Brazilian Whacks

In case you missed it...oops, I forgot, this is the Internet...ICYMI, Germany defeated Brazil today in the World Cup semi-final, 7-1. Go ahead and let that score soak in a minute.
Soccer (or futbol/football) fans will immediately understand that nothing about that scoreline seems to make sense. First, part of the reason the sport hasn't exploded in the United States is because Americans don't generally have much tolerance for a gritty, 1-0 final. We prefer a 3-2 game, maybe 4-3, something along those lines. A 7-1 final score, particularly in a World Cup semi final game, doesn't even make sense to American fans.
Second, the quarter-final matches leading to this point have been pretty tightly contested matches. Often, with so much on the line, teams in most sports struggle simply to stay close. Their primary obsession is to avoid turning the ball over 13 times, thus handing the Super Bowl to the Seahawks...just, you know, for example. I'm not bitter.
Once they've made it a tight, competitive game, teams will then focus on a way to pull off some late heroics for the win. Despite missing some key players, most observers still would have or should have expected the same from this match.
Lastly, it's Brazil. It's not Our Lady of Faith's JV team...it's Bra-friggin'-zil. Brazil doesn't get rolled. They certainly don't get rolled in Brazil. Just on talent alone, in the midst of chaos and utter unpreparedness, Brazil's talent alone should have made for a closer match.
And yet, here we are.
But don't let Brazil's shortfall be a downfall for you...if you are still involved in sports in some way--a Little League coach, football player, member of the Miami Heat...
Try to learn a lesson from them. The lesson is simple and enduring. What happened to Brazil exposed some very important truths that are woven throughout every sport.
Lesson one: Your mentality is all important. Whenever I coach a youth team, I tell them nobody ever reached the top of Mt. Everest without first believing they could make it. Sure, lots of people believed it and failed anyway, but nobody ever thought it was impossible and still made it to the top.
Brazil never looked like they believed it. That psyched up, focused, game-face, ready-to-play thing athletes need to succeed? You need to wake up in the morning that way. You can't throw a switch and say, whoa, Germany means business, we'd better get after it. Once the avalanche starts, all you can do is get swallowed by it unless you show up determined to fight from the outset.
Lesson two: Talent can take you down the path but it can't take you to the finish. There's no way to shortcut greatness. You have to work. Think about it as a math equation. Team one has talent equal to 85. Team two's talent equals 100. Team one outputs at 100 percent; team two at eighty percent. This is why team one wins. A hundred percent of 85 is 85; 80 percent of 100 is 80. This is why being sharpened, focused, intense and ready for a fight ahead of time is important.
Being resolved to coast on talent is a recipe for an early exit...and any exit that doesn't include a trophy at the end is an early exit.
Lesson three: You have to put in effort. In Japanese baseball, for instance, effort is the most important quality a player or team can have. Japanese fans judge you by your effort, not your results. This might be the most important of these three lessons because it's as true in life as it is in sports. Effort doesn't equate to success but lack of effort so very, very often equates to failure. If Brazil had poured 100-percent of their heart and soul into that game, Germany probably still would have won the match. But if you give up, if you resign yourself to fate...well, then you lose 7-1. God! They're gonna win...forget it. That mentality is a certain path to getting pummeled. Shellacked. Drubbed. Manhandled. Crushed. Bombed. Thrashed...we have a lot of expressions in America for getting your heads kicked in.

And one last lesson: Germany, had they set their minds to it, probably could have scored a dozen goals in this game. But they didn't. It's one thing to lift your foot off the gas too soon, but it's quite another to embarrass your opponents for the sake of trying to embarrass them. They added a couple of extra goals following their 5-0 first half start, but they didn't really see the need to try to add more. There's no need to embarrass your foes. Besides, Brazil did a stellar job of embarrassing themselves without much intervention from Germany anyway.

I don't like Phil Jackson...and you shouldn't either

As a rule, I'm pretty laid back when it comes to other people. I've been friends, for instance, with people that other friends of mine didn't like. I try not let other people influence my opinions of others, nor do I cling (often) to strong opinions of specific people, good or bad.
That being said, I've read a lot of things lately online about how awesome Phil Jackson is. Oh, the Knicks are going to be globally dominant, Phil's special brand of zen magic and how he has never lost who he really is throughout his metamorphosis from mere mortal to the fully awesome person he is now. Even Oprah is in love with Phil--and what more of an endorsement does anyone need aside from the Oprah seal of approval.
Yet, here I am...unimpressed. True enough, Phil Jackson probably doesn't want nor need my sign off on his accomplishments. Indeed, he's probably a swell guy, fun at parties and always one to send a thoughtfully crafted thank you note when the occasion warrants. I'm still unimpressed. And you shouldn't be impressed either.
But...but Phil Jackson coached teams to 11 NBA championships...and the whole, you know...the Zen Master and so forth...what about that?
What about that?!?
Here's a concept that never enters into the "Phil Jackson is the greatest thing that ever happened to the NBA" equation: Name one--and I mean ONE--time Phil Jackson won a NBA championship when the best player in the league didn't play for him.
...I'll wait.
Answer: ZERO!
Phil Jackson has coached an entire career with not less than the best player in the league at the time playing for him. Yeah, but how many did Jordan win before Phil? Jordan: Six championships, all with Jackson...Jordan left for baseball, Jackson: zero championships without Jordan. Jordan returns and the next season after, the Bulls set a record for most wins in a single season (72 wins out of 82 games, if you're keeping track). So who is the real key figure here?
Move on the Los Angeles. Phil Jackson won five more titles. This time, Jackson had not only the best player in the league, he had the two best players in the league. During that championship span with the Lakers, the only thing remarkable is they managed to somehow not win the title every year. I'll take Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and three other dudes of your choosing, pair them with some randomly chosen high school coach and I'll still come up with a NBA championship somewhere along the line.
And why be in the front office of the Knicks now? Why not coach? Because New York's roster is awful. Carmelo Anthony (if he stays) is quality, but he's not the best player in the league. If the Knicks suddenly re-sign Carmelo and then sign LeBron James, Jackson will end his coaching retirement in two seconds flat.
What team did he build into a champion? When did he coach a team that was in last place and built it into something? He's a great coach, a Zen Master, for crying out loud, because why? He somehow managed to turn the best, most talented team in the league into a champion? Wow! That's like marveling at the money management prowess of the Sam Walton heirs.
Do this: have Phil Jackson coach the Sixers to a championship this season, or the Utah Jazz. Heck, take them to the playoffs. But Phil won't do that. He never has and won't ever. Look at this amazing sundae! Ice cream, fudge, toppings, whipped cream...yummy...so delicious.  Yeah...but what about when the guy came along and put the cherry on top? Then it really became something.
That's so Zen...