Why many Boxing Champions are a farce!

For about 30 years many of Boxing Champions are a farce. It was back in the mid 1980's when boxing changed the weigh in to before the day of the fight. Simply stated a fighter has to make weight of the class he is fighting in order for the bout to be official.

Just like everything else when a rule is made someone will circumvent it to take an advantage for the wrong reason. It's a shame when a fighter makes weight at 158 pounds and then fights the next day at a weight of 175. This happens in every championship fight.

I'm sorry but if the weight class is 158 the that is the weight that must be met when the fight takes place. Unfortunately. boxing is driven by the dollar and if a fighter does not make weight before the fight then the bout is not official and all bets are off. Too bad!! If you want to be a true middleweight champion then fight as a middleweight and not a light heavy weight the night of the fight.

When a true middleweight comes in and his body is developed for that weight he will not gain much weight. Many fighter deplete their bodies to make the weight then pile on 10 - 15 pounds in one day to bloom up sometimes even much more. If the natural middleweight only gins 3-5 pounds then it becomes unfair and even very dangerous.

Here is a recent example from 10/17/15

When the fight took place each fighter weighed over 170 pounds!

More proof -
http://nypost.com/2000/04/16/commissions-say-end-weigh-in-farce-states-change-after-gatti-fiasco/


Updated 11/8/15 - Bradley vs Rios

Bradley set the pace for the fight right away, landing a series of head shots early in the first round. Rios, who ballooned up in weight after Friday's weigh-in, plodded forward trying to land a big punch but was never able to land more than one shot at a time.

View gallery

Brandon Rios kneels on the mat after he was knocked down by Timothy Bradley during a WBO welterweigh …

Rios, who had to weigh in twice the day before the fight after coming in slightly over the 147-pound limit, weighed in unofficially at 170 pounds on the HBO scale in his dressing room. Bradley, who weighed 146 at the official weigh-in, was 155 in his dressing room

August 12th - Special Day!

August 12th is a special day because it is my son's birthday, it is also my best friend's birthday and my goddaughter's birthday.

Not a bad combination for remembering all that is good in life.

Life is truly a Marathon (Me yellow hat - 1986; Son - below - 2014) with many ups and downs and struggles along the way. Giving it your best and having the will to keep going is what matters most in life.

It was always my hope to run a Marathon with my son but too many injuries does not allow me to run/jog more than a 5K today. However, the memories of years past will always remain!

And Yes, he did run a better time than me!!

No Leadership =

No Leadership Means -No Aim,

No Aim Means - No Plan,

No Plan Means - Chaos,

Chaos Means - Stagnation,

Stagnation Means - "Ultimate Failure"

Control

If there is one thing I have learned by serving in the military, working in business and continuing to learn in the education field is:

“Control your own life or someone or something else will.”

                                                                                                  qg
         

           It's all about Balance!

Social Media and the "River of No Return"

Social Media, Dictionaries, Newspapers, Radio Talk Shows, etc… are about information, opinions and someone’s ideas. They are NOT knowledge or wisdom. Let’s not confuse them!! We are headed down the “River of No Return” by believing statements made by non-thinking people who post without thinking or understanding.


qg

Rating and Raking Accomplishes "Nothing"

Like most states Michigan educators, parents and lawmakers cannot come to grips or even a small amount of agreement as to where we should be headed with our education system as it relate to common core standards, testing and evaluation.

Hardly a week will go by without a story like this:

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/04/21/michigan-standarized-test-teachers-union/26162827/

No one is looking at it from a systemic or systems thinking perspective in trying to determine where the process starts and ends and what it should look like when it is done. All of the sub-pieces have their own interest (i.e., Teachers don't want to be rated ranked), nor do School superintendents want their districts rated and ranked with what they believe to be faulty testing and data.

Lawmakers have no idea of what really goes on in an educational system yet they pretend to do what is right and change their views as often as the weather.

All I know is Rating and Ranking accomplishes nothing but creating fear and despair. Our purpose should be to help people learn and improve. Evaluations of this type are beneficial. The problem is too many people in leadership or decision making roles want to use evaluations for rating and ranking to get rid of people (Justified/non-justified). So what if there is a bad employee or if he/she not doing their job? How do you get rid of them? I say - you should have not hired or placed them in that position in the first place. Leadership did not do their job upfront in the hiring process. Too often Rating and Ranking are used as a tool for poor leadership decisions. If some people have to be let go through a good evaluation then at least try and place them in a position where they will be successful. If they are a "bad" employee then fire them based on a sound evaluation from fact-based data and not a cowardly way by using ranking and rating.

Rankings and Ratings are for sports entertainment and other games. They should not be used for something as important as the education of our children and the future of our society.

The Systems Thinker's Prayer

O Holy Spirit Paraclete of Life please grant me the wisdom and profound knowledge to better serve the benefit of ALL as opposed to oneself.

 Once I was asked what is the difference between wisdom and knowledge. In my understanding I see knowledge as being an expert in a particular subject area were wisdom can only be gained over time that is developed through many trials, tribulations, exultations and experiences of life.

I dedicate this to the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming - 

qg

Educational Leaders Operate in a "Command and Control" Environment

I am totally convinced the majority of educational systems in the Untied States operate in a Command and Control environment.

The problem lays in the fact that people in positions of authority think they are Leading (They are Commanding). However, they operate in a short-term vacuum that expects immediate results from non-systemic thinking. They think they are Managing (They are Controlling).

So what does that mean? It means many educational leaders do not understand how to run an organization (School. District) from an end-to-end-process philosophy.

So what does that mean? They have no concept of "By What Method?" It's about just doing rather than thinking and planning for the long-term based on factual data and talking to customers and employees (Parents, Students, Teachers/Staff). It's about as a leader stop thinking you know what caused the problem from your office and get your butt out in the classrooms and teacher lounges and parent committee meetings and stop tampering with what might be a stable system (Stable does not necessarily mean good).

School Count Day = The Demise of the American Educational System

School districts across Michigan are gearing up for Count Day on Wednesday, when students in seats equal dollars for the year. Click on the following link to read the staggering statistics.

2015 - Did they get free slot Tokens Too?


http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2015/10/07/detroit-schools-count-day-fun/73531916/

 Here we go again!
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/education/2015/02/10/dps-count-day-monster-jam-tickets/23210033/

2013
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131002/SCHOOLS/310020087/1361/Students-at-Detroit-school-saddle-up-for-Count-Day

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131001/SCHOOLS/310010025/Count-Day-nears-Michigan-schools-vital-funds-stake?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

The pictures re so cute - I'm all for bringing gifts and animals to schools too - I just can't see the relevance of doing it on Count Day other than the fact to get more money from the State. Why can't the State just do count day randomly so we can get an accurate count and spend our tax dollars wisely.


2012

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/2011-2012_and_2012-2013_Student_Count_Day_Information_362677_7.pdf

In 2010, many districts enticed students with a total of $20,000 in Target gift cards, a shot to win laptops, iPods, or 42-inch flat screen TV.

In 2011, every Detroit public high school student who shows up to school on Oct. 3 will be rewarded with a free pair of Nikes, courtesy of a local shoe store.

This year Detroit public schools is giving away notebook computers on Wednesday to lure more students to class on the day attendance affects state funding for the district. The district declined to release which schools will receive the computers on Wednesday. Distribution will continue weekly through October until about 19,000 students received the Netbooks.

Am I the only one who finds this practice to be a total sham? Dollars from our tax dollars should not be given based on a few count days a year to determine how much each school district receives per pupil.

Come to school for a few days and get a PC Notebook. Oh it will be stated that the notebooks will help with learning and homework and… BS!

If this does not prove that the American Education System is in total disarray I don’t know what will. You want results – look at these tactics.

http://detroitk12.org/countday

Bribe kids to go to high school – yep, and then bribe them to go to college – yep, then …

Yep, I know where to go to buy a slightly used “cheap” PC Notebook in about a month.

Tennis great John McEnroe said it best ...

Shine in Line

Over the Holiday's I was inquiring with some relatives about two boys I worked with nine years ago who are now in 11th grade. The boys are both Autistic and I think of them often. Each was given a different path. One is still taking part in regular high school while the other has gone to different schools and removed from regular Mainstream.

I have always believed that a solid parent foundation is critical as an integral part to a child's education. The child still in high school has parents who have always fought for his rights and understood the law when it came to battling with school district special services who tried to circumvent the rules because of funding.

The other boy who no longer is being mainstreamed had a rough family foundation where the mother relied on the so-called school system experts to guide her to what was best for her son. I tried to intervene as a lone wolf when school education leaders wanted to remove him from being mainstreamed. I would have stayed with the boy as long as possible to make sure he was given a proper education and guidance as to what the law stated but I was overruled. I later left the school district because of those decisions. Perhaps it was meant to be based on what I have done since then but I would give it all back if I knew I could have truly helped.

I was throwing away some old papers today when I came across this poem I wrote nine years ago...

At 11:45 we start to get antsy while he smiles like an old gray fox
At noon we go to our lockers and get our Sponge Bob lunch box
He then checks our shoelaces and pulls up our socks.

Then it’s back to class and get called in to line
We shuffle to the back because he said that’s where we shine
He walks with us quietly and whispers all will be fine.

As we walk quietly in line headed to the lunchroom we go
We then search for a place at a table where a friend might show
While the man who is with us sits across the room laying low.

Often times we don’t eat and we just play with our food
Then the lunch lady turns and signal to the man that we are being crude
He then stands where we can see; and gives us the “Look” we best eat before he gets in a mood.

After we eat we go to recess, sometimes it’s in, but we hope it’s out
It all depends if the flags are green hanging about
Yellow means stay inside then we groan and pout.
Today we go outside and play on the playground equipment
We hope a friend will stop and play even if for a minute
But most of the time we play alone and it seems to be infinite.

At 12:35 the whistle blows loud and sometimes we cover our ears
You see the decibel and noise level brings out some fears
But we know we are safe because our guardian is always near.

Another lunch has come and another has gone by
Sometimes we get into trouble and sometimes we cry
But mostly we wonder about friends and ask him WHY?

After we line up we will try not to talk and to stay in line
Then our teacher meets us and says you all look fine
And the man who walks behind smiles and says we shine!