(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) 
April
30, 2004 - "He died
loving what he was doing, with those he loved and
respected." Ronald R. Griffin, writing in the Wall
Street Journal about his son, 20-year-old Kyle Griffin,
killed in action in Iraq
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A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Nike Kinnick grew up in the small town
of Adel, Iowa, just west of Des Moines. His grandfather was
a governor of Iowa. He played his senior season of high
school ball in Omaha, Nebraska, but he returned to Iowa to
enroll at the University of Iowa. By the time he was done
there, he would be the most celebrated athlete in Iowa
history. And shortly after that, he would become perhaps the
best-known American athlete to die in the service of his
country, a symbol of America's finest gone to war.
He was a pretty good high school baseball player, good enough to play catcher on a Van Meter, Iowa American Legion team whose pitcher was a fellow named Bob Feller.
At Iowa, as a football player, he was the standout on a 1939 Hawkeye team that rebounded from two disastrous losing seasons to go 6-1-1, losing only to Michigan in the third game of the season. Using no more than 16 men in most games, the "Iron Men" of Coach Eddie Anderson stunned the football word with consecutive upsets of Notre Dame and Minnesota. He himself played every minute in six of those games, and was on the field for 402 minutes out of the 480 possible.
He was a great runner, passer and punter, and one of the last of the great drop-kickers (an art made obsolete by the streamlining of the ball in order to make it easier to pass). Of the 130 points that Iowa scored in the 1939 season, he was involved as runner, passer, receiver or kicker in 107 of them. As either a runner or passer, he was involved in 16 of Iowa's 19 touchdowns.
He lettered in football all three years that he was eligible, and lettered in basketball his junior year.
He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy, but he also won the Maxwell Award the Walter Camp Award - every bit as prestigious then as the Heisman - and was named the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player. He led the balloting for the College All-Star team. And he was named America's Athlete of the Year, ahead of such greats as Joe DiMaggio and Joe Louis.
He was the epitome of the scholar-athlete, a Phi Beta Kappa (the college version of National Honor Society) and President of his senior class at Iowa. He enrolled in the University of Iowa Law School, but at the outset of war, he enlisted in the Navy.
On June 2, 1943, just three years after graduation, the fighter plane he was flying failed to land on an aircraft carrier and crashed in the Caribbean Sea, killing him. He was just 24.
In 1972, Iowa's stadium was named Kinnick Stadium in his honor.
Correctly identifying Nile Kinnick: John Muckian- Lynn Massachusetts ("That is an American Icon and Hero ! Nile Kinnick ,very fitting this week.")... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa ("The great Nile Kinnick. Along with the Sullivan brothers of the Juneau, one of the stories of tragedy and sacrifice during WWII that captured the imagination of the nation.")... Adam Wesoloski- Pulaski, Wisconsin... Bill Nelson ("Way too easy for us Iowa guys")... Brad Knight - Holstein, Iowa ("didn't even have to read it...picture gave it away")... Steve Staker - Fredericksburg, Iowa ("What an awesome individual and role model for everyone. If you get a chance to read his bio it is well worth it. Pat Tillman comes to mind as well.")... Christopher Anderson- Cambridge, Massachusetts ("What a stud")... Joe Gutilla- Minneapolis ("Men like Kinnick and Pat Tillman are TRUE American heroes. The amount of respect I have for the two of those gentlemen cannot be measured or described. All Americans should be forever in their debt for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom.")... John Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... Joe Daniels- Sacramento... John Grimsley- Gaithersburg, Maryland ( "I remember watching the show on ESPN Classic about him, from what I have seen and read he was the poster boy for being an All-American boy, just did everything right it seems.")... John Reardon- Peru, Illinois...
*********** Nile Kinnick took the train to Chicago, then flew from there to New York to attend the Heisman Trophy presentation. His good friend and teammate Jim Hoak, who along with Coach Eddie Anderson accompanied him to New York, swears he composed the better part of his acceptance speech on the back of his airline ticket. Hoak remembered Kinnick handing the outline to him and saying, "What do you think?"
Said Hoak, "Sounds all right to me."
Yeah, it was all right. All it did was set a standard which will probably never again be met.
Europe was already at war. Recalled Hoak 60 years later, "Nile and I knew that war may be coming. We weren't there yet, but we thought we were going to be involved in a war in some manner."
When called on to make his acceptance speech, Kinnick stood up and, said Hoak, his speech outlined on "a piece of paper no bigger than a business card," began to speak from the heart.
After giving credit to his coaches and teammates, and after thanking the selectors and the Heisman Committee and the Downtown Athletic Club, he concluded by giving thanks for the fact that with much of the world at war, he was an American boy who was lucky enough to be able to play the game of football while other boys were dying...
"If you will permit me, I'd like to make a comment which in my mind is indicative, perhaps, of the greater significance of football, and sports emphasis in general in this country, and that is, I thank God I was warring on the gridirons of the Midwest, and not on the battlefields of Europe. I can speak confidently and positively that the players of this country, would much more, much rather struggle and fight to win the Heisman award, than the Croix de Guerre."
*********** When I spent a summer at UI, I got to go in Kinnick stadium. It's not big, but the stands are so vertical it makes the field feel surrounded by fans. (Compared to Michigan Stadium, which is large but creates an illusion of a flat bowl.)
I want to say there's a bronze statue of Kinnick in his plane in one corner of the stadium. I heard a someone say "he could have been president had he lived." Maybe fellow airman Tom Harmon could have been his running mate (no pun intended). Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts
*********** Coach, During our summer training sessions I always make the kids nominate "Best Americans". That continues all summer until we have a nice sized list. By the end of the first week they all know about Nile Kinnick. I'm proud to call myself an Omahanian, or Omahite or whatever because of him. In fact, I played all my HS games at Nile Kinnick Field.
(Funny story, or it could be sad... Two summers ago a kid nominated Ichiro as a Great American!) Sam Knopik, Kansas City
*********** Mark Kaczmarek, who coaches in East Moline, Illinois, but lives across the Mississippi in Iowa, writes, regarding Nile Kinnick, "Speaking of sacrifice, it seems that Iowa, with its small population, has been experiencing a disproportionate call up rate. Something that I may have to investigate."
If that is true, there are lots of factors, I'm sure, are behind it. The first thing to be mentioned will be the decline of family farming, and the resultant loss of opportunities. But every bit as much of a factor, I think, is the fact that kids raised on farms grow up with a sense of responsibility, of being part of a team, of doing your share. And even as farming declines, those values will take a while to die out. HW
*********** I am in awe of few people, but I am in awe of David Maraniss.
As author of "When Pride Still Mattered," the definitive biography of Vince Lombardi, David is a great friend of football coaches, and as author of "They Marched Into Sunlight," his story of the War and Peace in the Vietnam Era, he is also a great friend of the Black Lions.
David also serves as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Black Lion Award.
With all his many honors and his busy schedule, David is a great guy, too.
Now, David and his wife, Linda, are going through some difficult times, as Linda recovers from cancer surgery at their home in Washington, DC.
If if you are able to say a prayer for David and Linda, I wish you'd do so, and if you would like to send them an e-mail message, you may send it to me (coachwyatt@aol.com) and I'll forward it to them.
*********** Great "News" as usual. It is so refreshing to actually discuss issues with someone who sees things the way they really are. I could not believe ESPN on draft day actually being critical of the Chargers for taking Manning. What a joke. Yeah, let's let all of the spoiled brats out there run the league. I absolutely agree with you that both Rivers and Roethlisberger could turn out to be better players.
Manning is a very marginal athlete (by his own admission) and he certainly does not have the fire that his brother brings to the game. I for one hope that the Giants regret that day for a very long time.
As a Steeler fan, I am quite pleased with the selection of Roethlisberger. He has all of the tools. When asked by Dan Patrick if he expects to start for the Steelers his reply was "I just want to do what is best for the team."
Dan pressed him and stated that both Manning and Rivers said that, as competitors, they expect to start. Roethlisberger would not bite. He responded, "If starting is going to make us a better ballclub, then so be it. Tommy Maddox is a veteran quarterback who I hope to learn a lot from. I am going to enjoy the experience of playing football and obviously try my best to start. The rest is up to the coaches." I am very happy for the young man and hope that the Steelers are a good fit for him.
Thank you so much for addressing the Pat Tillman situation. In my eyes he represents everything that is good about America. It is sad that there are so few like him left. As you know, I recently returned from a year-long deployment to Iraq. The American soldier is doing amazing things over there. Regardless of background, the sacrifices being made by these brave young men is incredible. As a leader of troops, I regrettably must confess that I never really appreciated all that they do until we were decisively engaged by the enemy. The battlefield is unpredictable and many times not conducive to the training that our soldiers have had - everyone is an infantryman over there.
I know that Tillman did not see himself as special. It is true that everyone that serves makes some sort of sacrifice. To do what he did, given his situation, is a testament to the kind of man that he was. What a hero. I have taken the opportunity to really discuss the issue with my six-year-old son. In our home, Pat Tillman will be remembered forever. I hope that the NFL does something really meaningful for him and not just as a PR gimmick. Tillman would probably not want to get any special attention but we have an opportunity to use his sacrifice to really teach our kids about selflessness and what constitutes a hero. There really aren't too many of them left out there. My Troop lost a couple of men over there and a couple of our guys are now getting around with prosthetic devices. I know first-hand what these guys have gone through and I will take every opportunity for the rest of my life to make people aware of what they did.
I am really looking forward to the Denver Clinic Saturday. Thanks for all that you do.
Very Respectfully, Glen T. Page, Colorado Springs, Colorado
*********** This was in Dave Kindred's column in USA Today, written in August, 2002, shortly after Pat Tillman announced his desire to become a Ranger:
Tillman wants to be a Ranger, one of the Army's elite, high-risk, special-operations infantrymen.It'll be a year before Tillman can apply for Ranger school, with its physical and psychological tests so demanding that some candidates - sleep-deprived and disoriented in swamps and mountains - come to believe that the trees speak to them.
"Even the toughest guys fold," says James E. Shelton, a retired Army general. "But Tillman's some kind of guy. I don't think he'll fold."
That was our General James E. (Jim) Shelton - the man who personally signs every Black Lion Award certificate.
Jim wrote to me the other day, "I put Pat Tillman right up there with Ray Neal Gribble. Those kind of guys give real meaning to the real purpose of our existence. They met their Creator's purpose."
***********You want to get your blood boiling? Go to http://portland.indymedia.org, a screwball leftist site called Portland Indymedia
Since you couldn't possibly read everything on there without wanting to declare war against them, I will bring just one letter to your attention.
DUMB JOCK KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN (That was the actual headline; while it reveals the writer's anti-jock bias, it does conveniently overlook the fact that as I understand it, Sgt. Tillman graduated from Arizona State with a 3.8 GPA - in 3-1/3 years)Excerpts:
If you think fighting for the Bush gang, their PATRIOT Act and everything else they stand for his is helping defend democracy and freedom, then I pity you.
Tillman chose to go to Afghanistan. He's partially responsible for the deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands of Afghan civilians. No need to feel sorry for him, other than feeling bad that he was brainwashed into serving as a grunt.
Interesting how another poster said going to Afghanistan in a crusade to kill people is the "Christian" thing to do. An extremely high percentage of white Judeo-Christians are violent and condone killing.
more...
If you visit any mainstream sports forum, you'll see over 90% of the posts about the issue are patriotic nonsense. They want to avenge Tillman by killing even more people worldwide. On the rare occasion someone makes an intelligent point, e.g. his death was avoidable because we should have brought the troops home a long time ago, the intelligent posters get flamed to oblivion by bloodthirsty chicken hawk "patriots".
The USA will never completely control Afghanistan. Just like the Brits, Soviets, and other countries, the USA is guaranteed to lose.
and more...
Were the Nazis heroes? Didn't they also die for what they thought was right? Haven't we all learned by now that *everyone* is doing what they think is right. The question is, what can be observed about their actions. Fighting in Iraq or in Afghanistan means you're fighting for the wealth and power of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, et al. We now have pipelines being built across both countries. Was that worth dying for? Does dying for pipelines make one a hero? Conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq are worse than before the invasions. In Afghanistan the Northern Alliance is (supposedly) in power, which is composed of some factions that make the Taliban's record on human rights look near respectable. In Iraq soldiers are dying daily because the Iraqi people refuse to become an occupied nation, a US colony. That is not going to stop, ever. We've learned that lesson time and time again. Wherever you find colonialism, you will find resistance. History has taught that the resistance always wins except in cases of undeterred genocide (such as the genocide of the Native Americans).
To be honest I wish I could feel sorry for the guy, but the truth is I really feel nothing at all. To many have died and too much money has flowed into the pockets of Dick Cheney to even worry about it. Either people will wake up, or they'll continue to waste their lives and the lives of others for the profits of a privileged few. How long will we have to wait for people to embrace a proper remembrance of all the lives that have been lost in the past years?
still more...
Pat Tillman: Hero or Wasted Life?
An argument against the continual depiction of American soldiers as "heroes" by the corporate media, when they are engaged in illegal, immoral wars for fallacious reasons, especially wars that leave a radioactive legacy of cancers and deformed children like the present wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
There is no doubt about the bravery of Pat Tillman or his idealism in resigning from a lucrative career in the National Football League after 9-11 to, as he perceived the situation, protect America and fight the terrorists responsible for this spectacular, deadly attack on American soil. However, soldiers all through history have exhibited great courage in combat, although often fighting for mistaken, spurious reasons or even against their own best interests. I know there were many German soldiers in World War 2 who were fervent believers in fascism and willingly sacrificed themselves for an ideology which cost tens of millions of lives, lead to the death camps and devastated the continent of Europe. The same could be said of Japan's kamikaze pilots. Their sacrifice was exceedingly brave, but was their emperor really that close to God. The German and Japanese media certainly attempted to make heroes of these men. There were many true believers among the Protestants and Catholics who fought one another in the bloody Thirty Years War and exterminated about sixty percent of the population of northern Europe. Naturally, the kings and nobles had their own economic and political interests in these religious wars. Are all these people heroes simply because they were courageous in battle or possessed an ardent belief in their mission or ideology?
Pat Tillman obviously didn't realize that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were planned long before 9-11 occurred and both were intimately connected to US control of oil reserves, rather than to any so-called war on terrorism. He was probably oblivious to the fact that terrorism has been used before in history as an excuse for wars of aggression, perpetrated for other reasons. Hitler used the excuses of communist terrorism and terrorism against Germans for his annexations of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Ronald Reagan had his own war against terrorism in Central America in order to defeat socialist revolutions there, which were a threat to the capitalist system. Our own American revolutionaries were considered to be terrorists by the British. Using fear as a means of manipulation and control is nothing new.
Therefore, Pat Tillman was not defending the American people, as he imagined, but by participating in a war against the innocent people of Afghanistan and Iraq was actually increasing the anger and resentment towards the United States and raising the probability of another terrorist attack on the US mainland, rather than diminishing such a probability. He may just as well have worn the company logos of Chevron-Texaco and Exxon-Mobil on his uniform as the US flag because this is who he really was fighting for, as well as the weapons manufacturers and companies like Halliburton and Bechtel. 9-11 was the fear-inspiring event that George W. Bush cynically utilized to pursue his real agenda of corporate domination and profiteering.
In my opinion, the real heroes are people like Ron Kovic, Stan Goff and other veterans who have taken the time and effort to discover the truth about recent wars and the nature of imperialism. They are willing to oppose US interventions in other countries and suffer the ridicule and disapprobation of American society for challenging some of its most cherished myths-myths like the continuous glorification of war and the supposition that American troops always fight for noble goals like freedom and democracy. They also attempt to educate military personnel and that is essential in stopping this scourge of war. People are heroes for fighting against the real ills afflicting humanity like slavery, racism, oppression and injustice, not for fighting for myths created by a ruling class intent on wars for their own benefit. That is simply a wasted life.
The glaring hypocrisy of the US corporate media in its hero worship is easily illustrated by the Spanish Civil War. American soldiers, such as those in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, fought fascism in Spain and the troops and modern weapons of Hitler and Mussolini years before World War 2 started. They exhibited extraordinary courage in fighting tanks and airplanes with small arms and outdated artillery. Were these brave American soldiers of the "greatest American generation" called heroes in the US corporate media? No, they were either ignored or labeled "premature antifascists." Some were even hounded by the FBI for years after World War 2 and lost job after job for being leftists. Every American knows about the heroes of the Normandy landing on D-day, but ask an average American if they have ever heard of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Obviously, the criteria for who is deemed worthy of being depicted as a hero by the US corporate media are determined purely on economic and political motivations and not on actual courage or sacrifice, as the corporate media so pompously pretend.
I knew the instant I learned that Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan that the corporate media were going to make a propaganda extravaganza out of his death, lasting days, if not weeks. After all, MSNBC calls every American soldier killed in Iraq a "hero" and has a whole wall dedicated to them with photos of the deceased soldiers. From time to time the hosts relate little stories about these soldiers' lives to their audience. No mention is given to poisonous effects of the US military's use of depleted uranium on the health of other potential "heroes." Little emphasis is placed on Iraqi casualties or the great suffering and misery of the Iraqi people. Neither the Pentagon nor the corporate media keep an accounting of the Iraqi dead and wounded. Of course, the insinuation here is that only American lives matter and the Iraqis are subhuman, much as Goebbels depicted the Jews and Slavs.
It has been my perception from watching war after war involving the United States that the corporate media always attempt to glorify each and every war and build public support for it, no matter how ridiculous the justifications for the war or how illegal, immoral and destructive the war happens to be. That glorification is probably the greatest evil perpetrated by the US corporate media and very dangerous to humanity's survival in an age of nuclear weapons. However, it is understandable, when one considers many of these media corporations are owned by weapons manufacturers.
I think of the human slime that would dare try to debase Pat Tillman and what he represents, and anger nearly gets the best of me; I consider asking the Lord if He'll please give me a couple of hours' advance notice when it's my time to go, so I can take a few of them with me. These people are not Americans. They are not us. Yes, they live among us, and they live off of us, enjoying our country's liberties and plenty, but they are not really of us. They are not really citizens of our country, and if pressed on the issue, they would agree. They see themselves as citizens of the world, and they would readily yield our sovereignty to the United Nations. Being American means nothing to them. They hate America, but they hide behind its freedoms. They grudgingly accept citizenship in our country as a necessary condition for continuing to leech off the productivity and courage of those who pay taxes and defend it, the very people they incessantly criticize and condemn. BY now, you know their sorryass routine: 9-11 was planned, everything is done to make Bush and Cheney and their oil buddies even richer, and Bush is der Führer. They claim that they are "fighters," too - that they "fight" for what they believe in. But their "fight" always takes the form of an attack on the rights and property of others, and on the authority charged with upholding those rights, and when they encounter resistance from that authority, they immediately stop the fighting and start the whining and wailing, throwing themselves on the tender mercies of our highly-forgiving legal system. And the very capitalistic society that they rail against comes up with the money for their legal defense. It's easy to dismiss these people as just a bunch of misfits - spoiled, welfare-supported, out-of-work-by-choice half-ass community college "students" who enjoy hugging trees and blocking streets and carrying signs in the protest march du jour. They take themselves so seriously that they're always good for a laugh. But don't kid yourselves. They are not harmless twits. They are anarchists, answerable to no higher power, and they and the people who subsidize and defend them are a far greater threat to us than Al Qaeda. They are The Enemy Within, and they are shredding the very fabric of our culture.
THE ENEMY WITHIN...
*********** Surprise! The NEA - that would be the National "Education" Association, the teachers' union, you know - the one that donates its members' money exclusively to Democratic candidates and never saw a leftist cause it wouldn't finance - was a co-sponsor of last Sunday's Death to Fetuses Rally in Washington.
This is the organization that claims to speak for all teachers, and, thanks to its power over the Democratic Party, drives so much of the public education agenda. (And you wonder why there is a substantial part of the population that despises and distrusts public education and is growing increasingly reluctant to fund it.)
Anybody hear those strident witches, Hillary Rodham and Susan Sarandon and the like, "addressing" the rally? Did you hear them shreiking? Anybody hear the one who shouted, "GET OUTTA MY UTERUS!!!"
Glad to, Ma'am. Sorry.
But as one who was shaken down over the years for thousands of dollars in NEA union dues in order to keep my job - dollars that went for causes such as the Washington Rally - I wonder when those of you who are still teaching will rise up and say "GET OUTTA MY WALLET!!!!"
THE ENEMY WITHIN...
*********** Washington congressman Baghdad Jim McDermott, so-named because a while back he took a trip to Iraq - paid for, we later learned, by a business associate of Saddam - and went on TV to tell anyone who would listen that Saddam was more to be trusted than George W. Bush, was one of only seven members of Congress voting against a House resolution condemning last year's federal court ruling that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools in unconstitutional.
Tuesday, the lefty from Seattle stood up and led his fellow members of Congress in reciting the Pledge but he left out the words "Under God."
But then, fearless leftist that he is, do you think he said he did it as a matter of principle?
Hell, no. Instead, he lied. (Isn't that what he and other members of his ilk say that George W. Bush does?) Well, actually, he didn't. He had a spokesman - on the public payroll - lie for him. The spokesman said that Mr. McDermott got confused. See, the congressman is 67 years old, and he grew up saying it the old way (without "Under God", which was added in 1954), and then, with that court ruling which is now under review by the Supreme Court, he wasn't sure what to say.
Hey Jimbo - I'm about your age, and I made the switch back in 1954, and after a couple of weeks of practice, I haven't had any trouble saying it since. You should try saying it more often. With meaning.
I suspect that his problem is simply that he doesn't say it enough. Our version, that is. For him, the Pledge of Allegiance goes, "I Pledge Allegiance to the United Nations."
************ My daughter is getting confirmed this week. My wife and I decided on an appropriate present. (This was mainly Aileen's idea - although she didn't have to twist my arm any for my agreement.) Since my daughter has expressed an interest in attending the US Military Academy at West Point, I bought 4 tickets to the Army vs. Air Force game this season. I look forward to seeing the game. I'm hopeful that one of Army's softball players may be able to show my daughter around and answer her questions. Regards, Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois (I applaud you. You know, Keith, I'm beginning to think that as long as we are going to be a matriarchal society - as we surely are - our continued existence is going to depend on our ability to develop women with the "Stones" to defend our values and our culture and raise our men to be men. Our problem is not women - it is shrill, overly-feminized women and the metrosexual men (those sensitive Howard Dean types who are into exfoliation and pedicures and getting in touch with their "inner female") who secretly wish they were women. HW)
*********** Coach again you hit the Ball out of the Park on the Pat Tillman/NFL commentary, Pat Tillman like Nile Kinnick will be immortalized as a TRUE American hero,and For the good and positive side of this tragedy he is now the face and spirit for the thousands of soldiers who are serving this country with Honor,in the Middle East and World Wide. It will be interesting to see how the NFL handles this situation in honoring a hero like Pat Tillman ,but we must remember, this is a League along with its commercial partners ( Nike,Reebok,National television Networks,etc,etc) that has the Balls to present the likes of Randy Moss,Ray Lewis,and other questionable characters as True "Warriors" and "Heroes" and I hope along with their disastrous Half-time Super Bowl Show,and The Pat Tillman story this League will tone things down a notch and get a dose of reality - see ya Friday John Muckian, Lynn, Massachusetts
*********** Coach Wyatt- I thought I would let you know that I was offered the defensive coordinator's job at Coe College and accepted. I will retire from the high school ranks, draw my monthly retirement income and begin coaching football at the D-III level. It will be a full time job including recruiting coordinator and assigning work study jobs to the athletes. I am really excited and looking forward to this opportunity. The head coach at Coe played his College football for his uncle at Mt Union College in Alliance, Ohio. Therefore the KoHawks base their philosophy both offensively and defensively after the Purple Raiders. You can't argue with success. They have a few national championships under their belt. I will begin July 1st. Any words of wisdom will always be appreciated. Steve Staker, Fredericksburg, Iowa
This is very exciting news, and I am very happy for Coach Staker, a legend at Fredericksburg High School. Coe College is getting a great coach and a great man, and Coach Staker is getting a unique chance to "start all over," something we rarely get to do in such a fashion.
I don't know what "words of wisdom" I can offer Coach Staker, but I'm flattered that he might think I'd have some. Perhaps we can help steer a young man or two to Coe College (Marv Levy's alma mater, by the way.)
Certainly, if Steve Staker is willing to cast his lot with the coach and the school, it is the kind of place I'd have no reservations about sending a boy to.
*********** Wonder if those Rangers scaling the cliffs of Normandy, or those Marines on Iwo Jima, had any idea that THIS is what they were fighting for...
The Supreme Court came out FOR male-to-male sodomy but AGAINST saying grace before meals at VMI.
*********** Today being the day that the alleged true story about golfer Bobby Jones, "Stroke of Genius", opens, I am compelled to say that based on the countless promos I have seen, they would have to drug me, then drag me, to the theatre, and then duct-tape me to my seat to get me to sit through another one of those shows full of phony southern accents, southerners talking the way Hollywood thinks they're supposed to talk. (In terms of authentic southernness, "Stroke of Genius" sounds a lot like "The Return of The Junction Boys".)
*********** A New York legislator has proposed a bill requiring makers of camera/phones to build in a light or a beeper or both to indicate to others when the camera is working. Naturally, the greedy f--kers who make the devices are up in arms, because it would cost them to have to add the features. Now ain't that a shame? Like the world really needs another cell phone anyhow, much less one that doubles as a camera..
*********** A Louisiana lawmaker wants the public display of underwear (we talkin' saggin') to be considered indecent exposure.
*********** "Interesting example of sportsmanship from (of all places) international soccer. Sol Campbell played for Tottenham Hotspur for years before shifting to archrival Arsenal. Last Sunday Arsenal won the English Premiership title on Tottenham's home ground, but Campbell didn't join the on-field celebrations. He felt it would have been rubbing it in to the Tottenham fans who supported him for many years." Ed Wyatt, Melbourne, Australia
THE
DETROIT CLINIC is somewhat bittersweet, ever since Bill
Livingstone left us a little over a year ago. Bill was one
of the earlier converts to the Double Wing, and with it he
took his Troy Cowboys to the Detroit area Super Bowl title.
Bill devoted much of his life - 30 of his 64 years - to
coaching youngsters. That he did so successfully is attested
to by his 212 wins in 240 games, and his 19
championships.
"He wasn't just a coach," said Jackie Cage, general manager of the Cowboys' organization. "The kids absolutely loved him. He cared about all the kids. Kids came first."
Said assistant Tom Schwartz, "He was like a magnet to the kids. They really drew to him."
Bill was also a Marine, a man who loved and served his country, and when he was proposed as a posthumous winner of the Black Lion Award - meant to be given to a player - the members of the board unanimously agreed that Bill Livingstone was highly deserving. In the photo at left, Bill's son, Dave Livingstone, who assisted his dad and now has succeeded him, holds the impressive plaque which was presented to Bill's widow, Jan, at the Troy Cowboys' banquet.
A surprise visitor to the Detroit clinic was one of the earliest of all Double-Wingers. Mike Schlosser was at Mechanicsburg, Ohio High School when he first saw my original article in "Scholastic Coach" magazine, and decided to give the Double-Wing a shot. That was in 1996. He came to my first-ever clinic in the Spring of 1997 in Mount Vernon, Indiana, and since then he has coached the Double-Wing at Brookville and New Paris, Ohio.
He had big news - he'd just accepted a position as head coach at Miller High School, in Corning, Ohio. What excites him the most, he says, is Millers' great tradition.
Coach Schlosser is one of at least six Double-Wing coaches taking over new jobs this fall. The others are Jon McLaughlin, Crystal Lake, Illinois - Kevin Latham, Decatur, Georgia - Chris Davidson, LaPlata, Maryland - Greg Koenig, Colby, Kansas - Greg Meyers, Eagle Lake, Florida
*********** Hugh, In reference to the article of hiring a middle school or youth head coach over a high school assistant coach;
The head coach was said to be completely incompetent. But because he had a group of five great assistants, they were able to overcome his weaknesses and in the three years they were together, they were able to put three straight conference champs and sectional finalists on the field.
Here again is a perfect example of a young coach that thinks coaching is all about Xs and Os. It sounds like the previous coach was successful because he was a good manager and was able to coordinate and delegate responsibility until his assistants got jealous over the distribution of credit.(?) It sounds to me as though he must have been a pretty good coach because he knew how to do the most important thing in the coaching profession:
Be A Manager. A good assistant should be running his department of the "business" with as much or more knowledge than the coach or owner. If he thinks he knows more or can do the job better, then he should either get his own "business" or move to another company. I have never seen a winning program built on jealousy. Who was it that once said, " We can accomplish anything as long as we don't care who gets the credit?"
I don't think Jack Welch knew how to build a jet engine. However, he was one of our country's most respected managers while coaching at "GE." How about Red Blake or Allie Sherman? Who were their assistants?
Do not underestimate the ability of youth coaches when it comes to knowledge or the teaching of football. Especially if he is a good manager of people and does not care who gets the credit.
Frank Simonsen, Cape May, New Jersey
*********** Think they miss the NFL in LA? Think again...
We know bumper-to-bumper traffic. We know how it feels to sit behind the steering wheel staring at a billboard that seems to be moving faster than our car. We know how to make a pit stop, although, out here, we call it the drive-through window at In-N-Out.Welcome to NASCAR country.
That's right, here, us, Los Angeles.
According to statistics compiled by Nielsen Media Research, Los Angeles is the No. 2 NASCAR television market in the country, behind only Atlanta. And we're climbing. Through the first seven races of the 2004 Nextel Cup Series, television viewership across the country was up 2%. But in Los Angeles, the average network rating was up 17%.
This shouldn't come as a total surprise. After years of going around in circles with the NFL - here they come, down the track, and, oh, there they go, turning left and out of view again - it figures we might develop a taste for this sort of thing.
Two more statistics that pretty much assess the state of the Los Angeles sports scene:
In 1994, Los Angeles had two NFL teams.
In 2004, Los Angeles has two Nextel Cup races.
Mike Penner - Los Angeles Times
*********** So the BCS people finally try to do something to improve their messed-up selection process and they get their efforts slammed back in their faces.
Acknowledging that a major part of the problem has been an overreliance on computer-generated ratings, the BCS folks would like to depend more on the Associated Press Poll.
Only one problem - one BIG problem. The AP it itself heavily biased. The AP comes out with a pre-season poll, and from that point, if you are selected high in that poll, you will remain at the top unless you stumble big. And even when you do tumble, you drop just a few spots. You're still ahead of the poor schmoes who started out below you. Conversely, if you are, say, Miami of Ohio, even if you are highly thought-of, your second-class status as a member of the MAC means you will start out somewhere down around #22, and no matter how well you play, you will never get to the top. There are simply too many teams ahead of you. A great season for you might get you as high as #10.
What to do? The BCS people asked the AP to hold off on their polling until after the fourth or fifth game.
The AP refused.
*********** 400 "elite" boys "travel" basketball teams from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will be in Houston this weekend, taking part in the "Kingwood Classic." It is a meat-market kind of deal, the sort of thing that sucks basketball players out of other sports and into year-round basketball play. Believe me - these kids aren't all there to play. According to the event director, "Every Division I program will be here, and most will send two coaches."
There's your problem. That's the recruiting hook that these "elite" team coaches use - "if you want to be seen, all the coaches will be there."
Time to reel in the college coaches.
"The
Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton,
subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the
Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available
through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois.
to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/
and click on "Publications and Products")
Or contact me if you'd like
to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give
you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General
Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now
serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All
profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions
and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of
the Black Lion Award).- I have my copy. It is
well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains
in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and
"Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all
those military terms, so that guys like you and me can
understand what they're talking about.
Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW
--- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS
SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003
"NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST"
inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois
BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM
THE BLACK LION AWARD
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He was christened Demosthenes
Konstandies Andrecopoulos, but everybody knew him as Dee
Andros. The long-time former coach and AD at Oregon State,
his hard-nosed brand of Power T Football (which happened to
be the name of a book he co-authored with Rowland "Red"
Smith) was well-suited to the type of athlete that came off
the farms and ranches and out of the logging and sawmill
towns of the Pacific Northwest.
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: In the photo, Bernie Bierman looks like
a kindly old school principal. Don't you believe it. He was
one tough son of a gun, who turned out fabulous teams that
were feared wherever they played.
A
LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Although he played in the 1930s and
1940s, Mel Hein is still considered to be one of the
greatest NFL centers of all time. It is important to note
that he never knew anything but the single-wing snap -
never had the luxury of making the T-formation snap - and
for much of his career he played both ways.