's way of dealing out justice and becomes the ideal hero. Batman stood for what was right; he didn't hide behind procedure, he did what needed done. He inspired the good people of Gotham to stand against corruption and evil. But he learned that doing the right thing doesn't mean doing the popular thing, and people will get hurt. But Bruce endured the pain and loss that Gotham needed him to take; because a hero is someone the crowd cheers for, a knight is someone that does what is right even when it means the people will hate him and punish him for it. Nolan and Bale depicted Wayne in a very real way, a way that we could relate to. I will continue the discussion on Wayne ane wrap up my final point in the next post...

The Dark Knight Rises pt 1/3

Despite the effects of the horrible tragedy in Aurora CO. The Dark Knight Rises should go down as one of the best movies of all time. Christopher Nolan's interpretation of Batman has been part of the reason I think superheroes are dominating the box offices every summer. Not only has he created a believable set of characters, he merged them together to build an amazing journey that we all can enjoy. Whether you enjoy sophisticated plots or just simple action, the Nolan Batman series gives the viewers everything they could ask for. I enjoy the depth and complicated nature of each villain in the story. In Batman Begins we see Ra's Al Ghul determined to bring balance to the world by riding it of the civilizations that the Leauge of Shadow deems too corrupted; the two minor villains of the film, Scarecrow/Dr. Crane and Carmine Falcone, make the story more realistic by showing that in life, there is never just one foe to face. But Nolan couldn't use the same mold of villain in the next film The Dark Knight. They got lucky however by landing an actor that was entirely perfect for the role of the Joker though; Ledger's Joker will go down as a top 5 movie villain for many decades too come, if not the greatest villain of all time. The second film was able to capture the viewers so well because Nolan and his team did such a good job of setting the characters in the first film. With the world and style of the series set, Nolan was able to portray the Joker the way he is meant to be portrayed. No mercy, no regret, no fear, and no regard for life (even his own); these traits made the joker a believable advisary to our hero. The Joker had no ambition other than watching the world around him go to hell. This pushes Batman to doubt his ability to do what is right; the Joker's attack on the rules of society make you look at what is right and what is it we really do. As if the Joker wasn't enough of a problem, Nolan turns one of the heros of the film into its final villain. Two Face/Harvey Dent was the white knight of Gotham that became its worst enemy; Dent's fall shows how the system of justice we live by can be the chains that keep us from true justice. The final film in the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, will be talked about in the next part....