I don’t like losing … at anything. OK, maybe I’m a little too competitive. I hate to lose, whether it’s playing checkers, ping pong or any sport. Well, hate is a bit strong, I suppose, but losing irks me. When I was a kid growing up, my dad let me beat him from time-to-time when we played ping pong. Eventually […]

The new year seems like a perfect time to share a story about my friend Lynn Plett, who played basketball at Hillsboro High School and Tabor College in the 1970s. He’s currently head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. In addition to being a coach, husband and father, Plett has actively lived […]

One day, my attention was captured by a story online. The story, by Laura Hale Brockway, was called “A handy guide to common sports metaphors.” Sports metaphors (or phrases or idioms) are used universally in the workplace. For those readers who have never played or followed sports, sports metaphors can be a headache. I’m going to tell you how Hale […]

At the beginning of the NFL season this year, it didn’t take long for players, coaches and fans to cause a minor uproar. What was so egregious? The competition committee made a “point of emphasis” concerning a 23-year-old rule that prohibits defenders from landing on a quarterback with their full body weight or driving him into the ground with excessive […]

So did that really happen? Just about the time you think you’ve seen it all in sports, something new happens. Kaylee Foster likely accomplished something for the first time in high school football history. In case you haven’t heard, she became the Ocean Springs (Mississippi) High School Greyhounds homecoming queen and star of the football team on the same night. […]

Sports is all about competition. But not everyone can play at the same time. And there’s the rub. Everyone wants to play. When the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes as the No. 10 pick overall in the NFL draft two years ago, the writing was on the wall for Alex Smith, then the Chiefs’ top quarterback. Teams don’t draft […]

True confessions: I never played competitive football with helmets and pads. Some of the touch- or flag-football games I played in were pretty competitive, albeit far less physically dangerous. However, this isn’t another column about the dangers of playing football, concussions, etc. Rather, the cause of my headache is the all-too-frequent stories about the behavior of football coaches. Ever since […]

Suppose we could measure pride and humility in athletes today. Which trait would come out ahead? Would it even be close? I’m surprised some athletes (or politicians, for that matter) haven’t written a book titled “The 10 most humble people, and how I met the other nine.” Or, “Humility and how I attained it.” By definition, humility means meek, deferential, […]

As the seasons change, it’s time to address a number of topics quickly. I probably shouldn’t promise something for everyone, because when I officiated, I cringed when a coach told me, “They’re traveling every time.” I’d try to say something witty like, “Really, every time?” To which the coach would usually mutter something like, “Well, maybe not every time.” So […]

In my job as director of news and media relations at Wichita State University, I’ve often told reporters, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” That usually elicits a laugh, a smile or groan. Well, this week I’m going to take it one step further with my column, which falls in the midst of the so-called dog days […]