Best Player Down

Welcome back,

Today is a sad day in the lounge because my main man is moving out of the house. He’s off to join the real world. A world filled with responsibility, work, taxes, bills, and all that other stuff.

You know how there are some people who are just better than you at absolutely everything? It’s the most frustrating thing because no matter how hard you try, you can’t beat them. You can never get ahead. Whether it’s an Iron Chef cook-off, a drag race (my pick-up vs. his Mitzubishi Galant), or even an epic battle in Mortal Kombat; you just can’t win.

Well, sadly, I’m this person to Jared Jackson. Poor Jared can’t seem to beat me in anything. I’m always a step ahead. No matter how hard he tries, the only time he wins is when I let him.

Despite the lack of serious competition, Jared has had a significant influence over the years. If it weren’t for him, I never would have seen such cinematic gems as Repo Men, Human Centipede, and Jennifer’s Body (I’m pretty sure all of these movies were nominated at some point for the worst movie of the year award).

In all seriousness though, I would like to wish my friend the best of luck in all of his future endeavors. It’s been a great run.

As Jared once said, “Best Player Down.”

-Zach

 

Movie Flashback: Part II

So last night I did my movie countdown from number 10 through number 6. These movies are classics; I’m talking VHS and VCR’s. Back before DVD’s, when you could hear your VCR rewind, and you had to slowly fast forward all the previews so you wouldn’t miss the start of the movie.

Tonight, I give you…drum roll please…the much anticipated top 5.

 

#5- Angels in the Outfield

“We can’t win, that would be a sin, we even lose the games before they begin”- best line in the movie. It’s epic when Mel Clark strikes out Kit “Hit or Die” Keysey in the championship game; he didn’t even have an angel with him.

 

#4- The Sandlot

This is the ultimate growing up movie, and almost every scene has a great quote:

“You’re killing me Smalls.”-Classic

“He had kissed a woman, and he had kissed her long and good.” –I’m pretty sure that every kid that watched this movie had a huge crush on Wendy Peffercorn.

“Hero’s get remembered, but legends never die.”

This movie also had the best trash talking scene from any movie ever made. I watch this clip like film, so I can bring this kind of heat on the gridiron.

 

#3- Space Jam

What can I say? When you put Michael Jordan in a movie, it’s bound to be great. But this movie didn’t stop there; they added multiple NBA Hall of Famers, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the rest of the Looney Toons gang.  This movie also had the best theme song ever made.

 

#2- Cool Runnings      

I’m pretty sure that at one point in my life I could have recited this entire movie from memory. After watching this movie, my dad helped me and my brothers build our own push-cart using some 2×4’s and plywood. It was the coolest thing ever, complete with lawn mower wheels and a steering device. We could fit all three of us in the cart and roll down the street in style. The push-cart had some serious speed too—all we were missing were some dreadlocks and Jamaican accents.

“Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it’s bobsled time…Cool Runnings.”

 

#1- The Mighty Ducks (The whole trilogy)

I put all three Mighty Ducks into one because this franchise would have taken too many of the top spots. The movies of my childhood; The Mighty Ducks. There’s not much to say. Watch the movies and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

 

Thanks for joining me in this nostalgic journey through my childhood. I’ll catch you later back here in the Lounge.

-Zach

 

 

Movie Flashback

Hey,

Welcome back to the lounge.

This is a blast from the past episode in the lounge…

I was watching TV this weekend and The Mighty Ducks came on. It could be one of my all-time favorite movies so I couldn’t resist watching it. Then I walked into my house today and my roommate was watching Beauty and the Beast (no judgment here). It took me back to my younger days, and I’m not gonna say that I didn’t watch it.

These movies got me thinking about the movies of my childhood. So for my next blogs I decided to make a list of ten of the most influential movies from my childhood, and by influential I mean the ones that I liked the most.

#10- Lion King

Two Words: Hakuna Matata

#9- Milo and Otis (I know it was released in 1986, but cut me some slack)

This movie takes me way back. By far my favorite movie when I was a little fella. “Such a great big world, it’s all set up, for a curious cat and a pug nosed pup.” Play this movie, give me a juice box, and I’m ready for nap time.

#8- Homeward bound

The closest I ever came to crying in a movie was when Shadow got stuck in the pit by the railroad tracks. That’s tough stuff. Get up Shadow!!!

#7- Balto

Based on a true story; Half-Dog, Half-Wolf: Full Stud.

#6- An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

Animated films don’t get much better than this. After watching this movie, I wanted two things: A cowboy hat and a sling shot. Also, Wiley Burp could be my favorite animated character of all time.

“I don’t know what’s out there beyond those hills. But if you ride yonder… head up, eyes steady, heart open… I think one day you’ll find that you’re the hero you’ve been looking for.”

(I couldn’t find a clip of that line, but I did find “The Lazy Eye.”)

  

I just wish I had a VCR so I could watch all these movies. We’ll hit the top 5 tomorrow.

-Zach

 

Don’t Lose Your Dinosaur: Part II

Welcome back to the Lounge,

A special thanks to the 4 people who read my last blog.

There are a lot of things that can get in the way of trying to be a dinosaur. It can be anything from the people around you to the circumstance that you’re in.

The people you surround yourself with play a huge role in your ability to follow a dream. Some people will tell you you’ll never make it, while others will be tell you to go for it. A great example of this is the movie Rudy. Rudy’s brother, Frank, couldn’t make it, and his bitterness caused him to hate on Rudy’s dream. On the other hand, the janitor has Rudy’s back.

When Rudy tries to quit the team, he gets called out by the janitor.

I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to surround myself with people like the janitor, or like the dad in Stepbrothers; someone who will help me not lose my dinosaur. I’m trying to stay as far away from the Frank’s as possible.

Teddy Roosevelt said it best;

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Good Stuff.

Don’t Lose Your Dinosaur.

-Zach

 

Don’t Lose Your Dinosaur: Part I

Welcome back to the lounge.

We should put some chairs in here or something (It wouldn’t take many chairs to fit the people who have actually been here; I think my mom is the only person that subscribes —thanks mom, love you).

Anyways…I decided to do a two part series for my next blog: Don’t Lose Your Dinosaur.

You know how there are some people who never give up on their goals no matter what? I truly admire those people. Those are the success stories that people love to hear; the stuff of legend. Those are the stories that movies are made about (a lot of movie references in these posts, so bear with me).

Look at Rudy. I get so pumped at the end of that movie because the kid finally made it.

Kurt Warner was bagging groceries for $5.50 an hour. But he was determined to make the NFL; and in 1999 he finally made a team. He became a starter, won a Super Bowl, a couple of MVP’s, and the rest is history.

The never give up attitude is what we love about the Rocky movies. The dude gets beat down in every movie, and though he may not win them all, he never gives up, he keeps moving forward, keeps chasing the dream.

One of the most poignant scenes in any movie I’ve ever seen was the end of “The Pursuit of Happyness.” He finally made it. What makes that scene great is seeing all the struggles Will Smith’s character went through to get to that position.

A lot of people will give up on their dream; they’ll lose their dinosaur.

(pardon the language)

You can’t lose your dinosaur. You can’t give in to the man. Sometimes you have to go against conventional wisdom, throw caution into the wind, and do what you are passionate about.

The key is, never be afraid to chase a dream. Never lose your dinosaur.

-Zach

 

Doing Work (as a team)

Welcome back to the Lounge, it’s been a while.

It’s a given that at some point I was gonna have to do a blog on teamwork. Teamwork is essential in almost all aspects of life, so I’m obliged to have a blog post about it.

There are so many sports examples of teamwork. One of my favorite movies is “Miracle,” the story of the 1980 U.S. hockey team. The best part of the movie is that the U.S. team did it right; they took players that would fit well together instead of the best individuals.

“I’m not looking for the best players; I’m looking for the right ones.”

That’s good stuff.

Any time you’re trying to successfully do something, you have to bring together the right people. In any company, it’s not necessarily about bringing in the best people; it’s about having the right people. It’s about having people that share a common goal, and can work together towards that goal.

If you’re starting a company, you should surround yourself with people that fit well within the company culture, understand the goals and objectives, and work together to make the company great.

If you’re trying to rob a casino, you should probably get some pretty skilled thieves.

 

If there is one thing that has been reiterated to me throughout college; it’s the importance of teamwork.

As Henry Ford said,

Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.

-Zach

 

Kitchen Corruption

Welcome back,

In the years I’ve spent living on my own, I’ve learned many things. One of which is cooking.

Now, I’m a pretty competitive person, and I also fancy myself a decent cook. So when my roommate challenged me to an Iron Chef style cook-off, I was down.

For some reason, my roommate thinks he is a better cook than me. Crazy, I know. But I decided that it was time to show him once and for all that my culinary skills are far superior.

The secret ingredient: Salmon. We each had a filet of salmon and were given the task of creating the most delicious meal possible.

The cook-off was a blur. I was all over the place; sautéing, searing, boiling, chopping, and tasting. It’s been said that watching me in the kitchen is like watching Michael Jordan play basketball. If Emeril and Rachel Ray had a 6 foot 7 kid, it would be me. It was like that scene in Old School when Frank the Tank (Will Farrell) is doing the debate and he has the perfect answer.

Anyways, when I was done I had something that looked similar to this.

After seeing what my roommate was trying to present as “food” I was sure that the win was in the bag.

The judge of our little Iron Chef experiment was our other roommate (who will not be named). Now this particular person lives off of a diet of straight top ramen and Rockstar energy drinks (I once saw him eat a spoon full of mayonnaise); he probably wasn’t the most qualified judge, but I thought that delicious food is delicious food, no matter who’s eating it…….as it turns out I was wrong.

I had used an extremely tasty teriyaki marinade to cook with; needless to say the food was on point. But when it came time to judge it was discovered that our judge doesn’t like teriyaki. What does he season his salmon with you ask? Ketchup, that’s right ketchup. Who puts ketchup on their salmon? That’s Bush League.

Anyways, poor taste buds, corrupt judging (an investigation has begun due to accusations of bribery), and a lack of culinary appreciation caused the upset of the century. Officially, I lost the challenge. I am not bitter; however, I am very concerned with the direction in which the culinary arts are headed.

I told you this story to tell you this: Sometimes, the best man doesn’t win. Sometimes, you CAN handle the heat, but you should still stay out of the kitchen. Sometimes, you catch a bad break–and the only solution is to keep on cooking.

Keep on Cooking.

That is all.

-Zach

 

Find Your Chi

Hello,

Welcome back to the lounge.

I ended my first blog with a little paragraph about Stephen Covey’s idea of “sharpening the saw.” I like to think of it as finding your Chi.

In the same way that each person has to find their –ness, each person also needs to find their Chi. What is Chi? I have no idea what Chi actually is, but here in the Lounge we’ll say that Chi is what you like to do to relax.

There’s a story that I’ll probably mess up, but it starts with two dudes who are outside chopping some wood. One dude is just powering through, non-stop. The other guy is stopping every once in a while, taking some breaks, catching his breath, and sharpening his axe. I’m sure there’s more to the story, but long story short: the guy who stopped to sharpen his axe cut more wood.

I dig this story because it lets me feel better about being unproductive. It’s like the Brad Paisley song “Time Well Wasted.” Sometimes, you have to sit back, relax, and catch your breath. I’ve found that the best way to do this is to find your Chi.

A lot of people are so busy with work, or school, or other activities that they don’t take time to relax (relajarse for those Spanish speakers out their). The key is to take some time to do whatever it is that you like to do. Whether that’s fishing, taking your dog for a walk, pwning some noobs on Call of Duty, annihilating your roommates in Super Smash Brothers for N64, cooking, or whatever. People are into different stuff, it’s cool, I get it. I don’t know how you could enjoy gardening, but if that’s you— garden away. It’s not about what you do, it’s just that you do it.

Bottom line: Find your Chi. Have some fun, and don’t be afraid to waste some time- it’s good for you.

I would encourage you to take some time, and find your Chi. Then, and only then, will you be able to throw seven different kinds of smoke.

Ball Game

-Zach

 

The League is Back

Hey,

Welcome back to the Lounge.

Well, the NFL is back in action. For someone who is so heavily involved in football, I never really got into what was going on with the lockout. People would always ask me “what do you think about the lockout?”  I would always repeat some conversation I heard on ESPN that day. It was usually some story about the need to pay the players more and the owners wanting more money, not opening the books and all that. The truth is that I really didn’t get into the lockout; I always figured both sides would lose too much money if they let it go too far. I’m just happy the NFL is back on so my former Wolfpack teammates can start their NFL careers.

That being said, the NFL is going crazy right now with all the free agent signings and trades. The floodgates have opened up now that the lockout is over. Players have begun reporting for camp and it seems as if the NFL is back in full force.

Of course, I wouldn’t look into the particulars of the lockout until it was over. However, this new agreement is pretty interesting. Some of the main points are given by the National Football Post.

The biggest obstacle in the collective bargaining agreement was the revenue split which is explained below.

“Revenue Split: Unlike the previous CBA – where $1 billion was skimmed off the top for credits and set-offs – the new revenue model will be based upon All Revenue (AR), beginning with an accounting after this season. Owners will receive approximately 52% and Players 48%, with true-up provisions for Owners to have a higher percentage in the event of certain revenue targets.  The Players’ downside protection is 46.5% with a requirement that their ten-year to not dip below 47%.

Also, for 2012 specifically, Players will receive:

• • 55% of national media revenue
• • 45% of NFL Ventures revenue
• • 40% of local team revenue

Also, owners that spend on actual stadium investment will receive a credit of up to 1.5% of revenue each year.” National Football Post

 

It’s great that both sides could come to an agreement; and just in time for the season.  The whole situation just goes to show that the NFL is no different than a big business. Each team brings in hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and everyone involved must be compensated accordingly. At the end of the day, the NFL has the difficult task of finding solutions that please the owners, the players, and the fans.  The good news is that we are going to have a season. The best news is that we can have a fantasy football season (I’m taking Adrian Peterson all the way to the championship).

 

-Zach

 

Hello World

Hello World.

Welcome to the Zach Sudfeld Lounge. Feel free to stay for a while.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, my name is Zach Sudfeld. While I may not be the most interesting man in the world (I might be top ten, just above Jared Jackson), I am a senior tight end on the University of Nevada Wolfpack football team, and a soon to be graduate. This blog will cover a wide range of topics, mostly related to business (I am a business management major). However, like I said in my about me, it won’t be all business because that would be boring.

The business side of this blog will probably have a lot of sports references and analogies. I’ve played sports all my life, so I can’t really help it. Teamwork, commitment, hard work, trust, and dedication are all things that you must have when playing sports, and I believe that the same can be said about the business world. I hope to be able to find plenty of relevant information regarding cutting edge business ideas to make this blog worth a read.

While this blog will be full of business information, I plan on having a good time (this is the Lounge after all). One of my favorite books is Dr. Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” While the first six habits are great, the seventh habit is by far the best. The book says “sharpen the saw.” Sharpen the saw means self renewal. Let yourself relax. I’m all about having a good time. Work hard, but then have some fun. So let the good times roll.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you soon back here in the Lounge.
-Zach