Thursday, February 1, 2024

S.M.A.R.T. Goals for 2024

Below are my personal S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-sensitive) goals for 2024, which I learned about a number of years ago from my good buddy Chandler Goodman.  Again, there is no way that my blog posts or recaps will ever be as entertaining as Chandler's recaps because he is a true wordsmith but do appreciate Chandler getting me hip to S.M.A.R.T. goals.

I tried to do this the last three years but fell off the wagon early each year, which meant that I didn't follow through on any of my non-golf  S.M.A.R.T. goals so that is why I am again posting them in public for accountability and motivation for 2024 much like I did in 2023 but with a few pretty significant tweaks to my S.M.A.R.T. goals.

For 2023 (and frankly 2024), I tried to get a jump on things starting December 1st in the previous year and failed miserably so that meant I started the year playing catch-up.  This year, I am starting on February 1st because not only is that my Dad's birthday, which is a big part of my motivations for being a better me in 2024 but I am making these monthly averages with the goal to have eight successful months in 2024 so that allows me to even throw away three months in 2024.  Trust me, I hope that I don't throw away any months, but history says that I've been able to throw away years so if I make them counting stats for the whole year and screw up for a few months then I will just waste the rest of the year like I have in the past.  By making this a monthly average, it allows me to try to get back on track.  Plus, by starting on February 1st, it allowed me to get my ducks in a row to start 2024 and then try to build sustainable habits for the rest of 2024.  Nothing else has worked the last few years so I might as well have the best 11 months (or at the very least eight) of 2024 that I can!

With that background, here is the monthly breakdown and I need to accomplish at least eight of them in a calendar month to make it a successful month:

- Fill out my daily WHOOP journal at least 90% of the days
- Take AG1 at least 90% of the days
- Cook at least eight meals for my family
- Do a morning and evening 4-7-8 breathing session every day I commute for work
- Go on at least one date with my wife Katie Kelleher
- Do at least one cultural thing (e.g., go to a museum, concert, etc.)
- Do at least eight Peloton/Treadmill/weight lifting workouts
- Do at least 10 SuperSpeed Golf Training sessions
- Don't drink any alcohol Mondays through Thursdays at least twice
- Read at least one book and/or complete one online course
- Write at least one blog post

As they say in the business, watch this space for updates in the coming months and I will take any positive encouragement that I can get to help me be a better me in 2024.

Monday, January 22, 2024

2024 Green Bay Packers Offseason Plan

The Green Bay Packers fell to the San Francisco 49ers yet again in the playoffs over the weekend.  I truly thought the Packers were going to win until Packers rookie kicker Anders Carlson missed a 41 field goal with roughly six minutes left in the game that would have put the Packers up a touchdown.  If you are going to read this post then you know what happened so let's move onto an off-season plan to help the young, feisty Packers be even better in 2024.  I am going to use the categories that ESPN came up with for their offseason guide for each team but gave my own thoughts for Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Biggest offseason priority: The easy answer to say is to fix their special teams woes given that Carlson missed 13 kicks (field goals and extra points) this season including playoffs.  During the Packers/49ers game, Fox sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi relayed a truly horrible nugget that Packers head coach Matt LaFleur just pray every time that Carlson trots onto the field to attempt a kick, which is about as critical as I've ever heard LaFleur be of one of his players and likely said in jest since LaFleur is such a platers first coach.  There is some debate about whether the kicking issues are on the long snapper, the kicker or whether both should shoulder some of the blame.  Either way, Carlson is likely the place kicker for the Packers in 2024 even though he shouldn't be based on how he kicked in 2023.  With that special teams preamble out of the way, I think the biggest offseason thing to figure out is whether the Packers have their offensive tackles of the future on the roster in Rasheed Walker (played left tackle this season) and Zach Tom (played right tackle this season) or whether they need to use a high draft pick on an offensive tackle.  There is no way the Packers rely on left tackle David Bakhtiari given his injury history.  Bakhtiari's contract means he is likely on The 53 in 2024 unless Gutekunst can get the new New York Jets to pony up for Bakhtiari.  While is seem outlandish, almost all the players Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (still feels odd to type that) "asked" the Jets to sign won't be on their roster next year so Bakhtiari be the literal and figurative security blanket for Rodgers given how shaky the Jets offensive line is right now.  When Tom went out with a concussion against the 49ers, the offensive line didn't look as stout with Yosh Nijman at right tackle.  Add in that Nijman is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent and the Packers might as well let him go in free agency and take the compensatory pick that they get in the 2025 NFL Draft that will be held in Green Bay.  The Packers are set at left guard with Elgton Jenkins, besides that, every position is not completely set so I could honestly see Tom playing left tackle, center, right guard or right tackle for the Packers in 2024.  The Packers look to have a quality option at right guard or possibly even right tackle in Sean Rhyan already on the roster so I'd say the Packers do one of two things knowing that they will draft a few offensive lineman at some point in the 2024 NFL Draft.  One, keep Walker at left tackle and Tom at right tackle so only use late round draft picks on developmental offensive tackles.  Two, if there is a potential starting tackle available at the end of the first round then draft that player, move Tom to center in place of Josh Myers and sort out where to slot that rookie in along the offensive line.

Under-the-radar offseason priority: Running back with secondary nipping at running back's heels.  Truth be told, secondary might be an even bigger priority than offensive tackle or running back given how much turnover I expect there to be but let's put a pin in that for right now.  The Packers have to bring running back Aaron Jones back because Jones is a truly an elite running back when healthy.  The when healthy part is the biggest issue with Jones and that is even before talking about his $17.5 million cap hit in the last year of his contract that he carries if he is on The 53 for the 2024 season.  No matter what, Jones will carry a Larry Sanders-esque (shout out to former Milwaukee Buck and the NBA for allowing teams to stretch their bad financial decisions out over a number of years) hit on the Packers salary cap through the 2027 season ($6.6 million in 2025, $4.1 million in 2026, and $1.7 million in 2027) even though 2024 is technically the last year of his contract because of some accounting tricks that the Packers used to resign Jones after the 2020 NFL season.  After the stretch run that Jones put up, there is no reason that he should take a pay cut.  My heart says that I wish Jones would take a pay cut but my head says don't do it since I could see another team talking themselves into paying Jones a bunch of money for a two or three year contract given that Jones is still only 29 years old.  I know 30 years old seems to be the line of demarcation in the NFL but Jones has less tread on his tires than a workhouse 30 year old running back.  Oddly this season Jones being injured through most of the middle of the season allowed him to be healthy for the stretch run for the first time in a while and he strung together five games in a row rushing for at least 100 yards each game to close the season.  Leaving aside the raw production, the Packers offense is so much more in sync with Jones in the lineup.  Backup running back A.J. Dillion is set to be a free agent, while Dillion seems like a nice person, the Packers should let Dillon focus on being the mayor of Door Country given his lack of explosiveness and how injured he was to end the season.  The Packers have Emanuel Wilson (exclusive rights free agent so can bring him back for 2024 on the cheap) and Patrick Taylor (unrestricted free agent that they likely could being back on the cheap) to round out the running back room for 2023.  All to say, I'd approach Jones about taking a pay cut knowing that it is highly unlikely that he will so look for the Packers to use a day two draft pick (either second or third round) on their running back of the future in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Latest on whether they will re-sign safety Darnell Savage: There is no doubt that Savage has not lived up to what the Packers expected he would be when they took him with the 21st pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.  When talking about under-the-radar offseason priorities, I said the secondary as opposed to just safety because three of the other four safeties on the roster (Jonathan Owens, Rudy Ford, and Zayne Anderson) are set to be free agents and their cornerback position is equally unsettled as well.  Savage is under contract with the Packers for $5.5 million for 2024 and it is fully guaranteed so I assume that means Savage will be on the roster in 2024, the bummer is that Savage has a longtail on the Packers salary cap counting $1.4 million each year from 2025 through 2028 even if he is not on The 53.  I assume that the Packers bring back a couple of the other safeties on one year deals with Anderson the most likely since he is a restricted free agent and Owens also likely because he might take another veteran minimum deal to play in Green Bay if the Packers allow him to go to Paris to root on his better half, gymnast Simone Biles at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.  No matter what, none of those five safeties seem like foundational franchise pieces so the Packers will have to continue to look to replace the ghost of Nick Collins so look for Gutekunst to use a day one or day two pick on that position as well as a day three flyer on a height/weight/speed prospect too.  Flipping to cornerback, assuming that cornerback Jaire Alexander comes back (he is under contract but clearly has been a malcontent, which lead to him getting suspended for a must win game against the Minnesota Vikings), the Packers still might need to fill at least one starting cornerback position given that their slot corner Keisean Nixon and their 4th cornerback on the depth chart Corey Ballentine are both scheduled to be unrestricted free agents.  On the (mostly) positive side of the coin, the Packers have what looks like another Alexander in the making (I mean that both positively and negatively) in rookie Carrington Valentine.  On the negative side of the coin, the Packers can't expect anything from oft injured Eric Stokes, a guy the Packers drafted with the 29th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.  That's all to say, for what feels like the 100th draft in a row, the Packers are likely using their first round draft pick on a defensive player and likely either a cornerback or a safety.

Draft outlook: The Packers hold five draft picks in the top 100 draft picks in the upcoming draft: the 25th (their own first round pick), 41st (the Jets second round draft pick from the Aaron Rodgers trade), 58th (their own second round draft pick), 88th (their own third round draft pick), and 91st (the Bills third round draft pick from the Rasul Douglas trade).  It is borderline silly to look at the mock drafts right now since we don't have any true measurables on prospects.  I think the smarter exercise is to think about positions that the Packers need to strengthen.  The Detroit Lions were panned for how they handled the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft given that they took Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th pick and Iowa inside linebacker Jack Campbell with the 18th pick because running back and inside linebacker are not considered premium positions worthy of using a couple high draft picks on but both of those players have been instrumental in helping the Lions win the NFC North and get to the NFC Championship Game.  Gutekunst is a best player available guy but given that the Packers have glaring needs in the secondary, look for the Packers to spend early draft capital at that position and sprinkle in a running back, an offensive lineman, a defensive lineman and a pass rusher.  I know I listed almost every position but honestly for the first time in a long time the Packers look set at wide receiver and tight end, which not only sets up Love and the franchise well but must drive Rodgers crazy.

Big prediction for the offseason: Gutekunst will actually use the draft capital they amassed via the Rodgers and Douglas trades to move up in the draft.  How and what they do is truly anyone's guess but I oddly think the Packers impressive late season run puts even more urgency on Gutekunst to make this team even more in a win now mode than before given that there are a number of younger players on the offensive side of the ball on rookie contracts that are going to get mega paid in the coming years.

For those that stuck around this long, thank you.  I am running back my S.M.A.R.T. goals for 2024 with some pretty significant modifications so check back here on February 1st for more details on that.

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

My Goodbye to Aaron Rodgers

Depending on how you slice it, Cheesehead sport fans have been on Aaron Rodgers Watch for days, weeks or months.  As the resident Aaron Rodgers apologist with my Cheesehead sports buddies, even I am ready for Rodgers to go to the "New York" Jets.  I have become the annoying salary cap guy on the text thread we have rolling with my Cheesehead sports buddies.  I say that because despite everything that has gone down, I'd actually take Rodgers back for 2023 if the salary cap implications weren't so bad for the Green Bay Packers.  For those that don't obsess over the NFL salary cap, if Rodgers retires or the Packers trade him this off-season, the Packers will have to deal with a ~$40 million dead cap charge.  If the Packers bring back Rodgers for 2023 and then Rodgers retires or the Packers trade him next offseason, the Packers have to deal with a ~$60 million dead cap charge.  If the Packers bring Rodgers back for 2023 and 2024 then the Packers have a ~$70 million dead cap charge to contend with after the 2024 season.  Sure the Packers can spread that cap charge over two years if they move on from Rodgers after June 1st this offseason, next offseason or the offseason after that but realistically the only way that is happening is if Rodgers reties because no team wants to add Rodgers that late in the offseason

I said this in my last blog post on February 1st that if I had to bet, it is more likely that Rodgers gets traded to another team this offseason with the Jets the most likely team to keep this Favre reincarnation simulation going and the Las Vegas Raiders a close second so that Rodgers can reunite with wide receiver Davante Adams than Rodgers plays for them Packers in 2023 but no matter what, I think Rodgers will play football in 2023.  That was before Rodgers went on his darkness retreat, which as a sidebar I commend Rodgers for doing because I sadly can't be away from my cell phone for a family dinner with my wife and kids let alone in the dark for four days with just me and my thoughts.  My wife and golf buddies would argue that I treat golf trips like darkness retreats and to some extent that is actually true.  I unplug, talk with (more accurately at) my playing partners and take in the golf course.  Those golf trips truly do help keep me centered since life is stressful dealing with the demands of work and family.  In any case, Rodgers recorded a podcast with Aubrey Marcus after this darkness retreat and that affirmed what I thought about Rodgers wanting to play football.  Look for all the drama surrounding Rodgers each offseason about whether he is going to play football the following season, there is no doubt that Rodgers played through pretty serious injuries throughout his career.  So I get wanting to take some time, the part I don't like is that Rodgers us doing it to have the spotlight on him.

Anyhow, the more I learned about the contract that the Packers signed Rodgers to last offseason, the more enraged I became about it.  I honestly think it was organizational malpractice by the Packers.  I had a chance chat with Mark Murphy, the president of the Packers, last summer (his daughter lives in the same neighborhood that I do in Chicago) where we chatted for ~15 minutes.  No jive, it was one of my highlights of 2022 because I love the Packers that much.  I almost asked Murphy about the Rodgers contract but seemed out of bounds given the situation.  Plus, it would have guaranteed that Murphy wouldn't send me a return letter like he did in the fall of 2022 after I sent Murphy a note a few weeks before that, which again was another highlight of 2022.  I know, I have problems.

Following the 2021 season, Rodgers was coming off back-to-back NFL MVP seasons so there was almost no way that Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball and Murphy could turn to backup quarterback Jordan Love.  It is easy to look at what the Seattle Seahawks got for Russell Wilson and wish the Packers got that that but it is hard to do that if you are Gutekunst, Ball and Murphy.  In retrospect it looks like a no brainer but that is not what it looked like at the time.  Conversely, the only way this offseason worked out is if the Packers won the Super Bowl.  Sure, the Packers were one of the favorites heading into the 2022 NFL season but only one of 32 teams wins the Super Bowl.  The salary cap albatross that Tom Brady left behind with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is about the same size as the one that Rodgers will likely leave behind with the Packers when he presumably heads to the Jets later today.  That dead salary cap charge is much easier to swallow when you have a Super Bowl to show for it like Brady and the Buccaneers do, which is something the Packers and Rodgers do not have to soften the blow of the dead salary cap charge.

Some of my Chicago golf buddies and my good buddy Spliff that I grew up with inside The Cheddar Curtain went to the Packers/Detroit Lions game at Lambeau Field, which was the last regular season game of the 2022 NFL season.  Moose, Spliff and I were the only true Packer fan while Peg (long story) and ETM (Esteban the Magnificent) were rooting for the Packers because they are our good friends.  Having been at the Packers/San Francisco 49ers playoff game loss last year in the Packers luxury box thanks to my buddy Fernando, I honestly thought Rodgers was coming back to the Packers for 2022 but I did not feel that way after the Packers loss to the Lions to end last season.  Fernando also took me to Favre's last game as a member of the Packers when they lost in the NFC Championship Game to the New York Giants at Lambeau.  I say that not as a humblebrag of attending a ton of Packer season ending loses but because the loss to the Lions to end last season felt like sawn song for Rodgers in Green Bay much like the Packers/Giants felt like a sawn song for Favre.  So odd that Favre and Rodgers both likely ended their careers as a Packer with a loss thanks to a back breaking interception at Lambeau Field.  Given that Favre was turnover prone throughout his career, it felt very fitting for him but Rodgers really never was so it felt like an odd way for him to likely go out that way.  I mention those specific games because the Packers have been relevant my entire sports rooting life but they've truly had some tough season ending loses as a result. As my buddy Uncle Patty aka Dirty Nasty likes to say, the sweet ain't as sweet unless you taste the sour.  Sadly it has been much more sour than sweet lately.  Yet for some odd reason, if the salary cap implications were different, I'd still take Rodgers back for 2023.

No matter what, today truly feels like a true end of an era.  I visited my college buddies in New Jersey last weekend for an unofficial college reunion that was one of the best weekends that I've had in a long time.  I was prepared for Rodgers to get traded to the Jets while I was in New Jersey and as an only child that thinks the world revolves around me, I thought it would be perfect that I was in New Jersey for the first time in years when Rodgers got traded to the Jets.  I had prepared myself for that possibility and frankly even a few years ago it might have ruined my weekend but I was almost welcomed it to happen especially since I was in New Jersey.  My guess is that later today Rodgers goes on Pat McAfee's show and announces that he intends to play for the Jets in 2023.  A few days too late for this only child but given that is the case, it is now Jordan Love time in Green Bay.

Trust me, it is much more likely that Love is Brett Hundley than Brett Favre but it truly is time to turn the page.  I am honestly not looking forward to the stories that come out in the coming weeks/months about how hard it was to deal with Rodgers because honestly that no longer matters.  The sport romantic in me wishes Rodgers won another Super Bowl last season for the Packers and road off into the sunset as arguably the greatest Packers of all-time but that didn't happen.  The fact that didn't happen is also why fans simultaneously love and hate sports.  The beauty of rooting for The People's Team is that hope always seems to spring eternal.  I worry that Love will get way more scrutiny than he should since he is trying to become the third franchise quarterback in a row but again that is what makes sports so intoxicating.  Maybe it is because I've spent more money than I should for my kids and I to be part owners of the Packers, I mean this blog post alone tells you that my priorities are out of whack, but trust me that the minute I hear a "Go Pack Go" chant the next time that I am at Lambeau, I will root hard for whoever is under center.

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

S.M.A.R.T. Goals for 2023 - January "Progress"

Not sure that I am going to do this every month but we are (somehow) already into February almost 10% of the way through 2023 so I figured I'd give an update on my personal S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-sensitive) Goals for 2023 with some thoughts on each of the goals:

- 325 days of filling out my WHOOP journal: I did this every day in January.  The cheat code on this is that if I miss a day, I can always go back to fill in the journal but memory fades after a few days so if I don't fill out the journal within two days, I can go back to fill it in but that doesn't count as me filling out my WHOOP journal.

- 300 days of taking a multivitamin: I also did this every day in January as well and hope to continue.  In a total Progressive commercial "you are becoming your parents", I've started to use a seven day pill box that I put right next to where I put my keys/wallet each night.  I am also considering doing Athletic Greens so if I do that, I will revisit whether I take the multivitamin or just rely on Athletic Greens.

- 250 days of doing two separate 4-7-8 breathing sessions: I did this only 9 of 31 days, which is a rough start to 2023 but thankfully purchased these (way over-priced) but slick daily tracker so will have a way to see this every day and honestly checking something off, even if it is super small, really helps me so fingers crossed the daily tracker helps with more than just my 4-7-8 breathing twice a day.

- 200 full keto days: speaking of rough start, I didn't get a single keto day so far in 2023 and TBD if I will in February since this is either a totally on or totally off thing for me, which make me think this is my worst (or best) S.M.A.R.T. Goal of 2023.

- 175 green WHOOP recoveries: 19 green, 10 yellow and 2 red recoveries.  I took a true full cut at it with my Uncle Tony and cousins Benny/Philapito for a casino night at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, MI on Sunday, January 8th into Monday, January 9th.  We watched the NFL playoff games and threw dice on the craps table, despite having a couple nice runs on the craps table, it was very kind of me to leave a bunch of money at the Blue Chip Casino.  Remember kids, the casino always wins.  I only got a few hours of sleep on the big family casino night and had to work the next day so I was honestly surprised that I didn't have more than one red day as a part of that casino trip.  Aiming to keep that ratio of green, yellow and red recoveries but to work out more, which brings us to Peloton.

- 100 Peloton workouts, at least eight per month: I did "eight" of these in January, which were mostly meditating, stretching and low impact rides so that is why I technically had "eight" but didn't really have eight true workouts so going forward, I am only counting workouts that make me sweat towards my 100 Peloton workouts in 2023 but also have found that I like the mediating and stretching offerings in the app so I am going to up my workouts to at least 15 workouts per month with at least four meditation sessions and four stretching sessions.  It seems like I am overcomplicating this but honestly part of this is to do more than one session when I workout and generally just use the Peloton app more often because I think that will be a net positive for me.

- Make 50 birdies on the golf course: haven't played a single round of golf in 2023 and with my good golf buddies heading to Charleston this weekend to play three amazing courses (Country Club of Charleston, Yeamans Hall Club and Charleston Muni), I am more than officially jealous.  Fingers crossed we get some nice weather between now and April, otherwise I won't play a real round of golf until I head to Chattanooga, TN for NewClub's Spring Meeting at Sweetens Cove in late April.

- 35 Mondays through Thursdays of not drinking any alcohol: I did this four of five weeks to start January (bleed a few days into February) and have to say this is one of my favorite so far with the only drawback being that I've taken some extra full cuts on Fridays through Sundays knowing that I got through Monday through Thursday or am staring down the barrel of another Monday through Thursday.  The ultimate goal will be to take less of a full cut on Fridays through Sundays as well as actually taking some of those days off too.

- Lose 23 pounds in 2023 with at least 12.6 pounds coming off by May 1st, weighed 182.6 lbs on 01/01/23: I am going the going the wrong way on this one given that I weighed 185 lbs on February 1st so until I get cracking on the keto days, I don't see this improving so it is going to be a race to get down to 170 by May 1st at this point.

- Read 23 books (finishing at least one every other month), including (at least) 3 novels: I finished my first book of 2023 literally a few minutes before the end of January to preserve the one book a month for at least the first month of 2023, I better read (at least) two books in February or I will have a hard time getting to 23 given that I usually don't read as many books when the weather is warm in Chicago.

- Write 12 blog posts: with this post live, two down and ten to go.  It would be easy to just post running updates of my S.M.A.R.T. Goals each month so I can only count one more S.M.A.R.T. Goal update towards my 12  blog posts for 2023, which means I need to write (at least) nine substantive blog posts.

- Complete Landscape of Leadership online course by Paul McGinley and four other online courses through Pluralsight or The Great Courses: haven't done a thing on this so far so need to get cracking on this ASAP.

- Play four of my current Midwest bucket list private golf courses for the first time: Black Sheep (IL), Blue Mound (WI), Bob O'Link (IL), Camargo Club (OH), Canterbury (OH), Cedar Rapids (IA), Chicago (IL), Crystal Downs (MI), Davenport (IA), Exmoor (IL), Inverness Club (OH), Kirtland (OH), Knollwood (IL), North Shore (IL), Old Elm Club (IL), Pine Hills (WI), Scioto (OH), Shoreacres (IL), The Country Club (OH), The Harvester (IA), The Lido (WI), Wakonda Club (IA) or White Bear Yacht Club (MN): it is currently -1 degrees here in Chicago right now so since I haven't played a single hole of golf outside in 2023 (don't worry, played a TON inside at 5iron but don't count playing a course digitally as working towards my goal), I can report that there has been no progress on this goal and won't be any progress for some time.

- Complete the entire SuperSpeed Golf Training System before the end of 2023: I still have to watch a webinar that will help me track my SuperSpeed training as efficiently as possible.  I've been procrastinating on watching the webinar for literally months so my new goal is to complete that webinar before Valentine's Day and start on this program before March 1st.

If you've stuck around this long you are either my parents or have a fair amount of free time on your hands so here is a little bonus content.  I've been kicking around doing a long post on Aaron Rodgers since I am the Aaron Rodgers apologist with all of my Cheesehead spots buddies but my thoughts are pretty straight forward thanks to the salary cap implications of keeping Rodgers on the roster thanks to the great work by Joel Corry and Ken Ingalls flushing out that the dead-cap hits actually go up the longer that Rodgers plays in Green Bay, which is truly mind-blowing.  Whether the Packers are ready to move onto Jordan Love as their starting quarterback is honestly neither here nor there because the Packers signed Rodgers to a contract where Rodgers holds the cards and the dead cap charges associated with him go up every year starting with this off-season.  If Rodgers retires or the Packers trade him this off-season, the Packers will have to deal with a ~$40 million dead cap charge.  If the Packers bring back Rodgers for 2023 and then Rodgers retires or the Packers trade him next off-season, the Packers have to deal with a ~$60 million dead cap charge.  If the Packers bring Rodgers back for 2023 and 2024 then the Packers have a ~$70 million dead cap charge to contend with after the 2024 season.  The more I learn about the contract that the Packers signed Rodgers to last off-season, the more I think it was organizational malpractice by the Packers.  If I had to bet today, it is more likely that Rodgers gets traded to another team this off-season with the Jets the most likely team to keep this Favre reincarnation simulation going and the Raiders a close second than Rodgers plays for them Packers in 2023 but no matter what, I think Rodgers will play football in 2023.

Sunday, January 1, 2023

S.M.A.R.T. Goals for 2023

Below are my personal S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-sensitive) Goals for 2023, which I learned about from my good buddy Chandler Goodman.  There is no way that my blog posts or recaps will ever be as entertaining as Chandler's recaps because he is a true wordsmith.  I tried to do this the last two years but fell off the wagon early each year, which meant that I didn't follow through on any of my non-golf related S.M.A.R.T. goals so that is why I am posting them in public for accountability and motivation for 2023:

- 325 days of filling out my WHOOP journal

- 300 days of taking a multivitamin

- 250 days of doing two separate 4-7-8 breathing sessions

- 200 full keto days

- 175 green WHOOP recoveries

- 100 Peloton workouts, at least eight per month

- Make 50 birdies on the golf course

- 35 Mondays through Thursdays of not drinking any alcohol

- Lose 23 pounds in 2023 with at least 12.6 pounds coming off by May 1st, weighed 182.6 lbs on 01/01/23

- Read 23 books (finishing at least one every other month), including (at least) 3 novels

- Write 12 blog posts

- Complete Landscape of Leadership online course by Paul McGinley and four other online courses through Pluralsight or The Great Courses

- Play four of my current Midwest bucket list private golf courses for the first time: Black Sheep (IL), Blue Mound (WI), Bob O'Link (IL), Camargo Club (OH), Canterbury (OH), Cedar Rapids (IA), Chicago (IL), Crystal Downs (MI), Davenport (IA), Exmoor (IL), Inverness Club (OH), Kirtland (OH), Knollwood (IL), North Short (IL), Old Elm Club (IL), Pine Hills (WI), Scioto (OH), Shoreacres (IL), The Country Club (OH), The Harvester (IA), The Lido (WI), Wakonda Club (IA) or White Bear Yacht Club (MN)

- Complete the entire SuperSpeed Golf Training System before the end of 2023

I already got a green recovery, filled out my WHOOP journal, took my multivitamin and published a blog post today so starting off the year on the trot.  Happy New Year.