thought * applied ideas

i was enjoying myself a fresh pint of new castle at a local outback. enjoying my friday night relaxing with an old friend. we were watching college basketball on the ever present tube, and started spouting all random facts of the sport that we knew. ive yet to graced a college campus as a regular which i assume contributes to my lack of interest in the sport. so my knowledge was pretty thin. i blankly spit out how much it seemed like a business to me and how I bet not many athletes even finish the program. either being drafted or not making the cut every year due to injuries/academics. and to my disbelief i was enlightened to the fact the grad rate of the cal-berkley program is.. take a guess.. nope.. 8 percent.. thats right a lowly 8%!! these players stand as a commodity, used and abuse for one purpose.. the business of basketball in the collegiate arena. so i stood firm in my assumptions and argued the point, that the old "c.r.e.a.m." motto stands true. but a random at the bar butt in, and so poignetly added.. ethics. where is the call for ethics? in our schools, in our society, in our american culture? its boils at the edge of reason and general compassion between the grassroots minded people, and those willing and wanting to make the change, but feel defeated. im rambling and pretty much going on a tangent, but perhaps this is a start of more constructive thoughts, if only with for a general wish for well-being for all those ive met and soon to meet. we'll see, although in the end, when people argue the excitement of college basketball because of the heart and the pride of the schools involved.. i still feel its all about money...
-denn

thought * transition 30

my absence from the blog speaks volumes of my current focus. the big 3-0 is approaching. and while it might not seem much of a milestone or turning point in my life. i still have set out some personal goals. one being getting in basketball shape. i have an old standing bet with my eldest brother robert that when thirty rolled around i would be as good as shape as i was being 18.. its a far stretch i know. but coupled with the wisdom ive gained and man strength i think the odds are in my favor. so ive somehow found the energy to ball three to four times weekly. anymore would be overkill and besides im still going to be thirty.ha!. and one strong component thats missing from my arsenal. is youth duh.. the resiliency of joints that shrug off hard exertion and without stretching just so your body can do it again the very next day. that and im not as fearless as i once was. my job requires me to be on my feet and if i injure myself well.. shit.. im not about to think about it. so fear, or knowing my mortality is a plus and minus of getting older.. hopefully with continuing this daily expressing of my thoughts and being creative will make this 30th life marker more like a quarter of my life.. than a third.. ..