Author: Don Yaeger

Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas has seen a lot of praise this week following an accomplishment implausible to most in his profession. Not to be overshadowed by what would amount to another road loss for the Browns on Sunday, Thomas lined up for his 10,000th consecutive snap. I want you to think about that for a moment. Ten years ago, in 2007, the Browns chose Thomas with the third-overall pick in the...

It must have seemed weird to the woman sitting next to me on the plane when I chuckled out loud as I read USA Today on a flight to San Antonio for a speech Tuesday. But I couldn’t help myself. Only in America, and more specifically, only in Indianapolis in early March, would it be deemed appropriate for a gaggle of sweaty, tie-less, out-of-shape guys to be furiously photographing and filling notepads with minute...

I’ve always been fascinated by the intense focus placed on new political administrations during their first 100 days in office. Pundits, fans and critics are certainly already drawing up their scorecards of President Donald Trump’s performance in that short time frame. He had high hopes about what his administration could accomplish quickly. Every new president does. But he is learning that navigating politics...

In business, as in sports, there is nothing more frustrating than a poorly executed meeting. Whether you are stuck in an office conference room listening to a droning, directionless boss or huddled up on the field with a queasy, indecisive quarterback, your confidence, productivity and competitive edge are bound to plummet.

As the curtain closed on the most dramatic denouement in Super Bowl history last Sunday, offering us so many indelible images—a tearful Tom Brady hoisting his fifth Vince Lombardi trophy, a defiant Bill Belichick pumping his fist skyward—I sunk back into my couch feeling oddly contrarian. Rather than celebrate the many riveting plot points in the New England Patriots’ record-setting 25-point comeback victory—Julian...

It took all of fifteen minutes for sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson to bring up Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live locker room fiasco during CBS’s nationally televised broadcast of the AFC Championship game. And while her broadcast booth cohorts quickly refocused viewer attention on the Tom Brady special unfolding on the field, the mention of Brown’s week-old off-field antics underscore...

As Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien trudged across the field through a postgame swarm of players, coaches, photographers and security guards to congratulate Bill Belichick, who had just dealt him the most painful blow of his nascent head-coaching career—a soul-crushing 34-16 loss that jettisoned Houston from the playoffs, just two wins shy of a Super Bowl appearance—I couldn’t help but wonder two things. First....

As I sat in my living room watching the final seconds tick away—and the Clemson Tigers posted a dramatic come-from behind victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide to claim the NCAA Division 1 College football championship—I got to thinking about my favorite topic: Greatness. I’ve studied Greatness for more than 25 years—interviewed the world’s top athletes (Michael Jordan, Walter Payton and John Smoltz) and most acclaimed...