Baseball Memorabilia & Collectibles

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in the world, especially in the United States of America. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, baseball is the national pastime of Americans.
Given the popularity of baseballs, it is inevitable that baseball players would become celebrities. Other fans even view baseball players as their heroes. It is not surprising that baseball-related merchandise such as jerseys, baseball caps, baseballs, baseball cards, baseball gloves, and other baseball memorabilia would be popular among fans. The ones that are often sold out are the ones that bear the signature of top baseball players.
Among the most popular baseball memorabilia are autographed baseballs. The more expensive ones are those that were signed by players that qualified as members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, The 300 Win Club , The 3000 Hit Club, and The 500 Home Run Club. Some of these autographed baseballs are even considered rare, and therefore more expensive.
Definitely, the owner of the signature and the number of signatures affect the price of an autographed baseball. If the baseball was signed by a champion baseball team, then it is probably worth thousands of dollars.
Sometimes, the value of certain autographed baseballs increase over the years. It is possible that initially, the baseball was signed by an unknown baseball player. After a few seasons, the baseball player is recognized. Therefore, anything that bears his signature is going to be worth double or even triple of its original price. It is not a bad idea to hold on to autographed baseballs that are worth only a few bucks. You will never know how much it will be worth in a few years.
Other factors that may affect the price of an autographed baseball are volume or abundance, condition, and authenticity. If there is only a limited number of a particular autographed baseball, then it is more expensive than the other baseballs. Basically, if there were fewer supplies to meet the demand, the baseball would have a higher price.
The quality of the autographed baseball affects its price. If the signature were no longer legible or readable, the value would obviously go down. Blurred signatures might be mistaken for fakes. If it looks like it was not stored properly, then the autographed baseball might only be worth a couple of dollars.
Authenticity is definitely an important factor. It is best to purchase an autographed baseball that comes with a certificate of authenticity. Autographed baseballs that come with certificates are often more expensive for obvious reasons. It is advisable to buy autographed baseball merchandise only from reputable retailers and individuals.
Collectors of baseball merchandise believe that packaging also affects the credibility of the retailer or seller. This makes sense. Autographed baseballs that are stored in protective or display cases or in ball holders show how valuable the products are. Be careful, though. Some unscrupulous individuals might try to pass off fake merchandise by placing then in casings or holders.
Before you purchase an autographed baseball, make sure that you have scrutinized the product very well. Purchase from reputable retailers and individuals. Look out for certificates of authenticity.

Article Baseball Memorabilia & Collectibles [http://www.skyfireproducts.com/servlet/the-MLB-Baseball/Categories] is written by Cassaundra Flores, owner of skyfireproducts.com

Get In Shape For The 6 Nations

How do you get in shape for the Six Nations? If you are a couch potato, it requires nothing more strenuous than ordering the beers and snacks and getting your mates round - however, for professional rugby players, there's a little more work required!

Rugby is one of the fastest moving, hardest hitting sports in the world, and the training demands are huge. One of its attractions as a sport is that with its variety of positions there's room for almost everyone - from heavyweight forwards through to speedy wingers. From a training point of view that creates great demands on trainers and coaches.

Training for elite rugby players starts with pre-season workouts. This is the only part of the program where all players are likely to work together - the first two weeks of pre-season training are very general, but after that training will be broken down into different program for each positions, and indeed for each individual.

As with all pro sports, training is periodised (planned) across the whole year. This will usually be in a series of 4 to 6-week blocks, taking account of when matches are played, with built in rest periods. The focus of each period may be different, for example increasing muscle mass or reducing body fat.

To keep track of the effectiveness of the workouts, coaches will conduct regular tests - this allows them to address different areas that will affect a player's performance, such as strength, power, speed, and endurance.

Tests will include sprints (10 meters, 40 meters), longer runs, strength tests (squats, bench), and also tests that record the speed of moving a certain weight.

So what does a typical day look like for an international rugby player? The day would start early for those players who need to reduce body fat levels, with a pre-breakfast fat-burning session of cardiovascular training.

The main training session typically starts with some stability and rehab type work, often incorporating Pilates type movements. After a warm up it's into the gym, where players will work not only on pure strength, but also on plyometrics (explosive movements - jumps etc), and power.

Strength work is followed by some light aerobic work to cool down, and any hot/cold treatment that might be needed for those with minor injuries.

For most of us that would sound like more than enough, but for a pro, there's lots more to come! After lunch (low fat and very healthy!) players are encouraged to relax, play games, even take a nap before the afternoon sessions.

After lunch players will work on speed or endurance, depending on the time of year - they will be split into groups according to position, usually forwards, backs and half-backs, and will work with dedicated sprint or endurance coaches.

Finally they will work on game skills, from ball handling to scrummaging, rucks and mauls to line-outs. The day will end with another cool down and some flexibility work, then dinner.

There are typically two rest days per week - usually Wednesdays and Sundays - then the whole cycle starts again! So sit back, open the beer, and let the games begin!

Hydration Masterclass

Hydration is essential to every athletes, regardless of whether you're stuck in an office 9-5 before training or performing during the heat of summer. In fact, when it comes to boosting you exercise intensity, getting to grips with hydration during different training environments is the first place to look when it comes to better endurance and power. Take a look at marathon runners and nutritional expert Lynn Clay's hydration master class below, which will help anyone optimise their personal hydration....

Get your daily fluid

Naturally, it's vital to think about your daily training and activities to help plan your fluid intake in advance. Scientific studies have proven that many athletes actually start exercising when dehydrated, which is a great way to rapidly decrease stamina, focus and energy levels! Therefore, tip number one is to always drink 2-3 litres of fluid per day, whatever your daily schedule. Don't go through the motions – actually keep a note (mental or written) about your fluid intake.

Water is the obvious place to turn for fluid and is a good option, but remember that juice and caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee also contribute to your fluid levels. A word of caution though – after 3 cups of tea/coffee, caffeinated drinks may have a diuretic effect. Green/herbal teas are generally a better option for hydration purposes.

Top tip — a 1 litre water bottle is a great way to control your hydration and ensure adequate fluid intake. Many people opt for a glass, but they infrequently get lazy and fail to drink enough without the visual reminder and convenience of a water bottle.

Hydration on the move

So, you've mastered you basic fluid needs – now it's time to go a step further and think about optimising you training hydration. Whatever your training conditions (hot/cold, dry/humid) hydration is very important for your performance. Of course, hot conditions make hydration even more critical since hot conditions stress the body more and induce profuse sweating as a cooling mechanism.

Unfortunately, excessive sweating causes dehydration, leading to an a loss of fluid plus essential minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. What more, here's the 'biggie' for those of you who are really fit – the fitter you are, the more efficiently your body sweat, meaning you need a higher fluid intake to prevent the rapid on-set of dehydration. Since a 2% fluid loss during exercise has been proven to cause a rapid decline in exercise performance – you can see just how essential it is to tackle your hydration status.

Personalising your hydration

In general, most athletes tend to aim to drink 0.5-1.5l of fluid per hours of exercise. However, this estimate can only ever be a general recommendation. So, if you desire peak performance, it's important to tailor your hydration to your own needs and determine whether you're a 'light' or 'heavy' sweater.

One method for establishing your sweat profile is to weigh yourself before and after a training run. Naturally, you aim should be to sip enough fluid to weight the same at the end of a training run as when you start. However, remember that fluid needs will change in different conditions, so always adapt your hydration strategy. Weighing is recommended by the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Loughborough University who have highlighted that most athletes weigh significantly less after training and events, indicating a large loss of fluid.

Suggested hydration strategy:

- Before-training: take your weight
- Training: cycle, run or swim for 60 minutes hydrating on 500ml (17oz) liquid
- After-training: record your weight

For each kg of body mass lost, in excess of 1l of fluid should added to your hydration plan.

In cold environments, 1 litre is fine, but if the weather is warm this should be increased to 1.2l/kg body mass and 1.5l/kg if the heat in in excess of 80 degrees.

Cold conditions - 1l fluid
Warm conditions - 1.2l fluid
Hot conditions - 1.5l fluid

For example; a 70kg runner during 1 hour's exercise in 80°F heat, drinking a 500ml sports drink during the run, may lose 0.5kg of mass. The recommendation for fluid intake is 750ml (25oz) of fluid (1.5L x 0.5) for optimal recovery.

On the runner's next run, they could maximise recovery speed and diminish the effects of dehydration by drinking 1000ml (250ml every 15 minutes), an increase of 500ml. This approach would mean the runner only needs another 250ml of fluid post-training.

It is worth remembering that different sports require different hydration strategies and fluid intake – so tailor your intake to your specific sports by experimenting.

Although weighing yourself may seem a little bit of a chore, once you have found your sweat rate you only need to check your weight once a month to adjust for changes in your fitness level.

All in all, hydration has a real impact on your stamina, energy, recovery speed and health. The good news is it doesn't have to be a chore to stay hydrated and optimise your fluid intake

London Marathon Tips

Do you want some great London Marathon tops and preparartion advice to help you run the London marathon (or any marathon for that matter?)

A marathon is one of the easiest hard things you'll ever do. If that sounds contradictory, let me explain and then go on to provide some marathon tips that you may, or may not be aware of.

Almost anyone can do a marathon - you could probably walk twenty six miles tomorrow if you needed to. What makes it hard is that we want to do it at a certain speed, so we run. So what can you do in your marathon training that will make the hard thing (running twenty six miles) more like the easy thing (walking twenty six miles)?

Ultimately, marathon training is about teaching your muscles how to withstand the rigors of running for four or five hours. Your training needs to build towards that. Top tips for marathon training include:

Run just enough miles: 

Forget the Paula Radcliffe's of this world who run 125 miles per week. You need to run the minimum miles possible to achieve your objective. For most recreational runners that means a weekly mileage of no more than 30 - 40 miles per week.

Build your mileage slowly:

The golden rule of building mileage is to increase your miles by no more than 10% per week. This is a rule really worth sticking with if you want to stay injury free.

Don't try to make up for missed workouts: If you miss a day because of a busy schedule or illness, don't try to make up for it the next day or the next week. Simply continue on with the schedule - the occasional missed workout won't cause a problem, but cramming in extra workouts will.

Long runs:

These are the heart of your training, the workouts you really need to be sure to do. Gradually increase your long workouts until you can run at least three hours in training. Do a couple of these, the last of which should be at least three weeks before the race.

Recovery:

The body makes progress not when you do hard workouts, but when you rest afterwards. Be sure to schedule rest days and stick to them.

Race pace: 

It's very important to figure out your race pace and practice it. Ultimately the race is about sustaining that pace for a long time, so you need to do quite a bit of training at that pace for your body to adapt. If you train slow, you'll race slow.

Cross train:

Cross training (swimming, biking, etc) allows the body to recover from hard runs without the impact of running.

Taper:

Finally, you need to taper. Tapering means that two weeks out from the race you cut your mileage by 50%, then the last week you cut another 50% (to 25% of maximum mileage). That way when you stand on the line, you'll be rested and raring to go!

The bottom line is that marathon success comes form training smart - utilize these tips and chances are you'll make it to the start line ready to race.

World Cup Workout

If you’ve been watching the world cup, you’re probably aware of Ronaldo, the Portuguese superstar with the incredible six-pack. So what do you need to do to get a six-pack like Ronaldo’s? Our world cup workout shows you what you need to do to slim down and get your abs looking more like a washboard than a beer barrel.

Of course, someone like Ronaldo has a lot of advantages – he is a full time professional athlete who can spend hours a day working out. In addition, he will have access to a team of dieticians and even chefs who can ensure that he eats the right things. But does that mean you can’t have a great looking body if you have a full time job working in an office or spend hours each day sitting at the wheel of a car? No. It simply means you have to be smart.

The first step is your workouts. When it comes to effectiveness, there are workouts and there are workouts – what we mean is that not all workouts are created equal, and if you want great results, you’re going to have to do the right type of workouts.

So what type of workouts do you need to get a great six-pack? The key is the effect your workouts have on your metabolism, and that comes down to intensity. So if your idea of a workout is ten minutes dawdling on the treadmill, a few sets of bench press and then a long sauna, it’s time to crank it up.

The good news is, our world cup workout won’t take up a lot of time – you’ll work hard, but you’ll be done in less than an hour. That’s because the most effective type of exercise for fat burning and muscle building is high intensity weight training.

High intensity weight training involves working hard and fast and taking minimal rest periods. You should focus on exercises that use lots of muscles at once – good exercises to do include:

• Deadlifts
• Barbell squats
• Lunges
• Dumbbell step-ups
• Dips
• Pull-ups
• Renegade rows (with dumbbells or kettlebells)
• Dumbbell rows
• One arm snatches
• Two-arm kettlebell swings

As you might notice, most of these exercises involve body weight, dumbbells, or kettlebells – and not a machine to be seen. These are the most effective ways to workout, and have the added advantage that you can do most of them at home with a minimum of equipment.

The second part of getting a great six-pack is diet. Quite simply, you have to strip down to reveal your abs. You need to eat wholesome, natural, unprocessed foods, and stay away from junk foods and other sugary foods, including alcohol – it’s packed with calories.

If you work hard and eat right you might not get Ronaldo’s six pack, but you’ll certainly look and feel better.

Running Shoes Takeaway The Pain

The thought of putting on our running shoes, getting outside and exercising sound less and less appealing as the cold nights draw in. The wintery weather makes  it easy to just stay in and curl up on the sofa, but getting into bad habits now is the worse thing you can do. By starting regular exercise now you can avoid the mad rush to lose weight before next summer.

We’ve all heard of runner’s high, haven’t we? That magical feeling when endorphins (your body’s natural painkillers) are coursing through your veins and you feel on top of the world. But if your running shoes are not up to scratch, that runner’s high could quickly turn into a painful low. With any sport, it’s vital you kit yourself out with the right running shoes to avoid injury and boost performance at the same time. Here’s why ...

No two pairs of feet are the same and we all have different running styles. For example, people with a flatter foot are likely to overpronate while others run more on their toes and might underpronate. If all this talk of pronating is gobbledygook to you, the chances are you are in need of some expert advice!

Enter sportsshoes.com. For over 25 years these leading UK experts have been selling sports shoes and sharing their expert advice with their customers. By analysing different factors such as the width of your foot, your weight, the surface you typically train on and the biomechanics of your running (the pronating bit!) they can advise you on which running shoe is right for you. A lot more goes into finding the right sports shoe than you think!

A great place to start is sportsshoes.com, where you can not only find advice on choosing the right running shoe, but also a wealth of informative articles on football boots, tennis shoes and any other sports related footwear. Did you know for example that the way you lace your sports shoes can have a massive impact on performance? Or that permanently leaving the laces of your football boots done up will decrease heel support over time?

Alternatively, you can pick up the phone for a chat with an expert or visit their store in Bradford, home to a technical running and fitness centre. The store features free Asics Dartfish running gait analysis, which will analyse your natural running style in super slow motion. Football fans can have a go on the boot testing net which features a speed gun as well.

So is all this ‘loving your feet’ going to cost you an arm and a leg? Not at sportsshoes.com, whose price beat promise and regular online sale mean you can get top notch brands like Nike, Adidas, Asics and Saucony at the cheapest, discount prices.

So whether you buy online, over the phone or in store, make sure you get the right advice before you buy any of the many indoor and outdoor shoes on offer. Once you’re kitted out with the right sports shoes, you’re ready for your runner’s high! (Or any other sports-related rush for that matter).

Bill O'Brien: Is the man crazy?

Can you think of a more secure job in this economy than being the man that calls the plays for Tom Brady? Of course not! So when you hear the man that has this job is leaving it, you must be thinking that he somehow found greener pastures. As far as the NFL goes, the only jobs that might fit that description would be calling the plays for Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, but even that is debatable. So upon hearing that Patriots offensive coordinator, Bill O'Brien was leaving his "cush" job to go be the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, I was left scratching my head, wondering.............WHY?

I can't think of a bigger punishment than going to be the Penn State head coach right now, for obvious reasons. The first being, it's never easy to follow a legend. If you play the word association game and say "Penn State", the first thing someone will think of is Joepa. Joepa was and in many ways still is Penn State. There will be many fans that never accept O'Brien for the simple fact he isn't Joepa, no matter how successful he might be there, people will say "Joepa would have done it better."

The second reason, maybe being the even more obvious, Penn State is a disaster right now. Penn State was rocked to its core when the reports came out about their former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky and the criminal acts he was committing against underage youth. It led to the firing of their legendary head coach and many others. People blaming and pointing fingers at everyone else, and no one accepting responsibility. 

So why would a man want to take on this responsibility? Why would he want to leave the Patriots? Did he really not like Brady?(remember their little scuffle December 11th during the Redskins game) Does he just like challenges?

I would like the answers to all of this questions, as I know most of the sports world would as well, but this is what I do take from the situation: O'Brien sees an opportunity. To take on a responsibility like the Penn State job right now, takes a man that is a visionary. You have to be able to look into the future, have a plan and realize it's going to take time to develop the good you can envision amidst all the apparent darkness. O'Brien sees something. What it is, I'm not sure, but he sees an opportunity to bring back hope to Penn State, something that university desperately needs right now.

I admire men like O'Brien who are willing to take a chance to try to fulfill the vision that they see. Reality is that the odds are against O'Brien. He is going to have a tough time recruiting and getting the boosters behind him. People are distraught, angry, felt betrayed and don't think O'Brien is the man to lead them back to the promise land. Several former Nittany Lion legends have openly expressed their disapproval on the O'Brien hire, including Todd Blackledge, who said:

"I understand Bill O’Brien probably understands football very well. But I think understanding Penn State and what Penn State is all about and what Penn State needs to go forward from here is equally important as what he knows about football so that leaves me with a little bit of a question mark. I’ve never met him, I don’t know anything about him, I don’t know about his personality. I certainly hope it’s a good decision but I have questions at this point.”

Many fans echo this. Several fans have said on national television that they expect Penn State to be in "dumps" under O'Brien. So to sum it up: O'Brien is leaving job security, entering a landmine that will be under extreme scrutiny for years, has little to no support of fellow colleagues and fans and will be trying to convince parents to let their sons come play at a school where one of the biggest sexual scandals in sports history occurred. What about that doesn't inspire you to pull for Bill O'Brien?

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity: Michael Tompkins

Almost every young boy that plays little league baseball dreams at some point of playing in the major leagues. The vast majority of us realize at around 13 or 14 that isn't going to happen and then the dream for many becomes coaching, even if it's just little league, let alone at a major level. Well, that dream was just answered for Michael Tompkins, and a lot sooner than he could have ever imagined. Tompkins was a standout high school player who went on to play junior college ball, before finishing up his last two years at Centenary in Louisiana. While at Centenary he played under head coach, Ed McCann who later went on to become the head coach at Alabama A&M. Once Tompkins graduated in 2010, McCann offered him a top assistant job (one of the youngest in the country) and Tompkins jumped at the opportunity to be a 23 year old assistant coach. He thought it was a great position to be in for the next 7 years or so to get some experience for maybe getting a head coaching job of his own one day. Well.......that 7 years just turned into 1.

On January 5th, McCann announced he was stepping down for health reasons and was turning the team over to the 24 year old Tompkins, making him the youngest current head coach in college baseball. Tompkins couldn't believe it.

"It was a shock," Tompkins said. "It went from me helping out and suggesting to running it. But it helped a lot being here already. It helped me get my feet wet. I ran the offense last year from third base. I made all the calls in that regard.

"The only thing I didn't do was the pitching and game-day management. But I think from just watching and sitting there with Coach McCann, and I have been under some really good coaches in high school and junior college and have been able to learn from some of the best. That's been a big part of making me feel comfortable in the role that I'm in now. I expected this to eventually happen, but no way was I thinking it would happen at 24."

Talk about unbelievable. A young man who was just in college himself a year and a half ago is now a D1 college baseball head coach. He will be coaching against some men that are older than his grandfather. In fact, he will be coaching against some men that have been coaching longer than Tompkins has been alive, but Tompkins isn't intimidated, he welcomes the challenge and his players are behind him.

"We all think this is a good thing," said Walt Ashwander, junior second baseman. "He's not too far removed from playing himself. He knows the game. He's a player's coach.

Being a huge college baseball fan, I look forward to following Tompkins's success this year. More than likely we won't see his Alabama A&M team finishing up their season in Omaha at the College World Series, but considering the young man probably has another good 40 to 50 years of coaching ahead of him, it's probably fair to predict that he will one day be coaching at a school that's playing in Omaha competing for a national championship.

It's All About The U

You may have clicked on this link hoping you were about to watch a clip of Miami Hurricanes highlights with Uncle Luke’s rap song “The U” blasting......not so much. “The U” I want to talk about has no ties to Nevin Shapiro (thank goodness). It has no palm trees or beaches, in fact it’s miles away from any large bodies of water. This U, is located in the rural Midwestern part of the United States (yes people live there), in a town known as: Ulysses, Kansas. Until moving to Ulysses, KS in 1999, the semester before I entered high school I hadn’t ever heard of it either, so don’t feel bad, but once you experience Ulysses, it’s impossible to forget.

Like most small towns, Ulysses has an immense amount of pride for its high school sports. In a way, the Ulysses high school shapes the image and community you will find in Ulysses, Kansas. For example, east of Ulysses you will find a giant orange cement "U" as you pull into town. Last spring, that U was painted pink by owners of the land on which the U sits(I don't know all the details as to why, but that's besides the point). You would have thought the town had been invaded by aliens, and I wasn't even there to experience the uproar firsthand. Countless facebook posts, letters to the Editor of the Newspaper, and Town meetings were held to discuss this painted U. The town was turned upside down. Why? Honestly, what does it matter, it's just cement, right?

Wrong! While Ulysses's identity is much more than just some orange cement U, that U represents more than the simple mind can imagine. It represents a town that had several thousands of it's only 6,000 population drive almost 5 hours to support their beloved Tigers in the football state championship in 2006. It represents a town that packs into a gym every Friday night in the winter, no matter what kind of record the basketball team has to cheer on their boys and girls. It represents memories, heartaches, lessons learned, friendships, but most importantly it represents a home, a community that people are proud of. It represents, that it really is, "All about the U."

Limits were Made to be Broken

As a child, I had several of the famous "No Fear" t-shirts. My favorite was probably the one that said "Limits were made to be Broken." Being only 9 years old when I got it, I loved the fact that around the words on the t-shirt was the image of glass being shattered. I didn't completely understand the quote, but for a 9 year old, the idea of breaking things was a dream come true.

Many of us dream of breaking barriers that have been set before us. Whether they are barriers set at work, school, in sports or wherever, the idea of breaking them is something we strive for. They are something that drive us, motivate us, and give us something to live up to.

Throughout my years of being a sports fan (my entire 27 years on this year), I have had the opportunity to see several sports records broken. I can still remember putting off my 7th grade math homework to watch Mark McGwire break Roger Maris's home run record. Then a few years later watching Barry Bonds break McGwire's record. Over the last few years we have seen several other sports records shattered by the likes of Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Drew Brees and several others.

And tonight we witnessed another "limit" broken as Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions, broke Jerry Rice's record of most receiving yards in a season, a record that had stood since 1995. While it might not seem like that big of deal, records are a part of what keep the game interesting. The record came on a night when the Lions actually lost just adding to what has been a dismal season for them, but people still watched (like my dad and myself), to be able to say they saw the record broken.

Sports can teach us and inspire us in ways we maybe never thought about. Chances are you aren't getting up early tomorrow morning to start training to break Calvin's receiving record, but maybe you can use his accomplishment as encouragement to break a limit that currently stands in your way.

What it takes to achieve your goals: Aaron Craft

We have just entered into a new year. With a new year comes new possibilities and new goals. More than likely, most of you have already made some New Year’s resolutions. Popular New Year’s resolutions usually include getting rid of a habit or changing a behavior. This might be trying to lose 20 pounds, giving up soda pop, quitting smoking, trying to exercise more and so on. But reaching some goals might include more than just giving up things that aren’t good for us, they might even require giving up things we really love.

Majority of you know the name, Aaron Craft. Craft is the point guard for the Ohio State Buckeyes college basketball team. In high school he was a very talented football and basketball player at Liberty Benton High School in Ohio. In fact, he started as a freshman as the QB on the Varsity football team & the point guard on the Varsity basketball team. During his first 3 years of high school he acquired several state awards and led both his basketball and football team to the state championship. The summer before his senior year, he committed to Ohio State to play basketball & made the tough decision to not play football his last year so he could focus on basketball. Many questioned why a 3 year starting quarterback who was one of the best in the state would give up his last year. Craft gave the following answer: “Ohio State has put their trust in me and are taking a chance on me. I have a strong desire to improve future and become the best point guard I can, I owe that to myself and to Ohio State. This requires sacrifices, dedication, effort, determination and yes, even some heartbreak, but to reach my ultimate goals this is something I have decided I have to do.” (I might add to, that Craft was the valedictorian of his senior class.)

Craft made a tough decision as a teenager, a decision that I think we can learn a lot from. Think about some of your goals you would like to achieve. Maybe you would like to become a better parent, a better employee, a better student, more reliable. To do this going to require time, effort, energy, dedication and sacrifices. It might mean helping your child with a school project when you would rather be out watching a sporting event with your buddies. Watching the sporting event isn’t a bad thing (trust me I love watching any type of sport I can) but sometimes the sacrifice is necessary to reach the goal that we have. I have learned that a lot over the last 2 and a half years being in law school. The biggest step towards reaching your goals is managing your time.

So as you look at your list of New Year’s resolutions, I encourage you to take them a step farther. Ask yourself, “what is it going to take to reach these goals?”, “What am I going to have to sacrifice to give my best effort to make my dream a reality?” Any goal you set for yourself is obtainable, but it will require action. It might even mean giving up something that you are considered to be the best in the state at, but is necessary to improve your future and make the best you that you can be.