Steph and SmartLess: Endlessly Fascinating

Always eager for a new show or bio-pic, I decided to take on Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich. I thought I should know the back story. This mini-series released on Netflix in 2020, offered testimonies from survivors—revealing the manipulation, abuse and emotional scars suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The stories expose a sex trafficking ring of powerful enablers leading up to his 2019 arrest. I started to watch the first episode: Hunting Grounds and I felt supremely uncomfortable.  The longer I watched the sadder and angrier I felt. I asked myself how much more I could stomach. And then I asked: Should I?  It's important not to be naive; I believe it's good to know how and why evil works, but I couldn't bare to spend three hours and 47 minutes focusing on the anti-hero. And I wasn't able to change my mind.

They say "we are what we eat." Fruits, vegetables, a diet high in fiber and rich in nutrients are good for our comprehensive health and well-being. Our intake of media just isn't that different. While some might find it hard to turn away from Epstein's story—in the sense it's just so bad it's good...even though it's not good. I said "enough." I wasn't going to waste my time. I haven't looked back.

If there were any doubt about this decision however, here's a counterpoint: The podcast Smartless featuring Stephen Curry. Shared with me on Thanksgiving Day by my dear friend Jimmy—a long time Celtics fan, recent Nuggets fan and certifiable Steph fan, I have listened to it three times. Not once, not twice...yes, thrice. It's that good

For those not familiar with its format, "SmartLess," hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, it "is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. A nice surprise: in each episode of SmartLess, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind." Securing Stephen Curry was a big get. The session description said, "It’s all-net this week: sleep secrets, tall guys, and maybe even a BLT on white bread. You need not worry… we’ve got Stephen Curry." Indeed: Nothing But Net.

I found myself eager to talk to anyone I could about the show and about Steph. The two words I used to describe him are: endlessly fascinating—in the best way possible. 

The into says it all: He is equally successful in personal accomplishments as he is in teamwork. He is as rich as he is philanthropic. He is as famous as he is soft-spoken. This man was the first to have been voted MVP unanimously in NBA history. He has nine NBA All-Star selections. He had four NBA championships. He is the first player to hit 100 3-pointers in the NBA finals. He is widely regarded as the best shooter in NBA history and he's not a bad golfer, either. Wardell Stephen Curry

What a life! If it's not plays to a +2 in golf, it's winning the American Century Classic Celebrity Tourney in Tahoe on the same day he had a hole in one. Who does that??!  When asked if there's a sport he is not good at, Steph admits, "maybe lacrosse. I picked up a stick once." His tennis game however is solid. Pickle ball? He's even stronger. He believes he is playing better basketball now, at the age of 35, than he ever has. Listening to his stories, learning more about his family, career and approach to athletics is supremely up lifting. He laughs a lot—at himself and with others. No wonder he led the Dubs' Silly Fines Kitty.

Stephen Curry should be the subject of a podcast. He has a healthy perspective about his upbringing, is honest about the demands of his career and that he gets the best sleep on the road. Thanks to Steph, I found an appreciation for the NBA in-season tournament that started this year. He loves it—I had no idea! While I regret looking up the worst fight he ever got into (shown on YouTube....it's just so much better to leave it to your imagination), I appreciate the swing thought/what he seeks to maintain for the perfect shot...in basketball and in golf: balance!

I could go on and on and on...and I'd be happy to do that in a conversation with you, but I'll let Stephen, Jason, Sean and Will do that instead. Give this a listen. You'll be uplifted. Your cortisol levels will decrease, your serotonin and dopamine levels will rise and if you're like me, you might begin to wonder and imagine how you too, can be endlessly fascinating.. in the best way possible.

Photo Credits
SmartLess
Steph
Golf

Life in Five Senses: Stories of Celebrity Sightings and C-Mac!

The blog post Life in Five Senses: Two Stories of Voice Recognition, asks you—the reader—to determine if you have ever voice recognized someone? I recommended bringing it to your Thanksgiving table (or next social gathering). Any good stories out there? Perhaps an easier question to ask a group is Who is a celebrity—an actor or athlete, musician or model, politician or person of import they have seen in public? In other words, name a someone famous you have recognized in person. My sense is that a few good stories will follow.

In the same way that Americans have rules for what constitutes visiting all 50 states, I have mine for a bona fide celebrity sighting. For one, it must be unexpected—nearly spontaneous. If you weren't paying attention you might miss this auspicious encounter. Furthermore, it ought to occur as part of every day life. For example, seeing Aaron Rodgers with Danica Patrick at Tahoe Edgewood during the American Century Classic Golf tourney does not count. Nor does playing Blackjack next to Travis Kelce at Harrah's that same weekend. Who plays in the tourney is public information. Who pays in the casinos...well that is too. But let's use the Kanas City Chiefs tight end as an example.

As much as I love these gatherings, this tourney doesn't count for celeb sightings.

Listening to this story on KNBR this morning got me thinking about vision and sightings. It also reminded me of the joy of those encounters. As written on NBC Sports Bay Area,

Christian McCaffrey and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have only faced each other twice during their NFL careers, but that didn't stop the 49ers' All-Pro running back from spotting the star running back in passing while the two were in New York City.

McCaffrey shared a hilarious story about this chance encounter with Kelce during an interview on the "B Scar TV Podcast," hosted by his former Stanford teammate Brennan Scarlett.

"Fun Travis Kelce Story," McCaffrey told Scarlett. "I've met him twice. One was in passing over the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Just like a, 'Hey, what's up, man?' The other, I was in New York. I was picking out Olivia's [Culpo] ring. I was in New York by myself. I'd taken the train from Rhode Island to New York. So, I get off at Grand Central Station. I'm sitting on the corner right there. By myself, I'm looking for a cab because I'm going to the spot- I blend in well, I'm not like a get-the-black car- I'm taking the train. I'll get in a cab and get to my destination just fine. 

"It took me a while. I'm in New York. It's busy. I'm standing on the side of the road, and all of a sudden, I hear, 'C-Mac! C-Mac!' I was like, 'What the hell is that?' That's when Travis was shooting SNL, so he's riding in the car, he's in the back of a black car, and he rolls the window down, and he's like, 'C-Mac! C-Mac!' And I was like, 'Yeah!' And that was it. That was the only other time I've ever met him. Ever since then, I'm like, 'That's the coolest guy ever.' I knew him as much as someone I'd only met once. So much energy out of the window, I was like, 'I f--cking love that guy.' Great energy. Authentic, that's who he is."

And what I love most about this story is how unexpected the event was was to both Christian and me/ the listener. Hearing C-Mac relay this memory, I CAN picture how he would blend into a crowd....The people involved, the place it happens are not entirely unlikely but they are unsuspecting. That's what makes sightings a surprise.

I associate most surprises with something positive, but that might not always be true. In the airport in Belfast, my mom and I saw Ian Paisley. A loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, in the 1960s Paisley led and instigated loyalist opposition to the Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. That being said, I suppose he is my only celebrity sighting of that tenor. Do you have one too?

I have fiends who have a penchant for seeing people—famous people, semi-famous people and the rest of us—out and about. Their vision fascinates me. Over the years, I have learned and leaned into the power of peripheral vision. I tried to pay better attention and eliminate distraction. I've also learned to trust that vision. My gut instinct is usually on point. For example, this summer I walked by the professional golfer Tommy Fleetwood at Wimbledon. That sighting was confirmed and made sense, given that the British Open began but four days later. Therefore, here are but a few of the other sightings that count.

• Walking down my street in San Francisco, I have seen Joe Montana and his wife Jennifer, longtime Giants outfielder Pat Burrell and former Niners head coach, Steve Mariucci. 
• I have exited the PGA Superstore in Palo Alto only to ask Steve Young if he was getting ready for Tahoe. 
• Right after telling my friend's brother that my golf club doesn't really have celebrity members, I invited him to turn his head to 4:00. Barry Bonds was walking behind us. Just the home run king. NBD. 
• I've wished Steph Curry good luck before his round and gotten the shimmy shimmy from him after yelling nice shot (he was walking toward the green above where I was standing on the fairway). 
• My friend Cort and I have attended two US Opens together. At LA Country Club, he introduced me to former Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen and at Torrey, I got to meet Niner GM John Lynch. Clearly he has one eye on golf and another on those around us. #Grateful 
• There are plenty more—Festus Azeli, Patrick Beverly, Seal (the musician) but my all time favorite sighting was recognizing Michael Keaton in a tiny pizza place in Mt. Lebanon, PA. As a student at Notre Dame, I did not come home for Thanksgiving. Instead I traveled to the Fronduti home outside of Pittsburgh, PA. I went to use the bathroom in the back of the restaurant and I realized I just walked by Batman. I asked the waiter if that were true. He said "Bruce Wayne, indeed."

Sight and and vision are essential components, core to the curriculum of Sports and Spirituality. The athlete must hone in and never lose sight of the ball. In the spiritual life, we are called to pay attention, to see and take notice of the ways God is at work in our lives. I profess the words of the Nicene Creed with conviction. I believe in things visible and invisible. We can learn to see both. 

How did Travis Kelce happen to see Christian McCaffrey? Why does it even matter? The fact that this story has been told and shared suggests why. We are known. We not invisible, even if we think we might be. We are meant to see and be seen. I would argue, it's a spiritual exercise. Give it a go.

Photo Credits
Batman
Kelce and C-Mac
Tommy Fleetwood

Seek and You Will Find: 5 Things Making Me Happy

In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus proclaims “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." If only it were that easy—says the cynic in me. But far be it from me to argue with Christ the Teacher. 

In my last post I wrote about 5 Things that made me happy from the 2023 Masters. I could have written 25. I have wondered if I should author my own 5 ways that sports and spirituality make me happy. However, I wasn't sure I could list or name five on a regular basis. Well, there's something to those words: seek and find. The master teacher had it right. Here are five from my spring break. 

1. More, more, more!
Travis Kelce the two time Super Bowl champion tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs  hosted Saturday Night Live (in early March) and killed it. Ever since he first played in the American Century Classic golf tourney in Tahoe—and I offered my friend money to play Black Jack next to him—I've been a fan. With his older brother Jason, center for the Philadelphia Eagles in the audience, #87 was a great host. 

The part that made me laugh is when he admitted he was nervous to give a monologue until he remembered, "I'm pretty good with words." He added "during games I give these super eloquent pump up speeches for my teammates." As he says, "please watch: here."

2. Don't Count Me Out
Maggie Eastland is the editor-in-chief of The Observer, the student run daily paper at the University of Notre Dame. In the latest issue of the alumni magazine she writes a piece on her Baraka Bouts debut (the female equivalent of Bengal Bouts) which offered new and unsuspecting insights into the virtues of boxing.

Women’s boxing strikes a balance between competition and collaboration, personal growth and charity.

She went so far as to connect it to her major. Curran finds the similarities between the ring and her finance major striking. She’s not a violent person, “yet people see the fire that I have for academics,” she says. “Finance is inherently risky. . . .  I like to think I am a person who is very much willing to take risks.”

She writes "For me, junior captain Nicole Lies captured the bouts’ spirit. “It’s about so much more than just boxing. It brings such empowerment, not only to people in it, but also through the mission of education,” she told me. “People have said it’s the most Notre Dame thing you can do, and I think that’s so true.”

I have to say, I agree. I'm so happy it's open to men and women—a range of weight classes, encouraged and accepted. I wonder if she tells herself what Kelce tells his teammates....

3. Wall of Clocks
During spring break, I took my mom to Carmel-by-the-Sea for the day. We had dinner and drinks at the Inn at Spanish Bay by the fireside pits (HIGHLY recommend this space). In the lobby, I noticed a wall of clocks telling the time of various golf destinations around the world: St. Andrew's, Augusta National, and of course Pebble Beach, California.

Tine is so valuable. Time is precious. A clock keeps time and tells time—the same minute, but a different hour in a different part of the world. Based on the world clock, I could see that no one would be on the Old Course for but a few hours...

I regret not taking a photo of this wall. Next time! Pun intended. 

4. How Great Thou Art
I have already made the argument for an American cannon of literature. In order to gain a stronger sense of what it means to be an American, I believe elementary, middle and high school students should have a "shared reading experience." This cannon includes but a few great works of American literature; it can change over time. We can agree and disagree on what is and should be in this cannon. But let's share something....anything! I feel this way about poetry and music, t00. How I wish we al knew but a few folk songs and dare I say it—spirituals.

One of the songs I would include in that cannon is "How Great Thou Art." This song does not resonate with me personally. I would be lying if I told you it moves me spiritually. But on Easter Sunday Mass, I must admit it was very powerful to hear the entire congregation gathered in song. 

This realization prompted me to play this spiritual in class. I said to my sophomores, "if we're going to do this, it might as well be sung by one of America's greats: Elvis Presley."

5. PBJ con cariño
My friend Jimmy and I now have an unfolding story about the significance of a sandwich—a PBJ no less. Low and behold, he packed one for me and offered to do the same for the others in our foursome. It was made with cariño—loving care. How do I know this? For one, sandwiches made with this secret sauce always taste better. Second, it was wrapped in this awesome packaging. The little things really do make life better....or in the case of the PBJ, savory and sweet.

What are 5 that made you happy this week? Seek and ye will find....

Photo Credits
How Great Thou Art
Wall of Clocks
Inn at Spanish
Travis and Pat
Boxer

What I've Learned from Pro-Athletes and My Pastor....

Although you can place a bet on who will win the tourney, most patrons—including yours truly—anticipate the American Century Golf Classic for the remarkable setting, the 17th hole antics, the list of celebrities and the chance to interact with them. Indeed, the four-day event is a sports fan's paradise. One can get up close and personal with former MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA and tennis greats. We fans don our team colors, jeer at the enemy—no matter how long ago the rivalry took place—and marvel at the height, fitness, athleticism of the players...or what's left of it. But, what keeps me talking about this mid-summer classic, weeks, months and years later, isn't who won and by how many strokes (ok some women in my group do...Mark Mulder is now a three-time champion). Nor is it the planned and unplanned shenanigans, although I have to admit a few are highly entertaining. No, it's the human touch. It's what happens when the people we admire and appreciate connect with one another and with us. And, I've noticed, once you have you make a point to find "a little of that human touch," you'll see it everywhere.

How's that? It shouldn't be a surprise that sports fans arrive at this tourney with memorabilia, hungry to get it signed by some high-profile athletes (in recent years, that includes Steph Curry, Andre Igoudala, Aaron Rodgers, etc). However, fans are prohibited from bringing in

• Sports Memorabilia or Collectibles (jerseys must be worn or they will be confiscated)
• Baseballs, Basketballs, Footballs or Hockey Pucks

Consequently, most fans seek out an opportunity to take a photo or selfie, an autograph on what they are wearing and/or shake their hand. Typically, the fan initiates the encounter; I am impressed by how gracious and engaging the celebrities are with the men, women, teens, and kids who come their way. This outreach, however, is not always a one-way street. My crew has a few stories but Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young comes to mind.

So I'm just a little big of a fan of this group...Tim Brown ND '87 and 49er legends Steve Young and Jerry Rice

When I see the lefty, my mind feasts on memories of Young to Rice for a touchdown...for a win...for the Super Bowl championship. Young loves playing in the tourney with Jerry Rice and another NFL friend or former foe. This is an easy group for fans to follow, especially Bay Area brethren, as they are spirited and enjoy one another's company.

It's not an understatement to say that being a great QB requires astute vision. I saw that in action beyond the football field at the tourney when Steve Young caught sight of a 10-year old boy on crutches among the throng of fans. He looked at this young man with this gaze that indicated he had been there before...he understood what it meant to break a bone...to be injured...to be less mobile and in pain. Young initiated the contact and extended that human touch. He put his arm on the boy's shoulder. I don't know what they talked about...I don't need to. The heart understands. And as Steve Young walked away, this boy's smile said even more. I think some internal healing took place.

I was reminded of this small act of kindness just Sunday at mass when I sat behind a man whose foot is in a sophisticated cast and boot. He too walked into Church on crutches and sought out a pew that allowed for easy access and space for his leg. I realized taking communion might be difficult for him. It wasn't. When the time came for the congregation to line up. the pastor left the front of the line to bring the Eucharist to an elderly couple sitting toward the back. They are rather immobile—no matter. Father Ken brought Christ to them....and then he offered Jesus' body to the man sitting in front of me...and to another elderly person. In fact, he does this at every Mass, I just needed to connect the dots. This simple act isn't difficult to do. It requires vision and perhaps some empathy, but what happens in the process of extending a little of that human touch is some sort of healing.

What that each of us were to go out of our way for the elderly or injured? What if we were to reach out to those who are broken and in need of healing first? What if we made time for the immobile and those in pain by simply extending a little human touch. And it's not the sole responsibility of the pastor of a parish or a pro-athlete (although it is—as we look to their example). No, this is a call for all Christians. Such actions are what the Gospel proclaims and reveals: it is in the giving that we receive....in serving we are served. Let us all in these divisive times, make some gesture of outreach to one another. 

Photo Credits
Great 3 man group