Since at least three weeks have passed since I last did one of these posts, this evening I want to rapidly cover a few random topics and then call it a night. I got to save up you see, tomorrow night I got a blog post that I am pretty excited about. Without boring you with a long intro, let’s dive right in.

Student-Athletes Making a Difference: I left the office today a little before 5 p.m. and I drove out to the Watson Children’s Shelter, a local facility where disadvantaged youth are given a place to stay. You see, our back-to-back Big Sky Conference champion Griz basketball team not only dominates on the court but in the community as well. Each Tuesday this month they will complete a community service exercise and today they were putting smiles on the faces of children who really need some joy in their lives.

I went out to the shelter and covered the service of our team. Basketball staff members Kurt Paulson and Joe Petschl brought pizza for everyone as the student-athletes and the children sat in the dining room together and shared a meal and lots of laughs. I sat back and admired the scene as our student-athletes naturally made those kids feel so special. After dinner, the players and kids went out to the play area and continued to connect and have fun. I don’t think there is anything that can end a day better than witnessing something like that.

Members of the Griz basketball team who volunteered at the Watson Children’s Center tonight.

Florida State vs. Auburn an Instant Classic? No Way!: I really enjoyed watching last night’s BCS National Championship. The game was played down to the wire in the best college football venue in the nation. It was a good game, no doubt. But it wasn’t a classic. In my blog post from Sunday night I said a classic must be an extraordinary game but the Seminole-Tiger game wasn’t. If the game went to overtime maybe it would have been. Or if Auburn scored on the final lateral-filled play* I might classify it that way. Or if the teams would have produced more of a high scoring shootout I could be talking classic. Or if it was an exciting game for all four quarters I might concede. But last night simply did not deliver on any of these.

But let’s not kid ourselves here. The 2014 BCS National Championship had its work cut out for it even before the game kicked off. Even though it was the last national championship game of the BCS era, the nation did not get up for it. I had never seen a less hyped championship game than this one, but for good reason though. It simply lacked a solid storyline. You had an ACC Florida State team that played a weak schedule competing against an Auburn team that had a loss on its record and that almost got beat by Washington State. Many people fell into the typical social media fueled emotional trap and called the game an instant classic. Nah.

Encourage Rather Than Scorn: My friend and fitness extraordinaire Saskia posted a New Year’s Day photo on Instagram asking regular gym goers to have tolerance, patience, and compassion for the new people walking through the facility doors as they begin their resolutions of working out and living a healthier life. While it is natural to become a bit peeved at the suddenly cramped gym quarters and while it is a bit too easy to look down on people we might not think will last, Saskia reminds us to think back when we were in that position and to have some empathy.

I agree 100%. So many of these people are really putting themselves out there. They are trying to make a positive change in their lives. What sense does it make to mock and shun them? No doubt most of these people are scared, intimidated, and a little lost when they first hit that gym floor. We need to do all we can to welcome them and encourage them. After all, we should all have a desire to see others succeed. If not, we probably live shallow and depressing lives and are by no means better than the new membership rookie we are snickering at because he is struggling to work a machine. Make a positive difference.

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With the holidays over, this first full week can kind of drag on so take to hear that you are 40% through it already! Have a great night and you will hear from me tomorrow. Don’t Blink.