Not Dead Yet: The Memoir by Phil Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Phil Collins new memoir, “Not Dead Yet”, does not disappoint. The one thing that really surprised me in this book was Collins apologizing for how visible he was during the 80s. Looking back on the decade he realizes that he spread himself too thin and that is why many people now don’t really appreciate him. As he discussed all that he was involved in I could only wonder what the coverage of him would have been like now during the social media age?

Being a great songwriter it should not be a surprise that Collins does a great job of getting his story down on paper. The book reads easily and stays in a good chronological order. A few times Collins will mention a topic and then say that it will be discussed a little more later in the book.

As great as it is to read about everything that happened in his career, it is disappointing to read about Collins’ personal life. I can understand why on the business side Collins keeps doing more and more because an artist never knows when the offers are going to stop coming. Especially in the music industry where an artist or group is hot today and forgotten tomorrow. It is the mentality of “striking while the iron is hot” or regret it later. It is obvious that Collins is a workaholic and would put work opportunities above his family time and again.

About the last third of the book, when he starts describing his alcohol problems while writing for the Broadway musical “Tarzan”, that it becomes amazing that Collins is still alive to write this memoir. It is good to read that even though Collins is dealing with some physical ailments that it appears his life is back on track. He is again getting back into music and it is interesting to see what the future holds for him.




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Ten Weeks of Disappointment

Well the Cleveland Browns showed up for the first half of Thursday Night Football and head coach Hue Jackson thought he would spark the offense in the second half by removing QB Cody Kessler for Josh McCown. The Browns fell to 0-10 giving many Cleveland fans a much needed high after a difficult week. Another week of researching who should be the Browns #1 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

I've was a fan of the hiring of Jackson and supported his decisions figuring he knows how to get this team back to the glory days of Dixon, Matthews, Kosar, Slaughter, Mack, and Brennan that I remember as a kid from the mid-80s. Thursday night's decision, only a couple days after saying in a press conference that he did not want to play musical chairs with the QB position, makes me wonder if this job of turning the Brownies around is too much for him, or anyone really, to do.

Putting Life in Perspective

For the last few months my hometown of Cleveland has been #AllinCle cheering on the Cavaliers through the NBA Eastern Conference Finals and right into the NBA Finals against the heavily favored Golden State Warriors. Having lost one All-Star, Kevin Love, in the first round against the Boston Celtics the Cavs were already playing with a, “next man up,” mentality.

Despite the loss of Love the Cavs carried on into the second round against the Chicago Bulls. Many of the sports pundits around the country had the Bulls winning in six games saying that the loss of Love was too much for the LeBron James and Kyrie Irving lead Cavs to overcome, but the Cavs, into true Cleveland fashion, played hard and advanced to the Eastern Conference against the best team in East all season, the Atlanta Hawks.

The Hawks were going to be the end of the season for the Cavs said the same sports pundits that wrote the Cavs off a round earlier. LeBron once again would not let the Cavs fail. Matthew Dellavedova, or Delly if you’re nasty, stepped up for Irving who was dealing with tendinitis in left knee and missed some games. Delly was called dangerous, dirty player, a pest and those were the nice descriptions. In Cleveland he was an instant hit. During the season Delly was bench player that saw playing time sparingly during the season. Many fans couldn’t understand what Cavaliers head coach David Blatt saw in the second year player from Australia. Even people I thought of as knowledgeable sports fans on my Facebook questioned why the team didn’t package him in a trade before the deadline. I would often reply that it was obvious that Blatt, the coaching staff, front office and, more importantly, LeBron saw something in Delly during practices that they like and will help the team.

Thanks to the outstanding play of LeBron, Delly and the rest of the Cavaliers the Hawks were swept in four games. If people in Cleveland weren’t on the bandwagon at the start of the Eastern Conference Finals they surely were climbing aboard during the eight day break before the start of the NBA Finals in Oakland. Cleveland had an excitement that many hadn’t felt since the mid-90’s run of the Indians. This might have been more exciting because one time hometown hero, than villain, once again hero LeBron had announced his return from South Beach just a year earlier in a letter that Sports Illustrated printed. LeBron stated the goal of coming back was to bring a NBA Championship back to the fans of Ohio. The people that burned his jersey as he announced his decision four years earlier to head to South Beach were now partying like they had won a championship just by him announcing his return.

The NBA Finals started in Oakland, California against the best team all season Golden State Warriors and the regular season NBA MVP Stephen Curry. The Cavs were once again heavy underdog and rightfully so. The first game was close and the Cavs lost in overtime. The bigger loss came the next day when it was revealed that point guard Kyrie Irving would miss the rest of the season after breaking his patella and requiring surgery. Once again the Cavs were relying on the “next man up” mentality. The next man up was Delly. For game two and three Delly was the Curry closer. Curry couldn’t perform at MVP levels with Delly guarding him. Delly was being praised by Clevelanders for his play and the rest of the country was looking at each play to see what dirty tactics he was doing to slow down Curry. Behind Curry and LeBron the Cavaliers took game two, the second overtime game in as many games, on the road and game three at Quicken Loans Arena in front of the hometown fans. The Cavaliers, and their stingy defense, now was holding a 2-1 lead over the Warriors with game four at home.

The fans and media were going nuts with the possibilities of a championship in Cleveland. Cleveland, a city that has not celebrated a major sports championship in over 51 years, was bursting with excitement of what could happen with the badly undermanned team. One local morning television host kept inquiring about plans for a parade.

After game three the media had access to Blatt, LeBron and were awaiting star of the game Delly for the post-game press conference when they were informed that Delly was being treated for dehydration and would be unavailable for the press. Soon the Cavaliers PR department released a statement saying that Delly was being transported to the Cleveland Clinic for treatment and observation overnight.  Delly recovers to play game four but fans are told that he will be forgoing his traditional pregame and halftime black coffees. Needless to say Delly does not again perform like he did against Atlanta or the first three games against the Warriors. The Cavs lost game four and with that, series tied at two games, each team had won one game on at home and one game on road.

Being a lifelong Cleveland sports fan I was having conflicting feelings about the rest of the series. My head said that losing game four would mean the loss of the series. I couldn’t see the Cavs going to Oracle Arena and winning a game in front of the Warrior faithful. I figured if the Cavs had any hope it was to win game four, go to Oakland for game five and then return to Cleveland for game six.

My heart said that LeBron would continue to lead this team with his amazing play. He did not disappoint. If Delly didn’t regain his dominance of earlier once again another player would step up to take his place. This time it didn’t really happen. Big man Timofey Mozgov, a midseason trade acquisition, had a good game four but the Warriors adjusted. Tristan Thompson was a rebounding machine for the Cavaliers. The depth of the Warriors just overwhelmed the Cavaliers.

The Warriors won game five on their home court and I honestly felt there was absolutely no way Cleveland would be returning to Oakland. Many in Cleveland were much, much more positive about the Cavs chances in game six at the Q, but I was not one of them. Again I am a born and raised Cleveland sports fan. I’ve seen the script a few times already in my almost thirty-eight years.

The Cavaliers started strong in game six and I thought, I hoped, I was wrong about not going back to Oakland for game seven. At halftime the Cavaliers trailed by one point. There was a chance of this going to a seventh and deciding game, but the second half of the game the Cavaliers finally looked like an exhausted team. LeBron the whole game looked a little slower and who could blame him? He had been playing harder in the NBA Finals than any player before him. He was putting up unthinkable stats each night and for the whole series overall. There was serious discussion of him being named the MVP of the NBA Finals even if the Cavaliers loss something that has not happened in the NBA Finals since Jerry West, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, was named MVP of the 1969 NBA Finals. When the voting was finished LeBron had loss to the Warriors guard Andre “Iggy” Iguodala seven votes to five.

Starting back on July 11, 2014, with LeBron announcing his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers this ride to the 2015 NBA Finals was not much different than many of the roller coasters that can be found at Cedar Point in Sandusky.

As excited as I was about the Cleveland Cavaliers, their playoff run and being #ALLinCLE over last couple months the senseless act in Charleston, S.C., last night really puts it all in perspective.

People attending their weekly bible study at the Emanuel AME church, the one place where people should feel safe, shot by a guy with evil in his heart and mind. Nine people killed and one woman spared so she could go forth and spread the story of what she witnessed. The suspect was caught fourteen hours later in North Carolina.

The authorities are still piecing all the information together less than twenty-four hours later. At least the suspect was apprehended alive so maybe some answers will be obtained during interrogation but I doubt it. It is a shame that no matter what the outcome there are families, a church and community will never be the same again. Thankfully as the day has progressed stories about how amazing the victims were in life overshadowed the suspect’s own story. May the victims be celebrated and remembered for what they achieved. Hopefully these nine people will not be forgotten and will inspire future generations.

Rest in Peace:

Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41,

Depayne Middleton Doctor, 49

Ethel Lance, 70,

Susie Jackson, 87,

Cynthia Hurd, 54,

Tywanza Sanders, 26,

Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45,

Myra Thompson, 59,

Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., 74, 

Book Review: Amish Confidential by "Lebanon" Levi Stoltzfus and Ellis Henican

Amish Confidential by "Lebanon" Levi Stoltzfus

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Amish Confidential was not what I thought it was going to be when I purchased it. I figured this would be the star of Amish Mafia sharing some of the background details about the show with readers and about ten percent of the book was exactly what I hoped to read.

The writing by "Lebanon" Levi Stolzfus and co-author Ellis Henican is nice and flows to make this book a very easy read. Most of the book deals with crimes that have happened in the Amish community throughout the United States. Stolzfus shares stories about two little girls that were kidnapped while working the family produce stand at the end of the driveway and, thankfully, their safe return home. The trial of Sam Mullet and his followers for beard and hair cutting in Ohio that was part of Merlin on going story line during the show. Living close to an Amish community in Ohio I knew of, and followed, the Sam Mullet trial. It was interesting to read some background on the cult beyond what Amish Mafia and local news shared. Other stories were concerning, the West Nickel Mines School shooting, Ponzi schemes, BUI or buggy driving under the influence, the drug problem in the Amish community. Most of the stories that were shared here could have been looked up on-line and read from newspaper accounts. As I said other than the Mullet followers background there didn't seem to be much shared that wasn't already known.

Throughout the book Stoltzfus shares stories from his personal life. The untimely death of his father and his mother marrying a widow and combining their families into an Amish Brady Bunch. Stoltzfus shares how he is comfortable keeping one foot in Amish while the other is in English. Mostly though he covers childhood through late teens, early twenties. There is not too much, if any, information that would deal with his time on Amish Mafia or his life behind the cameras.

The areas of the book that I thought were really interesting were Stoltzfus discussing his experience on Rumspringa. How this experience is different for each Amish teenager, how the older Amish view this time and how hard it was for him to make his decision of what to do when it was time to end Rumspringa.

Also the chapter on Amish weddings and the traditions that surround the wedding was very interesting. From the extreme consumption of celery at the wedding meals because it is thought to bring good luck. To the pairing off of the bride's single friends with the groom's friends. Even the way the newlyweds are expected after the wedding to visit at all the relatives houses before settling into their own home.

A section that was interesting but brief was about Pinecraft, FL, a community near Sarasota where Amish go to vacation, snow bird or retire. This area was briefly touched on by the television show too when Stoltzfus took a couple different love interests to the beach for a vacation.

As I started out I thought that this book would be the behind the scenes of Discovery television show Amish Mafia. There was very little mentioned about the show other than passing remarks. At the end of the book Stoltzfus touches on the campaign he started, and was successful, in the Amish community to have the former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett voted from office. Mostly what was touched on in the book was already discussed and shown on the show.

Over all if you're interested in crime committed by the Amish or by English on the Amish, learning some interesting facts about Amish traditions and learning what it was like to be an Amish boy and teenager this book could be of interest. If you're just looking for a book that will give the behind the scene stories from Amish Mafia than save your money. This is not that book.




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Time for Major League Baseball to swing for the fences with a radical realignment overhaul

It is Spring Training when every Major League Baseball team and its fans have hopes that this is the season that the team will be playing late into October. Many fans realize that their team doesn’t have a hope of this happening but Spring Training allows for wishful thinking because Opening Day will be here soon enough and that is when reality hits.

It is no surprise that during this time of fresh hope for fans that the Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark announces that sooner than later the National League will be adopting the designated hitter rule. The reasoning is that since MLB has made the American and National Leagues 15 team each, interleague plays stretches through the whole season than just a couple of weeks during June and July that teams should all play under the same rules. Many feel that teams are at a disadvantage during September, if the team is involved in a pennant race, and have to play under a different rule.

I understand that the MLBPA would like to see the DH brought to both league because it means more jobs for aging players to hang around for a few extra years. It is a shame that by doing away with the pitcher batting it takes away most of the strategy remaining in the game. No longer will a manager have to make double switches during the late innings of crucial games. Heck it will be questionable if the manager’s job is really needed any more.

I’m sure it is coincident that this story started making the rounds on the start of the new calendar year in the NFL and teams could start signing free agents. The MLB is trying to grab headlines and get some notice on America’s sports talk stations. I have a way for MLB to really get people talking and maybe even get people excited for its product again. Realign the whole league. Do away with the NL and AL and have just MLB East and West.  Currently the American and National League looks like this:

American

East	Central	West
Baltimore	Chicago White Sox	Houston
Boston	Cleveland	LA Angels of Anaheim
New York Yankees	Detroit	Oakland
Tampa Bay	Kansas City	Seattle
Toronto	Minnesota	Texas

National

East	Central	West
Atlanta	Chicago Cubs	Arizona
Miami	Cincinnati	Colorado
New York Mets	Milwaukee	LA Dodgers
Philadelphia	Pittsburgh	San Diego
Washington	St. Louis	San Francisco

In my proposed realignment MLB I see it looking more like the following:

MLB East

I	II	III
Baltimore	Cleveland	Atlanta
Boston	Cincinnati	Houston
New York Mets	Detroit	Miami
New York Yankees	Pittsburgh	Tampa Bay
Toronto	Philadelphia	Washington

MLB West

I	II	III
Chicago Cubs	Arizona	LA Angels of Anaheim
Chicago White Sox	Colorado	LA Dodgers
Kansas City	Minnesota	Oakland
Milwaukee	Seattle	San Diego
St. Louis	Texas	San Francisco

This is how I envision a new MLB. I think an extreme overhaul such as this could be what MLB needs to get casual fans more interested in the game again. Pitching clocks and rules for the batter when he is in the batter’s box is not going to get new fans interested but maybe by doing this it could.

With this realignment it keeps many of the traditional rivalries between teams while adding potentially new ones. The teams play other teams within the division currently nineteen times. I think fans would more interested in watching this game if it was against a cross town or interstate rival.

This is only my opinion and I highly doubt that MLB would do anything this sweeping. Maybe it is time for MLB to realize if they want fans to notice it is time for something drastic.

Book Review: The Billion Dollar Game: Behind-the-Scenes of the Greatest Day In American Sport - Super Bowl Sunday by Allen St. John

The Billion Dollar Game: Behind-the-Scenes of the Greatest Day In American Sport - Super Bowl Sunday by Allen St. John

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a really interesting book to read about the Super Bowl. If you're looking for a book about the game than this is not that book but if you're interested in everything that goes into the game than I think this book will be extremely interesting.

Allen St. John looks at all aspects of what makes the Super Bowl an event. This book mostly focuses on the build up to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Arizona. He talks to the architect of University of Phoenix Stadium and uncovers the process for a city/state to attract a Super Bowl to their area of the country. Readers find out what a host city has to provide to even be considered by the NFL.

St. John was also granted access to the FOXSports football broadcasting "A-team" to give an insider look of what goes on during the two weeks building up to the game for the announcers and sideline reporters preparing for a game that billions of people around the world will be watching. He also shares what goes on in the production truck and for the producer and network the build up for the game starts at least a year in advance. He discusses the dress rehearsal that occurs with high school football players standing in for the pros a few days before so that the producer can make sure the camera are in the correct places.

Super Bowl Sunday is the only day that people are looking forward to the commercials. St. John joins Budweiser and its advertising agency to see what goes in to creating a winning Super Bowl commercial. From the planning stage, to the audience testing, than on air and for the all important USA Today score on Monday morning.

The Saturday night before the big game St. John takes readers to the Playboy party. This party is considered THE party of Super Bowl week. Before taking you to it he takes you back to the previous year's party in Miami that was a disappointment in the host's eyes. This year's in the desert has to return Playboy to the must be at party title. The party planner allows the writer in during the planning to find out what it takes to be the best party.

I think, "The Billion Dollar Game: Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Day in American Sports- Super Bowl Sunday" would appeal to most readers. There is a look at the players and game but it also gives a great look at everything that is involved with the Super Bowl.




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Quick Book Review: Things a Little Bird Told Me: Confessions of the Creative Mind by Biz Stone

Things a Little Bird Told Me: Confessions of the Creative Mind by Biz Stone

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Informative read abt trial and difficulties of starting Twitter by 1 of its co-founders. Also suggestions on how 2 B a better world citizen.



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