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Fighting terrorists by lacing up running shoes

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On April 15, the world stopped for a moment. At the finish line of the world renown Boston Marathon, two terrorists placed crude bombs packed with shrapnel. The bombs were designed to kill or maim those who happened to be immediately next to them. That in itself isn’t that effective. But then again, simply killing three people wasn’t the goal.

No, the ultimate prize was to destroy the culture they hated by spreading fear. To destroy a free society and have public events wither away to just a fraction of what they once were.  Surely that world would cause the evil doers to grin through rotten teeth.Pittsburgh Marathon

But – knowing that’s the goal, maybe there’s a much more effective way to combat the terrorists. One that could make them throw chairs in frustration.

Our new strategy should be simply this: we don’t change. In fact, we take the opposite approach. Read more »

Putting Sportsmanship in Sports – The Story of Mitchell and Jonathan

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Sportsmanship.  It’s a term for an ideal of treating others fairly.  It’s different than simply being competitive. Being a good sportman is putting it in perspective regardless of the numbers on the scoreboard. It’s recognizing humanity of a situation.  Like the famous time in the Special Olympics during a race when one runner fell and all other competitors stopped in their tracks waiting for him to get up.

Or when two softball players helped an injured opponent who hit a home run but couldn’t run around the bases.  Or the fans of Grapevine Faith’s football team who split in half and cheered the inmates of the Gainesville State Tornadoes who didn’t have fans. Read more »

Standing up for Down Syndrome: The Story of Milo Castillo

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We’re defined moments. Those instinctive reactions to an extraordinary situation. And one of those moments happened on a Wednesday evening in mid-January, 2013.

A family of three, Eric, Kim and their five-year-old son Milo Castillo were dining at one of their favorite restaurants, Laurenzo’s Prime Rib in Houston. Little Milo, who I’m sure is an awesome 5-year old boy, happens to have Down Syndrome.

castillo

Friends describe Milo Castillo by saying he “loves to give hugs”.

The Castillos are regulars at the restaurant, and since they haven’t been there for dinner in a few weeks, the wait staff came over to say, “hi” to their young friend, Milo, and asked about his recent birthday.

About 10 minutes after the Castillo’s arrived, a second family of regulars came in and sat in an adjacent booth.  Minutes later, Milo’s mother, Kim, noticed that the family moved to another table, and then got up to leave the restaurant entirely.

That in itself it not a very remarkable story, but Kim later found out why they left.

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Top 10 List of Top Lists of All Time

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In MullerOver headquarters, our writing staff was feeling listless. So, never to waste a good pun nor opportunity to not really write a post, our writers put together the definitive list of definitive lists of all time.

TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time

TV Guide

May 10, 2002
Few around today would quarrel with TV Guide’s list of best shows including the “show about nothing”.  What we can’t quite figure out though is how they could possibly have overlooked ALF.

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Six essential life lessons from a Buffalo Bills fan

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Buffalo Bills fans know disappointment in the past, and a perpetual, sometimes irrational optimism for the future. But all those Sunday afternoons of heartbreak has made Western New York the most well rounded, insightful human beings in the world.  Thanks Ralph Wilson!

So, as a service to all those people from elsewhere in the country without the benefit of having known real wings and garbage plates, here’s a short primer of what we’ve learned that can be applied to anyone.

  • Be Humble.  Buffalo fans know better than to gloat over a win, because next week, we could be losing to the Colts. No, really.  It could happen. Read more »

Why Lance Armstrong could run for President

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Today, the Union Cycliste International (UCI)  banned Lance Armstrong from racing and stripped him of all titles. In an effort to to completely wipe those seven years from 41-year-old Armstrong’s life, UCI further recommend that he be forced to remarry his former wife Sheryl Crowe, that he return all Christmas gifts received between 1999 and 2006, and that he now be legally 34-years old.

A MullerOver exclusive photo of Obama, Armstrong, and Romney

OK – we sort of exaggerated that last part, but it’s not far from the impact felt by Armstrong. According to the evidence that the governing bodies say they have, Armstrong unquestionably cheated. It was the equivalent of finding an engine installed in the frame of his bike. And assuming the allegations are true, stripping him of those titles is exactly the right call. Read more »

Greece Athena Defined: The Story of Jason McElwain

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We’re defined by moments. Decisions we make in the various circumstances in life.

This week, the name Greece Athena has been on every news channel. Four middle-school bullies tormented a 68-year-old bus monitor named Karen Klein, and then uploaded to the evidence to YouTube with hopes that it would be picked up across the Internet. A world was rightfully horrified and some scoffed at Athena and wondered if the whole school was represented by those four kids.

If that’s what you think, you don’t know Athena. Read more »

What honor looks like: The flash mob at Gate 38 of Reagan National Airport

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Honor is a hard term to describe. It doesn’t have a color or weight or shape. If someone were to ask me what honor looked like, I’d probably struggle with what to say.

But something happened on May 23, 2012 at 9:31 a.m. at Gate 38 of Reagan National Airport that might change that.  A flash mob of sorts broke out. But not like you’ve seen on YouTube with highly choreographed dance numbers or people singing a song in unison.  In fact, virtually all of the participants of this “flash mob” didn’t know they would be participating until moments before it happened. Read more »

Beyond 9/11, the Lesson of 9/12 that We Must Never Forget

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Never before has Congress been so divided, or the approval level of politicians been so low.  A week ago, the two most powerful men in the American  government bickered about which night of the week that President would address Congress.  And during that speech, it was clear that the room was full of political enemies intent to not cede political ground to their opponent – regardless of the issue.

Then, turn on a television set this weekend and you’ll undoubtedly see footage of 9/11.  Jets exploding.  Horrified onlookers.  Rescue workers running.

9/11 was a sucker punch.  Contrary to Bill Maher’s comments after the events, the attackers were cowards. Like a 100 pound weakling sneaking up and punching a napping Chuck Norris in the jaw and scurrying away into the dark.

But 9/11 is just the start of the story. As every American remembers, something incredible happened on 9/12 that the terrorists probably weren’t expecting.

And also 9/13.  And 9/14. Read more »

The Case Against Father’s Day (and for Dad’s Day)

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Every June, the fine people at the greeting card companies encourage us to celebrate Father’s Day. According to the dictionary, a father is “a man who has begotten a child”.  Hmm – I’m not sure if that is a noble accomplishment worth dedicating and entire day of the year.  Frankly, a chimpanzee can meet that definition.

But – there is something far more important that we don’t talk about enough.  It’s dads.  I also looked up the definition of “dad” in the dictionary, and with respect to Mr. Merriam and Mr. Webster, it’s woefully inadequate.  So, in order to help out the dictionary industry, here’s how I think a “dad” should be defined. Read more »

How the Grinch Stole Our Freedom

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It’s Memorial Day ten years after the two numbers that are instantly recognizable by the world – nine eleven. Bin Laden is dead and stadiums are chanting “U – S – A!”. We won, and that’s that. The whole country is chest bumping one another in victory.  And for years, I’ve had holes in my socks and no one ever knew.

But here’s the thing. Look at this from a terrorist perspective. The average, pre-9/11 run-of-the-mill terrorist hated the United States. Hated our freedom, the Golden Globes, baseball’s seventh inning stretch, Thursday night must-see TV, and Fourth of July parades. It’s not that they didn’t like the Twin Towers or the people of New York City, but they despised the American culture.

Remember “The Grinch that Stole Christmas”? Think of the Grinch looking down on Who-ville with all the people singing in unison. That was Bin Laden and his minions looking down at the United States singing our brand of freedom. A country ruled by its people.  The greatest and most  successful political experiment in the history of the planet. They hated that singing and resolved to stop it.

And just like the Grinch, they snuck in and stole our stuff when we weren’t looking. Read more »

The Legend of Casey at Bat: The Day Casey Heynes Finally Fought Back

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He’s a bully’s worst nightmare.  We’ve now heard reports of bullies worldwide sleeping with the lights on.  They’re walking in packs out of fear.  They pushed just a little too far.  And now, it’s different.

His name is Casey Heynes, and although only 15, by unanimous consent worldwide, he’s being hailed as a hero.  Tens of thousands have posted their thanks.  He doesn’t have a cape, but he’s something special.

First, let me give you some background.  Casey is a slightly stout 15 year old from Sydney, Australia.  He’s always had a limited number of friends.  In fact, at the start of this year, he could tell you exactly how many: eight.  Then, as pretty much every school age kid could understand, he began to take mocking from the so-called popular crowd and  somehow became socially toxic.  His eight friends decided to save their hides and left him and Casey found himself all alone.  Completely unprotected in the high school jungle, the beatings ramped up.  Every day. Read more »

In the Face of Honor

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The elections are over. Our nation looks like a Jr. High cafeteria after a food fight. It’s the aftermath of thousands of American candidates and millions in the American electorate throwing mud at each other, and we now all are in need of a shower. That is what out-of-control, unchecked pride looks like.

And this week, we’ve seen the opposite of that pride.  And his name is U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta.

If you haven’t seen a newspaper in the past week, here’s what happened back in 2007 in the Cornwall Valley in Afghanistan.  Which is also called the Valley of Death.  Or by some, “Hell on Earth”.

On October 25, the seven troops of 1st Platoon was heading back to base on a moonlit evening.  Sgt. Brennan was in the lead, followed by Specialist Eckrode, Sgt. Gallardo and Rifle Team Leaders Giunta.

“The world happened at that next step,” recalled Giunta in a 60 Minutes interview.  The Taliban performed an L-shaped ambush, pinning down the soldiers.  The two in front, Brennan and Eckrode were shot, defenseless, and exposed in the open. Read more »

Everything I Worked for was Finished … Then I Felt a Hand on My Shoulder

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How difficult is it for an unauthorized spectator to get onto the track during an Olympic track-and-field race?  Well, it’s impossible.  Unless, that spectator is the father of an athlete under excruciating physical and even worse emotional pain.  Then – apparently no level of security can hold back that father from his hurting son.

For this Father’s Day, we think it’s the perfect opportunity to relive the greatest father and son moment in Olympic history.

It started with a routine semi-final 400 meter race at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barecelona.  The 26 year-old star British sprinter, Derek Redmond, felt in great shape.  He started the race and was in control.  His level of confidence was of one who knew he was on his way to a medal later in the day- maybe even a Gold. Read more »

The Top 10 Most Inspiring Sports Moments on Video

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Sports can underscore the best in our society. It shows the determination to excel. The courage to do what is thought to be impossible. Or the compassion to help those in a time of need. The following ten videos demonstrate the very best in sports. Some happened before a world stage while others in front of just a few hundred. But all are the very definition of inspiration, and remind us the power of sports.

Editors’ note: There were several complaints on other message boards that this list was too American-centric. To our overseas readers, please let us know the most inspiring moments in your opinion. Read more »

He Just Stood There – And Changed the World

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Tank ManIt’s been twenty years since we saw the power of one human being with resolve.  One man had one of the biggest impacts in history as a solitary person.  And we have no idea who he is.

At this time in 1989, after a pro-democracy Chinese official died, 100,000 people gathered in the famous Tiananmen square to mourn Hu Yaobang and protest the oppressive communist government.

That is until the government decided on June 4 to squash the movement with brute force.  The Chinese army swept in and although no one is sure, it’s believed up to 3,000 protesters were slaughtered.

One man saw the bloodshed and did something that no one could believe.  It’s as if the entire world watched with disbelief while people gathered around television sets in homes and stores to see one of the most amazing acts of courage recorded in human history.

He just stood there. Read more »