Rays of Hope

By Joe Tidei

I'm mesmerized as I sit beneath the stars

Because somehow it helps me find who we truly are

Our lives are eternal through the gifts we've all been given

And when our time comes our actions will be forgiven

All of us are connected through the pathways of our souls

And when we live for others our hearts are occupied in full

We were created to be selfless and designed for compassion

But greed took the vulnerable like an emotionless assassin

We exist in a world controlled by the powerful and corrupted

Covered by the ashes of the anger that's erupted

But through the destruction the immortal continue to shine

Giving me rays of hope of what one day will be mine

Blood in the Water

By Joe Tidei

The Chicago Blackhawks defibrilated what looked to be flat lined series and have shocked their way back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7 against Vancouver. Who would've thunk it? They showed resiliancy and heart by not giving in to their bitter rivals. They were laying on the mat after being punched in the mouth and they found a way to get back up. Where did this team come from?

All year long the Blackhawks went into the fetal position for their opponent and tended to succumb to pressure situations. All year long this team frustrated and infuriated its fans, coaches and organization with their complacency and lack of fortitude. All year long it looked like this team just didn't have the guts to get the job done like the previous season and for the first three games it looked like the doubters were right. Then Bobby Lou returned to the postseason form that all Hawk fans love to remember.

Seriously, Luongo might be the most mentally soft player in sports not named LeBron James. What other goalie shuts down his opponent for three games and then gives up 12 goals in the next 120 minutes? Roberto Luongo that's who. You want to know why Vancouver won't win the Stanley Cup? Take a look at good ole' #1 in net and you'll find the reason why.

Enough of the moral victories though. There's still a game to win tonight. I'm incredibly happy we bounced back and showed some toughness. I'm elated that Hossa, Toews, Sharp and Kane all decided to play like the superstars they are. I'm thrilled to see Duncan Keith returning to Norris Trophy form, but if we lose tonight it'll be a fitting end to a bad season.

Great teams find a way to win in big games and I have my doubts about this one. I want to buy into this team because they are a good looking product on paper, but it seems like every time I do I find myself at the returns desk wanting my money back. The talent is there, the goaltending is there and the coaching is there. The heart and determination are questionable.

I will say this though. The past three games the Hawks have shown the championship grit we saw last season. They dominated the Canucks in Games 4 and 5 and then proceeded to rip out their hearts in Game 6. Vancouver is wounded. They are mentally soft and result to thug tactics to rattle us and gain the psychological edge. They threw everything including the kitchen sink at us and we returned the favor by flushing them down the toilet. What else can Vancouver do? They had the physical and mental edge and now it's gone. This isn't the same Hawks team you saw in the regular season and it certainly isn't the same team the Canucks beat up on earlier in the series.

I have no idea what type of game we're going to see tonight. A Hawks blowout wouldn't surprise me and neither would a triple overtime thriller. I conceded this series after we went down 3-0 so I'm pretty much done predicting what the Hawks can and can't do at this point, but in closing I will say this.

All the struggles, the inconsistency and the let downs that encompassed this season doesn't mean squat when the puck drops this evening. The Blackhawks have an opportunity to eliminate the Canucks for the third straight season and what better way than to send them packing on their home ice? This is a going to be a war and I can't wait to wach it. I'm expecting big hits, brawls, elbows or whatever it takes to win. These teams do not like each other. In fact hate might be a more applicable word to describe this match up.

The atmosphere is going to be electric. This hits are going to be brutal. The pace is going to be furious and the physical toll is going to be monumental. This is more than just bragging rights. This is about sending a message and I hope Luongo has a spam folder because we are going to be sending a lot of junk his way.

The Canucks are rattled and the Hawks have all the momentum. Moral victories need not apply here. The Hawks have to win or this season is a failure. Limit turnovers, get pucks to Luongo and have a net presence. Those are my keys for tonight. Poise and control in a hostile environment are the vitals to avoid flat lining. A Blackhawks win tonight and this goes from a rivalry to a massacre.

 

The Moment

By Joe Tidei

The Moment is a place

In a memory you cannot erase

Your back's against the wall

As you lose yourself in time and space

When all eyes are on you

We call this The Moment

And when opportunity passes by

You grab hold in order to own it

Will you climb to the stars

Or will you fall flat on your face

Will you reach new heights

Knowing that this is your fate?

Through all the adversity

Through all the blood and tears

This is your chance

To rise above our fears

It's the moment of truth

The culmination of life's battle

Will you keep getting knocked down?

Or will you get back up in the saddle

Chills creep down your spine

Your heart falls to your feet

It's become mind over matter

The Moment to become elite

Physically exhausted

Emotionally drained

This is legendary territory

Can you fight through the pain?

The greats define The Moment

The ordinary let it define them

They succumb to the pressure

As they drift to another realm

It's all the clichés

But none of the ones you see

The Moment is a mirage

Where one and one equals three

The Moment isn't real

It's based on your perception

But for those who rise above it

Your mythical status awaits allocation

Reafs

By Joe Tidei

Misconception triggering confusion

With ignorance leading to delusion

Perceptions become jaded

From the bright lights that have faded

Inferences seeking answers

But the truth reveals the cancers

Understanding forming thesis'

The conscience is blown to pieces

Identifying all the unknown

Still hiding behind our thrones

So scared of the harsh reality

We starting finding our own mortality

Replacing truth with irrationality

By blinding our objectivity

Redundancy to stay insane

As we hold our truths in vein

Cocooned by the social wreath

Inside the hypocrisy of our own beliefs

Repulsed by perceived instigators

Resistance against all infiltrators

Religiously focused and devoted

Forgive and forget cocked n loaded

As an eye for an eye we come to find

Makes every single one of us blind

Obsessing through our rationality

This is our true fatality

 

9th World Wonder

By Joe Tidei

I'm bottling your emotions and sealing your fate

Catching you with hooks because you can't see the bait

Deciphering my writing is like reading hieroglyphs

The symbols I project form inferences you can't depict

Writing for me is like playing connect the dots

As I sit squared away in the prism of my thoughts

I'm planting ideas to seek all you've sought

Then ripping the grounds to get the root of your thoughts

I'm stealing the sun so hell starts to freeze

While buying my time to give life back its lease

I'm a bridge inspiring those living their dreams

As I close the gap between the scripture and the scene

I'm a key for the imprisoned who want to be freed

But I draw bars around the selfish who gamble their needs

I love all the highs in my ascent to the clouds

But I relish the anxiety that brings me back down

I'm exploring all the outlets to avoid getting shocked

Conducting my sentence on grounds of writers block

I'll pray on your confessions as I commune all your fears

Then baptise my sins off the flow of your tears

This is my prelude to the opening chorus

So you'd better go get a pen, some paper and a thesaurus

Energized by lighting and amplified by thunder

I've been chosen by nature to be the 9^th world wonder

Lyrical Weaponry

By Joe Tidei

Hyperbole suffocating the ink I spill

Overdosing on my words like the last pill

Hallucinations flowing from my head to the paper

Trying to find myself before my mind hits the vapor

Rhetorically I'm malcontent and foolish

Trying to find the right words before I lose 'em

My mind is like a puzzle without the pieces

Digging through my bullshit to focus on the thesis

Turning down all the voices just to hear the static

I'm torturing these verses, upside down, Houdini magic

With a flow strapped of metaphors and imagery

I'm caged without a key of my own decree

Channeling the adrenaline volting through my veins

Invincible to the reasoning that tries to keep me insane

Vanishing to another dimension to escape all my fears

I'm blind to the reflection standing in my own mirror

My words are weapons and my thoughts are the trigger

Immune to the viruses that try to kill my vigor

The Right Stuff

By Joe Tidei

Athletes perform physical works of art that please us aesthetically and often times we view them in an immortal light. We marvel at their superhero like capabilities wishing and wondering what it would be like to possess such physical prowess. Whether it be a freakish 7-footer who can touch the top of the backboard or a quarterback who can run a 4.3 we are enamored at their elite sets of athletic gifts. Too often though we look past an important dimension in sports that can't be measured tangibly; intangibles.

Some athletes have the stuff inside that will fill you up even if the outside isn't pretty. Others are just a pretty shell with a hollow inside that will leave you wanting more.

You know how they say it's all in your head? Well, there's some truth to it. An athlete can have all the phyiscal abilities in the world, but if their head isn't in the right place those physical gifts can go for naught. Take a look at two examples; Michael Jordan and JaMarcus Russell. Both players had elite physical tools coming out of college. Jordan was a high flyer with top end speed and acrobatic aerial manueavers. Russell was a hulking quarterback with a howitzer for an arm. One became legendary and the other vetted to legendary bust status.

The difference between Jordan and Russell was their mental game. Jordan had arguably the greatest mental make up of all time. His work ethic, competitiveness and leadership were second to none. Russell reported to camp overweight, had a bad work ethic and had listening comprehension problems.

Ask any general manager or scout what they look for in a prospect and they'll tell you that the mental side is just as important as the physical side. They grade on potential, but they also grade on the players' ability to get to their potential and that is where the intangibles come to light.

In professional sports the athletic playing field evens out. Prospects who dominate from youth to college solely on their phyiscal talents will struggle because they've never had to adapt their games. In professional sports the level of athleticism is elite across the board. There are some freaks of nature, but relying on phyiscal talent will only get most players so far. The great ones expand their games to compensate for their weaknesses. They develop different aspects to counter what will be thrown at them in the professional ranks.

There are some exceptions to this rule. LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Calvin Johnson and Michael Vick possess athletic traits that no one in their respective sports can rival. However each of these players also had to evolve. LeBron had to work on his outside shot, free throws and defense. Dwight Howard had to develop post moves and gain strength. Johnson had to work on his route running and blocking. Vick had to become more of a pocket passer by developing his accuracy and footwork. None of these players were able to skate by solely on their phyiscal gifts. It took the intangible side to get where they are today, which involved work ethic and commitment.

When we look back at recent monumental draft busts such as Ryan Leaf, Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, Lawrence Phillips and Charles Rogers, what do you notice? All of these players had immense physical talent, but were head cases off the field. I know I'm stating something fairly obvious with those names, but this is why general managers and scouts look at the intangibles as well as the tangibles. Give me a guy who will maximize his potential over a guy who will never reach his ceiling. I perfer the overachievers to the underachievers.

Next time you are grading a prospect look past the tangibles and delve deeper into what you can't see on paper. Look past their phyical capablities and ask yourself if you believe they are going to reach what they are truly capable of. Ask yourself if this player possesses the work ethic, commitment and leadership qualities that you'd want on your team. Make sure that player possesses the stuff inside to maxmize their abilitiy; the right stuff.