Bob's Police Beat

Trivia Question:

1. In the history of the NHL only one player has played in 3 consecutive Stanley Cup Finals each with a different team. Name him.
2. Name the 3 teams.
3. How many muscles does a domestic cat have to control their ears?
4. Who is the only MLB player to hit a home run over the left field roof of Connie Mack stadium in Philadelphia?
5. How long was that home run?

Hold on tight to your dream

- Electric Light Orchestra (1981)

Here are a few snippets from the hidden spaces of an addled mind, a very unscientific set of brief observations about 4 professional sports. Hopefully they are thought-provoking enough for you to come up with your own thoughts and even more importantly that you’ll recognize the final conclusions (dreams).

Baseball – generally a slow relaxed event that is very much statistics oriented and analyzed to the Nth degree.
With rare exception there is only one player that is directly involved in every play in the game, that being the pitcher.
There is only one position where one player faces all the others; the catcher.
The pace of the game is very methodical, the team rosters are assembled based on the nuances of the home stadium, the lineups for a specific game are based on the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.
Generally, baseball is considered a ‘thinking mans game’.

Football – basically a brute strength game requiring sheer size at most positions and agility at others.
It features a lot of standing around, huddling, discussion, and planning, briefly interrupted by a play (11 minutes of actual play in a 60 minute game). Most players are specialists at one particular position.
Despite the overall bulk of the other players, many games are decided by a spindly soccer style kicker whose only responsibility is to kick the ball.

Basketball – Despite each team having 5 players on the court much of the action is one-on-one and the whole ‘aura’ of the game is based on individual players. Think Kobe, Shaq, LeBron, Carmello, etc. – also consider Alan Iverson and his bright arm sleeve (since adopted by others in the NBA) that’s sole purpose is to shout ‘Hey, look at me’. Also consider the mindset of Ron Artest (he of the infamous players vs. fans riot at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan) whose first comments to a TV reporter immediately after his team (Lakers) won this years championship was to thank his ‘boys from the ‘hood’.
Many believe the only ‘game’ in the NBA is played in the last 5 minutes.

Hockey – fast, furious and can seem to be utter chaos on ice. But the reality is every player on the ice has a constantly changing role – and if even one of those roles is not fulfilled the other team has a good opportunity to score.
Some new viewers don’t like to watch hockey saying they can’t follow the puck while purists don’t follow the puck much at all since the real play and tactics occur away from the puck while probing for a role breakdown by the opponent.
Hockey players generally would play even if they were not paid.

Now here is the crux of these ramblings. When you look at your agency overall is it more like the MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL? Or is it an amalgam of 2 or 3 or even all 4? Or is your agency able to adapt their missions and tactics based on the circumstances, short and long term?

Interestingly enough our products can help you on many levels to reach your mission goals whether they be real-time and immediate or the longer term big picture issues.

Also, with ISELink now available the powerful features of ISE are now available to those thousands of smaller and mid-size agencies at a more affordable price point.

Be safe out there.

Trivia Answers:

1. Marian Hossa
2. Pittsburgh Penquins 2008, Detroit Red Wings 2009, Chicago Blackhawks 2010
3. 38
4. Pancho Herrera
5. No one knows since the ball was still climbing as it passed through the bank of lights mounted above the left field roof.