“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden Coaches and teachers concern themselves with values education, a subject as integral to the construction of elite teams as defensive fundamentals or offensive skill. No good team has progressed to the excellent level and maintained that greatness over time without a core of solid values. Frankly, the current generation of student-athletes shares a different perspective from their predecessors and this is neither good nor bad. It means that what used …
Precious
It reflects poorly on current cinema that Precious has been accorded the critical acclaim that suits an Academy Award contender. The film is sentimental, an essay into human nature, but it is as flawed as the characters who are portrayed. Everyone appreciates stories with happy endings, especially those featuring the Cinderella archetype, but Precious misses the mark. The audience was mostly moved when it is in shock because the protagonist, Claire “Precious” Jones , was victim to vicious violence or exceedingly cruel treatment. The crowd did not react during the terse dialogue between Precious, her mother Mary, and a social …
Judgment at Nuremberg
Based on the post-WWII trials of Nazi officials, Judgment at Nuremberg features Spencer Tracy as the lead judge of the tribunal, one of the last roles of his career. The film is certainly a grand spectacle: the formal tribunal is brought to life by a group of skilled actors and accompanied by an epic soundtrack. The film is not exciting because of action sequences but tense because of a number of emotional monologues and confrontations between characters. Tracy’s performance is a highlight as he portrays Dan Haywood, a retired judge charged with deciding culpability among a group of justices who …
Three Lessons from Joe Lapchick
Lapchick chronicles the life of Hall of Famer Joe Lapchick, who links the barnstorming Original Celtics to the explosion of college basketball in New York City and Madison Square Garden to the New York Knicks and the origins of the Association to the introduction of television to the sport. Despite the fact that Lapchick last coached St. John’s when the teams were known as the Redmen – as opposed to the Red Storm – the book remains relevant to today’s player and coach. Placing Value in People: Many commented that Joe Lapchick was not the most technically astute coach but …
Do the Right Thing
So Reggie Evans put his foot under Chris Bosh as he released a jumpshot, rolling his ankle. In response, Rasho Nesterovic punched Evans the next time that he attempted a lay-up. “Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.”– Arthur Conan Doyle Do the Right Thing depicts Mookie – a pizza delivery boy – as he tries to balance his employer, family, partner and son, and community. He eventually tosses a garbage can through the pizzeria window. After being told how he would always be welcome at the …