Phil Jackson: Part Time Coach!!

There seems to be brewing story regarding Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers. The rumor is that Phil is serious about being a part-time coach next season., most likely coaching at home and not the road games. Many are having a problem with this but here is my take:

Phil Jackson is 63 years old and has his 10th NBA title ahead of Red Auerback. He has earned his due and is a great coach. This is a slow way of transitioning out the NBA coaching role, in my opinion. This past season, he did not seem like he did much coaching from the bench. I saw images of Kobe in the huddle, calling plays. That is the sign of a good leader. One that can develop other leaders to carry out his vision. Phil Jackson is very good at that. He did not achieve his status by being a forceful micromanager. He knows his players and he has a unique ability to bring out the best in each of them. Of course, he really does not need all that money so him being a part-timer could be a selfish thing. He may want all the glory and not deal with the pressures of travel and the wear and tear of a full time coach. But, can you fault him for doing what he wants, being that he is the most title winning coach in NBA?
I think that him having a part-time role can be a good thing to the development of the replacement coach and the further development of the players. Phil embodies great leadership styles: Take a look at the following leadership quotes below and see if you can see Phil Jackson in either one or both.

Dwight Eisenhower---Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he/she wants to do it.

Tom Peters--Leaders do not create followers, they create more leaders.

Stallworth vs Vick

Donte Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns received started serving his 30 day sentence today for DUI manslaughter stemming from a March incident in which Stallworth killed a pedestrian while driving under the influence in Miami. He will also serve 2 years house arrest and 8 years probation in addition to providing an undisclosed sum of money to the family of the deceased. Michael Vick on the other hand served two years in prison for his part in the unethical treatment of dogs that were in his care---more specifically dogfighting. Now, don't get me wrong, I love animals. I have a cute little pitbull dog and I would never ever understand why people abuse animals, fight them or even allow them to live in sick conditions. But, when a life is involved, the penalty should be even steeper in my opinion. Now, I am a person of second chances, so I embrace the apologies of both Vick and Stallworth and I would give each of them a second chance after they serve their time. I just believe the standards are a bit off. 30 days and probation for killing a person and 2 years for dog fighting. Of course, Stallworth was more upright and cooperative with the law as opposed to Vick, who really conspired to lie and hide the truth from law enforcement. This ultimately may be the reason why Stallworth was able to pull out a pretty decent bargain in this case.
There was such an outrage in the Vick case but nothing really in the Stallworth case. Very strange indeed. I forgive each man but I am amazed that the penalties are so far off. The fact that Stallworth was forthcoming with the authorities is the only thing that makes sense to me as to why his penalty was so much less than Vicks. I know that both these gentlemen will learn from their mistakes and that they will be better people as a result. After all, the difference between many criminals and non-criminals is that they got caught.....

Thought for You!

The unexamined life is not worth living--Socrates

Always take the time to reflect on your life, the decisions you have made, the successes and the failures. This allows you to learn, to grow and to have a mental knowledge of your strengths and your weaknesses. It is always a good thing to reflect every now and then on the good, bad and the ugly......

Rays loss and Lakers-Magic Game 3

The Rays baseball team lost tonight in a close one. I am patiently waiting for us to win those clopse games like we did last year and for Pena and Upton to explode. I am not as comfortable as I used to be when the bullpen pitches or even the regular pitchers. Happy to see Longoria back and happy with those hitters who have just exploded (can u guess who?) Then I realized that the Lakers-Magic game is now a series. Clutch free throws made by the Magic and free throws missed by Kobe allowed this resilient team to win in a tight game in the 4th. The Magic won this game on the court and both teams played well. Orlando just executed clutch.I gotta give props to Kobe for fighting through even when there was no chance of them winning with 2 seconds left and Lewis shooting free throws. I expect him to come back Thursday with a vengeance and I expect as always that the Magic, fueled by the home crowd would come out confident.Even Howard has a playoff swagger to him. Should be good!!!

I must say that Kobe Bryant has been playing great in the Finals. He is focused and he is only selfish when he needs to be. He seems so much more mature than in previous years and that is good to see. He is also much more versatile than LeBron James which I blogged about earlier. He really needs to get rid of that scowl though. It is not becoming. As for the Orlando Magic, their inexperience showed Game 2 in overtime I think. I also would love to see Dwight Howard get some more of those muscle dunks that He is famous for. He is doing a fine job I think. What are your thoughts?

Yes, I am keeping up with Basketball, Baseball and all the sports that I can!!!Whoooooo

I am still amazed at how we have grown so much in terms of technology. I can hardly remember living without a cell phone and not having a blackberry or a laptop