Alexandar the Great & Flash Gordon

My friend Erin, the hockey-mom sent me a link to a short composition on Alexandar Ovechkin. You have never heard of him before now. But, in three minutes, you'll be his newest fan.
Alexandar The Great

My son worked out last night with a lefty pitcher named Derrick Gordon. Gordon pitches currently for Lamar University. His fastball regularly tops out at 90mph. In 2004, he was on the SLC All-Freshman Team.

Derrick Gordon's Bio

He talked Junior through about 50 pitches, before telling him to shut it down. Gordon's friend, Lamar Catcher C.J. Ebarb was in a hurry to go. But, Derrick stuck around with John. They talked and joked and relaxed as each tried to one-up the other's knuckleball tosses. He seemed very happy to meet a kid and be a kid.

The dig on Lamar's Lefty is that (5'9") he may not possess big-league dimensions. But, if my son was a GM, he'd draft him #1. Gordon is as soft-spoken and articulate as any college ballplayer we've seen. And, he took the time to connect with a 13-year-old, at a time in his life when compliments and support are so critical to a boy's self-esteem and self-concept. Derrick seemed to be happy to help. He seemed to understand that connecting with the younger ballplayers is part of his responsibility. Gordon may never be seen in the Bigs. (On the other hand, he IS a lefty with good stuff.)But, in terms of success in life, one meeting is all it takes to tell that he's a lock.

If you read the Newberg Report (and you should), check out today's piece, mentioning one of my favorite sports-topics, the bandwagoner. Lastly, I want it noted for the record that I have successfully lived to be 40 years of age without ever seeing one episode of American Idol, The O.C. (or any of the line of asinine televised teen-oriented quasi-porn), The Family Guy, Scrubs, Two and A Half Men or The West Wing. Amazing, isn't it? How could one remain informed?