Jack’s Blog

Society is composed of good and bad people.  It would be nice (and easier for most of us) if the good prevailed.  A question that’s been kicked around are forever is regarding how each of us will be judged.  Must it be only black or white?

Consider the following:

Bernie Madoff wanted to be known as the best in his business.  He cheated and stole a ton of other people’s money.

Lance Armstrong wanted to be known as the best in his business.  He cheated and raised a ton money for other people.

Both are proven cheaters.  A lot people are better off because of Lance Armstrong.

I guess the moral of the story is:

“If you feel your lot in life MUST be that of a crook, at least help a whole lot of others along the way.”

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

College football camps have opened around the nation and there are stories for each one.  Can Florida repeat?  Will this be the year somebody, other than SC, wins the Pac-10?  Was there a method to the “Lane Kiffin Madness” of comments, putdowns and accusations leveled by the Vols’ new coach or was he just opening his mouth to change feet?  Does Michigan really think it will return to the glory days because of its . . . walk-ons?  Can another (or maybe a couple other) non-BCS schools crash the big party?  And will Congress get involved - since it seems it’s the only issue everyone in the political world agrees on? 

A much more endearing story, and one closer to home for those of us who live in and around the San Joaquin Valley is one that was featured in yesterday’s Fresno Bee.  It was about true freshman linebacking sensation, Travis Brown, and the beginning of what anyone who ever watched him play at Clovis West High School knew would be a stellar career (right from Game 1 of this season) and about his doing so under a defensive coordinator other than his hero (as well as the hero of so many others, football players and non-players alike), his dad, Dan (who lost his own courageous, two-year battle with brain cancer last March).

When the insidious disease took the life of beloved son, sibling, husband, father, coach, colleague and friend (that pretty much covers everybody who knew Brownie), I posted a piece in which I tried to explain the Dan people didn’t know, i.e. the people who’d never met him - because if you ever met Dan Brown, you knew him - and loved him.  

Some of the blogs I write take a great deal of time and are difficult to put into words. Brownie’s wrote itself.  If you didn’t read it before, please do so know.  If you did, one more time is guaranteed to bring a warm feeling to your heart.  

If Only Everybody Would Have the Impact on Others that Dan Brown Did

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

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-empty or 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’d have given an award 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. �

Walter Cronkite died a couple days ago and of all the “bouquets” thrown his way, the one that tops them all is that he was “the most trusted man in the world.”

Think of everyone you know.  How many of them can you confidently say you trust implicitly?  With people like Bernie Madoff, someone who violated the trust of his longtime friends, as well as many people he didn’t know, and ruined their lives in the process, is anyone truly comfortable making such a statement?  Have you ever had a friend who turned on you - whether for money, a business deal, a man or a woman?  It’s a feeling of utter disbelief.

As cynical as today’s society has become, it’s more and more difficult to find anyone whom we know and have the confidence to say we trust.  I feel fortunate that there are several people in my life I feel that way about - and it’s mainly because I’ve really tried to work at it.  Reading, and listening to, all the books I have has made me realize the power of relationship building. 

In the recent double issue of Sports Illustrated (July 13-20), there’s an article on former Giants’ pitcher, Dave Dravecky, who makes a statement to which I fully subscribe:

“It’s not what you do that matters most, but who you are.  And who you are is all about relationships.”�

Often when someone is in the midst of an experience, what happens takes on greater significance than it would have had the person waited a year or so before passing judgment. 

My close friend, Dave Severns, currently the assistant coach for player development with the Chicago Bulls (see 11/4/08 blog for some outstanding and inspirational information on “Sev”) and I agree on most issues, even if one of us is more passionate about an activity than the other.  Each of us can see the importance and relevance of the other’s enjoyment in pursuing whichever area of interest it happens to be, even though the other chooses not to be as active.

One point of contention we’ve discussed over the years is which is more exciting and fun to watch: college basketball or the NBA.  Since I worked on nine Division I basketball staffs over a 30-year period (1972-2002), 16 of those seasons culminating in postseason (NCAA or NIT) play, I’m obviously partial to the college game.  In addition, I saw - up close - some pretty intense rivalries.  I’m not only referring to Tennessee-Kentucky and USC-UCLA, but to Western Carolina-Appalachian State (the top of the mountain, ASU, vs. the bottom of the valley, WCU) and Toledo (city life) vs. Bowling Green (country living) - and only 30 minutes apart.  These people take everything seriously when it comes to competing against the other.

I do enjoy the NBA, but like most people, not until the playoffs get started.  The difference to me is the loyalty of the fan bases of the teams comprising the college game against the fan base of an NBA team.  What’s of vital importance in the college game is the school, i.e. it’s there, no threat of ever moving to another city.  How many of the fans of the Seattle Sonics do you think are staunch Oklahoma City Thunder supporters?  For that matter, do you really believe there are old timers living in Minneapolis living and dying with the Lakers (their former home, albeit quite some time ago)?  You really didn’t think a team from LA would select the nickname “Lakers,” did you?  Isn’t it MInnesota’s license plate read, Land of 10,000 Lakes?  Think it was a coincidence.  Come to think of it, there’s a heck of a lot more jazz in New Orleans than Utah.  Do you think . . . ?

In college, it’s the fight song, knowing the hometowns of the squad members as well as the likes and dislikes of the 12th man (because he’s in your English Lit class).  Fans feel a true bond with their team.  They’re eventually going to have the same degree as these megastars (well, around 55% of them, anyway, according to the recent studies I’ve seen).

Dave’s counter is professional basketball is a sport featuring the greatest athletes in the world.  A point of clarification: the winner of the Olympic decathalon has generally ben  recognized as “the world’s greatest athlete” and neither Dave nor I are about to dispute that.  What he’s referring to is that NBA players have the greatest athletic ability, e.g. running, jumping, throwing, quickness, shooting, etc. of any other team sport -anywhere.  I’m not sure there’s much of a debate on that point, but, in this day and age, people will debate, even sue if there’s a quick buck to be made, on anything.

His main point is that, watching any given game, you might, in all likelihood, see something you’ve never witnessed before.  He has a point.  Many, many years ago, the statistics regarding basketball players were: 720,000 high school players; 18,000 college players and, now, 450 NBA players (30 teams times 12 active and 3 non-active players on each club).  Those stats have drastically changed, with influx of foreign players who never went to college in the States.  No question NBA guys are the cream of the basketball crop.  Case in point: last night’s game between Chicago and Boston.  Ray Allen and Ben Gordon put on a pressure, clutch shooting clinic.  Sure, so did Steph Curry last year, but imagine a game where there was a Steph on each team.

Now, Sev has a new point in this argument.  The first two playoff games in Boston, between the Celtics and his new employer, have been down to the wire thrillers, the Bulls taking the first in OT and the Celts evening the series on a Ray Allen jumper with two seconds left.  The report I got from my man, Sev, after the first playoff game he actually saw live, was that it was the most intense game he’d ever been to.  This from a guy who’s spent a great many hours at basketball games.

“It wasn’t just the intensity of the teams, it was the intensity of the focus of the players”  (and coaches - he regards head coach Vinny Del Negro as a great guy, brilliant mind, quick wit and competitive, but he said even ‘V’ was more “lasered” than usual), the intensity of the crowd, the intensity of the refs!  Every possession was like it was the last one of the game!  Everything mattered.”  The excitement in his voice was like the kind your kid had after his first trip to DisneyLand (or his first haunted house, for those of you who were friends of Bernie Madoff). 

I saw last night’s game and, even as a TV viewer, I could actually feel all that come right through the broadcast - all the way down to Kevin Garnett (in street clothes and allegedly out for the entire playoffs), dropping “F” bombs in the direction of the visitor’s bench after Allen’s three to win it.  It was incredible to watch - I can only imagine what it was like to have a vested interest in who wins (the guys you work - and sweat - with on a daily basis), against the defending World Champs, and watching it one row behind where these gladiators sit - when they’re not in battle.

And to think, it’s only the first round!  He might be winning me over, so I have to control myself and reserve judgment until next fall when I can be of a more sound mind (I’ve pretty much given up on the body half of that equation).  But when I finally decide on college vs. pro, I have to keep in mind that line (which has been so overused, it’s been made into a poster):

“Your mind is like a parachute.  It works better when it’s open.”

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.    �

There is an incredibly funny story in my book, Life’s A Joke (actually, there are a couple hundred incredibly funny stories in it), but because it happens to be one of the longer ones, it’s way too long to retell in this blog entry.  Suffice to say, while it’s unique, it’s exactly the type of SNAFU that occurs when a college coach is on the road, making multiple stops.

One small part of it was the way the particular day ended.  I was watching a kid we (the University of Tennessee) had recently signed during the late (April) signing period, but had yet to see in an actual game.  Prior to our offering him a scholarship, I had evaluated him in a pick up game after the season - after hearing about him from a friend of his, Sam Reavis, who, unsolicited, was attempting to get a higher level of school involved because he felt strongly this kid was being under-recruited.  If I had a dime for every guy we heard say that, or every one of those letters we got, I could have retired by now (unless I invested my money with a “friend” like Bernie Madoff - but that’s another story - and not a very funny one).  This one is the reason you have to check out every lead - in some way.

When I walked into the gym and our recruit saw me, he said, “Thanks for coming.”  We had his signed National-Letter-of-Intent and he couldn’t back out of it now if he wanted to.  Neither could we, so I was hoping we’d made the right decision.  “I’m going to put on a show for you,” our young signee, never short of confidence, said.  At game’s end, his team had won and he put up 43 points!

His name was Tony White, a 6′2″ (more like 6′1″) wispy thin scoring guard from Charlotte, NC and he would go on to lead the SEC in scoring in both his junior and senior years for the Vols.  He spent a few unremarkable years in the NBA before finding unbelievable success in Europe, especially in Belgium, where he averaged somewhere in the vicinity of the high 30’s or low 40’s.  When I was at USC 15 or so years later, one of the heads of basketball in Belgium was at the same venue where I was recruiting for the Trojans.  He came up to me and asked, deferentially, “Is it true you coached Tony White?”  The look of admiration in this man’s eyes told me all I needed to know about how well Tony had played there.

So why this walk down memory lane?  Last night, I was watching the Southern Conference finals between Chattanooga and the College of Charleston.  C of C was led by a wispy thin junior scoring guard named Tony White, Jr. - who had 31 points in a losing effort.  One reason I was watching was that, a few weeks ago, I was in Knoxville and he called me, saying how he was sorry he couldn’t be at the surprise “reunion” dinner a few of the ex-players and managers put together for me.

During the conversation, he mentioned his son was playing at Charleston.  Although I pretty much knew the answer, I asked him the question anyway.  “How old are you, Tony?”

When he said, “44,” I realized that time really does fly and, for a moment, I started to become melancholy, thinking about how fast everything goes by, but quickly snapped out of it when I remembered the line by Marilyn vos Savant, the person with, allegedly, the highest recorded IQ (with a name like that, she’s got to be brilliant):

“Feeling is what you get for thinking the way you think.”

  �

Although I was a diehard (Brooklyn) Dodgers fan in my (very) early years, I always admired Joe Torre for not only his skill, but for the way he carried himself on the baseball diamond.  When he was fired a couple of times (Mets & Braves), I always thought he was done wrong and, after just finishing Ted Turner’s new book, he even admits firing Joe was a mistake.  Then came the heart warming story of his brother, Frank, and his transplant surgery (coming just in time to save his life) and it seemed like everybody was in Joe’s corner.

The final straw for me, the one that made me an unabashed Joe Torre fan, was when he became manager of the hated Yankees and I started pulling (however slightly) for the Bronx Bombers.  By that time, I’d pretty much become a non-fan (actually that change occurred around 1964, my junior year in high school, when I was playing on organized teams and had only enough “fan” in me to root for the teams I played for - or later, teams our sons play[ed] for).  So, seeing a Yankees score on the “crawl,” I would hope they’d win - because this classy guy was the manager and he had to put up with the New York media (the most sarcastic writers anywhere) and, even worse, had as his boss, George Steinbrenner, a man who, no matter what he paid you, it wasn’t enough.  Joe’s Yankee teams won big (6 World Series appearances/championships in 12 years), but anyone could tell that a job working for Steinbrenner was like tip-toeing through a field with hidden mines, i.e. one wrong step and your (business) life was over.  I read with enthusiasm his book, Ground Rules for Winners, highlighted the parts I especially liked and it was one of the selections of what’s referred to as “Fertig Notes” see the “Jack’s Notes” tab on this website’s home page.  A mailout to a limited number of friends and guys I’ve known from the (mainly college) coaching community.

I was thrilled, admittedly not to the point of immersing myself into the Dodger lore the way I did when I was nine or ten years old, when Joe was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  It seemed to be his destiny.  No wonder I liked him so much all those years ago.  Somehow, I must have had that gut feel that he was made to wear Dodger Blue.

Then, of all things, I discovered, about the same time as the rest of America did, i.e. a few dys ago, that Joe Torre had written a book about his Yankee years and that it was one of those “tell-all” kinds - the type a person writes to make money or get things off his chest - or both.  I figured that the former is what it had to be because I searched for another reason - any other reason - he ‘d have penned such a manuscript.  It couldn’t have been the money.  He’d been making millions for many years and was now heavy into the endorsement deals.  He’s no lunkhead athlete who spent his money as fast as he got it, assuming there would be no end to this kind of Monoply cash, nor was he the type who would put all his dough with someone like Bernie Madoff.  Tough Italian kids from Brooklyn just don’t do stupid stuff like that.  So I ruled out that he did it for the money - unless his co-author, Tom Verducci needed the income and sweet talked Joe into the project.  When someone asked if the proceeds were going toward his charity, Safe at Home, which deals with the subject of domestic violence, Joe stammered and never did say how much of it would be earmarked for his charity.

Why else?  I’ve already mentioned his leadership book, Ground Rules, so it couldn’t have been to see his name on a book cover.  It sure appeared like a type of catharsis.  Write it all down, all the crazy goings-on in the clubhouse, the expectations being so high to begin with, and then, bringing in Alex Rodriguez, one of the greatest baseball players of all-time, an experiment which did not produce the results everyone in New York expected (although in NY, results never match expectations: “Oh yeah, you guys won, but you didn’t cover!) and it looked more and more like he had to get rid of some feeling that was eating away at him.

As I get older, I find the need to set alarms to remember appointments or something important and when the alarm on my watch goes off, I usually have to look at it to see why I had it set.  (Yes, it’s as sad as it sounds).  This happened last night when it went off and I looked at it to see what the memo said.  “Larry King” was the message and it was then I remembered Joe would be interviewed shortly by the King himself.  The King of asking a difficult question but making it sound like he lobbed another softball up there, and that’s what the guest feels like, until he tries to formulate an answer.  First off, was the money question and Joe said, not that convincingly, that it was not the case, that he’d been making $7 million this past year (and when you admit you made that kind of number on national TV, you can bet that was the low end - those IRS people have been known to watch television). 

True, he’d been hurt by their response to his request for a two-year contract (probably for the same $7 mil he’d made in the past) so he could manage without the look of a lame duck (something, for all of you who go into coaching, which needs to be avoided pretty much, at all costs).  He knew that situation would only lead to constant probing and the chart of “how many days are left for Joey T?”  They countered with $5 mil, but with incentives to get it up to $7 large.  One reason for this was that the brass thought, after a particularly uncharacteristically bad season, maybe what Joe needed was a few incentives - you know, to get him to work harder.  People who’ve never been coaches (many owners and general managers fall into this category) have no idea that coaches are among the most competitive, self-motivated people on the planet.  Joe took their offer as an insult (as many coaches would have).  When a guy as old as Joe is insulted (especially with the Italian blood boiling inside of him), negotiations usually break off and the employer-employee is terminated.

Joe tried to make light of the situation in the book where he says members of the ball club would refer to A-Rod as A-Fraud, relating a story where, one day after a poor performance, one of the coaches was going to hit ground balls to Rodriguez and the coach said, “What’s it going to be today, A-Rod or A-Fraud?”  Other remarks, some of them negative, were pooh-pooh’d by Joe, saying that nothing that was in the book wasn’t “out there” already.

Joe claimed he didn’t burn any bridges but he knows all too well the grudge New Yorkers carry toward people whom they feel have disrespected them.  Another extremely intriguing question was asked of Joe.  “Do you think this book will affect your current players’ attitudes and feelings toward you?”  Amazingly - then again, not so amazingly, -Joe said, “No.”

C’mon, Joe, this just doesn’t pass the smell test.  Yet, for all of it, I still can’t bring myself to dislike Joe Torre.  To me, in an era of the Good Guys vs. the Bad Guys, Joe’s still one of the Good group.  As clever a guy as he is, however, he might want to heed the humorist Elbert Hubbard’s advice:

“An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.” 

  �

Herm Edwards of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs just got fired, becoming the most recent professional head coach to lose his job.  It was about time for a coach to be fired.  After all, it was a entire day since Mark Iavaroni was pink slipped by the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.

People think the reason for firing a coach is he did a poor job and lost too many games. And they’re correct -partially.  However, there are other factors that come into play.  The reason it can’t just be losing is that many of the teams that just fired their coaches wouldn’t have won if Vince Lombardi or Red Auerbach, in their heydays, were coaching them.  Plain and simple, they were bad teams whose rosters were filled with bad players, players, for the most part, selected in the draft, free agency or through trades by the general manager.  Firing the coach “buys time” for the GM, shifting the blame to the head coach - and blame is what the fans, i.e. buying public, is most interested in.  “Oh, he was the culprit?  You know, I always thought so.  Off with his head.  Boy, now I can’t wait until next year.”

Another reason for the coach being fired, in several cases, is that his lack of success can be pinned on someone else - the owner, who simply made a poor management decision, by hiring the guy in the first place!  Every year, there are certain hires that raise the eyebrows of those “in the know,” i.e. the guys who have been around the game seemingly forever (mainly former coaches and, in some cases, media members) and can give a laundry list of reasons why the new man was the wrong man.  In all my years, I’ve yet to see these wise old vets wrong. 

Next up on the “reasons coaches get fired list” is the coach couldn’t get along with the players, or at least the players who had the owner’s (and possibly GM’s) ear.  The tag “franchise player” doesn’t refer only to playing skills.  This isn’t a new concept (unless you consider what Magic Johnson did to Paul Westhead as recent).

Another factoid, albeit one less frequent - a proven winner becomes available, i.e. the GM or owner hears from, say, Bill Cowher’s agent that his client is worried that his jaw is unclenching which can only mean he’d better get back into coaching and is there any truth to the rumor your coach’s contract won’t be renewed?  There is now.

Let’s talk reality and nothing talks reality better than numbers.  The number of NFL games in a year is 256, i.e. 16 (the number of games played by each team) times 16 (32 NFL teams with two teams playing in each game).  The overall record each year in the NFL is 128 wins and 128 losses.  Note: There was one tie this past year, so call the record 127-127-2.  So … when the Tennessee Titans went 13-3, somebody had to absorb those 10 losses to even out the slate.  Same goes for every other team posting a winning record.

In the NBA the numbers are 82 games played by 30 teams or an overall record of 615-615.  Currently, the Lakers, Celtics, Magic and Cavs are a combined 102 games over .500 and the season just passed the halfway point!  Can you start to understand now why seven of the 30 NBA head coaches have been fired already?  With rumors of possible changes in Detroit, Phoenix, New Jersey and, naturally, the Clippers?     

Former head man for the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks, Jeff Van Gundy, a very cerebral commentator, coach, individual (and being smart in one area does not necessarily mean you automatically qualify in the others) evaluated the current situation of the NBA coach’s life expectancy.  “Unless your name is Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Jerry Sloan or Doc Rivers, if you lose three games in a row, you’re instantly on the hot seat.”  And, until last season, Doc’s seat was mighty warm.

If changing coaches can increase a team’s value, consider it done. Your fans will not put up with excessive losses.  Season-ticket renewals aren’t so easy in today’s economy. 

Yet, while fans must be placated, the people directly involved don’t want to come off as heartless.  Fishing reels aren’t spun as much as press conferences after a coach is let go.  Listen to a portion of the press conference when Tampa Bay fired Jon Gruden (who, although he was the coach when the Bucs won a Super Bowl, it was just too long ago).  “These decisions are never easy. This is the toughest decision you can make for an NFL franchise.  Jon (is a) consummate professional.  (He’s) poured (his) heart and soul into this franchise,” Buccaneers co-chairman Joel Glazer said. “It’s really been an honor to work with (him).”  Or this from the most recently deposed coach: “This was not an easy decision,” the KC’s boss, Clark Hunt, said. “Herm is an outstanding football coach and a man of integrity.”  Other terms of endearment are lines like: “____ is a great human being and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.  We just decided we needed to go in a different direction” (why didn’t they just give this wonderful humanitarian a compass)?  Or the ever popular, “We felt like we needed a different voice.”  Perfect, hire a ventriloquist - or, better yet, Rich Little.  Who has more voices than Rich?  Anytime a different voice is needed, bingo.  Talk about job security.

One item that’s never mentioned is the nice parting gift the outgoing coach receives.  Even if he only has one year left on his contract, like Herm Edwards, it’s usually for what his is - the last year of a 4-year, $12 million deal.  Herm ought to be able to make ends meet for a while - as long as he doesn’t run into a Bernie Madoff protege.

One thing I’ve never understood is coaching is one job where there are an overabundance of applicants (and with the law of averages being what it is, many of them must be highly capable), all of whom like money, but most of whom (the highly competent ones included) would take the position for a fraction of what teams are currently paying.  Sure, no one’s going to get a Bill Cowher at a bargain price, but it doesn’t seem like Mike Tomlin’s doing such a bad job in his absence (at about half the price).  I have no knowledge of this, but I’m pretty certain he would have taken the job for less (than the 4-year, $10 million he’s making).  He obviously (now) was the perfect fit and I’d be willing to bet he knew that - and only needed the opportunity.  Should the Steelers win the whole enchilada, he’ll be in for a new deal and a (BIG) raise.

My strong feeling is that coaches and players (although the union would be up in arms should it even be suggested) ought to be paid based on only two elements: wins and paid attendance.  No other stats will do because players will find ways to pad them (remember Dennis Rodman missing easy shots so he could get another rebound before he scored or the stories of him stealing rebounds from teammates just to up his total number of boards)?

Teams shouldn’t fear the untested coach.  Just make sure the proper research on him is done.  What he lacks in experience, he’ll more than make up for in enthusiasm, work ethic and energy.  “But the players won’t respect a guy who’s not making a ton of money,” the skeptics will cry.  Do you really think there’s a whole lot of respect right now?  Especially on these teams who are making coaching changes?  As former Princeton coach Pete Carril used to say everytime he’d hear the players complaining their coach’s firing was unjustified, that it was them on the floor and that they loved the guy, “If they really felt that way, they should have been playing harder for him during the season.”

It might be a giant risk, but what you’re doing now ain’t working, so as the saying goes:

“Don’t have your goal: to get to death safely.”  �

With the conclusion of, arguably, the most historic day in the 200+ years of the United States, it’s now time to get down to business - the business of repairing the psyche of the country.  The economy is at an all-time low (as far as the living are concerned), so abysmal that, although I haven’t conducted a formal poll, there’s no one I know nor have spoken with, who hasn’t taken a severe (up to 40%, for some even more of their net worth) hit.  That’s not to say everyone I know is suffering financially, in fact, some are even flourishing, but more people than not - a whole lot more people than not - are hurtin’  - and hurtin’ real bad. 

Next (and I say “next” only because everything pales in comparison to the economy) we have the situations (wars) in Irag and Afghanistan.  Should we stay, leave, or intensify our efforts?  On this topic, few people are ambivalent.  Some feel war is an inhuman act and should be avoided at all costs; others have a more practical understanding of history, i.e. that occasionally war is a necssary evil and in the cases of these two wars, our presence is not only vital, but we’re accomplishing what we set out to do.

September 11 will never be erased from anyone’s mind who lived through it and what the administration is doing to protect us here at home is also of paramount importance to this new regime, so add that time worthy topic to the discussion.

Since my career has been in the field of education, I would hope, rather than the lip service education’s been receiving for(ever) so many years, that now would be a time, although, naturally, money is scarce, to give actual assistance to the world of education.  I’ve heard, mainly from my friends in business that “The Business of America is Business.”  Well, considering the mess we’re in now, due, granted to a small minority of sleazebag businessmen (led by Bernie “A Billion Isn’t Enough, I Need Fifty” Madoff), that slogan can be amended to “The Downfall of America is Business.”

By helping education, it would be wise to have people pass laws only after hearing from those who have actually spent time teaching in a classroom.  This would eliminate the Pollyanna-ish, and completely unrealistic, No Child Left Behind Act.  As a dedicated, lifelong teacher I know said, “We don’t leave anyone behind.  Some just choose to stay.”  Spoken like a person who’s been in the “battlefield.”  While I’m on the subject of absolute absurdities, let me touch on the latest plan destined to fail - that of forcing every student to complete Algebra I in the eighth grade.  I’ve taught Algebra I in the ninth grade for nine years (two of them from 1970-72 and the remaining seven from 2002-2009).  There were ninth graders who couldn’t handle the subject matter then and there are ninth graders who can’t handle it now.  Whoever came up with this idea must be in administration because it has administrator written all over it.  If once these coffee drinking, non-teaching bureaucrats would spend one hour trying to teach a freshman Algebra I class, this proposal would be scrapped as quickly as requiring restaurants to reverse their no smoking policy.  Unless and until Ron Clark and Jaime Escalante are ready to teach every eighth grade Algebra I class in the nation, throw this plan in the garbage and talk about more important educational necessities - like anything.  

Something the U.S. is not lacking is a plethora of brilliant minds - in all of the problem areas mentioned above.  It does seem as though President Obama has surrounded himself with an impressive mastermind group of people with wisdom, and while their intelligence is unquestioned, let’s hope their imagination is in as abundant supply because as Albert Einstein once said:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.  Memory is past.  It is finite.  Vision is future.  It is infinite.”