"Junior" makes it to the Hall

Well this past week has been a whirlwind. We have been working a ton in order to get all of our work done for our I-Core Case and I can proudly say that I think our case is the best work I have been a part of. What this case has brought to light for me has just been how important it is that your team dynamics and cohesion as a group is paramount when facing such a large task as this. We are currently reading through and doing final edits and our compiled document is at 81 pages! There is no way that one person could have done that all by him or her self. In a lot of past groups, I have felt the need to take a lead position and try to force my way into controlling the different aspects of the project, and that really was something that I have tried to avoid as of late. This case just reinforced how important the ability to delegate tasks and relying on your teammates is, and I am lucky that Team 1 for this case has gelled so quickly in such a short period of time.

Outside of the Kelley world, one of my favorite athletes of all time, Ken Griffey Jr., was officially elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this past weekend. Anybody that has ever been in my basement at home has seen the Reds paraphernalia that hangs on the walls. Whether it be Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, or Johnny Vander Meer, if you are a true Red legend or not hinges on your presence in our basement (I am sure many Reds players are very concerned at this point). In addition to these fantastic players, the newspaper on the day that Junior hit his 600th homerun hangs in our basement. I was only 4 years old when Junior came back home to play for the Reds, and even then my brother and I were obsessed with him. Junior probably never lived up to the astronomical heights that were predicted when he left Seattle, and I have to say it is kind of sad to see him wearing a Mariners cap in the Hall, but when he came to the Reds it was not as if he was joining his Father's Big Red Machine. Junior is and always will be one of my favorite baseball players of all-time, and I can only imagine what his career would have looked like in the case that injuries hadn't taken such a toll- because I firmly believe he would have eclipsed 700 homeruns, and flirted with being the best player that baseball has ever seen. His swing was so smooth, and the way he glided in the outfield made every play look easy, even if it wasn't. With all of that said, I'm still pissed that you robbed that Lou Collins' homerun and beat Billy Haywood's Twins in "Little Big League".

Courtesy: Pinterest

One last note, I thought the most interesting stat from this past weekend was the fact that Junior was the 1st Number 1 Overall Pick to make it to the Hall, making him the highest player drafted to make the Hall of Fame. Mike Piazza was the polar opposite, a 62nd Round Draft pick in 1988 which makes him the lowest player drafted to make the Hall of Fame. Pretty cool dichotomy this past weekend in Cooperstown.


Duncan Hensley
Indiana University
Kelley School of Business '18

Master of None brings the Real World to Netflix

After one long week of exams, it was nice to sit back and relax a little bit this past week. Friday and Saturday were much needed rest and recuperation days in between Finals and then the beginning of the infamous I-Core Case. My group hit the ground running last night, reviewing the case and beginning to divvy up the work amongst ourselves. Today we were able to check a lot of the smaller parts of the case off of the list, and then got a good start on the bigger parts of the case that I believe will provide more of the "sticking"  points that we will have to combat. The Case itself is pretty difficult, but I don't think from a concept standpoint the questions we have to answer are extremely difficult. We are able to utilize our book to help consult and answer any questions we may have, and I have enjoyed the back and forth between teammates during the initial steps to help develop our plan and shape the direction of our project. That being said, the actual "write-up" portion of the Case will be much more difficult. While there is no official page limit for the entire document, we are limited to a 4 page Executive Summary to explain our plan and give an overview of what the judges are going to expect to read in our Case. The guidance we have been given was that if your CEO just read the Executive Summary he or she should understand what you are trying to accomplish and be able to give approval on the project. There will be a lot of pressure on this section of our Case to give a strong synopsis of what we hope to accomplish, but I look forward to taking the challenge head on.

In lighter news, I decided to turn my focus from sports this week to television. While I am much less knowledgeable in this area versus sports, I believe I have a pretty good eye when it comes to what is a good TV show. This past weekend with my ample free time, I re-watched Season 1 of the Netflix Original Series "Master of None", staring Comedian Aziz Ansari, formerly as Tom Haverford of Parks and Rec, and Noël Wells, formerly of Saturday Night Live. Ansari is extremely popular from the Haverford role on "Parks and Rec", and even with Leslie Knope's quirkiness and lovable triumphs and tribulations, I think that Tom's swagger and comedy throughout the series provided a welcome alternative to Amy Poehler's Knope. Personally I think Ansari brought a little bit of that Tom Haverford charm to his character, Dev Shah, but with that said Ansari's and co-creator, writer, and actor Alan Yang's fantastic writing and acting allow for "Master of None" to be its own incredible show. (Don't worry there won't be any spoilers for those who haven't watched it)

"Master of None" is the story of Shah, and his life as a early 30's something in New York City where he is trying to make it as an actor. He's made himself a nice niche in the acting business, mainly working on commercials, one in particular that he is well known for is a Go-Gurt commercial he alludes to early on. But with that said, Shah is looking to become more mainstream and one of the main storylines of the season is Shah's time on set of "The Sickening" where he plays a doctor. While this is happening, Dev also deals with trying to find love in the big city, this is where Wells' character Rachel comes in, relating to his parents who came over from India to make a better life, and wonders about what his future mind hold with marriage, kids, and how to adapt your life as new challenges arise.

Courtesy: Netflix and YouTube

Ansari and Yang, who plays Dev's friend Brian on the show, do an incredible job of intertwining personal experiences into the show's fabric and it definitely shows. In many cases I feel as if Sitcoms have to artificially create drama or awkward situations to force you to laugh and follow along with the show. "Master of None" does a terrific job of creating genuine comedic scenes while also making you live and breath with the characters. Even with the comedy, the show does well to speak to what I think most humans grapple with on a daily basis. Questions like, is the person I'm dating going to be the person I marry? How will I be as a parent to my kids? Am I willing to take this leap of faith to pursue my passion? These are just some of the questions that Shah, Rachel, and the entire show grapple with during the 10 episode pilot season that felt as if it was half as long as it should have been. The show does a great job of keeping the viewers on their toes, and the cliffhanger to end the 1st Season has me very excited for what Ansari and Yang have in store for us in the upcoming 2nd Season. 

Ansari and Yang's brilliant writing netted the show 4 Emmy Nominations, with 2 of the nominations coming for the "Parents" episode that is my personal favorite for the 1st Season. I highly suggest that anyone take the time to watch the 1st episode, and I guarantee you will be stuck to your couch until you finish the entire season.

Duncan Hensley

Indiana University

Kelley School of Business '18

Why We Love Sports

Well it's finally here. I-Core Finals Week. Starting early tonight and finishing Thursday, we have an exam each night from 6-8. Marketing was the first exam and it went well, followed by Finance tomorrow, Management Wednesday, and Operations on Thursday. All of this before we begin the famous I-Core Case on Sunday, but I can worry about that later. This post will be a shorter one because right now I am trying to avoid studying by writing this, but I really should get back to that.

This weekend was a great one for sports, the MLB had a full slate of games heading into the All-Star Break, the Wimbledon Finals saw Serena Williams win her record-tying 22nd Major Title, while Andy Murray brought the title back home for the second time in his career, and then wrapping up with the European Championship which saw Portugal upset the hosts France. Obviously these events featured great players and great teams facing off, and great story lines in addition to that. However on Saturday morning a video caught my eye. A young girl who couldn't have been much older than 5 years old clutched a copy of Sports Illustrated, featuring Serena on the cover, and was emphatically explaining to her mom how she was, in her words, "like Serena Williams".

(Courtesy: Matthew A. Cherry, Twitter)

Not to be out done, before the European Final which saw him probably earn France's Man of the Match honors, Moussa Sissoko posted a video of his son singing on of France's songs and honoring his father while he donned a Sissoko France Jersey. 

(Courtesy: Moussa Sissoko, Twitter)

Both of these videos reminded me why we love sports so much. We can emulate our heroes, pretending to a player who hits the game-winning shot or wins a championship. We can root for our favorite players, sometimes even too much. But at the end of the day, sports gives us an outlet to not worry about what else is going on, and just be kids again. Until I saw these videos, I forgot how much fun it was to be a kid and just love sports because they were sports. I remember waking up early on Saturday and Sunday mornings and watching the morning shows of SportsCenter 3 or 4 times in a row to the point where I could basically repeat everything Stuart Scott, Neil Everett, or Stan Verrett said on that show. Sports are supposed to be something that we can all enjoy with no strings attached, just watch them for the thrill of it. Thankfully, I was reminded this weekend how sports can make you feel like a little kid all over again.

Duncan Hensley

Indiana University

Kelley School of Business '18

Happy 4th of July

I hope that your 4th of July was full of good food, good family/friends, and fun. The 4th of July happens to be my 2nd favorite holiday of the year, just getting edged out by Thanksgiving, and it's not just happenstance that food and family/friends are two integral parts of both of these holidays. I would be remiss if I did not take some time to thank the brave men and women that serve our country. Your sacrifices make every day that we enjoy possible, and there will never be anything we as normal citizens can do that will ever repay you for these sacrifices. With that said, it was one of the coolest things that I've ever seen when the Braves and Marlins squared off last night on Fort Bragg. For those that didn't know, a baseball stadium was constructed in about 3 months on the Fort Bragg Military Base in North Carolina. Last night the Braves and Marlins played a game on the base with all of the tickets going to servicemen and women and their families. I enjoyed following along on social media and seeing the players and military members interacting throughout the entire day leading up to the game. I also thought it was a nice touch, in addition to the pageantry, when the Braves allowed some of the members in attendance at the game to take control of their Twitter account and have Q&A sessions with fans. All in all it was a great event, and bravo to Major League Baseball, the Braves, and the Marlins for finding a new way to honor the men and women that give our country so much.

This week, I wanted to focus on something that is much bigger than basically everything I deal with on a daily basis. In the past week, and during the Holy Month of Ramadan, ISIL and other "Islamic" terrorist organizations throughout the world have perpetrated acts of violence against innocent civilians. And I have to say, I was a little ashamed of myself. I would go online and read about each new attack that occurred and had basically become desensitized to what had happened. For starters, these attacks were happening on the other side of the world, far away from the comfort I enjoyed in Bloomington. I would read the headlines, maybe a story or two, and would move on with my day without another thought- and thinking back on it I am ashamed of myself. These are insane acts of violence that are done by people that are motivated by hate rather than love. A hate so passionate that they are willing to kill themselves just to make their point. It's disgusting, and I am truly distraught by the suffering these people are causing.

However, one story caught my eye and gave me hope, hope that the love we share for the same family and friends we spend our holidays with will overpower any evildoers. In a story posted by Jennifer Brett of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, link below, I read about a student from Atlanta's Emory University named Faraaz Hossain. Faraaz was given the opportunity to leave and not remain a hostage of the terrorists who took control of a cafe in Dhaka. However, Faraaz did not leave. He decided to stay with his friends that he was with. Once the dust was cleared and authorities were able to clear the scene, Faraaz was found with the other hostages who were killed. I am saddened by the fact that I will never get the opportunity to get to know Faraaz. In the midst of all the chaos, Faraaz showed that even in the darkest of times, love and friendship will last forever. I send my condolences to Faraaz's family, friends, and classmates at Emory. I cannot imagine the sadness you feel right now, and while I know there is nothing that I can say or do that will be able to help alleviate that pain, I want you to know that Faraaz's life was not taken in vain.

Courtesy: Heavy.com

I hope that I can be as good of a friend to mine that Faraaz was to his. Obviously I never hope to be in the middle of a hostage situation, but the idea is that I would do anything to help them in their time of need. To show them that no matter the time, place, or situation that love truly does conquer all. This gets me back to my original point. Hate can only motivate someone so far. And while hate might make gains in the short run, love will always win in the end. RIP Faraaz

Link: http://buzz.blog.ajc.com/2016/07/03/emory-student-killed-in-bangaladesh-could-have-escaped-but-wouldnt-leave-his-friends-behind/


Duncan Hensley
Kelley School of Business
Indiana University '18