Stereotyping people is never a good thing but there is one exception…..
Sleepers
Let’s face it—it seems we have morning people or night people—not many hybrids.
Some of you reading this love to wake up at the crack of dawn and hit the ground running while I’m guessing the rest of you prefer to stay up late and love even more to sleep in.
I used to be able to sleep effortlessly until 10 am (or sometimes much later) but since my first daughter was born, I don’t care where I am on this planet–I wake up at 7 am Eastern Standard Time–yeah even on pacific time.
So which is better? Depends on who you ask….
A National Geographic article claims night owls are smarter and have more staying power. This was backed by Satoshi Kanazawa, a researcher from the London School of Economics. Kanazawa said night people tend to have higher IQs than their counterparts.
There was a Harvard University research study which showed that night owls tend to be wealthier than morning larks. However, there is no difference in health or wisdom. This is echoed by a 1998 study published in the PubMed Central, testing the validity of Benjamin Franklin’s adage of “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man health, wealthy, and wise.”
So the next time you want to sleep in—don’t feel guilty about it! Frankly I wish I was a morning person like my oldest daughter Morgan who needs as much sleep as Jon Gruden—the only difference she doesn’t wake up at 3:15 in the morning.
Sleeping patterns—one of many wake up calls as we roll out of bed for another stroll around the Naborhood which also includes “Neighbors”…..
NFL DRAFT REVIEW: Speaking of sleep—its time to put another NFL Draft to bed. Ah….the middle of May always leaves me in mourning. No more mock drafts, Mel Kiper is seemingly on vacation and I could care less about the NBA or NHL playoffs. Its a Draft hangover for sure —so to pass the time, how about we look back at an NFL Draft which surely didn’t disappoint—it was the highest rated one ever. Its ridiculous to project long term grades before these kids hit the field but how about some first impressions….
WINNERS:
CRYING: Hey I’m an emotional guy and to its credit this was an emotional draft. Sure we’ve seen crying before but there was quite a trail of tears this time around in Radio City Music Hall and I loved it. Who says first overall pick Jadeveon Clowney doesn’t have any passion? The big man kicked things off by showing us all what it meant for him to go number one–the kind of emotion we haven’t seen from him throughout this entire draft process.
This is what makes watching the NFL Draft so great—-these young men all have different routes in getting to the 1st round. The common thread—none of them were easy—- so letting the tears flow was nice to see and yes I love the big hugs from the Commish too.
WIDE RECEIVERS: This was the deepest draft in history and no position was deeper than those wide receivers. 12 “caught on” in the first two rounds which is an NFL record. The head of this receiving class should make immediate impacts. Sammy Watkins has star written all over him. I like Mike Evans a lot as he will only get better and speedsters like Odell Beckham Jr and Brandin Cooks give the Giants and Saints some nice downfield threats.
PUNTERS: What?? Yeah how bout this–Miami punter Pat O’Donnell was the first to represent going in the 6th round but even more impressive—his combine bench numbers were BETTER than Clowney’s—take that you kicker haters?
LOSERS:
UNDERCLASSMAN: One and done may work well in the NBA but three and I’m out is becoming more of a losing proposition for college football players. A record 98 underclassman came out for this draft but 36 of them went undrafted—that is a failure rate of almost 40 percent. Sure four of the first six picks were underclassman but this bunch was top heavy as many landed as free agents—will be interesting to see what kind of impact this will be down the road.
SEC QB’s: They all played in the SEC and they all have a last name with the letter M and yes they all felt disappointment on draft day. We begin with that Manziel fellah who may need a much bigger Browns jersey with the growing chip on his shoulder as he slid to late in the first round.
I was hoping the Bucs would draft Johnny Football but he fell to Cleveland at 22—ironically the same spot 1st round busts Brady Quinn and Brandon Weeden were picked up. I don’t understand with the impending suspension of WR Josh Gordon why the Brownies didn’t draft Manziel any help—could be a tough spot as if he wins the starting job—Johnny Cleveland will be the 21st Browns starting QB since…1999
As for the other M & M Boys— McCarron, Murray and Mettenburger—all saw their stock fall faster than Donald Sterling’s. AJ McCarron goes in the fifth round to the Bengals where he may sit for years behind starter Andy Dalton. Aaron Murray goes to Kansas City who amazingly haven’t picked up a victory from the last NINE quarterbacks they drafted since 1988! Then you have Zach Mettenburger who wasn’t scooped up until the 6th round. He could have the best chance to play as incumbent Jake Locker has struggled.
INCOMPLETES:
BLAKE BORTLES: What is the deal with the letter B and Jacksonville QB’s?? Beuerlein, Brunell, Byron, Blaine and now….Blake Bortles. If you had the former Golden Knight wonderboy going third to the Jaguars—you probably also won Warren Buffett’s billion dollar bracket challenge??
Many of my Jacksonville friends in the media not only didn’t think they would go quarterback–none thought they would go on the offensive side of the ball. Bortles has many of the intangibles off the field but for a guy who was a lower rated recruit than the Gators Jeff Driskel out of high school, he’s had some kind of meteoric rise. I have no idea on his pro prospects but if I was Jacksonville, it seems like they could have traded down here and gotten more picks and taken less of a risk.
MICHAEL SAM: It was great to see the first openly gay college draft pick actually drafted–wasn’t sure for awhile. I like this kid and love the way he handles himself. I have no problem with his orientation but have a big problem with the networks showing him kissing his boyfriend 150 times a day. its 2014 and whether most want to admit it or not— there have been gay athletes for years–why are so many surprised and infatuated by this? I bet there are more than a handful of current players on NFL rosters who are gay—would be interesting to get their thoughts on this one day.
During this whole real dose of reality TV,I was thinking that my kids one day will wonder what the big deal is when they grow up because by then this story will be commonplace.
Sam landed in a great spot in St Louis with Jeff Fisher who is great with his players, the media and will handle all of this hype fine. I do wish Michael would drop his Oprah documentary—gotta make the team before you make history.
ESPN’s BIG THINKER: One of my favorite authors is Malcolm Gladwell where his books really give you something different to think about. For me ESPN’s version is Colin Cowherd— where after reading his book, “You Herd Me,” I was impressed. It was different than any other sports book because….it wasn’t all about sports.
I don’t agree with everything Colin says but appreciate how much he prepares for his daily radio show where he always gives you more than scores and stats while bringing in everyday life examples to get many of his points across. His book is the same way where he, like Gladwell, breaks things down in a different fashion.
Cowherd touches on a wide variety of topics from why the SEC is here to stay to why we may need to reevaluate on how we give seat assignments on airplanes to why QB’s from small schools are more successful than ones from big programs in recent years. Interesting stuff all around.
Its a great book even if you’re not a sports fan. Many of Cowherd’s critics may think he’s a “know it all” but in this book, he does something most media types fail to—he devotes a whole chapter to all the things he’s been WRONG about—pretty refreshing stuff.
DADDY DEAREST : So Jameis Winston is now back on the baseball diamond and just when we couldn’t come up with anymore crab leg jokes, his Dad delivers a Seminole sequel. Antonor Winston‘s reaction to his son shoplifting ciation: ” He’s supposed to have somebody around him 24/7. He’s a Heisman Trophy winner, so (he’s) definitely not supposed to be by (himself).
Really?
It seems the Jameis enabling bandwagon extends beyond FSU fans—-where his Dad should have said– “my son was wrong and should have been disciplined ” Maybe a little “we will make sure this won’t happen again.”
Hey f the parent is making excuses—-its clear to me why the Heisman Trophy winner is acting like an idiot off the field—-it all starts on the homefront–something that drives coaches everywhere crazy. They’re coaches, not babysitters. Winston doesn’t need a babysitter—he needs a father to tell him to grow up.
NOBODY ASKED ME BUT: They say your kids grow up fast and “they” are absolutely right. I got another big reminder this week as sadly I think I’ve read to my daughters’ class for the last time.
Its always been one of my favorite things to do with my girls. We started a tradition with my oldest daughter when she was in kindergarden. We collected several goofy hats and would wear a different one for each book. The tradition continued with my youngest Ally who bought in as well.
The kids have always liked them and I think it made them pay attention more. I hear this reading to the class stuff stops after third grade—but maybe I’ll convince them to let me do it again next year?? Its been a great ride—i’ll treasure the memories—it went by too fast…..
EXTRA POINT: Tis the Naborhood so I thought it was my civic duty to check out the latest movie “Neighbors.” Can I please save you some money?? I may have laughed a handful of times in an hour and a half—just didn’t think it was funny. This would be good as a rental but don’t waste your time seeing it in a theatre. For those critics, who said this was a modern day “Animal House” —not even close
UNTIL NEXT BLOG,
Mike Nabors
@mikenabors
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