St. Ursula's Academy and Daisy's Heroes

Daisy and I travelled to St. Ursula's Academy in Toledo, Ohio this week to visit the two-time champions of the Head of the Cuyahoga (and winners of the Chris Ernst/A Hero for Daisy trophy) as well as the rest of the fabulous St. Ursula's community.

After a screening of A Hero for Daisy, Daisy read her prepared speech, which she practiced several times without prompting, to about 700 girls - telling them that she was very glad to miss two days of school. She also told the girls that they made her believe that she could do anything.

That afternoon, we attended the christening of St. Ursula's brand new Resolute eight, a fine fast racing shell, which the team had voted to name "DAISY'S HEROES."

I was so moved by the naming... and decided that I needed to bring my 15 year old bottle of champagne which I had been given at the Olympic Games. The bottle had the Olympic Rings - and for 15 years had been stored at the back of my refrigerator.

I had been waiting for a perfect time to open that bottle. And as far as I was concerned, there was no better time to uncork that baby - than over a boat named for Daisy's newest heroes.

The St. Ursula's community was so remarkable. The girls were funny and smart and vivacious and grounded. They make Toledo proud.

Thank you to Cindy Dana, to St. Ursula's, and to the City of Toledo - for making us feel so welcome. This was an event that Daisy and I will remember forever. Click here for fabulous coverage by The Toledo Blade.

BlackRock - Redux

Larry Fink, the Chairman of BlackRock, was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal the other day. BlackRock, along with Highfield's Capital, is backing PennyMac, a new fund formed to acquire non-performing mortage loans from banks and other financial institutions. Larry and the other founders of BlackRock transformed what began as a tiny fixed income shop, beginning with 8 people in 1988, into a trillion dollar global asset management firm - a firm which was grounded around the concept of risk-management. (A concept that was not utilized by many Wall Street firms, as evidenced by the shellacking of Bear Stearns.)

Speaking of BlackRock, my friend, Chris Poe sent this photo of me with Ralph Schlosstein, one of BlackRock's founders, which was taken immediately prior to the screening of "we are BlackRock" in New York City at Gotham Hall.

You will note that the reason I am having a less than stellar hair day is because I was sweating profusely prior to the screening of this latest film, all the while, trying to look calm and collected.

Girls' Ice Hockey - Should they play at the Boston Garden?

Today's Boston Globe reported that the Massachusetts Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association had scheduled the state hockey finals for high school boys to be played at the Boston Garden, home of the Bruins. The girls, however, are relegated to another site, which is not the Garden.

The finals for both boys and girls high school basketball state finals are at the Garden (also home of our beloved Celtics) - and so, inquiring minds might ask, why are the girls playing high school hockey not at the Garden?

The girls will play at the Harvard facility - a top notch rink. However, it is the signal and message which is unfortunate: you do not deserve to play where the hallowed traditions of the Bruins lie... you do not deserve to be where the boys play.

Arguments have been made that ice hockey for girls is an emerging sport (many more high schools offer ice hockey to boys than girls) - but that is the same tired argument that was used decades ago for women playing sports at all. That girls need to "earn" their stripes. However, girls pay tuition, practice, and put in the kind of effort that the boys do.

It is remarkable that in 2008, that this conversation and observation is even being made.

On another note - here at 50 Eggs, we were commissioned to produce a film project for BlackRock, the wildly successful asset management firm. The 42 minute film chronicled the history and entrepreneurial path of 8 founders who came together and grew the business into a global brand of over 5000 strong.

After completing the project, it became apparent to me that BlackRock is a different sort of place with real people who are fiercely dedicated to serving their customers (whether the customer is a large pension fund or a municipal worker - a fireman or carpenter). What was striking was the crew also came to this same conclusion. There were several people who worked on the film (our line producer, our photographer, our sound guy) who all asked: where can I get a BlackRock fund?

Going After the Rocket

Former Senator George Mitchell's report, all 409 pages, found here, is scathing in its indictment of baseball, particularly the Player's Association. Mitchell took nearly 18 months to compile his report, which was done at the behest of Commissioner Bud Selig, to investigate steroid use and performance enhancement in baseball. The report, which was released in December, named names, including pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.

The fact that congressional hearings are being held on this issue - and that senators are spending time on whether professional athletes are using performance enhancements - and worrying about whether Roger (and his wife) used human growth hormone - is a bit like the emperor wearing no clothes. We have young men and women in Iraq, our energy security is at risk - and these senators are waxing forth on an issue which is completely trivial in the scope of pressing issues. Once our troops are back home, once the crisis in the Middle East has been cleaned up, once our economy is back on sound footing, once our reputation as a country has been resurrected, once the problem of kids dropping out of high school in precipitous numbers has been addressed, once the obesity and health issues which are crippling the next generation is faced head on, and once the issue of poverty in this country is actually acknowledged- only then should our leaders in Washington look to other such issues, such as steroid use, to solve.

Frankly - unless and until professional baseball and football have testing requirements as stringent and rigorous as Olympic athletes (and cyclists), enforcement and allegations of performance enhancement in professional sport is a joke. It is common fact that baseball never tested for performance enhancements until recently - and its current testing and penalty system is laughable. It is common fact that our heralded football players, who miraculously come back from devastating injuries within weeks, use enhancements. The only way to stop steroids in baseball (or any other professional sport), is to (a) fire coaches and trainers (for life) under whose watch it happens; (b) have a real testing protocol much like the one imposed on Olympic athletes; and (c) impose real penalties on team owners or sanction the entire team for material transgressions. If all of a sudden, a team could not go to the Super Bowl because 10 players were using - things would change in a heartbeat.

While Bud Selig attempted to assuage public concerns about the asterisk which may or may not be placed next to the name of Barry Bonds by hiring George Mitchell to prepare his report - George Mitchell spent 18 months of wasted time on a self-evident report. Of course professional athletes use substances to keep them in the game. Especially those athletes in professional leagues which have little or no real testing protocol.

George Mitchell, who helped broker peace between Ireland and Britain, should have been using his time during the last 18 months for something more important.

Perhaps working on peace in the Middle East.

Marion Jones Sentenced

Track star Marion Jones was recently sentenced to serve 6 months in jail for lying to federal investigators about using banned substances and for 2 months for lying about the involvement of her coach, Steve Riddick, and former training partner and father of her eldest son, Tim Montgomery, also a world class Olympic sprinter, in a multi-million dollar check scheme.

There was never any question that Marion Jones took performance enhancements, particularly as she trained under coach Trevor Graham - who has had many an athlete test positive for banned substances. Marion is one of many world class athletes who regularly take banned substances. What people often forget is this: it is only banned if you go over certain limits as an athlete. If you follow the money, you'll find enhancement. You rarely find athletes taking banned substances in low money sports (rowing as a perfect example - all guts, no glory, no press, and certainly no endorsements or money).

The severity of the sentence, according to US District Court Judge, Kenneth Karas, was in part to make an example of Jones. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Karas stated that a prison sentence might make others ''think twice before lying. It might make them realize that no one is above the obligation to tell the truth.'

Making Marion Jones an example, while the many baseball players who testified under oath in front of Congress (and then were subsequently found to have taken steroids or other banned substances) - is not only extreme, but unfair.

Marion Jones has become a national disgrace, sentence enough for her actions. Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, and the many NFL and MLB players who have taken banned substances are not behind bars - - and to make Marion Jones the sacrificial lamb sends a message that if you are a woman and an athlete, especially one of color, all bets are off.

As for the check fraud scheme - that, frankly, is a more serious offense. And to receive 2 months for that involvement means that she did not participate but knew it was happening. Clearly, Jones has some serious character issues that she will need to deal with going forward, but putting her, a mother with two young sons, behind bars for lying about steroid use, makes no sense.

It should be the trainers and team owners who know about steroid and enhancements who ought to be made examples of.

Put a major league manager behind bars - now that would be real deterrence.

Head of the Charles Regatta

The annual running of the Head of the Charles Regatta happened this past weekend with 8000 rowers racing a 3 mile course on the Charles River. My long-time doubles partner, Cindy Matthes, and I raced in the Master's Women's 2x, placing a respectable 5th place. Cindy and I were doubles partners in the Olympic Games back in 1992 and the days of setting course records and winning gold medals are long past - - but we have continued to row together, three times a week, our lycra sagging and our efforts not so pretty.

That being said, during the last part of the race, we passed Cambridge Boat Club coming into Eliot Bridge, hearing a deafening huge groundswell of cheers - - and my new favorite high school team, St. Ursula's from Ohio, they all hung over Eliot Bridge screaming my name and urging us to crank up the volume.

After my race, heartrate still full on, they put me behind the mike, announcing the remainder of the races for the day - heckling them was more like it. As my friend, Eddie Hewitt, the consigliere of row2k said, "at least you didn't go over the line too much."

To top the weekend, which was unusually sunny and calm, I was en route to the gym today for an executive workout (that would be a jacuzzi and a shower) - and was stopped by several people who remarked that we had received an extraordinary amount of coverage. When I opened The Boston Globe, there we were, in our full glory. But it was not because of our speed.

It was because Cindy and I teamed up with the irrepressible David Fialkow (a wild man venture capitalist) and the exuberant Wyc Grousbeck (owner of the Celtics and former Princeton rowing champion) in the 4x race, with Wyc and David having raised nearly $250,000 for the Perkins School for the Blind. David, a complete novice, had rowed only 2 months prior to the race - and Wyc, a strong athlete in his own right, had not rowed a race in 25 years. They set about raising money by challenging their friends to sponsor their training miles, joining us for workouts, without, remarkably, a single whine, whimper, or complaint.

Anyone wishing to donate funds to the Perkins School for Wyc and David's efforts can send checks payable to the Perkins School to Wyc Grousbeck, Owner- Boston Celtics Management, 226 Causeway Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02114.

Rutgers in the News Again - Its Controversial Decision to axe six Olympic sports - and a new book by a long time critic.

The controversial decision by Rutgers athletic director, Robert Mulcahy, to cut six teams in order to trim the athletic budget by approximately $2 million dollars, continues to reverberate throughout the Rutgers community. Rutgers, in the wake of a projected $80 million dollar deficit, asked all departments, university-wide, to closely examine their budgets this past year.

Robert Mulcahy, stating that Title IX required him to cut mostly men's sports, made the decision to phase out men's heavyweight crew, lightweight crew, fencing, swimming and diving, tennis, and women's fencing - - all Olympic sports, and sports which developed Rutgers athletes in Olympians and national team members. According to the Wall Street Journal, Rutgers has produced 19 Olympic rowers alone.

Although Mulcahy claimed that Title IX required him to cut the men's teams, he simultaneously increased the budget for men's football, with a pay raise to the men's football coach, Greg Schiano, of $1.5 million dollars. ""Football is a separate issue -- I look at it differently from the rest of the sports. It raises far more money, and ultimately the success of football can carry the rest of our programs," Mulcahy said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

However, Rutgers Football does not make money - and according to the NCAA, 80% of all football programs nationwide lose money. A blogger just sent me an email that the Rutgers stadium required $80 million in funding - and that the men's tennis scholarship budget was a mere $29,500. Although I can understand a desire to restore a football team to prominence, feeding steak to 150 guys on the football team is excessive when other parts of the university are hemorrhaging, and other athletes and programs are sacrificed in the process.

Rutgers Football is doing well, however. And with that success, comes challenges. After defeating Navy last month, Rutgers football fans shouted profanities and "you suck" to Navy - which in my mind, constitutes the usual heckling at the end of a football game, especially with Jersey fans having imbibed one too many. Rutgers President, Richard McCormick, however, sent a letter of apology to Jeffrey Fowler, the Naval Academy's Vice Admiral, clearly embarrassed that Rutgers fans would harrass athletes headed off to Iraq.

The money spent on football and basketball has made William Dowling, a tenured English professor at Rutgers, irate. Dowling, a long-time critic of Rutgers athletics and its push into big time football and basketball, just penned a diatribe, "Confessions of a Spoilsport" which chronicles his 10 year effort to fight against the expansion of Division I sports at Rutgers which has, he claims, degraded the caliber of students and community at Rutgers. The New York Times last week published an interview with Dowling, in which Dowling says "We tried to take on the monster of commercialized sports, even if it swallowed us up and passed us out the other end. Someone should know that we fought the good fight." However, Dowling's response to a question as to whether Rutgers athletics provided minority students with greater opportunities, has created more controversy. "If you were giving the scholarship to an intellectually brilliant kid who happens to play a sport, that’s fine,” Dowling said. “But they give it to a functional illiterate who can’t read a cereal box, and then make him spend 50 hours a week on physical skills. That’s not opportunity. If you want to give financial help to minorities, go find the ones who are at the library after school.”

Robert Mulcahy immediate decried Dowling's remark as racist, as did University President Richard McCormick. Dowling later said, according to ESPN, "none of these kids would have been able to get into Rutgers if they hadn't been able to throw something or kick something or slam dunk something." However, Rutgers officials claim that the 2.7 grade point average of the football team is on par with the rest of the university.

Clearly, Dowling's remark was was not well thought out... and was inflammatory in many respects. However, Rutgers would do well to remember that its fundamental responsibility is to create opportunities for all of its students to become leaders and productive citizens... and not to produce NFL players or NBA players or Olympic athletes, for that matter.

And that a 2.7 grade point average is cause for concern and might warrant the addition of a few more tutors rather than another increase in the compensation for Coach Schiano or his staff.