(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) 
December
30, 2003 - "Preach the Gospel always.
If necessary, use words." St. Francis of Assisi
- 2003 CLINIC NEWS & SCENES : CHICAGO - ATLANTA TWIN CITIES
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HOPE YOU HAD A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HOPE YOU'LL HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
THE "LEGACY" QUESTION WILL RETURN AFTER THE NEW YEAR
*********** I'm just one person, but the next time somebody says, "Happy Holidays!" to me, I'm all over them. I'm going to say, as nicely as I can, "You know, I personally find that offensive."
I'll bet if more of us would try that, we'd start hearing people say "Merry Christmas" once again.
(Isn't fear of offending a small minority the reason why so many of these wimps are afraid to say it?)
*********** It was tough enough making it through most of Saturday and all of Sunday with nothing but pro football - but then after all that waiting, to finally get a college game on the tube and have to watch Michigan State on offense was a dirty trick. Actually, it was like Chinese water torture. I liked the Spartans, but I must say I don't never object to seeing a pass-only team get its ass handed to it by a running team that can play a little defense. All in all, though, unless you're a Cornhusker - first boring bowl game I've seen.
*********** "You can't cheat the game... you can't cheat the fans." Well said, by Brian Billick, after his Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers had finished slugging it out in overtime. Someone had asked him why he left Jamal Lewis in to play the entire game, even though the Ravens had their playoff spot locked up.
Can't cheat the game, eh? Can't cheat the fans, eh? Well, what if you're the Denver Broncos? Then can you?
Did anybody except staunch Packers fans stay to the end of that abortion of a game between Denver and Green Bay? If you made it to the fourth quarter, you saw Denver give up a 97-yard run, then immediately fumble the following kickoff into the end zone, giving away a pair of Green Bay touchdowns within the space of 10 or 15 seconds.
"You can't cheat the game... you can't cheat the fans."
Bad enough that the people who buy season ticket packages are forced to pay for exhibition (sorry -"pre-season") games in which - if they're lucky - the big names may play a quarter or two. Now, they're getting jobbed at the end of the season - Denver, its playoff spot already determined, held Jake Plummer and Shannon Sharpe (and who knows who else) out of action Sunday. And put on a performance unworthy of a league that takes great pride in calling itself competitive.
"You can't cheat the game... you can't cheat the fans."
They wouldn't have dared pull that crap in Denver - the stands would have been empty by game's end. But they didn't mind doing it in Green Bay, whose fans don't mind seeing their Packers win, no matter who the opponent is. But overlooked is the fact that the Broncos' miserable performance could have had a bearing on the playoff chances of some other teams who needed a Green Bay loss.
"You can't cheat the game... you can't cheat the fans." So shouldn't the NFL fine Denver for cheating the game and cheating the fans?
*********** Several times during the Steelers-Ravens game, the guys at ESPN urged us to vote for this year's MVP. To help us with our decision, they limited our choices to Todd Brady, Priest Holmes, Jamal Lewis, Payton Manning and Steve McNair.
I guess that means I'll just have to cast a write-in vote for Ray Lewis. Because if I were putting an NFL team together, he'd be my first choice, hands down.
Putting his past problems aside and focusing on the football, there is simply no player in the NFL who has the impact on the game - or on his team and teammates - that Ray Lewis does. In addition to all his incredible talent, he is an old-time football player in the best sense of the word. He plays hard all the time and never takes a play off. And he demands the same of his teammates (they wouldn't dare do less). He is one of the few guys in today's NFL that I believe the old-timers - the Bednariks and Nitschkes and Schmidts and Butkuses and Huffs - would recognize as one of their own.
*********** Aaargh. I just had to watch "The Simple Life" to see what the hell all the fuss was about. For those of you who aren't aware, it's a so-called "Reality" show in which a couple of rich young city girls decide to have a little fun by going to the country and living with a farm family and doing farm chores and having some laughs at the expense of the local yokels.
I think it's set someplace in Iowa (see, TV people all think Iowa is synonymous with hopelessly square) and although I suppose there are people in New York and Los Angeles who identify with the girls and think what a horrible place it is for them to be stuck in, and how funny all these farm people are, there are probably plenty more like me who think the joke's on the girls, and recognize that when you stick a couple of pampered little princesses who've never had to do an honest hour's work out there among real people who have to work for a living you get a demonstration of why we need spanking more than ever.
Used to be, rich girls were well brought up, models of refinement and proper comportment, but jeez- what a couple of spoiled, coarse-behaving little bitches these two are.
Suggestion for any aspiring rappers out there - you lookin' for some bitches and ho's to slap around? I've got a couple of 'em on a farm in Iowa that you're welcome to practice on.
*********** Was Hawaii coach June Jones nuts or what? Leading Houston, 34-27 and in possession of the ball with under two minutes to play, he could have easily gotten out of there by staying on the ground and running straight ahead. But no... he had to pass. Incomplete. And then when Hawaii missed a field goal, Houston had enough time left to tie it up (it doesn't take a guy that long to go 80 yards) and send it into overtime.
*********** That was a nasty fight (or series of fights) that broke out after the Houston-Hawaii game, and although it's possible that no one will ever know what started it, I have my suspicions.
Bear in mind, that's all they are. But I looked at the replay on the PVR several times, and here's what I think I saw:
The game ended with a Houston receiver going out of bounds on the Hawaii sideline. As the jubilant Hawaii subs raced onto the field to celebrate, I swear I saw at least one of them go by a dejected Houston player and in passing, turn and look him in the face - probably to say something.
I'm guessing that it was not "Aloha."
I'm guessing that it was an "in your face" taunt. This is conduct typical of so many "winners" nowadays. It doesn't seem enough any more just to win, and let your performance speak for itself. You somehow have to get a little something extra out of it, letting the other guy know that you have not only beaten him, but you have also emasculated him. Something like the Scythians, cruel ancient warriors who would toast their victories by drinking wine from the skulls of their vanquished enemies.
With all the celebratory end zone dances of the pro buffoons, with guys displaying anger after scoring touchdowns, with all the idiot fans down on the field after games getting into the faces of opposing players and coaches, we are rapidly losing the ability to win with grace. We are confusing sport with war, and in the process we are becoming no better than Scythians.
*********** I heard some TV guys talking about Eagles' running back Brian Westbrook as the greatest thing ever to come out of Villanova - footballwise, anyhow. Somebody jumped on that one and said, oh-ho-ho - forgetting Howie Long, are we? Now, Howie Long may be the greatest ever to come out of Villanova, but before we concede second place to Brian Westbrook, a second-year pro, there's a guy named Mike Siani, a receiver who had a nice nine-year career with the Raiders and Colts, from 1972-1980. He was named to the Sporting News college All-American team in 1971, and was the Raiders' first-round pick in 1972. For his career, he caught 158 passes for 2618 yards (16.6 yards per catch) and 17 TDs. In 1973, he ranked ninth in the NFL in receiving yards, with 742 on 45 catches (16.5 yards per catch). And behind Mike Siani I would put Al Atkinson, who played nine years at linebacker for the Jets, from 1966 through 1974, and started in the Jets' win over the Colts in Super Bowl III. I'm sure there are more, but that's all I'm good for at the moment. Maybe there's a Villanova guy out there who can help.
*********** The Cal-Virginia Tech game, between two non-BCS teams neither of which would have made it into a playoff if there's been one, was a great college football game. True, it was decided by a field goal, which I hate, but bear in mind that Virginia Tech's kicker missed three field goals, and Cal's kicker, the one who made the game winner, had missed five in a row until that one. That's sort of the excitement you'd have if they'd adopt my suggested rule change, and make it illegal for any player to kick the ball in any way more than once per game.
*********** Quick question... USC has lost only to Cal - in double overtime. So now that Cal has beaten Virginia Tech... does USC get extra BCS points? What about Hawaii over Houston? What about Oregon State over New Mexico? Has anybody on LSU's "stronger" schedule done anything yet?
*********** I watched the entire Cal-Virginia Tech game and not once did I hear any mention of the fact that Cal receiver Burl Toler, who made several key catches, was the grandson and namesake of the great Burl Toler. Burl Toler's Legacy - May 13, 2003
*********** A bowl trip to Charlotte may seem a little dull, without trips to the beach or some Disney them park. But that's not the way it turned out for certain Pitt and Virginia players. See, Charlotte's a Nascar town, and players were offered to chance to take a "ride" around Lowe's Motor Speedway - in a race car, at 160+ miles an hour.
Not all players went for the idea. "I don't know," said Virginia defensive end Kwakou Robinson. "It seems kind of crazy to me."
Pitt's wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was one of those who gave it a go, but he said that once he got underway, he wasn't sure it was such a great idea, either. "I hit that first turn and I was like - they tell me nobody's ever gotten in an accident here and I know damn sure I don't want to be the first one," he said.
But afterward, climbing out of the car's window, he pulled off his crash helmet and, grinning widely, told reporters, "That was great! Heck of a lot more exciting than scoring touchdowns!"
*********** The broadcast crew of the Pitt-Virginia game - and Pitt alum Mark May back in the studio - went on and on about Pitt's seeming reluctance to go to Larry Fitzgerald. Can they all be that ignorant? Can it be that not one of them understands that you can take a wide receiver - even the best one in the country - out of the picture?
Not so with a great quarterback. Or with a great runner. You can't take them out of it. They are dominant players who will produce no matter what you do.
And that is why I argue that if the Heisman is supposed to be awarded to a dominant player, it can't ever go to a wide receiver.
*********** Now, I like to watch teams run the ball, and I hate to see them go into shotgun on fourth-and-three. But Pitt (excuu-u-u-use me - "Pittsburgh") had first-and-goal on the Virginia one. Pitt smashed into the line four times, without success. Uh, Coach Harris... wasn't that Larry Fitzgerald out there?
*********** One of the activities leading up to the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte was a band competition between the opposing schools, Pitt(sburgh) and Virginia. Slight problem, though - Virginia had to use a local high school band as a stand-in. That's because Virginia does not have a marching band, and its pep band, not officially sanctioned by the university, is no longer welcome at school events. Not after last year's Continental Tire Bowl, when Virginia played West Virginia. Perhaps you will recall the ruckus that ensued, after the pep band's halftime show portrayed West Virginians as hillbillies. Sheesh. Those spoiled punks were lucky they didn't get dismembered right out there on the field. Later, not wanting to pass up a chance to showboat for a few votes, West Virginia's governor publicly demanded an apology from UVa's president. He got it.
*********** Good for Pam Ward. She knew how to pronounce "Schuylkill." Pitt had a defensive lineman, Vince Crochunis, from Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania. I happen to know the town well. It's in the so-called Coal Regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, in the heart of Schuylkill County, whose county seat is Pottsville. Those of you who have heard the story of the Pottsville Maroons and their vacated NFL title understand that football is important in these parts. Back in the days when I played - and then coached - minor league football, the scourge of our league was a team called the Schuylkill Coal Crackers, which played its home games in area towns such as St. Clair and Minersville. (People from the area used to take a certain amount of pride in being called Coal Crackers. Maybe they still do, although the anthracite coal mines are pretty much played out now, and people in the big cities of the East have long since switched over from hard coal to oil or gas to heat their homes.) In the third game I ever coached, we travelled up to Schuylkill County from Hagerstown, Maryland and got hammered, 66-0. (No mercy rule in the coal regions.) Fortunately, we got better, and got to where we had some epic battles with them. One of their players, a Pottsville kid named Jack Dolbin who'd played his college ball at Wake Forest, went on to have a decent career as a wide receiver with the Denver Broncos. Anyhow - Pam Ward did her homework. She knew how to pronounce Schuylkill. (It's "SKOO-kull" - I think it's a Dutch word.)
*********** Got to like Virginia's Al Groh, who signed off his post-game interview with "Happy New Year - God Bless America!"
*********** Speaking of passing on fourth-and-short, I just got finished watching the San Francisco 49ers throw incomplete. On fourth-and-one. With a minute to play. Game over. Seahawks win. Good God! The announcers called it a "gutty win" for the Seahawks. I called it a dumbshit loss by the 49ers. What - they don't have pro-calibre running backs on NFL rosters anymore?
*********** I sort of like Donovan McNabb, but he sure lost me when he scored against the Redskins and, instead of just doing the class thing, went into an exaggerated dance, one worthy of a wide receiver. On the same day that Otto Graham was being buried. McNabb's celebration was so over the top, so unbecoming an an athlete of his stature, that it occured to me that perhaps he was being paid to do it by the folks at EA sports so they could film it and then incorporate it into Madden 2005.
*********** Call me racist - I can deal with it, if this is what people think makes you a racist - but I think large mops of hair hanging out from under a helmet and dangling down the back of a guy's jersey looks repulsive.
*********** Some jerk of a former sports information director at Oregon wrote in to the Portland Oregonian today to say that there are too many "meaningless" bowl games. Now, it just happens to be Sunday, a day when there is no bowl game on, not even a meaningless one, and therefore, with only the NFL on there is no football worth watching, so I have time to write this:
Buddy, no one is making you watch.
Look at all the exciting players and teams that we wouldn't have seen without these so-called "minor" bowls - Miami (O), Houston, Hawaii, Bowling Green, Cal - and tell me we have too many meaningless bowl games.
Yeah, and watch all those happy kids after winning one of those meaningless bowl games, and tell me we need a playoff.
*********** Is there a better "mascot" in all of sports than Hawaii's island warrior guy? When he stares into the camera and says "Bring it on!" I look at him and think, "Hang loose, bruddah. I got no problem with you."
*********** I don't know one musician or musical group from another, but they had this guy on the Cal sideline, a guy named Adam Duritz, who I'm told is a member of a group called Counting Crows. Apparently he had something to say to the Cal team earlier in the season that helped inspire the Bears to hand USC its only loss.
So what, exactly, did you tell them? he was asked.
He replied, "Told 'em to whip their ass."
*********** Abraham Lincoln is supposed to have said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. ESPN might keep this in mind the next time it mikes up an NFL player. The one I listened to on Sunday had obviously managed to slip past elementary, middle and high school teachers, not to mention a college professor or two, without running into a single one with the stones to teach him to speak correctly. I cringed on behalf of English speakers everywhere when I heard him scream at his teammates before the game: "We like a pack o' wolves that ain't ate!"
It gets better. This fool, a defensive end, kept running off his mouth, and even after being decked by a blocker his wuffin' continued. It was hilarious - there he was, flat on his back, down for the count, and still hollering, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE ME!"
I was reminded of the scene from Monty Python's "The Holy Grail," in which the Black Knight refuses to let King Arthur pass. "None... shall... pass!" he intones. Arthur says that he's not looking for a quarrel, but he must get past. "Then.. you.. shall... die," says the Black Knight. Reluctantly, Arthur engages him in a battle of swords, and although the Black Knight is nowhere near the swordsman King Arthur is, he nevertheless keeps up the false front, jabbering throughout their duel. As Arthur chops his limbs off, one after another, until he is a quadruple amputee, the Black Knight never shuts up: "I've had worse... A mere flesh wound... " ("YOU CAN'T HANDLE ME!")
*********** Really impressed by the Harrises, a young married couple from Bowling Green. Josh was the Falcons' quarterback, and a heck of an athlete. Tammi, his wife, is an Ohio State grad and a former Big Ten high jump champ. I just liked the things they said about their faith, and I really liked hearing the things Josh said after the Falcons' win over Bowling Green. All he could talk about was the team and his teammates.
*********** Maybe some day someone will tell me why some of these guys look so angry after scoring a touchdown.
*********** Hugh, hope you had a good Christmas/ The family and I had a great one and I enjoyed the post game brawl in Hawaii. Anyway got a phone call from a frantic mother of one of my former ball players who plays at the U of Idaho. He was driving his mom from Moscow to Seattle this morning and just outside of Othello, Washington they hit black ice and and rolled into a ditch/ he was ejected from the truck and was hurt pretty bad. He had to be life flighted to Spokane. The good news is he will live/ being 6' 3" and 265 does have it's adavantages. In fact I spoke with him on the phone from his hospital room and he told me he screwed up by not wearing a seat belt/ of course my wife ripped his ass/ he has 2 cracked vertebrae/ numbers 7 and 8 / so the next 2 to 3 days will be touch and go whether he has surgery. He told me if he has surgery his playing days are done. I told him keep the faith and you will be fine. Just do what the doc tells you. It is tough, he is like a son to me and he considers me to be like his father. His dad and mom split at an early age and I just happened to fill in for what he needed in the way of a male role model. I just hope he can return to playing and if not a normal life. He started on the d-line this year as a red shirt freshman. Sh--, I just hope I don't get one of these calls from one of my own sons. Well I got some praying to do. Take care. Mike Foristiere, Boise, Idaho (The young man's name is Andrew Stobart. He is in Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, where he underwent surgery on Monday. His e-mail address is vandalstobart@hotmail.com . Take a minute to write him. Mike says the kid is scared, which is understandable, and it would mean a lot to him and his mom to hear from some of you. HW)
*********** Coach Keith Lehne writes, from Grantsburg, Wisconsin...
Coach Wyatt, I hope that you had a Merry Christmas. I have a few things I wanted to write you about recently but haven't had time. I was unable to watch all of the St. John's game as I was looking after my two little girls ages 3 and 1. No one told me that being a father meant you would never be able to watch an entire game again. It is certainly worth it and I would give up any highlight for time with my girls but here is my question. I thought that St. John's won the toss and elected to defer, so they kicked off to start the game. I thought they also kicked off to start the second half. St. John's had the wind in the 3rd Quarter. I never heard anyone talk about this and haven't read anything in the St. Paul paper about it but if I have things right isn't this an odd decision by St. John's. I am certainly not questioning Coach Gagliardi but m looking for some insight. My thought was that St. John's knew they could stop them and wanted to go on D to force them to punt into the wind. This would give them great field position and allow them to put the game away in the third quarter.
I recall my wife asking me about this, and my answer was that as strong as that wind was, they chose to have it at their back in the third quarter because with a strong wind in your face you can get in a hole and stay there for an entire period, and by the time you change ends, you're out of the game. As well as they were playing on defense, I thought it was a shrewd move.
I saw an interview with Coach Haslett in which he said Joe Horn was wrong. Why not bench him for the game if he was wrong and dishonored his team and the game? I know the answer to that question but I was so pissed when I saw that I wanted someone to knock him out of the game. I do have a solution and that is to start fining and suspending not only the players but the coaches. If the coaches refuse to do their own discipline and rely on the league then they are just as guilty as the player.
Jim Haslett's timid response was typical of NFL coaches because he is in the same boat as most NFL coaches - essentially he keeps his job at the pleasure of his players. That means you have to be very careful not to piss them off. Look at the outrage that Calahan provoked when he said the Raiders were (gasp!) a stupid team. ("Waah! He said we were stupid!") For that, the ever-loyal Charles Woodson really got on his case. If you piss off a star, sooner or later one of you will have to go, and it's probably going to be the coach - the way owners are these days, they are either afraid that they won't be able to replace the star as easily as they can replace the coach or, worse, they are such hopeless jocksniffers that the players soon learn that they can take their grievances directly to them. That's why it was so refreshing to see the Bucs tell Keyshaun ("Give me the Damn Ball") Johnson to take a hike. But it's only a bandaid on the wound, because Keyshaun will be some other coach's problem next year. This is where Bill Parcells has such an edge - he's at the point where he can pretty much insist on complete control in these matters, so no player dares to give him any sh--.)
I read a book about two weeks ago (about De La Salle) and thought it was very good. I didn't know much about the program but I had seen a few stories recently about them. I am guessing you are familiar with it. It is about the De La Salle team in California and its 150 game winning streak. In the book it talks about De La Salle having to play a team that runs the double wing. The author calls it a "dinosaur offense" and describes how it is meant control the ball and eat up the clock with long drives. I thought I would use the dinosaur idea to sell the offense to some of our less than enthusiastic fans. My pitch is something like this- It is a dinosaur of an offense but we're going to run it until I am extinct.
That "dinosaur" would have been Ygnacio Valley, coached by Tim Murphy, which, if I am not mistaken, gave DLS one of the toughest games in their long streak. Coach Murphy, incidentally, has since taken the dinosaur south to Clovis East High, in the Fresno area, where this year he went 12-1, winning the CIF Central Section title, the equivalent of a state title in most places. One of Clovis East's conquests this year was Long Beach Poly, noted for producing more NFL players than any other US high schools. Long Beach is notoriously tough to beat at home, but that's exactly what East did.
*********** Lansingburgh, New York High's senior running back Kareem Jones was named Offensive Player of the Year by the Albany Times Union. Kareem rushed for 200 yards on seven occasions, with a personal one-game best of 342 yards, and his career total of 6092 yards broke the previous record of 4989 held by Leroy Collins, who played at Louisville. Kareem, 6, 205, will play at Syracuse next season.
*********** Now that 56 D-IA teams are involved in bowls, it pretty much seems as if the sponsors of certain "All-Star" games, which don't have access to the players from bowl teams, have been mailing out invitations to small colleges addressed "To Whom it May Concern".
But anyhow, they invite these guys, and it's supposed to be a big honor for them to represent their schools, blah, blah, blah. They even wear their schools' helmets, loaned to them for the game. And then, to honor their schools, the first thing those guys do is clutter their helmets with decals from assorted other schools?
*********** While many graduates of the United States Naval Academy have defend us and our rights overseas, the ACLU has been fighting for our rights here at home. Or so it would have us believe.
The ACLU, which you would think was already plenty busy defending the supposed rights of terrorists, drug dealers, convicted criminals and porn merchants, has managed to fit the US Naval Academy onto its agenda.
Since the Academy's founding, a voluntary lunchtime prayer has been a tradition. Aha - not much longer, if the ACLU has anything to say about it.
Stay tuned.
*********** If there were such an award, I would nominate Paul Smith, head coach at Bullard-Havens Tech High of Bridgeport, Connecticut as my Black Lion High School Coach of the Year - the guy who did the most with the least to provide a football experience for his boys. Bullard-Havens, an inner-city school in a rundown industrial city, has been down for years. This time last year, the school was contemplating shutting down the football program, and without his stepping up to coach, Bullard-Havens might not have had a team this year. It would be nice to say that Coach Smith and his boys made it to the state playoffs, but they did not. They did win one game, and they came close in some others. What they did do was make it to their team banquet. Sort of. I'll let Coach Smith explain.
Hi Coach. As Freshman coach the last few years I gave out Tee shirts and things, but our school hasn't had a "sports banquet" for about 8 years. You're a bit familiar with our situation here. We have minimal to no support from our students, faculty and administrators, and our "athletic director" doesn't like to make waves asking for things. The coaches and I had our OWN FOOTBALL BANQUET this Friday. I invited only players, coaches, and one family of 4 former Tech players and their parents who supported our team wholeheartedly this year. It wasn't much - Just pizza and soda, but I wanted to give them some positive feedback soon. I began with "honors athlete" awards - anyone at our school who can make the honor roll during football season, especially with the strong pressure from their peers to "push down rather than pull up", deserves special recognition. I gave a "Scholar Athlete" award to the highest GPA, who incidently was Marcus Reardon, one of our captains, and recipient of the "Black Lion Award". I saved the Black Lion award for last. I spread out the wealth a bit, and gave several MVP awards. Offense, Defense, Off.Line, Def.Line, Special Teams, and a Coach's Award. And finally, I told the team that the ultimate MVP was the "Black Lion Award". I read the certificate to the group and asked them to guess who it went to. I had a special Black Lion trophy made up that looked different than the other "MVP" awards. They all knew it was Marcus Reardon when I said ". . . he might have made All-American again, but his coach asked him to change positions for the team's sake." (Marcus was asked to switch back from fullback to left tackle). I've encouraged him to think about what he wants to say to Holleder's family in a letter. The Family that supported us all year made booklets with clippings and pictures from the season and gave it to all the players. We gave them Tee shirts, a gift certificate, and a coaching cap for the dad. Please sign me up again for the Black Lion award for the 2004 season. (Of course, that's assuming they graciously allow us to have a team next year.) Thank you again, Coach Wyatt. Merry Christmas, God Bless, and have a happy and healthy New Year! Paul Smith, Bullard-Havens Tech, Bridgeport, Connecticut
*********** Coach Wyatt, I loved catching the Jonnies as they won this year's Natl Championship D111. I first heard about the school from some Yankee transplants who have become close friends. Tom and his wife have moved back to Minn. but I recalled our first conversation about football. Tom said he played for St Johns in the late 80's. Of course I thought he meant St Johns in NY. Boy I know differently now. Last year our school hired a married couple from Michigan to teach Spanish and PE. Coach "H" is our db coach and calls plays for our B team. He also played for a Div III school and has a Nat'l championship ring too. If Santa could give me any present and put it under my tree this is what I want. An extra point should be kicked by the player who scores the touchdown. Basketball requires the player who is fouled to take foul shots, why not make the guy who scores kick too? Just some food for thought. I'll be looking forward to making your next clinic in Atlanta in the spring. "Merry Chistmas" Dan King Evans, Georgia (Hey - Not all of us Yankees are "Metrosexuals From Montpelier," as I've heard Howard Dean referred to in a parody of "Okie From Muskogee." Some of us actually go outdoors and play football (between outdoor soccer in the summer and indoor soccer in the winter). I'd go along with the rules change on PAT's, although I will continue to push for a rule that says no player may kick - punt or place-kick - more than once a game. HW)
*********** "I started reading your news today and I got to the part of the prostitution ring in Redondo Beach and the Soccer mom types and I couldn't stop laughing. Geez maybe it was some type of fundraiser or something." Mike Foristiere- Boise, Idaho
*********** An NFL one-act mini-drama...
(SCENE:Buffalo, New York - It's two days before the final game and the Bills' coaches are meeting after practice)HEAD COACH: So why was Ruben Brown late to practice today?
OFFENSIVE LINE COACH: Uh, he slept late.
HC: Huh?!?! We practice in the afternoon!
OLC: That's what his agent said. Said that after the season we've had, Ruben's just been so unhappy, so depressed - so "despondent" - that he just couldn't get himself up out of bed.
HC: Well, I'll be darned! The poor guy! Here I was, worrying about getting a team ready, and I never knew one of our players was in such pain! Why didn't he tell us? Well, the last thing we want to do now, with him in that condition, is make him go with the team to New England, because everybody knows the Patriots are going to whip our ass, and that'll just make the poor guy even more despondent. I say we leave him home. But we won't suspend him - that way he can stay home and watch the game on TV, and he'll still get paid.
*********** Coach, I was looking at your list of teams in the playoffs and we made it again this year(this make 3 out of 4 since running the DBL Wing). We ended 7-4 and Regional runner-up in Kansas. Have a Merry Christmas. Mike Beam, Rock Creek H.S. (Addition made. HW)
*********** Your remark about NFL films and the "mole eye" view reminded me of a scene from an NFL Films game review I saw many years ago. The announcer is telling us that the Washington QB is facing a fierce rush. He can barely get the pass off and only a miraculous effort by the receiver allows the completion.
What did we actually see? We saw a hand push the football into the air, the ball S-L-O-W-L-Y spinning, spinning, the crowd in the background. Finally, after an eternity, the ball comes down and we see two hands
-Yes! Two Hands! - reaching up to grab the ball. THAT'S IT! Awful!
Charlie Wilson, Seminole, Florida
*********** Hugh, I just checked with the Northview High School Football team in Dothan Alabama this year and noticed that they were 0-12.
Remember we talked last year about the big time college coach from Alabama (Mike Dubose) that went there in the place of a very successful Double Wing Coach??? He went 0-12 and now they have a new coach it seems who is also 0-12.
When the Double Wing left Northview, It left behind a very loud sucking noise (as Ross Perot used to say). They were probably bored with the double wing. I wonder how long it will take them to be bored with 0-12. Larry Harrison, Snellville, Georgia (boring double wing coach) (Some people would rather lose than be bored. The guy I feel happy for is Emory Latta, who got the shaft at Northview two years ago. Two subsequent 0-12 seasons after his leaving out to have convinced people that he wasn't too bad a coach after all. Last I heard he was coaching at nearby Daleville, Alabama, where he told me he was both happy and appreciated. For the record, he is the last Northview coach to have won a football game. HW)
*********** Coach Wyatt, I wanted to send you Christmas Greetings. I just finished your News page. I loved your Christmas wish list. I REALLY enjoyed the article by Jay Price. Excellent article, and every point was right on.
In my little world Keyshaun is the biggest loser, I'll take a butter bar from West Point any day! Bill Murphy, Chicago
*********** Call me crazy but Denny Creehan should apply for the Atlanta Falcons O coordinator position. Think about it - they have the perfect personell to run it Duckett at FB, Dunn at TB, Griffith at WB, Crumpler at TE, Price at WR - and let's not forget VICK at QB. Just imagine the effect of misdirection with Vick's running and throwing ability. We all know the great thing about the Wing T is if you stop one aspect of it you compromise the others and all three of atlanta's RBs I listed are good blockers and runners. Arthur Blank,being a relatively new owner with progressive ideas, might consider it if the package can be presented well enough. Gary Burch, Yorktown, Virginia PS: did you see the Bears run some wing t plays against the skins this week, it was out of the I but it was wing T principles. (Frankly, being out of work at Christmas time - the whole Army staff having been let go - I am pulling hard for Denny to get a good job anywhere! HW)
*********** Boy, I'd be an option coach, too, if they'd just let my tackles "reach" block by wrestling people to the ground the way TCU's did. They were so expert at it that just you know it's being taught.
*********** Coach. I was just reading your news section and one of your readers needs to be corrected. St. Johns didn't say they didn't practice tackling. They just don't take anyone to the ground in practice. The announcers even said that during the game. I coach at Kalamazoo College and we follow the same philosophy there. All we did was finish #1 in Total Defense, Scoring Defense and Rushing Defense and #2 in Passing Defense in our league and we were ranked in the top 25 in Rushing Defense in the Nation. You see, although you would not like to see anyone hurt, If it's going to be anyone it should be your opponent. Not your own team. Coach Mike Hause, Kalamazoo, Michigan (That would be me who needed correction, and that explains everything. I never believe in taking the ball carrier to the ground, either. I think you can get all the tackling practice you need by staying on your feet, and St. Johns - and Kalamazoo - certainly prove that. HW)
*********** Steve Jones, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, down in Brett Favre country, was named South Mississippi Coach of the Year. (Tell that to the knuckleheads who've never even seen the Double-Wing but still insist that it won't work!) In his first year at Ocean Springs, Coach Jones took over a program that had been dormant for years and led it to an 8-4 record and a state playoff berth. He has already promised to speak at one of my clinics this spring.
*********** Coach Wyatt: Thank you for the consistently terrific service you provide coaches (and others) in your news section. Just finished reading your latest entry, and I was especially interested in the section on the "mercy rule" that so many states seem to be implementing.
We're leaving the GISA, the private school league in Georgia, and entering the Georgia High School Association. The GHSA already has adopted the mercy rule, and the GISA still is discussing what form its mercy rule will take.
The GHSA is going to give the losing coach the opportunity to ask for a continuous clock if the lead is 35 points or more in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, it's apparently automatic that the clock will run continuously if a team is down by 35 or more.
I despise the rule. So I'm supposed to tell my team, a stadium full of parents, and our entire school that I'm giving up on my team? Don't think so. I'm going to fight until the end. And I'm going to get as much valuable playing time for my second- and third-teamers as possible. Asking a coach to make that decision tells me that the people who are coming up with these rules have never coached a day in their lives.
I attribute this mindset to the feminist culture that has pervaded our culture and taken over education. This culture has tried to construct a unisex world for our children, made our little girls want to become little men, made our little boys grow up to think that "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is perfectly suitable entertainment and all of us just should accept them for who they "were born to be." It's the same culture that drugs our active little boys to make them behave more like the little girls, and the same culture that says that soccer and its torque-induced epidemic of knee and ankle injuries is a "safer alternative" than football.
Listen, it's OK to lose. As long as you do it with class, dignity, integrity, and a good work ethic. I thank God for the valleys. That's what makes the mountain peaks so utterly spectacular. What has happened to our world? Sigh.
God bless you and yours, and may y'all have a very Merry Christmas. Tim Luke, football head coach Eagle's Landing Christian Academy, McDonough, Georgia
"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's the guy going down on the 40. Looks
like a routine play, right?