COACHES HOT SEAT BLOG

Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Wednesday, June 19, 2013 – Nelson Mandela

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”

And

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

And

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

And

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

And

“It always seems impossible until its done.”

And

“Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.”

And

“Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will.”

And

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

And

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

And

“We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”

And

“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”

And

“I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.”

And

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”  Long Walk to Freedom

And

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Wikipedia:  Nelson Mandela

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, June 18, 2013 – Joe Louis

“Every man’s got to figure to get beat sometime.”

And

“Once that bell rings you’re on your own. It’s just you and the other guy.”

And

“I made the most of my ability and I did my best with my title.”

And

“I hope they’re still making women like my momma. She always told me to do the right thing. She always told me to have pride in myself; she said a good name is better than money.”

And

“He can run, but he can’t hide.”

And

“There is no such thing as a natural boxer. A natural dancer has to practice hard. A natural painter has to paint all the time. Even a natural fool has to work at it.”

And

“Your job helps your family, and your family is forever.”

And

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

And

“Yeah, I’m scared. I’m scared I might kill Schmeling.”

And

“I just give lip service to being the greatest. He was the greatest.” – Muhammad Ali

And

“(I define fear as) standing across the ring from Joe Louis and knowing he wants to go home early.” – Max Baer

And

“As soon as the bell rang, they folded like tulips.” – Ray Arcel, on Louis’ opponents

And

“He’s a credit to his race—the human race.” – Jimmy Cannon

And

“Louis is to good to be true and he is absolutely true.” – Ernest Hemingway

Wikipedia:  Joe Louis

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All the credit in the world goes to Justin Rose for winning the 2013 US Open and Rose is clearly one of the finest gentlemen in the world of sport today….BUT….what is so terribly disappointing is that the US Open this year was yet another replay of what happened at the Ryder Cup last fall with….

The Americans Flailing Around and Failing at the End

….with the Europeans and Foreign Golfers (think Adam Scott at The Masters who is also a first-rate individual in addition to be being a Helluva golfer) were…

Holding the Trophy AGAIN!

Give this startling FACT some thought….

Since the United States WON the Ryder Cup in 1993 at The Belfry in England the Europeans have WON….

7 of the last 9 Ryder Cups!

YES, you read that right!

Europe has WON 7 of the last 9 Ryder Cup Competitions

AND

On Sunday at the 2013 US Open the troubling trend of American Golfers failing at the end….

CONTINUED….AGAIN.

Consider another little FACTOID….

Only 2 of the last 5 Masters have been WON by Americans (Bubba Watson in ’12 and Phil Mickelson in ‘10)

Only 2 of the last 5 US Opens have been WON by Americans (Webb Simpson in ’12 and Lucas Glover in ’09)

Only 1 of the last 5 British Opens have been WON by Americans (Stewart Cink in ’09)

Only 1 of the last 5 PGA Championships have been WON by Americans (Keegan Bradley in ’11)

Add all of the above up and….

Only 6 of the last 20 Major Championships have been WON by Americans!

What the Freaking Hell?

Hell, it seems that if Tiger Woods is not winning Major Championships since Tiger has not won a Major since the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines the Americans basically do what the Americans have been doing for almost 20 years now in the Ryder Cup.

The Americans show up at the Major Championships

3 to 5 Americans play pretty well in the event

BUT

In the end the vast majority of the time the Americans end up….

Flailing around and Failing at the END of the Major Championships.

PERIOD.

God knows we think the world of Phil Mickelson here at Coaches Hot Seat….BUT Phil…

Where the Hell did about 10 of those decisions and shots come from on Sunday?

A few Coaches Hot Seat members have asked various people in the game of golf about what is wrong with American golf at the highest levels when it comes to closing out Major Championships and winning Ryder Cups and almost to a person those people have said to us something like…

“If you want the TRUTH then you must already know that the problem is that whether the Americans win a Major Championship or not or the Americans win the Ryder Cup or not when you get right down to it the TRUTH is that it…..DOESN’T MATTER.”

What the Hell does “it….DOESN’T MATTER” mean exactly?

The Great Lee Trevino said it best when he was quoted as saying….

“A hungry dog hunts best.”

….and the TRUTH is the multi-millionaire set of Americans that are at the top of the PGA Tour right now are just flat-out…

NOT HUNGRY.

PERIOD.

The final two Major Championships in 2013 are the…..

British Open – The Open Championship at Muirfield

AND

PGA Championship at the Oak Hill Country Club

….and maybe the comfortable multi-millionaire set of Americans that are at the top of the PGA Tour can actually show-up and more importantly….

WIN the Final Two Majors of 2013!

Is that possible or is the TRUTH that it….DOESN’T MATTER whether the multi-millionaire American PGA Tour professionals win or not?

Sadly, the TRUTH is probably that the American PGA Tour professionals don’t care or not if they win because the $$$$$$$$ will roll in whether they win or not and although the PGA Tour had made a Helluva lot of marginal professional golfers very Damn rich it has also made the top American PGA Tour players Very Damn Soft who flinch, flop, flail and choke when the Tough Gets Going as happened again at Merion on Sunday!

Congratulations again to Justin Rose for playing a fabulous final round of the 2013 US Open and winning this fabulous trophy!

Now it’s on to Omaha for a few lucky Coaches Hot Seat members who are headed to the College World Series where they will get to see Americans playing Americans which means unlike at the Major Championships in golf they want have to worry about the Americans Flailing and Failing going down the stretch!

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Monday, June 17, 2013 – Jack Dempsey

“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.”

And

“A champion owes everybody something. He can never pay back for all the help he got, for making him an idol.”

And

“A good fighter usually knows, to within a very few seconds, when a three-minute round is going to end.”

And

“All the time he’s boxing, he’s thinking. All the time he was thinking, I was hitting him.”

And

“By forgetting the past and by throwing myself into other interests, I forget to worry.”

And

“I was a pretty good fighter. But it was the writers who made me great.”

And

“Nobody owes anybody a living, but everybody is entitled to a chance.”

And

“Tall men come down to my height when I hit ‘em in the body.”

And

“Tell him he can have my title, but I want it back in the morning.”

And

“You know what a champion is? A champion is someone who’s ready when the gong rings – not just before, not just after – but when it rings.”

And

“Nobody has to go hungry today. There is plenty of work for a man who wants to work. A kid can make plenty of dough for himself doing almost anything. I was hungry. I had to fight my way along. Freights and the like, fight, fight all the time. The life was tough, but it hardened you.”

And

“When I was a young fellow I was knocked down plenty. I wanted to stay down, but I couldn’t. I had to collect the two dollars for winning or go hungry. I had to get up. I was one of those hungry fighters. You could have hit me on the chin with a sledgehammer for five dollars. When you haven’t eaten for two days you’ll understand.”

Wikipedia:  Jack Dempsey

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As usual at dinner in the last decade plus on the Saturday night before the US Open Final Round on Sunday the conversation here at Coaches Hot Seat always gets around to Payne Stewart and how much Payne and his presence is missed especially at a place like the Merion Golf Club.

Payne Stewart would only be 56 years old if he was still alive today and with Payne’s glorious golf swing we have no doubt he would still be playing in and competing with the big boys on the PGA Tour and would more than likely have been in the field at the US Open this week at Merion.

14 years ago in the 1999 US Open at Pinehurst Payne Stewart dueled Phil Mickelson down the stretch to WIN the US Open with a clutch put on the 72 nd hole by one shot over Mickelson (NBC Sports with Johnny Miller, Roger Maltbie and Dick Enberg on the call) (The Great Dick Enberg is doing the TV play-by-play for the Padres – Diamonbacks game that we are watching after Midnight here on the East coast.  Always great to here Dick Enberg!)….

….with Phil then jetting off after the final round to the West for the birth of his first child.

A little more than 4 months later on October 25, 1999 Payne Stewart died in a plane crash and the game of golf lost a great golfer, a very funny man and a Helluva person to boot.

Payne Stewart is terribly missed and if there is a Heaven no doubt Payne will be looking down on Sunday to see if Phil Mickelson can get his hands and name onto the US Open Championship Trophy as well.

Give ‘em Hell Phil!

Oh, by the way….the US Open returns to Pinehurst in 2014 and that would be a Helluva place for Phil to defend his title and where this statue of Payne Stewart now stands….

No pressure Phil…..just play YOUR game.

 

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