You know an ocean of advertising money gets poured into sports. You also know advertisers use particular hooks to get the biggest bang for their buck. It’s likely no surprise to you, then, that advertisers do a lot of research about those hooks. The subject of that research is you and me. One of the [...]

* BIRG = Basking In Reflected Glory, social science’s acronym for how a fanatic enjoys her team’s victory. It’s too soon to blast on pro football’s dysfunction. The League and its Players Association still have lots of problems to solve. But those problems aren’t going anywhere. So let’s enjoy a couple more nuggets in honor [...]

Super Bowl preparations interrupted blogging this week. That included securing under lock and key all means of self-destruction in case things don’t go well for my team. Okay, I’m kidding. Nevertheless, with thanks to Bryan Tomasovich from The Publishing World, I’ve curated here some recent articles, all close to my heart. Enjoy! [More]

Oh, how I would jump at the chance for dinner with Colin Kaepernick. I’d ask him for specifics about the social justice programs he supports. I’d ask him what he thinks that I, a privileged white male, am not seeing that I need to see. I’d ask him what I can do to support social [...]

Pro football has returned to solid footing, starting with last weekend’s playoff games. Go figure, it’s the action on the field that’s doing it. Aside from the inevitable outcome associated with Brady and the Patriots, the games went down to the wire, capped with the Vikings’ walk-off win. Games like these give us a good [...]

A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear, who has you see what you don't want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.   - Tom Landry  [MORE]

I was on the verge of my very first touchdown. Seventh grade pony football. I was lined up as a tight end, lanky and thin, but tall enough to make up with leverage what I lacked in the seat of my pants. Our most sophisticated pass play was the “pop pass,” what fans know now [...]

Yesterday, still two days before Christmas, I could tell without seeing numbers on a scale that I’d blown through the already-generous holiday calorie quota I’d given myself. Sooner or later in life, you know the story. It’s not just the quantity; it’s the quality (or lack thereof). So, I couldn’t afford a routine day at [...]

Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it’s so incredible, it’s unbelievable.  -Tom Landry I want to believe pro football’s off-field shenanigans are on hold for a while now, at least until we reach the pre-Super Bowl build up, when every story line is fair game. For now, I think we’re in store for some real [...]