Tuesday

One of the big stories in the sports pages these days is Billy Donovan's flip-flop on leaving the two-time defending NCAA bball champion Florida for the bigger NBA money in Orlando. The original move to the Magic was announced with considerable fanfare late last week, but by the weekend, he was already having second thoughts. The last couple of days have been spent by the various parties in efforts to save whatever face might be savable, and to make sure that Donovan is certain that he wants to go back to Florida.

This is another very public example of the essence of being human. In spite of all the fame and fortune that had accrued to Donovan in his career, which has been nothing short of a rocket ship to the top, his heart betrayed him when his mind had rationalized that yet another move up the food-chain was the natural order. As his new reality began to set in, it occurred to him that what he would be walking away from was more important than the money and professional progression offered by the NBA.

There are the personalities in the sports media who will portray this episode as a shadow on Donovan's otherwise lustrous resume. He'll be ridiculed by the writers on the NBA beat as a "college" coach, as though a college coach is something less of a man than the guys running the pro teams. After all, the NBA is where the best ball is played, by the best players. And you don't have to jump through the silly hoops (no pun intended) of recruiting or getting players to class.

Personally, I'm glad he's staying in the college game. I have no problem with the flip flop. He's not the first groom (or bride, or coach) to get to the altar and see that a mistake is being made. Can you say Dana Altman? The Magic 's owners will be honked-off for being jilted, but they'll have a Plan B. How many college coaches have made it big in the NBA anyway? And Florida will have a long-term winner who will keep the blue-chippers coming to Gainsville.

My neighbor lady, who is a bit of a yard/garden OC (obsessive/compulsive), recently asked me to let her have my clippings from my yard the next time I cut my grass. She uses grass for mulch in her garden, and their mower's catcher had broken so they weren't able to produce their own mulch. Now, I only catch my grass when it gets out of control, which it hasn't been due to less rainfall. But, trying to be the good neighbor, I caught my grass each of the last two times that I mowed, producing a couple of large yard-waste bags each time.

And now the punch line to this hum-drum story. Last night, the husband stops me as I'm leaving on an errand to let me know that he had returned the now empty bags, and that he had an implement that you could put on the back of the mower to precluded the need to catch the grass! When I told him that I was only catching the grass to help out his wife, he just chuckled and went back to work in his garden. I'm not making this up.

Had a nice chat with 4 today. She says that she will be adding to her blog soon. She sounded good.

I'm off to the bike. Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.