“As I look out over this magnificent vista….”
This may be the best balk I’ve ever seen. A little over a month ago, Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey committed this fantastic balk against the Philadelphia Phillies.
I looked high and low for video of this gem, but can’t seem to find it. If anyone tracks it down, feel free to share.
Three years ago, Pelfrey had three balks in a single game. A couple of days later he was warming up before a game, and a fan had a little fun with him. It looked like Pelfrey was a good sport about it, though. Enjoy.
Sorry for the gap in between posts, it’s been a busy week. As we were driving to my family’s Thanksgiving festivities on Thursday, I was struck with how thankful I am. There is so much for which to be thankful. I talked about a lot of the warm ‘n fuzzy stuff last time, but I didn’t cover everything. You see, I am thankful for Practice Court.
Practice Court is grueling. It is not uncommon to get out of class at 3:30 or 4:00 with a 200 page reading assignment about which you have to be ready to speak competently at 7:45 the following morning. Unless your name begins with an “A” and ends with “ndrew Tuegel,” you just don’t have enough time to finish everything and get a full night’s sleep. The professors stand you up, grill you, and if they detect even the slightest hint of uncertainty, they will continue to question until they find your weakness. Once they do, it’s not like they crush you, kick you out, or give you a memo and sit you down, oh no. They expose your weakness for all to see, taking your erroneous conclusion to its end and expose it for the folly that it is. If that’s not enough, throw courtroom exercises on top of and in the midst of all of that other stuff. So yeah, 200 pages of reading a night PLUS preparation for mini-trials is the order of the day in Practice Court.
Most BLS students that have gone through the program despise it. While it’s true that most recognize the value the program has in preparing lawyers for the courtroom, they all swear that if given the chance, they’d never do it again. They think that the PC professors derive some sort of sick pleasure out of deriding their students, and have no purpose to it other than abject humiliation and because it’s the way it’s always been done at Baylor. Some even complain that they were swindled when they visited the law school, complaining that had the truth been told, they wouldn’t have come to Baylor. Again, pretty much everybody wouldn’t go through with it again.
Me? I’m thankful for Practice Court. It was grueling. It was intense. I fell flat on my face more than once. But I also got through it. Each time I fell on my face, I got back up and I worked harder. The pressure was incredible, but I relished the environment. I thrived on the challenge. I went from struggling with self-confidence to knowing that I could take anything. I was fortunate enough to discern early on the professors’ true motivations for their teaching styles, and I appreciated them for it. I saw that they treated us the way that they did to prepare us, so that when our day in the courtroom came, we would be prepared, confident, and ready to tackle whatever the challenge was. They demanded our very best, and it brought out the best in me. I loved it. And now, when asked if I would do it all over again, I answer without the slightest hint of hesitation.
Absolutely.
I am thankful for Practice Court. It taught me how to be a lawyer, and it showed me that I am one.
What with the World Series, elections, and the Baylor Bears being ranked #21 in the BCS standings, I forgot that tomorrow (or Friday) the Bar Results get published.
Actually, I didn’t forget really. I think I was simply in a state of blissful denial. Reality came crashing in about twenty minutes ago. I haven’t been able to think about anything else since.
It’s going to be a long night.
Over on espndallas.com’s colleges blog, columnist Richard Durrett’s predictions post had this to say about Baylor’s upcoming game against Texas Tech:
Baylor vs. Texas Tech (11 a.m., Cotton Bowl, Saturday): This should be a great matchup in the Dallas area. Texas Tech is coming off a bad loss at Iowa State and should be highly motivated to get back on track. Baylor seems poised to get to a bowl game and a win over the Red Raiders would certainly give them some momentum toward that goal. Robert Griffin III had a breakout game last weekend and is ready for more. I’ll take the Bears.
Prediction: Baylor 28, Texas Tech 24.
Whoa… Whoa. Whoa.
Perhaps it’s because I’m a lifelong Baylor fan, and I’ve learned that getting your hopes up regarding Baylor sports leads to inevitable disappointment. Perhaps it’s just because this is something I hardly ever see. I don’t know, but I can’t help but feel like someone’s playing a cruel joke on me, trying to ruin a good start to a Friday.
Not funny, Richard!
It is finished. Graduation Day has arrived. I am now officially a graduate of the Baylor University School of Law. As I sit here writing this, I still can’t quite believe that the day that we’ve counted towards has finally arrived. There is so much to process, so much upon which to reflect. I will have some time for reflection over the coming weeks, and I hope to put some of it down on this blog. I generally avoided discussing the PC experience while I went through it, but now that I’ve got some distance from it, I want to put down some of my thoughts, and share some of my personal triumphs.
But for now, I’m going to go back to enjoying the fact that I have my J.D. in hand, and that I never have to take another law school final again.
Sláinte.
Thanks to Prof. Osler for the photograph.
This afternoon I finished the bar exam. I don’t have words at this point, so I’ll let this photograph sum up how I feel.
When you walk through the storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm there’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on, through the wind
Walk on, through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone.
Godspeed, my friends.
This week’s Friday Funny comes to you a day early. Tomorrow I will take my last final of the first quarter of Practice Court, then will make the trek home, so I won’t have time to post this, and it’s more appropriate right now, anyway. I’m pretty sure that most, if not all, of my classmates can identify with this guy right about now. I hope you enjoy.
Gary Larson is a genius.
Yesterday Prof. Osler gave his Last Lecture (unofficial, since he’s teaching the summer quarter) in Room 127 at the law school. It was open to the public; many non-law folks came (including my good friends Keith and Brooke) and I think they caught a glimpse of Prof. Osler’s magic.
Some other thoughts:
I really was disappointed that I we didn’t get to give him a standing ovation. It would have happened, and I’m almost certain it would have lasted for several minutes. It occurred to me, though, that he probably figured this, didn’t want it, and that’s why he left the way he did. As I realized this, my disappointment turned into resigned satisfaction.
For the man who taught me more about living a life of humility than any preacher, it was a fitting exit.
Last night, Professor Osler confirmed in his blog what I have feared since I learned that he was considering it some time ago: Professor Osler is leaving BLS. While I’m happy for he and his family, I am saddened by the loss of quality at BLS. Truthfully, it is a devastating blow to the law school’s criminal curriculum. I will most likely write about my thoughts on that subject at some point in the very near future, but that’s not the purpose of this post.
Professor Osler is unique. It’s rare to find a man so incredibly brilliant that is, at the same time, humble. I would venture to say he’s one of the most genuinely humble people I’ve ever met. He does not boast of his achievements (which is an impressive list); when he does tell stories, most often he refers to his failures. When he does mention the successes he’s achieved, there’s always another point to it. He never fails to mention how a student was involved in the process. He’s also the most accessible professor I’ve ever had. Of course, he has his blog, which is always funny, insightful, and challenging. It was how I first got to know him and interact with him before we ever spoke face to face (Aside: it’s actually funny when I think back, I would see him in the hall and not know whether or not to say hi to him, because I wasn’t sure if he knew I was the one that ran this blog or not). Beyond the blog, Professor Osler is approachable and accessible. I’ve never felt more welcomed into a professor’s office than I did the first time I met with the Prof. Normally I almost feel like I’m wasting the professor’s time by going and seeing them (though I’m sure that’s a product of my imagination most of the time), but Prof. Osler dismissed that intimidation quickly by genuinely appearing interested in my questions and remaining engaged. While it’s always obvious that the man is an absolute genius, that genius never gets in the way of his communication. Instead, his wit remains accessible and his communication style straightforward. It’s as though he holds his gift lightly, as though it’s on loan and he must be responsible with it. Take a peek at his writings and his achievements and you’ll see that he’s been responsible and then some.
Professor Osler is caring, what is normally expected of a professor. His classes are challenging; his Criminal Practice and Procedure course featured what ended up being the low point of my law school career, which I wrote about back in the fall. But I wouldn’t be where I am today without those moments, and Professor Osler provided me with real, direct encouragement that showed me that the lessons that I gleaned from those struggles were correct. That encouragement helped rebuild my confidence in new ways, and the challenges that class presented prepared me for my current challenge (Practice Court) in ways I still don’t fully understand. Through his teaching, he showed me that I didn’t have to be embarrassed by failure, but that I should embrace as a learning opportunity.
Professor Osler is inspiring in a way that few professors are. I know what career path I want to take because of him. Because of him, I feel a sense of duty to use my education not just to go make money or put the bad guys away, but to make a difference. When his mentor passed, he wrote, “Prof. Freed was the warm, kind, brilliant, engaged teacher who probably never realized the profound effect he had on his students. He engaged us on many levels– challenging our beliefs and ideas at the same time that he challenged us personally and supported us in our endeavors.” I smiled to myself when I read the entire post, because I could read through his words the hope that he was living up to his mentor’s legacy. It made me smile because Professor Osler is my Prof. Freed. Recently I told him as much, and I hope that he knows the impact that he has on his students goes far beyond the classroom. For me, he embodies the kind of lawyer that I want to be. I will always think back to Professor Osler’s inspiration and hope that I am living up to the challenge that he set for me.
I am out of words, so I will just say this. Thank you, Professor. I am forever grateful for your inspiration and encouragement.
Magnificent Vista 
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