A Lesson In Grace, Red Card Regret, Another Karate Kid?

• I will respect and remember Armando Galarraga far more for the class and intergrity he's shown than if he had pitched an official perfect game. Galarraga's compassion for umpire Jim Joyce's pain over the blown call is one of the best examples of character and sportsmanship I've seen on a big stage in a long time. Credit too to Joyce for manning up, apologizing, and owning the mistake. Galarraga and Joyce showed grace and class, so it did not surprise me when less than 18 hours after outrage, Tiger fans cheered Joyce. They took their cue from Galarraga. There's a real lesson here.
• Commissioner Bud Selig made the right call. You can't overturn a call the next day. What if it had happened in the 5th inning, and then Galarraga was perfect the rest of the way? The missed call's legacy will be more use of replay---I just hope someone figures out how to do it without slowing the game down more.
• Ankeny boys soccer coach Rick Isaacson drew a red card at state after officials took a late game-tying goal for the Hawks off the scoreboard. Isaacson immediately felt bad about losing control of his emotions and stopped to talk to our Shawn Terrell on camera. Isaacson said he needed to set a better example for his players. You  know what Coach, you've already started doing that.
• Legendary coach John Wooden is 99 years old. He's had a remarkable life. Wooden is reportedly in bad shape and not expected to leave the hospital. One of the great privileges of my life was a lengthy talk with Coach Wooden about basketball. I also sat next to him at the McDonald's All-American Banquet that I hosted. Wooden had absolutely no arrogance or airs about him. I've never seen anyone near that famous be so humble and down to earth. It was easy to see why his players love him so much, even though they often didn't realize how much until after all his lessons started impacting their lives in positive ways.
• The Lakers made it look easy in game one. A Phil Jackson coached team has never lost a series after winning game one.
• Ben Roethlisberger pledges a better lifestyle. That won't be hard.
• Touchdown Tim Dodge retires from the Barnstormers to take a job with the Ankeny Police Department. That's good for Ankeny, bad for the Barnstormers (and criminals). Dodge always represented the Hawkeyes, Steamwheelers, and Barnstormers with class.
• It's already time for a Karate Kid remake? That makes me feel old. I'll take the kids to the new one, then excitedly take them home to see the real deal on DVD. They'll think the new one is better.