In early May, James Mangini will leave his home in Hanahan, South Carolina, and begin running eight and 10 hours a day. Not on smooth cement sidewalks and highways, but on gravel, dirt, grass, and on byways, secondary roads, through small towns, across nine states, 1,000 miles in 30 days, until he reaches his destination: The Michael J. Fox Foundation in New York City.
Take a moment; let that sink in.
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” — Abraham Lincoln
Rob Concannon is in the position he’s in because of where he’s been – and where he’s been is now legend. The stories have been chronicled and preserved in a frame on his office wall.
Norman Seabrooks clutched his diploma in one hand; the other was balled in a fist. He accepted his degree from The Citadel in honor of Charlie Foster and Joe Shine, who came before him; Red Parker and Keith Roden, who struggled beside him; Herb Cunningham and Flossie Gordon, who sheltered him; the anonymous faces who stuffed his pockets with extra desserts and milk after late-night practices; the maintenance staff that publicly embraced him like a son and privately prayed for Norm’s strength and safety. But this, he thought as he left the stage with degree in hand, was for William Thomas Seabrooks.
Former New York Mets catcher Ed Hearn says he has a bag of baseballs in his cellar. They are all from 1986, all from the National League Championship Series and they are all evidence that Michael Warren Scott cheated.
Ryan Braun warned us about Zack Greinke. The Milwaukee Brewer leftfielder told Yahoo! Sports last week, “There’s not much that Zack does that’s smooth or cool … we’ll give him a pass for being awkward, because he lives his life awkwardly.”
Success is a great debate topic. In sports, how do you measure success? On the field the formula appears simple: wins = success, right? The New York Yankees won 97 games, won the American League East and were one of eight teams to make the post season, but for their fans, the season is a loss — a failure.
I am a 25-year media/marketing/public relations professional. I have worked in radio, television, print and digital media. I contnue to pursue journalism as a freelance sports reporter for print and digital publications. You can follow me on Twitter @johnstrubel, friend me on Facebook or +John Strubel on Google. Story ideas? Comments? Questions? Email me at: john@johnstrubel.com.© 2012 John Strubel | Powered by JGS MEDIA INC.