A miracle or a message?

Posted on by metbaseball

If you don’t believe in miracles, this story might convert you. It appeared in the May 10 issue of the New York Times on its obituary page.

The deceased was Marsha Mason, who died at 71 in her sleep. Nothing unusual there.

However, since she was about 11, Mason’s home was an iron cylinder as long as Wilt Chamberlain and similar in weight to a full-grown tiger: an iron lung.

Paralyzed from polio in 1948, doctors gave her no more than a year to live. But not only did she survive the first year, she lived for more than 50 years despite her immobility.

Fifty years despite not being able to move a muscle; however, she never let her disability prevent her from living to the best of her ability. She gave dinner parties and loved to socialize with the people who visited her.

What was the secret to her longevity? The Times article said Mason credited it to the fact that it was “because she was endlessly curious and there was so much to learn.”

In 1960, she graduated from Wake Forest College with a bachelor’s degree in English. She ranked #1 in her graduating class.

She also loved to write. She wrote articles for a local newspaper by  dictating them to her mother. And when a voice-activated computer became available to her, she wrote a memoir, Breath: Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung, which is listed on amazon.com.

Her life can teach us all an important lesson: Whatever your circumstances, don’t resist them. Be fully open to them. And find a passion that makes you look forward to every new day.

Next time I feel sorry for myself, I’m going to think of Marsha Mason, a truly amazing woman.

A Quick Look at the Giants Upcoming Season

Posted on by metbaseball

In the 2009 season, the Giants  schedule works to their advantage. They open at home against Washington, a game they should win. The Skins still lack a top-notch quarterback. Then, on a Sunday night the G-men play Dallas away. If Romo’s on his game, the Giants will be lucky to win this one. Games 3-5 could determine the Giants season. After playing away games against Tampa Bay and Kansas City, the Giants play Oakland at home. If the team doesn’t win all three, they’ll have trouble winning their division as the remainder of their schedule contains teams that should be contenders.

If Brandon Jacobs stays healthy, the Giants should have an excellent running game, but if he gets injured again, the Giants will be in trouble.  By allowing Derrick Ward to depart, they lost a skilled backup. None of the remaining backups can compare to Ward.

The loss of Plaxico Burress should hurt the team even more. Manning’s accuracy is only average, so it’s critical that his receivers can get open and catch balls that aren’t well-thrown. Unfortunately, excluding the rookie receivers who are unknowns, the team’s top receivers are Domenik Hixon, Sinorice Moss, and Steve Smith. Moss is the weakest of the three. A second-round draft choice in 2006, I was surprised the Giants drafted him that high. In college, Moss played in 46 games but started only 12. And in his entire college career he had only 63 receptions for 1,046 yards and 8 touchdowns.

The first five games will reveal how good a passing game the Giants will have. If it’s poor and defenses can then focus on the run, the Giants will be in big trouble.

Giants Draft Gets an “A”

Posted on by metbaseball

Steve Wyche, a writer on NFL.com, recently graded each team’s draft performance. He gave the Giants an A.

Here’s what he said about the Giants’ draft:

With six picks in the first four rounds, the Giants appear to have hit it big. They went after their needs at wide receiver with Hakeem Nicks and Ramses Barden, both big targets, and they added depth at outside linebacker with Clint Sintim, at tackle with William Beatty and running back with Andre Brown. Brown could turn out to be the best of this talented lot.

What surprised me about Wyche’s comments was his belief that Brown could turn out to be the best player. Brown was listed among Gil Brandt’s top 100 prospects, but he was near the bottom of the list. The fact that he had to operated on twice for a left foot fracture likely affected his ranking.

You can read Wyche’s full review here.

New Did York Giants have best draft?

Posted on by metbaseball

If you’re a Giants fan, you’ll love Chris Steuber’s review of the Giants 2009 draft. In his article, he rated the Giants as having the best draft.

I wouldn’t go that  far, but the Giants had a decent draft. None of their draft choices made me stand up and cheer.  Nicks could be a good player, but I read recently that the Giants had almost agreed on a deal with the Lions that would have enabled the G-Men to move up to the 20th slot in the draft, which they would have used to draft Jeremy Maclin. Unfortunately, the Eagles made a trade that got them the 19th slot, which they used to draft Maclin — and ended the Giants need to deal with the Lions.

I think that the weak spot in their draft was their last two choices. Neither DB was well-rated and one was only a backup. I’d be surprised if either makes the roster.