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SPORT HEROES FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME

April 11, 2026 by David Gillaspie Leave a Comment

Sport heroes take root from the year you were born. The key is catching up once you learn how to read. Being born in the mid-50’s was a stroke of luck. The Yankees were in the World Series eight out of ten years, winning six. They had Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, but I was […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, baseball, basketball, boomerpdx, boxing, champion, championship, cowboys, education, fantasy leagues, hero, heroes, SPORT, sport heroes, sports, sports betting, story, winner, yankees

AGING FEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME

February 18, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Aging fear kicks in when you start wondering about tomorrow. Will you be there for it? Why wouldn’t you? Oh, that’s why.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: aging, aging fear, America, average, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, basketball, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, coach, dismissive, education, Fat, fear, football, good grandpa, high school, history, kids, learning, old man, old men, ordinary, seniors, soccer, sports, step up, story, teams, wife, wrestling, writer, writing

BASKETBALL TROPHIES: 1 ON 1

August 5, 2025 by David Gillaspie

In the world of basketball trophies, this is the tip top of the pile, the NBA World Championship trophy. It was an honor to hold, a feeling with deep roots. I’ve held a few things that stir the feelings and this was one of them. But my own basketball trophies mean more, which makes the […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: 1 on 1, basketball, basketball tricks, basketball trophies, Bill Walton, boy's game, city boys, college boys, cutthroat, friendly game, fundamentals, greco-roman, man game, Mitchel jordan, my game, NBA, old guys, Oregon, play defense, scrappy, Southern Oregon, sportsmen, trophies, warriors, winner, wrestling, wrestling opponents

KEEN INSIGHTS, OR CULTURAL VOID

January 31, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Keen insights are what I’m looking for. I want to know what I don’t know in a useful way. A new way to pull a nail, thread a needle, boil water. If it’s new and insightful, sign me up. What I’m not looking for?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: base 3, basketball, binary, college, Coos Bay, cultural void, culture, education, friends, generalization, google, KEEN INSIGHTS, logging town, nice, North Bend, paying attention, reddit, ten people, toughness, wrestling

EXTRA EFFORT WHEN IT MATTERS

August 5, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Extra effort often gives a big win in sports, at work, in life. Or you get lucky. After a big win you don’t need to do anything extra. So why do people ask, “What’s next?” after a big victory?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: athletes, authority figure, basketball, big win, blog, blogger, extra effort, let it fly, olympians, Olympics, paris, permission, reporter, reporters, sports, sports reporters, story, table tennis, USA, victory, what's next, winners, writer, writing

BE SOMEBODY? THERE ARE CLUES ALONG THE WAY

June 18, 2024 by David Gillaspie

You’ve heard the request to ‘be somebody?’ Be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, and more. The request usually comes from an adult speaking to someone who screwed up. They ask why we can’t be better than what we’re in trouble for. It’s different when we’re in trouble with ourselves.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomers, ball player, baseball, basketball, be somebody, be yourself, belittled, BOOMER, boomers, bullied, educated, experience, failure, football, learn, learning, lessons, lifetime, mental health, personal identity, screwed up, shamed, Social media, sports, vote

EXTRA EFFORT? WHO’S THE JUDGE

May 11, 2024 by David Gillaspie

There you are doing your best, trying your hardest, and a voice in your head says, ‘You’d do better with a little extra effort.’ If you’ve heard it, do you know where it come from? A coach, a teacher, a parent. “You could be somebody if you actually applied yourself.”

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: applied yourself, basketball, basketball goal, bitter, blog, blog post, blogger, coach's fault, coaches, extra effort, football, football guy, good effort, good sportsmanship, grace, lose, marketing, mental health, personal branding, sportsmanship, talk writing, teachers, twitter, varsity letter, voice, win, writer ranks, writing, your best, your hardest

SPORTS DADS SAY, “PLAY MY KID IF YOU’RE SMART”

February 27, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Sports dads come in every flavor between sweet and sour. They come with vast experience, and none. What they know for sure is their kid is better than your kid and should play more than he does. With that attitude, what can go wrong?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, basketball, blog, blogger, BOOMER, boomerpdx, coach whistle, coaching, education, family, football, history, kid sports, kids, Love, MARRIAGE, soccer, SPORT, sports, sports dad, sports dads, sports season, sports superstar, wrestling, wrestling mats, writer, writers, writing, youth coach, youth coaching, youth sports

TALKING BACK? DON’T BACKTALK ME SON

July 14, 2023 by David Gillaspie

Talking back is a right and a privilege, but it comes with a caveat: It may not be as appreciated as you’d hope. The great Randy Johnson said it well with: “I don’t care who you are, don’t get in my face!” the 6-10 Johnson snapped at one point as they brushed past the cameraman. […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accusation, advice, Baby Boomers, backtalk, balance, base, basketball, blame, boomers, Communication, Expert, finger pointing, football, good company, Portland Oregon, posture, respect, rude, shit talk, sports, sportsmanship, talking back

GOLD WATCH OR GOLD MEDAL

April 2, 2023 by David Gillaspie

This gold watch was once the most desired piece of jewelry on any wrist. If you didn’t wear a Seiko watch, who were you? This one came from San Antonio, Texas after the owner whipped the strongest man he’d ever met in arm wrestling. After that it was a gold medal.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomers, basketball, better man, bigger picture, blogger, boomerpdx, cheating, competition, cut throat, gold medal, gold watch, losers, Olympics, sports, sportsmanship, winners