On Broadway: Tubby Smith and Co. tour Canada
Taking foreign trips once every four years has become a common practice for college basketball teams around the country, and it's now Tubby Smith's Red Raiders turn to head out of the country for a week. I've been following the team as closely as I can, and I think this excursion across the border is certainly going to help this young team in two ways: First, it's a great learning and bonding experience for a group of hoopers that's still very, very young. They get to spend time together in a foreign country as strangers, and seeing as they're in a French region of Canada, they get to spend that time together becoming even closer than they would on most trips.
Secondly, it's a great opportunity for Coach Smith and his staff to get in a boatload of minutes for freshmen and sophomores as they continue to grow and develop into the basketball players they will be. We've seen this in action already, as both Devon Thomas and Jordan Jackson have been two of the poster boys for Tech basketball up north.
Speaking of Jackson, how about what he's done so far through the first three games - be it exhibition or not - as a Red Raider? He's been steadily one of the most consistent scorers on the trip so far, with his Sportscenter top 10 dunk as the exclamation point. It's certainly a great sign for the future, but I think we all need to tap the breaks a bit on him in the here and now. Yes, he's been a great scorer, but at the same time, he hasn't seen the physical, big bodies he'll have to go against in Big 12 play. The weight room will do him a lot of good, just as it did Keenan Evans a whole lot of good over this offseason. Evans had trouble at times in Big 12 play because of the physicality, and I would reckon that Jackson and CJ Williamson will have to deal with similar issues.
Overall though, I think Tech's improved athleticism and guard play has been noticeable so far, but we'll see how it translates to real basketball this fall.
Link Me, Bro
A good look at Stanford's big drop-off last fall and what it will take for them to become dominant again.
Someone is already calling Star Wars: The Force Awakens the best movie in the entire series. Pheeeew.
Get ready for another wave of "Is he back?" for Tiger after his round on Thursday...
A judge may be ready to overturn the NFL's suspension of Tom Brady
In this week's edition of Florida Man: Florida Man is rescued from a tree by a SWAT team
Power Rankings: Chips
So I discovered recently that Lays got the bright idea to try out four new wild flavors for their chips: Gyros, ruebens, truffle fries, and biscuits and gravy. Why anyone ever though that half of those would even make a remotely tasty chip is baffling to me. Whatever happened to good old flavors like jalapeno? Cheddar? Sour cream? Now we've got someone making chips that taste like a damn cheeseburger. But I will admit: I tried the rueben sandwich chips out of morbid curiosity. The verdict: They do in fact taste like a below average rueben. Whoohoo, congrats on your major accomplishment Lays! WE ALL NEEDED THAT ONE!!
Anyway, here are my top five favorite flavors of chips.
5. Zapp's VooDoo chips - The flavor of them is very hard to describe. They have jalapeno, sweet, spicy, and tangy all mixed into the thick kettle-cook chips. They're something else, and the only place I know to buy them is at Potbelly.
4. Nacho cheese Doritos - Always a delicious snack of cheesy goodness, but the flavor can be a bit too much if you eat more than just a few.
3. Sour cream and onion - no specific brand here that I like more than another, though I am partila to the Lays version.
2. Ruffles cheddar and sour cream - Whooo weeee. I was introduced to these bad boys in college, and they are a prime, red-handed suspect for me gaining weight after my freshman year. Real, real tasty.
1. Ruffles original potato chips - GIVE ME THE RIDGED TATER CHIPS. The originals are still the best in my book, especially with various kinds of dip that fit perfectly into the ridges.
Off The Reservation: Becoming a better listener
Growing up, I was always fairly good at listening and sympathizing with people and their situations, and I think - in my own opinion - it was always one of the traits I was proud of. However, getting older and going through college, I started to tune more people and thoughts out, something that I realized recently that really made me step back and rethink how I was approaching both things in my personal life and my professional life as a writer.
Listening to other people - and I mean truly listening, not "mmhmm", head-nodding listening - is the best way to truly build relationships with them, and it's really the true key to becoming a legitimately good interviewer.
So, my advice for the week is to speak less and listen more. You might be surprised by how much more receptive and aware of things that you become.
Taking foreign trips once every four years has become a common practice for college basketball teams around the country, and it's now Tubby Smith's Red Raiders turn to head out of the country for a week. I've been following the team as closely as I can, and I think this excursion across the border is certainly going to help this young team in two ways: First, it's a great learning and bonding experience for a group of hoopers that's still very, very young. They get to spend time together in a foreign country as strangers, and seeing as they're in a French region of Canada, they get to spend that time together becoming even closer than they would on most trips.
Secondly, it's a great opportunity for Coach Smith and his staff to get in a boatload of minutes for freshmen and sophomores as they continue to grow and develop into the basketball players they will be. We've seen this in action already, as both Devon Thomas and Jordan Jackson have been two of the poster boys for Tech basketball up north.
Speaking of Jackson, how about what he's done so far through the first three games - be it exhibition or not - as a Red Raider? He's been steadily one of the most consistent scorers on the trip so far, with his Sportscenter top 10 dunk as the exclamation point. It's certainly a great sign for the future, but I think we all need to tap the breaks a bit on him in the here and now. Yes, he's been a great scorer, but at the same time, he hasn't seen the physical, big bodies he'll have to go against in Big 12 play. The weight room will do him a lot of good, just as it did Keenan Evans a whole lot of good over this offseason. Evans had trouble at times in Big 12 play because of the physicality, and I would reckon that Jackson and CJ Williamson will have to deal with similar issues.
Overall though, I think Tech's improved athleticism and guard play has been noticeable so far, but we'll see how it translates to real basketball this fall.
Link Me, Bro
A good look at Stanford's big drop-off last fall and what it will take for them to become dominant again.
Someone is already calling Star Wars: The Force Awakens the best movie in the entire series. Pheeeew.
Get ready for another wave of "Is he back?" for Tiger after his round on Thursday...
A judge may be ready to overturn the NFL's suspension of Tom Brady
In this week's edition of Florida Man: Florida Man is rescued from a tree by a SWAT team
Power Rankings: Chips
So I discovered recently that Lays got the bright idea to try out four new wild flavors for their chips: Gyros, ruebens, truffle fries, and biscuits and gravy. Why anyone ever though that half of those would even make a remotely tasty chip is baffling to me. Whatever happened to good old flavors like jalapeno? Cheddar? Sour cream? Now we've got someone making chips that taste like a damn cheeseburger. But I will admit: I tried the rueben sandwich chips out of morbid curiosity. The verdict: They do in fact taste like a below average rueben. Whoohoo, congrats on your major accomplishment Lays! WE ALL NEEDED THAT ONE!!
Anyway, here are my top five favorite flavors of chips.
5. Zapp's VooDoo chips - The flavor of them is very hard to describe. They have jalapeno, sweet, spicy, and tangy all mixed into the thick kettle-cook chips. They're something else, and the only place I know to buy them is at Potbelly.
4. Nacho cheese Doritos - Always a delicious snack of cheesy goodness, but the flavor can be a bit too much if you eat more than just a few.
3. Sour cream and onion - no specific brand here that I like more than another, though I am partila to the Lays version.
2. Ruffles cheddar and sour cream - Whooo weeee. I was introduced to these bad boys in college, and they are a prime, red-handed suspect for me gaining weight after my freshman year. Real, real tasty.
1. Ruffles original potato chips - GIVE ME THE RIDGED TATER CHIPS. The originals are still the best in my book, especially with various kinds of dip that fit perfectly into the ridges.
Off The Reservation: Becoming a better listener
Growing up, I was always fairly good at listening and sympathizing with people and their situations, and I think - in my own opinion - it was always one of the traits I was proud of. However, getting older and going through college, I started to tune more people and thoughts out, something that I realized recently that really made me step back and rethink how I was approaching both things in my personal life and my professional life as a writer.
Listening to other people - and I mean truly listening, not "mmhmm", head-nodding listening - is the best way to truly build relationships with them, and it's really the true key to becoming a legitimately good interviewer.
So, my advice for the week is to speak less and listen more. You might be surprised by how much more receptive and aware of things that you become.
