A lot of guys kind of get complacent with how they do in one game, but I just want to compete. So every game I play in, it's a brand new beginning for me.
What I meant by that is, any time you have adversity, now you've got a chance to see all of these guys play every game the rest of the way like it's a playoff game. What you want guys to do when there's adversity is to play harder and play better, and that's when you see what kind of guys you have in your locker room.
If you are a reliever, you get one inning per game or if you are a starter you get one game per week. There is a lot of buildup for a little bit of work compared to the guys who play every down or play every day in baseball.
As soon as you get complacent with where you are in a game, that's where you come and then it bites you in the rear. So you just want to make sure that you're keeping that energy high, when guys are making plays you're getting excited for them and you're staying locked in through all 60 minutes of the game.
Losses have propelled me to even bigger places, so I understand the importance of losing. You can never get complacent because a loss is always around the corner. It's in any game that you're in - a business game or whatever - you can't get complacent.
We never played ball for money. We played because it was fun and I was good at it. But a lot of guys get paid big money to play this game, and I have a family I want to help out. But basketball will always be a game to me.
The motivation for me is just the game itself, just playing the game the right way and trying to win, compete every time I step out there on the floor. That's motivation enough for me to go out there and play well.
If guys feed off me, that's fine. But I'm going to play my way and I don't change. One hundred percent every single play, every single day. That's just me. And hopefully guys, especially the young guys, feed off of it and hopefully they learn how to be a professional and bring their 'A' game every day.
I thought Denver and Seattle was a big game but Houston and Dallas is the kind of game that as players, we want to play in. I haven’t missed playing in the National Football League, but every year there are one or two games that makes me wish I could tee it up in that game one more time.
It was a weird game. There was ugly shooting and a lot of turnovers and mistakes, and we were just fortunate to get the win. I should have done better, but it was just a very ugly and weird game... I knew the game was going to be an ugly game when I saw those three guys at the scorer's table. Ugly people call ugly games.
You go into each game looking to win. We're not looking at wins or losses because it proves something as a team. We go into every game trying to get better. As long as you compete, we're gonna play our hearts out; we're improving every day.
I don't just get bogged down in, 'I want to win.' There's something even greater than that. And that's the way that you play the game. I want to play beautiful football. That's our purpose: to go out and play the game at the highest level, play it the right way.
Boxer guys are very tough and they play a very tough game, but its a game. Karate guys, tae kwon doe guys, kickboxers or judo guys, they are very tough guys and a lot of heart and a lot of training, but its very specifically as a sport. It's not a fight. A fight is everything goes.
As you get going in the game you just kind of go along and you play the game.
Certain people who care about me a lot have said 'You don't play the game, and if you don't play the game, you don't get picked for the team all the time.
Man, it literally starts from after the game. I get every at-bat sent to me from the game. I'll go home, I'll watch every at-bat, kind of break down the game, kind of see, OK, what did I do? Why'd I miss this pitch? Why'd I hit that pitch?
I'm trying to just up the ante, play well-rounded both in the run game, pass game, keep doing my thing when I get the ball and make guys miss.