After 8 months of hard work repairing a knee and fractured leg, Tiger Woods returned to the course today at the Accenture Match-Play Championships. One of the most fiercest athletes and competitors of our era, winning 10 of his last 13 events, Woods’ returned has recharged a sport that has seen a 60% drop of interest by fans since Woods’ win at the U.S. Open and subsequent knee surgery and rehabilitation. Woods’ return can restart a sport that is struggling to make money and to hold the interest of fans.

It is impressive how one person can control so much interest in a sport that has so many players involved. But Woods’ dominance in the game of Golf can be difficult to compare to many other accomplishments. HIs ability to win and the character and class with which he has handled his fame is exemplary and worthy of mention here at the EverdayQB.

Woods is quoting as saying, “As a kid, I might have been psycho, I guess, but I used to throw golf balls in the trees and try and somehow make par from them. I thought that was fun.” Woods challenged himself, even when he was a kid, to respond and succeed under difficult circumstances. I can’t help but wonder how his willingness to challenge himself, to learn how to adjust and succeed in the rough, in the trees, might have factored into his rehabilitation and work to get back to the playing level that he will most definitely be at today.

Preparing to succeed when you wind up in the rough is an important practice of living a successful life. Do you imagine or prepare for situations when you might be in a difficult place, and do you practice or prepare for how you will respond?

You can follow Woods’ opening round today online with updates from Jason Sobel at ESPN.

Its hard to measure the value of having a team of support around you in your life. Having friends, family and coworkers who support and encourage you is pivotal in being able to tackle what life will throw at you each day. Here’s an introduction to the 72mm blog team:

72mm Blog Team from 72mm Blogs on Vimeo.
If you enjoy reading EverydayQB, check out the rest of our team’s blogs:

Paul-Pacific Pedaling

Jared- The Weekly Brew

Conrad- Building a Strong Foundation

Mark-Mark on Markets

Ryan B.- Porsche Perfect

Deanna- Green Glancy, Hack-a-Life and Recycled Lovelies

Ryan- TweakOSX, Hack-a-Life

Winter has a way of creating lethargic and sometimes depressing feelings. It seems harder to get out of bed in the morning, harder to enjoy work and harder to feel passionate about what each day entails. While ‘momma said there’d be days like this’, perhaps you’ve been struggling for a while with ‘rekindling’ your passion for your job, school, family, etc.

Passion is what drives every action of our day. It is what gives us the ability to fulfill dreams and reach goals. Without passion, life becomes a mindless, wandering journey without purpose or aim. John Maxwell says, “A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”

What are you passionate about? Can you remember what drives your everyday actions?

If you’re struggling with remembering your passions, try this exercise. Grab two pieces of paper and on the first piece of paper, take ten minutes to answer the question, “What do I want to contribute to this world before I die?” Just keep on writing for those ten minutes, as many ideas and answers to that question. Then, after the first ten minutes is up, take the next ten minutes and, on the second piece of paper, prioritize what you have written on the first piece of paper, listing in order the things that are most important for you to contribute before you die.

This exercise can bring great clarity and a reminder of what you are passionate about. If the things on your list that you desire to do are not matching up with what you are currently working towards in your everyday life, consider what a life full of passion might look like.

Alvin Smith, a defensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns is quoted as saying, “Football is a game that’s played with intensity and passion. If your opponent determines how hard you’re going to play in the game, then you’re in the wrong sport.”

Don’t let an opponent or outside force determine how you will live life. Find out what gives you passion and pursue it.

What are you passionate about doing before you die? Let us know in the comments section.

There are men and women in this world that are exceptional. Tony Dungy is one of these men. Here at Everyday QB, I like to applaud and commend men and women of outstanding character. Men and women who have shown the they are able to succeed with grace and humility in an ambitious and self-seeking world. The first African-American to lead a football team to a Super Bowl Championship (XLI), he did it without screaming, yelling or demanding his players sell their souls to football. Instead, he redefined success and leadership with foundations like family, faith and trust. Dungy’s leadership style is unassuming yet confident, giving and challenging, humble and successful.

In Dungy’s memoir, ‘Quiet Strength‘, Tony Dungy reveals the secrets to his success-principles, practices, and priorities that have kept him on track despite overwhelming personal and professional obstacles, including firings, stereotypes, and the tragic loss of a child. These obstacles and mountains that Dungy has climbed have shaped in into the person and coach he is today and his book reveals a man who is simply sharing his life story in order that others man learn from him. A book like Quiet Strength gives us the opportunity to learn about and understand the life of a professional football coach, with all of the media and hype that goes with it. Yet Dungy, while sharing those moments, also shares the more personal ones, the ‘real life’ components of being a coach in the NFL and what it means to be a father and husband in the business.

Tony has not only survived but risen to the very top of his profession in a way that’s won the respect of fans, players, and even his competitors. His thoughts on leading, succeeding, and attaining true significance will inspire you to take a long, hard look at the things that really matter in your own life. Consider reading Dungy’s book ‘Quiet Strength‘ or his latest release ‘Dare To Be Uncommon‘ and re-examine the priority system in your life.

Often in life there are moments that seem overwhelming. The work and the stress of every day life can bog us down and leave us reeling and paralyzed. Some of us experience these moments three, four times a day, others occasionally. But my question is: How can we combat these overwhelming feeling of stress? How do we prevent life from suffocating us?

I believe that in those moments of stress and worry, things are really not as bad as they seems. I will often start my day with a to-do list that seems overwhelming and impossible to complete, yet when I make the decision to begin to trudge through it, the list seems less daunting and more doable. Another technique when stress occurs is to take a step back and gain a proper perspective on life and the day. Sayings like, “Count your blessings” or “Look at the bright side” or examples of this attempt. Because when we step back and see the world/our day/our to-do list from the right perspective, we realize that things really aren’t that bad. I have good health, a great job and a great family, and these things that are stressing me out are really not that important in the grand scheme of things.

Figuring out how and where we can step back and gain that perspective can be important to our sanity. A breathing technique may work for you, or exercising. Finding a quiet place to reflect and get away from the busyness of life. Whatever it is, it is important to search for it, so that you can hold on to your sanity and each day, gain the proper perspective that illuminate how good life really is.

Check out this video of some guys who gained the proper perspective in a more drastic, yet magnificent way…

Paragliding on frozen dunes from Bitlas on Vimeo.

Today at EverydayQB, I want to take an opportunity to applaud an everyday team player, someone who stepped up and made the big catch when he was most needed. Jerry Rice has been quoted saying, “I’ve got to show them I can handle what they’re going to throw at me.”

Some friends of mine were due to have their second child recently and chose to have the child at home with a midwife. The father of the expectant child is a former football player, current football coach and an exceptional man. He has a relentless work ethic and a giant heart. So on Sunday, February 15th, when his wife went into labor and the midwife didn’t get there in time for the birth of their second daughter, my friend ‘handled what was thrown at him’ and without any previous experience, delivered his daughter.

This to me is an amazing story of a sports analogy brought to real life. Wide receivers on a football team are taught that, when they run their routes and turn towards the quarterback, they must immediately have their hands prepared for what might be coming there way. Because they may not know the timing of the pass or the velocity at which it will come, being ready at any moment to step up and make the big play is an important aspect of being a successful athlete. You may catch the pass that wins the game, have the ball in your hands to make the winning basket or be at the plate needing to drive home your teammate on base for the winning run, but each require a readiness. The famous British statesman, Benjamin Disraeli, is quoting as saying, “One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes”.

My friend’s opportunity had come and he was ready. They now have two healthy, beautiful daughters. Well done, Brian, well done.

Are you ready for an opportunity that could come your way, today?

On Wednesday, Bret Favre called it quits…again. But this time, it wasn’t the heart that gave out (momentarily, we saw in hindsight) but the thing which has made him the incredible quarterback he ‘was’: his arm. Favre was very honest in a conference call with reporters that the tear in his bicep tendon would only get worse and would eventually need surgery. At 39, it would be time consuming and laborious for Favre to rehab an arm that finished him tied for 10th in the NFL in victories, 21st in passer rating, fifth in completion percentage, 22nd in average yards per attempt, 11th in passing yards, ninth in touchdown passes, 31st in interception percentage and first in giveaways.

The question is, “Will Favre stay retired?” The Everyday QB answer is, “Most definitely, yes”. The prospect of rehabbing the arm, finding another team or re-earning the starting spot, are paths that Favre does not want to take. As much as he loves the game of football, when you have played at the level that Favre has played at for so long, it will be too difficult to not play at that level ever again. The Chicago Tribune says, “His late-season performance can be attributed mostly to age. Favre no longer is a cold-weather quarterback and he wears down as the season goes on. His throwing shoulder gave him problems late in the year. Over the last two seasons, his passer rating over seven games in temperatures lower than 40 degrees is 79.1, according to STATS.” The Tribune thinks that maybe in a warm-weather stadium, Favre would play better. But you’re talking about a guy who played 18 seasons in the frozen tundra of Green Bay and put up the numbers he did, I think the argument is moot.

It’ll be sad to see Brett Favre off the field. He is a great competitor. Great at throwing on the run. Accurate and an example of what it means to play a game with passion. But I’m happy for him. I think he will find a rest that he may not have found in the last few seasons in the NFL and he can look back over his 19 years in the NFL and see the amazing things he accomplished. Well done, Brett, well done.

I’ve avoided writing ANY notes on Facebook, ESPECIALLY ones where you tell people random facts about your self that virtually all of your 300 friends will see. But finally I thought to myself, why just tell my friends when I can tell the whole world? So here are 25 random things about me, the Everyday QB:

1. I have been married to a woman more beautiful and incredible then I ever thought there was on the Earth, for almost five years.

2. My favorite movie is ‘Thirteen Days’ with Kevin Costner about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

3. My other job is living life with college students.

4. Every time I swim in the ocean I visualize being eaten by a shark.

5. My wife and I spent five months teaching and traveling in China and Thailand.

6. I was born with no cartilage in my ears so they grew perpendicular to my head, until I had surgery when I was five.

7. My brother and I were three-time high school conference champions in doubles tennis.

8. One of my goals in life is to write a book.

9. I played college football at Western Oregon University, with Super Bowl Champion Kevin Boss.

10. I am not ashamed to say that I enjoy birdwatching!

11. My favorite meal is my wife’s lasagna.

12. My favorite place in the world is home.

13. I’ve been speechless two times in my life; on my wedding day and standing on a mountainside at Denali National Park, Alaska.

14. Sometimes I talk too much.

15. I’m currently on my couch in a sweatshirt and sweatpants…I love this job!

16. The love of family and friends has been a constant source of encouragement and strength in my life.

17. As a kid, I loved to drink pickle juice and have peanut butter and ketchup sandwiches.

18. My favorite cartoon growing up was Darkwing Duck.

19. My brother is now a quarterback for the Boise Burn.

20. My sister can out think and out talk most guys I know when it comes to sports.

21. My parents get smarter every day.

22. My favorite president is Abraham Lincoln

23. When I grow up, I want to make a difference.

24. Music stirs my soul like few things in this world can.

25. I’m getting old…

Whew! That was tough. Hopefully you know me a little better now and know where my random thoughts on life, sports and business are coming from. Leave some random comments about yourself in the comments section below!

The post-football blues has set in. What is the EverdayQB to do? Have no fear, the sporting world will not stop spinning. We will continue to talk about sports-related topics and issues related to your life and how this sporting truths can be applied to your. Futhermore, college and professional football news never ceases around the clock, so there is sure to be plenty of material to work with.

Today is one of the biggest days in a young football players life: Signing Day. Today is the day when high school football players sign scholarships and letters of intent to play for college football teams. These are some tough decisions for young men to make: where do I go to school? Where will be a good opportunity to develop and learn the game of football? Will I have an opportunity to play early? Is the food in the cafeteria any good?

The task of choosing a place to play college football can be daunting and college coaches don’t make it any easier. A requirement of being a college football coach seems to be the ability to make your school sound better than any other out there. Recruiting can be a fine art that many coaches have to learn. Although, when you coach for USC or Florida, its gotta be a little easier. ESPN has some great info on signing day today and top players that haven’t committed yet.

Recruiting can be a lot like making a sales pitch in the business world, giving a presentation, or bringing a newcomer to your office. Here are some tips about how to land quality, effective employees:

1. Be yourself–Due to our intrinsically skeptical post-modern mindset, many can see right through a charade or false front. Being yourself and developing your own style let’s people know that you are genuine and have no hidden agendas.

2. Recruit character, ethic and intelligence–Surprisingly true on the football field as well, physical (or production) abilities is not all there is to the game. You want people on your team that are moldable and honest. Men and women of integrity and character, that will not only perform well, but who are reliable and ethical.

3. Be Honest and Thorough–Speak candidly with the interviewee or candidate about what you are looking for and their resume that you have in front of you. You don’t have to be brutally honest, but often times, interviewers are so mysterious and reassuring, when they have no intention of hiring a person or giving them a chance. This projects the image that you are dishonest and unprofessional.

These are some tips on the ‘recruiting’ process in whatever facet of life you might find yourself in. Got some other recruiting tips? Leave them in the comment section.

Wow! What a game. A game of momentous plays and heartbreaking endings. My soul goes out to Kurt Warner and the Cardinals, coming so close to victory that would’ve been unprecedented and unexpected. But the passion and skill of the Steelers prevailed and the EverydayQB predictions proved to be close to accurate (patting myself on my back).

Larry Fitzgerald was by far the best athlete on the field, and his great run in the fourth quarter proved it. How I wish Warner would’ve gotten that last throw up in the air. But in the end, the most impressive player of the game to me was Ben Roethlisberger.

What impressed me about Roethlisberger was the way in which he ‘created’ plays that may have not been there or broken down. He was able to ‘extend’ the pocket and, particularly in the final drive, find open receivers. His effective pump fake pulled the Cardinal’s defense in. Roethlisberger made the right plays at the right time. Moss’ monumental catch in the end zone will go down as one of the greatest drives and catches in Super Bowl History.

What impressed me about the Steelers was their persistence and confidence. What impressed me about the Cardinals was their heart. It was a great game and I hope you had a chance to watch it. The EverydayQB gives it two thumbs up!

You can check out some great photos of the amazing night at ESPN.

What did you think of the game? Let us know in the comments section…