💪Finkel's Fast Five 123 - June 5th, 2020

Welcome to Finkel's Fast Five #123. Thanks for reading and subscribing!

 ONE

 DOCUMENTARIES - Busta Rhymes said, "If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest...then I gotta be the greatest myself." This line has always stuck with me and it always makes me think about people who do become the greatest. Do they have anything in common? How did they do it? Is there a secret?  The documentary, In Search of Greatness, does one of the best jobs of trying to answer this question that I've seen in a while. Based somewhat on author David Epstein's work, the doc includes extended, original interviews about greatness with Wayne Gretzky, Pele, Jerry Rice and more. It also includes interviews and footage of other great athletes from candid interviews, as well as commentary from journalists and doctors on the idea of being great. I loved it. Gretzky and Rice are mesmerizing and if you are a parent with kids in youth sports, it's a must watch. It's on Amazon Prime here.

TWO

 SPORTSWRITING - This will be my last reference to The Last Dance for a long time, I promise. But I thought that one of the most intriguing periods of Jordan's career was his time with the Wizards. By basketball standards, he was OLD. Super old. And to the players on that team, he was a bona fide God.  And yet, he could still ball. I totally understand why the 10-part documentary didn't go to 12 parts and cover the Wizards, so I'm not complaining at all. But clearly, the people at Slam Magazine agreed with me because they had Abe Schwadron write this excellent piece called The Last Chapter about MJ's time in Washington. If you're into this stuff, you'll really like this.

THREE

BOOKS - I wrote the only book that exists that ranks every single president by their athletic ability, so naturally I would be drawn to the only book written exclusively about Teddy Roosevelt's own athletic journey and his influence on the American sports landscape.  The book is called The Strenuous Life by Ryan Swanson and it is one of my favorite reads in a long time. It opens with an incredible scene of Roosevelt arriving for an Army vs. Navy football clash as president (then the biggest college sporting event in the country) and follows him as he strides onto the field, sits and cheers on the Navy bench, then switches sides at halftime. It's compelling stuff and it's juxtaposed with all the great physical stuff we like about TR... The boxing and wrestling and martial arts and Tennis Cabinet stuff and his insane point-to-point walks. Can't recommend this book enough.

FOUR

 FATHER'S DAY - Do you know what the number one gift you can give the father in your life is? Peace and quiet. Ha. Wait... Is that just me? Is that the most 'dad' request ever? Well, since there's no chance of either peace or quiet for those of us with a house full of kids, how about a gift that includes the kids that is actually peaceful and quiet?  I'm talking about a giant wallpaper montage of the greatest hits of pictures you've got from vacations, games, trips, etc... This isn't some plain photo or anything like that. It's a huge collage that sticks on the wall and peels right off. It's like a giant family Fathead. I saw these online and as it turns out, a friend of mine actually owns the company that was featured on Good Morning America and the Wall Street Journal and other places... So... I reached out and asked if he could give a discount to FF5 readers for Father's Day and he agreed. To be clear, this isn't some affiliate thing or ad. I have no financial interest at all. I just thought it looked like a cool gift and happen to have a connection with the company. If you want to check it out, you can go to their website, WeMontage, and use the code 'FF5' when you order for a 25% discount. The offer expires on June 8th.

FIVE

 A solid quote about laughter:  “A good laugh is a mighty good thing, a rather too scarce a thing."  – Herman Melville   SUPER, SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE: To make sure you keep getting the FF5, please add [email protected] to your address book or whitelist us.  AND DON'T FORGET TO FORWARD TO A FRIEND: FORWARD TO A FRIEND HERE.   WAS THIS E-MAIL FORWARDED TO YOU? SIGN-UP HERE

P.S. - LOOKING FOR A BOOK TO BUY YOUR DAD ON FATHER'S DAY?  Your dad or husband probably likes sports. And they probably like US History.  And they've probably wondered which president was the most athletic.   So they'd love the book I wrote breaking down every single president's athletic ability, from Washington to Taft to Trump. 44 Essays. 1 Winner.  It's called JOCKS IN CHIEF: The Ultimate Countdown Ranking the Most Athletic Presidents, from the Fight Crazy to the Spectacularly Lazy  You can buy it right here.

Share the FF5 and get TREMENDOUS STUFF:  1 SHARE = Enters you into a raffle to win a free copy of one of the books I mention here in the FF5. I'll do a drawing every 10 issues, but you have to forward the FF5 to a friend to enter.  3 SHARES = 1 Abe Lincoln as Tyler Durden Fight Club Sticker - perfect for your laptop, office, fridge or on your squat rack like Tommy John  10 SHARES = 1 Official Finkel's Fast Five Coffee Mug like this one that my man Marlin won last year  25 SHARES = If you share Finkel's Fast Five with 25 friends who you think would like it, I will take you to the movies... (well, not literally) ...but I will Venmo you money for a ticket to your next movie, on me. We'll cap this at 4 people for now.  FORWARD TO A FRIEND RIGHT HERE  DID SOMEONE FORWARD YOU THIS E-MAIL? GET MY FREE STARTER LIBRARY HERE  FYI: The sharing of the FF5 is cumulative... You don't have to share this e-mail 10 times if you don't want to. It can be 10 issues over 10 weeks or 10 months, whatever... The point is, please share it. We've grown from less than a hundred to a few hundred to a few thousand readers in under two years... Let's see how fast we can get to 10,000! - Jon