Christmas thoughts

Christmas and the end of the year is a great time to reflect on the year past and to plan ahead for the coming year. I love Thanksgiving – good food, family, friends and no pressure to ‘give’, but Christmas might be my favorite holiday: the great smells of cookies, candles and the tree help make everything warm and cozy. Then there are all the feel good events we all attend: the charity fundraisers, family and friends lunches, dinners and parties.

But when did ‘Merry Christmas’ become politically incorrect? It is strange to me that Christians I know well will tell me ‘Happy Holidays’ or that there is this expectation that I should not say ‘Merry Christmas’ to a non-Christian but preferably just a ‘Happy Holidays’ – and that’s what we should put on our Christmas cards as well to our Jewish and Muslim friends. I sure believe in God, but do I need to know which religion people are practicing and should that influence me on addressing them one way or another? And would I be offended if someone told me ‘Happy Hanukkah? I would be honored to be embraced by them in their beliefs and sure don’t expect anybody to be offended if I wish them something good based on what I believe in.

Come on people have some common sense!

Merry Christmas to all!

Tiger and the tabloids

It is quite amazing how much media time and coverage is dedicated to tabloid news, rumors and reality shows. Of course the fact a large percentage of our populations follows those stories does not help.
Did Tiger screw up and do we have the right to dig into his personal life to find out all the details? Some will argue that with all the millions he is being paid we can hold him to a higher standard and maybe the companies paying him to represent them feel the same way – or they may not.
Marriage in general does not mean what it used to – in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy…. It does not seem to matter anymore like it did for our parents. They fought through their issues, ignored them or just figured that’s how it is. Nowadays people just give up and move on. I have no idea which is better and who is happier.
The divorce rate in the US is between 41-50% in the last few years, but the statistics in pro sports and the entertainment industry are staggering! There are estimates out there of over 70% and possible up to 90% in pro sports. I personally must say that a vast majority of all the players I played with and against are no longer with their spouses from back then.
But are they so different than other successful people on top of their respective industries? There are roughly 340 NBA players every year – the best 340 in the world! To get there is almost like becoming the CEO of a big company. You cannot be an average guy. You have to be talented, driven and maybe a little crazy or off-center.
The emotional and physical highs and lows a player is able to experience are immensely different than inking a big deal in a board room. Those feelings are almost impossible to duplicate. Just imagine making that impossible shot to win a game in front of 20k life spectators and millions more on TV against a big rival in the play-offs. When and where will you get that feeling again and especially after you are done playing? You see guys get in trouble for gambling, racing their cars, women, drugs or getting in physical confrontations. Are they looking to duplicate those moments or at least get close to it? When the most memorable moments in your life are determined by adrenalin and testosterone levels it is a challenge to chill out and be “normal”.
With money and fame everything that can get you in trouble is available all the time – women, cars, parties, drugs, etc. I am not excusing the behavior, but don’t expect above the norm performance from all without below the norm behavior from some.
As far as Tiger is concerned he has not really hurt anyone but himself and his family so far. People and especially kids who see him as a role model might be disappointed, but why do we expect more from him that from any other married man? In reality half of us are divorced and I am sure we all have divorced friends – do we judge us or them like we judge Tiger?

A few observations

Lebron James wants the NBA to retire #23 in honor of Michael Jordan and he will change his jersey number to #6. How does that reflect on Bill Russell?

While getting a healthy shake at Emerald City Smoothie I noticed that they had some new security cameras in the store. The owner informed me that they have a lot of people steal stuff. What kind of health and work out nut steals the fat-burning pills and bars?

Why do some things hurt some people more than others? I took a nice fall playing hoops - got undercut jumping back for a rebound (I know - I wasn't up very high) and ended up on my back and elbow. Even through my elbow swelled right away and turned a nasty color I didn't really feel it that much. On the other hand if I go to the dentist and he starts messing around in my mouth I could start crying right away.

In a way it is peaceful sitting in the car with the rain pelting down on the roof, but I am looking forward to leaving the Northwest to visit sunny LA. I need to be dry and get some Vitamin D. I will be meeting with a few pro sports representatives to learn what they have in place for their clients to ensure their financial security for the years to come. What I have heard up to know is not very encouraging.

NBA News and Finances

One could say that 2008 was tough on many people especially on those who were exposed and over-leveraged, but when talking about pro athletes it is a whole new ballgame. Some of them have made not just a few millions, but close to or over $100 million. They might have invested in some bad restaurants, real estate deals or apparel companies, but are usually not overcommitted in private equity deals/start-ups. Shady advisors and bad habits are a curse to the pro leagues.

When I read the following articles I was saddened, but also embarrassed by what we stand for as a whole. We have many quality pro players who have a huge impact on their communities, but the lost opportunities we see in the cases described is appalling. Just imagine what the proper counsel and direction could have meant for not just the individual player and family but also for the entourage or the hanger-on.

Like most athletes who are totally consumed by the sport I did not pay as much attention in my playing days as I would now after working in the financial sector for almost 10 years. As a player you trust your advisors and don't want to be bothered with financial matters you might not understand anyway. The key is to find proper counsel and that is a challenge in this unreal culture of recruitment and presentation. The shady advisors/agents outnumber the solid firms and the NBA and Player Union are not doing enough to monitor the player management sector. But that is obviously only one part of the problem. Education is necessary to guide the players to a life style which they can hopefully maintain for the rest of their lives.

We at Coldstream have our thoughts on this issue – what are yours?

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-ways-sports-stars-destroy-their-finances-2009-9
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Former-Celtics-star-Antoine-Walker-is-broke-and-?urn=nba,198509

Europe: Paris, London & Madrid

Work and travel has kept me quite busy, but I do want to share my recent trip to Europe – or at least some of it.
My wife Mari and I joined 4 other couples on a surprise trip to Paris for our friends’ 30th wedding anniversary. Yes we are getting old! Paris might be the most beautiful city in the world! We did all the touristy stuff – Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, etc and had great dinners all over the city. The Eiffel Tower created the most excitement though since our friend Janice got her money and passports stolen out of her purse – most likely on the elevator going up. She realized it soon after and we headed back hoping that they dropped them somewhere. We were so relieved to find them jammed in a corner of the upper platform. 1000 Euros lighter but very happy we went for lunch and drinks to celebrate!

After 4 days enjoying sunny Paris I went on to rainy London to do some PR for the NBA pre-season game between the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls. I got to hang out with the Chocolate Thunder - Darryl Dawkins and do some appearances with him. Double D is a nice guy and still dresses old school! At least I could take it fairly easy since his loud suits drew all the attention. The game was in front of a sold out O2 arena, close and competitive all game and came down to a last second shot. Definitely a good exhibition for the NBA.

After the game in London I flew the Jazz charter plane to Madrid. The NBA leased a regular Delta plane for the 3 hour flight with only 16 First Class seats. One by one the players came on board and moved into the front cabin until it filled up. A couple Rookies had to sit in economy with the rest of us riff raff. Then the coaching staff and wives came on board and it was quite interesting to see Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan move to the back. I wonder what I would have done as the 14th guy trying to make the team – offer him my seat and receive the scorn of the team or sit there with my headphones on engrossed in a movie. Anyway nobody offered and it probably would not have made a difference in selection anyway. You do wonder though when a week later 4 guys got cut. And what the heck is wrong with the NBA and the Collective Bargaining Agreement that a 60 year old head coach has to sit in economy whereas a non-proven, snot nosed 21 year old is enjoying the luxury of First Class?

We arrived at the hotel in Madrid at 5 AM – welcome to the NBA! It is not all fame and glory and travel can be extremely difficult and tiresome. That afternoon I did a Special Olympics basketball clinic with the Jazz and I must say that Andrei Kirilenko, Eric Maynor and Ronald DuPree did a great job with the kids in our station! The Jazz played really well against Real Madrid and put on a good show for NBA basketball. Utah will definitely compete for a high play-off spot if they stay healthy.

Since the game started at 9:45 PM I did not get to bed until around 1 AM. Got up at 4:30 AM to catch my flight back home. Not surprisingly the hotel lobby was very busy at that time from people just getting in – that is Europe.

Last sunny weekend?

What a weekend! With over 80 degrees in Seattle it looked like the middle of August, but it still felt like this could be our last hurray of the summer. The leaves are turning colors and it is getting cooler at night. I got to do a couple of my favorite things last weekend – ride my bike and watch football. And it was perfect for that.
We finished the second day of MS 150 charity ride on Sunday with 70 miles in 3:30 h. After doing 95 miles in 5:08 on Saturday over some hilly terrain Sunday was reasonably easy. MS Society had a great turn-out up in Mount Vernon, with all the big sponsors represented – Microsoft, Starbucks, Point B, Kibble & Prentice, etc. Our Byrne Invent team did well and raised over $17k and I personally want to thank all the folks who sponsored me – over $6k! Maybe a small amount of the $1.4 million they raised with this ride, but important none-of-the-less. Let’s find a cure soon!
We were able to watch our UW Huskies win their first football game in over a year and they did it the old Husky way with intensity and passion. Next week against USC will be a little tougher, but the fans are back! Also watched UCLA and Rick Neuheisel get a win at Tennessee and USC beat Ohio State. Then Sunday it was the Seahawks starting the season off with a win. Matt Hasselback and the defense looked pretty good.
More football in 2 days than I watched in a long time – probably due to the fact that I was tired from the ride and that Michael is laid up on the couch with a broken ankle. I could do this most weekends, but I know he is tired of sitting on his rear end! Time to get him back to school!
Does anybody have a huge plate and 8 screws in their foot? Does it set off the airport metal detectors?

Is our summer over? It rained as hard as ever this morning, buckets of water coming in sideways and leaves were falling. I finally made it out at noon for a bike ride. It was generally peaceful with just a little drizzle and not much traffic, but it is disturbing to see foliage not up in the trees but on the road. August was just a few days ago! Why do some people rather drive their car as close as possible to a guy on a bicycle than get close to the median? It baffles me that they rather risk hitting a person than touch the yellow line, unless they just don’t like cyclists - like the guy in the Ford 150 whose side mirror almost grazed me just as he blew his horn. Must have had a tough Sunday morning at church.
I did remember to bring my Zune and listened to some older stuff:
Luther Vandross – “Here and Now” - maybe my all time favorite vocalist and so sad he is not alive to share his music with us.
Hootie & the Blowfish – “Time” (why you punish me) I know Darius Rucker is now a Country/Western star but what are the rest of the boys doing in South Carolina?
Rick Astley – “Don’t say good-bye, girl” - remember him from like 1986 – whatever happened to him?
Not much left to do today but to hang on the couch and watch movies with Michael. He will hopefully feel better tomorrow – the first 48 hours after surgery are usually the toughest. The first movie is “Fighting’?