Real Quick on Andrew Luck and Kardashian Divorce

Andrew Luck is incredibly good. I have seen him. But I have never realized how amazing he is until I looked at 3 quarters and 3 overtimes against Southern Cal on Saturday night. He's phenomenal. In the words of Lil Wayne: "he's a monster, everyday is Halloween." For all the hype he's received, it's pretty hard to argue with. The guy is a force.

USC doesn't have their usual lineup of blue chippers, guys that are for sure gonna play on Sundays. But it doesn't matter. They are still loaded with talent, and have one of the best defensive coordinators whose ever lived. They were at home, at night, playing with a lot of confidence. They didn't have enough to stop Luck. Luck carved them. He threw it all over the yard. He's incredible accurate in the deep middle of the field. His spots on back shoulder fades, regular fades, flicks to full backs and tight ends who need the ball to be perfect, and throws over the linebackers but before the safeties were almost always perfect. He runs the ball aggressively. He's incredible with his teammates. Especially his defensive teammates. He throws guys open. Especially his stable of white tight ends. He makes those guys look like all world players. Maybe the biggest thing I saw is that he has an unbelievable ability to look off safeties and linebackers for an extended period of time, and then come back to his guy on the other side and put it on him with accuracy. He did it five or six times in the second half.

I said on Twitter yesterday, that he's the 6th best quarterback on the planet, behind Rogers, Brady, Manning, Brees, and Big Ben. Just one ahead of Cam Newton at 7.



The more you talk about Kim Kardashian, the more money she makes. They made 80-90 million as a family last year, depending on who you ask. They do not live in reality. It is incredibly frustrating. We can go on and on about how they are everything that is wrong with America right now and get into philosophical issues if we wanted to. I am fortunate to not really like them, so I don't think about them. In weak moments, I do think about the fact that they make more money in 3 months than I will ever make in my life.

Let's stick to a simple script here: the more we ignore the family, the less money they will make, the quicker they will go away. The less you watch the show, the less profitable it is for E! network. The less you show up and go ham at bars and clubs that they are appearing at, the less incentive there is for the restauranteur to pay her 150 grand to show up for 45 minutes (who am I kidding, it's 500 grand). The less you buy the magizine, the less she will on the cover. The less you shop at their ridiculous beauty supply stores, the less they can charge to be a franchisee. The less they will be written about. The less they will be talked about. It's a self fufilling prophecy.

And yea, you guessed it, Dateline is probably gonna interview in a special and ask what went wrong. E! is gonna do a special. They are gonna cue up a fresh new season of the TV show, writing episodes on how she is dealing with the heartache. They will hit every media news outlet with the level of focus and detail that Kobe Bryant attacks an NBA season. Nothing can stop them. It's what they do. The families writing team(s) are at their favorite LA bar right now celebrating. They have a new lease on life. They are gonna be able to make the rent payments on their $5000 dollar a month LA condos for a couple more months (read: years). They don't have to do spot work for Rihanna's song writing team anymore. They just got a raise.

I guess all good things come with time. Look at Britney Spears. Look at Lindsay Lohan. They are almost dead from a media perspective and will be dead in real life soon. I hope this will be a turning point in the love affair the public has with the sisters. It probably won't be. And yes, I am, by writing this note, doing exactly what I have just commanded you not to do. I am talking about them. Please do not hold that against me. It will be the last time I speak about them.

JFK

"THERE ARE RISKS AND COSTS TO ACTION. BUT THEY ARE FAR LESS THAN THE LONG RANGE RISKS OF COMFORTABLE INACTION."

MONDAY FUEL

Not dead, can't quit.

The conditions always suck.

Every second counts in stressful and pressure situations.

Performance is all about focus.

Doubt, second guessing, fear, personal shit, hesitation--How is that helping you?

Focus = clarity + concentration + action to create a specific result in the present

No excuse zone

Your last fuck up: DONE. Get rid of it.

Is personal shit with a guy gonna help you focus or get something done?

I know you'd much rather be at home in bed, but that's not what you chose.

The quitting conversation shows up when you're tired. It's a very reasonable conversation. It makes sense. And you can text or call or talk to your friends and they will probably agree with you.

Achieving your goal is very unreasonable. It goes against the odds. You said you would and you did.

Do you want the heads to turn to you when they need somebody to deliver when the going is tough? If not, why don't you?

Fixation: Getting caught up in the obstacles

What we fixate on limits our ability to produce the life we want

Fixation is stuck in the past and looking at the future. Focus is connecting to the present.

NBA NOTES

10 GUYS I WILL MISS WATCHING PLAY THIS SEASON:

Blake Griffin
Derrick Rose
Zach Randolph
Steve Nash
James Harden
Kevin Durant
Rajon Rondo
Kevin Love
Louis Scola
DeJuan Blair

10 GUYS I WILL NOT MISS MUCH

Chris Bosh
Everyone on the Hawks
Antawn Jamison
Mo Williams
Andrea Bargarini
Metta World Peace
Carlos Boozer
Everyone on the Magic
Andre Kirilenko
Kris Humphries

5 COACHES I WILL MISS

Stan Van Gundy
Doug Collins
Lawerence Frank
Frank Vogel
Tom Thibadeau

5 ROOKIES I WANTED TO SEE

Tristan Thompson
Enes Kanter
Marshon Brooks
Jan Vesely
Iman Shumphert

Jon Daniels

Jon Daniels is a pretty impressive guy. He's only 34, but he's been the GM of the Texas Rangers since he was 28. John Hart, who us Clevelanders know and like, (or at least we should), hand picked him as his successor and then retired early. Since then, Daniels has had his foot on the gas pedal, and has helped lead the Rangers to back to back World Series appearances.

He's done this through a lot of Moneyball, a lot of savvy old school talent scouting and some really good high risk, high reward gambling. His farm system is flush, arguably the best in the bigs, and he's managed to keep the payroll down just above 90 million.

My main point being: he doesn't get a ton of love. He probably should. Haha, losing to the San Francisco Giants notwithstanding. Guys in this business are so focused on Theo Epstein, the Yankees and the Phillies. Daniels is up there with anybody. And he's doing it in a more efficient way. And his re-design of the farm system and good drafting has created a minor league system full of guys who are great athletes and pitchers that throw the ball 98 with movement.

My last point being: You gotta win it when you have a chance. He and Nolan Ryan gotta cash this one in.

Quick Thing on the Lockout

This past weekend, TrueHoop editor and chief Henry Abbot wrote a great piece detailing the huge falling out that occurred in the labor talks late last week. He discussed how there was a deal in sight. Some of the big time owners were called and asked to board flights. Derek Fisher, and the rest of the player reps had worked their butts off and a deal that they thought was going to be good enough for the players was starting to take shape.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Paul Pierce, Kobe and KG came in and fucked the whole thing up. They strongarmed the whole operation and told Stern, Hunter, Fisher, Adam Silver etc. to go pound salt. The 50-50 split wasn't good enough. They were holding out for better.

WOW. Those three guys. Kobe and KG: 2 guys who from the age of 19 each had a bank account that would never ever run out. Guys who for the last 12 years have had a constant account balance of 9 figures. There hasn't been a day in their lives over the last decade where they didn't have 60 million dollars to loan to a friend and never miss the money. Those guys came in a messed the whole thing up. BECAUSE THOSE GUYS ARE IN TOUCH WITH REALITY. THOSE GUYS UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE ECONOMY. THEY UNDERSTAND MAIN STREET. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TWO GUYS WHO STUDIED HARD AT COLLEGE. 2 GUYS WHO ARE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT BUSINESS. AND WILL GO RIGHT INTO RETIREMENT AND GETS JOBS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? On top of that, throw in PP, who for some reason thinks his ability to hit big shots over the last few years makes him an authority on labor law. That just is incredible to me. Especially the Kevin Garnett thing, who apparently was the most adamant.

Obviously, there is a lot that has happened since. And a lot that will continue to happen. But I was floored when I heard about that threesome. Maybe 50-50 isn't fair. In fact it probably isn't. But Derek Fisher, guy whose made a lot of money and done things the right way thought it was shaping up to be a fair deal.

Let's hope 3 of the most out of touch people on the planet didn't ruin everything for everyone. Players, coaches, arena workers, trainers and fans alike.