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FEBRUARY 2005

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) February 22, 2005  "If we need to throw 10 passes in practice to get it right - forget it. We don't have the time." Joe Paterno    2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here OUR SEASON - MADISON HS - PORTLAND, OREGON, 2004 A VISIT TO WEST POINT, NOVEMBER, 2004      NEW!A LIST OF SOME OF 2004'S TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS NEXT CLINIC- ATLANTA, FEB 26 --- for more info - 2005 Clinics *********** What a great lineup of speakers at this Saturday's Atlanta Clinic - Barry Gibson, who as head coach at Ardmore, Alabama installed the Double-Wing on a Tuesday and ended the state's longest losing streak at 33 games, and has just been named to start up a program at a brand-new high school, Spanish Fort, Alabama; Larry Harrison, who went from being an offensive coordinator at a large high school that didn't always appreciate his offense to head coach at a small private high school - Nathanael Greene Academy - which he took to this year's state final game. Oh yes - and he did it without a single assistant; Steve Jones, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, who has coached the Double-Wing successfully at three different schools, taking the Ocean Springs Greyhounds to this year's Class 5A (largest class) final game; Kevin Latham, who as a middle school coach won a DeKalb County (suburban Atlanta) championship, suffered a near-fatal heart attack (at the age of 37) and just finished his first year as a high school head coach at Decatur's Columbia High School. Considering the stereotype that so many of us fight - that our offense is just three or four plays from only one formation - I can only say what an incredible feeling it is to know that we have advanced to the point where at Atlanta and other clinics there are now men of the calibre of coaches Gibson, Harrison, Jones and Latham able to step up and share the things they're doing. Based on the last-minute calls and e-mails I have been getting, it occurs to me that I may not have given people enough advance notice to get their pre-registrations in on time for the Atlanta Clinic. If you are planning on coming and the deadline has been a problem for you, in order to qualify for the pre-registration fee ($75) instead of the walk-up fee ($100), send me an e-mail by Monday and we will hold a place for you. *********** Next clinic after Atlanta will be in Burbank, California, at the Coastal Annabel Hotel. (This will be my first clinic in Southern California in three years.) *********** I read in the paper that a kicker from Oklahoma named Trey DiCarlo has quite the team. He lost his job last season to a freshman, but he said that wasn't the reason. He said the reason was that he is tired of football. Make me laugh. A keeker? Tired of football? Tired of kicking, maybe. Tired of the routine, maybe. But tired of football? A kicker? He hasn't even given football a fair chance - why doesn't he try playing it first? *********** My oldest grandson, Matt Love, a freshman at Jordan High in Durham, North Carolina, just made the JV lacrosse team. I do like this letter from his coach that his mom passed along to me. After hours of deliberation, the 2005 Varsity and JV rosters are up. They were chosen based on the following criteria: Ability to fit into our team concept (can you play as a team player? Do you fit into a "role" somewhere in the program?), Attitude (Do you support others, or tear them down? Do you "give up", etc...), Desire to win (self explanatory), LACROSSE ABILITY (can you catch and throw consistently? With both hands? Can you cradle? Do you have good field sense and positioning), athletic ability (self explanatory), CONDITIONING (are you in shape?), grades (are you eligible), NEED (do you fill a "role" or a need on either team that is yet to be filled?) This being said, keep in mind that Seniors CANNOT be placed on JV. The goal of every varsity coach is to field the best possible squad on game day, while building a strong JV program to feed into the Varsity in the future. Remember, as much as I may like you as a person, these are LACROSSE tryouts. I don't know the guy, but I sure do like the way he led off with (1) Ability to fit into the team concept; (2) Attitude; (3) Desire to win. Of course, if my grandson doesn't get to start every game and get his name in the paper afterwards, the coach is a total jerk. I am already pissed because my grandson didn't make varsity. (Just kidding, just kidding.) *********** Next time you have a problem, take it up with your congressman. See if he cares. (Or she.) There are 435 of them in the House of Representatives. In last fall's elections, only seven incumbents were voted out. And four of those were Texas Democrats in districts that were redrawn by Republicans so as to assure their defeat. *********** Hi Coach Wyatt, Thank you coach for a great system.  I have used it for kids from 8 all the way to freshman.  I have the opportunity to go to the varsity level this year (2005).  If you were interviewing for assistant  coaches what qualities would you look for and is there anything that would make one coach stand out over another.   Thanks  coach for any advice you can give me. Thanks again coach, Charlie Martin from Apple Valley, California I have sent you a copy of the outline I have used in interviewing. As it indicates, it is my expectations for an assistant coach. I tell an applicant right up front that this is how I am going to hire him, and this is how I am going to evaluate him during and after the season. It is very upfront. I go over the qualifications, point-by-point, frequently stopping to discuss them, and frequently asking if applicants have any problems with anything they've heard. I think it is important to make sure that they understand every point, and that they give their assent to every point. If they hesitate on any point, a red flag goes up; if they indicate that they think something about it may be unreasonable, the interview is as good as over as far as I'm concerned (although for courtesy's sake I'll finish). Each and every point is a knockout. If you compromise on one single point in order to fill your staff or make somebody else happy, you will be sorry. You will pay for it sooner or later. This form is doubly useful at the end of the season in evaluating coaches, because you simply go down, point-by-point, all those things which you covered in the initial interview. You are free to use it as you wish. *********** Our league just shifted weight limits.   They lifted the weight limits for 9-10 year olds to 120.  My son is 9 and 65, if he is lucky.  The old weight limit was 100.  I really think that the weight disparity is too much.  What are your thoughts?  I agree with you that that is a huge disparity. It seems to me that 100 pounds is a plenty generous upper limit when an awful lot of those kids are going to be in the 70-pound range. For example, when I was in grade school and middle school, we had 70-, 80-, 90-, 105-, 120- and 135-pound teams. They pretty much corresponded to grades in school as well. (Although, to show how much bigger kids are getting, I played on the 90-pound team in 7th grade, and I was normal-sized.) On the other hand, my wife has taught third graders, and it is her suspicion that (1) you probably wouldn't be talking about that many more kids in that extra 20-pound range, and (2) those who are in that group are likely to be pudgy. But there certainly is the safety concern over a 120-pounder falling on a 70-pounder. And I think it would be unfair (and unproductive) if one of those bigger kids were really athletic - and there will be some - and was allowed to run the ball. It would be like a 400-pound sprinter in the NFL. Bottom line - I think that in attempting to accommodate a relative handful of bigger kids, this rules change could have the unintended effect of stirring up strong feelings of concern among mothers, and drive an awful lot of smaller, athletically talented kids to soccer. *********** I have a question.  How do you get past the stereotype that if someone didn't play 4 years of college ball he isn't cut out to coach college ball?  I interviewed with a local college not long ago for an offensive line position and the answer I have gotten is we love your philosophy and approach to the game, but we are going to hire someone with college playing experience.  To me when you're applying for a coaching position you look at coaching experience more than playing experience.  I just want your thoughts on the subject, even if you think playing college ball is a requirement of coaching college ball.  I'm just looking for clarification.  To me it seems like a ridiculous notion, the only thing I see college playing experience giving an applicant is the ability to imitate his coach.(for good or bad) There is that belief out there, and you just have to take it as a challenge, and overcome it. One good example for you - Charlie Weis, head coach at Notre Dame, did not play a down of college football. HW *********** Back when loyal reader Christopher Anderson was a student at MIT, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he and another regular, John Muckian, of Lynn, Massachusetts, "met" through my site. No, this is not about how two guys met on my site and took advantage of Massachusetts' gay-marriage provisions. It is about how a Seattle guy going to school in the Boston area is introduced to the hard-core Boston sports scene (it doesn't get much more hard-core) by a hard-core Boston sports guy. Their first meeting was at a legendary place in Newburyport named The Park Lunch, which since then suffered a near-disastrous fire that shut the place down for several months. Now, John informs me, the Park Lunch is up and running again! Coach, tell Christopher the Park Lunch up in Newburyport has reopened !! going up there next week !! heard all the ole football and sports memorabilia stuff will be back on the walls ( most of it survived the fire ) When he comes out here , I'm taking him up there for a Clam Roll and Guinness on me!! My buddy paid me a big compliment last time we had Christopher up there. He said, " Johnny, talking to this kid is like talking to you, but without the Boston accent and the F-Bombs !! " That will be the first and probably last time in my life I will be compared to an MIT graduate so I better enjoy it !!! *********** As long as parents are going to worry themselves about the effects on their children of NASCAR's allowing the likes of Jack Daniel's and other distillers to advertise the hard stuff on race cars, maybe they also ought to lend a careful ear to the announcers. In the space of one minute Sunday, I heard one of the guys refer to a driver's "'Per-IF-fee-yul' vision" and say that a driver was surprised, because "He didn't have no idea..." *********** Take heart, football coaches everywhere - there is one place in American that refuses to stand by and let its coach get rolled over by its school board. When the school board of Hempfield Area, in western Pennsylvania near Latrobe, home of Mr. Rogers, Arnold Palmer, Tom Hinger and Rolling Rock Beer, let their football coach go, they knew they would have to brace themselves for a bit of community unrest, but then, when things blew over, they'd move on to business as usual. That was a couple of weeks ago. They are still waiting for things to blow over. At the school board meeting at which the board voted, 5-3, to throw open coach Bo Ruffner's job - effectively firing him - after only two years on the job, there was the expected number of dissenters, including parents and players. But the board stood fast. (Although they did offer to let Ruffner reapply.) Since then, led by the Hempfield Area Football Parents Club, the community has responded in a way that would do "Hoosiers" proud: The club has circulated a make-believe help-wanted ad, taking a caustic shot at the school board: "Help wanted - If you have two years of your life you would like to throw away in the service of your community, apply for the coaching vacancy. That is how long it takes to build a winning football program, or for you to be fired, so we never, ever have one." In school, kids have been wearing "We Want Bo" tee-shirts, and circulating petitions in his support. Motorists sport blue-and-black ribbons tied to their vehicles' antennas to express support for Coach Ruffner. And on the roads leading in and out of town, two large billboards sponsored by the club urge community members to "Support the Fight to Bring Back Coach "Bo" Ruffner and his staff," and remind everyone of the school board meeting set for February 21 (that's last night), at which the subject of Coach Ruffner is on the agenda. KIds and parents both complained about what they called excessive turnover in the football program: Hempfield, which plays in Class 4A WPIAL Quad East, one of the state's toughest leagues, has had three coaches in the last five years. Ruffner's two-year record is 5-15, and most people who have spoken out believe that any coach needs more time. The starting quarterback, a junior, noted at the school board meeting that it was unreasonable to expect any improvement without coaching continuity. Denise Marts, Football Parents Club president, said most parents think the district didn't allow Ruffner enough time to develop a winning football program. "They just can't keep letting go coaches," she said. "It's like a revolving door. Every school district is doing it, and it's ridiculous." Marts added that parents appreciated Ruffner's willingness to help his players off the field, as well as on it. "He's a supportive guy," she said. "He'd do anything for anybody." She conceded that not all parents are calling for Ruffner's reinstatement, noting that of some 70 club members who turned out for a meeting last week, two indicated they supported the school board's decision. That shouldn't surprise anyone, said Denise Hlasnik, club vice president. "There may be a few parents who don't like him, but you will have that in any school district," she said. Ruffner's job has already been posted inside the district, and he has reapplied. (Think anybody else on the inside is treacherous enough to apply?) As to whether Ruffner might be rehired, or whether the position might be advertised to outside applicants, that remained for Monday night's meeting. As of Monday, the school board was noncommittal as to the actions possible at its meeting. For once, it appears, the majority of people who are pleased with a coach have made their voices heard over the strident voices of the disaffected few. Spread the word to a school district near you. *********** I'm Ken Heckmann The Producer/Director of "POWER, PASSION & GLORY: The real story of Texas football madness" I've had contact from around the country by people who said they heard about my documentary from your website and I wanted to say Thank You for doing that. Would it be possible for us to swap links? I would be glad to put your link on my site which is www.ppgthemovie.com I look forward to hearing from you. Ken Heckmann (Dear Ken: Nice to hear from you, and nice to hear that people have responded to my review. Without naming names (although I am thinking of a movie about a place just a little west of Midland), I am up to here with the sensationalized stereotype of high school football that the public seems to lap up. It's so seldom that high school football and high school football coaching are reported "straight," letting the chips fall where they may. You have done that, and in a way that true football people can appreciate, and I told my readers so. Your documentary, by the way, was a gift from a dear coaching friend named Scott Barnes, who lives in Rockwall. I don't know how he came across it. Although I do not accept advertising and I post very few links on my site, I would be glad to run an ad for you in exchange for your posting a link for www.coachwyatt.com *********** Mike Lude, former AD at Washington and then at Auburn, was Dave Nelson's line coach at Maine and then at Delaware, which really makes him the co-inventor of the Delaware Wing-T. (Read THE FIRST WING-T LINE COACH IN HISTORY) Mike's recently-released book, "Walking the Line," is a great read. From his boyhood in rural Western Michigan, to his playing days at Hillsdale College, from his service in the Marine Corps to his joining Dave Nelson as his right hand man, from his first - and only - head coaching job at Colorado State to his second career as an AD, starting at Kent State and moving to Washington and then to Auburn, Mike has seen it all, and he tells about it in a way that is both interesting and informative. Here's how to order a copy - go to www.huskyfever.com and down at the bottom right, look for "Walking the Line.") *********** The 2004 Madison High Highlights tape is now ready to ship. It runs about an hour and a forty minutes, and includes hundreds of plays from this past season, in which he turned a program that had gone 0-9, 1-8 and 2-7 into a 7-2 season. (MADISON HIGH, 2004)The real significance of our success, I think, is the way we were able to make use of the kids that we had. We were not overly talented, but we had a very tough, hard-working, unselfish group of kids, a few of them with unique gifts, and I think we coaches did a great job of putting them all in the right places - places where they could enjoy the most individual success, and at the same time make the greatest contribution to the team. I also think we did a great job of zeroing in on what it was that these particular kids did best, and not letting ourselves get too far from the basic plan. There is a certain emphasis on the "Multiple Wing" - you will notice that we did not remain in one formation - we ran at least one play from at least 20 different formations - but at the same time you will notice that we did not run a great number of different plays. (For example, you will be interested, I think, to see how many different ways you can employ "power" blocking.) If you are a Double-Wing coach or if you are even thinking of using some Double-Wing in your program, I think this tape will open your eyes. To order a copy of the tape, send $29.95 (check, money order or school P.O.) to Coach Hugh Wyatt - 1503 NE 6th Ave - Camas, WA 98607   "The Beast Was out There," by General James E. 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" 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. --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN - RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2005 "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 GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO)

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) February 18, 2005 "A good plan executed today is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite point in the future." General George S. Patton, Jr    2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here OUR SEASON - MADISON HS - PORTLAND, OREGON, 2004 A VISIT TO WEST POINT, NOVEMBER, 2004      NEW!A LIST OF SOME OF 2004'S TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS NEXT CLINIC- ATLANTA, FEB 26 --- for more info - 2005 Clinics *********** What a great lineup of speakers at the Atlanta Clinic - Barry Gibson, who as head coach at Ardmore, Alabama installed the Double-Wing on a Tuesday and ended the state's longest losing streak at 33 games, and has just been named to start up a program at a brand-new high school, Spanish Fort, Alabama; Larry Harrison, who went from being an offensive coordinator at a large high school that didn't always appreciate his offense to head coach at a small private high school - Nathanael Greene Academy - which he took to this year's state final game. Oh yes - and he did it without a single assistant; Steve Jones, of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, who has coached the Double-Wing successfully at three different schools, taking the Ocean Springs Greyhounds to this year's Class 5A (largest class) final game; Kevin Latham, who as a middle school coach won a DeKalb County (suburban Atlanta) championship, suffered a near-fatal heart attack (at the age of 37) and just finished his first year as a high school head coach at Decatur's Columbia High School   Considering the stereotype that so many of us fight - that our offense is just three or four plays from only one formation - I can only say what an incredible feeling it is to know that we have advanced to the point where at Atlanta and other clinics there are now men of the calibre of coaches Gibson, Harrison, Jones and Latham able to step up and share the things they're doing.   Actually, there are going to be some coaches in the audience who would make up an all-star clinic lineup.   NOTE: Based on the last-minute calls and e-mails I have been getting, it occurs to me that I may not have given people enough advance notice to get their pre-registrations in on time for the Atlanta Clinic. If you are planning on coming and the deadline has been a problem for you, in order to qualify for the pre-registration fee ($75) instead of the walk-up fee ($100), send me an e-mail by Monday and we will hold a place for you. *********** Next clinic after Atlanta will be in Burbank, California, at the Coastal Annabel Hotel. (This will be my first clinic in Southern California in three years.) *********** It is nearly impossible to make anything with a college's name on it unless you first receive the approval of Collegiate Licensing Company, of Atlanta. So when Collegiate Licensing Company announces whose stuff is selling the best, you can believe it. Here's its just-released list of the 50 top-selling colleges and universities, based on royalties paid out between July 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004: 1. Michigan 11. Florida State 21. Maryland 31. Connecticut 41. Stanford 2. Texas 12. Penn State 22. Clemson 32. Pittsburgh 42. Cincinnati 3. Georgia 13. Auburn 23. Illinois 33. Washington 43. Marshall 4. Oklahoma 14. Kentucky 24. Kansas 34. Syracuse 44. BYU 5. North Carolina 15. Nebraska 25. Kansas State 35. Washington State 45. Utah 6. Tennessee 16. Wisconsin 26. Purdue 36. Duke 46. Montana 7. Notre Dame 17. Miami 27. Missouri 37. Georgia Tech 47. Colorado State 8. Florida 18. Arkansas 28. Arizona 38. Mississippi 48. Army 9. LSU 19. South Carolina 29. Virginia 39. Colorado 49. Air Force 10. Alabama 20. Oklahoma State 30. Texas Tech 40. Louisville 50. Boise State *********** Nearing the midpoint of my junior year at Yale, my academic career was in tatters. (Raising hell and screwing off and sleeping through classes will do that to the best of us. If George W. Bush really was able to do that and still pull a "C" average, my hat is off to him - he is certainly not the dunce that his enemies insist he is.) In my case, I was called in front of a faculty committee to justify my remaining at Yale. Here is was, first in my high school class, and on the verge of having my ass sent packing. (Try explaining that to the people back home.) It was, to say the least, a terrifying moment. But after a few intimidating questions, I was put at ease by the warm, friendly manner of a small, dapper, bow-tied gentleman sitting across from me, who asked me how I planned to salvage what was left of my career - if I were to be given that opportunity. I told him that I certainly planned to get serious, and that I also had decided to change my major from architecture to history. When he asked me if I had any particular courses in mind, I told him that I had heard great things about a Professor Blum, and I certainly planned to sign up for his course if I could get in. (And, of course, if I were allowed to stay.) The gentleman said he believed that the switch to a history major would probably prove beneficial, and suggested it might even help my football, too (screwing off and partying hadn't helped there, either), adding, "when your grades go up, you might even see your yards per carry go up, too." Cool, I thought. A professor who knows his football. And he acted as if he really wanted me to stay! The upshot of it all was that although my scholarship was pulled and all my financial aid was converted into student loans, I was allowed to remain. And I was able to change majors and get into Professor Blum's course, entitled "The History of Twentieth Century America." On the first day of class, at least three hundred of us sat in the large lecture hall, awaiting the entrance of a man who had only been on campus a few years, yet was already a legend for his dynamic lectures. You can imagine my shock when out to the lectern stepped the same small, dapper, bow-tied gentleman who just a few days before had been one of those who had held my fate in their hands. I often wonder how different my life would have been if I'd said, "Well, I sure won't be taking Professor Blum's class?!?" The upshot of it was that I found in Professor John Morton Blum one of the great inspirations of my life. The man was brilliant - knowledgeable and articulate and witty. He never failed to keep the entire hall spellbound. Nobody cut one of Professor Blum's lectures. When I became a teacher, the memory of Professor Blum was my bulwark against all the lazy-ass half-baked "educators" I encountered over the years who would recite as gospel the shibboleth "lecture doesn't work." Right, I would say to myself. For you. Your lectures don't work. Because you don't know what the hell you're talking about, and even if you did, you couldn't make it interesting to your students because you have no stage presence and - ever noticed how often this is true about hack teachers? - no sense of humor. But just because you are a sorry-ass excuse for a teacher, I wanted to say, don't tell me that lecture doesn't work - that kids won't sit through lectures - because I've seen proof to the contrary. So I lectured. A lot. Inspired by John Morton Blum, I knew that if you did it right, it worked. Professor Blum has written nearly two dozen books in his subject area, including "The Republican Roosevent," (that would be Teddy), "V Was For Victory," about America during World War II, "Years of Discord: American Politics and Society 1961-1974," "Woodrow Wilson and the Politics of Morality," "The Progressive Presidents," and many, many more. Professor Blum has been retired since 1991, but he still lives in New Haven and he still writes. His latest work, published in late 2004, is entitled "A Life with History". Professor Blum was a Harvard man who found a home at Yale. After graduation from Harvard in 1943, he served three years in the Navy, then returned to Harvard undecided on whether to enter law school, or to enter graduate school with the idea of studying and ultimately teaching history. Jewish himself, when an older member of the Harvard faculty advised him, at a time when the faculties of elite schools were generally closed to Jews that "Hebrews can't make it in history", he accepted the challenge, and chose graduate school. He earned his Ph.D in 1950, and after several years at MIT, was offered a professorship at Yale in 1957. He may have ben a Harvard man, but it was Yale who offered him a faculty position, and by the 1959 Yale-Harvard game, there was no question where his loyalties lay when Harvard recovered a Yale fumble, and his astonished fellow faculty members heard him shout "Goddamnit!" *********** You got to love this guy Rick Neuheisel. He puts Bill Clinton to shame. He didn't lie, you see - he told the truth, In "code." Neuheisel lied his ass off to the people at Washington when he said he was going off to ski with some college pals at Sun Valley, then instead slunk down to San Francisco to interview with the 49ers. After the interview, he slipped out the back door of the 49ers' offices, and hid his face as the car pulled away. He almost pulled it off, except that a Seattle sports writer who happened to be in the same waiting area at San Francisco Airport as Neuheisel overheard him telling his father how well things had gone. And when the news hit the Seattle papers, Skippy had some serious 'splainin' to do. But he survived that one, and lasted until he got tripped up by some NCAA investigators, who asked him a question he wasn't prepared for and - what else he could he do? - he lied to them. And that was that. He was fired for cause, which according to the terms of his contract meant the University owed him nothing. Now, the Slickster is suing the University for wrongful termination, and on Tuesday, he said under cross-examination that the AD, Barbara Hedges (that's another story) knew that he had spoken with the 49ers. "In my mind, she knew," he told the jurors. His explanation was that he had indicated "in code" to AD Hedges that he had interviewed for the job, saying, "Barbara, all you need to know is that I was in San Francisco, playing golf." (Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge). (Actually, I wish he'd taken the 49ers' job, because by now, like anybody else who tried to coach them, he'd have had his brains beaten in to the point where by now there wouldn't be anybody left who still thought he could coach.) *********** Just a year ago, Matt Durgin, whose Double-Wing turned Lynn (Mass.) Classical High into a Boston-area powerhouse, left Classical to take the head job at Malden Catholic. Now Matt, a Lynn native who still works in a non-teaching position in Lynn schools, is back on the job as head coach at Classical. From the Salem, Mass. News - (article sent by alert reader John Muckian.) Durgin headed back to coach Classical football By Ben Larsen Staff Writer Just a year after leaving Lynn Classical to coach football at Malden Catholic, Matt Durgin is returning to the Rams' sidelines. On Monday, Durgin met with Lynn Classical athletic director Dick Ruth, Lynn Superintendent of Schools Nicholas Kostan and Lynn Classical Vice Principal Ed Toner to discuss his return. "I work in Lynn during the day and have a special connection to the city and the school," said Durgin, who graduated from Lynn Classical in 1984. "Everyone has been so supportive. This is just a better fit. It's a better situation for my family and myself." Durgin coached Lynn Classical for seven years before leaving last fall to coach Malden Catholic which finished 5-6. His combined record of 50-26 with the Rams from 1997-2003 was capped by consecutive 10-win seasons, in which the Rams twice finished second to Gloucester in the Northeastern Conference. Last year under new head coach Clark Crowley, the Rams finished 2-8, halting a string of six-straight winning seasons. Crowley's contract was not renewed after the season. "It was great to take the challenge and opportunity at Malden Catholic. Everyone there was extremely professional and wished me the best," said Durgin, who will be assisted by Derek Dana and Jeff Newhall, both of whom coached with him at Classical and Malden Catholic. "Now I'm looking forward to getting back with the (Rams) and setting an off-season workout program. It's back to work." *********** Coach, In regard to your mention of the dropout rate and the lower number of applicants to the service academies: A friend of mine whose son will head out to Afghanistan in April as a grenadier in a four-man house-to-house clearing team recently told me that the highest casualty rate in Iraq and Afghanistan was among first and second lieutenants. I don't know whether that fact is true or not, but I would bet that notion would weigh heavily on the mind of a young person looking at service in that region. Dan Polcyn, Gallipolis, Ohio You are so right. And many of the young officers being killed over there are fairly recent West Point grads who were well-known to present undergraduates. While the vast majority of kids at "normal" colleges are toasting their upcoming graduations, those kids at West Point especially are looking at being shipped right into the crucible. My heart goes out to them. *********** Notre Dame, if the NCAA allows colleges to schedule a 12th game, has announced plans to take its show on the road - to play that 12th game, a "home" game, in any of a number of cities other than South Bend, to try to stir up recruiting interest and tap into Notre Dame's "Subway Alumni." The Subway Alumni were given that name by a New York reporter because back when the annual Army-Notre Dame game - played in New York - was huge, legions of boisterous Notre Dame fans would pack the subways headed to the game at Yankee Stadium or the Polo Grounds. They were not graduates - of Notre Dame or any other college. They were working stiffs from New York, most of them Irish Catholic, and without a college of their own, Notre Dame - a Catholic school which called itself the Fighting Irish, was their adopted team. Few of them had ever been near the Notre Dame campus (or even knew where it was), but they were more loyal and fanatical than most true alumni. The term originally applied to Notre Dame fans in New York, but Subway Alumni turned out in huge numbers whenever Notre Dame played in other cities with large Irish-Catholic populations, such as Philadelphia and Chicago. But that was long ago, and I personally doubt that this great mass of grassroots support for Notre Dame that its leaders are counting on tapping into still exists - at least to the extent that they think. The so-called Subway alumni are a part of the past: The Subway alumni grew up in another time, a time when (1) few Americans could afford to attend college; (2) Catholics were devout and loyal; (3) Irish (and Catholics) were discriminated against, creating an us-against-them scenario; (4) football was dominated by the colleges; (5) there was no TV. Now, any American willing to get off his dead ass can go to college; Catholicism itself has been diluted; Catholics are discriminated against only to the extent that they, like all Christians, are looked down on by the media elite; anybody without a college affiliation has his choice of 32 NFL teams to follow; anybody with a TV and a satellite dish has his choice of at least a dozen different college games to watch every Saturday. *********** Not that the spirit of Notre Dame doesn't still live on the campus. I was talking the other day with Gene Eggleston, who after years of coaching high school and college ball now finds himself coaching a woman's team in South Bend. He said that this past Monday morning, new Irish coach Charlie Weis offered to meet with any students who were interested - but it had to be at 6 AM. More than 300 students showed up. *********** I've been asked how to obtain a copy of "The Power, the Pride and the Glory," the very good DVD about Celina, Texas High School football that I wrote about on Tuesday - go to www.ppgthemovie.com *********** From a speech by Kenneth O. Preston, Sergeant-Major of the US Army, at the George C. Marshall Awards Dinner, in Washington, DC, October 27, 2004... All my buddies at Fort Bragg regularly tell the tale of a young 325th Glider Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division soldier named PFC Martin. PFC Martin epitomized the fourth paragraph of the Soldier's Creed*; "I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American Soldier." During the Battle of the Bulge on 23 December, 1944, many units positioned in the Ardennes Forest were forced to pull back to subsequent fighting positions. These units pulled back in an attempt to get ahead of, and stop the bulge created by the German Army's attack to split the Allied Forces and capture the Port of Antwerp. A Sergeant in a tank destroyer spotted an American digging a foxhole. The tank destroyer pulled up beside the foxhole to speak to the young paratrooper. That lone GI, PFC Martin, looked up and asked the commander of the tank destroyer; "Are you looking for a safe place?" The commander of the tank destroyer simply replied; "Yeah" in a rather timid voice. PFC Martin quickly replied; "Well buddy," he said with a North Carolina drawl, "Just pull your vehicle in behind me. I'm the 82nd Airborne - and this is as far as they go!" *The Soldiers' Creed (Take the time to read this) I am an American Soldier. I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American Soldier. *********** Yeah, right - This following is Section 5(c) of the NBA's Uniform Standard Contract - every player in the NBA signs it and, presumably, every NBA team holds its players to it... The Player agrees to (i) give his best services as well as his loyalty, to the Team, and to play basketball only for the Team and its assignees; (ii) to be neatly and fully attired in public; (iii) to conduct himself on and off the court according to the highest standards of honesty, citizenship, and sportsmanship; and (iv) not do anything materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of the Team or the League. *********** Coach Wyatt, Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your NEWS ITEMS.  We are die-hard Wishboner and just from reading so many reactions & stories from your readers I have come to  believe that "DW GUYS" & "WISHBONE GUYS" have a lot in common philosophicall (life & football).  We just go about it a bit different.  Probably our offenses are 2nd cousins. Sincerely, Coach  Bart Curtis, New Prairie High School We wishboners and Double-Wingers have a lot in common, although I think your job is maybe a bit easier since there are still some people around who can remember the days of Barry Switzer, Bear Bryant, Darrell Royal and Pepper Rodgers, and there still are variations of the 'bone being run at Air Force, Navy and Rice. NOBODY can relate what we are doing to anything they have ever seen. *********** Mike Lude, former AD at Washington and then at Auburn, was Dave Nelson's line coach at Maine and then at Delaware, which really makes him the co-inventor of the Delaware Wing-T. (Read THE FIRST WING-T LINE COACH IN HISTORY) Mike has just published a book, "Walking the Line," and I've found it both interesting and informative. From his boyhood in rural Western Michigan, to his playing days at Hillsdale College, from his service in the Marine Corps to his joining Dave Nelson as his right hand man, from his first - and only - head coaching job at Colorado State to his second career as an AD, starting at Kent State and moving to Washington and then to Auburn, Mike has seen it all, and he offers a fascinating look at the inner workings of college football, along with some great common-sense recommendations for the future of college sports. To order your copy - go to www.huskyfever.com and down at the bottom right, look for "Walking the Line.") *********** The 2004 Madison High Highlights tape is now ready to ship. It runs about an hour and a forty minutes, and includes hundreds of plays from this past season, in which he turned a program that had gone 0-9, 1-8 and 2-7 into a 7-2 season. (MADISON HIGH, 2004)The real significance of our success, I think, is the way we were able to make use of the kids that we had. We were not overly talented, but we had a very tough, hard-working, unselfish group of kids, a few of them with unique gifts, and I think we coaches did a great job of putting them all in the right places - places where they could enjoy the most individual success, and at the same time make the greatest contribution to the team. I also think we did a great job of zeroing in on what it was that these particular kids did best, and not letting ourselves get too far from the basic plan. There is a certain emphasis on the "Multiple Wing" - you will notice that we did not remain in one formation - we ran at least one play from at least 20 different formations - but at the same time you will notice that we did not run a great number of different plays. (For example, you will be interested, I think, to see how many different ways you can employ "power" blocking.) If you are a Double-Wing coach or if you are even thinking of using some Double-Wing in your program, I think this tape will open your eyes. To order a copy of the tape, send $29.95 (check, money order or school P.O.) to Coach Hugh Wyatt - 1503 NE 6th Ave - Camas, WA 98607   "The Beast Was out There," by General James E. 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" 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. --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN - RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2005 "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 GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO)

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) February 15, 2005 "I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it."  Jonathan Winters    2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here OUR SEASON - MADISON HS - PORTLAND, OREGON, 2004 A VISIT TO WEST POINT, NOVEMBER, 2004      NEW!A LIST OF SOME OF 2004'S TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS NEXT CLINIC- ATLANTA, FEB 26 --- for more info - 2005 Clinics   *********** My congratulations to those of you who somehow survived the guilt trip of our National High Holy Day of Homage to Women, otherwise known as St. Valentine's Day. If you haven't noticed - if by some chance you don't listen to the radio, watch TV, read newspapers or have a special woman in your life - hucksters with sweet, silky or shiny things to sell have been working overtime to install Valentine's Day in the American male psyche as a Holy Day of Obligation sure to dwarf Christmas, Easter or Yom Kippur - if it doesn't already. *********** Coach, I sent my pre-registration form along with my check for The Atlanta clinic a few days ago. Also included was $30.00 for the Madison High School Highlight tape. If you you could, please send a confirmation email when you you receive my payment.   It"s been a while since I have written to update you on our progress. I changed schools two years ago and have gone 7-4 both seasons. In six seasons running the double wing, we have a 44-22 overall record. Tom Cochran, Plainview HS, Rainsville, Alabama (ATLANTA CLINIC - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26 - 2005 Clinics *********** There is a tendency among some people to look at a tape measure, or a scale, or a stop watch, and decided that a kid can't play - before they've even seen what he can do on a field. Listen to what new Notre Dame coach (and former Patriots' offensive coordinator) Charlie Weis had to say when he was asked recently how much emphasis he placed in a recruits' speed... "I love speed. I love guys that can run. First, I want guys that can play. I think there's a lot of times, like somebody will say, 'There's a receiver that run a 4.3.' He might be better suited to having those track spikes on because he might not be able to play football. You might say, 'He can run fast, he can run a 10.0 300 meters.' But what if he can't catch the ball? I like guys that can play. I mean, show me a guy who can play, that's what I'm looking for. I like play-makers. So speed, don't get me wrong, I love speed, but speed can be overrated. If he's not a football player, what difference does it make how fast he is? *********** An article in one of our local papers told of a couple of high school wrestlers who returned to their teams after having quit, and won regional championships. No way am I going to criticize those kids, because wrestling is certainly an all-or-nothing sport that requires total dedication. I mean, like it or not, we've all seen kids going through the motions in football, but you can't be halfassed about wrestling. What I found interesting was a strange word that the reporter used in writing about their victorious performances: "their rededication paid off." *********** Good morning Hugh, From the small world department. My daughter, Carolyn, had our first grandchild this morning. Ella Marie was born at 10:13 in ABINGTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. Who would have figured nearly eight years ago I was in the vicinity staying with an old DW coach. Life sure has some mysterious pathways to it. As you might imagine Susan and I are quite excited. Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine (Congratulations to mom and dad and grandparents, and a warm welcome to little Ella Marie - a Mainer and a Pennsylvanian. Abington, Pennsylvania is the long-time home of my wife's family. We were married there. And, yes - Jack did drive down to Philly for a clinic a few years ago, and he stayed at my mother-in-law's home across the street from Abington Hospital,. HW) *********** In Florida, the Pinellas County school board voted 4-3 to suspend one of their high schools' varsity football coaches for 10 days without pay, to strip him of his coaching position, and transfer him as a teacher to another high school. And he will be required to attend two workshops: "Celebrating Diversity" and "Be Safe Not Sorry." The action came as a a consequence of the coach's telling a player to get his "black ass" back into the huddle. The interesting thing to me was that newspaper accounts of the matter stated that the superintendent initially recommended firing the coach for making a racial remark, but ultimately the action was taken because of the "profanity" he used. (Ohmigod - he said "ass.") Amazing! Most of us coaches do our best to keep languiage civil on the field and in the locker room, but football does become intense, and patience sometimes runs thin, and tempers will flare. I confess to having been called on the carpet myself for using words such as bullsh-- and s-o-b. I have never taken the Lord's name in vain (unless godddamn counts), I have never used sexual references (although on occasion I have been known to drop an F-bomb) and I have never, ever directed profanity at a kid, as in "you stupid sh--." I can't say that I am totally curse-free, but I'm a lot better. I still use "ass" frequently. Who hasn't exhorted his kids to go kick some ass? But I can't imagine bringing a player's race or religion into it. I'm sure I have told a kid to get his ass into the huddle, too, but that's as far as it would go. If I had ever told a kid to get his "black ass" into the huddle, I'd have been fired on the spot. If not decked. Now, by all accounts this coach is not a racist; he couldn't have lasted as long as he did if he were. In fact, many members of the local black community are reported to have spoken on his behalf, testifying as to all the ways he'd helped their young men. But that "black ass" comment was beyond clueless, remindful of a time long past when blacks had no choice but to accept that sort of stuff on the field, in the classroom and on the job. I mean, sheesh - it's 2005. Can you imagine a teacher telling a kid in his classroom to "sit his black ass down?" I'm the first to snicker at all this "Celebrate Diversity" crap, but in this case it does sound as if a little training on how things work these days might have kept a good man from losing his job. *********** Chalk it all up to the self-esteem movement - the idea that if successful people have high self-esteem, why, then, all we have to do is give all our kids high self-esteem and they'll be successful. Couple this with the "you can be anything you want to be" message and the result is that we all have our stories about kids and their parents whose visions of athletic success far in exceed reality. I had to laugh at an article in the Portland Oregonian about a high school kid who went out for his school's cross-country team this year, but said that next year he planned on playing football. Why not this year? Well, see, as a freshman he wouldn't have been able to play on the varsity, and "I'm a relatively good player, so if I played with people under my skill level, I'd drop down and not do as well." Gee, I sure hope he does the coaches a favor and turns out for football next year. *********** Hi Coach, My name is Mike Hebebrand and I coach a CYO youth football team outside of Cleveland, Ohio. I started with these boys in 4th grade and although we had been very successful thru 6th grade, we knew going into last season that we would be competing in a 7 & 8 grade league as a 7th grade only team in a "C" division. I stumbled across your web sire as I was researching different options for the upcoming season. and after speaking to you on the phone, I ordered the Dynamics of the Double Wing and Installing the System videos and playbook. Well just to bottom line it, the system works. Each and every team we played was primarily 8th graders and although it wasn't the most competitive division in our league, we beat every team except for a team who eventually ended up winning the "C" division city championship here in Cleveland. It was just so nice to have the playbook and to be able to teach the boys the correct offensive blocking schemes and assignments. We stayed with the base series of plays out of the tight formation and moved the ball very well against teams that were much larger than us. Defenses just cannot keep up with the pulling, trapping and counters in the system. Now that the basketball season is over, we're ready to turn attention to football again and would like to ask where we should go from here. I would like to purchase another video and attend your conference in Detroit but which video should I purchase? We do have a real good quarterback who throws the ball well. He attends QB camps in Wisconsin and Michigan and is being looked at by some of the better parochial High Schools here in the Cleveland like St. Ignatius and St Edwards and I would like to try to utilize his passing skills but not abandon the base concepts of the offense. I also would be interested in some of the other offensive formations now that we have a year under our belt with he tight but which ones and how many should we use and not confuse the kids. Thanks in advance for your response. Our goal is to win the "A" division city championship next year and feel that your system is one of the primary reason that we can accomplish that goal. I think that if we can throw the ball as well as we ran it last year that we could be unstoppable. I wasn't able to attend your conference last year in Detroit but will make sure I get there this year so that I can personally thank you for everything you do. Mike Hebebrand, Hinkley, Ohio Coach Hebebrand- I'm glad to hear that you had such a great first season with the Double-Wing. I know that you will get a lot out of the Detroit clinic, because much of the emphasis will be on diversifying formations. At this point, I think that you might enjoy my 2004 Highlights tape. It shows what I did this past season to get the most out of our particular group of kids, and I think you would probably see some things you could use right away. I will also be talking about some of them at the clinic. You will not see a whole lot of passing on the tape but you will see some. For the most part we ran very well and seldom needed to pass. But when you have the passer (and especially the receivers) you have a very good passing package - provided you don't try to force the pass when it isn't there. Hope to see you in Detroit. *********** Coach Wyatt: This is by far the stupidest thing I have seen, I found it in an USA Today article. In the 2005 pro bowl fans will vote on one of 4 plays for each team. The team will be required to run the fans choice play during the second half. The choices are tb screen, flea flicker, qb throwback, tb pass. What a joke. Fans calling the plays..hell they might as well give every player a blue "your special" ribbon, stop keeping score, and eleminate penalties because they have a negative effect on self esteem. (not to mention the fact that penalties are intollerant...heaven forbid we aren't perfectly pc). Is there any point where these a-hole's draw the line? Gabe McCown, Piedmont, OK-USA (Finally - the merger of the NFL and AE Sports. HW) *********** I am constantly amazed at the fools who get behind a mike without doing their homework, assuming that the radio audience consists entirely of boobs who accept anything they hear as gospel. And so it was that on Portland's KXL 750, the "sports director" turned Alge (AL-gee) Crumpler, Falcons' tight end, into ALL-gay Crumpler. *********** Applications to the three large service academies are down substantially. At West Point, where applications hit a post-9/11 high of 12,383 for the school year that began in the fall of 2003, applications for the coming school year are 10,412, a two-year drop of16 percent. The Naval Academy is down 20 percent from last year, and the Air Force Academy is down 24 percent drop. (Not that there is a dearth of applicants - the numbers may be down, but all three academies still average more than 10 applicants for every opening in the freshman class.) Thre is no question that the war in Iraq is behind the numbers. While students at Penn State and Texas and Tennessee and Oregon are wondering where the party is this weekend, seniors at the service academies - especially those at West Point and those at Annapolis choosing to go Marine Corps - are facing the very real possibility that in a very short time, they will be facing enemy fire. With applications down, resignations are up. After two years at West Point, cadets are given one last chance to resign - to drop out - without having to serve in the military. Last summer, 52 members of the incoming sophomore class resigned, compared with 32 the year before and 18 the year before that. Army officials confess that they were expecting worse: ''We were hearing rumors of mass resignations,'' says West Point admissions director, Col. Mike Jones. ''But it was just rumors."  *********** Christopher Anderson, a columnist for the Stanford Daily, got on Notre Dame's case for, among other things, the way they treated Tyrone Willingham - not allowing him to finish out his contract. Magically, his column appeared on a Notre Dame fan forum, and he got the expected feedback. One e-mail he received pointed out to him that "ND football is a business, " and, stretching things a bit, said, "And no other college football team in America sells like ND." Furthermore, the writer went on, Tyrone was not badly treated... "He recieved 1.6 Million dollars a year from ND. Do you know that was more than one-million more than Davie, and over 1.8 million more than Lou Holtz." Now, I realize that running a football business means that if you miss out on the BCS money you may have to cut corners here and there, so it is possible they've had to eliminate their math department. Otherwise, it appears that Lou Holtz paid them $200,000 a year for the privilege of coaching their team. *********** Speaking of Tyrone getting only three years... Kirk Ferentz was 11-24 in his first three years at Iowa. He's been 31-7 in the three years since. *********** Just in case you think that it's only about coaching... Chuck Daly, whose record as coach of the Pistons has earned him a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame, found out early in his NBA career that it, um, doesn't hurt to have a player or two. In 1981, he got his first taste of NBA head coaching when he took over as interim coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, often called the Cadavers at the time. When he took over, they were 4-14. He went 9-32 the rest of the way, and was replaced by Bill Musselman. *********** A Texas friend sent me a very interesting DVD entitled "The Power, The Passion and the Glory." It is a look at Texas high school football - specifically, a look at the program in Celina, where legendary coach G. A. Moore became the winningest coach in Texas high school football history - then abruptly, without an explanation, took the head job at their biggest rival, Pilot Point. "The Power, the Passion and the Glory" follows the first season, game by game, of coach Moore's successor. The coach runs a top-quality operation, in what has to be a much, much more demanding atmosphere than the video let on. There is not much portrayal of parental "involvement" and community "input," which, given that it takes place in a hotbed of high school football, is certainly to be expected. I must say that I was disappointed at one postgame locker room scene in which the coach's ass-chewing (they won, but they played less than their best) basically took the joy of victory away from the kids. Just my opinion - I felt that it could have waited until Saturday morning, when they all came in to look at tapes. True, it's Texas, but they're still high school kids, and one of the things they are playing for is the joy of seeing all their hard work pay off in victory. "The Power, The Passion and The Glory" is well done. And, best of all, real. I was impressed that the coach was willing to give the producer the access that he did, and the camera people somehow or other managed to blend into the background so that the players and coaches carried on naturally, as if the cameras weren't even there. (Bonus- you will enjoy spotting a well-known sports celebrity escorting his daughter, the homecoming princess.) *********** The 2004 Madison High Highlights tape is now ready to ship. It runs about an hour and a forty minutes, and includes hundreds of plays from this past season, in which he turned a program that had gone 0-9, 1-8 and 2-7 into a 7-2 season. (MADISON HIGH, 2004)The real significance of our success, I think, is the way we were able to make use of the kids that we had. We were not overly talented, but we had a very tough, hard-working, unselfish group of kids, a few of them with unique gifts, and I think we coaches did a great job of putting them all in the right places - places where they could enjoy the most individual success, and at the same time make the greatest contribution to the team. I also think we did a great job of zeroing in on what it was that these particular kids did best, and not letting ourselves get too far from the basic plan. There is a certain emphasis on the "Multiple Wing" - you will notice that we did not remain in one formation - we ran at least one play from at least 20 different formations - but at the same time you will notice that we did not run a great number of different plays. (For example, you will be interested, I think, to see how many different ways you can employ "power" blocking.) If you are a Double-Wing coach or if you are even thinking of using some Double-Wing in your program, I think this tape will open your eyes. To order a copy of the tape, send $29.95 (check, money order or school P.O.) to Coach Hugh Wyatt - 1503 NE 6th Ave - Camas, WA 98607   "The Beast Was out There," by General James E. 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" 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. --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN - RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2005 "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 GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO)

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) February 11, 2005 "All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it." H. L. Mencken    2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here OUR SEASON - MADISON HS - PORTLAND, OREGON, 2004 A VISIT TO WEST POINT, NOVEMBER, 2004      NEW!A LIST OF SOME OF 2004'S TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS 2005 CLINICS SET --- for more info - 2005 Clinics *********** ALL-STAR LINEUP FOR ATLANTA CLINIC: Two coaches who made it to their state finals, a coach who ended his state's longest losing streak, and a coach in the process of making a massive turnaround will be guest speakers at the Atlanta clinic on February 26 at the Holiday Inn Airport on Virginia Avenue. Coach Steve Jones of Ocean Springs, Mississippi and Coach Larry Harrison of Siloam, Georgia's Nathanael Greene Academy, who were both state finalists in 2004, will be joined by Coach Barry Gibson, who in his very first game of running the Double-Wing at Ardmore, Alabama ended a 33-game losing streak and has just been hired to start up the program at a brand-new school, and Kevin Latham, who just finished his first year at Decatur, Georgia's Columbia High. Each coach is in a unique situation, and each coach has some very interesting things to say about the way he's adapted the Double-Wing to fit his unique needs. One other thing - whether you're from out of town or local, it is a tradition that anybody who's around the Holiday Inn lobby at 6 PM Friday evening is invited to join the crew for dinner. 2005 Clinic Info *********** Now, it's fair to say that I am pretty much a capitalist. I believe that people who strive should be rewarded, and I believe that people who choose to sit on their asses deserve to suffer the consequences of their sloth. But what's going on between Gillette and Procter and Gamble is enough to make a damned socialist out of me. A Democrat, no - there is no way I could ever be associated in any way with the likes of Kennedy, Pelosi, Boxer and Kerry. But a socialist, maybe. Read on, and maybe you'll see why. P & G is basically swallowing Gillette. One reason always given for such acquisitions is the "savings" that will result - "savings" that usually come about as the result of elimination of redundant positions, especially in management. P & G and Gillette have estimated that some 6,000 jobs will be cut - which means that there are a lot of nervous executives at Gillette's Boston headquarters. One Gillette executive can rest easy, though. That's James Kilts, president and CEO. He got Gillette ready for sale by trimming lots of jobs, and now, while thousands of those who worked for him face layoffs - try finding a comparable job when you're a 50-year-old executive - this guy stands to benefit from the sellout of the company to the tune of some $135 million. Part of that figure consists of what is called a "change in control" payment - a fancy term for $21.6 million to hand over the keys. He will also stay on with the new company as Vice-Chairman, which in the words of Professor David Yermack of NYU, who specializes in the study of executive pay, is, in most companies, "a golfing position." For that, he'll be paid a salary of $8 million a year (what- is this guy a basketball player or something?). Oh yes - those Gillette guys who will soon be out of work, and dipping into their retirement will appreciate this - he'll also receive a $1.2 million a year pension. *********** Good Morning Hugh, Thanks so much for the tape -- started looking at it yesterday. I liked your defense as well. A couple interesting things I noticed in the first three games. That looks like a jet sweep with B-Back leading. I liked the B-Back counter off the 47 XX fake and wondered how long it took to get the timing down on QB reverse. I could swear I saw some speed option (HA HA HA ....). I thought I would not like the wings squared up but after watching your tape it looked really good and helped with the flat motion. I also liked the use of the 58 black on the goal line as well as what looked like some 3 brown -o and 2-black -0 in the pass game. Anyway thanks so much for the tape. The Pats were fun to watch - thought they waited to long to get the running game going along with their screen packages. I liked Falk who symbolizes the whole team -- do anything to win and all for the team. His contribution was large. I like the Eagles and Reid but thought he did not coach one of his better games. I also noticed the Pats played a lot of what we call spilt 4 with their tackle in 3's which shut down the run and provided some good blitz lanes. It looked as if the Eagles were not ready for that look. I love the Eagles fight song and sang hearty with those fanatic fans over Thanksgiving when we saw them play the Redskins at the Lincoln Center. A great place to watch a game. Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine *********** High school soccer will soon have a new card to be given to players committing an offense, notes Dave Charbonneau in the Portland Oregonian: "We can't decide whether it sounds more like an energy drink, a new version of Mountain Dew, or the latest color in the crayon box," he writes, "but the National Federation of State High School Association's Soccer Rules Committee has come up with something called the 'hard red' card. "Basically, the hard red card will be issued to players for taunting (degrading an opponent in some form), and will result in the player's ejection. "Until now, a player could be ejected for taunting by receiving a yellow/red card; however, the team could replace the ejected player. The hard red card will not allow a substitution." While it is at it, Charbonneau writes, the NFHS ought to consider a couple more cards: 1. The Cheesy Yellow Card: Issued to any player who fakes a dreaded mid-shin, high-ankle, big-toe or any other injury that seems to be so common; 2. The Green Card: Given to any soccer player from the United States who calls the sport "football" and pretends to have a European accent. *********** Coach Wyatt, Thanks for the prompt delivery on the tapes. They are just in time. We are going over our defensive scheme 1st during winter workouts and then we are installing the offense after a brief introduction in the classroom. The problem with a small student body, is that most of my big-time football guys are either wrestling or playing basketball. Even with winter sports still being in season, we have had 40 kids per workout. (Grades 7-11) I'm pumped up and I certianly appreciate your encouraging words at the begining of your instalation tape...The "head coaches only" segment. This was quite helpful to me as a "young" 1st year head coach. Thanks again coach, and I'll send you my entry forms for the Clinic in Baltimore ASAP. NAME WITHHELD *********** Coach Wyatt: The guys with the long trumpets caught me off guard too, but I heard the announcer introduce them as the "US Army Herald Trumpets".  I looked it up and yes, there is a contingent of the US Army band that specialized in blowing the long trumpets for ceremonial occasions.  The article below is taken from the US Army's Military District of Washington's web site. There is  also a unit of one of  the military bands who dress in colonial costume on occasion for parades. I would assume, but do not know, that assignment to the Herald Trumpets is an honor reserved for the most outstanding of the bandsmen. According to another article, these are the guys who played  "Ruffles and Flourishes" and "Hail to the Chief" at the inauguration. It was the best rendition of the anthem I can ever remember.  I hope having the Academy Choirs do the anthem becomes a tradition, but I kind of doubt it will. Regards, Mark Rice, Beaver, Pennsylvania Appreciate the research. I have seen the Old Guard, which may be a part of what you're referring to. It rightly honors a part of American history. The Heraldry, on the other hand, seems to me un-American and more in keeping with an old Eastern European Communist dictatorship. Albania comes to mind. No problem with a band. General Robert E. Lee said he couldn't imagine an army without music, or something similar to that. But "Herald Trumpets?" If that's all those guys do, I say give 'em guns and send 'em to Iraq. HW Herald Trumpets were a staple of the old Three Stooges skits, too!   The ones set in the country of "Moronica".  So I do see your point.  It does not really seem  "American" but I suppose these guys are very good at what they do. There are a lot of these types of ceremonial outfits in the Army.  You already mentioned the Old Guard, whose band wears the colonial outfits. At Fort Hood, where the 1st Cavalry is based, there is a platoon  who wear blue 19th century cavalry unis, Stetson hats and all, who do the flag raising in the morning, and put on demonstrations for visitors and dignitaries.  A co-worker who was in the 1st Cav  tells me that when they are not doing these things, they hang around the stables and take care of the horses, fix saddles, make horseshoes and generally live as 19th century cavalrymen would have.  That is their full-time job:  they don't drive tanks or anything.  It is also very tough to get this assignment:  Nobody under 5 foot 10 or over 180 pounds need apply, and you have to have an exemplary service  record.  They even have a bugler to sound the calls..BUT HE IS NOT A HERALD TRUMPETER! Good exchange, Coach.   Looking forward to Friday's column. Believe it or not, when I was coach/GM of the Hagerstown Bears, in Western Maryland, we somehow managed (God knows how) to get the Old Guard to "perform" at halftime of one of our games. Absolutely awesome! PS - I thought Danny Kaye when I saw the Herald Trumpets, but the Three Stooges will do. And then there is the best-selling travel guide to "Molvania," a spoof on a very backward (oops- mustn't say that. Make that "underdeveloped.") Eastern European country. *********** Dear Coach Wyatt, Just a quick note to let you know I still religiously read your page. Enjoyed your comments about TO leading up to the Super Bowl and my take is that I had to admire his ability to play so quickly after having broken his leg. However, I am very old school in the belief that players with TO's personality can never take you all the way to the top and in fact cause you to eventually lose. I was rooting for him to break his leg again in the game. I can't stand his type and his antics ruin the pro game for me. If he were on my team, he would change or not be on my team. I rooted for the Patriots. Your comment about their abilty to just win and the relationship to comments from fans about the double wing were right on as usual. I thought the idea was to win. The Patriots do this very effeciently and without fanfare. I love the way they play and enjoy watching their offensive and defensive lines. It is a joke that no lineman from the Patriots is in the Pro Bowl, but I guess it is also a testament that they just play so dang effeciently and without blowing their horns!!!! The old line coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California (I do think that the more you appreciate real football and team play, the more you appreciate the Patriots. HW) *********** Hi Coach.Man I like your "News",Section.Lets me know I'm not alone in my thoughts. Ok I have met Coach McGregor.Great record.But the thing with the kids - What a joke. It would've pissed me off in a game like that that the coin did not even spin ,and they took it. I thought I was the only one that saw that. Plus the fact that those kids did not look like they were from the inner city surprised me. Cause I called the NFL's bluff a number of times to get involved with our program and functions and half the time they do not even respond. Shawn Moore, their local NFL rep, acts like I have to book anything 15 years in advance. But I enjoyed the game.Was glad that for once I saw someone like T. Owens show some stones. Regards, Armando Castro, Roanoke, Virginia *********** Coach, I thought the Super Bowl Pregame and the National Anthem were just awesome. I knew that the Academy Choirs were going to do the National Anthem, but the entire pre-game made me want to watch this Super Bowl even more. I really thought the teams were pretty even and that the one with the fewest mistakes would win. I was rooting for the Patriots just because they are so team oriented and guys make sacrifices all the time for the good of the team. Brady may not have been brillant, but I thought he had as solid a second half as you could have, and the best thing is I think Corey Dillion is really a believer in the team concept at this point. The coaching staff has the way of getting all those players to buy in and that is very unusual in today's professional sports. I don't know why it is so difficult to get these guys to understand that, since history proves this over and over. Just my thoughts. Ron Timson, Umatilla, Florida (It sure was great to watch a decent show and a solid game, wasn't it? You nailed it on Dillon - at least for this year, he bought the team concept, and I think the solidity of the rest of the team was what brought it about. No question - Dillon was a major factor in the Patriots' success. Back in the old days, everybody was so team-oriented that they wouldn't let a guy be a maverick, and if he insisted, management had the stones to let him go. And other teams had the good sense to figure out that he'd cause problems for them, too. HW) *********** Coach Wyatt, This past weekend I got to attend the Pennsylvania State High School Coaches clinic in Hershey PA. Overall, I thought the clinic kind of sucked to be quite frank with you. However, there sure was one bright spot. I got to listen to the head coach of West Chester University, Coach Zwaan, speak on some innovations on the Wing &endash;T. Actually, what they (WCU) run much of the time is not true Wing - T anymore, but rather more of the spread Wing-T. Kind of like what Tubby Raymond was doing at the University of Delaware before he retired. Anyway, I got some cool stuff from the dude. One play I left with was one very much like what Utah was doing in their bowl game this year when they ran that option play where the QB reads the end and can option to a running back to either his left or right. I had to laugh when Coach Zwaan said when he saw the play for the first time he said he got really pissed off. Pissed off because as he said, "Why the hell didn't I think of that!!". It was funny to hear him tell the story. You know, after seeing that play be applied to a Wing - T system, it sure would not take much to apply it to our DW scheme of things. In fact, I'm already doodling up some things to use if ever given the chance to use it. Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you. You would have liked this guy. Real down to earth. It's no wonder WCU has had the success they have had since this guy got to WCU. Obviously, he's one hell of a football coach. I'm going to try to see some more of what they do this spring for more ideas. Mike Lane, Avon Grove, Pennsylvania *********** I read a whine this week by a guy named Robert S. McIntyre, director of something called Citizens for Tax Justice. HIs complaint? Corporations don't pay enough in taxes - to states. He notes one of the major causes of the problem is that states lure businesses away from one another by offering them tax breaks, and cites as an example North Carolina's giving Dell Computers more than $230 million in tax breaks in order to attract a Dell plant to the Tarheel state. So Dell will provide jobs for plenty of North Carolinians, but Dell won't pay the state any corporate taxes - at least in the near future. Mr. McIntyre indicates that he has been living on another planet when he suggests, "States should get together, and agree to stop this futile competition." Yeah, right. Like professional sports teams should get together and agree to stop throwing money at free agents. (Actually, they've tried, and lost in the courts.) Let's face it - we Americans are a competitive people, and if there's one thing we can't stand - at least we old-timers - it's somebody who won't compete. How long do you think the governor of North Carolina is going to keep his job if he says there's nothing he can do about high unemployment, because he made an agreement with other states not to entice their business to move to North Carolina? *********** Coach, I read your notes about video systems with great interest. It was time for a new computer last spring so, following your advice about making videos, I looked into Macs. I bought an E-Mac for about $800. It came with iMovie and iDVD installed, and a DVD burner. The school where I coach bought a Sony digital camera that I have seen in stores for about $300. What I am able to do with this machine is unbelievable. We make DVD's of our games, I can make QuickTime movies to e-mail, and I put together an end of the season highlight tape that makes me look like I have a clue about technology. The ability to edit and create cut ups with speed, accuracy and ease is great. We show the kids "film" using a DVD player. The ability to get slow motion and to freeze the film is great. The computer has enough memory to hold the season, but I am at maximum capacity. When I am done with cut ups this summer I will purge the computer of 2004 and move on with my life. I guess my point is you can get some great results without going into debt. I hope to see you in Providence. I came down a couple of years ago, however, you always seem to be in town the same weekend we have my daughter's birthday party. Chuck Reid, Tilton, New Hampshire *********** I get asked all the time if linemen under a certain age are "too young" to pull. I do not believe that to be the case. In fact, if a four-year-old can drive Mom's car down to the video store, as one in Michigan did this week, I'm beginning to believe little kids can do almost anything if they're sufficiently motivated *********** Donald Trump, owning the Oakland Raiders? True, The Donald did once own a pro football team - anyone remember the New Jersey Generals, of the late USFL? - but nobody cared about it. On the other hand, imagine a moneyrgubber like him at the helm of the Raiders, a team whose followers are, to say the least, "passionate." The equivalent is happening in England. To Manchester United, possibly the best-known sports team in the world. (For the millions of Americans who don't know, or don't give a sh---, "Man U" is an English soccer team, and despite what the NFL would have you believe, there are billions of people elsewhere in the world who haven't the slightest idea who the New England Patriots are, but love Manchester United.) The parallel to the Raiders is apt. They play in a city which, never very glamour to begin with, has fallen on hard times. For many residents of Manchester, the soccer team is all they have - and they know it. Their passion for their team puts even Raider nation to shame. And now, the unthinkable appears about to happen. A Donald Trump type - actually, nn American named Malcolm Glazer, who already owns some 28 per cent of the team (it is publicly traded) - is attempting a complete takeover of the team. Mr. Glazer is a very rich man. With a net worth of a billion dollars, he is ranked 278th wealthiest person in the United States by Forbes Magazine. In 1995, he bought to Tampa Bay Buccaneers for $192 million. Ohmigod! A Yank! And one who's not passionate about soccer at that! Mr. Glazer's two sons are said to be behind the buyout efforts. Mr. Glazer himself apparently has no knowledge of or interest in soccer, and sees Manchester United as a business opportunity, pure and simple. (The value of the Manchester United brand on clothing alone is enormous in Asia, where the team is especially loved.) To give you an idea of how Mr. Glazer operates, back when he first offered to buy the Buccaneers, he promised the powers that be in Tampa that he would go 50-50 with them on a new stadium. But after gaining control of the team, he reneged on the promise, and issued the all-too-familiar owner's threat - Tampa had two years to build a new stadium (paid for by the taxpayers) or he would move the team to a city that would. At first, the Manchester protests were relatively mild. Nasty e-mails and unordered pizza were sent to the PR firm the Glazers have engaged. Ha, ha. But matters escalated when a Man-U director sold his holdings to Glazer for some $1.4 million (Glazer is offering more than market price for Man-U shares), and his black luxury car was splashed with red (Man-U's color) paint. On Wednesday night, hundreds of Man-U fans demonstrated in the street outside the team's stadium, chanting and singing songs (as only English soccer fans can do), some of them containing threats to the Glazers. And most recently, a group calling itself the Manchester Education Committee issued a warning that it would "target" Glazer, his family, the financial institutions who are backing him, and the current Manchester United board of directors, should they commit the "act of treachery" of selling the club. There are rumors that they are keeping a severed horse's head (a la The Godfather) in readiness should they need to make their warning more emphatic. Not to condone that sort of thuggery, but at least the Brits have seen it coming, and they have a chance to express their displeasure. Baltimore Colts' fans never had chance - they were blindsided when they woke up one morning and learned that Carroll Rosenbloom had arranged the swap that installed Bob Irsay as owner of the Colts. If Bawlmer fans had had any idea what they were in for, they'd have done a lot worse than order pizzas sent to the Colts' offices. Don't care about soccer? In 1989, Malcolm Glazer tried unsuccessfully to buy Harley-Davidson. *********** Maybe he was afraid of pickpockets. A Michigan player faces trial on charges of indecent exposure and sexual delinquency, after three women said they saw him exposing himself outside their residences. Police say they caught him "fondling himself" outside a home after midnight on December 7. But wait - remember the Super Bowl commercial where the guy in the convenience store got maced because he was talking on the phone and the clerk thought he was a holdup man? Things aren't always what they seem to be. Not according to the guy's attorney, who said his client merely had his pants down because he was "looking for his wallet." I've heard about women keeping valuables in their bras, but this is ridiculous. *********** Don't even get me started on the Oklahoma judge who's been arrested for, uh, "pleasuring himself" under his robes - during trials, yet - with something called a "penis pump." I am not kidding. People became suspicious when they heard noises like those made by a bicycle pump or a blood-pressure cuff. (If only Bill Clinton had known about this, think of all the pain he could have spared America.) *********** "Educators" are such copycats that I'll bet my bottom dollar that someplace in the past year - probably some sunny resort/convention location - some slick sonofabitch made a presentation to a gathering of educational administrators from around the country on a neat, clean way for weak, spineless principal to fire his/her big, bad, testosterone-laden football coach, because suddenly I'm seeing a practice pop up that I'd never seen before. All over the country, school boards and administrators are "opening up" their head coaches' jobs to all applicants, while appearing to cushion the blow by inviting the "former" coaches to "reapply" for their jobs. The latest to go was the head coach at Hempfield Area High School, in western Pennsylvania. Despite the pleas of current and former players, including Vikings' TE Sean Berton, the school board met behind closed doors for an hour, then voted 5-3 to open the Bo Ruffner's coaching position. Very clever. He's not exactly fired, you see. But the only way for him to return next season as the head coach is to apply for the job and be rehired by the board - the same board that gave him a vote of no confidence by throwing his job open to all applicants. Coach Ruffner called the board's action "a shock", saying he had been given no notice that the board was dissatisfied with his performance. Would he reapply for his former job? "They don't want me as coach," he said. "It will be tough to apply to a place that doesn't want you." Who's kidding whom? The way this tactic is being used, from coast to coast, something is going on. It's too much of a coincidence for it to suddenly start happening, and these people aren't all clever enough to have hit on the idea independently. I've said it before and I'll say it again - the way they are being treated, football coaches need a union. Not the National Education Association, either - all those pussies want to do is take your money and turn it over to the Democratic National Committee. I have in mind something more like the Teamsters. ("You fire our guy without cause, and you'll see a picket line in front of your school so fast your head will spin. Nothing goes in and out of this place.") *********** A friend of mine started a youth wrestling program, trying to get kids in his area a head start. He's put a lot of time and effort and, I'm sure, money into it. Got to admire that. But already, despite everything he's done to give kids an opportunity to learn the sport and compete in it, he's begun to run into the BIG P - parents. Boy (he writes) tell me again why I do this crap!? I've had a parent on my ass this wrestling season about every single little thing -- so I finally responded to their last email like this.. "I didn't start this club so I could have problems with people - I started it because I wanted to give some young men the chance to pursue a sport that I think can help their character in the long run. However, I'm a big boy and know that sometimes you just can't please some folks. So, rather than continue an unproductive relationship, I'll just "un-invite" you to be part of our wrestling program. Please do not attend any more practices, because I just don't need the headaches. Thanks - Coach ------- I've never kicked anyone out of a program before, but geeezzee..I've just HAD it with these parents who think that I am here to "serve" their kids and that because they pay a $40 registration fee, that I am somehow their "employee"...screw it! makes my head hurt, Coach...Parents sure know how to take the joy out of working with kids, don't they? Man, am I proud of this guy! If more coaches would take action like this, parents might begin getting the idea at an early age that partcipation in sports is a privilege, not a right, and coaches are not their servants! *********** To be the sleaziest organization in the NBA is to be the creme de la creme - or the scum de la scum, if you will. Now, you may very well have someone you wish to put up against the Portland Trail Blazers in the competition to be the worst, but I must warn you - you'd better read this first. You may remember my mentioning Darius Miles, the player who went off on Coach Maurice Cheeks because in a team film session the coach had the effrontery to point out ways in which Miles' play could - possibly - stand improvement. In the violent tantrum that followed, Miles is said to have used the vile N-word against his coach (himself a black man) at least 20 times, and then, when asked to leave the building, put on one of those "make me" acts. After a long, closed-door meeting in which the long-suffering Cheeks is said to have asked for a suspension of Miles for the remaining 20 games of the season, management came out and announced that Miles would, indeed, be suspended - but not for 20 games. For TWO games. Bear in mind that this is the same management that prior to the season gave Mr. Miles a six-year, $48 million contract - guaranteed. Miles also "issued" an apology, too. (Notice that these guys always "issue" apologies, through either an agent or a team spokesman. What - you expected those guys to at least read the apologies themselves? Look - we know that those guys couldn't possibly have written them, so how could we expect them to be able to read them?) Miles'"apology" was directed to the fans, who as far as I know didn't have to listen to his ugliness - but not a word did he say about Coach Cheeks. So the guy gets of easy, but still doesn't have the good graces or good sense to apologize to his coach, and management doesn't have the cojones to see to it that he does so. But at least he had to serve that two-game suspension. Right - but he threatened to file a grievance with the league, because although the suspension was only costing him $150,000 (about enough money to pay the coaching stipends of every high school varsity, JV and freshman basketball coach in the Portland area), it was the principle of the thing. But then, the Blazers' organization sprung a leak. There is still someone on the inside with a sense of what is right, and as a result, John Canzano of the Portland Oregonian wound up in possession of a copy of an agreement drawn up between the Trail Blazers and Darius Miles in which Miles would agree to drop any lawsuits or grievances against the club, and the club would pay Miles the $150,000 for the two games he missed. Plus interest. Caught red-handed, the Blazers' president, who back last year made a big show of atonement for the team's past sins by publicly promising "accountability," could only say that nobody had signed any agreement. And then he implied that Canzano had no right to get into "private matters." Like it's a public matter when a team says that it is holding a player accountable, but when it turns out that it isn't, it's a private matter. They expect the public to believe them, and not Canzano, but after they dish out a ridiculously short two-game suspension and follow up with a lame non-apology, who in his right mind would? So come on now - do you really think you can match that?   *********** I'm glad that Marine Lieutenant General (that's three stars) James Mattis is on our side.   In San Diego last week, addressing a mostly military audience, he was caught by a local TV station saying, basically, that he didn't mind shooting bad guys. Enjoyed it, even.   General Mattis, who commanded Marine forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq, told the group, "Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling.   "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them."   Once the General's quotes hit the streets, though, there was hell to pay. Imagine! It's the 21st Century, and we still have these warrior types - these neanderthals! - in our armed forces.   (I am not sh--ting you - a woman wrote to the editor of the Portland Oregonian - okay, okay, it is Portland - Thursday, calling his remarks "totally nauseating." Not only did they reveal "a horrible attitude toward Muslim people," she said, but they "endangered our soldiers even more" because they are likely to "provoke an even more ferocious reaction from the insurgents."   The Marine commandant, General Michael Hagee, defended General Mattis, calling him "one of this country's bravest and most experienced military leaders."   "Lieutenant General Mattis" he went on, "often speaks with a great deal of candor."   General Hagee said he had "counseled" General Mattis regarding the remarks and that Mattis "agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully." (I would have said, "KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.")   "Lt. Gen. Mattis is a superb leader and one of the Corps' most courageous and experienced warriors," General Hagee went on. "I remain confident that he will continue to serve this nation with dedication and distinction."   Marine General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added, "The last three times that that general has been in combat, when he was leading Marines in Afghanistan and the two times that he led his division in Iraq, his actions and those of his troops clearly show that he understands the value of proper leadership and the value of human life."   Another General, George S. Patton, Junior, said basically the same thing, but a bit more eloquently: "Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance. God help me, I do love it so!"   *********** The 2004 Madison High Highlights tape is now ready to ship. It runs about an hour and a forty minutes, and includes hundreds of plays from this past season, in which he turned a program that had gone 0-9, 1-8 and 2-7 into a 7-2 season. (MADISON HIGH, 2004)The real significance of our success, I think, is the way we were able to make use of the kids that we had. We were not overly talented, but we had a very tough, hard-working, unselfish group of kids, a few of them with unique gifts, and I think we coaches did a great job of putting them all in the right places - places where they could enjoy the most individual success, and at the same time make the greatest contribution to the team. I also think we did a great job of zeroing in on what it was that these particular kids did best, and not letting ourselves get too far from the basic plan. There is a certain emphasis on the "Multiple Wing" - you will notice that we did not remain in one formation - we ran at least one play from at least 20 different formations - but at the same time you will notice that we did not run a great number of different plays. (For example, you will be interested, I think, to see how many different ways you can employ "power" blocking.) If you are a Double-Wing coach or if you are even thinking of using some Double-Wing in your program, I think this tape will open your eyes. To order a copy of the tape, send $29.95 (check, money order or school P.O.) to Coach Hugh Wyatt - 1503 NE 6th Ave - Camas, WA 98607 "The Beast Was out There," by General James E. 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" 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. --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN - RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2005 "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 GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO)

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) February 8, 2005 "I didn't want anyone to say that I was a good athlete, but worth nothing as a human being - I couldn't bear that." Former heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling, who died last week at age 99.      2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here OUR SEASON - MADISON HS - PORTLAND, OREGON, 2004 A VISIT TO WEST POINT, NOVEMBER, 2004      NEW!A LIST OF SOME OF 2004'S TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS 2005 CLINICS SET --- for more info - 2005 Clinics *********** SUPER BOWL WRAP-UP... Truer words were never said... Fox's Jillian Barberie, although undoubtedly hired to provide eye candy for James Brown, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson on the Sunday studio show, occasionally steps out of the bimbo-type role she was hired to play, and comes up with some rather good lines in the weekly repartee. Sunday, in talking about what an extravaganza the Super Bowl has become (for better or worse), she said it all - "Thirty-five years ago, it was about the football. Now, it's about the party." *********** Pregame - I made the mistake of thinking that kickoff was at 3 PM Pacific, instead of 3:30, so I turned the TV on prematurely, and saw the opening act of the pre-game show. And what a freak show it was. Mercifuly, none of the acts was on long. I was left wondering mainly one thing: where do they find all those doofuses - mostly women - who stand in the crowd surrounding the stage, jumping up and down as if they are 20th in line to use the rest room, and frantically waving their arms back and forth overhead? You get the feeling that if someone on stage were singing the Ave Maria, they'd still be jumping up and down and waving. So what happens after the performance is over? They do whisk them right out of the stadium, don't they? I mean, with some Philadelphia fans taking second mortgages so they could afford to buy tickets, please don't tell me that those idiots down in the make-believe mosh pit got to watch the game. *********** I know they can't clean up every part of every act, and maybe when that female country singer sang "Gonna have a little fun - gonna get me some," she really meant "get me some fried chicken." *********** There was only ONE erectile dysfunction remedy commercial. And they took pride in telling us later that they even had the "good taste" to wait to run it until after 9 PM - "when a lot of children have gone to bed." Uh, that would be 9 PM Eastern. It was only 6 PM out here on the West Coast. Thank the Good Lord I didn't have to listen to any little ones snickering about erections lasting longer than four hours. *********** "America the Beautiful?" Sorry, Alicia. I don't think so. Only Ray Charles could screw with that song and bring it off. *********** Some "introductions" - a couple of actors who just happen to be promoting upcoming movies or shows appear on the scoreboard screen and tell us things we already know about both teams. But nothing about the players. They've played their asses off to get to this game, but THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE F--KING PLAYER INTRODUCTION! *********** The National Anthem, performed by the combined glee clubs of the four service academies, was great. No frills, no weird-ass arrangement - and it was quick, too. (But who were those clowns with the long trumpets, dressed like the palace guard of some postage-stamp European principality?) *********** Wow. How'd you like to be the CEO of the company that makes O2 Optic contact lenses, and realize that your advertising and marketing people just pissed $2.4 million of your advertising budget down the drain on one 30-second commercial that did - what? *********** The NFL showed how deeply committed it is to helping youth football (that's a joke, son) by trotting out little Tyler Callahan, a Pop Warner player from Jacksonville, for the coin toss. No, I thought - they'd never let a little kid toss the coin, would they? But damned if they didn't. Great kid, I'll bet, the kind we'd all be proud to call our son or grandson, but this was no place for a stunt like that - he tossed the coin straight up and it didn't even flip over! *********** I laughed at the Bud Light commercial when not even throwing a six-pack of Bud Light out the side of the plane was enough to entice a parachutist to jump - but it did get the pilot to jump. ********** I laughed at the biker gang that was intimidated by the lineup of black Ford pickups outside a diner - they are able to move on with their dignity intact when one of them suggests that the salad bar is better up the road. *********** I laughed at the people who found the McDonald's french fry that looks like Lincoln. As the story developed in subsequent spots, it got less funny. *********** P. Diddy arriving at the big blowout in a Pepsi truck was okay, I guess. But I understand that the Pepsi driver at the end was also somebody we're supposed to know. Question - if a lot of us don't know who the hell he is, why bother paying for him when any old actor will do? *********** LeBron James is selling something. Bubble gum? Another $2.4 million down the drain. (Not to mention what they had to pay King James.) *********** Olympus seemed to have an iPod that takes pictures. Or is it a camera that stores music? Or is it a phone? Damned if I know. *********** I laughed at Cedric, who after finding out that being stranded on a desert island with Bud Light and two women is going to entail a lot more nagging than he can handle, decides to rework his fantasies . (Commercial closes with a scene of Cedric, a barbecue grille, and a dog.) *********** Volvo comes on, selling power. Volvo? Power? *********** GoDaddy.com shows a mock congressional hearing in which a young woman with ample bazooms suffers a near-wardrobe malfunction. (This is better?) *********** Pam Oliver tells us that Terrell Owens spent a whole night in a hyperbaric chamber. *********** It's what happens when you give a guy too damn many cameras to play with... Fox's director evidently enjoyed seeing how long he could stay with a closeup of the quarterback's face when he came to the line before being forced to switch to the far less creative shot that we all want to see - you know, the one that lets us see the play. A couple of times, he waited until after the ball is snapped to make the switch. *********** Speaking of cameras, what ws the purpose of the much-heralded buried cameras? *********** Speaking of much-heralded things that we didn't see much of, where was Freddie Mitchell hiding all day? *********** Receivers - Men in Skirts. Chris Collinsworth very helpfully pointed out that a penalty against the Patriots for illegal contact was definitely justified - why, the contact took place seven yards downfield! *********** Talk about a funny idea for a commercial with no clear connection to the product - the guy in the convenience store who's talking out loud on a hands-free phone and gets sprayed with mace by the clerk after he loudly tells the guy on the other end, "YOU'RE GETTING ROBBED!" I think it was selling AmeriQuest - whatever the hell that is. But then, you wouldn't want to waste valuable air time telling us what, exactly, you're selling, would you? *********** In a promo for "24" (good show), actor William DeVane, who plays the Secretary of Defense, is either sucking up to George W. Bush, or he doesn't know how to pronounce "NU-CLE-AR" either. *********** After kids throw a bag of Lay's Potato Chips across a fence, an old man who never used to return balls that were hit over on his side begins throwing all sorts of things back, including an old car, and rapper M.C.Hammer. Huh? *********** Something about "Inaction" hero dolls - "some men don't take risks," we're told - so buy new Degree for men. *********** Cadillac is definitely trying to be hip. Zero to 60 in five. Wow. *********** I'm sorta getting tired of chimps in commercials. Evidently, they're a real pain in the ass to have to work with in the office, too. *********** Gladys Knight appears to be playing for the Englsh rugby team. *********** An Anheuser-Busch commercial shows servce people in BDU's walking through an airport terminal when all those around them break into applause. Nice touch. (Where was that message when the guys were coming home from Vietnam?) *********** Mike Ditka and Dennis Rodman say they are Dianna Pearl. Say what? *********** A huge NASCAR graphic appears on screen. Just as this is the Super Bowl, we are told, Daytona is the Super Bowl of racing - and whuddya know - in two weeks, the Daytona 500's going to be on TV - on this very network! And hey- there's Jeff Gordon, up in that luxury box! *********** Maybe the best spot of the day - it's an ad for the NFL Network. One after another, NFL stars sing lines from "Tomorrow" (from "Annie.') Tag line - "We're all undefeated again." *********** Tabasco? They need to advertise on the Super Bowl? They're probably as well known world-wide as Coca-Cola. *********** Another clever AmeriQuest commercial. As a guy prepares a romantic dinner, his cat knocks over a pan of tomato sauce on the range. As his girl enters his apartment, she sees him holding the sauce-coated cat in one hand and a knife in the other, as he stands in a pool of something red. And I still don't know what the hell AmeriQuest does. *********** The announcing crew, especially Chris Collinsworth, is lame. Collinsworth seems desperately in search of a trend. If the Patriots gain yardage on three straight running plays, he says the Eagles are going to have to find the solution to the Patriots' running game. If the Eagles complete two passes in a row, he cautions that the Patriots are going to have to come up and cover them tighter. *********** "Cast your vote for MVP" they tell us, and show us a sample ballot with three names on it: Donovan McNabb - check. Tom Brady - check. Adam Vinatieri - wha-a-a-at? A f--king kicker for MVP? Good luck. "Vote now!" the guys in the booth tell us. Hey, why not? There's only 13:44 left in the game. *********** The Patriots scored on another one of those lame-ass tackle-eligibles. When is the NFL going to ditch this relic of a rule? *********** Budweiser Select, a new product to be introduced soon, says, "Pucker up - Kiss your aftertaste good-bye." Uh, considering how much Anheuser-Busch has invested in Budweiser itself - considering that nearly A-B sells nearly half the beer sold in America - how smart is it to be telling people that there's something wrong with the beer they've been drinking? I mean, when was the last time you had a problem with aftertaste? *********** It's 21-14, 10:50 left,and the Patriots are inside the Eagles' 10. Collinsworth tells us, "They're trying to do anything they can to keep from giving up points." You think maybe it just occured to them that that's the idea? *********** Cedric makes me laugh again by inadvertently teaching everyone in the joint a new dance step -the dance of the designated driver. *********** The Patriots made a field goal. Imagine! We're into the fourth quarter and there's been only one field goal attempted so far - in an NFL game! *********** With 2:42 left, Freddie Mitchell finally catches a pass. So where's this surprise he was going to have for somebody? *********** For some unknown reason, with time running out, the Eagles' offense seems to be dawdling. Collinsworth is having a cow. *********** Fox is a lot less obnoxious this year about promoting shows that will follow the game. *********** With 1:48 remaining, and the Eagles having just scored to pull within three, Chris Collinsworth goes out on a limb--- "You'd almost have to believe they've got to recover this onside kick to have a shot." *********** The Eagles' onside kick fails, but they stop stop New England with a minute or so to play, forcing the Pats to punt. And then, when they don't drop anyone back to field it (huh?) the ball rolls, untouched, inside the Eagles' five.   *********** IN SUM, Although a confirmed NFL-hater, I thought that the Super Bowl was actually a pretty good game. I mean, how often do you get to watch a pro game that isn't decided by a kicker? How often do you get to see a pro game in which six offensive touchdowns are scored and only one field goal is attempted?   *********** I think that as long as they are going to be continue naming a Super Bowl MVP, they should give consideration to naming a defensive MVP as well. *********** If the Eagles had won, I would have argued for Bryan Westbrook for MVP. Maybe McNabb, with those numbers he put up. But the media would have pushed for Terrell Owens, which would have been a damn shame. For the first time ever, for some reason, with the exception of a little wing-flapping he kept his act under wraps, and let his performance speak louder than his mouth - which is saying something. *********** The pity of the Super Bowl commercials was that either advertising agencies have lost the ability to make a humorous commercial without farting horses or dogs that bite groins or, worse still, that their research may show that the average 18-34 year-old American male wouldn't understand any humor above that level. Either way, this year's Super Bowl was not Madison Avenue's finest hour. *********** I am starting to hear people say that the Patriots are boring. Sure, they win - but they don't play exciting football. (Not that I don't hear this all the time about the Double Wing.) So even for the Patriots, it's not enough to win - in the age of SportsCenter and Madden 2005, they have to earn style points. I've got news for those carpers - the Lombardi Packers weren't all that exciting, either. I am also hearing people say that three Super Bowl wins by a total margin of nine points do not constitute a "dynasty." Do the fools who are saying this realize how much more difficult it is to even get to the Super Bowl these days? Bear in mind - I have no dog in this fight. I like and admire the Patriots, but I don't live or die with them. So I say to the complainers, whose favorite teams are undoubtedly much more exciting than the Patirots - "Where's your Lombardi Trophy?" *********** You have to give the Iggles credit. They used the clock in the waning minutes like they had a big bet on the Patriots! Tom Hinger, Winter Haven, Florida (It did appear to be a classic case of a casual approach to time management, didn't it? HW) *********** There will come a day when you will proudly tell people that you knew about the Black Lions before they ever became famous...   Universal Pictures has set Paul Greengrass to write and direct "They Marched Into Sunlight," an adaptation of the Vietnam War-era book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning David Maraniss.   The pic will be produced by Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman.   The book focuses on parallel stories that took place on two days in October 1967. On one side of the world, U. of Wisconsin students protested against Dow Chemical for its production of napalm. The peaceful antiwar demonstration escalated into a riot. At the same time, a platoon of U.S. soldiers was ambushed by Viet Cong. A fierce firefight claimed the lives of 61 Americans. The two unconnected events galvanized opposition to the war on college campuses.   U vice chairman of worldwide production Mary Parent and senior veep Dylan Clark will shepherd the project. Playtone's Hanks and Goetzman bought the book with their coin, and U acquired it from them through their first-look deal with the studio.   Maraniss, a Pulitzer-winning reporter and editor at the Washington Post, was a Pulitzer finalist for his book.   While Greengrass' first studio directing job was "The Bourne Supremacy," he has experience with politically charged storylines. His breakthrough film was 2002's "Bloody Sunday," a docu-style drama about a protest march in Northern Ireland that turned into a bloodbath. Greengrass wrote and directed that film.   That's from Variety, the trade journal of the show business industry, and what it says, basically, is that not only is David Maraniss' book, about the Black Lions, "They Marched Into Sunlight,"(remember when I told you to read it?) going to be made into a movie, but the movie is going to be produced by no less than Tom Hanks, made by one of Hollywood's top studios and directed by one of its top directors. No one could be happier than the vets of the Black Lions for David, who first earned their trust and then, subsequently, their friendship. He has also written "First In HIs Class," a biography of Bill Clinton, and "When Pride Still Mattered," the definitive biography of Vince Lombardi. He is currently at work on a biography of the late baseball great, Roberto Clemente, and is on leave from his job as a writer for the Washington Post to serve as a visiting faculty member at Princeton University. And - ahem - David serves on the Board of Advisers of the Black Lion Award. *********** Fox Sports World, recognizing the fact that with the exception of the occasional rugby or Australian Rules match it was mostly soccer anyhow, has been renamed Fox Soccer Channel. *********** Coach Wyatt, Thanks for all that you do with your website.  I have found it to be greatly beneficial.  One question regarding non-linear editing.  We are cuurently linear with a VCR tower.  It is extremely time consuming to do cutups, especially for college recruiting tapes of our players. I've read everything you say about buying a MAC, a Sony camera, etc. #1- If YOU had say $3000 to put towards a new editing system, what would you buy exactly..TODAY???   Hi Coach - Excuse the unconventional method of response, but I find this assures that I answer all the questions...   You can buy a decent camera that records in mini-DV tape format for under $1000; You can buy an iMac desktop computer with a Super Drive (which will record DVDs) for $1500 from a mail order place such as MacConnection - it comes with an 80 gb hard drive, which at roughly 13 gb per hour of video stored should get you through the first season, although you will find that next year you will be adding an additional hard drive (they run up to 500 gb in size, cost a little more than $1 per gigabyte and hook right up to your computer; a 160 gb hard drive made by LaCie - I think they're the best - is now about $200, and getting less expensive all the time); from some strange reason, it comes with only 256mb of RAM, so you'd want to upgrade - to a gigabyte, I would suggest - for another $300 or so (it is money well spent).   The best thing about the Mac is that it comes with iLife, a bundle of software containing iMovie, which is very easy to learn and use and, for video editing purposes - basically, assembling video clips - is really all you have to have.   Macs also come with Quicktime, an extremely useful tool for showing clips an upgrade of $30 gives you the ability to upgrade to Quicktime Pro. I put all the clips I want to show at clinics in Quicktime Pro files, which allow you to display on your computer screen, on a monitor or with a projector, and play at normal speed, still, freeze-frame or slow-mo, as well as being able to move to any point on the clip by dragging the cursor.   A 17"-screen Powerbook with everything listed above but 512mb of RAM would set you back about $1000 more, but it offers the advantage of portability - allowing you to take your computer with you to show clips to kids right on the computer (I do this) or use it to drive a projector (I do this at my clinics).   The non-linear process is fairly simple. After you've taped the game, you rewind the tape, hook up your camera to your computer, and "import" it into the computer, where iMovie captures it, creating a new "clip" on your screen at every point where the camera person pressed the "Start Record" button while taping - in other words, at the start of every play - so that every play is represented by its own video clip. The program allows you to manipulate a clip just as if it were a body of copy on a word processor - for example, you can duplicate it, delete it, shorten ("crop") it, move it to another location in the game sequence (copy, cut and paste) which works great for when you're assembling all plays of a particular type. It also allows you to add slow-motion, or titles, or music or voice-over - to an individual clip or to the whole movie.   You then "export" your creation from the computer to a digital tape, which you can use for viewing (using a camera with its remote as your "Play deck") or for offline duplicating (see #3 below). Or, if you have the software and hardware, which you will with a Mac, you can export to a DVD.  #2-Am I asking too much if I want to tag an end zone shot behind a pressbox shot? You will need another camera, of course, and unless it is a DV camera, you are going to run into a slight hassle in having to "digitize" the video before you can import it to the computer. My suggestion - but an inexpensive DV camera. You can find a decent one in the neighborhood of $500.   If you don't have a vantage point, that's a consideration, too.   Otherwise, it can be done, although unless you have special software or equipment to "merge" the sideline shots with the end zone shots, you will need to do it manually by loading the two games into the computer in one iMovie project, then assembling the finished project by cutting and pasting, clip by clip, one play after another. At, say, 120-150 plays per game, I would estimate it to take about up to two hours per game to assemble. #3-When wanting to make copies to exchange with my next opponent, what is the duplicating process?   Unless you have an arrangement to provide your opponent with more elaborate than raw footage, you merely make VHS copies from the original DV game tape shot at the game. Use your DV camera as your "Play" deck, hook it up to a VHS deck (or a series of decks) and record. Your DV camera makes the conversion from digital to "analog" tape format.   Similarly, you can "digitiize" a VHS tape that's been sent you from an opponent by hooking up the VHS to your DV camera and recording it onto mini-DV tape. Now, what was analog tape is in a digital form recognizable by your computer.   #4- Would you recommend TD Video or will what you recommend accomplish the same thing?   TD video is a very good product. I have tried it and it appears to do everything it claims to do, which as I see it, is primarily video scouting - of yourself or an opponent - because what it really is is a database, part of whose data is digital video. In other words, think of the concept of the video clips from iMovie, to which you have keyed in data - such as down, distance, hash mark, formation, play description, yards gained (or lost). Once the data are entered, TD Video allows you to pull up all plays in your database containing specific data - such as all first-down running plays from the left hash. You do have to factor in its cost - $895, I believe. *********** I have re-read your video articles but because they are more than 10 minutes old they are pretty dated.  I am interested in what most of the good programs are using for game film.  Have most gone to computer play-back and if so what software is being used.  Our camera guy was shooting direct to DVD this year which was great quality wise but was really cumbersome in terms of film sessions while using a regular DVD player.  While studying at home I do it on my computer (Windows, would love to go iMac but compatibility with rest of staff is at issue) but still have not found software that easily goes from real-time to slow mo and pause, then back.  In showing game tapes, I still find that the easiest way is to use the actual tape, and use the camera as my "play deck." I have several mini-DV cameras, and they all do a great job. Every DV camera worth a damn has a great rock-solid freeze-frame (pause), great single-frame advance, and crisp slow-motion. Plus, of course, a decent remote. That, combined with a lazer pointer, gets the job done. I don't know if the playback feature on a camera that shoots directly onto DVD offers the same features. If I want to make clips, I use iMovie, but there are other programs that will work, and I export to Quicktime movies, which are playable on my computer screen, or from my computer onto a projector or a large-screen monitor. Let me know if that solves your problem!   *********** Rick Neuheisel's case against the University of Washington and the NCAA chugs on in a Seattle courtroom.   That the Neuheisel case is even in court points to the sort of incompetence at the UW that led to his hiring in the first place - this time, though, it's incredibly stupid public relations.   The problem is that the UW wasn't sufficiently media-savvy to get it right out at the time of the firing that it was based not on his gambling, but on his lying. Anybody who understood Watergate would have understood. Nixon wasn't run out of office because of a break-in; it was because of the coverup that followed.   Nor did they emphasize fully the connection between the blatant lies about his 49ers' interview and the impulsive denial when the NCAA asked him about gambling. Clearly, there was a pattern.   That is what they are arguing now - but at the cost of hundreds of dollars an hour in legal fees - when they could have done so in the first place with a simple news release. Instead, they allowed the media to frame the issue as being about an innocuous NCAA pool ("everybody does it") and UW compliance officer Dana Richardson's incorrect advice that it was okay to take part in a pool.   So the public perception is that on the basis of that advice, Neuheisel went ahead and entered the pool - and then got fired for gambling.   If you asked anyone outside the Seattle area, that is what they'd tell you it's all about.   But guys --- it's about LYING. He was caught red-handed by a Seattle reporter who (a) recognized him in the San Francisco airport and (b) overheard him on the phone talking about his interview with the 49ers and how well it went. Imagine the surprise of the people at the UW when they read that in the paper. They should have fired his ass on the spot for that one but instead, they warned him not to lie to them again.   So, based on the fact that he ran the stop sign and lied to NCAA investigators, who really cares if Dana Richardson said he could do it? Who cares, for that matter, if he went ahead and did it? On top of his lie about spending a weekend in San Francisco, instead of skiing at Sun Valley, lying to the NCAA would be more than enough to get any coach fired.   (He claims that the NCAA people caught him off guard - asked him a question he wasn't prepared for. Like that would cause a problem for someone who has nothing to hide. But some people -Bill Clinton comes immediately to mind - can't help themselves. Asked them a question, and the first thing that comes to their mind is a lie.)   *********** I read someplace that Pete Carroll intends to take some of Norm Chow's offensive coordinator responsibilities away from him. Hard for me to believe. Pete Carroll is good - I understand that he is his own defensive coordinator - but is he really that good?   *********** Maybe somebody can tell me how this all panned out - Tulane's head coach Chris Scelfo supposedly offered a scholarship to his nephew Anthony Scelfo, a QB from New Orleans' Jesuit HS. Antony's dad, Frank Scelfo, is Tulane's offensive coordinator. But the Tulane AD refused to sign the papers, saying that since the kid's dad is a Tulane employee, the kid already is guaranteed a free ride. The kid said that after commiting to Tulane earlier, he'd canceled visits to Army and Navy. Finally, as I understand it, the AD backed off and signed the papers, but young Mr. Scelfo then refused to sign the papers himself, saying that he needed a few days to think things over. *********** For me, 2005 will mark an anniversary of sorts. It was in 1985, when I was running the Delaware Wing-T at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington, that I first ran a power toss off-tackle. We lined up unbalanced, backs usually in a power-I, but sometimes in strong, sometimes in right - and pulled both guards. The QB Tossed and turned and led through. (I have it on tape.) We had an A-Back named Jack Perseghetti who was really tough off-tackle. Technically, it would have been called 88 G-O Toss, but we just called it "Meatgrinder Right." When I ran the play in Finland, we called it "Liha Mylly Oikea." (Meatgrinder Right.) Interestingly, when Odessa (Texas) Permian won their last state title - the season that "Friday Night Lights" is based on - they ran a wing-T power toss with their QB leading. The QB was a kid named Stony Case, who went on to play at New Mexico and played a little in the NFL. (I think after that he went on to medical school.)       *********** The 2004 Madison High Highlights tape is now ready to ship. It runs about an hour and a forty minutes, and includes hundreds of plays from this past season, in which he turned a program that had gone 0-9, 1-8 and 2-7 into a 7-2 season. (MADISON HIGH, 2004)The real significance of our success, I think, is the way we were able to make use of the kids that we had. We were not overly talented, but we had a very tough, hard-working, unselfish group of kids, a few of them with unique gifts, and I think we coaches did a great job of putting them all in the right places - places where they could enjoy the most individual success, and at the same time make the greatest contribution to the team. I also think we did a great job of zeroing in on what it was that these particular kids did best, and not letting ourselves get too far from the basic plan. There is a certain emphasis on the "Multiple Wing" - you will notice that we did not remain in one formation - we ran at least one play from at least 20 different formations - but at the same time you will notice that we did not run a great number of different plays. (For example, you will be interested, I think, to see how many different ways you can employ "power" blocking.) If you are a Double-Wing coach or if you are even thinking of using some Double-Wing in your program, I think this tape will open your eyes. To order a copy of the tape, send $29.95 (check, money order or school P.O.) to Coach Hugh Wyatt - 1503 NE 6th Ave - Camas, WA 98607 "The Beast Was out There," by General James E. 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" 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. --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN - RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2005 "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 GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO)

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS) February 4, 2005  "If you have accomplished all that you have planned for yourself, you have not planned enough." Edward Everett Hale      2004 CLINIC PHOTOS :ATLANTA CHICAGO TWIN CITIES DURHAM PHILADELPHIA PROVIDENCE DETROIT DENVER NORTHERN CAL Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here OUR SEASON - MADISON HS - PORTLAND, OREGON, 2004 A VISIT TO WEST POINT, NOVEMBER, 2004      NEW!A LIST OF SOME OF 2004'S TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS 2005 CLINICS SET --- for more info - 2005 Clinics   *********** I hope your favorite college had a great recruiting class. And if the recruiting gurus say it wasn't that good, screw them. They're wrong far more than they're right. There's still such a thing as coaching - it has a little something to do with whether a kid ever pans out. The gurus, most of them guys who have never coached, are trying to make a science out of an art, but to prove how inexact talent evaluation really is, take a look at the number of mistakes the pros, with all the tools and expertise they have at their disposal, make every year. *********** Hi Coach, Ardmore's Double-Wing offense is headed to south Alabama!! I have just been named Athletic Director/ Head Football Coach at Spanish Fort High School in Spanish Fort, Alabama. This will be a new school opening its doors in August. Spanish Fort is a beautiful community located next to Daphne, AL and just a 25 minute drive to the beautiful beaches of Gulf Shores, AL. We will begin as a 4A size school but will grow to 6A in just four years. My first day on the job will be March 1st. The turn-around that took place at Ardmore had a lot to do with me getting such a fantastic job. Of course, your DW offense had so much to do with the success we had at Ardmore and all the recognition we received. I'll forever be thankful to you Coach Wyatt and the day I picked up that phone and called you for the first time about this offense. This job is a coach's dream, because of being a brand new school, I get to build this program from the ground up without having to go in and change a losing tradition. We get to build our own tradition with the Double-Wing leading the way! Thanks again Coach for everything, I look forward to seeing you in Atlanta and sharing my excitement with some other double-wingers. Your Friend, Barry Gibson, Ardmore High School, Ardmore, Alabama *********** Coach Wyatt Over the past year or so I have become interested in the double wing. I have since purchased about every tape you have.  I have just completed my third year as line coach for Los Alamos High School, located in Northern New Mexico. For three years previous, I was the head coach for the Middle School in Los Alamos and ran a double wing formation with the emphasis on option attacks. I had a lot of success with this system. When I was invited to the High School, I became a little frustrated with our power I (one back focus) offense. It seemed to me that we were just not big enough to run over people and was looking for more deception. I studied the Wing-T and came across your double wing system and was sold after I reviewed your fist video. It took me some time, but I was able to convince a couple of long time assistant to convince our head coach to give it a look see. This past season, we implemented many of your plays along with some of our old and blended them. Although we did not implement your entire system, I kept true to the line blocking scheme and techniques. We went 10 Wins with just 2 Losses with a trip to the state playoffs. We had 3,457 total yards on the ground. We averaged over 35 points a game. I am excited about the upcoming season. I hope I can convince the staff to implement the number system because I think it make the play calling easier and as a line coach, I like the idea that line calls are included. I would be interested in more information on your passing attack and exploring more from the Wildcat formation. I have done quite a bit of work with this on paper, and believe the entire package can be run from it with a direct snap to the quarterback. Thanks for all your help... Will stay in touch, Coach Brousseau, Los Alamos, New Mexico *********** It's hard to believe it was September, 2000, more than four years ago, that I wrote this, but I was reminded of it the other day when I was watching the Kansas basketball team - and its star point guard, Aaron Miles... Get that kid outta there before he gets hurt! Aaron Miles, a senior at Portland's Jefferson High is a blue-chipper. In basketball, that is. In fact, he is considered by many to be the top point guard in the country, and is being recruited by Arizona, Duke, Kansas and UCLA. So what does he do a couple of weeks ago? He TURNS OUT FOR FOOTBALL! His buddies told him they needed him at quarterback, so, even though it was a little late, he turned out anyhow. And last Friday night, in his first start, he led Jefferson to a 19-13 defeat of archrival Benson Tech. Asked in a post-game TV interview what he was doing playing football, he said, "I've only got one senior year to play and have fun." Show this to those twinks at your school (every school has them) with their 18-inch vertical leaps who don't turn out for football because they need to work on their hoops. (September 27, 2000) *********** Chuck Bednarik will never change. He's one of the toughest human beings who ever lived. The son of a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania steelworker, he flew dozens of B-17 bombing missions over Europe while still a teenager, became and All-American at Penn and a perennial all-pro at center and linebacker for the Eagles, and, Deion Sanders be damned, he was the NFL's last true two-way player (he played all but a minute or two of the Eagles' 1960 championship game win over Lombardi's Packers). "Concrete Charlie," as he is still affectionately known in Philly, would go out on the field Sunday and play the Patriots if they'd let him. He'll be 80 in May, but so what? He was born to play football - real football, see - so he could easily play today, he'd tell you, what with all that pitty-patty crap they play nowadays. And don't get him goin' on these fancy dan, showboat wide-receiver types. Like Terrell Owens. "I hope somebody knocks him unconscious," he told Gordon Forbes, of USA Today last week. "He ruins the rest of the team." My sentiments precisely. *********** If you respect coaches who are very thorough and very solid and not very flashy, you will have a hard time choosing between the Patriots' Bill Belichick and the Eagles' Andy Reid. Belichick grew up the son of a coach. He hung around his dad's teams so much, and watched so much film that by the time he got to college, he had as good as served his coaching internship. Reid was an undersized offensive lineman at BYU. He told USA Today he thinks being an offensive linemen prepared him well: "I'm proud to be of offensive lineman roots. You understand you haven't gotten to where you are without hard work." *********** Before Andy Reid was hired by the Eagles, he was on Mike Holmgren's staff at Green Bay. Holmgren's long gone from Green Bay, and he's been having his problems in Seattle, but he casts a big shadow on the game. On his staff at Green Bay were Jon Gruden, Dick Jauron, Steve Mariucci and Ray Rhodes, all of whom went on to become NFL head coaches. *********** I'd like to be able to get to Vegas by Sunday, because I'm sure there'll be an over-under on how long it'll be before Freddie Mitchell gets decked. If he's like most modern-day players he knows nothing of the history of the game, so he can't have any idea how much his act resembles that of one Fred "The Hammer" Williamson. Most of you are too young to remember Fred Williamson of the Kansas City Chiefs, but basically he was the progenitor of a long line of Super Bowl bigmouths. In the days leading up to Super Bowl I (actually, it hadn't yet been named "Super Bowl'), Williamson, the self-anointed "Hammer," announced that he had some nasty surprises in store for the Packers. Said he had hammers (his allegedly lethal forearms) ready for Packers' receivers Boyd Dowler and Carroll Dale."Two hammers to Dowler, one to Dale should be enough," he said told reporters. Oooh-whee. Scare me, said the Packers. ("Why doesn't he keep his big mouth shut?" asked his teammates.) Come game day, although Dowler had to leave the game early with an injured shoulder, his replacement, Max McGee, nursing the famous hangover we've all read about, burned the Chiefs' secondary - including the Hammer - for seven receptions, good for 138 yards, and two touchdowns. Dale caught four passes for 59 yards. The Hammer made all of three tackles, and had to be carried off the field in the fourth quarter when he was knocked cold tackling Packers' rookie Donnie Anderson. If it hadn't happened that way, it would have happened another way. One way or another, the way things worked back then, somebody would have shut him up. Football players had a way of taking care of loudmouths back then. (In all fairness, they had a much easier job than nowadays - there weren't nearly so many loudmouths then.) Self-promotion aside, though, Fred Williamson was a good football player. And maybe there was some method to his madness, because while these jackasses nowadays be struttin' just to get themselves on SportsCenter, Fred Williamson was savvy enough to parlay his notoriety, his athletic good looks and what must have been some talent into a lucrative acting career.   *********** John Muckian, of Lynn, Massachusetts, writes, "My father was telling me the reason why Belichick is so successful, is he coaches the pro game like a college coach, unlike his run of the mill NFL colleagues."   Good point, but actually, I think Belichick's secret - apart from X's and O's - is that he runs his team the way a succcessful businessman or military officer would run his.   *********** Yale University, which counts among its graduates one of our earliest American heroes, Nathan Hale... which has given us numerous presidents, including George H. W. Bush, a fighter pilot who was shot down over the Pacific in World War II... has been on a decidedly unpatriotic course over the last 30 years or so.   Yale was among the first to banish ROTC, effectively depriving Yale graduates of the opportunity to serve their country as officers in the armed forces and possibly turning away from Yale the sort of young people who would add vitality and - dare I say it? - manly virtues to a campus desperately in need of the latter.   You can be sure that Yale graduates are prominent among those elites who wring their hands and decry the fact that the burden of defending our country is increasingly being placed on the shoulders of the poor and underprivileged; yet whenever they have a chance to do something more than just whine about it, they shrink from their duty.   Now comes the Yale Law School. Not quite the same as the undergraduate school - I mean, consider that Yale Law School is the place where the Clintons met - but you still might expect to find a shred of patriotism someplace in its hallowed halls. You would be sadly disappointed. The Yale Law School is one of several elite law schools that refuse to allow military recruiters on campus, because - you guessed it - the military discriminates against gays. (Like defense of the right to engage in homosexual acts is more important than defense of our country.)   This would pretty much be Yale's business, being a private school and all that, except that even lordly Yale accepts federal funds - millions of dollars a year, in fact - and as part of the Homeland Defense Act, Congress re-emphasized that colleges receiving federal funds could not bar military recruiters from their campuses. Sounds simple enough to me - if you don't want to play by our rules, don't take our money. But get this - wanting to have it both ways, the Yale faculty sued the federal government, and wouldn't you know - once again, common sense ran up against a liberal judge and came out the loser.   U.S. District Judge Janet Hall ruled that the law violates Yale's "constitutional right to freedom of speech." Therefore Yale can keep the American taxpayers' money, but still keep recruiters off campus. I have a feeling that this one is headed to the Supreme Court.   One shouldn't understate the importance right now of the military's need to recruit top legal legal minds, because if certain liberals have their way, every stinking one of those murderous creeps currently being detained in Guantanamo Bay is going to have to have a trial, and the military's legal staff will be run ragged prosecuting them. (You can be sure that there will be Yale Law School grads defending thre bastards.)   *********** While praises are being heaped - deservedly - on Belichick, Brady and Bruschi, don't forget the Patriots' owner, Bob Kraft. He's the one who made a crucial decision in shaping the tone of the franchise, back in 1996.   He's the one who was stupid enough to think you could make it to the Super Bowl by selecting a guy in the draft and then, after learning about his lack of character, cutting him loose three days later.   Anybody remember Christian Peter?   His story goes back at least to 1991, when Kathy Redmond an 18-year-old Nebraska freshman, on campus for just one week, claimed that Peter, then a 6-2, 265-pound nose tackle for the Cornhuskers, had raped her - twice - on two consecutive nights.   At first, she told no one about it - "I was scared my family would pull me out of school and I would be a victim for life," she told the Bosaton Globe - but finally her family, noticing how withdrawn she had become, got to the bottom of it. After two years, she finally went to university police. Asked why she waited so long, she said, "What I feared most was the reaction of the people of Nebraska, because that was my home and they made me feel I was the villain, I was the perpetrator."   Sure enough, she began to receive death threats and prank phone calls and her car was vandalized. She says she was trailed by a private investigator. "The university knew and they just didn't care because they were playing good football," she says.   Peter was never charged with anything in that case, but where there's smoke...   In that same year, 1993, a young woman named Melissa DeMuth filed a police complaint saying Peter invited her to his room, and then sexually assaulted her. Also in 1993, in a crowded bar, Peter repeatedly grabbed another young woman, Natalie Kuijvenhoven, a former Miss Nebraska, by the crotch, and in an "obscenity-laced tirade" told her how much she loved what he was doing. Peter was convicted of sexual assault and received 18 months probation.   All told, Peter was arrested eight times, and convicted four times, on charges ranging from threatening to kill a parking attendant, trespassing, public urination, refusing to comply with police, illegal possession of alcohol, failure to appear in court, and grabbing a woman by the throat.   Yet he continued to play football for the Huskers. Following the 1993 conviction, Nebraska coach Tom Osborne suspended Peter for one game, a spring exhibition.   Kathy Redmond sued the University of Nebraska under Title IX, charging it with sexual discimination caused by indifference. She received a settlement, and has since been active in other causes of violence against women on college campuses.   Peter, meanwhile, was drafted in the fifth round by the Patriots in 1996. But the Patriots immediately began to catch hell from women's groups for their selection, and in an act so unlike the values-neutral world of the NFL, they renounced their pick three days later and cut Peter loose. NFL teams do not casually discard draft choices.   It turned out that Myra Kraft, wife of Patriots' owner Bob Kraft, was sympathetic to the womens' cause, and had been instrumental in persuading her husband that it would not be in the long-term best interests of the Patriots to harbor such a person.   Said Kathy Redmond about Christian Peter's discovery that he was suddenly an outcast, "He felt just a little tinge of what it's like to be raped."   (According to Redmond, Tom Osborne, now a US Congressman from Nebraska, has apologized to her, telling her, in 2000, "I just want you to know I'm sorry for everything, and I didn't do right by you.")   Christian Peter sat out a year, then signed with the Giants and underwent 14 months of counseling. He wound up playing six NFL seasons with the Giants, Colts, and Bears. For all I know, he now has his act together.   As for the Patriots, they never showed signs of m issing Christian Peter. And they do seem to be as thug-free as any team in pro football. They are not, I am sure, all Boy Scouts. But if any of them has been doing something wrong, he has at least been doing so discreetly, with some regard for the way civilized people are expected to conduct themselves around other civilized people.   With that one act of culling out Christian Peter, by saying, "not in my house," Patriots' owner Bob Kraft delivered a lesson to the rest of the NFL - there are some people, no matter how talented, that you just can't afford to keep around. And you will actually become better without them. Addition by subtraction. Was anybody listening?   *********** There's the Stanley Cup, the most-celebrated trophy in all of sports, and unless somebody does something, it's going to go to waste this year.   To be honest, I haven't really missed the NHL. But then, I don't usually pay attention to hockey until the playoffs start. Then, however, I am plugged in. Big Time.   So with all this talk about the lockout sabotaging the season, I wonder if anybody from either "labor" or management has given any thought to saying "screw the season - why don't we just come back and play the damn playoffs, eh?   Forget trying to settle the salary issue - just get out there and play for the gate - winning team gets 2/3, losing team gets 1/3, after game expenses (subject to an impartial audit). Players can decide among themselves how to divide the money. Let the owners keep the TV money, which is trifling anyhow.   Let every team in. Play every round best-of seven.   It would be the stimulant that hockey needs so desperately, much more so than the ho-hum start of a regular season, wondering how long it will take for the fans to come back.   Everybody wins. Players get to return home from Europe for a payday. Owners get to put on a show without having to give in to players' demands. Hometown fans get to see hockey again. And ESPN2 gets something to show besides Texas Hold 'em.   You want to bring the excitement back? Really bring it back? Then let the playoffs begin.   I gar-on-tee, the instant those teams hit the ice, with everything on the line, the excitement will return and the regular season will be forgotten. (As always.)   ***********The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto thinks a Texas school district got it all wrong:   "A Cryar Intermediate School fifth-grader is facing a state jail felony charge for accidentally setting off a school fire alarm, according to his parents," reports the Courier of Montgomery County, Texas:   On Friday afternoon, the boy's mother, Kerri Rasco, of Conroe, got the kind of phone call no parent wants and probably doesn't think they [sic] will get about a child as young as 11.   "I was at work about 2 p.m. when I got a phone call from the sixth-grade assistant principal at the school," Rasco said. "She said my son pulled the fire alarm. 'That is a felony offense,' she told me. I was shocked."   Rasco said the assistant principal then put a CISD [Conroe Independent School District] police officer on the phone with her. "The officer informed me he was arresting my son," Rasco said. "They cuffed him there at the school and took him to juvenile detention."   Mr. Taranto seems to think this is too harsh - boys will be boys, it's his first offense, etc., etc.   Maybe so, but my experience has been that from a very early age, kids are taught in no uncertain terms NOT TO F--K WITH THE FIRE ALARMS! I did a lot of stupid things in school, and believe me, it never occured to me to pull a fire alarm. Every kid in Henry H. Houston Elementary School knew about the time that Wendell Klutz (that was his name!) pulled the alarm, and Miss Gibbs, the principal, sent him down to the janitor, who made him sit in the coal bin all day.   And the alarms themselves are not hair-trigger things, either. There are usually two steps that need to be taken, affording every perp one of those MacIntosh moments ("Are you sure you want to do this?") before crossing the line into a life of crime.   I daresay that 11-year-old knew exactly what he was doing.   As for this being his first offense, he'll get no sympathy from me. I live in the Northwest, the land where defense attorneys play that card for manslaughter, criminal assault, arson and the like. And, often as not, it gets their clients leniency.   I do not think it warrants a felony or time in jail. It could easily be handled by a couple of swats on the ass by the school principal. But the parents, who I'm sure never spanked their little darling, would probably rather see him serve the time than be paddled.   *********** The 2004 Madison High Highlights tape is now ready to ship. It runs about an hour and a forty minutes, and includes hundreds of plays from this past season, in which he turned a program that had gone 0-9, 1-8 and 2-7 into a 7-2 season. (MADISON HIGH, 2004)The real significance of our success, I think, is the way we were able to make use of the kids that we had. We were not overly talented, but we had a very tough, hard-working, unselfish group of kids, a few of them with unique gifts, and I think we coaches did a great job of putting them all in the right places - places where they could enjoy the most individual success, and at the same time make the greatest contribution to the team. I also think we did a great job of zeroing in on what it was that these particular kids did best, and not letting ourselves get too far from the basic plan. There is a certain emphasis on the "Multiple Wing" - you will notice that we did not remain in one formation - we ran at least one play from at least 20 different formations - but at the same time you will notice that we did not run a great number of different plays. (For example, you will be interested, I think, to see how many different ways you can employ "power" blocking.) If you are a Double-Wing coach or if you are even thinking of using some Double-Wing in your program, I think this tape will open your eyes. To order a copy of the tape, send $29.95 (check, money order or school P.O.) to Coach Hugh Wyatt - 1503 NE 6th Ave - Camas, WA 98607 "The Beast Was out There," by General James E. 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" 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. --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN - RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2005 "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 GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO)