I work as a driver for a pet crematorium and for any pet parent out there who is grieving and opted for this route. I just want you to know that when I go to pick them up from the vet clinics, I always say the pet’s name and ask them if they “wanna go for a ride?!” ❤️‍🩹

💙🐾 THANK YOU We are incredibly grateful to the agencies who stood with us to honor K9 Dundee. Thank you to BluePearl Pet Hospital, our LCSO Aviation Unit, and everyone who has supported Dundee, Deputy Chala, and our LCSO family. In times of loss, we stand together. 💙🐾

Update the dog has been taken by animal control and the owner arrested! Thank you to all who helped!

Last December Chris Spatola sent me a book. Entitled “Endurance”, the historical account meticulously narrates the plight of Ernest Shackleton and his 27-man team that set to make the first land crossing of Antartica in the winter of 1914. After 10 months at sea, the crew become stranded when their ship, Endurance, became frozen, and eventually crushed, within the massive ice sheet leaving the sailors and their life boats 850 miles from the nearest civilization. “I’ve always found inspiration within these pages.” Chris wrote on a small postcard tucked within the front cover. “I hope you will find similar insight into the power of the human spirit as you embark on your journey.” Earlier that year I had been asked by ESPN to lead the college basketball production team, a squad responsible for the personnel on both sides our seemingly endless cameras. While I would never compare 1,400 live broadcasts to 800 miles of open Antarctic Ocean, the task felt similarly expansive at times. Calm seas could roll into angry squalls without a moment’s notice. As our passionate, ambitious roster of hundreds rightfully campaigned for bigger and better assignments, Chris was one of the few to sincerely inquire during a crazy transition from game producer to executive: “How you holding up in all this?” Such perspective spoke to his training in West Point and the experience of open combat in Operation Iraqi Freedom, for which he was recognized with the Joint Service Commendation Medal. The JCSM is awarded for “meritorious achievement or commendable service while assigned to a joint activity or defense agency involving multiple military branches.” I’ll admit I had to look up meritorious. “Worthy of high praise, reward or honor.” Personally, I prefer Jay Bilas’ less formal scout. “Chris was an Army combat veteran. High character badass.” That combat wiring fueled Chris’ broadcasting career. He was as intense on air as any analyst I encountered during my time in the producer’s chair. Meticulous eye for the game combined with low tolerance for anything below execution excellence. In moments when things would go sideways, a regular occurrence in the broadcasting world, Chris could run hot, which made our first few shows together an exercise in patience. I always respected the passion, even if it tended to fray my last nerve. He wanted the pictures in his mind to match those on the screen. Once he realized the feeling was mutual, we found that producer-analyst groove. The last game we worked together was in Winston-Salem, two seasons ago. My last before pivoting to “suit” life. We watched practices for a couple hours talking about anything and everything, one of his kids at his side. I’ve found those “hurry up and wait” type afternoons to be the hidden gems of the broadcasting road. Sure you’ll talk the open rundown and scouts on each team, but in between you learn about the wide spectrum of experiences that makes each person uniquely them. What guides their eye and powers their voice. The type of stuff you rarely find on Zoom, Teams or while combing through a budget. Chris’s background made him one of a kind. The image of Chris and his little one getting up shots in the empty Joel after practice that day sits vividly in my mind on this gray morning. That afternoon at Wake Forest turned out to be a memorable one. Wake upset #8 Duke. Deac fans stormed the court and hurt Kyle Filipowski in the process. Chris and Mike Monaco were sharp in the moment. Detailing the scene and analyzing the bizarre moment with clarity and conviction. I didn’t execute at that same level, rushing off the air too quickly and missing an overhead replay that captured the stampede far better than what we had documented in our closing sequence. Such are the details broadcasters grind about, especially in big moments. As I made a discouraged drive back to Charlotte down I-85 South, Chris called me with an unexpected word of encouragement. “You’re too hard on yourself.” He offered. “We all did what we could do in the moment. Plus, you know that overhead look will be looped on Sportscenter for the next week.” He wasn’t wrong, but the sentiment made me chuckle once I hung up the phone. This from the guy who had worn me out for years about our standards never being high enough. We traded texts earlier this month about the coming season. “I’m really looking forward to the year. Can’t wait!” Now he’s gone. At 47. After a day on the phone with dozens from our ESPN team, the common theme is pretty clear. We are crushed. Sort of feels like being lost at sea. I haven’t finished reading Chris’ gift, but made it through another chapter last night. Needed the reminder of what real toughness and grit look like. The map is in the title. Endure. It’s all we can do during life’s darkest days. Rest well, Chris. I hope, in some way, you can see all the outpouring of support in your memory. You will be sorely missed.

Life is just so unfair sometimes....😔💔

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Chris Spatola. Chris was a beloved Army veteran, coach, broadcaster, and true friend to the Duke Basketball family. We send our love and condolences to his wife Jamie and three children, the Spatola and Krzyzewski families, and everyone who loved him.

At age 17, she was rejected from college. At age 25, her mother died from disease. At age 26, she moved to Portugal to teach English. At age 27, she got married. Her husband abused her. Despite this, her daughter was born. At age 28, she got divorced and was diagnosed with severe depression. At age 29, she was a single mother living on welfare. At age 30, she didn't want to be on this earth. But, she directed all her passion into doing the one thing she could do better than anyone else. And that was writing. At age 31, she finally published her first book. At age 35, she had released 4 books, and was named Author of the Year. At age 42, she sold 11 million copies of her new book, on the first day of release. This woman is J.K. Rowling. Remember how she considered suicide at age 30? Today, Harry Potter is a global brand worth more than $15 billion dollars. Never give up. Believe in yourself. Be passionate. Work hard. It’s never too late. She is J.K. Rowling

Clarity of purpose matters more than certainty of outcome and leaders who move with purpose — even when the outcome is still unknown — are rewarded by a challenge — Read how @Levine_Alison is inspired my latest blog at f.mtr.cool/yx547gy5pw #mondayblogs #leadership #GLS26

🙏🙏🙏🙏

A homeless man in London captured the attention of thousands, not for begging, but for the way he rocks his dog to sleep every night. When asked why, he explained that life hadn’t always been this way. “When I first got him, we had an apartment,” he said softly. “Living on the street has been a hard adjustment for him. The honking, the sirens, the people, it keeps him up. So every night, I make sure he’s asleep before I close my eyes.” #dog #wholesome #dogs #doglover

I got a C-minus in speech. And a D in English. That one year in college was pretty much the whole of my higher education for a long time. Two grades I was ashamed of, and then I was done. For years, that felt like a Scarlet Letter. I’d built a company that tells the world’s best communicators how to communicate. And the whole time, there was a voice in the back of my head: “You’re a poser. You’re going toe-to-toe with Stanford MBAs and Harvard MBAs in the Silicon Valley, and you’re just posing.” The funny thing is that, in 20 years of walking into rooms and telling powerful CEOs what to say, not one of them ever asked where I went to school. Not once. They cared about one thing:  Could I help them? And I could. The credential I was so ashamed of not having turned out to be the thing nobody was even looking for. (I did get an executive MBA eventually. But by then I’d already learned the lesson.) And the book I wrote (me, the student who got a D in English) became the bestselling guidebook Harvard Business Review has ever published. So if there’s a voice in your head telling you that you’re not qualified, that you don't have the pedigree, that someone’s about to find you out: That voice is not your audience. Your audience just wants to know if you can help them. Show them you can.

Hi everyone! 🍎 I’m a Kindergarten teacher prepping a fun space for my new little learners this year! ✨ If you’d like to help #ClearTheList, our Amazon Wishlist has room organization, supplies, & student rewards. Any support means the world! ❤️ 🔗 amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/W2…