March 31, 2015 at 5:34 p.m.
Mistakes do not define us
Rays of Insight
Decisions, decisions.
We make them every day — in school, at work, in athletics.
Some are good, some are bad, many fall somewhere in between. And sometimes our decisions leave us scratching our heads wondering, “What was I thinking?”
Well, there were some good questions from readers this month on a variety of topics. I made the choice to answer just two — one about decisions in team management, and another that carries impact beyond the games we watch and play.
••••••••••
With the Indianapolis Colts signing all these old-timers, is there any chance they could lure Brett Favre out of retirement?
—Jerry Sullivan,
Portland
While Favre has shown a propensity for coming out of retirement, his career is done. But that’s not really the question that was being asked here.
The real question is whether some of the Colts’ free agent signings, specifically those of Andre Johnson (33) and Frank Gore (31), make sense.
Certainly neither player is in his prime anymore, but let’s take a closer look.
There’s nothing bad to say about Reggie Wayne, but he is three years older than Johnson. The former Houston Texan also has had more receptions than Wayne in each of the last three seasons.
Indianapolis got a younger player who’s been more productive despite never having played with a quarterback nearly as good as Andrew Luck. He’s an upgrade.
Trent Richardson, as I like to say, is not good at football. He’s proven it with his career average of 3.3 yards per carry and just six touchdowns compared to four fumbles over the last two years.
Gore, meanwhile, has seven 1,000-yard seasons, including the last four in a row, and has never averaged less than 4.1 yards per rush. He’s also an upgrade, especially if he becomes a mentor for a running back Indianapolis selects in the draft.
So while they may be a bit long in the tooth, the signings of both Johnson and Gore are good for the Colts.
Whether they’re enough to put them over the top in the effort to dethrone New England is a different story. But they’re steps in the right direction.
••••••••••
What are your thoughts on Griffith High School being reinstated for the boys basketball tournament and then ending up state runners-up? What does that tell our student athletes and does it take away the authority status of IHSAA?
—Jamie Smeltzer,
Portland
For those who may not know, the Griffith and Hammond teams got into a bench-clearing fight during a game in early February. The IHSAA responded by canceling the rest of their seasons and declaring them ineligible for the tournament.
We make them every day — in school, at work, in athletics.
Some are good, some are bad, many fall somewhere in between. And sometimes our decisions leave us scratching our heads wondering, “What was I thinking?”
Well, there were some good questions from readers this month on a variety of topics. I made the choice to answer just two — one about decisions in team management, and another that carries impact beyond the games we watch and play.
••••••••••
With the Indianapolis Colts signing all these old-timers, is there any chance they could lure Brett Favre out of retirement?
—Jerry Sullivan,
Portland
While Favre has shown a propensity for coming out of retirement, his career is done. But that’s not really the question that was being asked here.
The real question is whether some of the Colts’ free agent signings, specifically those of Andre Johnson (33) and Frank Gore (31), make sense.
Certainly neither player is in his prime anymore, but let’s take a closer look.
There’s nothing bad to say about Reggie Wayne, but he is three years older than Johnson. The former Houston Texan also has had more receptions than Wayne in each of the last three seasons.
Indianapolis got a younger player who’s been more productive despite never having played with a quarterback nearly as good as Andrew Luck. He’s an upgrade.
Trent Richardson, as I like to say, is not good at football. He’s proven it with his career average of 3.3 yards per carry and just six touchdowns compared to four fumbles over the last two years.
Gore, meanwhile, has seven 1,000-yard seasons, including the last four in a row, and has never averaged less than 4.1 yards per rush. He’s also an upgrade, especially if he becomes a mentor for a running back Indianapolis selects in the draft.
So while they may be a bit long in the tooth, the signings of both Johnson and Gore are good for the Colts.
Whether they’re enough to put them over the top in the effort to dethrone New England is a different story. But they’re steps in the right direction.
••••••••••
What are your thoughts on Griffith High School being reinstated for the boys basketball tournament and then ending up state runners-up? What does that tell our student athletes and does it take away the authority status of IHSAA?
—Jamie Smeltzer,
Portland
For those who may not know, the Griffith and Hammond teams got into a bench-clearing fight during a game in early February. The IHSAA responded by canceling the rest of their seasons and declaring them ineligible for the tournament.
But three days before the tournament began, a judge issued a restraining order saying the penalties were too harsh in comparison to those the state association had given under similar circumstances. An IHSAA appeal is still pending, so the teams were allowed to play in the sectional.
Hammond bowed out quickly with a loss to Bowman Academy in the opening round, but Griffith dominated the sectional and advanced all the way to the state finals. The Panthers played a tightly-contested game Saturday against Guerin Catholic, eventually losing 62-56 in the Class 3A title game.
It’s important to note that the Griffith players kept up with their studies while suspended from school, kept practicing despite the uncertainty of their schedule and sought to mend fences with their Hammond counterparts. Their efforts were detailed in a column last week by Indy Star columnist Gregg Doyel. (Follow this link — http://indy.st/1N5cJJn — to read it.)
The restraining order is a blow to the IHSAA, even if the organization eventually wins its appeal. Other schools might be encouraged to challenge its authority if they find themselves in such situations in the future.
But much more important are our student athletes, and this situation offers many lessons.
One is that it’s always better to let cooler heads prevail. Nothing good ever comes from letting fists fly.
Another is that all actions have consequences. And, rest assured, there were consequences for Griffith. The Panther players were suspended from school for a week and had to forfeit their final seven games of the regular season.
But perhaps the most important lesson is that we don’t have to be defined by our worst moment. When we make mistakes, we can learn, we can grow, we can be better.
The fight to develop student athletes into quality citizens doesn’t end when a punch is thrown, it’s just beginning.
Hammond bowed out quickly with a loss to Bowman Academy in the opening round, but Griffith dominated the sectional and advanced all the way to the state finals. The Panthers played a tightly-contested game Saturday against Guerin Catholic, eventually losing 62-56 in the Class 3A title game.
It’s important to note that the Griffith players kept up with their studies while suspended from school, kept practicing despite the uncertainty of their schedule and sought to mend fences with their Hammond counterparts. Their efforts were detailed in a column last week by Indy Star columnist Gregg Doyel. (Follow this link — http://indy.st/1N5cJJn — to read it.)
The restraining order is a blow to the IHSAA, even if the organization eventually wins its appeal. Other schools might be encouraged to challenge its authority if they find themselves in such situations in the future.
But much more important are our student athletes, and this situation offers many lessons.
One is that it’s always better to let cooler heads prevail. Nothing good ever comes from letting fists fly.
Another is that all actions have consequences. And, rest assured, there were consequences for Griffith. The Panther players were suspended from school for a week and had to forfeit their final seven games of the regular season.
But perhaps the most important lesson is that we don’t have to be defined by our worst moment. When we make mistakes, we can learn, we can grow, we can be better.
The fight to develop student athletes into quality citizens doesn’t end when a punch is thrown, it’s just beginning.
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