• Packers-Lions Controversy—This really is not a Packers/Lions issue.  It is an issue that is occurring on a weekly basis in the NFL.  There is a lot of difficulty officiating games properly when every single play is examined with a microscope and the benefit of slow motion replay, high definition television and thousands of “experts” weighing in on Twitter.  The NFL probably made things worse instead of better in the wake of the blatant miss in last year’s NFC Championship Game between the Saints and the Rams.  Trying to re-adjudicate judgment calls to the microsecond are going to bring us to the same point that we have been at with the catch rule, where for a few years even a minute movement of the ball would cause a pass to be ruled incomplete.  If you focused the cameras on any play and zoomed in on the offense and defense lines, you would likely see holding or a hand in a facemask on every play.  It is hard to see where the NFL is going to be able to clean this up. But at minimum, there were some very funny memes to come out of the game.

• Chicago Ideas Week.      One of my favorite weeks of the year is Chicago Ideas Week.   A week-long program focused on larger societal issues and a series of presentations that are like mini Ted Talks, CIW annually turns out some provocative sessions.  The ones that I was able to attend this week included:
  • What Will The World Look Like in 2050
  • Does Activism Make a Difference
  • It’s time to kick Your Addiction to Algorithms
  • Do We Have All the Answers
  • Who Draws the Line Between Right and Wrong?
  • Entrepreneurs can Change the World
  • Who Do Your Kids Trust More:  You or YouTube?
  • Leaders Aren’t Born, They’re Made

• JT Foxx                 His MegaSpeaker series was held in Chicago this week.  JT Foxx bills himself as the World’s #1 Wealth Coach.  I first went to one of his events about 15 months ago.  At the outset he can come across as arrogant and condescending.  After you have a chance to listen to him for several hours and hear the way he engages with participants and hear from those that have attended multiple events, you realize how much depth there is to his systems.  He has built a terrific team led by Francie Baldwin and by Brent Turley.  Brent always opens for him, much in the way that Joseph McClendon frequently opens for Tony Robbins.  He bills his presentations as a way to help people get speaking opportunities, but the reality is that the events are so much more.  He helps them focus on getting a mentor, branding and being decisive in their decision making as a way to get better results in their business.  If you have a chance to attend one of his events, you can feel the energy and passion he has.  Despite his critics, he is an extremely hard worker and travels around the world speaking and putting on events.  Typically over 320 days per year!! His upcoming MegaSpeaker event has 2000-3000 people in Anaheim and attracts high level entrepreneurs from across the globe.  If you can handle a bit of the schtick, you might get a lot of benefit out of it.

• Airwick VIP Pre-Poop Toilet Spray.   So I usually don’t question the powers that be and their marketing strategies, but after having to endure this ad for the last month on the sports talk radio morning shows, I can no longer remain silent.  Let’s put aside for a moment that it plays about 4-6 times per hour (and sometimes more) during the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. timeslot.  Let’s also put aside the fact that it seems to be targeted at women (or maybe I am misunderstanding that.  But what troubles me the most with this commercial, it that it seems to be giving women, young ladies, and girls the feeling that they need to “hide” their bodily functions from their boyfriend or spouse.  The mom on the commercial literally tells her daughter that her father did not think she pooped for three years.  Really?  I doubt he is that dumb.  But the commercial might be.  The only redeeming performance in the commercial is the (presumably) teenage daughter giving her mom the typical teenage attitude when spoken to about her “body changing”, “needing protection” and the mom’s other inane comments.

HUMOR FOR THE WEEK

MOTIVATION FOR THE WEEK

Each week I am planning to look at some of the stories and news that I found most interesting.  This space will include some sports, but not all of the sports stories that I normally follow in the areas of sports philanthropy, sports law, sports business, Jewish sports, concussions and otherwise.  If you want to see more of what I am following in those areas, let me know and I can point you to the best spots on my blog or various websites.  You will see that I love to find some of life’s little absurdities and point those out as well as other interesting stories that I follow.

MOTIVATIONAL IMAGES OF WEEK:

OTHER TOP IMAGES OF THE WEEK:

ROY’S RAMBLE:

• Buffalo Wild Wings.  I went to watch the Michigan State-Texas Tech game at Buffalo Wild Wings.  One of the few places now that has the sound on for the games.  Apparently BWW created new menus that the waiter said are supposed to remind you of a coaches clipboard.  Horrible idea. Very awkward and clumsy.   D-minus to the marketing staff.  Waiter said everyone hates them.

• Golf.      A friend treated me to the first round of golf we have played together in a few years. Beautiful day on Saturday and nice to be out there. We used to get in about 25 rounds a year together, but family and work seemed to get in the way the last couple of decades.  I always find some good things to laugh at on the golf course.  This day’s prime item was the way many golfers overestimate how far they can hit the ball.  We had a twosome in front of us that was waiting to hit until the group ahead of them was 300+ yards away.  I am not sure we saw either of them hit any ball 200 yards in the air. Most of them were dribblers or shanks.  On two par fives, they waited for the group to clear the green when they were at their tee shots�about 200 yards off the tee.  Still it is always great being out on the course even with clueless golfers.  I managed to scrape out a few pars and even knocked in a birdie. 

• Neuroplasticity training.              .               Last weekend I got certified in neuroplasticity training and will have more details and information for you about that service soon.  This will be a great benefit to so many organizations and so many individuals that could use the help getting their brain to function more efficiently.

• Cancelled meetings.      Many of us have busy schedules. We all recognize meetings get cancelled, rescheduled or arrivals may be delayed.  But it amazes me when someone fails to let you know that they won’t make a meeting until you email to confirm, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE OUT OF TOWN.   TWICE.  Hey, newsflash.  If you are out of town an hour before our meeting, you knew you were not going to make it that day.

• JT Foxx.  Until about a year ago, I had never heard of JT Foxx.  I attended one of his free events in Chicago last summer. He bills himself as The World’s #1 Wealth Coach.”  Though he comes across as cocky and though he can be hard on some of the attendees that he brings up for coaching, there can be no doubt about his work ethic.  He presents all around the world and opens up many of his events for free.  Having now attended my 4^th event of his, there can also be no doubt that he has some tremendous ideas and helps many people improve their lives.  He does it in a very different way to Tony Robbins, but the impact is very real.  You can read more details here.

• Fundraisers Forum.         Led by Rae Ringel, this was an outstanding event.  You read more details about it here, but if you work with non-profits or try to raise money, her presentations are fantastic and worth of a more detailed look.

• Vendor response. I am planning the Sports Philanthropy World Congress in August. As I was looking for venues for the event, I sent out emails inquiring about availability. It continues to amaze me how unresponsive many companies are, even when you are trying to give them business. One venue that was pitching me for business took over 10 days to provide any of the requested information via email (and even then, came back with only about half of what was requested). #VendorFail

• Final Four.           I hate seeing games decided by controversial endings.  The end of the Virginia/Auburn game was tremendous drama but the missed call on the double dribble will be questioned for a long time.  However, what about the missed grab before that?  Would that have cancelled the other missed call out?  The final call on the 3-point shot was the correct call and was explained very well by Gene Steratore.  He is one of the most articulate referees that we have seen on TV and continually provides great insight. This year’s tournament seems to have the largest collection of tight games that I have seen in many, many years.  It will be tough to top Virginia’s two improbably victories.

• Health Club Redux. You may have read my prior post about the 12 Most Absurd Things You See at the Health Club.” I may have to start a volume two. Today one elderly member kicked two teenagers out of the hot tub because they were not technically old enough, even though they were probably only a few months short of the age requirement. Mind you, plenty of space there. They were sitting quietly and talking.