The Art of War: Key Points

This famous treatise by Sun Tzu (translated by Samuel B. Griffith) on military policy and operations was written over 2,000 years ago but contains many relevant aphorisms:

The idea that a war is won before the first blows of a battle sums up the importance of planning and preparation, virtues which can translate to success in any venture. Assessing oneself and the enemy, then matching one’s strength against another’s weakness reminds me of tennis. Espionage, deception, misdirection, feigning incapacity, and fueling an enemy’s arrogance reminds me of Bill Bellichick.

Here are my seven key points of the Art of War:

1. “Know your enemy and know yourself, in a hundred battles, you will never be in peril.”

2. “All warfare is based on deception… When capable, feign incapacity. When active, feign inactivity. When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that you are near. Offer the enemy bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him. Anger his general and confuse him. Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance. When he is united, divide him.”

3. “He created cleavages between sovereign and minister, superiors and inferiors, commanders and subordinates. His spies and agents were active everywhere, gathering information, sowing dissension, and nurturing subversion. The enemy was isolated and demoralized; his will to resist broken. Thus without battle his army was conquered, his cities taken and his state overthrown.”

“An army without secret agents is exactly like a man without eyes or ears.”
(1) Doubled - It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you.”
(2) Inside - “enemy officials.”
(3) Native - “enemy’s country people.”
“The double agent knows those of his own countrymen who are covetous as well as those officials who have been remiss in office.”
(4) Living - “Men who are clever, talented, wise and able to gain access to those of the enemy who are intimate with the sovereign members of the nobility.”
(5) Expendable - “those of our own spies who are deliberately given fabricated information.”

4. For success, master the five factors:
(1) moral influence- “that which causes people to be in harmony with their leaders, so they will accompany them in life and unto death without fear of mortal peril.”
(2) weather- “the effects of Winter’s cold and summer’s heat.”
(3) terrain- “whether the ground is traversed with ease or difficulty, whether it is open or constricted.”
(4) command- “If wise (1), a commander is able to recognize changing ircumstances and to act expediently. If sincere (2), his men will have no doubt of the certainty of rewards and punishments. If humane (3), he loves mankind, sympathizes with others, and appreciates their industry and toil. If courageous (4), he gains victory by seizing opportunity without hesitation. If strict (5), his troops are disciplined because they are in awe of him and are afraid of punishment.”
(5) doctrine- “organization, control, assignment of appropriate ranks to officers, regulation of supply routes, and the provision of principal items used by the army.”

5. “For there has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.” Long wars drain morale and funds. Brilliant strategy is never protracted.

6. “To win victory is easy; to preserve it’s fruits, difficult. And therefore it is said that when All-under-Heaven is at war, one who gains five victories suffers calamity, one who gains four is exhausted; one who gains three becomes Lord Protector; one who gains two, a King; one who gains one, the Emperor. Thus he who by countless victories has gained empire is unique, while those who have perished thereby are many.”

7. “Under certain conditions one yields a city, sacrifices a portion of his force, or gives up ground in order to gain a more valuable objective. Such yielding therefore masks a deeper purpose, and is but another aspect of the intellectual pliancy which distinguishes the expert in war.”

“Therefore, when I have won a victory I do not repeat my tactics but respond to circumstances in an infinite variety of ways. Now an army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness. And as water shapes its flow in accordance with the ground, so an army manages its victory in accordance with the situation of the enemy. And as water has no constant form, there are no constant conditions.”

Shane Donahue's NFL COMBINE REPORT

After discussing the ins and outs of the 2011 Combine with all the interested parties (scouts, GMs), I have created a list of my workout freaks -- welcome to the second annual Shane Donahue NFL Combine Report.

I say this every year so let me reiterate that the combine is not about identifying the best football players. These workouts put a prospect's football skills in perspective by determining how he measures up to the speed and strength at the highest level. While some of the most talented players often perform exceptionally in drills, the workout freaks who excel in the measurables of running and leaping are by no means the most talented football players. The drills measure explosiveness that translates to football skill but does not indicate such skill.

I quote last year's report:

"Although many freaks will have little impact in the NFL Draft or at the next level, some freaks jump up draft boards and eventually cash in on their measurables because coaches and GMs fawn over their potential and gamble, lured by the promising ego trap that they can coach a freak into a star."

STEPHEN PAEA - DT - Oregon St. (6'1"/ 301)

I don’t care what else he did, Mr. Bench Press set the record with 49 reps of 225 pounds and made it look smooth and easy… mostly. I was not completely surprised by this performance as he put up 44 reps earlier on youtube.

VIRGIL GREEN - TE - Nevada (6’3”/ 249)

With the best vert in the draft at 42.5-inches and the third best broad jump at 10-feet-10-inches, Green is one of this class’ most explosive leapers. Among TEs, he ranked second in the 20-yard shuttle (11.63), third in the 40 (4.64), fourth in the 3-cone (6.90), and fifth in the bench press with 23 reps. By the measurables, he’s easily the most gifted at his position.

JULIO JONES - WR - Alabama (6’3”/ 200)

The consensus number two wideout inched closer to A.J. Green with a solid performance that’s spectacular when considering size and draft status. He basically levitated on the 11-foot-3-inch broad, the third best since 2003. Jones turned in Calvin Johnson-esque numbers with a 4.39 40 (seventh best overall) and a 38.5-inch vertical.

DONTAY MOCH - DL - Nevada (6’1”/ 248)

Moch is another Nevada guy who happens to be a great leaper but he made noise recording one of the fastest 40s ever for DL at 4.44 seconds. Only 15 participants of any position ran a faster 40. Even fewer people outjumped him. He had the second best overall vertical leap of 42-inches and tied for the ninth best broad jump of 10-feet-8-inches.

MARCELL DAREUS - DT - Alabama (6’3”/ 319)

Although Dareus is a potential top-10 pick, he is not a freak by numbers because he didn’t hit make the leader boards. Sometimes it’s about more than the measurables. Watch the video and you’ll see an impressive HWS (height-weight-speed) specimen. He’s nimble and he smacks the heck out of those bags.

VON MILLER LB - Texas A&M - (6’3”/ 246)

This year’s most-talked about pass-rushing linebacker, Miller backed up the chatter by dominating his position in nearly every category. His 11.15 60-yard shuttle set a position and was the 15th fastest overall. Among LBs, Miller ranked first in the broad jump (10’6”), first in the 3-cone (6.70), second in the 40 (4.53), third in the vert (37-inches), and third in the 20-yard shuttle (4.06). Ok, I know, that was the third guy about that size.

Freaks don’t come at every position every year so to decide between the guys who didn’t quite make the cut, here’s the toss-ups.

In the wake of Bruce Campbell and Trent Williams, who’s the freaker OL - Jason Kelce of Cincinnati or Nate Solder of Colorado?

	HT	WT	40-yd D	Vert	Broad	3-Cone	20-yd S
Jason Kelce	6’3”	280	4.93 (1)	30.5" (t8)	9’2” (t3)	7.22 (1)	4.14(NR)
Nate Solder	6’8”	319	5.05 (4)	32" (t3)	9’2” (t3)	7.44 (t5)	4.34 (2)

(Parentheses denote rank among position)/ NR=new record

By the measurables, Kelce had the best performance of any OL but he wasn’t mentioned at all. Solder has great size and is a bonafide prospect so his workout received significant pub. Essentially, Kelce needed more size and clout to garner some respect. Hypothetically, he is built like an out of shape Miller or Green so his numbers are only impressive for that position (if Miller of Green somehow slipped as far as Andre Smith in the man boob incident).

Who’s the freakier QB - Cam Newton (Auburn) or Jake Locker (Washington)?

	HT	WT	40-yd D	Vert	Broad	3-Cone	20-yd S
Cam Newton	6’5”	248	4.59 (t3)	35" (t3)	10’6” (1)	6.92 (10)	4.18 (t8)
Jake Locker	6’3”	231	4.59 (t3)	35" (t3)	10’ (t4)	6.77 (1)	4.12 (t3)

Newton wins this flip because on top of matching Locker drill for drill, he’s bigger.

Who’s the quickest guy in the draft - Buster Skrine ( DB, Tennessee-Chattanooga) or Jeffrey Maehl (WR Oregon)?

	HT	WT	3-Cone	20-yd S	60-yd S	40-yd D
Buster Skrine	5’10”	186	6.44 (2)	3.90 (t2)	10.75 (NR)	4.48
Jeffrey Maehl	6’1”	190	6.42 (NR)	3.94 (4)	10.88 (3)	4.62

It’s unfortunate that it went unnoticed that each of these guys set a combine record and battled for the quickness crown. The edge goes to Skrine because he was very close to Maehl’s 3-cone record and he put up a significantly better 40 so I assume his 10-yard split was better.

That wraps up this year's report. Stay tuned for my Mock Draft to see which freaks crack the first round.

The Outlier of SC's Top Ten Plays

One day a couple months ago while counting the number of Division I ballers who major in sociology, I found an outlier on UCLA. Tyler Trapani is a history major. He also looks like a doughy bundle of privilege who wouldn’t scare anyone if he walked onto an intramural team as a ringer. Curious, I began to read his bio. The summaries of his two college seasons are identical with the exception of the opponent’s name and date:

Trapani made one appearance without any starts as a walk-on for the Bruins, playing a total of one minute on the season ... he played in the final minute of the John R. Wooden Classic at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., in the Bruins' win over DePaul (Dec. 13) ... missed his only field goal attempt, a three-pointer, against the Blue Demons ... did not record any other statistics.

So he’s not quite good enough for the 30-30 club (the human victory cigars who play when the team is up or down 30 with 30 seconds remaining) and he desperately (I assume) chucked up a three in each of his two appearances. Well, if he walked on, he was probably good in high school right? Nope:

averaged 3.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg and 2.5 apg his senior season in 20 games ... helped lead Simi Valley to a 26-2 record, including a perfect 14-0 mark in Miramonte League play ... shot at a 30.2 percent clip from three-point range, sinking 16-of-53 treys.

Did he really help lead Simi Valley?

How is this guy on UCLA? Did he win a contest or something? Well kind of, here’s the golden ticket, buried near the bottom of his thin bio:

his great-grandfather is the late legendary UCLA head coach, John R. Wooden

On Saturday I was surprised to see Trapani made Sportscenter’s Top Ten and had a feature on ESPN.com because he scored the final basket in Pauley Pavilion before the renovation. He caught an airball right under the basket and promptly regurgitated it with barely enough hangtime to slip a piece of paper under him.

Columnists, the coach, and family have interpreted this happening as an example of divine intervention-- but by a different god, Wooden.

Trapani credits his basketball IQ:

"I didn't think about it at all," he said. "When I got the ball, it was just instinct to put it back up there."

His wide open layup is a win for all the piggybacking descendents of legends, and more importantly, the real student athletes. At the press conference, his teammates snickered when Trapani said, “It’s more about being here for getting an education and going on in life.”

His teammates all had to score more than two points to earn an invite to the press conference.

Superbowl Commercials

Don't let anyone tell you it was a good game and don't let em tell you the commercials were good either. The game had no lead changes. It was a blowout that was tense and almost exciting at the end.

The ads offered no redemption for the event. Many of the commercials were leaked before the Superbowl. That defeats the purpose. Most commercials tried too hard to be funny and ended up face-planting. And Blaine Gabbert is no Teblow because he didn't even have a commercial.

Here are my two favorites:

ONE

Despite borrowing shot for shot the opening to a certain show, they still pulled it off. Here's the problem: the car ripped off the style of its former partner company by copying the Benz grille. The wannabe Bentley/ Aston Martin logo isn't fooling anyone either. Is it not enough that the 300 looks like a poor man's Maybach!?

TWO

This is a silly and simple concept that ended up being memorable.

Since the Probowl was last week, people think football is over. Actually, as we move into Draft Season, it's just heating up.