In my opinion, Wayman Tisdale was the greatest collegiate basketball player to ever play for the University of Oklahoma. He was the first player ever be named to the All-American team by the A.P. in his freshman, sophomore and junior years. He also had a very successful 12-year professional career. In addition to basketball, Wayman was an accomplished jazz bass player who recorded eight albums, with the 2001 release Face to Face going all the way to No. 1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart.
Unfortunately, Tisdale was diagnosed with cancer in his knee and it was eventually amputated, but he never let the loss of his leg get him down. He was fitted with a prosthesis, and it only took him about one month to be acclimated to the leg. (It normally takes up to six months for normal amputees to become acclimated.)
Tragically, when it appeared he was going to make a full recovery, his life was cut way too short this past May at the tender age of 44. His friend Toby Keith dedicated his latest album American Ride in his honor, and wrote the song Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song) as a tribute to Tisdale. The video below features the song, and the official music video will go live here on Monday morning, November 2, 2009. Please bookmark this page and return on Monday to watch this moving video. Enjoy!
P.S. For more about this incredible man, visit WaymanTisdale.com, and if you'd like to download the MP3, you can get it here.
If you'd like to watch something that will put a smile on your face, check out country singer Alan Jackson's new video for his latest single called I Still Like Bologna. If you like kids, you'll love this one. Have a great day today!
Rodney Atkins is one of the reasons why I have become a huge country music fan over the last few years. Yes, I like his music, but more than that, he's a good guy who's trying to make a difference in the world. Case in point is this story from GACTV.com.
Rodney is going to be performing a very special concert to benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation in honor of a little girl named Maddie. Maddie recently lost her battle with bone cancer at age 7. But, before she died, Rodney got to spend some time with her. How he came to do that is pretty special. Rodney read an article in the Detroit Free Press about Maddie, and in the article, Maddie mentioned that Rodney's song, If You're Going Through Hell, was her favorite song. Rodney was so moved that he booked a flight the next day to Detroit to see the little girl. He spent over five hours with her. Here's an excerpt from the article:
Rodney visited Maddie at the hospital and sat on her bed and colored with her. They watched television, and when she got tired, he sang to her, strumming his guitar.
"I'm thankful I got to meet her," he said. "She had such a spark in her eye. She was hurting really bad. It was shocking, sitting with Maddie. She was asking for the drugs by name. A 7-year-old should not know what morphine is. It was horrific."
Rodney visited on one condition: He didn't want any media attention. He wanted all of his energy to be devoted to Maddie.
"He spent, like, five hours with her," Paul said. "He told me his plan was to come and stay with her until she was absolutely out of energy. He was staying until she tuckered out. I was really impressed with the man. He had a big heart."
When Maddie went home to die, an autographed picture of Rodney was stuck to the wall, above her pillow.
"Maddie blessed me," Rodney said. "I can't imagine what Paul is dealing with. This [concert] is his way of keeping Maddie alive, trying to make something good out of something horrible. This little girl, Maddie, is living forever."
The world needs more musicians, celebrities and normal people like Rodney. If we were all more concerned with others than ourselves, the world would be a much better place to live, don't you think?
If you haven't heard Rodney's song, If You're Going Through Hell, here's the music video. Make it a great day!
From time to time, I add videos to songs that I think will both entertain and inspire you. Sugarland's new song, Settlin', is that kind of song. The song is encouraging everyone to not settle for anything less than everything. In other words, don't settle for anything less than your best. If you do, you'll find you missed out on the life you are destined to live.
Some of my friends have asked me before why I like country music. The truth is I like all types of music, but I'm not a big fan of a lot of the pop and rap songs being released these days.
One of the reasons why I like it is because of the positive message that many country songs convey. Country music is the only genre of music that allows it's artists to sing about God and positive things and still remain popular. It's a sad statement, but how many rock or pop artists do you know of that can sing about Christian or Religious themes and still remain at the top. The list is very small.
But, country music is different. For the most part, it's music that inspires rather than tears down. And in this day and age, that's what I like to hear. Each week, I'll feature a new positive song from a country music artist. This week's song is If You're Going Through Hell by Rodney Atkins.
