Coolest Varsity Kid Ever?

Check out this link. (The kid may have a future: One of my earliest childhood memories -- though not THIS early -- is a similar thing. Of course, "future" is relative: Does the kid's dad really want the kid to have a high-flying career as a columnist on ESPN.com, only to morph into a blogger?)

Is Pimping Your Varsity Kid Wrong?

Then I don't wanna be right.

Baby Naming: "Wrigley Fields"

That's not a joke. I grew up a huge Cubs fan and, after college, I lived right down the street from Wrigley Field. It's a beautiful, wonderful place. But if your last name is "Fields" and you name your kid "Wrigley," you might as well dedicate that 529 investment to future therapy bills.

When Autographs Go Wrong

"Red Sox Suck": That's how Yankees rookie Shelley Duncan signed a baseball to a 10-year-old Red Sox fan who asked him for an autograph this past weekend.

Now: Is the kid's parent outraged because Duncan used the word "suck" or because he trashed the Red Sox?

Doing that to a 10-year-old is kind of jerky, but the one bright side is that it's a hell of a conversation-starter as a piece of memorabilia the kid will have on display.

If nothing else, it's a badge of honor for a Red Sox fan to have been smack-talked by a Yankees player, and have the evidence to prove it.

-- D.S.

Welcome, Jonathan Brady!

How would you like to have Tom Brady as your dad? (Ping me, Tom: I've got all sorts of advice for you.)

How to Make a Baby Cry...?

...Play her the Michigan fight song.

Here's the YouTube clip.

(Why is the "embed" function disabled on the YouTube page?)

Matt Leinart is No Varsity Dad

Via BruinsNation (h/t Deadspin): Matt Leinart ain't a very good dad. You know, I didn't like him very much before, and this doesn't help things.

Here's the sad truth: If Cameron wants baby Cole to have any semblance of a well-adjusted life, she should keep him away from Matt.

-- D.S.

New Parenthood Kills Workout Enthusiasm

Aha: So this is why the last 13 months have turned me into such a lazy fat-ass. (h/t: NYT.com)

One-Year-Old Brooklyn PhenomCommits to Florida Basketball

In a development rocking the world of college basketball recruiting, 1-year-old basketball prospect Gabe Shanoff verbally committed to play for the University of Florida.

Shanoff made the announcement yesterday on his blog, with a simple message: "Guh," interpreted as an alliterative toddler shorthand for "Gators."

The 2-foot-7 Shanoff projects as a combination guard after a solid season of dunking on a toy basket. At his most recent annual physical, the doctor projected Shanoff to fall in the 75th height percentile.

Shanoff's father, Dan, said that playing time was a key factor.

"With top 2007 guard recruits Jai Lucas and Nick Calethas graduating in 2011, Gabe will be positioned to step right in and fill a team need in 2024," Dan Shanoff said. "Once he starts walking."

Florida coach Billy Donovan declined to comment, citing NCAA regulations about discussing recruits before they have signed an official letter-of-intent or no longer sleep in a crib.

Shanoff's unprecedented announcement comes in the wake of 14-year-old 8th grade point guard Ryan Boatright pledging his verbal commitment to play basketball for Southern California and Trojans coach Tim Floyd a few weeks ago.

"Boatright was a role model for making an announcement this early," Shanoff's father, Dan, said. "The trend is definitely toward early commitments to take the pressure off the kids.

"How much less pressure can you have than to make a commitment as a 1-year-old?

"Now Gabe can concentrate on preparing for the academic rigors of pre-school and working on his fundamentals as a player, like walking on his own without holding on to the couch."

According to recruiting analysts, Florida had been the early leader for Gabe's commitment, going back in utero. "Gabe was an 8-month-old fetus when the Gators won their first national title," Dave Telep of Scout.com said.

"Hearing that TV coverage in the womb might have been the difference that other programs simply couldn't compete with, particularly when you add in the second national title when Gabe was 8 months out."

Remaining close to his family played a large role in his decision: One set of Shanoff's grandparents live in Gainesville and "insisted" they "were available to babysit anytime."

Shanoff had also been considering his father's alma mater, Northwestern, along with a handful of programs geographically closer to his current New York-based day-care center, including Syracuse and Villanova.

Shanoff’s father noted that a factor that made the Big East attractive was its legacy of charismatic New York City point guards (“Give up your girl before you give up your dribble… of milk from your chin.”), a personality trait of the 1-year-old that his dad attributed to his Brooklyn-bred paternal grandmother and great-grandma, who was rumored to have once rejected neighborhood schoolboy hoops legend Red Auerbach for a date.

Most recently, Shanoff had expressed interest in Oregon, but recruiting analysts linked the attention to his fascination with toy ducks, rather than a sincere desire to play for Ernie Kent.

When asked about the Ducks, Shanoff squealed, "Duck!" and crawled over to his pile of toys, leaving open the speculation that without the signed letter of intent, which can be completed in October 2023 at the earliest, the commitment is not entirely solid.

(As if it needed to be said, but -- sigh -- has to be in this day and age: This is satire. neither Dave Telep or Billy Donovan were really contacted for this post.)

What to Name a Varsity Kid?

Needless to say, I don't think Tiger and Elin used a baby-name consultant to come up with "Sam Alexis," but this Wall Street Journal article on baby-naming is a must-read.

Any of you name your kid (or would name a future kid) after something sports-related, like an athlete? Or perhaps you name your kid with athletic stardom in mind... a name that would sound really good over a stadium PA system or SportsCenter highlight. (Or simply win the Name of the Year bracket.)

For the record, Gabe Shanoff was not named for either Gabe Kapler or Gabe Kaplan or future NBA second-round draftee Gabe Pruitt. (And, furthermore, his name isn't "Gabriel" with "Gabe" as a nickname. It's just "Gabe.")

I would say that of all things related to the baby industry, names are my favorite thing.

Sam Alexis Woods: First Pics!

Update: OK, front page of the New York Post!

Wow, Tiger is really controlling the p.r. about new daughter Sam like a genius. The latest: He reveals the first pics of Sam on his web site. That's the way I'd do it, too. (But, Tiger: Where's Sam's blog? Email me, man...I can help!)

More here from AOL's Fanhouse.

Tiger Skipping Buick for Baby

That's my guy...

Advice for Tiger, Part Nth

Tiger Woods' new fatherhood lends itself to the easy column for traditional media and bloggers alike. Here's the Washington Post's Sally Jenkins, with a rare appearance in the paper with a nice little advice-for-Tiger gimmick column.

Let me ask the Varsity Dad community: How do we get Tiger to notice this site? How do we get him to participate as a Commenter? Tiger: You're invited! Come on in!

This Is It: Tiger Woods Becomes a Dad!

Congrats to Tiger and Elin on the birth of daughter Sam Alexis Woods. (Come on, Tiger, I know you're as excited as a regular dad: How about some stats? And let's see those photos?)

Given Tiger's preeminent position in sports culture, this kid is the closest thing sports fans have to celeb-baby royalty. This is the Varsity Dad Sports-Star Birth of the Year.

When things settle down for Tiger, I expect he'll head straight to Varsity Dad to join the community. Feel free to email for advice, pal!

-- D.S.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Varsity Dads out there!

Continuing the must-read Father's Day posts...

A series from the Ladies...

Kermit the Blog.

Keep 'em coming. And hope you're all enjoying the day.

-- D.S.

Happy Father's Day to All The Varsity Dads!

I had these grand plans to write a massive, what-it-all-means post worthy of Father's Day on a site called "Varsity Dad," but circumstances have gutted my time to write it. I'm hoping to do something this weekend, but at the very least, I wanted to wish a huge happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. It's going to be a big year ahead for all you Varsity Dads (and Varsity Dad). -- D.S.

UPDATE: What I can definitely do is link to any blog posts out there (that you write or simply enjoyed) on the subject of Father's Day. Here's a starter for you. And don't forget to check out that Wright Thompson piece from ESPN.com you can find a few posts down.

In Kissing Suzy Kolber's commenter draft of "Dad You Want to Have," check out the comment at 11:19 a.m., the commenter's fourth-round pick. I don't care if he's mocking me. It's awesome.

Via EDSBS: The Top 5 College Football Fathers of All Time.

Father's Day '07: Our Coverage ContinuesWhat's Wrong With a Cheerleader Outfit?

Reader Kyle McInnis emailed to point me to a post at his blog The Wishbone, inspired by Varsity Dad, about the fatherly advice he has for his newborn daughter about being a sports fan. His No. 1 rule: Support mom and dad's alma mater until you're in college.

Hmm... I think that sounds reasonable. If you manipulate your kid ("manipulate" used lovingly, of course) into being a fan of your team, they will likely keep the faith at least through college.

Wait: Alma mater? But what if neither parent WENT to the school rooting interest of choice? My wife grew up in Gainesville, which is why she's a Gators fan. I met my wife, which is why I'm a Gators fan.

Shouldn't it be "Support mom and dad's favorite team?" Wow: When you put it like that, perhaps the kid's allegiance will be more tenuous, much to the dismay of the parents, I'm quite certain. (Will Gabe be confused if I say: "Let's root for Florida! But let's ALSO root for Northwestern!" It's a good thing there's a clear difference between the two on the football field and hoops court.)

Anyway, McInnis has four other rules, and he brings up an interesting point: Would a good Varsity Parent raise their kid to be a sports fan differently depending on whether they were a boy or a girl? (If Gabe had turned out to be a girl, I would have still launched this blog with the same mission.)

Here at Varsity Dad, I've always espoused a "gender-neutral" approach: I want to develop and explore lessons, tactics and experiences that can work no matter if you're raising a boy or a girl -- and no matter if you're a Varsity Dad or Varsity Mom, for that matter.

For example, McInnis' rule No. 4 will be contentious: "You may wear a cheerleader outfit at any time."

Hold on: Why box your daughter into a "cheerleader" (girl) vs. "athlete" (boy) construct? Why not let her wear a football jersey -- or, perhaps a little more realistically, a piece of apparel supporting one of the school's women's teams? For that matter, if your son wanted to be a cheerleader, I would hope you wouldn't object.

As you can see, here's what I like best about his post: It's a phenomenal conversation-starter. Not just about tips or advice for raising a sports fan (which is at the core of this blog's mission), but how -- if at all -- that changes when you're raising a son versus a daughter.

I hope this sparks some interesting conversations. As comments are moderated, I'll keep a close eye on them and have them posted as close to real time as possible.

-- D.S.

Welcome: Bryce Maximus James!

Stats: LeBron's second son, born 12:51 a.m. at 21 inches and a whopping 8 pounds 6 ounces.

Name Analysis: "Bryce James" has a pretty nice ring to it. And "Maximus" as a middle name? That's so badass (but I suspect that only the son of LeBron James can pull it off).

Congras: To Daddy LeBron, but -- of course -- even greater congrats to Savannah Brinson, LeBron's girlfriend who actually did the delivering.

Hopefully, the birth of his son offers more than small consolation to LeBron as his Cavs are about to be swept out of the NBA Finals by the Spurs.

But it's a Father's Day gift he'll never forget. -- D.S.

The Varsity Dad Story of the Year

Wright Thompson's Father's Day story is amazing. Here's a link to read it.

LeBron's Pending Fatherhood: The Update

Looks like we were all a wee bit premature in discussing the choice LeBron might have had to make between being at the birth of his second child and playing in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. At this rate, there won't BE a Game 5 of the NBA Finals. It's almost as if fate is trying to steer him toward the decision he SHOULD have made in the first place... -- D.S.

(Sorry for the lack of more posts this week. I am paralyzed by the pending Father's Day weekend. If there is a bigger moment in the year for Varsity Dads than Father's Day, I don't know what it is. Oh, wait: Or Mother's Day! I'm all about "Varsity Dad" not being about dads, but all parents.)