Growing up in Bloomington, Minn., I loved the ritual of dressing for Little League - in white socks, blue stirrups, belted pants, a double-knit jersey, and the cap I'd hold over my face to screen out mosquitoes in right field.

I had started writing for 'Sports Illustrated,' which was really my dream job growing up. But the writing probably read like I was auditioning to write for 'Letterman' or '70s-era Carson.

With the exception of undertakers, athletes are the only professionals obliged to feign sorrow on a daily basis, pretending that every June baseball loss is a tragedy requiring library silence in the clubhouse.

Golf tough guys - like movie tough guys - are almost always inscrutable, just beyond our full understanding.

I take my life and put it on the football field, and I take the football field and put it in my life.

When you're an athlete, you've got the horse blinders on pretty thick. Your exploration of other things in life tends to be limited because you have to have such a focus on what you're doing. I wasn't a good enough player to stray from that focus and still keep my ability.

Nobody wants to play the game more than Kawhi. Nobody wants to be great or go down as one of the greatest more than Kawhi. So his heart and his passion and if he wants to play basketball should never be questioned.

It's true that in my family, everyone loves football. So it's great to have a family that's united behind you and doesn't leave you.