Day: October 7, 2023

People have a lot to say about Colorado football. There is a lot to say. There is a lot going on from the perspective of African Americans and from the perspective of culture shift. Prime Time, one of the most pivotal culture figures in the sport of Football, is now Coach Prime and he is pushing the limits of what is acceptable in college sports. He’s a man of the era and a pop pioneer. He is the guy who truly brings the visibility and the coverage and, above all else, he casts a completely different mode in what it means to be a coach.

The NFL is a copycat league. Suddenly the HC ranks are filled with 30 something smart guys who have added something on one side of the ball or the other, without actually being long time players –but instead analysts and thinkers. That old guard shift was met with quite a bit of excitement, because it was marketed that way and because one of the first of this new batch of minds won the Super Bowl almost immediately. Now contrast that to Deion Sanders taking over a Power Five conference program. There are 14 black coaches in the 133 D1 programs. That’s roughly 10%. Not one back coach has ever one a national championship. In fact, college football as a whole may be the last bastion of the old white ball coach and his traditional thinking. Consider Saban’s Alabama team, which is the epitome of old ball.

Now look at Prime.

Think for a minute: He isn’t the only coach to bring in 50+ new players this season, but he is the one getting the most attention and hatred. Why? because he is vocal about the game and how it is being manipulated. As such he is drawing player to him and his style (which reflects them wholeheartedly). It is a real threat to see someone the kids like say out loud, “I ain’t hard to find.” Because they are encouraged to jump in the portal and join the greatest show in CFB. Which indeed it is. Win or lose, Prime is now the one to watch. Heck, in a few hours I’m going to an ASU game… just to see Colorado.

Back into the flow of working on the novel. The schedule, as compressed as it is, still gives me time to get things done the way I want and need to. I of course have other work that needs doing within that time frame. I look forward to the day I get paid enough to write one thing at a time. Alas that day is not today, therefore I am left to being a scheduler and a planner.

It is going OK. Not great and not consistent, but I did get scheduled more days than not this week. Deliberate Practice is the motto of the moment, and it starts first thing in the morning when I wake up. I’m early to the computer and then, once I get done with a chunk of grading, I tend to focus in on the blog. That didn’t happen today. I went right to the novel post grading. It was a misstep that finds me here late in the afternoon collecting these thoughts, but practice is progress.

I enjoy the opportunity to rebuild myself day by day and to reach a point where I can be a productive writer again. I am learning a ton from doing a lot at once, and while it is a larger form of multi-tasking, the art of scheduling gives me the ability to treat it like each thing is individual.

Some Thoughts:

1. Major misstep in the $$ league for fantasy. Started the Washington defense. 40 points later… Yeah, it is going to be a tough out for me for the rest of the weekend. Heck, I was better off recruiting the Giants!
2. Went to a dance class for the first time ever. Had fun. Sweat a lot. I may be chronically out of shape at this point, but I am still young enough to be able to get in better shape. I will never have the body of 18 yr old me, and I am no longer going to try for that. I am going to try to reduce the midsection considerably and be able to move across a dance floor with far less sweat involved.