Jack’s Blog

Apologies for not alerting you I was going to be out of town.  My wife and I went to see our younger son, Alex, play for Cal State Monterey Bay.  He’s doing very well, especially for a freshman.  Leads the team with a 17 points per game average.  The team is 3-2 as it heads into conference play.

At my age (let’s call it retired), it’s easy to get caught up in reflecting.  One thing I’ve found has never changed is the attitude fans have toward their coaches.  Since most of my professional life was spent at the college level, my comments are slanted in that direction.  What I discovered regarding the high school level was that the fans’ feelings for the coach had more to do with their kid’s playing time than anything else.

A few years after we moved to Fresno, the Bulldogs had a football coaching change to make when Jim Sweeney retired.  The choice came down to Pat Hill (the eventual winner) and Brian Billick (a winner elsewhere).  The pick was the right one.  Billick won a Super Bowl.  Hill gave Fresno State something much more precious: a pioneer of a program builder.  As opposed to merely a program builder.

I worked at nine different colleges and can tell you early on that Pat Hill would do things not too many other college football coaches would have done.  This blog’s not about all that but, suffice to say. I know of no other head D-I football coach who would run - and I mean, actually run - “car shows” in order to supplement his budget.  Football coaches are known to simply demand what Hill worked for: a practice field, a strength and conditioning center, an academic center and other things that are necessary to win.  He’d been an assistant here and bled for the school, thought it should be on a higher stage.

And he won.  The community was gaga with Hill.  His problem was his confidence (combined with a stubborn streak) - neither a strange trait for a football coach.  He said the goal at Fresno State was not only to win the league championship but to play the big name teams and beat them so the Bulldogs would have a national reputation.  At first, it was fun because they actually won some of those games, nearly every one of them as a visiting team.  People in Fresno were proud to be Bulldogs, walked around with their chests out and heads high.  They loved how he included everybody in the San Joaquin Valley by affixing a green V on the helmets (to this day, each of the FSU sports has a V somewhere on their uniform or equipment).  They also loved his smash mouth style of football.  Who doesn’t want to pound, and hang out with, the Big Boys?  To anyone who understands big-time athletics, however, this philosophy was akin to Russian roulette.  Fresno State began to do what was expected when smaller budget schools play the big cheese spenders (BCS).  Making things worse, Fresno State never won their own little conference, the WAC.

Except once.  The Bulldogs managed a three way tie for the championship.  Fans were worried because there was talk others were interested in their favorite coach.  When he interviewed with the Oakland Raiders, prayers could be heard throughout the Central Valley.  Whew, he stayed.  But then times (and budgets) got leaner.  And, of all things, Boise State wound up doing what Pat told everybody could be done - without playing the big teams, just winning.  But, also, never losing.  So not only was it bad, but it became worse because one of their own conference teams actually did it - and Boisians chests were puffier and heads higher.

Believe it or not, the fans turned on Hill.  Many said (and claimed they always felt that way, even when the Bulldogs would beat a BCS team) the Boise State theory was the way to go about it.  “Just win your conference” (and every other game you play) “and you’ll crack the BCS.”  New coach Tim DeRuyter came in and proved he was a good listener.  Changed offensive and defensive philosophies immediately.  He said the team’s goal was, first and foremost, to win the conference.  “Yeah,” said the faithful (I always thought that was an interesting moniker, considering the definition), “that’s what we’ve been saying all along.  Win the conference.”

In his very first year, the Bulldogs did exactly that.  The offense was wide open which the fans adored (the fact they scored a lot more helped too) and the change from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense delighted the fans - the majority of whom I doubt could diagram either, especially when they’d have to put the Xs in against Os and include all eleven players.  Coincidentally, the championship was a three-way tie.  They changed conferences (MWC), although the best teams in the new conference were, with the exception of San Diego State, the same as the best teams in the WAC - and, sadly as far as competition goes, the worst teams in the MWC being even worse than the worst in the WAC.

Tim DeRuyter’s name has made the rounds as a hot candidate (his name was mentioned, albeit among many others for the University of Tennessee job.  The football team is preparing for its well-deserved bowl game.  The community is once again praying their beloved coach stays home.  For a while.

Lou Holtz’s famous line regarding fans and coaches:

“A perfect year for the fans is when the football team goes undefeated - and they fire the coach.”

There are college programs in certain sports that are considered rebuilding jobs - constant rebuilding jobs.  It’s not that these colleges are simply losers; in other sports, they might even dominate.  Coaches (either assistants, head coaches at lesser levels who want to move up, or those who’ve lost their jobs) can tell you the teams in rebuilding modes.  They’re were they are trying to get hired.  Some schools are fine institutions but have close to zero tradition in a certain sport - or maybe a couple sports).  Just a few examples would be: in basketball - Arizona State, Penn State, Rice, Toledo; in football - Kentucky, Duke, Minnesota, New Mexico after watching them play today, I decided to examine the New Mexico Lobos.

The Fresno State-New Mexico game was a perfect example of a derailing of a rebuilding project - because it began so great for the underdog.  The Bulldogs are, themselves, playing under first year coach Tim DeRuyter and are experiencing a rebirth from last season.  Former coach Pat Hill, except for last season, had a successful run after he replaced legendary coach Jim Sweeney whose program had slipped during his last couple seasons.

The down years in Fresno would look like championship performances if exchanged for many of the seasons in Albuquerque.  Although coach Rocky Long took the Lobos to five bowls in seven years, going to a bowl game only puts your club in the top 55-60% of all the FBS schools (is that what the big guys are still called?)  Also consider this is a program who, in 2010 lost to Oregon 72-0.  Tradition is in short order at UNM, especially when compared with the Lobos’ basketball history.

They now have Bob Davie, former coach at Notre Dame, heading up the program and his guys have been competing - to the tune of a 3-3 record - which had their fans about ready to carve Davie’s bust into the Sandia Mountains.  With Davie attempting to build a (semi-)winner at UNM, due to its horrific tradition, they need every break - and certainly can’t miss golden opportunities when they present themselves.

Well, yesterday started off great and the Lobos jumped out to a 21-0 lead - in the first quarter!  This was no fluke; the Lobos were in command of the game.  But football is a long game and they still needed to, as football coaches love to say, “make plays.”  What happened next was indicative of teams who are close to turning the corner, but just can’t (or, maybe, subconsciously don’t) really want to win.

In order were four plays that sealed New Mexico’s fate.  First was a sure touchdown pass the Lobos’ running back (running a wheel route) dropped.  His hands were backward (at least according to the coaches who taught me in the late 1960s), i.e. thumbs together instead of pinkies together.  Next was a receiver running a slant pattern, wide open, dropping another certain TD.  Subsequent to one of these they went for a field goal and the kicker hooked it right, which was followed by a Fresno State touchdown, the drive lasting 1:36.

The next two were as bad because they could have stemmed the tide since the momentum had swung to the Bulldogs’ side of the field.  One was a deep pattern in which the Lobo receiver had a couple steps (in announcer’s verbiage, “wide open”) on his defender but the up-until-then accurate QB overthrew his man by at least three yards.  The last play was the absolute clincher.  It happens to teams like this year’s New Mexico squad and just takes the wind out of their sails.  It’s almost like, “We surrender.  You were gift wrapping that one for us and we’re going to refuse it.”

Apparently, the Fresno State receiver ran a “go” route when the Bulldogs’ QB thought he was going to stop.  Consequently, the corner linebacker for UNM was standing directly in the path of the ball.  Ahead of the corner was nothing but green.  His eyes must have gotten so big, they got in the way of his hands as he tried to catch the on-the-money-but-to-the-wrong-guy-throw.  It hit him in the stomach before he dropped it.

To New Mexico’s credit, it took four plays to bring them down.  Some teams fold after just one or two.  That bodes well for Davie and his troops.  A football renaissance may take place in Albuquerque after all.  It’s not an impossible place to win (see San Jose State).  Lobos hoops always fields a formidable squad.  It’s just that, after the fourth “lost” play, the floodgates opened and Fresno State, with its vast array of skilled people, scored seemingly every time they got the ball.  The determination of the ‘Dogs was too much for UNM.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention the Lobos lost their first and second team QBs to injury?  If someone is unsure of the impact that would have, take into account that a passing game most of all depends on timing.  Exactly how much timing would you guess the third team guy gets with the first team wideouts?  Hint: the answer’s zero.

There are bound to be a heck of a lot of failures ahead for new coach Bob Davie.  He just needs to keep in mind the quote by Winston Churchill:

“Success is measured by your ability to maintain enthusiasm between failures.”

The large majority of my blogs deal with national stories or are stories anybody can read and, I hope, enjoy.  Every once in a while I feel compelled to post one that has more of a local flavor.  Today’s effort, while dealing with Fresno State football fans, is, however, pretty much true about Anywhere, USA.  Or should I say Anywhere State U, USA.

My wife and I visited #2 son, Alex, a freshman at Cal State Monterey Bay, on Saturday.  We caught up on how his classes were going, how he was enjoying campus life and made the prerequisite trip to Target to restock essentials.  After all, what are parents for?  While our young basketball player and his roommates were taking a nap (they had a brutal conditioning workout that morning), I snuck (sneaked?) off and watched some of the Fresno State-Oregon game on TV and listened to much of it in the car when my wife and I drove to Carmel.  Yeah, tough life.

After taking him and his two roomies to dinner, we drove home.  Fresno State lost to Oregon, 42-25.  Following the game, on our trip home, Jane and I listened to “Dog Talk,” the Bulldogs’ post game radio show.  The game was really a tale of two halves and the show a tale of two camps.  The first half was all U of O as the Ducks went into the locker room with a 35-6 lead.  The ‘Dogs came out fired up for the last 30 minutes and outscored the hosts, 19-7.  Not only did Fresno State score more, they outplayed the Ducks, forcing three turnovers.

The post game radio show’s callers fit into three categories.  The first one talked about the game and their feelings about the team.  It was interesting hearing these peoples’ opinions as they seemed to be real Bulldog supporters.  The other two groups were people who either loved or hated Pat Hill, the former coach whose stay in Fresno lasted 15 years.

Pat followed Jim Sweeney, a local legend who took the program “to another level,” as the saying goes, only to have it run into hard times near the end of his tenure.  My first couple years at Fresno State were Jim’s last two.  He was the coach at Washington State when I was a graduate assistant there.  He and his coaches were very close to our staff.  I’ve admired his coaching mind for quite some time.  Because I played football in high school and (a little) in college - and coached it at my alma mater - I watch games from more of a strategic angle than that of a fan.  Jim’s final two teams weren’t as successful and that, along with health problems, moved him into retirement.

Pat Hill was a former Jim Sweeney assistant and always had a special place in his heart for Fresno State.  He came in and did some things that not many Division I head football coaches would consider, e.g. running used car sales and five golf tournaments so the team could afford to build a practice field (field, not facility) and upgrade weight training and academic centers.  The head football coaches I’ve known asked - or demanded - such necessities.  Pat struggled through his first couple seasons but then saw success, including against the big boys, aka BCS schools, as his scheduling philosophy was to play as many as would play him.

After fifteen years, the athletics department decided to make a change and hired Tim DeRuyter, defensive coordinator from Texas A&M.  He’s installed a different system than Hill - a no huddle, up tempo offense and a 3-4 defense.  Pat employed a pro style offense and used the 4-3 on D.

That’s an awful lot of blather to put you through before finally getting into the point of this blog.  Nevertheless, here’s what, as Peter Griffin would say, “really grinds my gears.”  The other two groups of callers fell into either the pro-Hill people or the pro-DeRuyter bunch.  “35-6 at halftime?  Coach Hill’s teams never were wide-eyed playing against anybody!” proclaimed a caller.  “At least we were still trying to win at the end of the game, not trying to just keep it close,” screamed another.  You decide which caller was from which camp.  The odd thing is that when Pat first started, callers (maybe these same people) would do the same thing as it pertained to Hill and Sweeney, except Pat was in place of DeRuyter.

I can’t understand why a comment on a game has to also bring up another coach, player or era.  Why not simply enjoy an accomplishment for what it is?  If something bothers you that happened during the course of the game, is it really necessary to compare it to something from years gone by?  Enjoy, or be depressed about the moment.  Comparing different players or coaches doesn’t make you sound any brighter nor does it solve the problem.

The people who constantly complain are the type of folks F. Lee Bailey was talking about when he said:

“Can any of you seriously say the Bill of Rights could get through Congress today?  It wouldn’t even get out of committee.” 

Last year Pat Hill was the head football coach at Fresno State.  When he came to FSU 15 years ago, he talked about the community buying into his football team and his vision.  He told everyone who would listen that Fresno was more like a Midwest town than a California city.  He likened it to Green Bay and challenged the good people of the ‘No - as well as the rest of the San Joaquin Valley - to get behind his guys with their money and presence at games.

As for his vision, although the Bulldogs were members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), he wanted to mix it up with the big boys.  So he scheduled every BCS school who would have him.  Usually that meant have him at their place.  Occasionally he’d find a two-(or three-)for one or maybe a made-for-TV type match up so his clubs would get to play at home or at a neutral site.

Fresno State was no fodder either.  Hill and his boys pulled off several upsets, catching the attention of the national media.  Early on, it was a love affair.  After all, the fans felt part of the team and, on a national basis, they were part of the squad who could hang with the “famous” teams.  The program prospered and so did Hill - making upwards of a million.  But all was not bliss in Fresno.  While the guys became known around the country as giant-killers, each year they would slip up within the WAC.  The locals didn’t mind at first.

What hurt Hill and his mission the most was that his dream was actually being realized, just that it was being played out at conference foe, Boise State.  So Pat Hill was right.  It could be done.  Just wasn’t happening in Fresno.  The years would march on and more and more fans began acting . . . like fans, i.e. jumping off the bandwagon.  Last year was the final straw.  The team had a 4-9 record and, naturally, no bowl appearance.  “The offense is too predictable; the defense not aggressive enough,” was the mantra - as if the average fan on the street knows the difference between a nickel package and a Christmas package.

With the strength in numbers mentality raising its ugly head, there was pressure on the administration, not the one that hired Hill by the way.  Other than getting in trouble with the law, surprisingly, the easiest way for a coach to lose his job is not losing too many games, but losing too many fans.  There were a small chorus of blow-hard fans who made statements that until Hill was removed, they would refuse to buy season tickets.  Or single game tickets.  Or pony up donations.  The administration made a change.

So a new staff came in.  Its philosophy is a high octane offense (just what the people said they were craving for) and a change from Hill’s 4-3 to a more attacking 3-4 (like anybody knew the difference).  The news coverage remained as it is in a “small” town - at least one story a day, every day.  Players and coaches were front and center.

Finally, it was game day.  Guess how the fans of Fresno reacted?  On game day, there had been 24,000 tickets sold and if the athletic department didn’t sell 9,000 walk up tickets, the attendance at the game would be the worst opening day crowd since the 33,114 in Hill’s initial contest in 1997 (Note: the reported attendance yesterday was 28,000).  When asked, an athletic department official said he thought the fans were “taking a wait-and-see approach.  They want to see what the offense and defense will look like and how good this team will be before they come on board. . . If we start winning, the fan base will grow.”

Fan is supposed to be short for fanatic but with the economy and lack of big-time tradition, that’s how it will be in Fresno - and at many places around the country.  College athletics has become so big that much can be learned from the title of one of Jim Valvano’s books:

“They gave me a lifetime contract - and then declared me dead.”

How was your Saturday?  Late in the afternoon I walked into our family room and saw a message on the TV screen, which was on when I left the room a few moments earlier, that said, “One moment please.  This station will return shortly.”  No matter which channel I clicked onto, same message.  So I went to the computer - which had no Internet connection.  Since I nearly always use my cell phone, I had no idea our landline was dead as well. 

It’s what happens when everything is connected to Comcast and the signal goes out.  A call to their 800 number had a guy initially tell me he’d send out a repairman on Wed morning at 8 am.  After a brief chat, with me mostly doing the talking, we came to an understanding that Sunday at 8 am was a much better plan.  

Not trying to bore you, simply explaining why there was no blog yesterday.  Enjoy this one.

Although he didn’t have to, since he was under contract, Fresno State football coach Pat Hill agreed to the university’s request he shave $200,000 off of his 2010-11 salary.  “Sure, now he’s only making a cool mil,” some Bulldog supporters retorted.  My question to those detractors is, “How much would you take in salary reduction if your employer was having budget issues?”  My guess is not even two hundred.

One thing I noticed during my three decades in the college game is that coaches, whether or not they produce the results the fans, boosters and administrators want (expect), put in more hours than anyone else on - or off - campus.  As far as compensation is concerned, you might be surprised at Hill’s take, “Salaries are completely out of control now in college football.“  Spoken by a guy who loves the coaching aspect as much as he did when he entered the profession  - for a lot less money.  For the record, Pat’s salary barely gets him into the top 50 highest paid collegiate football coaches.

“But is he worth a million?”  Wrong question.  Other than Nick Saban and Chris Petersen, what coach in the country satisfied its fan base last season?  Mack Brown?  Pete Carroll?  Jim Tressel?  The question ought to be, “Is the school getting its money’s worth out of its coach?”  Even there we’ll find disagreement, but at least it’s a more fair standard.

To a football coach (and, from my experience, a basketball coach), what day of the week it is has no relevance.  For that matter, what time of day is usually of little significance as well.  In addition to practice and meetings (depending on the calendar), there’s always another recruiting call to be made, another player to work out, more film to break down, another game plan to help devise, camp to set up, another speech to give, - pick one (or more).  Meaning if there’s a spare moment, there’s always something you can do - and probably ought to be doing.  Tuesday or Saturday?  What difference does it make?

Of course, some guys work harder, or longer, than others, but I’ve always maintained that if all the employees on campus would put in the time that its coaches do, the school would run much more efficiently.  Plus, if this were the rule, the lazy people, e.g. tenured ones, would be forced to find another line of work or become more accountable.

One story I’ve repeated numerous times is about the times at Fresno State we’d check to make sure our guys were in class.  I can recall walking down the hall of academic buildings and seeing signs posted on classroom doors that read, “CLASS CANCELED.”  How can a professor cancel a class?  Isn’t that what they’re paid to do - teach?  The only time a class should be canceled is if the professor gets in a car wreck - on the way to class!  Sure, the students love it.  They get an unexpected mini-vacation.  They never stop to think they’re paying for that class their prof just blew off.

And office hours for college professors?  If anyone ever needed a definition of the word “fiction,” read the office hours on a syllabus.  If students actually find their prof in the office during office hours, the first thing they should do is buy a lottery ticket. I’ve had professors tell me the only reason they post office hours is that it’s required.

I have yet to touch on people in other walks of life but suffice to say, even if they work as long and hard as coaches do (and I’d give fairly substantial odds on that - if we’re talking over the course of a year and not a selected day here and there), none are under the intense scrutiny coaches are.

There’s absolutely no doubt coaches are overpaid, especially when they’re doing what they love to do.  And I’m fully aware they’re paid to win.  Heck, anybody can lose.  But when it’s time to criticize coaches, keep in mind that if everybody put in the effort and time coaches did, we’d all be better off.  And a heckuva lot more tired.

As Stephen Covey said:

“We judge others by their actions (and accomplishments); ourselves by our intentions.”

This year, there are 34 bowl games for 120 Division I FBS teams, meaning a team can be in the bottom half of the nation’s football teams and still get an invite to a bowl.  Football coaches are quoted as saying that a bowl invitation is a reward for a good season.

Since I live in Fresno, this blog will be devoted to the nation’s first bowl game of the season, the New Mexico Bowl on December 19 - featuring the Fresno State Bulldogs and the University of Wyoming Cowboys.  To begin, I admit I am biased in this case because I used to work at Fresno State and my wife, Jane, and I consider Pat Hill, and his wife, Cathy, friends.  Our older son, Andy, has been very close with their youngest son, Zak, since the Hills moved here when Zak was in second grade and the two boys were in the same class.  They remained classmates until each graduated Clovis West HS in 2007.  Andy is quite friendly with all three of the Hill boys and, in fact, has vacationed with them on numerous occasions.

So much for full disclosure.  Now, let’s discuss this fiasco of a bowl game.  Fresno State, year in and year out, plays the toughest non-conference schedule (for a non-BCS team) of any school in the country.  This year, the non-conference schedule was UC-Davis (what they needed to do to get a home game) and road contests with Wisconsin, Cincinnati and Illinois.  They easily disposed of UC-D and their BCS matchups were losses to the Badgers in double OT, 28-20 at Cincy and the game that accounted for two of the top three SportsCenter Top 10 plays-of-the-day from Saturday’s sports scene, a thrilling 53-52 never-to-be-forgotten games vs. the Illini.  That contest was the Bulldogs’ seventh win in their past eight games, leaving them with an 8-4 mark for the season.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, are 6-6, splitting their four non-conference matchups with Weber State, Texas, Colorado and Florida Atlantic.  I’ll leave it to the reader to figure out which of those two teams they beat (29-22 and 30-28) and which they were defeated by (41-10 and 24-0).  In these economic times, is this game really necessary?

The positives for the game are: 1) Pat Hill is one coach who maintains a bowl game is a reward.  Kids get a free road trip and some sweet swag.  Why not take that money the bowl people are spending and let the players, coaches and their families (who have spent a good deal of time away from each other) enjoy a week in Albuquerque.  Of course, the administrators and their spouses need to freeload too, so factor them into the trip as well - for a job well done.  One catch.  They have to tell us exactly what job they did so well they deserve a reward.

2) Coaches I’ve talked to over the years say, unashamedly, that the real bonus in going to a bowl game is all the extra practice time a bowl affords them.  Forget the game and allow the Bulldogs another week of practice after returning from beautiful downtown Albuquerque. 

3) The money the school gets never covers the cost of the (overbloated) travel party and all the travel, food & lodging costs.  Don’t think the cheerleaders, band & mascot don’t plan on being invited.  Cut out the administrators who think they’re vital to the trip because they have doctorates - or junior college degrees - and it might make sense.  Oh yeah, don’t forget to factor in bonuses for the coaches.  As far as I know, the administration doesn’t get a bonus for the football team going to a bowl game, but I’m not privy to that information so maybe I’m mistaken.  Meanwhile, the real workers - the business office people, the secretaries, the custodians - the ones who actually do the work during the season, never to get to go.

4) From a money-saving and health factor, cancel the game!  This way, no one would get hurt - which is nearly a guarantee in one of these games.  Why a guarantee?  When was the last football game in which someone didn’t get hurt?  Another money-saving tip, don’t invite Wyoming!

In their six wins (the minimum a team needs to be eligible for a bowl game), they beat their opponents by less than a touchdown.  In their six defeats, they lost by an average of nearly four touchdowns.

In these bowl events, after the partying, press conferences, dinners with the teams fraternizing, the game is often anti-climatic.  Who makes money anyway?  The merchants of Albuquerque?  Certainly not the New Mexico Bowl people.  Neither of the universities.  I was privy to that information.  Many will say the television exposure will help the Bulldogs.  If that’s really the case, pay for an hour infomercial and save the country having to listen to back up to back up announcers and color commentators try to make a meaningless game sound interesting.

Simple common sense would dictate not to have this game, but as Voltaire said:

“Common sense is not so common.”Â

The following is an article I wrote for the September-October edition of HiS magazine (edited somewhat for this blog), published by the local ESPN station in Fresno, CA.

Supposedly, this year’s hottest Halloween costume is Kate Gosselin from the show John & Kate Plus 8.  Forgive me for not knowing who - or what - that is, but my doctor told me to try to live as normal a life as possible and that selection didn’t make the cut of “acceptable shows on TV.”  Other than SportsCenter, the Super Bowl, anything to do with March Madness and re-runs of Seinfeld, I can’t recall too many other shows that did.

This year’s most popular Halloween costumes are:

Sarah Palin - not sure what it would be.  Get a Tina Fey costume. No one will know the difference.  

Mark Sanford - it comes with a wife, kids and concubine soulmate, as well as an incredible work ethic.  Everyone goes trick or treating.  Tell people how you plan on 1) reconciling with your family, 2) keeping your soulmate (psychiatrists, psychologists and, if all works as planned, millions of your fellow men, will vouch a soulmate completes you as a person) and 3) still governing South Carolina.  Not certain if it will work, but think of the major candy stash.

Bernard Madoff - this costume has three hands, along with an ingenuous smile.  Organize a long list of people whose homes you plan to go (make sure some of your dearest friends are on the list).  When someone answers the door, reach out and shake the person’s hand, then cover with a second hand, signifying a “This will be the beginning of a long and lasting relationship” feeling of trust.  Naturally, with the third hand reach around and take all the candy and anything else of value you can.  As you leave, put two of your arms around the shoulders of those you’re trick or treating with - and, with your third hand, steal all of their candy too.  Note: This costume comes with only two hands; you need to trade in your conscience for the third one.     

Dick Vitale - consists of a flesh skull cap and a ring of hair around the bottom.  The remainder of the costume is a giant mouth.  As soon as you ring the doorbell, start screaming - in as loud and grating a voice as you can - “TRICK OR TREAT, BABY!  HALLOWEEN IS AWESOME, BABY, WITH A CAPITAL “A”!  I WANT CANDY AND CHOCOLATE AND LOLLIPOPS AND GUM!  HALLOWEEN STUFF, BABY!  I WANT EVERYTHING, BABY, WITH A CAPITAL “A“!  You are guaranteed to get whatever you want - as long as you leave.

Tiger Woods - there is no such costume . . . because nobody can give him anything Tiger would want that he doesn’t already have.  Note: Jack Nicklaus doesn’t allow trick or treaters.

Pat Hill (Fresno State football coach) - a fumanchu mustache (the newer the model, the grayer the ’stache), an old stained red hat, any shirt (as long as there’s a target on it - BOTH sides) and a pair of real baggy shorts – anything tighter would raise your voice several octaves with the cojones you have - playing early, and, of course, on the road - in a few extremely raucous stadiums (I’d put “stadia” but no one reading this blog would have any idea of what that meant) - and doing all of this with no experienced QB.  Just in case, make sure you have a wide stance, a corset for your back and a set of broad shoulders - because, if you win, you’ll need to be prepared for all the people jumping on your back (and claiming they were there all along).

THE INDIVIDUAL - no costume needed, just demand candy and if anyone asks who you are, say, “The new symbol for

We’re headed up to Rocklin (near Sacramento) for a basketball tournament, so no blog tomorrow night, although I already have one in mind for Sunday night you definitely won’t want to miss.

California rules (that a coach can work with his team year round) and summer basketball has turned high school hoops into a 12 month ordeal.  Many coaches (not only basketball) actually force their athletes into making a decision when they get to the high school level: it’s my sport only or don’t bother showing up.

If the athlete’s good enough, i.e. if he (and his parents) are in the position of power, they can call the coach’s bluff.  More times than not, I’ve seen the coach back down, making the (wise) decision that part of a great player is better than none of him (truthfully, the reality of this situation is that this type of behavior is not at all limited to the male side of the equation).  Especially when a coach of a female powerhouse, who’s looked up to by the community (including the district administration, who are way more interested in championships than they’ll ever admit), is the one giving the ultimatums.

It might be as veiled a statement as, “Well, if you really want to play in our program, you need to make a total commitment” (which, left unsaid - or not - means playing that sport all the time).

I have to admit that what was most attractive to me about coaching on the high school level was the fact that a coach could work year round with the guys.  After working in college basketball, in which the NCAA continually cut back the time coaches were allowed to work with their squads (be it individual instruction or team practice), getting together whenever I desired sounded like nirvana.

One reason was I had prepared myself for thirty years to be a Division I head coach (independent of the level of D-I) and had organized everything from the pregame warm up routine and man-to-man offense, complemented by a multiple defense system to home and school recruiting visits and organizing a booster club (notice I mentioned “independent of the level” of D-I).  Because this was going to be a little more sophisticated a system than the typical high school program,  I needed that on-court time. 

Never, though, did I plan on threatening a boy to play only basketball.  One major reason is that I thought it would be highly hypocritical - since I played three sports (football, basketball and baseball) during my four year scholastic career.  Truth be told, basketball was my worst sport (of those three).  In fact, while coaching at Buchanan (Clovis, CA) High School, nearly all of us were on the same page when it came to sharing our athletes, mainly for the same reason I felt, i.e. they played more than one sport during their high school days.

That leads me to our younger son, Alex.  He plays basketball exclusively.  In elementary school, he was, I was told by one of his teachers, the only kid in the school who participated in every sport that was offered throughout his 4th, 5th and 6th grade years.  In 4th, it was cross country and wrestling (football and basketball weren’t allowed until 5th), in 5th he was the defensive MVP of the football team (ILB), captain of the basketball team and played volleyball.  He was over the weight limit for football in 6th (you needed to be 121 - including pads - and Alex checked into 6th grade at 143, so he barely missed the cut . . . so he became the team’s manager).  He once again played basketball, but with his buddies from the grade ahead of him (most of the kids in our neighborhood were now in the 7th grade) in junior high school, he decided he was going to forego volleyball and pick up baseball again (he’d played Little League but, although he started at third base - as one of only two 8-year old starters, he said the only thing he liked about America’s pasttime was that you were allowed to eat sunflower seeds during the game).  After baseball concluded, he came home and told me he was going out for the track team.  I thought it was a good idea, that all the running would keep him in shape.  When I asked him what he was going to do, he told me, “High jump.”  Of course, he had never high jumped, but once the coach showed him the technique, he wound up taking second in one of the final meets of the year.  Once in junior high, and back with his buddies again, after basketball season, he took up tennis (his best friend was an outstanding tennis player and for two weeks a year, he’d attend his friend’s dad’s tennis camp.  That was the extent of his tennis.  Still, he ended up as #2 singles and went undefeated throughout the season.  He hasn’t played tennis since.

Those of you who are still reading this rambling discourse (after reading a paper I turned in one time, my high school English teacher asked me if I was from Babylon) might be wondering if there’s a point.  If there is, it’s this.

Although Alex plays basketball only, to be quite honest, part of me would love to see him play football (along with baseball, my two best sports).  My wife doesn’t put up too much of a fight in instances like this.  But, in the case of football, she’s seen me and the problems I’ve had (the first question doctors asked me, prior to the first of my eight back surgeries - two weeks after we got married was, “Were you ever in a car accident?”  The next question was if I ever played football).  And it’s not only me.  Jane’s dad was quite the football player himself (as well as a state championship scholastic coach in Nashville, TN - where they take their FB seriously) and during his later years, the arthritis he developed (his doctor told him it was due to old football injuries) made it painful to watch him attempt to get up from our couch.

The capper came with Son #1.  Andy is the ultimate team guy.  In 2nd grade he told me a new kid had just moved in and they became fast friends.  That kid was Zak Hill, the youngest of three sons of Fresno State’s new football coach, Pat Hill.  Naturally, it was decided early on that, when they got the 5th grade, they’d be two of the stalwarts on the Valley Oak elementary school football team.  Jane was worried and shared her concerns with our family doctor - who just happened to be the Bulldogs’ team doctor.  He told Jane to let Andy play until 9th grade when they did away with weight limits.  Jane thinks the world of our doc, so she agreed - until the day that Andy separated his shoulder in a blocking drill and had to have surgery of his own - at 13 years of age.  End of football in the Fertig household.

In addition, Alex is that rare athlete who just might be better served to concentrate on one sport.  He has a future in basketball.  Not that he’s going to be doing it for a living, but, with natural maturation of his body (he was measured and weighed at the Nike event in St. Louis at 6′2″ and 188) and mind, he ought to be able to parlay that skill into a free college education.  And with parents in their (very, very) early 60’s, that’s quite a comforting thought. 

I have tried to strike a balance between the coach who sees a gift a young boy has and encourages him to go for it and a father who’s interfering with his son’s life and pushes too hard.  It’s a fine line, but so far, Alex has shown a genuine enthusiasm for basketball.  With my obsession that people realize their potential, there is much more I’d do to get Alex to be better, but not if I feel it’s going to have a negative impact on his “being a kid.”  It’s not easy, but when SI prints a story like the one they did a few issues ago on Todd Marinovich, backing off gets easier and easier. 

I continue to use a quote by one of my favorite authors (and judging by how well - and how many of - his books sell, hundreds of others’ favorite author too), John C. Maxwell:

“If you want your life to be a fantastic story, realize you’re the author.”Â

Our country is in such a state of disarray right now that I can’t ever remember the overall morale of the United States being so low - and I’ve been around six decades.  Bernie Madoff is certainly one of the major causes, but as much as he is the poster boy for destroying people’s belief in one another, there are many other problems that are causing people to be on the verge of surrendering. 

The reason people like him evoke such strong emotions in the general public is that they tear away at the fabric of what makes any group, organization, team, company or society function normally.  They violate the people’s trust.  How anyone could do - to many of his long-time friends, no less - what Madoff did, is pure evil.  Does anybody really need 40 or 50 or 80 billion dollars or whatever the number is now?  What, exactly, gets someone to do what this awful man did (and don’t think for one second he’s the only one who did it, or is still doing it)?

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum are people like Dan Brown, the recently retired Fresno State defensive coordinator who lost his two-year battle with brain cancer late Friday night.  If ever there was a person you could unequivocably trust, that person was Dan Brown.  As few, we hope, people like Madoff there are, unfortunately, the number of citizens like “Brownie” is equally as scarce.

Dan never looked at his glass as half-full.  The way he acted, his glass was overflowing -  and he was always trying to share some with you.  He never met anyone who immediately didn’t become a friend.  One of the wittiest people you’d ever come across, he loved exchanging quips and, if you ever got the best of him (which didn’t happen too often), he’d be the guy who’d laugh the loudest.  A brilliant football mind, but infinitely better at dealing with others and getting what he knew across to them, he shunned the spotlight, was always self-deprecating and never accepted credit, instead making others feel as if they had as much (or more) to do with his success than he did.

Outside of football, he was the true role model for people, young and old, especially in an area this country is so sorely lacking - that of being the ideal family man.  His childhood must have prepared him extremely well on the subject of how to get along with others, since Dan was one of 15 children.  Maybe a tough way to grow up, but certainly a wonderful testing grounds for understanding the value of teamwork and also a sure-fire way to learn survival skills.

Dan and his wife, Mindy, had six children of their own and, although each one is unique, every one of the Brown clan oozes personality - obviously, an inherited trait.  If you don’t get a hug from one of the Brown kids, it’s because they didn’t see you. 

Brownie was also a fantastic golfer.  We were paired up at a golf tournament once, which immediately rendered his winning it impossible because as soon as I took up golf, whoever was the worst golfer in the world, moved up one notch.  It was an alternate shot format, so he’d crush a drive and I’d slice “our” second shot into the woods.  He would make a miraculous recovery and, somehow, advance the ball to the middle of the fairway.  I’d top it 5 yards or fly the green, or if I got it near the green, it would be buried in a sand trap.  His shot would inevitably land about 4-5 feet from the hole.  Naturally, I’d miss the short putt - and just to make things worse, I’d miss by an inch or two.  He’d be forced to tap it in, meaning, not only did we waste his shot on a one inch putt - but I would have to tee it up to start the next hole.  This went on, hole after hole. 

While he was driving the cart (he thought, wisely, he’d better drive it) to find my ball - so he could get us out of trouble again, I blurted out, probably due to sheer embarrasment, “I swear, Brownie, I’ve never played this badly before.”

Without taking his eyes off the fairway, he simply said, “Oh, so you have played before.”  Although he was a fierce competitor, his temperment was such that, once he saw who his partner was, he decided we’d have a good time and a lot of laughs.  If only they gave a prize for that, we’d have blown away the competition. 

There are certain people who, when you see them, automatically put a smile on your face.  That describes Dan Brown perfectly.  Brownie had a lasting, positive effect on everyone he met and the memory of knowing him gives me, and I have no doubt, everyone else as well, a warm feeling.

In one of the many books I’ve read or listened to, I found one line that sums up people like Dan Brown and Bernie Madoff:

“When you are gone, people will either be warmed by your memory, or relieved with your absence.”

Rest in peace, buddy.  Not only are you now in a far better place, but that place just became far better as soon as you got there.    �

First and foremost in the fan’s mind is a well-conceived plan for hiring a new coach.  It begins with, “We’ve got to fire our coach!”  When the situation has gotten to this point, the geniuses in the stands have had all they can take - because, after all, who cares more about their beloved football program than someone like them who go to every game and (maybe) write a check out to the athletics department each year?  Certainly not someone like the coach who spends about of 14-16 hours every day?  Hey, it’s what he’s paid to do.

Let’s take a couple of examples I’m somewhat familiar with - Tennessee and Fresno State - the former because I worked there from 1980-87 as an assistant basketball coach, the latter because my tenure as Director of Basketball Operations was also seven years (1995-2002).  The day I started at UT in 1980 nearly coincided with the day Phillip Fulmer, the recently deposed football coach, began.  He was returning to his alma mater from Vanderbilt to become the offensive line coach.  The two of us went through orientation together and, because of the training table UT offered, would sit together during lunch on several occasions until my departure to become the associate head coach at the University of Toledo.

Pat Hill arrived in Fresno in 1997 and, while Fresno State is not his alma mater, he did put in a five-year stint there as offensive line coach and recruiting coordinater (1984-89).  I distinctly remember the first day I met Pat, not so much because of our meeting, but because when I arrived home that night, our older son, Andy, said a new student just moved into his 2nd grade class and was sitting next to him.  That new kid was Zak Hill, the youngest of the three Hill boys.  Andy and Zak became fast friends and Andy, on many occasions, has vacationed with the Hill family.

Both Phil and Pat took over their respective programs under very similar circumstances, following in the footsteps of legendary coaches who each had experienced a decline in the teams’ records near the end of their careers.  Johnny Majors was not only a Vols’ alum, but was a superstar tailback during his intercollegiate stay there.  Anyone who can remember that far back will tell you Majors got royally shafted in the 1956 Heisman Trophy voting by the Eastern and Catholic media, coming in second to Paul Hornung of Notre Dame after the Vols posted a 10-1 record while the Irish finished the season with only two wins.  In fact, I was in attendance at a meeting where Hornung admitted to exactly that.

Jim Sweeney, the coach Pat replaced and worked for, was at Washington State when I was a graduate assistant there, but with the rules being what they were at the time, e.g. unlimited scholarships, nobody could have won at WSU.  After a brief time with the Oakland Raiders, Jim wound up as the head coach of the Bulldogs and is considered the man whose program built Bulldog Stadium (the field is named after him) and put the program in the spotlight by winning in the Big West and immediately competing for the WAC championship.

Health issues marred the final year of both Majors’ and Sweeney’s careers.  The end for Majors was more controversial because the Vols had begun the season by losing.  Majors’ pain was so severe, he needed surgery shortly after the season begun.  Fullmer took over and the Vols won three in a row.  Majors returned to the sidelines, saying that had always had been the plan, but to the chagrin of many fans, who felt he should step down in favor of Phil (wonder if they hadn’t won the fans would have felt the same way?)  The team lost after Majors returned and at the end of the ‘92 season, Fullmer had the interim tag removed.  There’s been bad blood between the two coaches ever since, most fans siding with Fullmer in the early years, especially in 1998 when the Vols won the National Championship.  Lately, however, it’s amazing how many of these same fans are bringing up how “Phillip stabbed Johnny in the back.”

Sweeney’s departure, though, was not a cause of dissension, with Jim helping his former assistant get the Bulldogs’ job and continuing to be supportive.  When Hill first started scheduling “big-time” teams (Hill’s philosophy of “We’ll play anybody, anytime, anywhere” meant just what it said), the academic success and graduation rates (under associate head coach John Baxter, inventor of the now widely- used Academic Game Plan) dramatically improved and Pat’s knack for player evaluation (one of his NFL tasks he had while toiling as an assistant coach in for the Browns and Ravens) led to better and better recruiting classes, the entire San Joaquin Valley was gaga for the ‘Dogs.

Now, the two former offensive lineman, each of whom was an assistant for the school prior to becoming head coach, and each turned the success ratio of W’s and L’s around have been under fire from the “supporters.”  In fact, Fullmer has already been shown the door, replaced by Lane Kiffin (coincidentally a Fresno State grad), who lost his fight and job with the Oakland Raiders and boss, Al Davis, (usually the loss of one translates into the loss of the other).  Kiffin’s hiring, only a day or so ago, has been criticized by Mark May of ESPN who said his past experience doesn’t prepare him for a job the magnitude of Tennessee.  Talk about a short honeymoon!  “Good luck, Coach - but consider renting.”

Fresno losing to archrival and one of nation’s hottest teams over the past five years, Boise State, by a score of 61-10 has added fuel to the fans’ fire.  What I am constantly amazed by is the spewing of venom at the coach when his team doesn’t perform to the fan’s expectation.  “I don’t spend my hard earned money to watch us get beat time after time.”  For the record, FSU is 7-5 this season and will probably play in a bowl game.

Hill has himself to blame for some of the criticism because he sets lofty goals and then dares to make them public.  When the Bulldogs beat BCS schools as they’ve done at the rate of about one per season (a rather remarkable feat, considering they don’t get the chance to play them that often and when they do, it’s nearly always on the opponent’s home turf), chests in Fresno are stuck out proudly.  But, the mantra of “If we can beat those guys, how come we can’t win the WAC?” is heard by fans (chests now deflated).

My proposal: get a search committee of fans, ask them the following questions - printing their responses in the local paper:

Who do you think we should get to coach the coach instead of the man we have now?  The answer is simple.  Someone who will WIN!

What kind of offensive should the new coach run?  Are you kidding?  Wide open, throw it on every down, so we can score 50 points/game.  What a foolish question that was!

How about the defensive side of the ball?  We need a defensive coordinator who can figure out how to shut down the opposing team’s offense.  You know, if the previous staff didn’t understand that, they deserve to be out of jobs.

And who do you think that is?  This answer ranges from 1) the hottest coach in the country.  Nothing’s too good for us.  Who’s coaching the #1 team in the nation?  Oh, he makes four times what we’re paying our current coach?  How ’bout one of the Top 5 then?  Uh, each of them makes more, coaches at a BCS school and, undoubtedly has a buy-out clause in his contract that is greater than the entire budget for our School of Education (not to mention the buy-out we’re on the hook for in order to let go the coach you’re so anxious to fire).  2) Yeah, what about someone who’s a proven winner, but has retired?  You know how coaches have that itch and are always coming back for more.  So, … what about guys like Lou Holtz, Don Shula or John Madden?  Well, each has a  pretty cushy job right now, Holtz makes more in a couple of speaking fees than we can afford, Shula’s getting paid to lose weight and I’d love to see how you’d expect us to get Madden to the Hawaii game.  3) How about an up-and-comer, you know, like Gerry Faust, Karl Dorrell or one of the Bowden boys?  Wait, I’ve got the perfect guy?  The dude from Boise State.  Why would a guy want to leave a school he’s led to an undefeated season for another in the same league he just beat by 50?  So he can have you guys as fans?

It reminds me of George Burns’ line about complaints regarding whoever’s president:

“Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair.”  Â