By Eric Berry

I recently heard one of the more disturbing and baffling speeches I’ve encountered on the topic of competition—specifically, winning and losing. At an awards ceremony for graduating seniors, a speaker essentially argued that competition is bad. I wasn’t the only one who walked away with that impression.
According to Merriam-Webster, winning is defined as “whether one succeeds or fails.” Before the valedictorian and salutatorian were even introduced, this speech rambled on about how, while winning is great, losing isn’t all that bad either.
Imagine sitting there—after four years of hard work, sweat, and sacrifice—waiting to be recognized for your achievements, only to listen to someone deliver a sermon suggesting that losing is nearly as admirable as winning. Where I come from, we always kept score. There was a winner and a loser. It wasn’t subjective. The line between the two was clear.
To be fair, once the speech ended, the accomplishments of the valedictorian and salutatorian were rightfully praised. It was clear they had handled the rigors of academic and athletic competition better than their peers. In those arenas, they were better. I repeat that for emphasis: they were better.
I’m just wondering what the world is coming to. Oh wait—everyone gets a trophy now. Got it.
On a related note, I’m looking forward to the spring playoffs in Vermont and New Hampshire. Hopefully, our local teams bring home some hardware. That’s a nice segue—because yes, there will be winners and losers. Earl Weaver once said, “You’re only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher.” In high school baseball and softball, that might be better phrased as: “You’re only as good as today’s starting pitcher.”
Speaking of baseball, the Red Sox make me physically ill. They throw the ball around like Little Leaguers—errors everywhere, hits nowhere. I’d trade Devers for some pitching and call up Roman Anthony. As for Trevor Story, I’d send him to an outpost to hang out with William Donloe.
And speaking of Donloe, I watched Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning last night. I thought it was pretty good. It could’ve gotten to the point faster, but I enjoyed the flashbacks—especially the one featuring Donloe.
Now onto the NBA. I was looking forward to the Knicks-Thunder series… but wait—the Knicks didn’t make it? After beating the Celtics and practically crowning themselves kings of basketball? Ha! The Pacers-Thunder series should be a good one. I’m picking the Thunder in six—but it wouldn’t surprise me if they wrapped it up in five. Their size, shooting ability, and SGA are going to cause real problems for Indiana.
As for the Stanley Cup playoffs, I’m taking the Oilers. That said, wouldn’t it be something if Brad Marchand got a Cup with the Panthers? On second thought, that might be awful.
Lastly, I’m seriously thinking about buying a heated, enclosed golf cart. This weather is complete bull****. I enjoy golf, but playing in the high 40s or low 50s? That just sucks. But, I still play!

The opinions expressed by EB are solely his and do not reflect those of NSN. If you’d like to reach out to EB, please contact him at eberry@nsnsports.net. You can read all of Eric’s blogs at www.nsnsports.net.