Top-5 Mac Musings – August 6, 2025

NOT COMPETITIVE? WOW.

There is nothing quite like getting one of “those” emails where you learn you are no longer in consideration for a job. I got another one late last week. Based on the job description I was a good fit, but apparently the hiring manager disagreed. This individual went far enough to type the statement “… we are moving forward with more competitive candidates…”.

Yikes.

 I’m not competitive? Really? After spending two decades surrounded by some of the most disciplined and competitive student-athletes and coaches in high level Division I athletics? This is the environment I thrived in for four different jobs spanning the west coast. I worked with coaches whose desire to win bordered on the maniacal. I worked with student-athletes who would shoot hoops for hours after games, long after the lights had gone out in the gym. 

My desire to win when squaring off against coaches and athletes who had more god give athletic gifts at the age of 12 than I was ever granted during a lifetime, was enormous. 

While traveling with basketball teams, anyone who made a half court shot would get additional meal money or team swag. So… I practiced halfcourt shots in the dead of night in empty gyms. Our baseball team would bet on whose bag would come out first at baggage return. So I would politely ask the gate agent to give me a priority tag so I would win.

But, nope… not a competitive candidate. Hogwash. I learn. I study. I practice. I adapt. Jesuits taught me that… some of the most competitive people I’ve ever met.

Bonus top-5 of most maniacally competitive people I encountered in my athletics career

1. Rex Walters – USF head coach, NBA lottery pick
2. Eddie Sutton – USF head coach, Naismith Hall of Fame
3. John Stockton – Naismith Hall of Fame, did his own research
4. Brandi Chastain – USWNT captain, legendary World Cup sports bra moment
5. Tony Gwynn – MLB Hall of Famer

And now onto my Top-5 Musings for Wednesday, August 6, 2025.

1. Ever since I watched the original classic movie “Bad News Bears”, I’ve been hooked on sports movies. 
2. Some of my favorite characters have been the coaches and the razor edge they walk to maintain their sanity as their team succeeds or fails.
3. I can hear you loud and clear… Here’s my top-five favorite sports movie coaches in no particular order. Yes, I probably left off your favorite. It’s my list.
   • Mickey “Mick” Goldmill – Rocky franchise (Burgess Meredith)
   • Norman Dale – Hoosiers (Gene Hackman)
   • Reggie Dunlop – Slapshot (Paul Newman)
   • Tony D’Amato – Any Given Sunday (Al Pacino)
   • Jimmy Dugan – A League of Their Own (Tom Hanks)
4. On the other end of the maniacal coaching spectrum is Major League’s Lou Brown, played by James Gammon. He got a phone call to coach the Cleveland Indians while working as a manager at a car lube and brakes place. When offered the job he finally relented. Classic.
5. Walter Matthau’s portrayal of Morris Butterfield in the original “Bad News Bears” was tough to overlook, but sports, like life, isn’t always fair.

QUOTABLE

Mickey “Mick” Goldmill, Rocky I