QB Geno Smith's Vision is Artful

“His visions of things have always been beyond his years."
--Tracey Sellers said of her son, Geno Smith.

Smith is West Virginia’s quarterback and a serious Heisman Trophy contender for the ninth-ranked Mountaineers (4-0), who beat host No. 25 Baylor 70-63 on Saturday. Smith had a remarkable, video game-like 656 yards passing. He was 45 for 51 and threw for 8 touchdowns.

“On the field, he’s visualizing,” his mother said. “It’s like a puzzle, his masterpiece."

On-the-field vision requires sharp visual acuity but also requires much more.

Quarterbacks must see the field in three dimensions, in real time, as well as like in a chess match. A great quarterback also must see and anticipate several moves and plays in advance throughout the game.

Excerpt for nytimes.com (09/29/2012) "West Virginia Displays the Art of Quarterbacking" by Tim Rohan.

Watch the highlights and interview with Geno Smith below.

Robinson Cano Can't Remember, and That's Good

“I’ve been struggling with men on base.  You just go out there every game, every at-bat, and forget about what happened in the past.”

--Robinson Cano, New York Yankee second baseman.

One of the most useful mental conditioning techniques that elite athletes use is the ability to quickly get past a mistake or error quickly.  During game conditions, it is highly valuable to be able to erase, recover, and move on.

Although you want to be able to learn from your mistakes, often game situations are not the place to dwell or analyze.  The time to analyze and evaluate is through debriefing and videotape sessions scheduled after one's competition is over.

As Robinson Cano emphasizes, a poor memory is perhaps the best tool that a hitter can utilize. Despite a recent slump, Cano's "poor" memory has allowed him to hit 30 home runs, knock in 82 runs, and hit for an average of .297 with 177 hits.

In addition, the Yankees are leading their division and have the second best record in the American League.  

Quote from nytimes.com (9/27/2012).  "With  Swisher and Cano, It's Trust and Symmetry" by Pat Borzi.

Patience Leads to Success

“You never drop a ball you take the time to catch.”
--Hall of Fame receiver Fred Biletnikoff of the Oakland Raiders.

Your success is highly dependent upon the quality of your execution. It is not always the quantity or speed of your actions that breeds success. Excellence is about the precision of your actions. Are you always rushed? When others ask how you are, do you usually tell people that you are "crazy busy?" For many, that may be impressive or a badge of courage.

However, you may be sabotaging your success by being too concerned with speed and not concerned enough with proper planning and execution.

Slow down and get more quality in your performance. You might even get some more satisfaction out of your life.

Try it.

Quotation taken from nytimes.com (09/22/2012), "Jets Rookie Wide Receiver Is in a New World of Zigs and Zags" by Ben Shpigel.

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Michael Vick Keeps Firing

"He finished the way a great player finishes, and you see this all the time in basketball, where shooters, the great shooters, they're going to have an off-day and they keep shooting. When it comes down to the end, the great ones end up sinking the winning shot. So Michael, that's what he did. He kept firing."

-- Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles head coach, discussing Michael Vick after his quarterback led the Eagles on a winning 91-yard drive in the 4th quarter to beat the Cleveland Browns, 17-16.

Vick bounced back from a disastrous 3 quarters in which he threw four interceptions. More importantly, the Eagles have won five regular season games in a row including last season.

Excerpt from ESPN.com & the Associated Press (9/12/2012), "Michael Vick Vows to Improve."

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Adversity Fuels Championship Runs

“You’ve got to embrace the adversity. Otherwise, you are going to be miserable and don’t belong in this clubhouse. Adversity is to be expected when you put on the pinstripes.”

-- Russell Martin, New York Yankees catcher, responding to a sustained late-season losing streak.

Championship are not easily won.  Championship seasons do not go smoothly.  Injuries, slumps, trades, travel, difficult scheduling, fatigue, family issues, etc. are all part of the adversity that all teams must face.  However, it is the championship teams that deal with adversity well.  

Winners welcome pressure and embrace the challenge of adversity.  Teams that understand that adversity is to be expected and are willing to take on the challenge are the teams that succeed. Frustration, stress and pressure must be met head-on.  

Most importantly, successful teams and franchises that win consistently understand that mental toughness and the ability to deal with adversity must be part of their team DNA.  

Historically, the New York Yankees are a franchise that has been highly success at dealing with adversity.  Will this year's Yankees team successfully meet the challenge of adversity?


Excerpt from nytimes.com, "A Study in Pinstripes: ‘Embrace the Adversity’", Bill Pennington, September 8, 2012.

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Champions Prepare

"Champions do not become champions when they win an event, but in the hours, weeks, and months, and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely a demonstration of their championship character."


--Michael Jordan.


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Angel McCoughtry Grows Up A Little

"I was so excited. It felt so good to be back on the floor. I'll never take basketball for granted again." 

--Angel McCoughtry, the WNBA's and the Atlanta Dream's leading scorer, after coming back from a multi-game suspension. McCoughtry led the team to a win after scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter.

The Atlanta Dream are starting a push toward playoff success.  WNBA finalists two years running, the Dream have caught late-season fire both years and need to do so again to get a favorable seed in this years' WNBA playoffs.  They need McCoughtry if they are to be there again.  However, they recently fired their head coach, Marynell Meadors.

Will new coach Fred Williams be able to handle the previously tempermental McCoughtry?  Has Angel turned the corner toward maturity?  

Excerpt from espn.go.com (9/2/2012).


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Tim Tebow's Take on Leadership

"You can't lead anyone unless you know where you're going and you can't lead anyone unless you've earned their respect. If they don't respect you, they're not going to follow you."

--Tim Tebow, New York Jets quarterback.

Excerpt from nytimes.com (9/2/2012), "Sharing the Stage," Ben Shpigel.

Sharapova Recovers to Get into U.S. Open Quarters

"I always think that, no matter how you start the match, it's always how you finish. Whether it's an hour or whether it's three hours that you're out there, I don't want to give up until the last point. That's pretty much the mentality I try to have going into a third set."

--Maria Sharapova, discussing her return to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open for the first time since her championship year of 2006.

Excerpt from The Associated Press, Howard Fendrich, "Sharapova gets past Petrova in 3 sets at US Open." (9/3/12).

Peyton Manning's Rehabilitation Mindset

“To me, it’s like he hasn’t missed a beat. Not his attitude or his drive or his will. That’s why he’s been able to play so well for so long. It’s always full speed ahead when it comes to football. I’ve never seen him not do that. That’s workouts, off-season, on the football field, in practice.

“In that aspect, I knew that would always be there. I knew from throwing with him early in the off-season. It seemed like every time we threw, he got better.”

--Brandon Stokley, discussing Petyon Manning's comeback attempt this year following neck surgery. Stokley played four seasons with Manning in Indianapolis and worked out with him at Duke before joining the Broncos.

Excerpt from nytimes.com (9/1/2012). "Forward Progress For Peyton Manning, One Pass, Then Many Steps," Judy Battista.

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