Tough Cookies. Just Do It.

 

My buddy Gabe and I have a bet going on that some of you may have seen online. If I don't lose 1% of my body weight per the weight on Monday, I have to wear the Auburn hat for the week until I weigh in the following Monday. If I do make weight, Gabe has to wear the team he despises most and his bitter rival the Georgia Bulldogs hat. As of today, the 18th of March, Gabe has worn his hat 2 times while I have worn the Auburn hat 10 times including a stretch of 6 consecutive weeks. That is unacceptable.

I had a health scare back in July due to being overweight and intense pain in my back. The back pain is a result of bulging discs in my L4 and L5 with a few extra vertebrae pushing on my S1. The back pain is being addressed through physical therapy and medication. However, when the cardiologist came in he told me that I needed to drop down to 240 or else the quality of my health would decline. On July 11th, 2023, the day I came home from the hospital I weighed 332.8. As of this morning, I weighed 314.4. I have lost 18.4 pounds in 9 months. At this rate, I will hit my goal weight of 240 in 35 months or February of 2027. That is unacceptable. 

I have hemmed and hawed and made excuses for not having sped up the weight loss since then. I was too tired for the gym. I'll start on Monday so I can just forget about this week. I don't have time. I hurt too much. I have already done so much today that I really should rest. I'll wake up early tomorrow. I needed to sleep in late. I have too much to do today to work in any gym time. One cheeseburger won't kill me. I don't want to cook so I should go ahead and get takeout. All of those excuses are just Bravo Sierra. That is unacceptable.

I have to take real action to get myself in shape. That means no more excuses. You don't want to wake up early to go to the gym? Tough cookies. Get up and Just Do It. You don't want to meal prep for the week so you can avoid doing it? Tough cookies. Get up and Just Do It. You're sore from working out yesterday because it's the first time you have worked out in a month? Tough Cookies. Get up and Just Do It. You have too much to do and not enough time to do it? Tough cookies. Get up and Just Do It. 

I have made excuses for my poor behavior. This is MY life we are talking about. If I don't get serious, the Sears family history of men not making it out of their 50s will come to claim me as the latest victim. This is truly life and death we are talking about here. And I've been treating it as a game that it doesn't matter if I win or lose. I have a loving wife that cares for me and loves me. I have two parents that will need me as they get older. I have two in-laws that will need me as they get older. I have three incredibly awesome nieces to watch grow up. I have my sister to see get her doctorate. I have friends and family that I want to do things with for the next 50 years. 

I see the tub of goo I've become and one would hardly believe I was once a college athlete. (Not a prolific one but a walk-on for Alabama for 3 years.) In the words of Owen Hart, "Enough is enough and it's time for a change!"Luckily, I have a good accountabilibuddy in Gabe. He's not afraid to bust my balls about the weak sauce I've been making. I also have inspiration from another source. One of my all-time favorite wrestlers is getting back in shape for his 60th birthday to do one final death match. Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy, Mick. And he's chronicling it on his YouTube Channel. Now I do know that inspiration can only get you so far until you put in the work. But seeing Mick in person at World of Wheels and seeing his video behind his reasoning made me feel that way. Feelings will only get me so far so here is the course of action I am laying out before me.

1) I'm going to be honest with my calories. I have been using the Lose It App for over two years now and just upgraded to the lifetime membership. I have not honestly been tracking calories and "forgetting" to include my late-night snacks.

2) Closing the kitchen at night for myself unless it is for ginger ale or my casein shake and two halos.

3) Hitting the gym a minimum of three times a week. That really shouldn't be that hard to do. I just need to be smart and not overdo it at the gym taking rest days when needed.

4) Not using rest days as an excuse to not go to the gym. Too many times I would say to myself, "I'm still sore. I should rest just one more day," and then not go for a week.

5) Cooking for myself more. It's easier for me to eat healthier if I make my own meals. So, eat in more!

6) Getting to bed at a reasonable hour and not mindlessly scrolling social media. Bed is for bed.

These are the changes I'm making now. If you read this, feel free to message me privately or call me out publicly on one of my social media platforms. My Facebook wall lets anyone post on it. (I really don't accept friend requests unless I actually know you. My friend purgatory is quite large) Hit me up on Twitter. Or comment on my posts on Instagram. I am holding myself accountable but I will also take others calling me out. If you want to join this weight-loss journey, we can do it together. I encourage others to get healthy as well. Arnold Schwarzenegger has launched a fitness community that is trying to be the positive corner of the internet. I like his mission. I'm going to try and launch a positive corner of the internet for weight loss and I'd love to have you along for my journey. I'm going to hit my goal of 240. If I stay on the current projection of my plan, I should hit the 240 around January of next year losing it at a safe pace and not on a dramatic crash diet. 

My life is going to change and therefore I must change. No more excuses. Tough cookies. Just Do It.

Be Kind

 

Life is a difficult thing sometimes. You lose that job you really wanted. Your spouse isn't meeting your needs. Your parent is facing a terminal disease. You are at your wit's end. And at that moment you need kindness. We are all dealing with different challenges in our lives and sometimes it's more than one. You just need someone to listen to you or offer encouraging words. You need kindness. 

One of the easiest things for you to do for others is to be kind. It costs nothing. It takes minimal effort. If you can't be kind, just be supportive and listen. Sometimes a kind word can do so much for a person having a bad day. You always have the opportunity to make someone's day better. Don't add to someone's stress. Don't be an ass for the sake of being an ass. It's easy in this day and age to be a cynic and be discouraged. But if we all took a moment to help others by being kind, listening, or just giving a hug if a person is down for a hug, this world would be better. There are great examples of people helping others for no reason. The pay-it-forward lines at drive-thrus, (I know some people think you should just tip the people working the drive-thru but why not do both?), the list of 50 ways to be kind, or just giving someone a smile down the street. Not only will it make someone else's day, but it actually helps you too! 

I know this is brief but I just wanted to write to everyone, please be kind! And in the words of Mick Foley, "Have A Nice Day!"

It's Time To Make Revenue Sports In College Professional

 

December 5th, 2023, will go down as the day that NCAA President Charlie Baker finally realized what so many people have known since the early 2000s, student-athletes are more athletes than students. 

FBS Football and Division I Men's College Basketball players should be paid for the revenue they bring into their respective colleges. Men's football revenues for the Power 5 conferences far outpace the second-leading sport men's basketball. According to financial data from the 2022 fiscal year, the average college football program generated 31.9 million dollars of revenue while men's college basketball brought in 8.1 million dollars. Thirty-five non-revenue sports combined average to bring in 31.7 million dollars that year, two hundred thousand dollars less than football alone. 

Baker's proposal would create a new subdivision in college athletics that would be allowed to set its own rules for recruiting, roster sizes, transfers, and other policies. This would let the Power 5 secede from the rest of the FBS and create a feeder league to the pros for football and men's basketball. To be a part of this division schools would have to put millions of dollars a year into an educational trust for the athletes to use either during the summer or after their playing careers are over. The schools would be required to pay athletes a minimum of 30 thousand dollars a semester per athlete for at least half of their athletes. Schools could provide more athletes money and more than the minimum if they want to. It would also not require athletes to graduate to receive the money.   That's all and great but another part of the proposal is where a lot of trouble will come from.

Due to Title IX regulations, women's sports would have to be compensated at the same rate as men's sports including money from NIL according to Baker's proposal. Women's sports do not generate the money that men's sports do especially the sports of football and men's basketball. Should sports that fail to generate ticket sales or TV deals of the big two sports still be allowed to get an equal share of the money? 

This murky area is where the NCAA will have to work on this proposal with Congress and federal regulators. A 15-year study by the NCAA showed that most schools' athletics departments are operating on losses. This model is not sustainable for all the schools especially schools in the Group of 5 conferences. (The Group of 5 conferences are the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt.) The new Power 4 (ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, and SEC) can afford these new payments because of the revenue they generate with conference TV deals and bowl payouts. 

The lines are being drawn that will forever change college athletics. The model we grew up with will be on the trash heap of history. Student-athletes will receive thousands if not millions of dollars before they even go pro. The model proposed by Baker is only the beginning. It is not the end of the journey of financial compensation for athletes. A long road is ahead of everyone to work out a model that will officially make parts of college athletics professional.