How many of us have ever started a practice, game or even a season without a plan? To me, that idea doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. As coaches, we have plans coming out our ears! As a coach, I started working on next season just as soon as the current one was over. After all, I had to recruit in-coming freshman and encourage the returning athletes to come back. The last thing I wanted was for them to lose interest in being part of the team.

I’m such a pack rat. Over the years I’ve saved so many coaching plans, even ones for sports I’ve never coached. You never know when you’ll be the head coach of a new sport someday, right? You just have to be ready at a moment’s notice.

I love to watch wrestling. No, not the slam dunk, throw-em-across-the-ring brawls you see on television, but the true competition that takes place on mats across the country during the bleak winter months. Two contestants walk across the mat and, with a steely eyed stare, get ready to engage in a battle of strength and will. After three two-minute periods of power, strength and speed, one winner emerges with his or her hand raised by the referee. Often, the loser is defeated by a more skilled opponent, but once in a while, a superior wrestler simply underestimates an opponent and that person’s abilities.

In sports, rivalries are huge. And there is no bigger venue than college basketball. North Carolina vs. Duke, Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, Kansas vs. Missouri, and my favorite rivalry, Indiana vs. Purdue. They have had some battles over the years when Gene Keady used to face Bobby Knight. Remember the chair-throwing game in the early 80's? And even without Knight, the rivalry continues. Who could forget the exciting double-overtime victory for the Hoosiers this year? This year is different for the rivalry, though. Coach Gene Keady walked into Assembly Hall for the last time as a coach this week. Often, rivalries produce ill will and bad feelings, but nevertheless, Keady was greeted with great applause and appreciation before the game.

In a recent survey, managers and employees were asked what aspects of their job were most important to them. The results uncovered that while the managers focused on things such as job security and benefits, the employees simply wanted to know that they were contributing—that what they were doing made a difference.

Last season, I was watching the NBA playoffs and the finals. I saw some miraculous shots (like LeBron's 3-pointer) throughout each series. These moments make it onto ESPN's top 10 plays.

One of the top miracles Jesus performed was the feeding of the 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. I noticed that the same pattern appeared in each Gospel. Jesus blessed the bread, broke the bread, then kept giving the bread until everyone was fed. After the meal, 12 baskets of leftovers were filled. That's a miracle by anyone's standards.