I cracked open Women’s Health purely for easy trashy reading.  With titles like Look Better Naked, Sex Boosters, Slim Body Fat Wallet no one in their right mind would presume that this was actually a magazine devoted to “health”.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that this magazine chose to highlight and promote Jillian Michaels of The Biggest Loser as the epitome of health and wellness.

 Anyone with a shred of common sense who watches The Biggest Loser quickly knows that the weight loss strategies employed by the show and thus supported by the trainers are unsafe, unhealthy and that the majority of contestants will most likely gain weight back.  Watching a 450 pound contestant collapse from heat exhaustion simply supports the fact that the producers and trainers are placing money before the wellness of their “clients”.  Put all of that aside though and one quote from the article by Jillian Michaels really sent me over the edge.

 When asked about having children Jillian states that she is going to adopt, “because I can’t handle doing that to my body”.  Is this the type of person that should be influencing the health and fitness decisions of America?  Adoption is a generous, kind and giving gift, one that she be reserved for people who are grounded in reality and can provide a normal environment.  Not one for someone who didn’t become pregnant in an effort not to ruin their body.  If you are fit, healthy and focused before, during and after pregnancy then your body won’t have an issue.  If you need inspiration look no further then CPT Kelly Calway of the US Army, who ran a marathon 6 weeks after her daughter Hazel was born. 

Now a member of the Army’s World Class Athlete Program and training for the 2012 Olympics, CPT. Calway had the following to say after the birth of her daughter; the addition to her life has changed Calway’s life for the better.  Motherhood has changed my outlook in so many ways.  It’s also given me a new sense of purpose.  My daughter is always with me during those tough races when I need to overcome mental and physical obstacles.  I just think of Hazel and I make it happen.”  Instead of a nation embracing an attitude like Calway’s, Michael’s has now provided the lazy and unmotivated women in the country the excuse they need to remain lazy and focused only on their own vision of perfection. The following was just one among many postings in a chat room:

I am 43 years old and have two children. I ruined my figure with the birth of my children. I became grossly overweight. If I had the choice to do it over, I would definitely choose adoption over carrying a child myself. I now have a terrible problem with my weight, which I have let spiral out of control. I now face the possibility of not being there for my children due to my obesity. Therefore, I highly recommend that if a woman has the opportunity to make the choice to give a child a much-needed home and family over having biological children of her own, I say go for it!. Save your figure and possibly your health. Adopt.“

Sure lady it was the birth of your children that made you grossly overweight, not the fact that you aren’t eating properly or even attempting the basics of exercise.  Great mantra, save your figure, adopt!  Wow Jillian what a legacy you are inspiring, well done!

FOR NOW I am trying to figure out how I can complete a marathon without actually running the race.

Apparently the powers that be in the NCAA office heard my rantings that expanding the NCAA tournament to 96 teams would be the equivalent of handing out trophies to everyone just for participating.  Gone would be the prestige associated with qualifying for the tournament and being considered an “elite” team.  This week the NCAA announced that they would expand to 68 teams, which in my mind is the best possible solution given the fact that the NCAA was hell bent on expansion.

 The NCAA and CBS sports signed a $10.8 billion deal good for the next 14 years.  On the plus side March Madness fans will be able to see regional games in their entirety, on the negative side student athletes still won’t be receiving any of the money that their hard work, dedication and drive do so much to generate.  In an era when million dollar contracts are the norm for high level coaches don’t the student athletes deserve to have a trust established for them so that when they graduate and suddenly find themselves going “pro” in something other than their sport they actually have the opportunity to succeed in finding a job? 

 No student athlete at the DI level has the time to participate in internships relevant to their major or hold summer jobs to build up their financial reserves for when they graduate so that they can afford to live while they job hunt.  The fairy tale of DI athletes being handed jobs is simply that a fairy tale.  Nor is it appropriate to state that the value of their scholarship is equivalent to the time and effort they invest on a daily basis to participating in a collegiate sport.  If the average cost of tuition, room and board works out to about $30,000, a regular student could work 40 hours a week at $14.00 an hour for 52 weeks and be able to pay off their tuition.  The regular student athlete easily devotes 40 hours a week to “athletic” related activities even though rules state 20 hours a week of practice and film time.  Naturally that doesn’t factor in bus and airplane rides, time in the training room, optional but mandatory shooting, volunteer clinics and a litany of other time consuming items.  It would also be remarkable if the NCAA factored injury pay to help pay for long term care down the line.  How many former collegiate athletes 15 years after graduation are suffering the after effects of concussions, knee reconstructions, steel rods implanted in shin bones and shoulder reconstructions incurred during their playing years? My sister, best friend and husband combined have had 12 surgeries, all former collegiate athletes.  How many of them are receiving health care help from the NCAA? NONE

 In my opinion the NCAA has the most brilliant minds in the country working for them as they have found a way to legally make money off the backs of individuals that they do not compensate.  How absolutely brilliant is that? They have managed to “hire” workers for free as it is the colleges’ responsibility to provide the scholarships, fund the teams and pay the staff.  In some cases the workers are under the age of 18, so I am thinking that Kate Gosselin has nothing on the NCAA.  They maintain their tax exempt status as a non-profit because they are organized and operate exclusively for educational purposes.  Is the NCAA any more worthy of tax-exempt status then the “houses” in my parents’ neighborhood that hang a sign out front and call themselves a church?  In this case I would argue that the NCAA’s tax exempt status is a good thing because it forces full disclosure and transparency.

 In any case the rich are getting richer while the student athletes are still well student athletes.

 FOR NOW I AM WAITING TO SEE HOW THE RUMORED BIG TEN EXPANSION EFFECTS MY BELOVED BIG EAST BASKETBALL CONFERENCE.

 Any fan of Hofstra is certainly acquainted with all of the names who have gone onto play or coach in the NFL; Raheem Morris, Adams, Chrebet, Shulters, Colston, Ellis, Newton, Harris, Fiore, Graham, Colon, Arrington, Bowen and Carmazzi.  The NCAA has a great commercial that says, “There are over 400,000 NCAA student-athletes, and almost all of us will be going pro in something other than sports.” This is where Rabinowitz fails to understand the true importance of athletics and the impact Hofstra football has on the Long Island community.  During the press conference Stuart stated that “The cost of the football program, now and in the future, far exceeds the return possible.  There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”.  Can returns only be valued in dollars and cents? 

 Jimmy Jones rushed for over 2,000 yards as a Hofstra football player and has repaid the value of his scholarship to the Freeport community a hundred times over.  Jimmy’s family funding his college education was not an option (does that fall under a need based scholarship Stu?) and coming out of Freeport High School he made the decision to attend Hofstra (turning down out of state offers) and play in front of the community that supported him during his high school years.  Today Jimmy Jones is a Phys Ed teacher and the Football Varsity Assistant Coach at Freeport High School and is a daily walking example to his students, his players and his community of what hard work, dedication, sacrifice and dreams can allow you to achieve.  Everyday Jimmy is making a difference in the lives of children and isn’t that what higher education is supposed to embody.  Thanks to President Rabinowitz there will never be another Jimmy Jones who remains home to play football at Hofstra, returns to his community and succeeds in every sense of the word.  The next Jimmy Jones will leave Long Island to play 1AA football, not return to his community but remain in the area of his University as so many Hofstra football players have done in the past and instead make an impact on that community.  Jimmy Jones, Toby Elmore, Rocky Butler all active in the Long Island community are the true return of the value of a Hofstra football program. 

 Rabinowitz says a two year study was conducted on sports spending at the University and that cutting football was the only cost effective option.  Where was the transparency during this study?  How many former Hofstra football players, coaches or athletic directors were invited to participate in this study?  The free advertising Hofstra receives when ESPN airs a special on Colston, or when Raheem Morris coaches a game in Tampa Bay was that broken down into dollars and cents? Did anybody suggest moving football game times to Friday or Saturday night start times so they didn’t conflict with the hundreds of high school games that are occurring at the same time on Long Island?  Hofstra athletic events have never been supported by the students, the fans have always been from the Long Island community so why not provide them with the opportunity to actually attend games.  Long Island has long suffered from an identity crisis due to the hundreds of towns that are all locally governed.  Rabinowitz could have utilized Hofstra Football as a unifying point for Long Islanders but missed the boat completely.  If Rabinowitz truly wanted to save football why not hire an outside marketing firm to promote and fill the football stadium since Hofstra is located in the largest media outlet in the world. I am full of ideas and suggestions, I can only imagine what others could have contributed if given the opportunity to participate. Perhaps this was all simply a self fulfilling prophecy for Rabinowitz.

 As a former student athlete and coach at Hofstra University I am truly saddened by the termination of the football program because it is a direct representation of Rabinowitz’s view on athletics. If you have met Rabinowitz you know immediately he is not a fan of athletics and wants Hofstra to be known in the upper echelons of higher education for which I can’t fault him. I can condemn him though for not having the guts to embrace former President Shuart’s legacy of athletics, while building his own vision for Hofstra University. 

For now I have joined Help Keep Hofstra Football on Facebook, but am realistic enough to know that the only way Hofstra football will return is when the regime I mean Rabinowitz retires. 

 Just so happens that I was on the phone when Lane and Mike were speaking in late December about Lane leaving Knoxville and returning to Trojan land… “Mike I truly want to be the head TROJAN MAN but we really need to wait until 31 December when my daddy’s retention bonus of $300,000 is given to him.  Any time after that and you can name me the new head coach at USC. Also I would like a clause written in my contract that if I go 9-6 in 2010 I get my own special bonus since that is my best won-loss record to date.  The other demand I have is that we find a more auspicious manner in which to pay off our players.  I discovered that leaving an envelope of cash and a new car for Reggie worked well to make him happy but seems the NCAA has kinda sorta caught on.  Take care of all of my requests Mike and you can call me TROJAN MAN”.

 A few nights ago the fans in Tennessee rioted over Kiffin leaving, but I prefer to view it as a celebration of good riddance. Tennessee took a chance on Kiffin who repaid them by remaining a whopping 14 months in Knoxville, leaving recruits dreams in tatters, a trail of secondary violations, a feud with Urban Meyer, 3 players arrested for armed robbery, an average record of 9-6 and his daddy’s pockets lined with enough green to run the Hofstra football program.  Tennessee is a program with history, tradition, fans and money to keep any coach happy. If you are a good enough coach you can win a national championship at Tennessee and so Tennessee fans you should be happy to rid yourselves of a coach that will step on and climb over anyone to get to where he is going, loyalty be damned. 

 Mike Garrett always goes for name and flash when it is time to hire coaches.  He proved it when he hired Michael Cooper for the women’s basketball job in June allowing him to start coaching at the end of September even though he had never coached at the college level.  Cooper inherited a team of talent that should have been marching him into the Sweet 16 (maybe even the Final 4) but with a record of 9-6 that hardly seems likely. 

 Tim Floyd brought the men’s program back into the national spotlight by snagging the great OJ Mayo for a large handful of cash.  Floyd and Mayo are in the NBA having a blast, while this year’s basketball team is left with their playoff dreams snatched from their hands as USC has announced self imposed sanctions for cheating when Mayo was playing.  Sweet huh? 

 Seems to me that Mike Garrett is right on track with the Kiffin hire.

 For now I would love it if someone formed a committee to oversee Mike Garrett

For those of you who have been living in a black hole the past few weeks and don’t know who Elizabeth Lambert is let me help you out.  She is the University of New Mexico Soccer player who achieved millions of hits on YouTube when her brain was stolen by aliens in a conference playoff game vs. BYU.  “Miss” (I use the term loosely) Lambert over the course of the game kidney punched an opponent, tripped another player, slapped a player in the face while battling for the ball and then to top it off yanked a player’s hair so hard it probably gave her whiplash as she slammed to the ground.  Yesterday she broke her silence after the aliens finally returned her brain.

“I think the way the video came out, it did make me look like a monster.  That’s not the player I am.  I’m not out there trying to hurt players.  I definitely feel that because I am a female it did bring about a lot more attention than if a male were to do it.  The female, we’re still looked at as, Oh we kick the ball around and score a goal.  But it’s not.  We train very hard to reach the highest level we can get to.  It’s a game. Sports are physical”

 Let me help you out dear sweet Elizabeth…the way you play the game is an insult to any player that takes the field in soccer, male or female.  The reason you look like a monster is because you became one when the aliens took away your common sense and self control.  As for training hard, I am assuming you trained in the secret land where they teach you how to attack when people aren’t looking (Tonya Harding hmm), as the kidney punch, the slap to the face and the hair pulling occurred when your opponent had their back to you and the trip was delivered when your opponent was about to beat you.  In the school yard I grew up in you would be called a bully.  The fact that you use your female sexuality as an excuse for the attention you have garnered is a crock and I don’t mean of honey.  The attention is because you are a poor excuse and example of a student athlete.  It would have been safer for your opponent to step onto a college wrestling mat with no experience because at least the referees could have protected the BYU players.  Which leads me to the question of where was the control from the U of New Mexico coaches and referees for the players on the field?

 Through all of these actions not one Coach on the University of New Mexico sideline said (bear with me while I state the obvious) “We need to get Lizzy off the field; she has clearly lost her mind and is going to hurt someone”.  What a terrible breakdown in the leadership of the coaches as they failed Elizabeth, their U of NM team, BYU and all of the young people who were watching this game.  Furthermore the two sideline judges with the cool flags and the referee couldn’t get their act together (besides a yellow card for the tripping) to somehow help this young lady who had clearly lost all control.  Currently Elizabeth is suspended indefinitely while her Coach and A.D. decide what repercussions will suit her actions. (I don’t know maybe a charge of assault) In the meantime who is deciding what repercussions her Coach will receive for the terrible leadership the University of New Mexico displayed as a staff and the missed calls by the referee?  (And you thought the umpires had issues in the World Series)

 If each one of Elizabeth’s actions (excluding the ponytail hair pull) had occurred separately over the course of the season they could be attributed to tough physical play but the fact is that her clashes transpired during one game which shows true loss of self control which is intolerable. Nor is it acceptable that her coaching staff failed her.  At the end of the day she can only blame herself and the aliens who ironically years ago made off with Tonya Harding’s brain.

 FOR NOW I am waiting for UFC to set up a fight between Elizabeth Lambert and Tonya Harding.

Instead we are going to hire Dana Takahara-Dias.  Oh you have never heard of her?  Well she was the City and County of Honolulu’s Director of the Department of Customer Service. Each year she puts together an A.A.U. Team with Mayor Mufi Hannemann to travel to the mainland.  Years ago she was the administrative assistant to legendary coach Vince Goo at the University of Hawaii and later coached Moanalua High School to several state championships. Now had she remained in her position as high school coach I believe a justifiable argument could be made for her hiring, except for the fact that the job posting stated you had to have a minimum of 4 years Head Coach experience at the college level.  So how exactly did the University of Hawaii circumvent their own advertisement especially at a state school? Perhaps they rewrote the requirements, but failed to repost the job so that the rest of the Directors of Customer Service across the country could also apply. 

Jim Donovan certainly managed to make quite a statement with this hiring, especially to all the coaches who have sacrificed families, spouses, relationships with their own children, sleeping on an office couch instead of their own beds, weddings, funerals and other obligatory observances all in the name of coaching college basketball.  Jim Donovan you have spoken volumes with this hire and I wish Coach Takahara-Dias the best of luck, as all accounts are that she is truly a great person.  (So is my mom by the way).  I would love to see this nonsense happen on the men’s side of college basketball…yeah right.

FOR NOW I AM LEFT TO WONDER WHO LEID JIM DONOVAN?

The madness began in our household on Sunday when my dad’s team, Queens College locked up a spot in the NCAA DII tournament, by winning their conference tournament.  Although I am on the opposite side of the country we were able to watch the game via the internet.  (The wonders of modern technology).  Of course this left me with no choice but to book a flight to New York so that we could support the man who rarely missed any of his children’s games.  On Wednesday I packed up the two kids, my husband dropped us at the San Jose airport for the red eye to New York and several hours later my husband was picking us back up as the plane was having some form of technical difficulty.  LOTS OF FUN sitting in an airport with two children for hours. Needless to say we will be watching the game tonight on the internet.

Yesterday all we did was watch the Big East tournament on television and nothing else mattered.  Dishes remained in the sink, beds unmade and children swinging from the chandeliers.  The great thing about living on the west coast is that when you wake up, the games are already on!  The heartbreaking part is that if you grow up near Madison Square Garden attendance at the Big East Tournament is mandatory and that is hard to do if you are living on the west coast.  I almost felt as if I was there because I watched the Syracuse vs. UConn game with one of my old teammates from Hofstra, April Fitzpatrick.  She lives on the opposite coast but that’s why they invented text messaging. It was just like old times when we sat next to each other on the Hofstra bench; yelling at the referees, second guessing coaches, imploring players to go harder and loving the fact that walk-ons and third stringers decided the outcome in what has to be one of the greatest games in the history of the Big East Tournament. 

March Madness strikes everyone at some point.  I spoke to my mom this morning who was driving to Philadelphia to cheer my dad on tonight.  She could hardly form a sentence since apparently she stayed up until 2am watching the UConn/Syracuse game. Did I mention she and my sister took half days from work so that they can get to the game in time?  I have to run now the Georgia Tech game is about to begin and I am hoping they can pull off another upset.

FOR NOW I am hoping to get out of my pajamas before noon!

A few clicks of the mouse, a payment of $112 and I have actually paid to torture myself for the next two months.  Running a marathon has always been on my “list” of things to accomplish in life before the age of 35 and since that day passed several days ago, I apparently have left myself with no choice but to enter the Big Sur Marathon at the end of April.   That would leave me approximately 8 weeks to train and be able to actually cross the finish line. 

This would be a piece of cake for me if it was 1991 when I was 108 lbs and could run a mile under 5 minutes.  Or 1994 when I could run lots of 6 minute miles, or even 4 years ago when I could run ten miles in a 76 minutes, but sadly it is none of those years and somehow I haven’t run any kind of race in at least five years.  It may be because I have been pregnant in 2006, 07 and 08 and the only place I actually ever ran to during that time was the freezer for some extra ice cream. I would love to say that I am motivated by an intense desire to cross an accomplishment off of my list of things to do in life, but I have a sneaky suspicion that I am driven more by the fact that I don’t want to be the “plump mom” in my sister’s wedding pictures this August. (Although I have been lobbying to be placed between the two bridesmaids that will be pregnant)!

I am also driven to cross the finish line at Big Sur because a player I coached at West Point, Adrienne Payne will be running Big Sur as well.  Quite simply Adrienne is one of the toughest individuals I have ever come across, she suffered through numerous shoulder injuries as a player yet still found a way to inspire and lead her team.  I would hate to miss out on an opportunity to run in the same race as her.  (Although I am hoping that she won’t fall asleep waiting for me at the finish line).  So tomorrow morning I begin the great experiment of attempting to get myself in shape to run BIG SUR in two months. 

FOR NOW I know why moms run marathons, it is so they can be guaranteed peace and quiet for at least three and half hours. 

How do these numbers strike you for a basketball coach’s career?  611-354, 5 Elite 8s and an induction into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001 and a 2009 Regional High School Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.  Wonder who it is and why you missed his final home game as he concludes his 38 year career.  He is Tom Wierzba head coach at Farmington HS in Illinois.  (Can’t forget the 2 State Titles he won as a softball coach either).

Somehow big sports outlets managed to miss the final home game coached by Wierzba as  Farmington won on Saturday night.  Nearly 100 former players and coaches attended the game but perhaps none more important than his two sons, Ben and Rhett.  Both are former DI players, now deeply immersed in their own coaching careers at the college level.  Rhett is the Director of Basketball Operations for the U of Maryland Women and Ben is an Assistant Coach for the men at The University of Evansville. Rhett changed his ticket two times to make the game and Ben thought he couldn’t possibly make the game when ESPN assigned them a tip-off time of 2:00pm for their bracket buster game.  When you need to show your love and gratitude to the man who has given so much to you, your family and the game of basketball it leaves you with no choice but to charter a plane to get home in time for the game!  (Who cares if Ben will be eating Ramen noodles for the next 30 years)? 

The players, coaches and fans that showed up to support and express their thanks to Coach Wierzba are the one that truly understand the value of high school athletics.  My hope is that all high school coaches can have as profound an impact as Coach Wierzba has made on his student athletes.

FOR NOW I am keeping my fingers crossed that Coach Wierzba is awarded the 2009 National High School Boys Basketball Coach of the Year for which he is one of 6 finalists.