Making Yourself Successful

I’ve always been a firm believer that “luck” is something you create. I’m not necessarily talking about making your own “luck” by winning the lottery. Winning a drawling doesn’t require much luck at all it’s a random selection where as making your own “luck” is doing everything in your power to make your self successful.

When I decided to try and find a career that interested me I didn’t have to look very far. Sports were my passion and I knew I was extremely knowledgeable about that profession.

I thought to myself “What separates me from these guys on ESPN, CBS, Fox Sports, or even the local beat writer for the minor league hockey team?” I knew just as much about the topics they were talking about, the plays they were breaking down, the teams they were analyzing. Why did they have such positions of power? How could I try and duplicate what they were doing only being a Florida Gulf Coast University student?

I quickly reached out to the Florida Everblades, a minor league hockey team near my university and became the right hand man to the broadcaster and public relations manager.

I learned a great deal of things while I was apart of the Everblades and took pride in the work I completed while I was with the organization. One thing was clear to me after my experience in the sports industry. That was it wasn’t something I wanted to be apart of. As a kid I remember watching the movie “Jerry Maguire” and the famous line “show me the money.” I soon learned sport was only about one thing… the money.

After that experience, I learned that I enjoyed writing and reporting about games, players, and teams a lot more than being the guy working the in’s and out’s of a franchise. But I thought to myself “Why the heck are people going to want to read my evaluation over professionally written and published work?”

I was unsure what to do until a friend of mine told me “Jeff, why don’t you start a blog? It would be great for your portfolio.”

Eureka! Why didn’t I think of that in the first place! Some downsides to that were, I knew very little about blogging, social media, and advertising. But never the less I gave it a whirl.

The day everything changed. My Public Relations Strategies class was having a guest presenter about social media. He owned his own company that managed other company’s websites, showed them how to increase traffic, and to be able to easily update statuses on facebook, twitter, linkedin, blogger.com, and many more with one click of the mouse. I was hooked and quickly began to search for more knowledge on this topic.

NHL Quarterfinal Playoff Prediction Review

The NHL Playoffs have arguably had the most evenly matched series in recent memory. All but one matchup went at least six games with two series headed to a final game seven. Before the NHL quarterfinals we did a prediction and breakdown of each series much like the one below.

Let’s see how accurate Shaft Sports playoff predictions were.

We’ll begin in the East:

In the Washington/Montreal series, we said Washington would win and that they would do it in five games. I didn’t realize Halak was so good, game seven is this Wednesday night!

We took a big swing in the New Jersey/Philadelphia series and struck out terribly. We choose Martin Brodeur and the Devils in five games. The Flyers would prove us wrong winning the series in five behind goaltender Brian Boucher brilliance.

In the Buffalo/Boston series, we said Sabres in seven but the Bruins spoiled our prediction closing out the series in six.


Finally we thought the Pittsbugh Penguins had lost a step in the regular season. So we picked Ottawa in seven but the Penguins flexed their muscle and won the series in six.

Now to the West:

In the San Jose/Colorado series, we predicted the #1 seed San Jose Sharks to win in six. Both of which were correct.

Over in the Chicago/Nashville series, we predicted the Blackhawks to edge the Predators in five. We picked the right team but wrong number of games. Chicago closed out the series in six.

Then in the Vancouver/Los Angeles series, we predicted the Canucks to win in five games. Vancouver did in fact win the series but in six games not in five.

Finally we predicted the Phoenix/Detroit the Red Wings to end the series in five games. The game is headed to a game seven tonight, the Wings can make my selection half true.

Adding up our total we selected 3 out of 4 teams correct (with a possible 4 of 4 if Detroit wins tonight). We selected 1 of 4 series correct(Sharks in six games). In the East we didn't correctly select a team or series. (1 of 4 is possible if Washington wins game seven)

Tebow Prepared for NFL Draft

Tim Tebow out to prove skeptics wrong

Everyone has gotten their opportunity to build up former Florida Gators Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow during the last four seasons… how fast the tides have turned on the well liked Tebow. Leading up to this Thursday’s NFL Draft, Tebow has been criticized by many writers and “draft experts” on why he will not succeed in the pros. They say Tebow can’t read coverage’s; his throw motion and mechanics are slow and will not translate into the NFL. These talking heads say Tebow won’t be able to run away from defenders like he did during his days at the University of Florida. Ok, I can buy into all of the criticism. However, he has the attitude and willingness to succeed at any cost. Tebow’s taken the negative comments and turned them into something that motivates him furthermore not to fail.


With all of the immeasurable qualities Tebow has, one has to wonder what it will take for him to be successful. We must first define what successful means in terms of arguably the greatest collegiate football player of all-time. Success in terms of Tim Tebow will simply mean, he must become one of the elite players in the league for the next eight to ten seasons or he’ll be called a bust regardless of what round he’s selected in. You know it, I know it, and most NFL executives know it. It would be ideal for Tebow to be drafted by a team who has a veteran locker room and an experienced starter one of whom would be willing to tutor Tebow.


A few teams come to mind that fit those particular qualities Tebow would need to succeed in the NFL. The Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, and the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints all could be serious contenders for Tebow. Each team has a solid veteran starter in place which would allow Tebow to sit and learn from a Super Bowl champ (each team listed above has a QB with at least one Super Bowl win under his belt).


If you would want to reference a player who was criticized for his side-arm motion and his inability to read coverage’s, look no further than Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young when a lot of the same was said for him during the 2006 draft. The main components which saved Young’s career was his ability to scramble and the reemergence of teammate Kerry Collins who led the Titans to a 13-3 record in 2008. You might be thinking Shaft! Why would the reemergence of Kerry Collins have anything to do with the development of Vince Young? Simply put, Young was allowed to do what was best for him, develop while holding a clipboard. Young didn’t work hard and publicly stated he felted as if he’s was entitled to a spot in Canton. He was the anti-Tebow. They both have similar athletic qualities but one thing Tebow has that Young doesn’t is the ability to humble himself. He can stay positive and learn from constructive criticism; where as other players’ ala Vince Young have struggled to do.