Learning to produce solid, consistent hitting mechanics in baseball might be one of the toughest things to do in any sport.
Not only does a successful swing demand perfect timing, hand-eye
coordination, and body mechanics but the hitter must synthesize a
complex series of movements in a split second to make solid contact with
the ball. Not to mention how factors such as pitch speed, movement, and
location further complicate the task. Additionally, hitters must
constantly adjust their mechanics to adapt to different pitchers and
pitch types.
And because there is so much nuance to a swing that many coaches
who haven’t played the game at a high level can struggle to comprehend,
it's easy to develop bad habits with a swing without adequate baseball hitting instruction.
Without
proper guidance and attention to detail, hitters can easily fall into
patterns that hinder their performance such as lunging, casting the
hands, or an inconsistent stride. Plus, given how predicated modern
baseball is on hitting home runs, the natural desire to overpower the
ball can lead to a breakdown in mechanics, resulting in poor habits for
youth baseball players. Over time, these bad habits can become deeply
ingrained, making them difficult to correct.
It's crucial for players to receive regular coaching and feedback
to prevent the development of detrimental swing habits. And who better
for these lessons to come from than a former MLB player?
Gary
Joseph Gaetti, is an American former third baseman in Major League
Baseball for the Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Kansas City Royals,
St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Red Sox. He won the 1987
MLB World Series with the Minnesota Twins and was the 1987 ALCS
(American League Championship Series) MVP. Across his career, Coach
Gaetti won the 1995 Silver Slugger Award, was a four-time Gold Glove
Award winner, and was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame
when his career ended.
Coach Gaetti’s ‘MLB`s Gary Gaetti Hitting Course’shows
the secrets to how he became one of baseball’s elite hitters during his
playing days. He lays out a comprehensive, easy-to-follow hitting
success blueprint that will help any player or coach learn the correct
mechanics at the plate and unlock their team’s batting average.
Bat Toss Drill
One of Coach Gaetti’s most effective drills that
he used throughout his professional baseball career is what he calls the
Bat Toss Drill.
This drill has two purposes:
1. Teaches hitters the predominant feel they need to have, in regard to their bat’s barrel.
2. Helps hitters to reach where their true, natural launch position will be when swinging.
For
this drill, a player will grab a bat and come up to a net (ideally one
that’s in a batting cage). They’ll stand about a foot away from the net
and mirror the start of their swing, simulating making contact. When
reaching this point, the player should be making sure their bat stays
flat, parallel with the net.
From there, the hitter will return to their batting stance and remove
their bottom hand from the bat. They will then simulate their swing and
let go of the bat (essentially throwing it) at the point where they
would be making contact.
This drill is great for coaches because it highlights common mechanical issues for players, such as realizing
they can’t throw the bat properly if their elbow is too raised or their
hands too close to their head because it’s such an unnatural movement. And to do so, they’ll fly their front shoulder open, which is a common mechanical mistake.
They
also might move their hands back in their stance to generate more force
for their push. If either of these things occurs during this drill,
it’s a signal that a stance adjustment may be necessary.
Soft Toss
Every coach knows that soft toss is an integral
aspect of developing a smooth, consistent hitting swing. But Coach
Gaetti conveys what a coach should be looking for when doing these
drills to ensure that players are getting the most out of them.
“Most
soft toss, I like [the tosser] at a 45-degree angle, not too close, and
a nice firm toss near the front side [of the hip],” Coach Gaetti said.
He
then explains that the more realistic you can make the pitch, the more
effective it’s going to be for a hitter’s development. That’s
why he stresses a nice firm toss without a lot of arc because that
doesn’t resemble something a hitter will see in a game.
And a hitter will never see the ball coming at them from the other batter’s box. So
soft toss should either be done directly in front of the hitter (with a
net or L-screen) or off to the side, at a 45-degree angle.
The Tomahawk Drill
Coach Gaetti loves using the Tomahawk
Drill when hitters aren’t using their top hands, their hands look
sluggish, or their barrel isn’t getting to the ball on time.
In doing this drill, Coach Gaetti wants his hitters to feel like they’re hitting a line drive to the third baseman. But the pitch (this is a front toss drill) is going to be high and outside, which is not ideal for pulling the ball. While
this isn’t a good strategy in a game, this is going to force quick and
decisive hand action from the hitter in order to pull this type of
pitch.
To be clear, this isn’t a hitting strategy that should be used in
a game. But it’s a great mechanical adjustment when a hitter’s hands
have been slow to react.
23
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his
parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not
afraid of the king's edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
29
By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing
through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were
drowned.
Moses faced some tough times.
He fled from a murder charge, spent years in the desert, led a
grumbling nation whose allegiance ran hot and cold, and more. Today
we’ll explore what a challenge it was for Moses to stand toe-to-toe with
a ruler who scorned him—and how he endured.
Even though he returned to Egypt with an unmistakable call from God (Exodus 3:10),
appearing before Pharaoh must still have been intimidating. And Moses
had to plead with him repeatedly for the Israelites’ release. Pharaoh
was not fazed by locusts, convinced by boils, or softened by water
turning to blood. In fact, he made life even harder for the Israelites.
In turn, the Hebrew people heaped ingratitude on the one tasked with
liberating them.
Moses, however, kept returning to
the palace until he’d achieved the Lord’s purpose—the release of the
Israelite slaves. And while leading the exodus from Egypt, “he endured,
as seeing Him who is unseen” (Heb. 11:27). With a stack of trials behind
and even more to come, Moses moved forward, aware that he was walking
in the Lord’s presence.
God had pledged to be with him (Exodus 3:12).
So, fixing his focus on that promise and the One who made it, Moses
wisely trusted that whatever trials he faced, God would bring victory.
Defenses are getting better and better in how they defend the RPO. Having a mechanism to attack their aggressiveness can provide answers and explosive plays.
One
answer to RPO is to cover down and allow the safeties to get down into
the box for the run fit. Of course, aggressive safeties expose the
defense to big plays and that’s exactly what these RPOs are designed to
attack
Maryland Popsicleicle
Maryland
Head Coach Mike Locksley has established himself as one of the top
offensive thinkers in terms of how to attack defenses with RPO. He did
it as the OC at Alabama and now is continuing to do it at Maryland.
His “Popsicle” RPO attacks
the third-level defender (safety) who is aggressively fitting the box.
In the video example, they do it off of Power with the same side read
of the safety.
Coach Locksley understands the details that make
this play successful. He explains the coaching points on the QB-RB mesh
as well as what he calls “100 to 90” for the receiver
Western Michigan Double Glanceance
Head
Coach at Western Michigan Tim Lester has made the RPO a big part of the
Broncos attack. He likes to attack level 3 while giving the QB
options.
An offense, especially the QB, is not always able to
know which safety will trigger. In order to give the QB opportunities
on a 3rd level RPO, WMU will utilize double glance which gives the QB
the ability to attack either side of the defense based on which safety
fits. He explains the concept here
Wake Forest Route Behindhind
The
slower mesh is utilized on their RPO’s with the quarterback spending
extra time riding the mesh with the running back to be able to see his
key pull and throw the ball for a big play. It makes the 3rd Level RPO a
very viable part of their attack.
The outside zone with a crack
route by the receiver makes this a very difficult play to defend. Head
Coach Dave Clawson illustrates the play in this video
Bonus Play - Manheim Central HS Play Action off of RPO:RPO:
Adding
third-level RPO does require time in practice to allow the QB to
understand the picture and the read. One way to maintain a 3rd level
attack as part of the RPO offense is to call it for the QB by making it a
play action.
That’s exactly what Manheim Central HC Dave Hahn does with this play-action concept. Seeing that the safety is aggressively fitting on the run allows this big play opportunity.
Since
it is just a call it does not require the QB to read for Run or Pass.
He can sell a great fake and draw the safety down then hit the skinny
post for a big play
As the cliche goes, “It’s about who has the chalk
last.” The third level RPO is a logical progression in the RPO attack
and whether you create concepts that read the triggering safety or
simply add play action to stretch the defense and expose the
aggressiveness, attacking level three this fall will provide your
offense huge benefits.
I can’t say there’s any good that can have come out of
Hamas’s indefensible intentional slaughter of Israeli civilians on
October 7th, but a by-product may be the beginning of the end for
wokeness.
The authoritarian political ideology from which genuine social
justice and plain common sense departed several years ago appears to
have jumped the public acceptability shark.
The hard left’s uncritical applause for terrorist perpetrator Hamas,
under the guise of ‘supporting’ the Palestinians, leaves many of us on
the right and left shaking our heads like wet dogs.
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???
Whether it’s just-below-the-surface anti-Semitism that has always
lurked darkly in the hearts of virtue-signalling leftists, or just a
dimwitted allegiance to the essential tenet of what passes for Critical
Race Theory - dark good, white bad - the ‘woke’ left, which always
assumes ‘marginalized’ people are victimized angels, looks deeply
deranged to those of us who haven’t filed for moral bankruptcy.
I guess the woke left is having its ‘there are many good people on both sides’ moment.
Hamas groupies should ask themselves, “Would I approve if these
actions were taken against ‘oppressors’ and ‘land-stealers’ I like
more?”
Like, say, if the aggrieved were America’s Indigenous?
What if a band of well-armed, well-trained Indigenous terrorists
wasted a New Mexico town, swarming in on hang gliders to gun down New
Mexicans running through the desert - let’s bear in mind that white
people are only 36% of New Mexico’s diversity - and mowed down everyone
white, black and brown running from the Albuquerque, say, annual balloon
festival? That the ground troops moved in and brutally raped New
Mexican women and girls so hard they broke their pelvises? Burnt
families alive in their homes, slaughtered without mercy everyone from
babies to grandmothers, tortured others and kidnapped a few to be
tortured, raped, or murdered for later?
Think about it, wokies.
What I’ve noticed, just within the last week to ten days, is that
with or without Hamas, encouraging signs indicate ‘peak woke’ may be
declining like Donald Trump’s net worth.
Here are a few indicators I’ve observed recently that a frightening
siege of common sense may be amassing outside the Wokeness Wall.
'Wokeness is cancellable, especially for being a terrorist-loving butthead'
Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for: When it’s possible to
cancel far left deplorables without having to be on the far left one’s
self.
Turns out over-privileged, entitled, money-grubbing little college
campus shits scurry like cockroaches when one of them loses a plum law
firm job offer because, well, she publicly supported violence and
terrorism.
Even more ironically, their First Example is a more-marginalized-than thou black female ‘non-binary’.
In a sign of how weird the world’s gotten, none other than a hedge
fund billionaire emerged as the hero to offer chemoscare-apy to treat
Stage 4 metastasized wokeness.
Bill Ackman discovered an open letter signed by over thirty student
groups at Harvard blaming Israelis for Hamas’s mass slaughter.
He quickly accrued a mob of his own, a dozen CEOs who asked Harvard
to release the names of all signatories of all the groups, and the names
quickly circulated among Ackman’s powerful buddies. Subject line: Let’s
make sure we never offer any of them a job!
Then the law firm who had extended a job offer to the non-binary
human rescinded it—who the hell wants a terrorist lover working for
them?—and the woke woke up to the other side of the cancel culture bully
cannon.
The signatories scampered to remove their names from the letter,
their commitment to the Palestinians extending only as far as the
looming prospect of living with their parents until senility, saddled
with crippling student debt.
It’s called ‘accountability’, children. And remember: In accordance
with your own values, you must never, ever be forgiven. No matter how
much you apologize, grovel and cry on TikTok, no matter what you do or
accomplish after this, the only thing that should ever define you is
your youthful, ill-considered applause for mass slaughter and rape
culture.
'The BBC calls a man in a dress accused of raping a woman ‘a man in a dress’
To be fair, Kay Georges, né Andrew Miller, gave the Beeb permission
to refer to him in their news reporting as he/him for ‘simplicity’s
sake’, which goes to show you how committed he was to the whole ‘I’m a
chick’ thing in the first place. The Beeb reports Miller is accused of
abducting and repeatedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl while
dressed as a woman after he offered to give her a lift. It would have
been more laudable had the Beeb had the balls to take a stand for hard
science and truth-telling without permission, which is supposed to be
their job, but hey, it’s a start. We should encourage, oh fuck it,
high-pressure journalists to tell the truth about rapists appropriating
womanhood: If it has a penis and shoves it into an unconsenting orifice,
it’s a him/he-man.
Calling a man a man? Further evidence peak woke is crumbling.
'Speaking of men in dresses, transactivists fail to shut down a feminist event in Glasgow or to terrify J.K. Rowling'
The FiLia group, part of a larger Scottish feminist organization,
scheduled a women’s conference at the Glasgow Platform, which, being as
pussy as any other venue that deplatforms women’s conferences at the
last minute when hopelessly male-looking guys in dresses stomp their
feet and threaten to rape and murder everyone in the United Kingdom if
the conference isn’t cancelled, backed down like frightened little
girls. At least until FiLia lawyers cited a recent favorable decision
for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association against a different
Scottish venue who canceled the Billyboys.
The result? The conference went on as planned and J.K. Rowling showed
up to look bored while she listened to the usual rape, bodily harm and
death threats we’ve come to associate with ‘the most marginalized people
ever’ and later spoke at the conference.
'Washington University makes it hard for aspiring boy/girl wannabes
because, I dunno, the threat of detransitioning lawsuits on the
horizon?'
Scientifically deficient ‘gender-affirming care’ is in the
cross-hairs of Republican politicians and circling lawyers in what is
shaping up to be one mother of a medical scandal in North America.
St. Louis’s Washington University gender clinic announced in
September it’s discontinuing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for
everyone, not because they realized they don’t have enough data to
determine whether these treatments are safe on otherwise healthy
children, but because of the ‘unacceptable’ threat of legal liability.
Here’s where the rubber hits the road for ‘gender-affirming care’
doctors and hospitals: Missouri’s new emergency rule makes it harder for
medical professionals to prescribe life-altering treatments willy-nilly
for both minors and adults, and returns the transitioning process to
the much lengthier and considered path that worked beautifully for
decades before 2015.
Otherwise, script-happy docs could find themselves on the business
end of the existing Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, designed to
prevent and prosecute fraudulent business practices.
It’s about damn time. And a little Republican Attorney General shall lead them.
'Ibram X. Kendi goes down when he can’t explain where the money went'
Hey Dr. Kendi, have you erased racism yet?
No? Well how about $43 million?
The author of How To Be An Antiracist, Stamped From The Beginning and
Antiracist Baby, who could find white supremacy in a basket of kittens,
can’t ‘splain what happened to all the money lobbed at him by
corporates with catapults to fight racism.
Boston University is investigating Kendi’s Center for Anti-Racism
Research which just laid off over half their staff, and it’s not like no
one ever saw this coming. Many at BU raised concerns whether the extent
of Kendi’s anti-racism research was producing anything other than
fuck-all. Instead, he delivered, while on an ‘extended leave of
absence,’ and all of which earned him money, a graphic novel detailing
racist ideas, a podcast called Be Antiracist and an embarrassing
five-episode TV show for ESPN that went viral when black Olympian
athlete Gwendolyn Berry, interviewed by Kendi, remarked that “Athletes
are literally the new slaves,” and compared sports contracts to ‘the new
slave chains’. Fortunately for her, this iteration of slavery is more
voluntary than the last, so she is free to throw off her chains, give
the finger to The Man and get an honest job at Wal-Mart.
None of the above was in the Center’s stated objectives.
Kendi finally found his way back to the Center without explaining
where he left to or leaving anyone in charge since it seems he’s
allergic to delegating authority. It’s important to note he isn’t
accused of stealing the money; just squandering the fuck out of it.
What makes this story particularly galling is finding out podcast
host and writer Coleman Hughes, famously common sense-y about fighting
racism, was invited by TEDx to give a talk on the need for more
conscious color-blindness, and which looked suspiciously downranked by
TEDx when a small group of woke staffers allergic to ideas that require
them to entertain an alternative view, complained it was ‘racist’ and
‘dangerous’.
'Black Lives Matter Chicago told by X to STFU for demonstrating Israeli lives don’t matter'
After the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, the civil rights group
formed to protest the killings of a few dozen black men a year tweeted
an image of a hang glider as their knee-jerk response to omni-victimized
dark people slaughtering 1,300 whiter-skinned people primarily
belonging to a religion long unpopular with many Americans, including
black Americans.
When the shit hit the terrorist fanboys, they quickly walked it back:
What a wussy ‘We’re not, strictly speaking, sorry for that image,’
response, and while they could be talking about the grieving mothers and
rescued babies from one side or the other, I’m going to take a
Scientific Wild-Ass Guess and suggest they’re still really only thinking
of the side that cheered and danced for Hamas until the IDF and Israeli
civilian settler thugs reminded them of Part II of violent terrorist
attacks.
I wonder how tolerant Black Lives Matter Chicago would be if the
#BlueLivesMatter set tweeted an image of a knee and ‘BACK THE BLUE’.
That is all that is it!
'You guys should go grab a coffee together'
American hard-right conservatives severed their last tenuous ties to
common sense and reality when they voted for, and continue to support,
Donald Trump. His bottom-feeding fan base still support him, and
threaten violence against anyone daring to hold him accountable for
anything.
They’ve even invented a new, more humane form of torture: The non-violent molesting ‘like you’ve never imagined’:
The American left could always crow: “We don’t believe sex is real,
we do believe economy-sized white supremacy can be purchased at the Bulk
Barn for all your systemic oppression baking needs, and we expend way
too much energy on pronouns, but at least we’re not violent.”
Excusing violence in others is one step closer to embracing it one’s
self, and with the wokies’ new-found terrorist love in the guise of
‘supporting the Palestinians’, they’ve now sunk to the same moral level
as their Confed’rut-lovin’ adversaries.
Je ne suis pas Hamas.
If there’s nothing else that screams the left has hit peak woke, it’s hating Jews as much as the right hates Muslims.
It’s no longer hard to imagine left-wing ‘woke’ extremists could, in
fact, instigate Nazi-era pogroms, eagerly joined by members of a
particular religion famous for its historical hatred of Judaism long
pre-dating the creation of Israel.
There’s so much that’s gone wrong with the left; one must wonder
where it all went, if you’ll pardon the expression, tits-up. Perhaps it
disintegrated along with the poor mental health of young women and girls
hailing from progressive-thinking families whose parents couldn’t say
no, or the unemployed kids on social media devising endless, evermore
divisive labels to suit every quirk, mood or ugly thought that flittered
through their fevered over-educated brains.
Other suspects include universities who sought to retain spoiled
children who’d never been challenged by critical thought before and
weren’t about to start now, who therefore decided they were customers
rather than students, and the customer is always right.
Let’s not forget those who treat ‘intersectionality’ as a bottomless
grievance well, and who feign endless victimhood while bullying others
into submission; while others squat under the bodhi tree aspiring to
‘marginalization’ rather than spiritual enlightenment. The anti-Buddhas.
I know the Israelis aren’t pure-hearted themselves. They’ve inflicted
many heinous crimes against the Palestinians for generations. They HAVE
stolen their land. They HAVEN’T made as good-faith efforts as they
could to bring lasting peace. They HAVE inflicted many atrocities and
human rights abuses against them. I don’t believe they’re willing to
make the sacrifices to accomplish that, nor will the Palestinians. It’s
all for nothing for both of them. The Palestinians hail from a violent
culture and religion. To pull an anti-Trump, “There are bad people on
both sides.”
But when you jump on the social media terrorist train to blame
families for their own slaughter and proclaim your allegiance to a
filthy, specifically genocidal terrorist group and cheer their heinous
brutalities against civilians, however you feel about their righteous
cause, you have jumped the shark. You have met the enemy and he is you.
Shake hands with your compatriots in MAGAland and Canada’s emerging
right-wing extremists, the Freedom Convoy. Maybe you guys should all go
grab a coffee.
Yeah, there are some real Nazis in those groups. Look in the mirror, ‘progressives’; you’ll find plenty there, too.
Nicole Chardenet fights the neverending battle against
MAGAism and wokeness from her artist's hovel in a Canadian skyrise. Her
websiite, https://growsomelabia.com, helps women and others reclaim their power. You can subscribe to her Substack newsletter too at https://growsomelabia.substack.com/.
How a Low-Budget Passion Project Became One of the Greatest Sports Films of All Time.
Few could have foreseen the cultural phenomenon that would emerge
when Rocky debuted in theatres in 1976. The film’s premise—a poor boxer
from Philadelphia overcoming adversity—seemed straightforward enough,
but the passion and effort that went into its production made it
something truly unique. In addition to being a critical and financial
success, Rocky was an inspirational story that touched audiences all
over the world. Decades later, Rocky is still regarded as one of the
greatest sports movies ever made, laying the groundwork for a
multigenerational franchise. This article examines the film’s
production, its influence on cinema, and its legacy.
The Genesis of Rocky: Stallone’s Struggle to Success: Sylvester
Stallone’s story is as much about him as it is about the character he
plays. In the mid-1970s, Stallone was an actor who was living in near
poverty, taking on small parts in movies and television shows to make
ends meet. He was determined to make it in Hollywood despite being
turned down time and time again, and his inspiration for Rocky came when
he saw an underdog boxer, Chuck Wepner, fight to the end against the
great Muhammad Ali. Stallone wrote the screenplay for Rocky in three
days.
Studios were hesitant to risk Stallone as the lead, even though the
script was compelling. Numerous offers to buy the script were made, but
each one was contingent on the main character being played by a
well-known actor, such as James Caan or Robert Redford. Stallone
declined, opting instead to wait until he was able to play the lead in
the movie. In the end, producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler
decided to make Rocky on a meagre budget of slightly more than $1
million, which was incredibly low even at the time.
Filming on a Shoestring Budget: Almost every aspect of the production
was dictated by financial constraints, so the crew and cast had to be
creative. Guerrilla-style filmmaking methods were employed by director
John G. Avildsen, who used handheld cameras and shot scenes without
permits to save money. Many of the movie’s most famous scenes, like
Rocky jogging through Philadelphia, were filmed with regular people who
were unaware that they were in a motion picture.
Financial limitations forced the cast and crew to be inventive in
almost every aspect of the production. To save money, director John G.
Avildsen used guerrilla-style filmmaking techniques, such as handheld
cameras and unpermitted scene shooting. Several of the film’s most
well-known sequences, such as Rocky running through Philadelphia, were
shot with everyday people who had no idea they were in a movie.
At its core, Rocky is a profoundly human tale of love, tenacity, and
self-worth rather than merely a boxing movie. Rocky Balboa, in contrast
to the conventional, glitzy Hollywood hero, is a tough guy who scrapes
by in the harsh streets of Philadelphia as an uneducated but
good-hearted fighter. There is an emotional depth to his relationship
with Adrian (played by Talia Shire) that is uncommon in sports movies. A
gentle contrast to the harsh world of boxing, their love story is one
of mutual support and growing trust.
The Climactic Fight and Its Unexpected Ending: Rocky defies
expectations, in contrast to other sports films where the triumphant
character wins. Despite losing the last battle against the unbeaten
champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), Rocky accomplishes something far
more significant. Proving to both himself and the world that he belongs
in the ring, he completes all 15 rounds. The last scenes of the movie,
in which Rocky calls out for Adrian, are still among the most intensely
emotional in all of cinema. Rocky was able to transcend the status of a
traditional sports film by choosing to emphasize personal achievement
above ring success.
Critical and Commercial Triumph: The film’s soundtrack, especially
Bill Conti’s soaring Gonna Fly Now, became synonymous with triumph and
perseverance. It played a crucial role in shaping the film’s emotional
beats and is still one of the most recognizable movie scores of all
time. When Rocky was released, it became an immediate success, grossing
over $225 million globally and earning ten Academy Award nominations. It
won three Oscars, such as Best Picture, Best Director for Avildsen, and
Best Film Editing. Stallone’s performance and script were extensively
praised, propelling him to superstardom.
The Legacy of Rocky: In addition to the sequels, Rocky has had an
incalculable impact on popular culture; Stallone was honoured with a
statue of Rocky in 1982; Rocky Balboa has become an iconic figure,
representing the spirit of the underdog; and the Philadelphia Museum of
Art steps have become a fan destination. Rocky’s success led to an
enduring franchise, with multiple sequels and spin-offs; while some of
the later films leaned more into action-movie territory, the core themes
of grit, endurance, and redemption remained intact.
Conclusion: A Film for the Ages: Rocky is a story of hope, heart, and
determination—values that go beyond the boxing world and resonate with
people on a deeply personal level. Stallone’s unwavering faith in his
vision not only transformed his own life but also produced a film that
continues to inspire generations. Almost fifty years later, Rocky is
still a testament to the strength of perseverance, demonstrating that
sometimes going the distance is more important than winning the fight.
Few movies better capture the human spirit than Rocky.
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https://medium.com/@rinoingenito04
Rino Ingenito is a passionate film buff exploring classic and modern cinema, sharing
insights and reviews that celebrate the art of storytelling on the big screen.
He’s published over 200 movie-related pieces on Medium, including retrospectives and
Are you finding ways to share the goodness of God with others?
October 9, 2025
16
Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being
provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.
17
So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing
Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to
be present.
18
And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing
with him. Some were saying, ``What would this idle babbler wish to say?"
Others, ``He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"--because he
was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ``May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?
20 ``For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean."
21
(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend
their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ``Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects.
23
``For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your
worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, `TO AN UNKNOWN
GOD.' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
24
``The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of
heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;
25
nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He
Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
26
and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the
face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the
boundaries of their habitation,
27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, `For we also are His children.'
29
``Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine
Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and
thought of man.
30 ``Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
31
because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in
righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished
proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."
32
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to
sneer, but others said, ``We shall hear you again concerning this."
everyone must face eventually: Who is the one true God? What is He
like? Is it possible to have a personal relationship with Him?
Throughout history, countless people have grappled with these questions.
Let’s
look at today’s passage. Imagine walking into church one Sunday and
sitting in front of a giant statue made of bronze or gold. We might sing
a few songs in honor of it, listen to a sermon, then take up an
offering and lay it at the foot of the statue. After some additional
music, church is over and we return to our houses. What would we gain
from that worship? What assurance could we claim? There would be no joy,
peace, or security in this life or for the one to come because we bowed
down to something that is lifeless and unable to hear us.
When
the apostle Paul was in Athens, he provided answers for the people
there by preaching about the one true God. Today, as Christians, we
should do the same because it is God’s will that every single person
know Him (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
As
believers, we have a relationship with God through Christ, but
countless people in this world have never heard about the Savior. Do not
be content just to live your Christian life quietly. Instead, find a
way to share your peace and joy with someone else.
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