4 Hard Downs: NFL vs NBA, Meck Mile & Lasagna
Is this my last week on earth? Plus playing football is a wild beast
Thank y’all so much for the positivity from last week’s Strawberry Cheesecake post! As I said in the post and the podcast, I do think it is important to normalize everyone, especially men (because women do have these conversations more often, together) talking about the journey to parenting. Whether it is being a step parent, co-parenting, fertility issues or a surprise pregnancy or surprise multiples.
So thank you to everyone who responded via twitter, FB, DMs, IG etc.
This week?
I’m running the Meck Mile on Saturday.
I am in a late heat, which does mess my whole day up, and will probably give me some stomach issues because I have all day to think about it. So basically it is like Friday Night Football, so…SPOT THE BALL!!!
1st Down: Will I Die?!
My fastest mile in the most recent history is 9:12. I am running out with people who run 6’s and 7’s and I am going to try to keep that pace. So, am I going to just push it to the limit, like Scarface:
Or do I just go as fast for as far and then walk and then sprint again? What’s my strategy here. I can hit a higher MPH than most people but I can’t do it for long, so do I just go fast, then walk and fast then walk?!
We are doing a quick social post and I will also drop it as a podcast pre-race. Then post-race you will get to see my condition.
Also, I just realized that these milers weigh anywhere from 50 to 100 lbs less than I weigh. And that is after I’ve lost 90 lbs.
I am going to go for it.
2nd Down: Helping With Lasagna
One of my wife’s best friends broke her elbow.
So, I made them a lasagna. Homemade pasta.
Fresh ground beef
Homemade sauce to go with the beef
Layers on layers
I didn’t get to take a finished pic because my wife had to rush to dinner for tonight because she had an appointment and we have swim team so they have to finish it in their oven; which I’m not in charge of.
My suggestion 30-45 in foil and then uncover and let it get crisp on the top but the noodles are fresh and you have to make sure you don’t over cook. But you gotta get some of that juice out so it holds together.
3rd Down: NFL vs NBA
So, I was listening to The Flagrant Ones, a show I do subscribe to and like, but could not disagree with more on this, and they were saying how easy NBA players could transition to the NFL. Meanwhile, Charles Barkley, noted NBA tough guy:
One. Day.
He quit after a day.
Talked about this on the Unanimous Decision Podcast. Football is a world that is not the same. Hockey is probably the closest environment in North America’s big four. Except football players are bigger and asked to, every play, engage.
Unless you’re a QB or a WR, which is why I don’t think they’re the guys we should be listening to about concussions or sub-concussive blows. The amount of plays that a QB doesn’t get touched, be it a hand-off, a clean pocket pass does not compare to an offensive or defensive lineman, linebacker, RB or TE who created that clean pocket or the DB who has to sacrifice himself vs a business decision.
Basketball players are super talented, maybe the best top to bottom athletes on the planet but buddy; you have to have a few screws loose to want to make a team sports career out of, “how fast can I smash my body into this other body and make him hurt.”
Hockey. Rugby. Football.
In the words of Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” And basketball players don’t get punched in the mouth.
By the way, is he going to kill Logan Paul?
4th Down: I Hate Boats
I’ve talked about this on HITD Podcast. I hate boats. I never want to go deep sea fishing again. I don’t want to spend a Saturday on a boat. I don’t want to spend time doing a “float trip,” which isn’t even a boat it is just sitting in a tube.
I go to the pool because my daughters asks me to. I have an hour and we play and hang out but I do not want to be there for 5 hours. When I’m in Delaware I will go to the beach. We will go and hang out at Rehoboth or Dewey and then when I’m done, I just go back to the hotel.
I’ll go fishing for hours, from the pier or dock or beach. I’ll go crabbing for hours. But sitting around at the beach ain’t it for me.
Now, specifically boats.
If I ever get to go on a Super Yacht, like Below Deck style, sure, awesome. However the boats I go on, that aren’t bass boats, are just pontoons, speed boats or deep sea fishing boats or ferries.
Pass.
Not a knock on any of them. I understand they are super fun for people. My wife is from Michigan and all they do is spend weekends, hours on end, on boats.
I just like being able to say, I’m gonna go home. Which I can do with the pool, a firepit, going to a neighbor’s house or being at a restaurant.
A boat is basically jail.
You can’t leave. You have the food you have and nothing else. You are stuck with these people. Someone else is fully in charge and until someone gets sick, you’re at their whim.
At least on a plane you know there is a destination. They even have the little tracker that let’s you know how close you are to your destination. I went 35 miles off the Charleston coast and then we had to stay out there until we caught 42 fish.
I have no clue how long that takes.
I know LA to Charlotte will take me about 5 hours. I don’t like it. But at least I know. And I’m not peeing off the side and someone else’s pee is where I’m standing to get my pee out.
Cheers!!!
While you wrote that this may be your last week on earth, shocked at your impending demise, I immediately thought of the sports world's loss of another good man and journo in his prime. It's a heck of a thing to be glib about thou, but if its following the old saying saying that 'no one is promised tomorrow', I hope your time is not coming to the finish line. Stick around, you have a lot to offer.
Best Regards
We had a discussion at dinner last night about how fast we thought you'd run the Meck Mile. I think Billy said 8:20-something and I said 7:45 because I believe in you and your ability to just absolutely murder yourself. Also, lasagna is the best meal for a drop off. That one looks incredible.