I must admit that one of my guilty pleasures is to watch MMa (mixed martial arts) fights, particularly fights in the UFC.  Mixed Martial Arts is a hodge podge of wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, jui jitsu, and other fighting styles thrown into an 8-sided cage.  Fighters battle for 15 minutes (25 minutes for championship bouts) until someone is knocked out, the referee stops the action, or a fighter “taps out”.  The act of “tapping out” tells your opponent, the referee, and the millions watching on pay-per-view that you gave up because you are feeling immense pain brought on by your opponent.

Hockey Chat:  The Stanley Cup is not an award of chance.  It’s not just an award of hard work either (many top goal scorers of the year have ended the year empty handed).  The players give their abilities to the coach of the team who has the earned the title of being the leader.  In 1995, the eight time Stanley Cup winner, Jacques Lemaire, led the New Jersey Devils, and their sophmore goalie Martin Brodeur, to the first NHL finals victory in franchise history.

As coaches, we spend long hours watching film--film of our practices or film of our opponent. We spend countless hours on the telephone talking to recruits or high school coaches. Our day starts before the sun comes up, and sometimes we don't get home until our children are sound asleep.

The Lord has appointed us to become coaches, and how honored we are! And now with the season nearing its end, the "silly season" begins. Yes, the silly season. When, for the next month or so, there will be many firings and hirings. Numerous coaches will be removed from their jobs or snatched up to take others, and thousands of coaches will be left wondering if they even have a job or where the next paycheck might come from.