Austin Bower

Sales and Memes

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@CarterRZ Chaz Coleman couldn’t block a traffic cone on special teams. He’s lucky he got a bike as part of a deal with Freeze Thaw Cycles on college ave

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

Crazy to think this article is the result of a locker room dispute involving Liam Clifford getting a brand new 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee from Blaise Alexander, while backup QB Jaxon Smolik was only offered a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica.

Hopefully the Matt Campbell era allocates NIL better

[Bad Rad Brad @B1OBEY0ND]

The Standard Shattered: Penn State Players Expose What Really Happened in 2025. An Insider Expose'.

https://t.co/Stav2oHOax

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@__bbell Me too Brandon

[RZ @CarterRZ]

Week 2 Best Bets:

Miss/UK 1H u25.5 ⬇️
WVU/Ohio o60.5 ⬆️
Tulsa -4.5 🌀

Week 1 Record: 1-2

https://t.co/foF0GGWb7L

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@charliewrich I’d def watching the Cooking with TO show

[Saturday Dad @dad_saturday]

Saturday Book Review!

This week’s selection: The Essential Wooden by John Wooden and Steve Jamison

Jumping back into my summer leadership series, this one carried a lot of weight for me. As I mentioned in a previous review, results in a given field boost one’s leadership credibility in my opinion.

You can’t argue with Wooden’s results. National championships. Undefeated seasons. Transforming UCLA into a dynasty in the 60s and 70s. Wooden created a system and philosophy that consistently produced.

In The Essential Wooden, we get the choicest, “stickiest” bits of Wooden’s take on leadership. It’s written in a way where each page contains multiple small chunks of text, each with a nugget of wisdom within. It’s an incredibly fast read if you’re looking for a quick hit.

However, the book begs you to stop, think, and reflect. Take notes. Highlight, annotate, dog-ear. I ended up with seven pages of notes myself. Although it is short, Wooden was eminently quotable and his words are deep. In fact, I maintain you could pick up this book every week, month, or year in perpetuity and find something immediately meaningful and applicable to your context.

Also, I think this is a must read for dads with young kids looking to deliver some life lessons.

☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️- five cups of coffee for this week. Excellent read, highly recommend!

[Saturday Dad @dad_saturday]

Saturday Book Review!

This week’s selection: The Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell.

I’ll lead with this: I loved this one!

I had a hard copy and got the @audible_com version so I could listen on my commute and keep going when I got home.

Ian Caldwell is a genius for this one. He takes so many different threads, wraps them all up in one giant ball and then unwinds that ball through the twists and turns of a giant maze. The result is the full scope of The Fifth Gospel.

We get powerful a powerful character in the form of Father Alex Andreou, a Greek Catholic priest whose circumstances require he solve a friend’s murder, clear his family’s name, parent his son, save his failing marriage, and prevent a religious cataclysm, all within the span of a few days/few hundred pages.

Not only was Father Alex a great main character, but Caldwell includes nuggets of religious history and theology that had me hooked like I was reading Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons or The Da Vinci Code. Along with Father Alex, we experience the Shroud of Turin, an obscure translation of the Gospel called the Diatessaron, and the significance of the year 1204. We also get to experience a courtroom drama and detective procedural of the highest order.

If I were to identify one negative with the book, it’s the inclusion of Father Alex’s son, Peter, and his estranged wife, Mona. Now, I understand the reason for their inclusion as a way to round out and make Father Alex’s character more sympathetic. However, I ended up just feeling bad for Peter and Mona’s inclusion just ended up feeling forced, especially her “magical” appearance midway through the book. If anything, the time spent on their inclusion might be better served deepening the storyline elsewhere. Honestly, without their inclusion or an adjustment elsewhere, I think the book would be just as good, if not better.

Overall, ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️coffees for this one. Great late summer beach read!

[Saturday Dad @dad_saturday]

If you’re looking for something to enjoy with a cold beer on the deck this afternoon, check out this week’s issue of Saturday Dad Reads. We talk books, leadership, and rant about dad life I. This week’s issue.

https://t.co/2TkzcdXax3

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@anothercohen 🫡

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@dad_saturday Huck ‘em

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@anothercohen 🚀🚀

[Saturday Dad @dad_saturday]

Saturday Book Review!

This week’s selection: The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan

I screwed myself with this one. My practice of taking time between books in a series went too long. In this case probably 6-7 years too long. That being said, any criticism in this review will be more of a shot at my own reading practices than Robert Jordan’s writing.

The Fires of Heaven is the 5th book in Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, a series my uncle introduced me to in the mid-90s and convinced me to read with descriptions of things like the Horn of Valere and the Trollocs (I won’t elaborate on those items here, you’ll have to read to find out). My young, impressionable self did the logical thing and went out to buy the first book in the series.

It’s now 2025 and I’ve just finished Book 5.

That being said, at this point I’ve forgotten a lot more from the series than I’ve retained and I’ll continue to forge ahead because at 600+ pages a pop, I’m not going back to reread earlier volumes.

This one was tough for me. It was a lot of set up and character development, maneuvering that had to take place for later major events to occur. The information I needed to make connections to what was going on, I didn’t have and the glossary that Jordan includes at the end of the book couldn’t fill in all the gaps. Again, my fault entirely.

Despite this, I really thought deeply about Jordan’s take on the hero’s quest, the development of which was on full display in The Fires of Heaven. Jordan has essentially upended the traditional narrative to explore what happens when someone undertakes the quest not of their own volition.

The story’s main character,Rand al-Thor, must contend with being told that he is the Dragon Reborn, a messianic figure who is to both save and destroy the world and lose his faculties in the process.

Jordan does an exceedingly good job with Rand’s characterization. His struggle with being tapped to be the Dragon Reborn and coming to terms with his role are full of intense emotions that make you want to fast forward to each segment that features Rand.

Again, in closing, I struggled with this one, but maybe you don’t have to.

☕️☕️☕️- 3 coffees for this one!

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@CorpoTuck Shot you a dm

[Saturday Dad @dad_saturday]

Saturday Book Review!

This week’s selection: “The Big East” by @DanaONeilWriter

I am as casual a college basketball fan as they come. I can tell you who played and won the national championship this year and a couple of other assorted fact nuggets and that’s it.

However, when it comes to the lore and history of the game, I am all in. I’ve barely scratched the surface of college basketball history, but Dana O’Neil’s “The Big East” helped to fill in some of the void.

From its inception in the early 1980s until conference realignment signaled its demise, the Big East was one of, if not the most, influential conferences in college basketball. Full of big names and personalities like John Thompson, Jim Boeheim, Lou Carnesecca, Patrick Ewing, and Chris Mullin, Big
East conference games were intense battles, fueled by rivalry and had high stakes outcomes. Those that emerged from the conference gauntlet made deep NCAA tournament runs, often to the Final Four and beyond.

In short, I loved the book. Dana O’Neill delivers on multiple levels. We see the league emerge from the mind of founder, Dave Gavitt. We get the inside story on classic games and teams like the 1985 Villanova Wildcats. We see the rise and fall of epic rivalries.

However, where O’Neill delivers most is in her treatment of the people that made the league what it was: the interplay of intense, hyper competitive coaches who wanted to win at all costs, but also didn’t take themselves too seriously and cultivated friendships off the court.

To wrap this up, I would consider “The Big East” a gateway book, meaning there are so many things in here to spark your interest and make you go off and read more. For example if you liked what you saw from John Thompson after reading this, I would immediately recommend going and getting his biography, “I Came as a Shadow.”

☕️☕️☕️☕️

4 cups of coffee for this one. You won’t be disappointed!

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@SherryYanJiang Would you ever add a subscription management function to Peek?

[Austin Bower @austindbower]

@thesamparr @dad_saturday drop some recs

[Saturday Dad @dad_saturday]

Saturday Book Review!

This week’s selection: Clown in a Cornfield by @Adam_Cesare.

From my perspective clowns suck. My mom ordered one for my 6th birthday and I was scarred for life. They look shifty and untrustworthy and the makeup really just makes their eyes look dead and soulless.

But that’s in reality. Clowns absolutely have a place in horror literature. They absolutely work there. They belong there. An @Adam_Cesare absolutely knocks this out of the park with Clown in a Cornfield.

It’s creepy. It’s gory. It takes the Children of the Corn narrative and reverses it to what happens when the adults in a small town decide that killing off the young people means a return to the good old days with none of those damn phones and TikToks.

Just like Quinn Maybrook, the final girl, I got sucked in to all things Kettle Springs. There’s also something eerily intriguing about abandoned factories like Baypen and its mascot, Frendo the Clown. I got hooked and the pages just flew by.

It’s no surprise that it took me months to get this from the library and why the film is having so much success right now. Well done , @Adam_Cesare!

☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️ on the Saturday Dad Scale!

[Saturday Dad @dad_saturday]

“When high school football programs are SO dominant, coaches just say "F* them. Write that…"

Been reading about De La Salle High School's legendary football program, coached by Bob Ladouceur. When a reporter asked an opposing coach about them, his response was simply: "F*** them. Write that."

That quote got me thinking about the powerhouse programs from my home state of Pennsylvania that inspire the same frustration from opponents.

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL: The Tigers from coal country treated my high school like a doormat. We'd routinely lose by 50+ points.

Coach Jim Roth is basically Pennsylvania's version of Bob Ladouceur, with an insane 499-68-2 record. The Tigers won seven straight state titles (2017-2023).

What makes them special? Generation after generation of big, strong, gritty players. They sent Henry Hynoski to the NFL. When you play Southern Columbia, you're not just facing a team - you're facing a culture.

WOODLAND HILLS HIGH SCHOOL: "Woody High" hasn't won a state title, but as of 2010, they'd produced more NFL players than any other high school in America. The talent pipeline is ridiculous. Just a few alums:
•Jason Taylor (Hall of Famer)
•Rob Gronkowski (Future Hall of Famer)
•Miles Sanders (Pro Bowl RB)
•Steve Breaston

PENN HILLS HIGH SCHOOL: Borders Woodland Hills, creating one of the most intense rivalries in PA. Their annual matchup is a slugfest where records don't matter.

Penn Hills won the 5A state title in 2018 and has produced legends like Aaron Donald (arguably one of the most recent dominant defensive players) and Bill Fralic.

ALIQUIPPA HIGH SCHOOL: The Quips might be the most fascinating program in America. As their steel town declined, their football program rose.

They're so dominant that the state athletic association forced them to play up multiple classifications against much larger schools.

Their response? Keep winning anyway.
For context: Aliquippa's enrollment is around 100 TOTAL boys, yet they compete (and win) in Class 4A against schools 3-4 times their size.

The Quips' alumni include Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, Darrelle Revis, and Ty Law. For the full story, read S.L. Price's "Playing Through the Whistle."

What these programs have in common isn't just winning - it's their identity. They reflect their communities' values: toughness, work ethic and pride in the face of adversity.

When coaches drop F-bombs about these teams, it's not just frustration about losing. It's acknowledging a harsh truth: some programs build something special that can't simply be copied.

What dominant high school programs have defined your region? You know, the ones that make opposing coaches want to curse when asked about them

[Saturday Dad @dad_saturday]

Saturday Book Review!

This week’s selection: “When the Game Stands Tall” by Neil Hayes.

Playing winning football at any level is difficult. Playing winning and undefeated football to the tune of 151 consecutive victories over the course of a decade and change is damn near impossible.

However, Coach Bob Ladouceur and his staff figured out a way to do it. At De La Salle High School in Concord, California Ladouceur built a team culture and system that has become one of, if not the most successful high school programs ever.

In a nod to the “in the locker room” reportage of John Feinstein, Neil Hayes takes us inside the De La Salle program, capturing how Bob Ladouceur and his staff build a winning culture where average to good athletes transform in to great football players and systematically dismantle more athletic and talented opponents.

Hayes also takes us along for the ride during the 2002 season where future NFL star, Maurice Jones Drew, is on full display. He also manages to interweave a narrative of De La Salle’s historical rise to power and mini-biographies of Bob Ladouceur and other key assistant coaches.

Books written in this style are my forte. Make it about football and I’ll devour it like I did this one. Although, it leaves me to wonder: what is the better feeling? The elation of victory or the relief of having not lost.

Absolutely solid read. ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️

5 coffees for this one. Ship the kids off the grandmas and sit with this one for a few hours.