Wayne Gretzky is famously quoted as saying "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Now, I don't know about you, but I find that statement to be fairly open to interpretation. Are some risks worth taking? Absolutely. On the other hand, it would not be the best idea to make a habit of risky and irrational behavior. Personally, I think the true wisdom of Gretzky's words lies somewhere in the middle. While I'm no daredevil, I did once jump out of a perfectly good airplane at 14,000 feet, so I guess I'm not totally risk-averse either. With my 26th birthday less than three months away, I find myself on a new, yet not altogether unfamiliar, path. Today, I'll share some of the lessons I've learned following my own leap of faith. The proverbial fresh start, whether born out of choice or necessity, always seems to come with a few challenges of its own. In my case, I decided to resign from my position in logistics to pursue something better. Of course, the world doesn't operate in absolutes, so how do I go about defining what it is that 'better' means exactly? Good question. With my newfound free time (we'll call it a hiatus) I've been able to do a little soul searching. In collecting my thoughts and reflecting on the last few years of my life, I'm reminded of a quote from Steve Jobs: "... You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." My journey, in a manner of speaking, is connecting the dots and making sense of it all. In this case, the how is even more important than the when or the where. I am becoming more mindful of the following lessons each and every day: 1. Balance is an essential part of success. Not only as it relates to work vs. home, but literally across all aspects of life. Achieving balance requires serious commitment, focus, and a thorough understanding of our strengths and weaknesses. In becoming a more well rounded and conscientious individual, I must first find my balance. 2. Weigh every opportunity. Though it's usually a good idea to be opportunistic, be aware that not all opportunities are created equally. Be deliberate and confident in your decision making, but only after you can be certain that your priorities, expectations, and instincts are all aligned. Recognize the good from the bad and act accordingly. 3. Attitude above all. Put simply, keep your poise. All the hard work in the world will be for naught if it you can't learn to set aside your frustrations. There's a lot more to being successful than just being a hard worker - that's a tired cliché in itself. Instead, focus on long term goals/needs and develop the skills and mindset that will position you as a unique asset in any team. Making a leap of faith isn't for the faint of heart. Most people, myself included, rarely stray outside their comfort zone. As I stepped out of the workplace and into the unknown, I realized that this was something that I had to do. In the spirit of Gretzky's words, I am taking this shot and I am going to make it count. For the first time in a while, I find myself in uncharted territory. I wouldn't have it any other way. "Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely." Have your own words of wisdom or perspective you'd like to share? Please do! I hope you enjoyed this post and I welcome your feedback as always. Until next time! - Ted
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Two steps forward, two steps back? Assessing the current state of Minnesota pro sports (Part 2 of 2)5/4/2016 Welcome back loyal readers! Assuming of course there is more than one of you out there (Hi Mom.) Jokes aside, today I will be bringing you the conclusion to my two part series reviewing the ‘state’ of Minnesota pro sports. Whereas my last column focused on two franchises on the rise in the Timberwolves and Vikings, this time around I will be featuring my thoughts on the Minnesota Wild and Twins. Forecasting the future for these teams is a bit more challenging in that both teams find themselves at a bit of a crossroads. Sit back, relax, and allow me to explain. As always, I welcome your feedback! Same old story? Coming off their fourth straight playoff appearance, the Minnesota Wild has served as somewhat of a bastion of hope in an otherwise dreary sports landscape the past few years. Yet in spite of their recent success, the Wild find themselves back at square one after another swift departure from the postseason. From afar, the Wild has definitely proven to be consistent - just good enough to clinch a lower seed in the playoffs, and never good enough to knock off one of the established Western Conference powerhouses. This past season seemed to follow an all too familiar pattern: high hopes and a fast start, a midseason slump and precipitous drop in the standings, and pretty much everything in between. Head Coach Mike Yeo was axed in February amidst an eight game losing streak and a stretch of 19 games in which the team only secured 10 points (3-12-4). In stepped John Torchetti as interim coach, and he rallied the squad into the postseason with a 17-15-1 record the rest of the way. To be sure, Torchetti deserves his fair share of credit after inheriting a dispirited (and often-times disinterested) bunch and helping the team back to the playoffs. Once there, the Wild showed some grit in taking the top-seeded Dallas Stars to 6 games without the help of their best player, Zach Parise. What comes next is anyone’s guess, but I’ll take a stab at it. There seem to be four logical candidates for the coaching vacancy: Torchetti, Bruce Boudreau, Randy Carlyle, and dark-horse Phil Housley. Boudreau and Carlyle were recently deposed from their coaching positions in Anaheim and Toronto, respectively. Either candidate would bring a winning pedigree and sense of legitimacy to a franchise that has targeted assistants and lesser-established names with its last coaching hires (Todd Richards, Mike Yeo, etc.) No search would be complete without the inclusion of a token Minnesotan, and Phil Housley is a name that has been thrown around in the past. Last but not least is Torchetti, who should be considered based on the team’s solid, albeit unspectacular, play down the stretch. For my money, I’d like the Wild to make a splash hire and name Bruce Boudreau as their next head coach. Boudreau has proven to be a capable coach in leading the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks to varying degrees of success. With a lifetime record of 409-192-80, a .659 win percentage is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Critics will point to the fact that he has yet to win a Stanley Cup, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more accomplished head coach on the market. GM Todd Fletcher has already reached out to the likes of Boudreau and Carlyle, and will continue his internal review of John Torchetti. For what it’s worth, I think the Wild need to think big in their coaching search in order to take the next step. Barring a trade or two, the Wild roster would seem to be mostly intact going into the 2016-17 season. It’s fair to say the Wild is more or less stuck with the players they have. Bloated contracts belonging to Koivu, Vanek, and Pominville will take up a collective $18,850,000 in cap space next season, leaving the team with only (a projected) $2 million with which to operate. Outside of the underperforming veterans listed above, Fletcher and Wild management have to be concerned with the lack of production from the team’s younger crop of talent. Despite the occasional flash from Charlie Coyle, Nino Neiderreiter, and Erik Haula, the group as a whole has seemingly leveled off in their development. Wild fans know that their team is capable of competing at the highest level, but the consistency just hasn’t been there. While the Wild possess a solid bunch of defensemen and a better than average netminder in Devan Dubnyk, the team clearly lacks a scoring punch. I would love to see the Wild sign an established player such as Ryan Kesler or David Backes, but they likely won’t have the capital to make such a move. Though a new coaching staff might be able to coax improved production and eliminate the peaks and valleys of years past, it’s clear the Wild are at a crossroads. The future prospects of this team are as murky as the tap water in Flint, Michigan. With its core essentially locked in place for next year, Wild management are banking on the odds that this group can finally put it all together. I can’t yet buy into the message of hope that Fletcher and co. will inevitably be selling as the 2016-17 season approaches. Too many things need to break right for the Wild to actually contend for the Cup and, in my opinion, a rebuild seems inevitable. Of course, I'd be delighted if the Wild ultimately prove my (mildly) pessimistic outlook to be incorrect. Unfortunately, I just can't see that happening. To quote Charles Barkley, “I may be wrong, but I doubt it.” The struggle is real In compiling an 83-79 record in 2015, the Minnesota Twins not only finished second in the AL Central, but also went on to surprise a great many pundits with their play. A combination of timely hitting, quality pitching, and the emergence of young star Miguel Sanó nearly propelled the Twins to the final wild card spot in the American League. After four consecutive 90 loss seasons, the Twins were finally on their way to becoming a viable threat in the AL once again, right? Well… let's just say appearances can sometimes be deceiving. The experts in Vegas set the over/under on the 2016-17 Twins at 77.5 wins heading into the season. Certainly, a modest regression was expected from a team that caught a good number of breaks a year ago. As I type this article on May 4th, the Twins are dead last in the American League with a record of 8-19. Regression to the norm has reared its ugly head in a major way. Statistics from the first month and change of the regular season are rather telling: Batting: Batting Average: .242 (18th) Average w/ RISP: .229 (20th) RBI: 92 (25th) Runs: 95 (25th) Strikeouts: 243 (4th) OPS: .643 (20th) Pitching: ERA: 4.06 (18th) Strikeouts: 218 (14th) Quality Starts: 10 (22nd) Opponents Batting Average: .261 (22nd) The numbers listed above reveal a lineup that is striking out a ton and struggling to produce runs, especially in key situations. The pitching staff has been average to below average, which is to say nothing of the bullpen and its poor performance to date. While the Twins have shown some signs of life, early results are not encouraging and point towards this club being a decidedly mediocre bunch. In years past, Twins faithful could look at their farm system and picture the better days to come. The problem with playing the prospect game, however, is that you’re essentially going all in on a group of raw, developing players. Though Sanó demonstrated some prolific power in 2015, the remaining top prospects have yet to live up to the considerable hype. Byron Buxton, considered a ‘can’t miss prospect’ is falling well short of the Mike Trout comparable and was sent down to AAA Rochester after amassing a .156 batting average to start the season. Highly regarded in his own right, fellow outfielder Max Kepler was also demoted to the minors for additional seasoning. Top pitching prospect Jose Berrios has delivered mixed results in the early going, while the jury is still out on hard throwing RHP Alex Meyer. Though a majority of the players being discussed are still in their early 20's, you would hope to start seeing more than just sporadic glimpses of the potentially star-caliber talent working its way through the system. Other young arms (Tyler Jay, Kohl Stewart) and promising position players (Nick Gordon, etc.) figure to be 1-2 years away from their MLB debuts. So how much longer can fans remain patient? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. With the current roster resembling a hodgepodge of corner infield depth and other mismatched talent, it seems best to temper expectations altogether. The Twins have already made their bed in rebuilding this team with a bevy of young talent. In order to accelerate a turnaround, GM Terry Ryan would have to either trade away a few prized prospects or spend some considerable change in free agency. Any Twins fan can tell you both of those scenarios are, at best, highly unlikely to occur. All signs point to 2016 being another frustrating year for baseball in downtown Minneapolis. Luckily, a good on the field product is not necessary to enjoy the game day experience at Target Field. Grab a hot dog and a beer while you soak up the lovely weather. Oh and don’t forget the brown paper bag, either. That will just about do it for my column. If you've made it this far, I definitely appreciate your support and value any feedback you may have. Are my takes brilliant or idiotic? Let me know! In the meantime, stay posted for new columns and other updates to come in the near future! - Ted |
AuthorHey, I'm Ted Sorensen and this is my sports & personal blog. Leave some comments and let me know what you think! Archives
June 2016
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