October 24 - "Courage above all things is the first quality of a warrior." Carl von Clausewitz     BLACK LIONS COACHES - AS YOUR SEASONS WIND DOWN, IT'S TIME TO DECIDE ON YOUR AWARD WINNER - SEND ME HIS NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS SO I CAN MAIL YOU THE CERTIFICATE! BE SURE TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR NOMINATION A FEW WORDS ABOUT YOUR NOMINEE - BUT NOTHING THAT YOU WOULDN'T WANT PRINTED ("He isn't much of a football player, but..." "He doesn't have much talent, but...")   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He was a great single-wing tailback at North Carolina, bearer of one of the all-time great football nicknames - Choo Choo - and the inspiration for Frank DeFord's novel, "Everybody's All-American." His Sugar Bowl matchup with Georgia's Charley Trippi is considered to be one of the greatest man-to-man contests ever played. A true triple-threat, he was a great runner, passer and punter. Despite handling the ball on nearly every play as well as playing every down on defense, he missed only one game in four years of football At North Carolina, people still refer nostalgically to the four years he played there as "-- (His Name) -- Era," the grandest time in the school's football history. Despite all the great athletes honored in its sports Hall of Honor, the place is named for him. His NFL career was short. He played four years with the Washington Redskins.   *********** Cruisin' the National Fieldgoal League... NFL teams scored 44 offensive touchdowns this past weekend - exactly as many times as they threw their hands in the air and surrendered their fates to the accurate toes of the place kickers. Actually, I discovered that those suckers have been hiding some additional offensive "surrenders" - some field goals attempted, but missed - in the fine print, under the "FGs-PATs Blocked" category. Not that those turkeys try hard enough to block an extra point, but once or twice a weekend, it turns out, there is a blocked field goal. So make that 46 abject surrenders this past weekend, two more than the offensive touchdowns scored. Field goal kickers continued to be more accurate than NBA free throw shooters, making 79.5 per cent of their attempts. How's that for excitement? Mighty Tennessee's offense was outscored by winless Detroit, 3-1 in the touchdown department, but the powerful Titans won in the all-important field goal department - by out-fieldgoaling the Lions, 4-1, and returning a blocked Lions' field goal for a TD. The Jets and the Panthers scored touchdowns but didn't attempt any field goals. They both lost. The Giants and the Bengals failed to score any touchdowns. They both lost, too. The Cleveland Browns beat the Baltimore Ravens, and their best play was the sack. Offensively, the Browns sucked, big time: they rushed 29 times for an average 3.0 per carry; they completed 18 pass attempts for 113 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per attempt. But sacks? Seven, for an average 7.7 yards per sack. Only three NFL teams rushed for 200 yards or more. Ten failed to rush for 100 yards. A hundred yards! Lots of Double-Wing high school teams get that in one twelve-minute quarter, you turkeys! Jerome "The Bus" Bettis rushed for 143 yards, outrushing 19 other NFL teams! Eleven teams scored one offensive TD or less. Nine teams threw for less than five yards per attempt. Five yards per attempt! Time was when that kind of effectiveness would get your ass cut by any team in the NFL. Now they call it the West Coast Offense. They stopped the Baltimore-Cleveland game 18 times to march off penalties (that doesn't even count those that were refused). There were exactly two penalties assessed in the Pittsburgh-Tampa Bay game. John Madden gave the Packers an excuse by saying that they were assembled to play in cold Lambeau Field (on the frozen tundra) and not in a dome, and damned if they didn't use it as they proceeded to "rush" for 74 yards, and "throw" 35 times for 169 yards (a whopping 4.4 yards per attempt) in losing to Minnesota. Monday night's NFL game was pro football at its worst. The Giants controlled the football for more than 20 minutes of the first half, but couldn't manage to score a touchdown. Neither team could rush for 100 yards, and neither team was able to throw for even 4 yards per attempt! Between them, the two teams could manage but one touchdown. *********** Boy, I'll bet the people at NFL Properties are pissed off. They aren't making a nickel off the sale of those "FDNY" and "NYPD" hats that Giants' and Jets' coaches are seen wearing on the sidelines. Or are they? Trust those people to make money off anything. *********** My wife was only half listening to the Monday Night game when she heard big Notre Dame fan Regis Philbin (being interviewed up in the broadcast booth) talking about the Irish's next game against "B.C." (Boston College) "P.C?'" she asked, having heard just the end of it. I told her that it's a computer college in Vermont whose faculty consists entirely of married lesbians - "of color." *********** If I had to watch one more shot of that frigging Angie Harmon, up in her private box... *********** And these are the guys who tell us how to coach... the Eagles' defensive line jumped offside four times in the first half. All on third-down plays. When's the last time one of your teams did that?   *********** Regarding the anonymous letter that some creep sent to the AD and superintendent of one of our coaches...   "A MAN wouldn't write an anonymous letter! A MAN would make an appointment with the Coach and express his concerns. A MAN would not sit in the stands with the moms and talk about the Coaches. A MAN would realize that the Coach is riding his kid because no one at HOME has ever demanded anything from him. "Whoever wrote this just needs a good ass whupin. Of course, he'd go hire a lawyer and sue.,.you know, like today's "men" do." Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** I got something started with Mike Kent, in Cornwall, England. He said something about drinking hot tea, and I told him that if we wanted hot tea over here we would have to drink it quickly before the ice melted. He asked me with mock incredulity if we really did drink it cold, and I guess I said that while we were grateful to our friends the Brits for 'Thomas the Tank Engine' and "Teletubbies,' nobody who sends us 'Who Wants To be a Millionaire' and 'The Weakest Link' is in a position to lecture us about how we drink our tea. And this was his reply: "Sorry for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and " The Weakest Link" , we thought we'd successfully exported Anne Robinson to you after suffering her for years.But it turns out she still makes the Brit version as well, and now BBC2 have bought the American version , so we get her all the time. "Mind you , we still owe you for Jerry Springer, which I must admit to watching with a jaw dropping incredulity.I actually watch it to brush up on my American, I thought a 'hoe' was a garden implement until last week, but I still haven't worked out what 'dissing' means." *********** It was great listening to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld light into the weenie reporters who think it's perfectly okay for them to print classified information about our special forces being air-dropped into Afghanistan - information that was leaked to them by some traitorous bastard inside the government hoping to make points with the media weasels. Any football coach can understand Mr. Rumsfeld's anger. How'd you like to have the school newspaper dropped on your desk the Monday before your championship game, and see your secret game plan - known, you thought, only to members of your staff - printed on the front page? *********** Our local edition of Pravda, aka The Vancouver Columbia, runs a new headline every day featuring the latest American atrocity in Afghanistan. Imagine! We have actually killed some civilians over there! Can you believe it? I mean, I know our President said that we were at war, but he didn't tell us about hospitals. Or orphanages. Or senior citizen's homes. Or any of these other places that the Taliban says we are hitting. Gosh. If he had, I would have joined the peace marchers. I can't recall anything like that happening in any other war. And I certainly can't imagine Osama bin Laden doing that sort of thing to us. *********** George Hall, outstanding fullback and defensive end for two-time defending Connecticut state champ Fitch High of Groton, has committed to Purdue, a day after Purdue assistant Gary Emanuel, a native of nearby New London, watched him play in Fitch's 50-7 defeat of Bacon Academy. The Purdue coaching staff envisions moving him to middle linebacker. Hampered by the flu, George carried the ball just twice against Bacon Academy, but one of his runs went for 94 yards and a touchdown. Although George Hall becomes the first Fitch football player to commit to a I-A school during coach Mike Emery's 10 years there, six Fitch graduates are currently playing Division I-AA football in the powerful Atlantic 10. "I think it's really the result of two things," Mike Emery told the New London Day. "It's hard work in the weight room during the offseason (George has grown two inches and added 20 pounds to his frame since his junior season), and the other thing you can't ignore is work in the classroom. There's no way you can do this without hard work in the classroom." *********** "Just wanted to say thanks for your help this year. I have many points that you might find interesting. First of all, I know of at least 4 teams at the high school level in Illinois that are running the double wing. Three are in the playoffs. Nashville (7-2) Rich Central (7-2) Alton (5-4) "The other team missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker. That was Edwards County, Il; coached by Eric Imhoff. All these teams that I know of were at your clinic in Illinois. When will 2002 be? We can't wait. "In a twist of irony. Nashville will play East Alton, Il. East Alton's coach ordered your double wing info last year.(Gary Carter) He gave us the information on the double wing. Gary called us on Sunday and wanted to know everything we know about the double wing( Ha Ha)" Brad Hasquin, Alton, Illinois *********** "We are using the 'hold the rope' rally cry. The offense was yelling it to the defense out on the field when the game was close. Then the D yelled it at the Offense when we were close to scoring." John Torres, Manteca, California *********** Is anybody else pissed that our news agencies are falling all over each other in attempting to interview Osama bin Laden? Did we interview Hitler? Tojo? Hirohito? Ho Chi Minh. (Okay, okay. You had to bring up Jane Fonda. You got me there.) But an interview? With Osama bin Laden? Knowing what he has sworn to do to us - and what he has done to us already - doesn't any patriotic American, news reporter or not , have an obligation to kill the guy? As Rush Limbaugh said, we only need the answer to one question: what are your coordinates? *********** Cool story - I met Coach Kevin Latham, of Stone Mountain, Georgia at my Atlanta clinic and I liked his enthusiasm. We stayed in touch. I got to know Coach Dwayne Pierce of Washington, D.C. and met him for the first time at my Philadelphia clinic. Coach Latham confided in me that he was hacing something of a mid-season crisis: certain people he'd hired to help him run his offense were instead offering a lot more "input," and a lot less "support," than he needed. We talked over a few options. In the meantime, Coach Pierce happened to be headed to Atlanta on business, and he asked me if there were any Double-Wing coaches I could put him in touch with while he was down there. It just seemed natural for these two young guys to get together, and I told them so. They did get together, and the result is sort of heartwarming to an old matchmaker like me. The upshot was that Coach Latham, who had been going through that crisis that a lot of you go through when you're the only guy who thinks that the earth is round and all the other people around you are telling you you're going to fall off the edge of the earth running that Double-Wing, received a shot in the arm from Coach Pierce's visit... I'll let him tell it from there "Coach Wyatt, I don't know any other way to describe it. I feel like I've been strapped to a Brahma Bull holding on for dear life for 10 weeks and what a ride it's been. "And before I go on, I'd like to thank you for your friendship, your wisdom, and genuine concern for our program at Freedom Middle School and your interest in helping make me a better coach. You and Coach Pierce were a huge factor in helping me get things turned around here. After I coach this thing for another year or two, I hope that I can be a troubleshooter for some rookie DW coach out there that is feeling the heat. "All that said, you are aware of some of the tribulations that I have endured this season. And until about 4 weeks ago, I honestly was not sure how I was going to get it turned around. After 3 poor showings (and losses) in a row, I was at a loss. After doing some soul searching, I determined that there was nothing wrong with my soul and made the coaching changes. Coach Pierce also showed up during this time and within days coach I had a new team. "A NEW TEAM, COACH! The kids were focused, I was focused. The coaches (I had left) were focused. We had 7 great days of practice and played our hearts out in a tough loss to one of the counties toughest teams. The loss was a big moral victory however, we were definitely turning the corner. We beat that team in every category except score 16-22. "This past week the kids went back to work and we put it all together for our season ending contest. Freedom 42, Chamblee 14. Coach, everything I knew we could do pre-season with this offense we did. We scored 3 times on XX-47C. Once on Red-Red. Once on Wedge, and on a 65 yard interception return. It was 42-6 at the start of the fourth so everybody played. I can't tell you how good I felt for my kids. They never quit. Not for a second. I almost get teary eyed thinking about them right now. This group had the potential to win the county championship and I feel bad that they didn't. The funny thing is that they could give a damn. They know at the end of the season they had developed into one hell of a football team and they take pride in that. After the game, the kids soaked me with the water bucket. I've got a cold right now because of it. If I'm sick for another month, it would be worth it. "Thanks again Coach. Can't wait to see you at this year's ATLANTA clinic. Just putting in my bid. Sincerely, Kevin Latham, Stone Mountain, Georgia" *********** "Coach: I am running your DW with my 8 and 9 year old team with a huge amount of success. We are undefeated and play in the championship game Saturday the 27th." Steve Phillips, Jacksonville, Florida *********** Clifton Moore carried 10 times for 33 yards last Friday night, and scored two TDs as Rich Central High, of Olympia Fields, Illinois, beat Kankakee, 59-14. You have to understand. Clifton is a senior. A great kid and a very hard worker. Academically, let's put it this way - he stands a good chance of winning an appointment to the Air Force Academy. (He wants to fly.) But Clifton isn't all that big and fast, and he isn't in the same class athletically with Rich Central's starters, who I must say are a pretty talented group of kids. So Clifton hasn't played much. Undoubtedly, he would have preferred to play more. Nevertheless, his attitude and effort have always been exceptional. "I have him in my AP (Advanced Placement) class and I asked him yesterday if he had ever scored," his coach, Jon McLaughlin wrote me Saturday. "He said no. I told him he would score last night. I am glad it came true. I inserted him early in the game to try and he got caught for a 3 yard loss on a 6 g. He came off saying, "I suck...I suck." I told him he'd get other opportunities." He did. And he made the most of them. (PS. He doesn't suck. And neither does any other kid with the guts to play football.) *********** This from a coaching friend who won a big game last week over the sort of team we all like to beat: "Their kids still were celebrating good hits, blocks, or runs by doing it the "NFL way"...even as they were losing by 4 touchdowns. What a bunch of jerks...it is fun to beat those type of kids." *********** "I had to laugh out loud about your comment on Al Groh's sideline attire ("needs to have 'COACH' lettered on the front, and wear a whistle around his neck."). That's exactly what I was thinking when I was watching the UVA/FSU game. Al definitely needs to update his look. Oh sure, not everyone dresses with the style of a Jim Tressel (I can't and don't), but on Saturdays I sure don't dress like a Junior High School gym instructor." Dave Potter, Durham, North Carolina (Maybe a great idea for a Christmas present for little boys whose mothers don't want to give them violent, warlike toys : "Kenny the Coach" - a doll that looks like the coach of your choice (Rick Neuheisel, Ralph Friedgen, Steve Spurrier, Dennis Green, Joe Paterno, Eddie Robinson) with all sorts of combinations of coaching attire to dress him up with.)  *********** "Thanks for the Bill Battle memories. In spite of the abuse he took from Tennessee fans, he was always a gentleman. Even after some Big Orange fans had paid for a moving van to be parked in front of his house, Coach Battle maintained his sense of humor. In one of the great quotes of all time he said, 'when you're being run out of town, make it look like you're leading the parade.'" Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois *********** "Get off the stage -we don't want you here!" shouted one police officer near the stage as Madame Hillary received a chorus of boos when she stood up to introduce an act Saturday night. One of her spokespersons, quoted in the Drudge Report, said that, in retrospect, it was "the wrong forum" for her:"These are cops and firemen who listen to right-wing talk radio." (Imagine! Those cretins! Listening to right-wing talk radio. Oh, and by the way, my cat's up in a tree and she won't come down and will you please climb up and get her down?) The only person at the show biz special to be treated more harshly than the Dragon Lady was Richard Gere, when he tried lecturing the crowd on the need to turn their desire for revenge into healing and acts of kindness. Now, talk about knowing your audience - that was sure to go over big with an audience heavy on police and firemen and their wives. As their boos and catcalls enveloped him, he observed, "That's apparently unpopular right now..." The most rousing applause was given a New York fireman named Mike Moran who lost a brother in the World Trade Center. Vowing that his brother and the other men lost would never be forgotten, he brought down the crowd by shouting defiantly, "Osama bin Laden, you can kiss my royal Irish ass!" Clearly, the crowd liked that a whole lot more than they liked Hillary and Richard. (By the way - did any of you read anything about Hillary being booed in your newspaper? Or hear about it on your network news? Didn't think so.) *********** We are a basic DW team running the plays you listed on the TIP page, including the passing ones but we have added the 43 Brown and 3 Brown-O, both very productive. We did drop Red/Red and Red/ Red X screen (in favor of the the screen off 43 Brown). We are also in the DW about 80% of the time running unbalanced and spread the other 20%. Anyway we have stressed execution over quantity. I might add we are the smallest school in the conference and in the state playing football and you may not know that since going to DW 6 years ago we have never failed to make the play-offs and we have averaged 7 wins a year during this period. This year with a mostly junior and sophomore team we were picked to finish out of the play-offs by conference coaches in a pre-season poll. As we enter the last week of the regular season we are 6-2, qualified for third place in the conference play-off structure, averaged 325 yards per game and 35 points per game - all with what everyone would agree is very average talent. Not bad for an offense introduced to us by a young man from Camas Washington*!! not bad at all !! Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine * Doesn't it bug you when one minute people call you an old man (on the Winner's Circle page) and the next they turn around and try to suck up to you? *********** Out here in the Pristine Pacific Northwest we are so-o-o-o-o health conscious. Smoking (or other use of tobacco products of any kind) , is prohibited anywhere on school property. It has been years since I have seen dads step outside the gym at halftime to catch a smoke. So I pass along this report from transplanted Northwesterner Christopher Anderson, now living in the Boston area, who attended Saturday's game between Savio Prep and East Boston: "You are not going to believe this. I was in the stands and looked to my side only to see someone - gasp - smoking! A cigarette!" *********** There is no truth to the story first printed in the Manchester, New Hampshire Union Leader and picked up by other newspapers around the country that the National Federation of High School Associations has passed or has plans to pass any rule prohibiting the use of pistols to start races at high school track meets. How many of you read the story and pictured yourselves standing out there next spring shouting "BANG!" ? *********** "You are so right. The toughest part of doing this offense is handling the ridicule and anxiousness of even our coaches. They see all those bodies bunched in there on D and panic. I heard last night, Coach 'We gotta spread em out, they are loading up on us when we are that tight.' The next play, That coach's son broke 99 Power for 45 yards. I told him, 'Do you still want to spread them?'" NAME WITHHELD (If you have to "spread them out" to be successful, it makes you wonder how football ever survived until the 1950's, which is when "spreading it out" began to become popular. HW)   MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS

October 22- "Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." General George Patton   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He was a great single-wing tailback, bearer of one of the all-time great football nicknames, and the inspiration for Frank DeFord's novel, "Everybody's All-American." His Sugar Bowl matchup with Georgia's Charley Trippi is considered to be one of the greatest man-to-man contests ever played. A true triple-threat, he was a great runner, passer and punter. Despite handling the ball on nearly every play as well as playing every down on defense, he missed only one game in four years of football His NFL career was short. He played four years with the Washington Redskins.   *********** White Salmon, consistently one of the top small-school programs in Southwest Washington, was shocked, 34-0, Friday night by LaCenter's Double-Wing. There is an important lesson here for Double-Wing coaches, because no coach in America has faced the Double-Wing more times than White Salmon coach Larry McCutcheon. Since first springing it on him while I was coaching at Ridgefield, Washington in 1991, I moved on to La Center and then to Washougal, and there was actually one season - 1999 - when Coach McCutcheon had to face all three of those teams running the Double-Wing at him in the same league. In all, I count 17 times that he has gone up against it in regular season play, not to mention numerous jamborees. Trust me - he has good kids and he runs an excellent weight program, and he has a very good idea of what the Double-Wing is all about, and he has won his share of games. We have had to work to try to stay ahead of him. But he will be the first to admit that he doesn't have "the answer." So for those of you who are worried about people "finding out what you are doing," or those of you who get paranoid after reading that some genius on the Web who has played one poor team that allegedly runs the Double-Wing is now telling one and all that he knows how to stop it - your biggest concern should be continuing to learn everything you can about the offense, and what different defenses are trying to do, and working at getting your own team better!   BLACK LIONS COACHES - AS YOUR SEASONS WIND DOWN, IT'S TIME TO DECIDE ON YOUR AWARD WINNER - SEND ME HIS NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS SO I CAN MAIL YOU THE CERTIFICATE! BE SURE TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR NOMINATION A FEW WORDS ABOUT YOUR NOMINEE - BUT NOTHING THAT YOU WOULDN'T WANT PRINTED ("He isn't much of a football player, but..." "He doesn't have much talent, but...") *********** ANOTHER COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY (AND TUESDAY AND FRIDAY) Boy, it sure is a short week when you start out with a college game (Louisville-Southern Miss) on Tuesday night When the same kid from Fresno State mercilessly hammers a punt return man twice in the same season (vs. Oregon State and Boise State) on national television, you begin to suspect that it's being taught. At the very least, it's being condoned. After the Oregon State hit, it was overlooked because at the time, Fresno State was celebrating the upset of Sports Illustrated's Pre-season Number One Team. Overlooked, did I say? Hell, it got the miscreant on the highlights. Not this time, though. This time, it got him ejected, and now that his team has gone the way that any team that plays that kind of ball deserves to go, it's unlikely we'll be seeing much more of him. That'll teach Fresno State to play on Friday night - our night. Memo to North Carolina's Julius Peppers: go ahead and play basketball this winter, if you want to. It's your decision. Because the way you play defense, you really don't need another sport to fall back on. Iliinois QB Kurt Kittner is good. His mom was interviewed in the stands and confessed that she was the one who first threw a football with him (although she didn't take credit for teaching him how to throw). Interesting sights: the all-red Wisconsin section setting in Illinois' stadium, and the Carolina-blue section in the middle of all that Clemson orange. Down 35-3 with :03 left in the third quarter, Clemson pulled Woodrow Dantzler. When was the last time you heard of a Heisman Trophy candidate being lifted for a pinch-hitter? (At the time, Dantzler's stats were 73 yards passing, 43 yards rushing.) I still think they oughta make it illegal for anybody (especially a female) to sing the National Anthem solo. Illinois, safely holding onto a 14-point lead at the end of the third, saw Wisconsin score three touchdowns within 1:23, but still had the strength and composure to come back and score two more of their own to defeat the Badgers. In naming first-year coaches doing a great job, I failed to mention North Carolina's John Bunting. Toledo likely won't be able to defend its Golden Screw Award after being upset by Ball State. Notre Dame was still drinking coffee and eating doughnuts in the defensive huddle when USC snapped the ball fast and threw for a TD. Notre Dame ran a bunch from an unbalanced wishbone formation (what we would call "Over Full") Stanford, located in Palo Alto, California, had only two Californians in its starting offensive lineup. Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, had at least six in its. Although I am three times a Stanford dad, I am totally bummed by Oregon's loss to Stanford, because Oregon was still unbeaten and Stanford had let its guard down last week against Washington State. But Stanford deserved to win. Stanford twice was shafted by officials - once when Oregon's Keenan Howry returned a punt for a TD, sprung by an obvious block for behind on the first man downfield under the punt, and later when an Oregon running back dropped a pass clearly thrown backward and Stanford ran it in for a TD, only to have it disallowed. I had never been more than a lukewarm supporter of Stanford's Tyrone Willingham before Saturday's game, but now I am convinced that the man can coach. The Cardinal suffered the first-half loss of QB Randy Fasani, who might be the most valuable QB in America, and managed not only to survive but eventually to take the game to Oregon. Stanford outscored the Ducks 21-0 in the fourth quarter, blocking two Oregon punts and catching a bloop onside kick, and overcoming a missed PAT at 42-41 that seemed to seal their fate. The crucial Stanford interception of a deflected Oregon pass that set up the Cardinal's winning score was made by Marcus Hoover, of Abington, Pennsylvania. Marcus played at Abington, my wife's alma mater, for my friend Doug Moister, who was the first guy I knew who had "the stones" to run my system. I would like to think that I helped persuade Marcus to take a look at a place that our family loves so much. Now that Fresno State has bitten the dust, the next underrated, unnoticed team from the empty sector of the US - the great, uncharted West - has got to be either BYU or Washington State. Will someone please tell me how Fresno State, which lost to Boise State, can now be ranked ahead of Stanford, which lost only to unbeaten Washington State and just handed previously-unbeaten Oregon its first defeat in Eugene in 20 games? Maybe while you're at it, you can tell me how Oregon is still ranked ahead of Stanford??? I saw Ara Parseghian interviewed at the Notre Dame-USC game, and I swear I heard one of the announcers say he was "underrated." Huh? The man was a great coach, and I think it is fair to say everybody knew it at the time. Joe Paterno finally tied the Bear, and then told reporters he was going to go home and pour himself a stiff bourbon, then take a short nap and get up and start looking at Ohio State tapes. One reason why you don't read about BYU players out raising hell around town: the Cougars have 30 married players on their roster. UVa's Al Groh insists on wearing a gray sweatshirt on the sidelines. He needs to have "COACH" lettered on the front, and wear a whistle around his neck. For all you old-timers (and assorted Double-Wing relics): Arizona doggone near beat Washington, going ahead 28-24 on a long run - we would call it 52 Tackle-trap. Delaware people would call it 134 counter. Tennessee did what poor old Bill Battle couldn't do. Coach Battle put together one of college football's best records in the 70's and early 80's, but he wound up getting fired because he just couldn't beat Alabama. UCLA, whose offensive coordinator Al Borges took his wide-open offense with him to Cal, scored on a double reverse against Cal in the first half. *********** "Well thank God for Joe Paterno. Every time we lose a game I remind myself that one of the greatest football coaches in history is having a tough season. According to press reports, he just doesn't have the horses this year. Well, Coach, we just don't have the horses this year. In my 7 years of coaching, I can't believe the light bulb hasn't gone off for any of our kids. We are not aggressive and we don't compete. For example, 2 weeks ago, one of our linebackers tackled an opponent by grabbing his leg. The ball carrier continued to drag our LB forward while 3 of his teammates stood and watched. These guys had a perfect opportunity to hit the guy or go for the ball and they just watched! This past game, our opponents were flagged for holding. Our kids stopped pursuing the ball carrier as soon as they saw the flag. We work constantly on going until the whistle - but our kids don't get it. In my previous 6 years, we've never had a problem with fumbles. We work very hard on ball security. This year we have averaged 5 fumbles a game. This past game 2 kids who haven't fumbled at all this year, fumbled 3 times between them. I'd hate to think how bad we'd be if we weren't running the DW. We've managed to put together some decent drives during each game this year. We lost our starting C-back the 1st play of our 2nd game, and our starting B-back after game 3 and still have put points on the board. We just can't (won't) stop anyone. We have 2 weeks left and will continue to work on the basics of blocking, tackling, and ball security. If the light bulb turns on for one kid prior to next season - then the next 2 weeks will have accomplished something. On a positive note, the parents have been supportive and kind. (Maybe I need more aggressive parents so that we can get their aggressive kids.) Fortunately, most of the 7th/8th grade athletes in our program are on the light weight team - they're undefeated and rolling by everyone. As such the high school should be in good shape in years to come. Thanks for letting me vent." NAME WITHHELD ************ I know she's a local girl (Gresham, Oregon), and she's probably a great kid, but I can't help looking at the new Miss America and thinking, "Hillary." Aargh. *********** Boy, these so-called "Peace Activists" will say anything, The scary thing is, they may actually believe some of it themselves. In an interview with the Portland Oregonian, a 72-year-old guy named Bill Bires, who was a mechanic in the Army in Korea and now serves as president of something called Northwest Veterans for Peace, referred to Korea as "that useless war." Yeah, sure. Useless war. I appreciate Mr. Bires' service to his country, but it's sad to see that after all these years he's become such an addled old fart that he doesn't know the difference between South Korea and North Korea. *********** Trust a Democratic politician - and the highest-ranked Democratic elected official at that - to take Political Correctness about as far as it can be taken: the anthrax sent to his office, said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, was "a very potent form which clearly was produced by someone who knows what he or she was doing." *********** I had to look twice to believe it: the caption said that the person in the photo was the Washington Teacher of the Year. Yeah, sure. Right away, I smelled a rat. First of all, it was a male. Whoever heard of the Teacher of the Year being a man? And he wasn't scruffy-looking either - he looked clean-cut, as if he were a military officer on loan to the school. His hair was neat and short and he was clean-shaven, and he wasn't wearing hoop earrings - probably took them off just for the picture. And he looked professional - he was wearing a shirt and tie! (See why I smelled a rat?) And, get this - he teaches English - an academic subject! In high school, yet! Come on - at least out here, nobody ever recognizes an ordinary classroom teacher like you and me. The Teacher of the Year is never a working stiff - it's always somebody strange-looking who teaches an exotic subject in an unorthodox way to dysfunctional students of some sort. And plays a guitar. The guy's name is David McKay, an English teacher at Aberdeen High School. He's so straight-looking. He probably doesn't even tell the kids just to call him "Dave." *********** A quick FYI for you from the Boston area. Lynn Classical, another double wing team is one of the top scoring teams again in the state. Last year we finished first but are currently around 6th -8th. Matt Durgan at Classical really has it going pretty well. Keep up the great work coach and thanks again for every thing. Gavin  Monagle, Savio Prep, East Boston, Massachusetts (Coach Monagle, whose team is defending Super Bowl champ in its class, doesn't mention that for several weeks he has been without the services of Stephen Grillo, all-time state scoring champ) *********** "I've always thought I was safe out here playing soccer,'' a high school soccer player told Jeanie Chung of the Chicago Sun-Times. Think again, son. Sports - even soccer - do carry risks. And at New Trier High, in suburban Chicago, people are acutely aware of that. Less than two years ago, a New Trier hockey player was hit - hard, late and from behind - and left paralyzed. The result of that act was criminal and civil charges against the attacker, and apparently a certain feeling among New Trier people that the law needs to be involved when sports injuries result from questionable contact. And so an Evanston High soccer player faces charges of misdemeanor battery as a result of contact that resulted in a broken cheekbone of a New Trier player. Should the case proceed, it is going to be difficult for the state to win. The contact occurred away from the ball, and there were no witnesses, nor is there any videotape of the incident. And, as any lawyer will tell you, it is extremely difficult to prove intent to injure. ''If, after a play, let's just say I shove you in the back real hard,'' Steve Jambois, a Chicago-area attorney told the Sun-Times. "That's an assault. But can our municipality handle the raft of cases that would occur every time someone shoves someone else? Obviously not. If you start doing that, every hard tackle will now subject you to potential criminal and civil action.'' None of us, other than trial lawyers, wants to see our games played out in the courts. But there does seem to be an increase over the last few years in atrocious behavior by high school athletes. I personally attribute much of it to the highly-visible conduct of professional football and hockey players, and to the popularity of video football and hockey games that glorify violence. WWF and the Nike "Evil Soccer" commercial featuring head-butting haven't helped any. And, frankly, there hasn't been an overabundance of firm, mature leadership on the part of coaches, either. The courts are getting involved because beyond the game officials, who seem more concerned this year with eliminating bad language and reporting coaches for running up the score than in protecting players, there doesn't seem to be much mechanism in high schools to deal with assaultive behavior on the field, court or rink. And so, in the absence of much significant follow-up action by school or conference officials, it's only natural to assume that in this day and age parents in search of justice will turn to the courts. I think that high schools are going to have to set up something similar to what they have in Australia, a sports tribunal which swiftly reviews cases such as the soccer incident above, and decides on the punishment. Punishments often entail suspensions. We can no longer leave things up to the game officials, and assume that when they leave the field everything's been taken care of. Even the NFL now knows that it can't leave the job of policing its game totally in the hands of officials - that it's necessary to review the tapes afterwards. Unfortunately, whenever they do "nail" someone, all they do is hit a guy who just received an $8 million signing bonus with a $30,000 fine. (Refresh my memory - when was the last time an NFL player was suspended for injuring another player through a clearly illegal hit? If suspension were in the cards, I think that coaches would take their players' conduct more seriously; but as it is, other than a 15-yard penalty, the team is not affected in any way by misconduct, however gross, on the part of its players) *********** Four Arab (fact), Islamic (fact) terrorists (fact) convicted (fact) of the August, 1998 bombings of American embassies in Africa were sentenced Thursday to life in prison after the jury came up short and voted only 9-3 for the death penalty. This will send a message to other terrorists, said Attorney General Ashcroft. Yeah - some message. Yeah, some message. Something like the message William Jefferson Clinton, The Man From Hope, kept sending: "We will not yield to this threat," he said after the embassies were bombed. "We will meet it no matter how long it may take. This will be a long, ongoing struggle." Mr. Clinton's long, ongoing struggle with terrorism is, mercifully, at an end. Justice has been done. The bombers have been convicted. The message is clear: Kill more than 200 people - including 12 Americans - and if you do get caught and you do get convicted - after years of legal dithering - you will get sent to a federal prison, where you'll live better than you've ever lived in your life. You'll never have to scratch another sand flea and you'll sleep well, protected by some of the very people you swore to kill. So man, just wait till we get our hands on the people who plotted the WTC bombings and bring them to "justice." I'll bet this time we can find a jury that will come even closer to giving them the death penalty - maybe 10-2 or even 11-1. And when they get life in prison for the deaths of 7,000 Americans (assuming they don't get off on a technicality), they'll be looking at really hard time - limited phone privileges and restricted access to the TV room and swimming pool and conjugal visits with no more than three wives at a time. Oh - I almost forgot. The judge did order each of the four gentlemen to pay $33 million in "restitution." Isn't it amazing what a talent we have for converting everything into dollars?  *********** There are few words that bug me more than "fearful." I don't know where and when it started, but it is one of those words that I've never heard a male - a man, that is - utter. It is another one of those touchy-feely femmie code words, like "hurtful," "nurture" and "bonding." Have you ever in your life heard a football coach say he was "fearful" of something?  *********** "I cannot believe what I just saw - Todd Blackledge praising a Tennessee punt coverage man for his "great tackle" of an Alabama returner - putting the crown of his helmet right into the UA player's knee. Didn't Blackledge, a Penn State man, see the Taliaferro film?" Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts *********** The NFL won't let tacklers take shots at running backs' and quarterbacks' heads, but they don't say anything about the rest of the times when tacklers lead with their heads. The NFL TV announcers, who are mere marketing stooges of the league, continue to glorify the "big hits," even when they're shown on instant replay to have been delivered with helmets. Some high school coaches do little more than pay lip service to the subject of leading with the head, many of them secretly reveling in the big hits their kids deliver - even with their helmets - and very few of them make an issue of it when they see one of their kids deliver such a hit. (Hey, he got up, didn't he?) The spearing rule that has been on the books for years is primarily there for the protection of the guy being hit, not the tackler. No matter - it is never enforced anyhow. (When was the last time you saw the rule on spearing enforced?) *********** Coach- Thought you'd get a laugh out of this...an "anonymous" letter was sent to me, my AD, and my superintendent. It said (I'll type it) "After talking to many people the last couple of weeks, it's obvious many parents, kids, and ----- Sports Fans are very upset over the very unprofessional and unsportsmanlike attitude of the football coaches. We were blessed with a very respectful, talented, and sportsmanlike group of coaches with a high standard of morals. We as a school and town were very proud of team and coaches. Coach Thomas took bad kids and taught them pride and respect. The coaches now are taking good kids and turning them into cocky disrespectful boys! You as coach and AD commented many times on how other schools and towns commented on our good sportsmanship. The last 2 years have been a total turnaround. Yes we are winning but more importantly we are losing!!! This group of coaches has forgotten the old saying "WINNING ISN'T EVERYTHING" They have constantly sworn at the boys during the games, loud enough that we on the sideline can hear it. They have 50 pointed teams before 1/2 time without putting the JV in. Coach ---- continually lies to the boys (according to their parents) We as ------- FANS are very upset with these coaches, especially ----- and ---------- These 2 coaches need to grow up and act like men. Since ------- started getting a check he acts like a dictator to these boys. We like having 6 coaches but do we really need that many paid coaches??? Especially if they treat the boys like this? We are hoping you as AD will get a handle on this Thank You In (our state) sportsmanship ratings are given by officials and compiled and printed in the newspaper after every season. We were given 1.3 last fall (that includes players, coaches, and fans) 1 is the absolute best you can do and 5 is the worst. My staff is very professional. I demand it. I am very professional. I may use a swear every now and than to motivate a kid, but never to berate or belittle and I never cross the line and use an F bomb (typically it is Ass). I treat the players with the utmost respect because I expect (and am given) the same in return. These kids are very humble - yes we have a little swagger when we walk on the field, because we ARE good. But no unsportsmanlike act goes unnoticed or unpunished (by the way I have had 1 unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on a kid here in 2 years...that was a late hit). I am honest with my players, sometimes brutally honest. I also expect the same from them. All the hours I put in, all the time I spend with these kids and this is the appreciation I get? Like I told my wife, I won't lose any sleep over it. I know, and my coaches know, and my players know that we are in this thing together. I do not do it for personal accolades and awards. I love football. I love kids. I love giving back to a sport that has been so good to me. Anonymous letter writers can kiss my A--! Well put. If you were losing, they'd criticize you for that. A lot of people in life are miserable. They are too gutless to get in the ring themselves, and they despise it when somebody else does - and succeeds. They will never be happy with someone else's success because it reinforces how miserable they are. Nowadays, I know that there are kids in school who don't play football and root for the football team to lose. They resent the attention football players get. Frankly, I would like to read a letter like that to the kids and say, "Fellows, just like America right now faces an enemy, and we've got a certain minority of people trying to distract us by saying we shouldn't do this or we shouldn't do that, a football team has opponents that it needs to focus on, and we can't allow ourselves to be distracted by people who create phony side issues. And certainly not people who don't have the guts to sign their names." *********** Coach, This comes from the "I told you so" file. About a year ago I told you that I was going to run some single wing after two years of running the double wing, and I went ahead with the plan. We went to a camp at USD running single wing exclusively and even spent an afternoon at Sigourney HS in Iowa with Coach Bob Howard. Well, we opened the season with decent results - a 7-6 loss against the returning Class C-2 state champions and then beat another club 24- 0. In both games we rushed for about 220 yards and had 15 first downs; however, we couldn't capitalize in the red zone. In game three we hit a brick wall and had under 100 hundred yards rushing and lost 6-0. Then the bottom fell out in game four against the number 4 team in the state. We gave up four touchdown passes and never advanced the ball past the 10 yard line in a 41-0 loss, in which (yikes!) I threw the ball 17 times. I've never been so low as a coach. On Monday last week I talked with my kids and everyone was convinced that the reason we weren't moving the football was because "Two wings are better than one." Well, we practiced offense for three days last week running only double wing 88/99 super power, FB trap left, 6-G, Criss Cross Right, Wedge Right and Sweep left and Bootleg. End result 58 carries for 347 yards rushing, a 34-21 win over Emerson-Hubbard (who only lost 39-6 to the team that beat us 41-0) We could have scored at will, but my freshmen and reserves played the whole fourth quarter. We gave up two of three touchdowns in the final four minutes on long touchdown passes. We only gave up two first downs and 55 yards in the first half. I guess my point is that "you told me so." Guys sure can be stubborn. Thanks again Coach Wyatt. God bless America and you and your family. By the way, we had 65 snaps, 15 first downs and the other team had the ball for only four snaps in the first quarter. When we made the change to the single wing it was easy to forget what the double wing did for us in terms of time of possession. Glad to be back. Oh yeah, and this time we are staying with it. Jason Sopko at Forest City has told me several times "I told you so." Yours in football, Coach Steve Cozad, Lyons, Nebraska *********** "I swear, I went to watch my nephews play Friday night ..anyway, I rode with my dad and we were talkin' about the way I do the kickoffs..he was up in the stands crackin' up last Saturday when people were sayin' "why is that guy doing on onside kick everytime!"..of course, it wasn't an onside kick but they don't know any better..Anyway, dad is old school and was askin' the same question..he just assumed it was me being my typical contrarian self. I was tellin' him how much I HATE kickoffs and punt returns(kickin' to their best guys, big play risk-averse controlled situation with no run back, chance for recovery, blah, blah). I don't think he quite understood the significance of what I was sayin'...So during my nephews game, they jump up early on a very good team and kick off deep..what do ya know...an 85 yd kick off return for a TD! My dad just looked at me and smiled...that happened TWO more times in that game (one was a punt return) -- lets just say my dad thinks I might actually be on to something! He said he never really thought about doin' it any other way!" Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award

October 19 - "The price of greatness is responsibility." Winston Churchill     HEY, FOOTBALL COACHES... FIND OUT WHO YOUR HITTERS ARE! IF A KID WON'T HIT THIS, MAYBE THE SOCCER COACH CAN USE HIM!!! THE DESERT DUMMY HIT IT HARD AND HEAR IT SAY "THANK YOU. I GO TO HEAVEN NOW!" EXCLUSIVELY FROM COACHWYATT.COM DUMMY HOLDERS AVAILABLE SEPARATELY - WHILE THEY LAST This is a Spoof - I am not a war profiteer - Do Not Send Money (Well, if you insist... you can if you want to) BLACK LIONS COACHES - AS YOUR SEASONS WIND DOWN, IT'S TIME TO DECIDE ON YOUR AWARD WINNER - SEND ME HIS NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS SO I CAN MAIL YOU THE CERTIFICATE! BE SURE TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR NOMINATION A FEW WORDS ABOUT YOUR NOMINEE - BUT NOTHING THAT YOU WOULDN'T WANT PRINTED ("He isn't much of a football player, but..." "He doesn't have much talent, but...")    A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: I have had a heck of a time researching Lou Saban - I just can't seem to find every place he's been! Let's just say that he's well-travelled: he has had at least a dozen head coaching jobs in his career, which, with the announcement of his appointment last week as head coach of a Division III college, is still going strong. Last Saturday, at a time when people sound concerned about the advance age of Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, he made his Division III debut and celebrated his 80th birthday at the same time!   Lou Saban started coaching in 1950, following a four-year pro football career as a linebacker with the Cleveland Browns, and with only a few years off here and there, he's been coaching ever since.   He's had three pro head coaching jobs (four if you count the fact that he coached the same team on two different occasions). He has coached at least seven colleges, and has coached semi-pro and Arena League teams.   Although he did win two pro football titles and was twice named Coach of the Year, he has not for the most part had great win-loss records anywhere he has coached, and he has a well-earned reputation as a coaching gypsy.   He preceded Ara Parseghian at Northwestern, and succeeded Homer Smith at Army.   Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner was his ends' coach at Northwestern; his quarterback in the championship years as Buffalo was future Congressman Jack Kemp; he drafted Floyd Little for the Broncos, and helped him develop into a 1,000-yard rusher; he built his Buffalo offense around O.J. Simpson, and was Simpson's presenter at his Pro Football Hall-of-Fame induction; and he recruited Jim Kelly to play for him in college.   HOW ABOUT THIS RESUME? HELP!!! As you can see, there are some blanks to be filled in from 1984-2001 Indiana University Player, member of IU Hall of Fame Cleveland Browns Starting linebacker for AAFC champs, 1946-49 Case Institute Head Coach, 1950-52 University of Washington 1953 - assistant Northwestern 1954 - assistant coach Northwestern 1955 - Fired after one year (0-8-1) - School considered dropping football LIFE INSURANCE SALES Spent one year at a job he hated Western Illinois Head coach 1957-1959 - compiled 20-5-1 record Boston Patriots (AFL) 1960-61 - First head coach in franchise history - fired in mid-season of second year Buffalo Bills 1962-65 - Won two AFL championships University of Maryland Quit after one year (1966) Denver Broncos 1967-1971 Buffalo Bills 1972-1976 - Put together O.J. and the Electric Company ("Turns on the Juice") University of Cincinnati 1976 - Briefly - Athletic Director for 19 days until he quit University of Miami 1977-1978 - Quit to go to Army US Military Academy (Army) Succeeded Homer Smith; quit after 1 year (1979) NEW YORK YANKEES "Vice President" - (George Steinbrenner had been one of his assistants at Northwestern) Central Florida Head coach - started the football program - 1982-84 Peru State 1991 Milwaukee Mustangs - Arena Football 1994 SUNY Canton Not sure of dates Chowan College Named head coach, October, 2001 at age 80 *********** When Saban picked up and left Miami for West Point, Edwin Pope of the Miami Herald wrote, "You want a deserter Army? You've got one. Saban is a quitter."   *********** O.J. Simpson once recalled that early in his career at Buffalo, he considered quitting in frustration. What saved the day was Saban's decision to design his offense around Simpson. Saban said the inspiration came from his mother: "She said, 'Louie, don't be stupid. Give O.J. the football.'"   ************ From Jim Kelly's Book, "Armed and Dangerous."   "We were having a blizzard the day Lou Saban, entering his second season as Miami's head coach, and one of his assistant coaches, Ron Marciniak, flew up to East Brady to pay me a visit" said Kelly in his book. "The storm was so severe, in fact, their flight couldn't land in Pittsburgh, so they were detoured to Toronto. There they sat for six hours before the plane received clearance to return to Pittsburgh.   "When they finally landed, the roads to East Brady were still snowbound. Marciniak had grown up near Pittsburgh, so he drove the rental car. While clinging to the wheel for dear life, he kept asking Saban if he wanted to turn back.   "'Just keep it on the road,' Saban said.   "I guess he really wanted me.   "Even after they reached East Brady, they still had to search for our house. But that was no simple chore either. As in every old mining town in Pennsylvania, the houses in East Brady all look alike. And snow made it impossible to read the numbers. So after the two of them found Purdum Street, they got out of the car and began knocking on the door of each house.   "My mother had been out, and because of the storm, she was delayed getting home. Much to my amazement, Saban yanked off his tie, stuck a towel in the front of his belt and started to make dinner. He wasn't a bad cook. But it was the things Saban said that really made me drool, beginning with a reminder that, in Miami, there wouldn't be any bone-chilling scenes like the one outside our window. Instead, I'd be looking at a lot of sunshine, a lot of sparkling water and a lot of pretty women. (I loved the last part especially.)   "Best of all, he promised I'd be quarterbacking a pro-style offense. He even pulled out a pencil and some paper and began to draw pass patterns, showing me how zone defenses rotated and things like that. It was so interesting, I kept moving up my chair to get a better look. I was really impressed with the guy, especially because of his experience as a pro coach with Denver and Buffalo.   "Before Saban left, which was after midnight, he admitted the Hurricanes' football program was on shaky ground financially. Very shaky. It had had only one winning season in the previous nine and attendance at home games was down to something like 20,000 per game. People were saying that, if things didn't turn around soon, football might be dropped.   "That made going there a pretty risky proposition, but once I visited the campus, on my first trip ever to Florida, I knew Miami was the perfect place for me. It was November and the weather was pleasant, as were Saban and his assistant coaches. The players showed me a pretty good time. I went to the beaches and saw all those beautiful coeds in bikinis. I went out to eat, then went to some discos, where I saw more beautiful ladies.   "After that, my only question was: 'Where do I sign?'"   Kelly gave Saban a verbal commitment, but when he went to visit Tennessee, they tried to talk him out of signing with Miami.   "'Why would you ever want to go to Miami?' they asked. 'Lou Saban's going to leave you stranded there. Don't you know about his reputation? He never stays in one place long enough to take his coat off. He'll be gone by your second year&emdash; if not sooner.   "'No way,' I said, figuring they were just saying those things in a desperate attempt to change my mind."   He should have listened. After just one year under Saban, Kelly received some surprising news..   "'Jim, Coach Saban left for Army this morning,' said backfield coach Joe Brodsky.'"I just thought you ought to know.'"   Kelly was in shock. His first words were: "He did what? Enlisted in the Army? At his age?"   *********** GREAT LOU SABAN STORY: Mark Richt, first-year coach at the University of Georgia, told Mark Schlabach of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that shortly after he had committed to play at the University of Miami, he was sitting in Saban's office and happened to glance at a copy of the Miami Herald, which contained a list of all the high school players who had committed to the Hurricanes. He was surprised to find two other quarterbacks on the list.   "Who are these quarterbacks?" he remembers asking Saban.   "One of them is going to play defense," Saban said.   "Well, what about this Jim Kelly from Pennsylvania?" Richt asked him.   "Son, somebody is going to have to back you up," Saban replied.   Lou Saban is still coaching at the age of 80. It is not likely that he will match Amos Alonzo Stagg, who while coaching at Pacific was voted AFCA Coach of the Year in 1943, at the age of 81.   Correctly identifying Lou Saban: Bert Ford- Los Angeles... John Zeller- Sears, Michigan ("I love your "A look at our legacy" section each week. I'm always saying to myself that I know them, so I guess I need to start finding the time to answer. This week's answer is Lou Saban. I'll always remember the NFL Films feature about the Bills' inability to beat the Dolphins in the early 70's, with Coach Saban saying, 'God Almighty, why do we do these things?'")... Jon Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... Jeff Schaum- Abilene, Texas... Adam Wesoloski- Menominee, Michigan... Kent McCullough- Culver, Indiana... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky ( I'll bet that you cannot find out all the places that he has coached in all of his career. I saw in the paper the other week that he took over some school where the coach quit. I think in the Carolina's. I am all for him. He has a set of stones to take on the jobs that he has volunteered for over the years! He is certainly a coaching gypsy!! I admire his spunk at his age.")... Whit Snyder- Baytown, Texas ("They're KILLING me, Whitey, They're KILLING me!")... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa... Don Capaldo- Keokuk, Iowa ("I've seen him many times on NFL highlights. He has been mic'ed many times and is hilarious!")... Mike Benton- Colfax, Illinois ("I love the old NFL films clip of him saying 'they're killin' me-They're killin' me!" To be still coaching at age 80-that is a man with a real passion for the game-I would love to meet him someday.")... Mike O'Donnell- Pine City, Minnesota... John Grimsley- Gaithersburg, Maryland... Dave Cox- Tucson, Arizona... Jody Hagins- Mount Pleasant, South Carolina... Alan Goodwin- Warwick, Rhode Island... Jay Stewart, Oakland, Maryland ("he has been coaching since the earth cooled.")... Mark Rice- Beaver, Pennsylvania... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois... Ron Timson- Umatilla, Florida ("I was living in Nebraska when he took Peru to the NAIA National Championship. It was great.")... John Reardon- Peru, Illinois... *********** Sir, Thank you for remembering those brave men on your site today. They were good, decent men, and will never be forgotten. Black Lions Sir! Tom Hinger - Auburndale, Florida *********** Coach Wyatt, Black Lions Sir, My name is Steve Goodman AKA Goody 2/28 Inf.Black Lions. I met a coach the other day in Coral Springs Fla., his name is Jake Von Scherrer. Truly a fine gentlemen and in my opinion an excellent teacher on the sport of football. He coaches a team at Coral Springs Christian Academy and their program has only been in effect for approximately 4 years. His school is enrolled for The Black Lion Award. He invited me to watch his team play this past Saturday. Since I had a dental appointment that morning I arrived about 12:30 and watched his team practice. I was most impressed with Coach Jake and his staff. I sat on the home side of the field and they were at an away game and had no idea I had showed up. Well, about 5 minutes before the game stared I introduced myself to the coach and his staff. The teams name is the Crusaders and they consider themselves the band of brothers. After watching the football game I realized what they mean one for all and all for one. I believe it was an almost penalty free game on their part. Needless to say they won 49 to 9. After watching that joust it made me think of the Knights of the Round Table. They were truly the Pure Warriors. Coach, I hope I haven't bored you with my assessments. *********** Coach Just a note to let you know how our season is going. We opened up with two tough losses as the kids were learning the systems. However, since then we are 4-1, and heading into a show down for first place in our district. Last week we defeated our rivals for the FIRST time in the history of the school, and you will be happy to know that the BLACK LIONS played a big part in the win. Prior to the start of our turn around I was talking to the team about the need to "come together as one" and the HBO series, Band of Brothers, popped into my mind. I then related (briefly) the story from Shakespeare's Henry V that the line "we few, we happy few, we Band of Brothers" comes from. It was one of those special moments where the team really bought into a idea and we proceeded to adopt that as our slogan with great success. About 2 weeks later I got in touch with Steve Goodman of the Black Lions, who dropped off a video of Don Holleder that our staff showed the team. Again, our boys were truly impressed with the story and I could see a tremendous difference in our intensity during practice. Last week Steve came to our game and actually spoke with the boys prior to kick off - asking them to give their very best effort. As I mentioned earlier, we completely dominated our rivals and had a truly memorable TEAM experience. After the game, the players called Steve into our huddle and asked him to lead our "break down" which had been either CRUSADERS (our mascot) or more recently, BAND OF BROTHERS. I think Steve was fairly impressed - I know I was - when the players asked him to lead us in "Black Lions on three, ONE, TWO, THREE .....BLACK LIONS !" Thanks for sharing the story of Don Holleder and the Black Lions on your website. It has truly made a difference for us. Jake von Scherrer, Coral Springs Christian Academy, Coral Springs, Florida   BLACK LIONS COACHES - I AM NOT RUSHING YOU... BUT AS YOUR SEASONS WIND DOWN, IT'S TIME TO DECIDE ON YOUR AWARD WINNER - SEND ME HIS NAME AND YOUR ADDRESS SO I CAN MAIL YOU THE CERTIFICATE! BE SURE TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR NOMINATION A FEW POSITIVE WORDS ABOUT YOUR NOMINEE - BUT NOTHING THAT YOU WOULDN'T WANT PRINTED ("He isn't a very good football player, but..." "He doesn't have much talent, but...")   *********** This was sent to me by John Torres, in Manteca, California. I don't normally forward many things (unless they involve animated drawings of little kids peeing on Osama bin Laden, or taking shots at the Evil One in a liquor store) but this one I like... Broken Arrow, Oklahoma School officials remove "God Bless America" signs from schools in fear that someone might be offended. Channel 12 News in Long Island, New York, orders flags removed from the newsroom and red, white, and blue ribbons removed from the lapels of reporters. Why? Management did not want to appear biased and felt that our nations flag might give the appearance that "they lean one way or another". Berkeley, California bans US Flags from being displayed on city fire trucks because they didn't want to offend anyone in the community. In an "act of tolerance" the head of the public library at Florida Gulf Coast University ordered all "Proud to be an American" signs removed so as to not offend international students. I, for one, am quite disturbed by these actions of so-called American citizens; and I am tired of this nation worrying about whether or not we are offending some individual or their culture.   Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled in New York and Washington, DC when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.   I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. In fact, our country's population is almost entirely comprised of descendants of immigrants; however, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some native Americans, need to understand.   First of all, it is not our responsibility to continually try not to offend you in any way. This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language, and our own lifestyle.   This culture, called the "American Way" has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. Our forefathers fought, bled, and died at places such as Bunker Hill, Antietam, San Juan, Iwo Jima, Normandy, Korea, and Vietnam.   We speak English, not Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society * learn our language!   "In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some off-the-wall, Christian, Right Wing, political slogan - it is our national motto. It is engraved in stone in the House of Representatives in our Capitol and it is printed on our currency. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation; and this is clearly documented throughout our history. If it is appropriate for our motto to be inscribed in the halls of our highest level of Government, then it is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. God is in our pledge, our National Anthem, nearly every patriotic song, and in our founding documents. We honor His birth, death, and resurrection as holidays, and we turn to Him in prayer in times of crisis. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture and we are proud to have Him.   We are proud of our heritage and those who have so honorably defended our freedoms. We celebrate Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Flag Day. We have parades, picnics, and barbecues where we proudly wave our flag. As an American, I have the right to wave my flag, sing my national anthem, quote my national motto, and cite my pledge whenever and wherever I choose. If the Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet.   The American culture is our way of life, our heritage, and we are proud of it. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. We are Americans, like it or not, this is our country, our land, and our lifestyle.   Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express this opinion about our government, culture, or society, and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, the right to leave. Barry Loudermilk   (Don't know who he is, but Wow.) If you agree, pass this onto other Americans!! It is time to take a stand!! (PS - And while you're at it, how 'bout a swift kick in the ass for the members of the Madison, Wisconsin school board, which did finally relent and allow kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance - so long as the kids know it's "voluntary" and they're not being compelled to say it - but not to sing the words to the Star Spangled Banner, because they are "militaristic.") One other thing - I'm willing to bet that the only spineless jellyfish in all of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma are found in its public schools. *********** I am frequently asked to recommend a good book on the single wing. Bearing in mind that there are lots of "single wings," and the only thing some of them have in common is the fact that they don't have a T-formation quarterback under center (A Brief Look at "the" Single Wing)... I think the best single-wing book by far is by Ken Keuffel. He has more experience coaching it than any man alive - played it under Charlie Caldwell during the war years (WWII) at Princeton, coached it for four years as a graduate assistant at Penn under George Munger, as head coach at Wabash College in Indiana, and Lawrenceville Prep in New Jersey through his retirement in 1999. (If you were counting, that's 50+ years of single-wing football. Unbalanced-line, single wing, I should add.) The book has been out of print for years, and there is only one way you can get it. ED RACELY - 95 RESERVOIR RD - ATHERTON CA 94027 Ed sells photocopies of Ken's book (with Ken's permission, and all proceeds going to Ken) for $24.95 *********** In a certain formation, two of my three RBs line up for blocking purposes (they both line up side-by-side each other, in a 2-point stance, right behind the butts of the Offensive Left Tackle and Offensive Left Guard....In this past Saturday's game, the officials told me that my blocking RBs were "too close to the line of scrimmage" and that they had to be "on the line of scrimmage or in the backfield." I had never heard of this, as we have been running out of this formation all season with nary a complaint from either the opposition or the officials. Is there actually a place my RBs CAN'T line up at (assuming my RBs are on MY SIDE of the line of scrimmage, and I already have seven linemen on the LOS)? I ended up having to place my 2 blocking RBs a yard deep behind the butts of my O-Linemen, instead of directly behind them. Rule 2, Section 30, Article 3--- "A back is any A player, except for the player under the snapper (the QB), who has no part of his body breaking the plane of an imaginary line drawn parallel to the line of scrimmage through the waist of the nearest teammate who is legally on the line." Your men would seem to fit into the category of "backs" without having to move any deeper than you had them. One more case of officials inventing a rule that just isn't there. *********** Boy, is President Bush living in a dream world or what, suggesting that American kids go out and mow lawns to raise money to send to kids in Afghanistan? According to Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today, the average American teenager pulls down an allowance of $50 a week! (From age 4-12, the average is "only" $21 a week.) Now, get this - in families with household incomes of over $100,000 a year, the average weekly allowance is $175!!! (Those of you who teach in affluent suburbs have seen the cars they drive.) Hey - if our nation isn't at war, at least some of it is. And if we are not in a recession/depression, at least some of us are. Let's not kid ourselves - things could get tough around here. Wonder how the twerps are gonna handle it. *********** Those of you who have seen my "Dynamics II" video have seen what I stepped into at La Center, Washington back in 1996. I stayed there three years, and John Lambert succeeded me. John, one of my all-time great student/athletes at another high school, played four years at Western Washington, and after a short career in business, decided he wanted to teach and coach. He got a job teaching and coaching in Bellevue, in the Seattle area, but he wanted to return to our part of the state, and it was a great day for me when LaCenter principal Bill Penrose (himself a former state champion 8-man coach) agreed to hire John for a teaching position ahead of a female who couldn't coach. (Although I'm sure - aren't you? - that she was a much better teacher.) John was a very fast learner, and very quickly became my go-to guy. When I left La Center, I recommended him for the head job, but when a guy's never been a head coach before, you can never be sure. I'm sure now. We had finally managed to put together a winning season (5-4) in 1998, my last year, and since then John has put together back-to-back 5-4 seasons in his first two years there. That's three winning seasons in a row. Around these parts, the idea of three straight winning seasons at LaCenter was once about as conceivable as Penn State ever going winless. Now, John's 4-3 in his third year. Read what Brad McCray writes in the Portland Oregonian: "In the Class 2A Trico League, La Center clinched the first playoff berth in school history with a 17-7 win over Ridgefield. The victory continued the maturation of a program that was once considered the worst in the state and held the nation's longest losing streak." This Friday night LaCenter plays the White Salmon Bruins for a share of first place. White Salmon is always tough, always the team to beat. I couldn't beat them in three tries at LaCenter. In John's first year he took a bunch of kids up there and shocked them. *********** Coach Wyatt, Yesterday at practice we had some extra time during our offensive period. So with the extra time I started to dabble a little bit. I did some things with them that I just did not think they (as middle school kids) would really be able to do. Here is what we did; 1. I showed them the Criss Cross hand off/exchange on 47-C. You would have thought this was the coolest thing that they have ever seen. With about a half dozen reps they actually got the idea of it and executed it well! Now, were not ready to run it in a game yet but maybe in another week or two we'll try it. 2. Next we dabbled with the option on 6-G. Again the kids were mesmerized. If I had a quarterback with some more speed and better running ability we could actually think about running this play. For now we'll skip on the idea. (But at least we tried it!) 3. Finally, we introduced the ideas of shifting from one formation to another. And when we did it very successfully the kids looked at me like I was some kind of wizard or something. Again they just thought it was the coolest thing ever. The DW offense has been great fun and a pleasure to install with these kids. I have to say coach, I'm glad I actually studied the double wing offense for a few years before I actually ran the system. Years of going to your clinics and purchasing your videos has given me the ability to put these kids in positions to be successful and certainly has made me a better coach. The kids have fed off this offense and I'm glad I have known enough to keep dabbling with them and challenging them. These are smart kids who like and need to be mentally challenged. Mike Lane, Avon Grove, Pennsylvania *********** "Think twice about spending money you don't have to buy things you don't need to impress people you don't like." Advice that Michelle Singletary, of the Washington Post, says her grandmother gave her. *********** One of the many benefits of doing what I do is meeting some great people. Right near the top is John Naylor, of Fort Worth. We talk every month or so, usually for an hour or so, and I marvel at the John's knowledge of Texas football and the people he's known. Of course, John has coached for 44 years in Texas and, for a spell a few years back, for three years in North Carolina. He has had to cut back some this year because he had hip replacement surgery in the off-season and he tried coming back too fast, so he's pretty much restricted to the press box on Friday nights, but he's currently coaching at Castleberry High in River Oaks, outside Fort Worth. I've mentioned before that I didn't get the idea that butthead coaches who run it up were that much of a problem in Texas, and I asked John about it. He really had to think a while before coming up with one instance where he was offensive coordinator and his team was winning 35-7 or something like that, and his head coach became upset at the cheap shots the opponents were taking, and ordered him to score. And he did recall another time when his team was winning by 60 points or so, with the starters having been long since removed, when the opponents got close to scoring and the defensive coordinator ran the starters back onto the field. They were on for exactly one play before the head coach realized what had happened and got them back out of there. And that was it. Now, John has a heck of memory where Texas football is concerned, but out of 47 years of coaching, that was all he could come up with. The reason, I think, is the Texas High School Coaches Association. I am not sure that you can coach in Texas without belonging to it. (I can't imagine why you would want to.) It is large and it is active. It constantly focuses on coaching as a profession - no tank tops or tee shirts at its coaching clinics - and as a brotherhood - those guys understand that they share a bond or brotherhood because of the tough business they are in. Yes, they are competitive. They work like crazy to get an edge on each other. I'm not sure that high school coaches work harder any place else in the country, and I doubt that there's any other place where a losing coach can be so easily sent down the road (no tenure or teachers' unions, guys). But from what I have been able to discern, they have a high enough regard for their profession and for the bond of brotherhood that they do not debase either one by going out of their way to run up scores on each other. Shoot, coaches have enough to worry about without having to catch it from their fellow coaches. *********** During practice yesterday we figured out what the problem has been. Our backs are drifting wide after getting the toss on 88/99 because they've speeded up their motion. After watching film of our first four games, and watching film of our last three games it became glaringly obvious. At practice we slowed them down by NOT running Rip or Liz motion out of Tight. They noticed right away that the running lane was not as clogged, and they were better able to "hide" behind their blockers. When we added Rip and Liz they slowed themselves down by starting their motion AFTER the "Ready" part of the cadence. At the same time, we found that we CAN run the play WITHOUT motion in Tight, sooo, just another way for us to keep the defense on their heels. I guess that's what I love about this offense. It's simplicity is scary. Just a tweak here, and tweak there and we're off and running again. Our kids got a lot of their confidence back yesterday. We threw every conceivable front at them and they had no problem with the blocking and execution of each play. The best part? We did it without our starting QB, RG, and RE. I have never run an offense as personnel friendly as the DW. Thanks again for re-lighting my fire offensively. Joe Gutilla, Benilde-St. Margaret's HS, Minneapolis *********** Can you imagine what a scene there would have been last Saturday if West Virginia tailback Cooper Rego had travelled with his team to play Notre Dame? (He didn't.) Rego originally attended Notre Dame, but was expelled after being accused of - but not formally charged with - some sort of sexual assault. Maybe rape. Who knows? These campus tribunals operate under the cloak of secrecy. But one condition of his expulsion was that he was not to set foot on the ND campus. He contended that while he could not return as an individual, he could return as a member of a visiting team. But Notre Dame's president disagreed, and he holds the cards. "Uh-uh," he said - if Rego were to set foot on campus, he would be arrested and charged with trespassing. Wouldn't that have been a sight to see on first-and-ten? I'm certainly unable to take a side in this case, but when I read the news accounts, I can't help getting the idea that Rego is a rapist - that's the image the news stories seem to convey. But how fair is that? He denies the accusations, and he's never been charged with anything. Bear in mind that, yes, he may be a rapist, but then on the other hand, maybe not - it's at least possible that he was the victim of the sort of he-said-she-said railroading that seems to take place at some colleges sometimes when they accept the woman's word as sacred, and run the guy out of Dodge. No charges? If he sexually assaulted somebody? I mean, if the guy is a rapist, he's dangerous, isn't he? And if he is, doesn't Notre Dame have an obligation to do more than just run him off and wash its hands of the matter? Hey - what about the safety and welfare of young women in Morgantown, West Virginia? If he's a rapist, send his ass away. Bu if he's not... doggone - if you don't have enough to convict the guy in a court of law, then remove that cloud that's hanging over his head. *********** Hugh; I had the great pleasure of attending the Florida /Auburn game Saturday night in Auburn. It was great!!! My former principal's daughter is in the AD's office and works in marketing and does football. She got us 4 seats on the 40 yard line!! They were 44 rows up in the first section. Great seats!! We were covered by the upper section and did not get wet when it rained. It was my first trip to Auburn. It is a terrific place to watch a game. What an atmosphere they have! I got to participate in the Tiger Walk. Everybody lines up along the street and greets the Tigers as they walk to the stadium from their complex. It was great fun. I know that other schools do this, but it was my first time to be a participant. I don't know if ESPN showed the War Eagle landing, but it was awesome. The buildup to it by the fans was fantastic. They look forward to it like kids to Christmas!! Many were worried that he wouldn't fly because of the weather. We had tornado warnings and severe thunderstorn warnings all around the area. The wind was blowing a gale all afternoon and during the game. You had to hold your hat on your head most of the evening. I had passes to eat in the VIP tent that Emily was in charge of running for a big bank. I didn't realize how bad Auburn fans hate Alabama until Saturday. I was sitting there eating barbequed ribs when I heard a tremendous roar all over the area. I thought that they were cheering somebody shooting Bin Laden. A man comes running in the tent and screams that Mississippi had defeated Bama and our tent erupted in cheers and high fives. The next big cheer was for Troy St. beating Mississippi St. We had a big tv at our table and turned it on for scores and got to watch South Carolina and Arkansas. Everybody was looking for highlights of Mississippi beating Alabama. I was impressed with Damon Duval and saw the 64 yards FG in warm ups. I told my friend that this kid has a future and he could decide the game. The man next to me told me that if he did, it would be the third game that he had won in the last minute of the game. I assume that ESPN mentioned that fact. I was not aware of him until Saturday night. I thought that Auburn had lost the game when they lost the touchdown due to not enough men on the line. That was a bad mistake!! I can't believe that all these wide receivers can't line up. It gripes me. That is a mistake that should not be made! I saw the foul on the quarterback and agreed with the call. The kid was down and the Florida player took a free shot (he thought). You and I both know that announcers don't know anything. That is a case of keep your mouth shut and don't spout words to fill air time. Again, I had a great time and if you ever get the chance to see a game at Auburn, go. I highly recommend it. David Crump, Owensboro, Kentucky *********** The kids at this level really surprise you because they don't think of the simple things. We started having QB/Center exchange problems in the first half until we noticed that the QB would dry his hand on the towel on the Center then not move it over the center's back. The center would snap the ball into the towel. When I said something to the QB at half time (please move the towel over the center's back before taking the snap) he slapped himself on the side of the helmet and said "How stupid of me -that's the problem!" Steve Weick, Salem, Massachusetts     MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS

October 17- "On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson, commenting on the bravery of Don Holleder   HONORING THOSE WHO FELL IN THE BATTLE OF ONG THANH - OCTOBER 17, 1967 Today, October 17, 2001, marks the 34th anniversary of the Battle of Ong Thanh in Viet Nam, in which numerous American soldiers, members of the storied Black Lions, lost their lives in an ambush. Among those killed was former Army All-American football player Don Holleder, shot by a sniper while charging into the jungle in an attempt to rescue wounded comrades.. The photo on the upper left is from the Yale-Army game program November 5, 1955, his senior year. In the 1955 team photo on the right, Don Holleder is seated in the front row between teammate Don Satterfield and captain Pat Uebel. (He wears the number 16 which he was given when he agreed to switch to quarterback from tight end/defensive end, where he had been an All-American as a junior.) The photo at the bottom is of Major Don Holleder's name on the Vietnam Memorial. Anyone who coaches and plays the game of football should hear - and pass on to others - the story of Don Holleder and what he did for the sake of his team and, later, his comrades in arms. He should stand as a symbol to young men everywhere of the unselfishness and devotion to duty that characterizes a truly great football player and a truly great American. I urge you to read about him. If you already have, read it again! You'll feel good about your country and the game that you coach. In his memory and that of the men of the Black Lions who died with him on this day 34 years ago, the Black Lion Award was established this year, to recognize young football players who have displayed the character of a Don Holleder. And as you coach young American men, help keep his spirit alive - America needs more men like Don Holleder. (READ ABOUT DON HOLLEDER) BLACK LIONS COACHES - AS YOUR SEASONS WIND DOWN, BE SURE TO DECIDE ON YOUR AWARD WINNER - SEND ME HIS NAME AND THE ADDRESS TO WHICH I CAN MAIL YOU THE CERTIFICATE! BE SURE TO INCLUDE A FEW WORDS ABOUT YOUR NOMINEE, AND NOTHING THAT YOU WOULDN'T WANT PRINTED (try to avoid, "he sucked as a football player but he never missed a practice...")  A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: I have had a heck of a time researching this guy - I just can't seem to find every place he's been! Let's just say that he's well-travelled: he has had at least a dozen head coaching jobs in his career, which, with the announcement of his appointment last week as head coach of a Division III college, is still going strong. Last Saturday, at a time when people sound concerned about the advance age of Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, he made his Division III debut and celebrated his 80th birthday at the same time!   He started coaching in 1950, following a four-year pro football career as a linebacker with the Cleveland Browns, and with only a few years off here and there, has been coaching ever since.   He has had three pro head coaching jobs (four if you count the fact that he coached the same team on two different occasions). He has coached at least seven colleges, and has coached semi-pro and Arena League teams.   Although he did win two pro football titles and was twice named Coach of the Year, he has not for the most part had great win-loss records anywhere he has coached, and he has a well-earned reputation as a coaching gypsy.   He preceded Ara Parseghian at one job, and succeeded Homer Smith at another.   He was O.J. Simpson's presenter at his Pro Football Hall-of-Fame induction, and he recruited Jim Kelly to play for him in college.   HOW ABOUT THIS RESUME? HELP!!! As you can see, there are some blanks to be filled in from 1984-2001 Indiana University Player, member of IU Hall of Fame Cleveland Browns Starting linebacker for AAFC champs, 1946-49 Case Institute Head Coach, 1950-52 University of Washington 1953 - assistant Northwestern 1954 - assistant coach Northwestern 1955 - After 0-8-1 year, school considered dropping football - hired Ara Parseghian instead LIFE INSURANCE SALES Spent one year at a job he hated Western Illinois Head coach 1957-1959 - compiled 20-5-1 record, left to go to the AFL Patriots Boston Patriots (AFL) 1960-61 - First head coach in franchise history - fired in mid-season of second year Buffalo Bills 1962-65 - Won two AFL championships University of Maryland Quit after one year (1966) Denver Broncos 1967-1971 - Tradition of sellout crowds of 70,000+ at Mile-High Stadium began Buffalo Bills 1972-1976 - Put together O.J. and the Electric Company ("Turns on the Juice") University of Cincinnati 1976 - Briefly - Athletic Director for 19 days until he quit University of Miami 1977-1978 - Quit to go to Army US Military Academy (Army) 1979 - Succeeded Homer Smith; quit after 1 year - in July NEW YORK YANKEES "Vice President" - (George Steinbrenner had been one of his assistants at Northwestern) Central Florida Head coach - started the school's football program - 1982-84 Peru State 1991 Milwaukee Mustangs - Arena Football 1994 SUNY Canton Not sure of dates Chowan College, Murfreesboro, NC Named head coach, October, 2001 - at age 80 *********** For those of you who look at the Saturday morning sports page and try to decide on that basis who ran up the score and who didn't, what would you say if you read that Camas, Washington beat Washougal, 28-6? Pretty ordinary score, right? How about if I tell you that I was there, and that the score was 21-6, Camas, with just over 30 seconds to play?... and unbeaten, heavily-favored Camas was in possession of the ball deep in winless Washougal's territory?... Time to take a knee, right?.. but, no-o-o-o-o... Camas proceeded to line up for a field goal... okay, maybe the kicker can use some work... but then they faked it ... and threw to a wide-open man in the end zone.. who dropped it... and then, with the clock stopped by the incompletion, they lined up for another play... and threw a quick slant to a receiver who was dropped on the Washougal six.... and then, after some apparent deliberation as the clock continued to run, they called a time-out.. with 00:00.7 (that's seven-tenths of a second) showing... time to run one more play... and then, damned if they didn't throw a fade to the left corner of the end zone... for a touchdown! Wheeee! 28 points! Now, that's more like it! Now, you tell me who is classless: the guy I wrote about last Friday, whose highly-skilled team couldn't help scoring 73 points against a hapless opponent that kept coughing up the ball deep in its own territory? Or a guy whose kids had been given a good game by another group of kids whom his team had beaten 52-0 in an earlier meeting - a group of kids that brought a 14-game losing streak into this game - a guy who felt compelled to stop the clock with less than a second remaining so he put a meaningless score on them? What he was thinking? Not that I'm not particularly interested, but I just can't imagine. There is simply no explaining, or excusing, that sort of conduct. I'm tellin' ya, though - you can't just go by the score. *********** "No political correctitude in Killingly, Connecticut. They are the Redmen and damn proud of it. The mascot is an Indian chief in full headdress. The band plays war chants. It took me back a few years to when it was still OK to do that stuff...It was Killingly's homecoming tonight. I always thought you were supposed to schedule an opponent you had a good chance of beating on Homecoming to show the ol' alumni a good time, not the defending state champeens..." Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island (Killingly lost to Fitch High, a double-wing team and two-time defending state champ, 66-13.) *********** Just thought I would write and compliment you on this killer offensive system. The kids are 12 -13 of age and we average 250 to 300 yards rushing per game. The only problem I am having is; I am being hounded by pee wee (10 -11) coaches within our league to assist and install the system. Opposing coaches are very interested too. We had played a team who runs some of the double wing and they beat us 18-16. I must say our defense is only average. After the game the coach had met me on the 50 and commented on how well we run the double wing. I forgot to mention they are champs 4 years running and haven't been scored on in 8 games. Thanx again, Steve Morris, Rockville, Maryland - and my kids thank you too! *********** The Emperor's New Clothes, or the NFL's weekly exercize in self-delusion... When will some sports guy climb out of the NFL's back pocket and declare publicly that their game just plain sucks? Hooo boy, no sooner do they finish congratulatin' themselves for all those exciting, last-play finishes on Sunday, than up pops the devil - Redskins at Dallas on Monday Night Football. Damn! Was that game great or what? Right down to the final putt - er, free throw. Sorry - I meant to say field goal. Aw, hail - putt, free throw, field goal - what's the difference? Oh, well - you just wait and see what a difference Ryan Leaf makes in that Dallas offense. Field goal kickers averaged 78.5 per cent, predictable as an NBA free throw, for those of you who like suspense Fans at 5 of the games saw not a single missed field goal; fans at seven more of them saw only one miss There were 56 surrenders (field goals attempted) as opposed to 64 offensive touchdowns Only four teams scored more than three offensive touchdowns Seven teams scored one offensive touchdown or less (Dallas didn't score any) The Washington-Dallas "game" was the only one in which both field goal kickers missed a kick The Chargers' Wade Richey was the only kicker to miss more than one attempt Four teams- Cleveland, Denver, Kansas City and Tampa Bay - didn't attempt a field goal. They all lost Carolina lost by two points; the Panthers threw incomplete twice on PAT's Ten teams "rushed" for less than 100 yards; Tampa Bay took the Bronko Nagurski Trophy with 24 yards rushing Game I'm glad I wasn't forced to watch: Giants at St. Louis - four fumbles lost, two interceptions, 24 penalties for 214 yards, three offensive TD's and 138 yards "rushing" (81 less than the yards penalized) between them Game that I might have stayed with, even though I hate NFL football, because it sounds as though it nearly approached major-college quality: San Francisco at Atlanta - Lead changes hands three times in the fourth quarter; San Francisco drives to tie the game with :17 left - by scoring a touchdown! - then wins it in overtime, 37-31, by scoring a touchdown! 49ers score five TD's and only attempt one field goal. Only 12 penalties for 100 yards between them. Pittsburgh was the only team to rush for more than 200 yards The Steelers' Jerome Bettis (112 yards) outrushed 13 entire teams, and he was only two yards shy of the combined total of the Chargers (85) and the Patriots (29) *********** A Redskin wide receiver dropped a pass thrown right to him, and the Monday Night Geniuses in the Booth all agreed that it was because he was a "rookie." Shouldn't make a rookie your "go-to" receiver, or some such wisdom. Right. Like he's only been playing football - high school and college - for at least six or seven years now, undoubtedly at a very high level of performance or they wouldn't have selected him in the first place. Let's get serious, guys - even the Redskins cut some pretty talented people every year. And they kept him. Do you think they'd keep a guy who is still learning how to catch? *********** What is uglier than the murder of Alcorn State player JeKelcy Lee Johnson, shot last week after coming to the aid of a woman who was being "harassed" (they never tell us what that means) on the Alcorn campus? *********** "Hey - what's this I read they are recruiting kids that come to a camp now in Oregon or is it Washington? Jesuit HS and the stud they have there. Isn't it crazy how people don't see that a black kid can excel in other areas besides athletics. I don't get it! If the situation fits the kid, more power to him and his parents. I'm glad it is working out for him. " Don Capaldo, Keokuk, Iowa *********** Dear Coach Wyatt: After visiting with you via e-mail last spring regarding 9 & 10 year olds running the Double Wing, I purchased your video tapes and have nothing but good news to report to you. Our team, the Ben Franklin Lions (Ben Franklin Elem., Wichita Falls, Texas) is now 3-0 and our offense continues to improve each week. I try to focus most of our practice time on teaching defensive skills since all but 4 of my kids are brand new to football. Additionally, our team has a long history of good defense and adequate offense. Our neighborhood is regarded as the privileged part of town and I must admit, we never have any speed or loads of raw talent if you know what I mean. This is my first year as Head Coach and I really didn't want to break the defensive tradition. I simply wanted more offensive output without sacrificing practice time allocated to stopping the other faster but less organized teams. What I did not fully realize is what a defensive weapon the Double Wing can be. The Double Wing has given us remarkable control of the clock. Last game our opponent ran just 11 plays all game, mainly because our offense was always on the field churning out yards and eating up the clock. In the first half our opponent had the ball just 56 seconds of the two 6 minute quarters. The Double Wing sure keeps our defensive guys fresh and it seems to me that the other team is so worn down from fighting the Double Wing that they can't muster the speed to sweep us. I have 29 kids total of which I can now play 22 on offense, the other 7 (who have missed too many practices) will eventually catch on given time, I hope. Everyone rotates on defense but they sure don't get many snaps. I'm rotating 7 kids at A-B-C, none with any previous experience as backs. The 2 best backs were linemen last year so they are absolutely loving it. Their parents thought I was crazy when I tapped them to be the offensive work horses. Now they attend every practice and have rallied all the newcomer parents behind the team. My linemen and ends are having fun as well. The pulling and trapping keeps them energized. My best lineman I desperately tried to make a back. He's small at 77 pounds but a real dynamo. However, he kept begging me to play offensive guard. I hated to keep him out of the backfield with his energy and drive but he never relented. I finally discovered why. He loves 3 Trap at 2. He can't get enough of the trap block. He has more fun trapping unsuspecting defensive tackles than he did carrying the ball. I get a kick out of him during games. I often catch him trying to get my attention as I signal in the next offensive play to the quarterback. He's holding up both hands....one hand with 3 fingers extended and the other with 2. He wants 3 Trap at 2 ! I'll keep you posted on our season. Tomorrow we play a very good team, last year's defending champs. It will be interesting to see how they handle the DW. Thanks again for the excellent system. John Bradley Head Coach - Ben Franklin Lions (Boys & Girls Clubs of Wichita Falls) (That is a GREAT story. Especially the one about your guard. I know exactly what you are talking about - I have had kids try "sign language" with me, too. And I have sent in a play and heard some lineman say "all r-i-i-i-ght!" when the call meant that he was going to get to drill somebody.) *********** I always have my QB boot left on a wedge..I never have him keep it, but he "can". We had run the wedge a couple of times and my QB came to me and said "Coach, I can score if you let me keep it". Hey..I figure when a kid is that confident, you outta listen. I told him to go ahead, but don't tell anyone except the Bback...bang..30 yd TD! I really felt we needed that to get the momentum back..and it paid off..my boys took total control of the game after that. So on the last play of the game I call a 99sp because I had a Cback that hasn't run the ball much..I knew my QB wanted to score again, so he calls a 88SP Keep. The little @#$%&! HE thought it was funny until he found out he wouldn't be starting next week because of it! I told him I would rather lose a game with a guy that would do what is asked of him than win with a guy who wants to be his "own team"...to say the least, he won't be my nominee for the Black Lion Award! What the heck is up with these little guys?? Because I listened to him once, he thinks that gives him carte blanche to call his own plays?? ugh!! (An Army of One. HW) *********** Hey -- you didn't miss anything by watching cartoons! I have NEVER seen a Bobby Bowden team get spanked the way Miami spanked the 'noles Saturday..wow! I want some of what they're eatin'! Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** "I used to pay attention to Notre Dame when Holtz was there. Now I can't stand them, especially Davie. What a whiner. NDBC doesn't help the situation when they constantly show him in such disbelief after a 'bad call'. The replacement Refs in the NFL were better than the current ones. The Ravens/Packers game was so long with horrible mis-calls. Terry Allen fumbles the ball while in mid-air while being tackled, Packers recover and it was ruled that Allen was already down. Unchallengeable play. Brings up why some plays are and some aren't. Why not use the replay for every play? Finally I kind of enjoyed watching Rodriguez for WV. What is the lineage or history of these current direct snap spread offenses besides Dutch Meyer? The no-huddle thing is kind of cool. I think those offenses don't really work unless your QB can run and pass. Dantzler comes to mind. WV QB never was a threat to run and defenses don't fall for the fakes although their RB had 150+ on ND Jr. College. Just a few thoughts." Adam Wesoloski, Menominee, Michigan *********** Coach Wyatt, I was in Ann Arbor this weekend for the Purdue game, and if it hadn't been for those phantom fumbles (and real ones too) we'd have won by at least 21. Anyway, I was listening to Tiller's postgame press conference, and not only is he a good coach, he was classy. And someone asked him why he punted with a minute left, he said, "With our defense having played so well, I didn't want them to have to come on the field and have perhaps another seven tacked on at the end." Sounds like he was looking out for somebody other than his OC's ego. That Hance guy (Purdue QB) carried the ball twenty times (and had sub-50% completions). Their running backs combined for sixteen carries. If only he had some ball control, Tiller's defense might be rewarded against a rough-and-tough team like U-M, who put on a ball-control clinic in the second half. I believe U-M has shut out the Big Ten in the second half. I learned many lessons in coaching on Friday night. My dad and I went to the Huron High (7-0, #1 ranked in division 1) vs. Chelsea (7-0, ranked in division 3) homecoming game at Huron. Chelsea had won four in a row, but Huron's D was allowing 190 yards a game as well as having a man-child fullback (Wing-T) named Jenkins who was choosing between Notre Dame and Michigan. (He was also the punter). It would have been nice to actually see this guy run that night, but every time then needed a few yards or a first down (or some points), they'd run the halfback counter, or some rollout, or just drop back and throw it deep (which yielded three interceptions). As time ticked down in the fourth, Huron had three great chances to tie it up, 21-21, but Jenkins didn't carry the ball at all. Chelsea never trailed, were far more emotional, played good defense, and capitalized en route to a 21-14 victory. They had this Damien Anderson-type wingback and they kept running what was essentially 47-C to him. It kept getting stuffed, but once every five times it would bust open for a 60-yard TD. He scored all their points. Maybe there was something we were missing, but I get the feeling Woody Hayes' quote can be extended to "If you have a good player, put him en media res (in the middle of things), not on the periphery...and then use him in the game plan!" Fresno State is so awesome. And That Colorado State quarterback is some kind of man, even if he does come from Michigan State bloodlines. I stayed up until 2 am to see the end of that one. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts *********** "Enjoyed reading your 'old-school' perspectives. I'm taking my own team next year, and they will tell their kids someday, 'Son, in the eighth grade I had this old-school coach who was a hard-ass and demanded respect, but by God he taught me the value of hard work and character.' " (The old school did a pretty fair job of getting our nation out to about 1970 or so. Then the new school kicked in somewhere around then, and has got us to where we are now. I believe I'll stick with the old school ways.HW) *********** "I was reading your NEWS and saw the article regarding the coach who ran 88sp at the end of a game and then was blamed for the other team's safety getting a flagrant foul. Against Tenino, we won 68-6. I had everyone on the sideline playing after the first drive of the second half. I kept it simple...88sp, 99sp...and we continued to score. So I started running 2W...and again we scored. I felt bad for the kids on the other team...but I am certainly not going to tell my JV's to stop going hard. The following week I get a message from the referee association regarding our game. Our team was given a sportsmanship award for our great behavior and not trying to run up the score...the association gives an award out each week to some team in the area. It was the first time we have ever received something like that!" John Lambert, La Center, Washington *********** (I just thought I'd print this game report on the NEWS page because of the defense the coach encountered): Grand Forks Red River 33 - Devils Lake 8. Drew Thomas (our A back) had 12 carries for 313 yards & 4 TDs. He had quite a night...DL jumped into a 10-1 defense & shot every gap to defend our double wing...this is the first time we've seen this...we had 507 rushing yards on the night...this week we play the #1 team in the state. Thanks, Coach Wyatt. Paul Peterson, Red River High School, Grand Forks, North Dakota   MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award

October 15 - "It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required." Winston Churchill   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!!   HEY, FOOTBALL COACHES... FIND OUT WHO YOUR HITTERS ARE! IF A KID WON'T HIT THIS, MAYBE THE SOCCER COACH CAN USE HIM!!! THE DESERT DUMMY HIT IT HARD AND HEAR IT SAY "THANK YOU. I GO TO HEAVEN NOW!" EXCLUSIVELY FROM COACHWYATT.COM DUMMY HOLDERS AVAILABLE SEPARATELY - WHILE THEY LAST This is a Spoof - I am not a war profiteer - Do Not Send Money (Well, if you insist... you can if you want to) A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: I have had a heck of a time researching this guy - I just can't seem to find every place he's been!   Let's just say that he has had at least a dozen head coaching jobs in his career, which, with the announcement of his appointment last week as head coach of a Division III college, is still going strong. Saturday, at a time when people sound concerned about the advance age of Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, he made his Division III debut and celebrated his 80th birthday on the same day!   He started coaching in 1950, following a four-year pro football career as a linebacker with the Cleveland Browns, and with only a few years off here and there, has been coaching ever since.   He has had three pro head coaching jobs (four if you count the fact that he coached the same team on two different occasions). He has coached at least seven colleges, and has coached semi-pro and Arena League teams.   Although he did win two pro football titles and was twice named Coach of the Year, he has not for the most part had great win-loss records anywhere he has coached, and he has a well-earned reputation as a coaching gypsy.   He preceded Ara Parseghian at one job, and succeeded Homer Smith at another.   He was O.J. Simpson's presenter at his Pro Football Hall-of-Fame induction, and he recruited Jim Kelly to play for him in college.   BLACK LIONS COACHES - AS YOUR SEASONS WIND DOWN, BE SURE TO DECIDE ON YOUR AWARD WINNER - SEND ME HIS NAME AND THE ADDRESS TO WHICH I CAN MAIL YOU THE CERTIFICATE! *********** The ever-sanctimonious New York Times, promoter of everything liberal and staunch defender of "free speech" and "the public's right to know," has an exclusive deal with Starbuck's nationwide which sounds to me as if it thinks the public's right to know should be limited to what's in The Times. The deal guarantees that The Times will be the only nationally-circulated newspaper sold in any Starbuck's store anywhere in the U.S. Wouldn't want peoples' minds polluted by McPaper (USA Today) or - ugh! - even worse, that horrible, conservative Wall Street Journal. *********** Ho-hum. Another (yawn) weekend of college football on the tube... If football were to be outlawed for some reason, there probably would never be another game as good as Fresno State-Colorado State anyhow. (Unless it was Auburn-Florida.) Michigan's shirts may have a tinge of blue in them, but those damn helmets are maize and black Ole Miss - winner over Alabama in Oxford - has also darkened its "blue" shirts quite a bit The "halo rule" sucks and is just another way of letting the officials let us know they're around. And now that punt-coverage "gunners" know that officials have the option of giving them only a five-yard penalty, more and more of them seem willing to take their chances on hitting punt return men. Just one more trivial penalty that clutters up the game and does nothing to discourage violators or make the game safer. Maybe you got Miami-Florida State, but on the West Coast it was 9 am, and we got cartoons. Oh well, eat your heart out - later on, while you got nothing on your local ABC station, we were getting San Diego State-UNLV, with three wins between them. Michigan's Marquise Walker is, uh, pretty good. An amazing juxtaposition - with two sets side-by-side, at the same time ESPN2 was showing us the beautiful, golden foliage on the Michigan State campus, ESPN was giving us shots of the interior of a Michigan frat house after a Friday night of partying. Michigan State's Herb Haygood has returned kickoffs for touchdowns in the last two consecutive games. Proof that our nation has, indeed, undergone a major change: there was General George Patton, not exactly a touchy-feely "Army of One" guy, in a US Army recruiting commercial. I swear he was smoking a cigar. Joe Tiller, shown singing "Take me Out to the Ballgame" at a Cubs' game last summer, may very well be the worst-singing football coach in history. I enjoy watching the Clemson/Northwestern/West Virginia/etc. "shotgun" offense, which is really a modern version of the direct-snap Double-Wing. If you live on the West Coast and you didn't graduate from USC, you can easily learn to hate the Trojans. They are the Notre Dame of the Pacific Coast - they have seen better days, but nevertheless, they are on TV every Saturday, because the TV producers are still frozen in time, back in the days when they were good. If UCLA's DeShaun Foster isn't the best runner in America (and I would be inclined to say he is, but then, after watching him rush for 301 yards against Washington, perhaps I am biased) he is at least the best to come out of a Double-Wing high school offense (Tustin, California). My wife's disdainful comment on the Bud Lite street-luge-racing commercial where the new guy on the circuit, the one with the deep voice, is distracted by a good-looking waitress and wipes out and hits a pole, legs spread: "I think that's a guy commercial." The score flashes on our screen - Washington State 45, Stanford 39 - and I scramble to get KVAN ("The Voice of the Cougars") on our radio (the game's not being televised, because who would ever have figured that this game would matter?). The Voice of the Cougars, instead of one of the most exciting games of the year, is carrying a stupid f--king baseball playoff game. Lou Holtz' return to Arkansas after leaving years ago for Minnesota was not a happy one as the Razorbacks blocked at last-minute South Carolina field goal attempt. The Auburn quarterback fell on a bad shotgun snap and as he lay there, a Florida defender fell on him - hard. And the announcers chalked up the foul to "exuberance." Final score of the Loser Leaves Town match: Temple 30, Rutgers 5. (In case you forgot, Temple is the one the Big East has been trying to get rid of.) If Kentucky is the Bluegrass State, how come UK's field always looks brown? Tailspin U - Kansas State drops its third in a row, and Mississippi State loses to Troy State. The Pac 10 has been so excited over the rejuvenation of Washington State that it's failed to notice the serious problems it has in USC, Cal, Arizona and Arizona State. I guarantee you, Temple would break even against them. (Rutgers, I'm not so sure.) Barry Switzer, on the sidelines at the Oklahoma-Kansas game, was asked about a mythical matchup: "Your best team against this team now." He didn't hesitate for a second - "We'd shut 'em out." For some reason, down near the end, Florida punted on third down. Now, how did Steve Spurrier know that they were going to botch the operation, and since it was third down, they'd get another chance? Just one problem with the spread formation stuff all these guys run - Auburn lost a touchdown because its receivers couldn't seem to figure out which one of them was supposed to be one the line of scrimmage - and as a result there were only six men on the line. Talk about wind - I have hit drives that were straighter than Auburn's game-winning 48-yard field goal with 10 seconds left. That sucker stared out wide right and curved straight in. ESPN's camera's showed Auburn's kicker Damon Duval hitting a 64-yarder in pre-game warmups. Fresno State jumped offside on a Colorado State field goal attempt. Given a first down, Colorado State scored a touchdown on the next play. Eat your heart out, NFL - UCLA's 35 points against Washington was the Pac 10's lowest winning score. Fresno State's early wins are looking a bit better now, Wisconsin beat Ohio State, Oregon State beat Arizona, and Colorado hasn't lost since they played in the season opener. *********** "Uhhhh, Uhhhhh, Calvin Jones! ...... Oh, too late! "Just coming out of the fog OU knocked me into nearly one week ago. DAMN! Had you told me that the Sooners would score but one offensive TD prior to that game, I'd have bet the ranch Texas would win. "Your "Hold The Rope" message was exactly the theme Bum Phillips developed for the Houston Oilers in 1975. Oiler fans even took to carrying small bits of rope to the Astrodome to wave a la Pittsburgh's "Terrible Towel." You might recall the oft-shown NFL Films clip of Bum in the Oiler locker room prior to a Monday Night game with the Steelers telling his boys "don't let go of that rope." The Steelers killed the Oilers that night something like 33-13 and my 14-year-old ass went to bed cryin.' "Just like my 40-year-old tail went to bed weepin' last Saturday night." Whit Snyder, Baytown, Texas *********** "My 8th Graders have scored 200 points in 5 games and average over 400 yards rushing per game. "Wildcat" is an awesome concept. We focus on turning to hide the ball and really selling the fakes with motion. 6G and 44 lead are killers." John Braganini, Kalamazoo Christian School, Kalamazoo, Michigan *********** The Washington Post took a look last week at John Davis's six years as the coach at Glenelg (Maryland) High. Note what a difference the switch to the Double-Wing has made in yards per game rushing but, even more important, the won-loss record: 1996: (4-6 ) Wing T, 182 yards rushing,, 29 yards passing 1997: (4-6) Wing T, 168 yards rushing,, 112 yards passing 1998: (3-7) Wing T, 141 yards rushing, 155 yards passing 1999: (6-4) Spread, 64 yards rushing, 211 yards passing 2000: (8-4, state 1A semifinalist) Double wing, 226 yards rushing, 51 yards passing 2001: (5-0 as if last Friday) Double wing, 323 yards rushing, 29 yards passing   *********** Friday night, Ridgefield played LaCenter. Ridgefield, Washington, was where I installed the offense in 1991, and where I shot a lot of the Dynamics of the Double-Wing video; LaCenter was where I coached from 1996-1998, and shot Dynamics II, III and IV and Safer and Surer Tackling.   La Center won, 17-7, to run its record to 4-2 and, with four games remaining, appears on the verge of its fourth straight winning season. The Ridgefield coach, Art Osmundson, is a dear friend and former co-worker; the LaCenter coach, John Lambert, is a former student, player and right-hand assistant. They both do an excellent job of running the Double-Wing. Neither one was looking forward to having to face the other's offense. I didn't go to the game. I love to watch their teams play, but not against each other. I love both of the coaches and I have too many friends in both places. Now I know how Mrs. Bowden feels when Florida State plays Clemson. *********** "Coach Wyatt - I finally have a computer that I can access the internet with without having to take vacation time to wait for things to upload...your site is awesome!!! The Red River Roughrider Football Team would like to be involved in the Black Lion Program...once again a great idea with high standards to reach for!! I saw Coach Bickford from Wahpeton has been keeping you posted on the progress of the double wing teams in the EDC of North Dakota...Wahpeton is a very good team whose "Toss" was tough to stop... we'll have better luck if we play again...now that I know about the Winner's Circle...I hope I can be updating you with some Red River victories as we approach the playoffs...we are 5-2 going into tonight (Friday)...thanks for all that you've done for us at Red River High School... your offense has helped build an enhanced discipline attitude in our players, coaches, & program....I hope I'll be e-mailing an update of a Roughrider victory soon...thanks again..."It Takes a Set". Paul Peterson, Head Football Coach, Red River High School, Grand Forks, North Dakota"   *********** Scott Barnes, of Rockwall, Texas, sent me this: "Coach - check this guy out! and how 'bout that understanding/supportive wife?! by the way, an "0311" is a Grunt -- pure Marine."   Sgt. Grit: Thanks for a great newsletter. I read it faithfully and find it inspiring that so many former Marines are ready to go back in because of the recent tragedies. My husband, LCpl Eric Widerman, served his country and the Corps proudly from 1991-1995. Motivated by the November 11th attacks, he just re-enlisted after 6 years as a civilian. He will be stationed at Camp LeJeune and I plan to stay in Central Florida for at least a year. Eventually I will sell our home, leave my job and move up to Jacksonville (North Carolina) with him but it will be a difficult journey. I'm so proud that he has chosen to go back in, even though it's a great sacrifice. He doesn't care about having to leave a great job, having to live in the barracks and not his comfortable home, feeling that he's possibly too old to keep up with the other 0311's...but he cares about his country, the Corps and especially his wife. All it would take would be for me to ask him not to go and he would stay. If he's willing to sacrifice everything he has worked for, how could I keep him from going? I started dating Eric soon after he got out in 1995 and I've always known that if something happened, he would be the first to go. The family won't understand. Our friends will think we're insane. But...Once a Marine, Always a Marine! Semper Fi! Angela Widerman   *********** A friend wrote to tell me about his wife, who is a very conscientious teacher. Like most teachers, she is results-oriented, which means her concern is getting the job done, whatever it takes and however she has to do it. This often causes problems for teachers, because the field of educational "leadership" is so full of phonies and half-baked intellectuals that the only way or a classroom teacher to endure is to appear to go along with them, while in reality ignoring them and developing a hide that's resistant to all their B-S. I see the "leaders" as liberals, the teachers as conservatives. Here's why: The conservative is results-oriented, while the liberal is "process-oriented." The conservative is interested in getting the job done. Period. The liberal, on the other hand, is interested in style points - in HOW you go about getting the job done. It's almost as if that's more important than the actual results. If you don't believe me, check all the emphasis now on "show your work and tell us how you arrived at your answer" in math teaching. In many of today's math "assessments" (tests) it's all well and good if kids get the right answer - but it's every bit as important that they can explain the "process." In football coaching terms, the process-loving liberal is into style points, too. He would rather lose and look good (spread it out and throw). The results-oriented conservative, though, prefers to win, whatever the method that the circumstances dictate. *********** UP ON ME SOAP BOX: I'm going to say this over and over until people understand it clearly - I am hanging out my shingle - offering myself up as an expert witness, willing to go anywhere, testify any time, against coaches who know how they can make football a safer game and yet refuse to do so. I know how much expert witnesses get paid. It is easy money. There are plenty of lawyers around the country who will pay me well for my testimony. And I would have no conscience pangs about testifying against such so-called "fellow coaches", because if they're consciously doing dangerous things, we don't belong to the same coaching fraternity. If they refuse to change their ways, it is either get rid of them or stand by and let them kill off our game. Easy choice there. Might as well get paid to do it... Just a note to tell you what can happen when the advice of an experienced coach such as yourself is ignored. We lost our star fullback/linebacker to a broken leg/ankle during tackling practice on Monday. Our playoffs start this weekend. Although our team has adopted the tackling method demonstrated in your video, the head coach still insists on taking the ball carrier to the ground in practice because "they will have to do it in the game". A freak accident, but wholly unnecessary in my opinion. It seems that growing kids are very susceptible to injury to the "growth plate", and what would have probably been a mild sprain for an adult turned into a level three break for the boy. Hopefully, we can learn a lesson from this incident and modify our practices accordingly next season. Hi Coach: You can replicate actual game conditions in practice up to a point, but only up to a point. Whatever you call it - fury, adrenaline, the strength of desperation - kids who practice the way we do - not taking runners to the ground - immediately adapt to game conditions and being able to take runners to the ground. I have never observed a team that couldn't make that transfer. The difference was, I didn't lose players in practice. We do take people to the ground - in pancake drills. We do hit hard in practice - but we emphasize staying on our feet. Why would anybody want to use a live kid as a tackling dummy, when so many of football's injuries come from hitting the ground? *********** Hello Coach.... I saw Jon McLoughlin and the Rich Central Olympians on the local cable access HS football review last night. They're looking very very good right now and have positioned themselves well for the state Championship run. (They Beat Rich South, 48-21, to go 6-2 on the year. HW) I saw them run Red-Red and 99 SP perfectly on the highlights....and from the 2 yard line they ran Wedge easily. The announcer referred to the WEDGE play as a "scrum"... Fun stuff!!! John Urbaniak, Hanover Park, Illinois (Read the write-up on the Winner's Circle)   *********** D. J. Jackson, of Portland's Jesuit High School, is one of the top high school athletes in the Northwest, on every recruiter's radar screen as both a running back and defensive back. Friday night, he carried 30 times for 208 yards and scored three touchdowns as Jesuit, the number-one ranked 4A team on the state, won its sixth game against no losses.   Jesuit, a private Catholic school, is quite a distance from his family's home in the St. John's section of Portland, leading to the inevitable charges from some that he has already been through one recruiting process. His family strongly denies the accusations, saying that he actually investigated Jesuit after attending a camp there.   Hey - except for the slight problem of paying his tuition, and how that's done is none of my business, this decision is a no-brainer. Academically, it is hard to find a program at any of the Portland public schools that approaches Jesuit's overall standards. Athletically, the public school in his home area competes in the state's weakest league and is now 1-5, while Jesuit is consistently one of the top teams in the state.   By all accounts, the kid is thriving, not just athletically, but academically and as a student leader.   Now, get this - a couple of years ago, according to his mother, the people at the kid's middle school advised against sending him to Jesuit. They said that he was being set up to fail (how's that for positive reinforcement?) and, worse, that Jesuit was mostly - WHITE.   Can you believe that sh--? Sure sounds like racial profiling to me. Also sounds like a bunch of people who think they can live in a black land all their own. Worse yet, though, it sounds like the first step toward the dreaded accusation that he is "acting white" - the anchor that some members of the black community drape around their kids' necks, a drag on the upward mobility of so many gifted young black kids. And in this case, it was coming from public school employees, paid with the tax dollars of people of all races!   What those people were saying to D. J. Jackson and his parents was, "We are miserable. But it's not our fault. It's the white man's fault. So don't associate with the white man - he'll do it to you, too. Don't go out and compete in the white man's world. Stay here with us and be miserable, too."   I happen to be a white man. I am only one, but as one white person, I would like to tell anyone, black or white, within earshot of those ignorant hate-mongers at that middle school that those people are WRONG. They are racist and they are wrong. I know a lot of white people. I have worked with a lot of white coaches and teachers. I am here to assure anyone who is being fed that kind of intolerance that for every white person who might not want a kid like D.J. Jackson at his school, or might not want to see him succeed , there are thousands more like me who extend the hand of welcome to him and kids like him, and will do whatever we can to help him.   We care about our country and its people - black, white and others - and as teachers and coaches we are dedicated to providing kids of all races the opportunity to get to know and respect each other as equals, to work beside each other, to go to school together, to play sports together, to succeed to the point where they can work in the occupation of their choice, live in the neighborhood of their choice, marry the person of their choice, and send their kids to the school of their choice.   My oldest grandson attends a magnet school in Durham, North Carolina. My daughter and son-in-law chose it because of its high academic standards. Guess what? It's more than 60 per cent black. So I suppose I should have advised them not to send him there, because it's mostly - BLACK?   No chance of that. Enough of this divisiveness. We are all Americans, and we are all on the same team - and we need each other. MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS

October 12- "Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." Winston Churchill   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Calvin Jones should have been a lot more famous, but after an outstanding college career in which he was twice named unanimously to the All-American team (and in those days of one-platoon football, they chose only eleven men) and won the Outland Trophy, he chose to pass over the NFL and play in Canada. His career - his life - came to a tragic end when he was killed in a plane crash in the Canadian Rockies. We was a native of Steubenville, Ohio, who starred for Iowa. His coach, Forest Evashevski, called him "the greatest lineman I ever coached." He is one of only two Iowa players ever to have their numbers retired. Correctly Identifying Calvin Jones - Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa ( This was kind of easy for a coach in Davenport, IA. Cal Jones. First two-time consensus all-American in Iowa history... winner of the Outland Trophy in 1955, awarded to nation's top interior lineman... named to 22 all-America teams in his career... his No. 62 is one of two retired numbers at Iowa... an OL on Iowa's all-time team... a three-time first team all-Big Ten pick.")... Adam Wesoloski- Menominee, Michigan... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... Steve Staker- Fredericksburg, Iowa ("Being an avid Hawkeye football fan,how could anybody not remember the great Calvin Jones. He came to Iowa with 2 other Steubenville, Ohio natives, Eddie Vincent and Frank Gilliam. They were known as the Steubenville trio.")... John Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois ("I had to do a little digging this week to find Calvin Jones' #62 is the only other number besides Nile Kinnick's #24 to be retired by the Hawkeyes. Earning All-American honors on 22 teams his senior year has to be some sort of record. Wow! I wonder how he didn't end up at Ohio State.")... David Crump, Owensboro, Kentucky ("I believe that he is the only player to win the Outland Trophy from Iowa. He is like Bob Gain of UK to be the only one to win the award from UK. He must have been a heck of a pulling guard in coach Evashevski's wing-t that he ran at Iowa. This is another case of me wanting to see film of the early days of the wing-t as opposed to the wing-t that schools are running now.")... John Reardon- Peru, Illinois... Paul Courmier- Rochester, New Hampshire ("The guard was part of the "Steubenville Trio" (along with Frank Gilliam and Eddie Vincent) to come to Iowa from Steubenville, Ohio in the mid-1950s.")... Dave Cox- Tucson, Arizona ("Being from Iowa, Spirit Lake to be exact, the answer is 'Cal Jones'"). *********** Years ago, the do-gooders used to run TV spots (I am not making this up) telling us, "Take the keys. Lock your car. Don't help a good boy turn bad." Like it was our fault the punk stole the car. Since that time, the libs have extended the idea of transfer of fault far beyond what any of us would ever have predicted. Kid's late for practice? Don't blame him. It was my fault - I had to stop for coffee. The other day I ran the story of a coach who told of getting blamed by an official because thanks to his failure to instruct his quarterback to take a knee, some poor lad on the other team was hit with a personal foul. More has happened since, he wrote to tell me. "..and the plot thickens. Yesterday at lunch I was called into our athletic office and handed a fax. The fax cover sheet said "FYI Only". The second page was a letter sent to the AIA by the official from our game on Friday. Here is what it said: "I wanted to drop you a note about a sportsmanship issue that arose at the end of the ----- Game. "(He then describes the time remaining etc.) Instead of taking a knee and letting the clock run down without incident, the coach decided to run plays. A player from (the opposing team) received a personal foul for his actions following one of the plays. If not for the quick intervention of the Line Judge and Back Judge this might have erupted into something larger. The coach then ran another play as time expired without further incident. "My crew and I felt the coach's decision to run the final plays were not in line with the sportsmanship theme of interscholastic athletics. Running these plays while leading is what caused the reaction by the (opposing) player. (Can you believe this sh--? HW) The game had gone very smoothly until this point and had the coach decided to let time expire by taking a knee this incident could have been avoided." "Luckily, my athletic director (who was a very successful high school football coach for over 20 years here) got a good chuckle out of it. I considered responding, but I have more important things to do, like preparing our team for our first league game this Friday. " (I never thought people like that and their "it's-not-his-fault" syndrome would worm their way into a no-excuses sport like football. I'll just bet that ref is a "peace activist" who holds me responsible for the World Trade Center bombing because my wife drives an SUV and I drive a van. HW) *********** On the same subject.... "Hello Hugh....I read in your "News you can use" section about the coach who ran 88 SP keep 3 times rather than take a knee. It reminded me of something that happened at the end of our game this past week. With 2.1 seconds left on the clock I instructed my QB to take the snap and take a knee. We informed the refs of our intentions and my QB did perfectly as told. Before the whistle was blown 3 defenders in the middle blew the A gaps and just "laced" our QB with their helmets at facemask level. As soon as that happens our sideline erupts from parents and fans, the president of our league chases the refs off the field with his words of disgust for them. It was very flagrant, but game over, who cares!!!! I've seen this too often now, (once is too much)....from now on, I'm running WEDGE." Rgds, John Urbaniak, Hanover Park, Illinois *********** Okay, so while we're still on the subject of running up the score... Last night (Thursday) I watched a Washington 4A game between Team A, one of the league's best, and Team B, easily its worst. Team A scored on its first play from scrimmage, a double pass from a split end to a slot back, good for 61 yards. Team B's second play was a pass into the right flat, intercepted and run back 30 yards for a TD. We were less than a minute into the game and it was already 14-0. Team B punted, then held A to a field goal, and on the following kickoff returned the ball 85 yards to the one. (Actually, everybody in the stadium thought the kid had scored, but the official had to make sure that everybody in the stadium saw him, so he made the chickensh-- call of all time and deprived the kid of a TD.) After four downs, team A held and took over on their own 5, then drove for another score and led, 24-0 with 2:09 left in the first quarter. Team B shortly after fumbled deep in their own territory, and the first quarter ended with team A in possession, first-and-goal on the five. Team A made it 31-0 on the first play of the second quarter, and on the very next play from scrimmage, Team B threw a lateral pass to a wide receiver which he dropped. Team A punched it in. 38-0 with 11:00 left in the half. On the very next play, Team B fumbled and Team A ran it in from 15 yards out. 45-0 with 9:30 remaining. Team B actually got a first down or two and then punted. Team A then broke a 68-yard run to Team B's 20, and in a couple of plays punched it in. 52-0 with 5:41 left. Team B "drove" almost to midfield, but came up short on a fourth-and-one, and Team A took over. There was 3:37 left in the half and the starting quarterback was replaced. It was the earliest hook I can ever remember seeing. This kid had been leading the area in passing, but Thursday night he had thrown no more than five passes, and thanks to the total ineptness of the opponents, his week of football was over before halftime. Team B's starters remained in. Halftime score was 59-0, but, thanks to a combination of liberal substitution and running the ball into the middle of the line - and very little thanks to Team B defense - Team A managed to keep the score from going past 73-0. Many of Team B's starters were still playing in the fourth quarter. Now, I ask those of you who think that good teams are supposed to start taking a knee once they get a certain number of points ahead - why are the losing team's starters entitled to play all their coach wants them to, while the winners' starters have to come out because we don't want the losers to feel bad? And why should Team A's backups, who rarely get to play all that much have to run plays that are designed to fail, just to keep the score from looking bad? (And against Team B's starters, at that.) I'm sorry, but I am getting tired of listening to people beating up on coaches who take reasonable steps to assure that they are not rubbing their opponents' noses in it, when in the process of doing so their own kids are being shortchanged. I would start out with one basic premise - your starters didn't work any harder than mine, and the fact that they're playing poorly doesn't make them entitled to any more playing time than mine. *********** In one of the most incredible coincidences you will ever see, the covers of this week's Sports Illustrated and Sporting News are nearly identical, both showing the same tackle of Texas' Chris Simms, shot from the same angle and just split seconds apart. *********** Lord Almighty! Are we that big a buncha pussies? Second question fired at the President in Thursday's press conference: "Do you have anything to say to Americans who feel helpless to protect themselves and their families?" *********** I STAND CORRECTED - Jay Stewart, of Deep Creek Lake, MD (way out in Western Maryland, where they pull for the Steelers) was good enough to point out that when I complained that only Baltimore and Miami rushed for over 200 yards, I overlooked the Steelers. 274 yards! Damn! That's almost decent high school production - although they did have 12 more minutes, the equivalent of an extra quarter. Nevertheless, as Jay adds, "This being done with a qb who can not throw or receivers who can catch." Jerome Bettis carried 23 times for 153. The quarterback (Kordell Stewart) "who can not throw" did run for another 61 yards. *********** DON'T SHOW YOUR KIDS OR THEY'LL WANT ONE! I made the mistake of showing Austin that blocking shield and now he's hassling me about making one.."come on dad, there has to be SOME way to make one"...he thinks it's the coolest thing ever... Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas (IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR A PANCAKE DRILL, NOW, WOULDN'T IT?)  *********** Q. Would a "Tight End" reverse out of an unbalanced set be a legal play?? If I understand it correctly it would be....... right??? A. Absolutely. So long as the unbalanced line is not a 5-1 deal (double-over) which would put the end right next to the snapper. In that case, he would have to do the full turn, like any interior lineman. *********** I just wanted to give a quick update on the Rock Creek Mustangs. We are ready for district play this week and are still undefeated at 6- 0. We have had to come from behind a couple of times this season but managed to win a couple of tight games. Since installing the DBL wing we are 17-1 at the varsity level. Our Fr. are 5-0 and the JV are 4-2 the J.H team is 4-2. I have seen our guys compete and beat teams that were better physically than us. Thanks, Mike Beam, Rock Creek High, St. George, Kansas *********** From a Double-Wing coach somewhere in the Midwest... "A school in my area hired a new coach in Spring 2000 (a job that I applied for). I am told by a source close to the school district that two things caught the interview committee's attention. One is that he made the statement, "I refuse to accept defeat." The other is that he would be installing an all-out passing attack. Last Friday night they scored a touchdown... the fourth one they've scored in the last 16 games (all losses) since they hired the coach." *********** "... you should've been a fly on the wall for the conversation my asst. and I had with an ejected players father. His attitude was that call was B.S., that the kid has been taught to be aggressive, and if what happened to him happened to all of us, that we would react the same way. I totally disagreed with him and told him that his son needs to smarter and realize that there is no place on the football field for that kind of stuff.. he has to big enough to walk away, and if he wants to remember the other guys number, fine, but to retaliate was wrong. I also told him that I had been in similar situations in my career and as hard as it was, simply walked away to get back in the huddle (one particular instance comes to mind during my senior year against ------- ).. my anger was then taken out on the guy I was blocking on the next play... the kid's father refused to believe or agree with us. When they left, all my asst. could keep saying was "No wonder the kid is screwed up..." Heck, after the coaching staff talked to the player about the incident (it happened late in the 2Q, so we could address it for a few minutes during halftime), and I even spoke to the rest of the players about it at the end of the game, the kid didn't really seem to realize or acknowledge that he was wrong. You'd expect him to apologize to his teammates, but I'm sure no such apology will be forthcoming. Call me old school, but all I know is that if the ejected player was my son or the son of one of my assts. (knowing the way that they are), the ejection/suspension would be the least of the kid's worries, if you know what I mean." NAME WITHHELD *********** Headline in the Vancouver (Washington) Columbian: "Drunken Driving Project Seeks Participants." Could this be a sting? *********** PATRIOT OF THE WEEK AWARD. No sooner do I hear someone worrying about what would happen if terrorists were to wipe out Congress - ohmigod! Not Congress! - than I open the morning paper and read about Congressman Jim McDermott, our ever-patriotic representative from the People's Republic of Seattle-on-the-Yangtze. He was quoted as saying that he's worried that "a scant four weeks" wasn't enough time for the Bush administration to plan properly for the strike on Afghanistan. "The attacks against New York and Washington, D.C. took many months, even years to plan. We should be very cautious about claiming success too quickly. It smacks of a certain arrogance that we can ill afford at this crucial juncture in our nation's history." A certain arrogance, did he say? McDermott, a Democrat (duh!), went on to say, in his best Jane Fonda imitation, "I'm not so sure President Bush, members of his administration or the military have thought this action out completely or fully examined America's cause." What an inspiration in our time of crisis. I gar-on-tee you, as the late Justin Wilson would say, if I see a terrorist-type guy headed for the Congressional Office Building carrying a suitcase, I ain't warnin' this guy.  *********** I have read that you can go wings on thereby putting more than 7 linemen on the line of scrimmage. I have also read that you must have 7 players on the line of scrimmage and the other players must be at least one yard back which is contrary to the wings on concept. Could you explain the correct ruling on the above. The confusion on the rule is that you must have at least seven on the line, but you certainly may have more: National Federation Rules: Rule 2, Section 14, Article 1- "A scrimmage formation requires a minimum of seven A (offensive) players on their line at the snap." TIP: No matter how many men you do decide to have on the line, make sure you remember to leave one guy back there to snap it to! *********** From Sonny DiGregorio, a youth coach in Valley Stream, New York: "One of my players' fathers coaches Holy Cross High School in NYC. Had printed up this for his Team. I thought you might like this: HOLD THE ROPE What is "Holding the rope? Imagine that you are hanging from the edge of a cliff with a drop of twenty thousand feet. The only thing between you and a fall to your death is a rope, with the person of your choice on the other end. Who do you know that has the guts to pull you to safety? Who will hold the rope? Who do you know that is going to let the rope burn their hands and not let it go? How many people that you know are going to withstand the burning pain and watch the blood drip from their hands for you? If you can name two people, that's not good enough, because those two people might not be around. The next time your team is together. look around and ask yourself, "Who could I trust to hold the rope? Who is going to let their hands bleed for me"? When you can look at every member on your team and say to yourself that they all would hold the rope, you are destined to win a lot of ball games. You See, the team that holds the rope when the going gets tough are winners. When you are down by four points with thirty seconds to go , don't give up. Yell at your team -mates to "Hold the rope! Let it burn, but don't let go!" Every year there are winners and losers in all sports. Every year the winners hold the rope. You don't have to be the best team on the field to win the game. If you play with poise and do what your coaches ask of you , and - most of all - hold the rope, you will be successful. no matter what sport you play. In order to win, you have a commitment to your team. If you are supposed to run 3 times a week, do it. If you have to lift weights three times per week, don't miss. Once you start letting up at practice or start missing your workouts, you've killed the team because you didn't hold the rope! Don't let your team down! You've got to hold the rope!   *********** In 18 years of coaching football at Evanston, Illinois, Murney Lazier was 127-15-4. As Steve Tucker of the Chicago Sun-Times observed, it is not easy to find many coaches who have coached any length of time and have more seasons on their record than losses. His .894 is the best winning percentage in Illinois high school history. 163 of his players received college scholarships. He won 13 Suburban League titles. He never lost two games in a row to any opponent. The Chicago Suburban League that he coached in has always been what you might call tough - Yale's Clint Frank, the first player to win the Maxwell and Heisman trophies in the same year, was an Evanston grad. So was Paddy Driscoll, an original Chicago Bear (actually starting out with George Halas when the Bears were still the Decatur Staleys) and later coach of the Bears and the Chicago Cardinals. Otto Graham of Waukegan was the first Illinois high school grad to become a member of three football Halls of Fame. Oak Park's George Trafton played at Notre Dame, was an original member of the Bears, and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Former Packers' all-time great linebacker Ray Nitschke and former Bears star defensive end Ed O'Bradovich played at Proviso East. New Trier High produced Palmer and Mike Pyle.Palmer played at Michigan State and then for the Vikings. Mike, who played at Yale, was center and captain of the 1963 champion Bears. Cardinals' quarterback Jim Hart played at Niles. Asked to compare the football of his day with the football played nowadays, Coach Lazier told Tucker, "As an old coach, I don't see a lot of change, and I don't think the game has passed me by. We weight-trained and had kids that were just as strong and as fast. What is worse today is the parents. I think a number of the parents today are nuts."   MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award

October 10 - "If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use the pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time, a tremendous whack." Winston Churchill   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!!   This is a Spoof - I am not a war profiteer - Do Not Send Money (Well, if you insist... you can if you want to)  A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He never made the name for himself that he might have, because after an outstanding college career in which he was twice named unanimously to the All-American team (and in those days of one-platoon football, they chose only eleven men) and won the Outland Trophy, he chose to pass over the NFL and play in Canada. His career - his life - came to a tragic end when he was killed in a plane crash in the Canadian Rockies in December, 1956. We was a native of Steubenville, Ohio, who starred for Iowa. His coach, Forest Evashevski, called him "the greatest lineman I ever coached." He was elected to Iowa's all-time team, and in fact he is one of only two Iowa players ever to have their numbers retired. He is a member of the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame.   *********** At a time when the liberal point of view is, to say the least, well represented (and often carefully camouflaged) in our mass media and in our universities, I have the utmost respect for Rush Limbaugh as a major voice of conservatism. For years he has been something of a beacon for me. He certainly is proof that you can judge a man by his enemies - the flaming liberals hate him. They hate him because he dares to speak the truth, however uncomfortable and politically-incorrect that may be, that they're able to suppress in their newsrooms and classrooms. I would die happy, a martyr to the cause, if I could get the likes of Hillary Clinton to vilify me the way she has Rush Limbaugh. (My dream: Hey, Hillary! Guess what? - there was a vast, right-wing conspiracy to rid the nation of you and What's-his-name - and I was a part of it. And it worked. What're you gonna do about it? Nyah, nyah.) Rush got me through the years of the Clinton captivity by stressing the positive, when it was sometimes hard to find."Hey, look at it this way," he'd say - "I'll never run out of material as long as Bill Clinton's in office." When other members of the news media excused Al Gore's tendency to "embellish," he kept the heat on. And when I was toying briefly with the now incomprehensible idea of maybe backing John McCain, he remained steadfast in his belief that George W. Bush had the right stuff. His voice - if not the man himself - has for several years been a constant companion to me every morning as I've worked. And his voice has sounded different lately. Others noticed, too. Monday, he told his listeners why: he is going deaf. He says it won't interfere with his show. I hope not. I pray for the guy. *********** "Had a parent say to me 'you seem to be in a shell when you are around any of us.' My reply was 'what do you expect? you made me this way by the constant bitching.'" *********** My starting A back arrived to the field Saturday a 9:55 AM, game is at 11 AM. I had instructed all players to be at the field by 9:15 AM. His dad brought him in and said that the kid made a mistake and thought it was 9:50 instead of 9:15. I said fine. Your son will have to sit our for the first half. He looks at me like I just asked for his first born! "Are you kidding me?" he says. "He made a kid mistake and you are not going to let him play for the first half?". I said yes. "I realize he is just 10 but all the other players are here and he needs to be held accountable. That if I let him slide, I lose my credibility with all the other players" I said. He says, "Well I am taking my son home, NOW!". I said, "Sir" (I call all the parents Sir or Mr. or Mrs.) that is your choice. I don't want you to, but I will not let him play for a full half". The parent then storms out with the son in tow. I see him stop to talk to the President of the league for a minute (he does not get him to 'overrule' me), and leaves the stadium. About 2 minutes later, the player (my A back) and his MOM walk back into the stadium and the player comes to me and apologizes for being late and accepts his fate. I tell him I appreciate him being responsible for his actions. He ask if he can sit out the first quarter and make up the second quarter at practice by doing laps or something else. I allow him to do this, I do think that the lesson was taught with the one quarter. He has a great game coming back in the second quarter and I bet you he is not late anymore. (The kid has a chance, because Mom is a keeper, even if Dad is a pussy.) *********** Bet you thought you'd heard every possible way of looking at the subject of how/when to substitute and call plays when you've got the game clearly won. Not so fast - you haven't heard this one. It comes from Mike Waters, who is in the second year of a giant building program at Barry Goldwater High in Phoenix. Goldwater won its second game Friday night, marking only the second time in four years that the Bulldogs have won two games in a season. And it was a big win - 35-16 over Cesar Chavez High, for Goldwater's first homecoming win in five years. But don't think that everyone is happy. Coach Waters sent me the score and a few details, then added, "I also thought I'd share a conversation I had with you about the end of the game when it has been decided. I have been following what's been written on you website. Friday night, with about 8 minutes left in the game we started putting our reserves in. Our program is just trying to get off the ground, so when we put reserves in, we go from average to below average very fast. Anyway to make a long story short, I have a senior back-up QB who has taken maybe 20 varsity snaps his entire career. I put him in and we run the ball. His second series we get the ball with 1:16 left in the game. We are on our own 30 yard line. I call 3 successive power keeps. The kid maybe gains 8 yards total, but is absolutely thrilled. On the second play, their safety drills on of our pile watchers after the whistle had blown. They get a penalty, we run another play, and the game is over. As the final horn sounds, the referee comes running up to me and begins to tell me how unsportsmanlike it was to run plays and not take a knee. Then he tells me that the penalty their kid got was MY FAULT! I told him that he was crazy, that I had every right in the world to run a running play with my back-up qb. He disagreed, and before we argued too much, I told him to call the penalties he sees, and I'll coach my team. Incidentally, I talked to the other coach about it, and he thought the situation was laughable. I guess another official who probably never played the game." *********** Coach, The recent events have made me think of a quote from the movie "Starship Troopers." I don't know if you ever saw the movie, but as you could probably figure out it's a science fiction flick. In it, the earth goes to war against some large alien insects, but the quote or quotes that I'm talking about happen before the war scene. This dialog takes place in a high school history class taught by an ex-infantry soldier named Jean Raczak (played by Michael Ironside).The characters Dizzy Flores and Carmen Ibanez are students. I sense this scene as well as the entire movie, is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but I was just wondering if what you feel about the idea that "violence never solved anything" is similar to this guy's philosophy. Here goes: Dizzy Flores: My mother always told me that violence doesn't solve anything. Jean Rasczak: Really. I wonder what the city founders of Hiroshima would have to say about that. Carmen Ibanez: They wouldn't say anything. Hiroshima was destroyed. Jean Rasczek: Correct. Violence has resolved more conflicts than anything else. The contrary opinion that violence doesn't solve anything is merely wishful thinking at its worst! Or is that really missing the point? take care Steve Tobey, Malden, Massachusetts *********** NFL Thrill Ride: Until the Rams scored four offensive TDs on Monday night, NFL teams were about dead even this past Sunday in offensive successes (touchdowns) and failures (field goals attempted) The Rams did treat us to a true shutout, holding the Detroit Lions to no touchdowns and, more pathetic still not so much as a single field goal attempt Only two teams - Baltimore and Miami - rushed for more than 200 yards In four games(Chicago-Atlanta, Washington-Giants, Minnesota-New Orleans, St. Louis-Detroit) the teams failed to rush for 200 yards combined 13 teams rushed for under 100 yards 14 teams score only one offensive TD or less Fans at three of the games (Jacksonville-Seattle, Giants-Washington-San Diego Cleveland) were out getting hot dogs and missed the thrill of six field goal attempts per game Field goal kickers continued to keep fans biting their nails, as they missed a whopping 17 per cent of their attempts. (Just a reminder that it an NBA free throw is far more suspenseful than an NFL field goal.) The Jets-Bills game must have actually been a good one - the two teams scored nine offensive touchdowns between them, with not a single field goal attempted. The West Coast Offense is working, if its intended goal is to reduce the downfield effectiveness of the passing game: remember Otto Graham, averaging nine yards per attempt for his entire career? This past weekend, only two teams - Philadelphia and Seattle (Seattle?) - averaged over 8 yards. Eight teams averaged under five yards. Per attempt! New England averaged 2.5 yards per attempt. They could have averaged that much if they'd just run quarterback sneaks instead. Tennessee, whose coach, Jeff Fisher, once said that any youth or high school coach who didn't give his team a water break every 15 minutes shouldn't be coaching, is still coaching himself and getting paid well for it, despite the fact that his team is winless and, although having one of the game's great runners in Eddie George, rushed just 17 times for only 47 yards. But then, with a vertical, down-the-field passing game like Tennessee's - producing a rousing 3.8 yards per attempt - would you run? *********** Keep up the Simms pressure - you are 100% RIGHT! Whose a-- does Coach Brown think he has to kiss by playing this kid over the Major? I usually skew to the side of the Coach when it comes to talent selection - when Shanahan insisted Brian Griese was "the guy" and all the folks in Denver were crying for "Bubby" (including Bubby), I swear I told my buddies "listen, if Mike Shanahan says Griese is a player, I'm going with HIM". But 2 things - Simms ain't Griese Major ain't Bubby ok 3 things -- Mack Brown ain't Mike Shanahan . Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas. (Okay, one more thing from me, too - Joey Harrington played three quarters for Oregon, and left with the Ducks ahead, 56-14. If Chris Simms had been pulled after three quarters, Texas might have had a fightin' chance against OU. HW) *********** Maybe some you have received an e-mail recently, warning you of the "Klingerman Virus," allegedly being distributed through the mail. The warning ends like this: "If you receive an oversized blue envelope in the mail marked "A gift from the Klingerman foundation". DO NOT open it. Place it in a strong plastic bag or container and call the police immediately. The "Gift" is one you definitely do not want to open. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT. Mrs. Sandra Dee McNair-Boyd Social Work Secretary Yale New Haven Hospital Department of Social Work 203-688-2256 Uh, since I am highly skeptical of any message I receive with the dreaded initials "FW"preceding it (including the "wisdom" of George Carlin, which he is quick to disavow if you should happen to visit his Web site), I called this number several months ago after receiving a similar warning. What I was told, in effect, was that the "blue envelope" contains B-S, just like the rest of the "warning." *********** I am a youth football coach in ----- and am interested in information on how to defense against the double wing offense. I noticed many items on your site regarding how to run it, so I assume that you know what can probably stop it. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated. If you know of any other places, or books that I can read up on this please let me know. I hope you will understand that it is not my job to stop my offense. It is my job to try to stay a step or two ahead of the people who have dedicated themselves to stopping it. I have faced it five times in the last five years and my record is 2-3 against it, so what do I know? I have played some teams several times over the years - in '99, my last year of coaching, I played against two different coaches who had been playing against my double wing at least once a year since 1991. They are both good coaches whose teams contend for playoff spots every year. I would say they knew what we were doing about as well as anyone who doesn't run the Double-Wing can. We beat one of them 28-14 and the other one 38-13. I would say that the smartest thing you can do is prepare your scout team offense to run an acceptable version of the Double-Wing. That's where the people who scoff at our offense make their biggest mistake - they underestimate the amount of work involved in running it right, and so their defenses don't get much to practice against. *********** My former B-Back (#45 in my LaCenter videos) now plays right guard for Weber State.Weber played at Arkansas Saturday. Jonny was very excited about getting a chance to play down there, in the "big time." He said that after two years of watching tape of Northern Arizona and Montana State and Eastern Washington, it felt really weird to be watching Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia!  I haven't had a chance to talk to him since the game (which Arkansas won, 42-19), but there was one small matter that gave him a bit of concern. Arkansas plays an odd front, and their nose man (295) was a pre-season All-American. Jonny, at right guard, would normally only worry about helping the center, except that his offensive line coach believes in having his best five people on the field at all times, regardless of position. And since the back-up right guard is a better athlete than the backup center, Jonny, was next in line to move over to center if anything were to happen to the starter. *********** I align my wings with their front foot on the heels of the TE's...the officials told my JV coaches in a ballgame Monday night that the wings have to back up (deeper into the backfield). My question is are the "interpreting" the rule differently, or are they correct? The rule (Rule 2 section 30 article 3) states, "A back is any A player, except for the player under the snapper, who has no part of his body breaking the plane of an imaginary line drawn parallel to the line of scrimmage through the wait of the nearest teammate who is legally on the line. If , in lining up, your back's head penetrates a line drawn through the TE's waist, your back is not clearly in the backfield. That's why I advise having the wingbacks determine their proper location by facing the TE's hip at a 45-degree angle, and leaning forward and "almost" touching it. Without seeing it, it is hard to say, but the officials may be right. No matter, though - they are in charge, so move the man back. It isn't going to make a bit of difference. In fact, ask the officials for their help - ask them to watch while you move the kid back an inch or so at a time until they tell you it's okay, then tell the kid, loud enough for the officials to hear you say it, "Now, be sure to line up this way every time." *********** Coach Wyatt - I spoke with Steve Goodman (Black Lion, living nearby) recently and we're going to have him come in and talk to the boys this season. My coaches and I have read all of the Black Lion info on your website and can't wait for Mr. Goodman to come in. The team is currently 3-3 for the season as we head into our District schedule; We plan to win our remaining district games to finish 3-1 and create a 3 way first place tie - creating the first playoff game in the history of the school! Jake von Scherrer, Coral Springs Christian, Coral Springs, Florida *********** "My nephew (Jason Desotell) set an Adrian College rushing record with 255 yards on 37 carries against Wisconsin Lutheran this Saturday. I'm proud of Jason for a lot of reasons obviously, but there is a professional reason as well. He and I worked really hard on his Speed Agility and Quickness SAQ training over the summer and it has really paid off. He is a much more explosive runner now and all it took was three days a week and hour at a time. So easy that I do it with him and my tennis and golf games are better than ever. "By the way the coach I coached with at Rochester hills Northwest (jason zielinski) is now running the Double wing in Sheyboygan Wisconsin. Or maybe you already know that." (I didn't. HW) Talk to you soon, (I hope) Rick Desotell, Pontiac Central High, Pontiac, Michigan   *********** Here's what happened Saturday: My center had a running back run up the middle and run into him in his back. Yes, it hurt. I have instructed all of my assistants not to attend to any injured players, unless it happens to be one of their sons. That is my job, I have training for just that. He was not a coach's son. One of my assistants, thinking he knew more about athletic training and injury reaction, ran out and as I got there he asked the kid where he was hit. The 9 year old (genius) replied "In my spine", not back bone, not back, but, spine. He rolled over. Then he, ignorantly, albeit in the interest of caution, asks this kid if he has any tingling in his toes. Well, if 24 players with tightly tied shoelaces (as instructed by their tyrannical coach), laying down on their back with hip pads raising their hips higher than their heels in cool, not chilly, weather are asked if they now feel any tingling in their toes, to the man (or on are team with one female, person) would respond "YES". By now the referees, my assistant, the other team's coach (all untrained in matters of first aid, injury reaction and athletic training) are standing around believing this kid is wheel chair bound for life. Simply not true! I had the situation wrestled from me and it quickly eroded into a panic stricken crisis. The boy's parents came down to the field, Mother's concern compounded by the fact that her daughter has nearly every allergy known to man and carries around a "reaction" kit (my term) for any relative contingency, Father's because he hears a (kid's) voice say "He can't move his legs!". Dad's panicked, Mom is in tears. I was trying to get him up. I took off his helmet (No neck or spine injury), ambulance came. Squad leader panicked when helmet was off. Boy goes to the hospital (negative X-rays) for the whole afternoon, quickly feels better; an ambulance is deployed, thereby unavailable if a real emergency occurs; Game situation rapidly deteriorates. We lose a hurt, yes, but not injured player. Team and parents have a needless scare. I'm pissed at my coach, the officials, the league board and the other coach, AND we lost. A mom e-mailed me because she was at a fall baseball game next door and saw the ambulance. Her son wants to play football (he would excel and benefit greatly) I told her I would not want to be the one to say "Aw, Mom, let him play, he won't get hurt." He will get hurt. He'll get bruised, jam a finger and most definitely get the wind knocked out of him. What he'll get out of it is a sense of competition, team work and dedication. Probably not "injured". I believe kids get injured building ramps to hop over on skateboards, bicycles and rollerblades, not properly built, equipped, trained and supervised. Same with that one Cub Scout hike our pack went on with parents and kids climbing up steep, leaf covered rocky, stumpy slopes (that made me so mad). It has been my experience of 31 years of athletic involvement - I believe nearly ALL injuries occur "horsing around" and that players simply get "hurt" during the course of the game and can return faster than expected. She now knows a football player wears a state of the art, fitted professional helmet, shoulder pads and leg pads from the league. You can purchase optional rib pads (my boys do) and elbow pads and make sure he has properly sized and fitted shoes! Coaches are required to be certified by the County Parks and Rec (NYSCA) re: treatment of children (like scout leaders) and proper practices, (i.e. safety). It is a coach's responsibility to learn what he doesn't (didn't) know about anatomy, physiology, exercise, athletic training, injury first aid and strategy. I personally want to have a proactive role in my children's athletic experience so that it will be enjoyed for a long time, don't you agree? Yup.   MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS

 

October 8 - "It is better to do the wrong thing than to do nothing." Winston Churchill   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He never made the name for himself that he might have, because after an outstanding college career in which he was twice named unanimously to the All-American team (and in those days of one-platoon football, they chose only eleven men), he chose to pass over the NFL and play in Canada. His career - his life - came to a tragic end when he was killed in a plane crash in the Canadian Rockies. We was a native of Steubenville, Ohio, who starred for Iowa under Coach Forest Evashevski. *********** Predictable as Monday following Sunday were the ""Break the Cycle of Violence" sign-carriers out on the streets of Portland yesterday, the usual rabble of guys in ponytails and straggly-haired women in bulky sweaters and long skirts. *********** I got this from friend Tom Hinger: A Captain's son wrote him this letter and it is definitely worth reading. As he wrote, "for those of you who do note know Naval History, it is very uncommon for this to happen and I do not think something like this has ever happened to my knowledge.. It shows true unity...." To all the shipmates: 23 September, 2001 In case you have not read this one. I must admit, it brought tears to my eyes. I have observed some neat things from the deck of a Navy ship, but nothing like this. Captain, USNR (ret) This is an e-mail from an Ensign stationed aboard the USS Winston Churchill... Dear Dad, Well, we are still out at sea, with little direction as to what our next priority is. The remainder of our port visits, which were to be centered around max liberty and goodwill to the United Kingdom, have all but been cancelled. We have spent every day since the attacks going back and forth within imaginary boxes drawn in the ocean, standing high-security watches, and trying to make the best of our time. It hasn't been that fun I must confess, and to be even more honest, a lot of people are frustrated at the fact that they either can't be home, or we don't have more direction right now. We have seen the articles and the photographs, and they are sickening. Being isolated as we are, I don't think we appreciate the full scope of what is happening back home, but we are definitely feeling the effects. About two hours ago the junior officers were called to the bridge to conduct Shiphandling drills. We were about to do a man overboard when we got a call from the LUTJENS(D185), a German warship that was moored ahead of us on the pier in Plymouth, England. While in port, the WINSTON S CHURCHILL and the LUTJENS got together for a sports day/cookout on our fantail, and we made some pretty good friends. Now at sea they called over on bridge-to-bridge,requesting to pass us close up on our port side, to say goodbye. We prepared to render them honors on the bridgewing, and the Captain told the crew to come topside to wish them farewell. As they were making their approach, our Conning Officer announced through her binoculars that they were flying an American flag. As they came even closer, we saw that it was flying at half-mast. The bridgewing was crowded with people as the Boatswain's Mate blew two whistles -Attention to Port- the ship came up alongside and we saw that the entire crew of the German ship were manning the rails, in their dress blues. They had made up a sign that was displayed on the side that read "We Stand By You". Needless to say there was not a dry eye on the bridge as they stayed alongside us for a few minutes and we cut our salutes. It was probably the most powerful thing I have seen in my entire life and more than a few of us fought to retain our composure. It was a beautiful day outside today. We are no longer at liberty to divulge over unsecure e-mail our location, but we could not have asked for a finer day at sea. The German Navy did an incredible thing for this crew, and it has truly been the highest point in the days since the attacks. It's amazing to think that only a half-century ago things were quite different, and to see the unity that is being demonstrated throughout Europe and the world makes us all feel proud to be out here doing our job. After the ship pulled away and we prepared to begin our man overboard drills the Officer of the Deck turned to me and said "I'm staying Navy." I'll write you when I know more about when I'll be home, but for now, this is probably the best news that I could send you. *********** Barry Bonds hit home run #72 (be still, my beating heart!) and Disney already had the Bonds family's "We're going to Disneyland" spot ready to go. Made me wonder what would have happened if Disney had approached Babe Ruth back in 1927. "Disneyland? What the hell's that? I'm gonna get a couple of broads and a bottle of booze and go up to my room." *********** COLLEGE FOOTBALL ON THE TUBE... We are getting awfully close to selling the name of a conference when we watch something called "The Home Depot SEC on CBS" First quarter score: Syracuse 3, Rutgers 2. Both starting pitchers were still in there. Purdue's punter hit one that was recorded as 79 yards. I watched the replay and he let it go at his own 9 and it landed on the Iowa 19 - that's 72 yards in the air. Now check this - Purdue held Iowa and Iowa's punter shanked it and it went 11 yards! (Which was not nearly as bad as the next one, which Purdue blocked.) I saw an Army recruiting commercial which played up pride and tradition, showing something that looked like an initiation ceremony - the "culmination of basic training" - and seemed to downplay that lame "Army of One" pitch. An Iowa DB intercepted a pass against Purdue and there were four flags on the play. For four different infractions. That must be a record. Misprint - Indiana 26, Wisconsin 0, and still in the first period. How exactly is a punt coverage man supposed to stay "outside the halo" when the return man is running forward to make the catch? Seen how many punt return men are taking advantage of this lame "halo" rule and just passing up the fair catch? CBS must have gone five minutes without showing us a score (ESPN and FOX keep one permanently posted up in the corner or the screen) and even when we went to commercial, the most they would tell us was, "it couldn't be closer." That was my clue that it was a tie. An official watching a runner go out of bounds was drilled from the side by a 300 pound linemen who himself had been sent flying. Comment from the press box as the official lay there, out cold: "I'm sure it was nothing malicious." To the list of drab teams, add Pitt - er, sorry, "Pittsburgh." (I think "Pittsburgh" sounds so much more hoity-toity, don't you?) bring back those lively royal blue-and-bright gold uniforms of the Tony Dorsett era, when they were still proud to be called Pitt. (Doesn't their fight song still go, "Hail to Pitt, Hail to Pitt..."? Kick three field goals and a long punt and you will be named Purdue's MVP of the game. I heard some "expert analysts" giving Philip Fullmer hell because Tennessee had just scored to go ahead of Georgia with 42 seconds left to play and he chose to squib kick it. Georgia, if you didn't know, put on a miracle 62-yard drive, featuring some incredible plays by a redshirt freshman quarterback, to score with five seconds remaining. Now I ask you, wouldn't those same experts have been second-guessing Coach Fullmer if he'd teed it up and Georgia had run it back all the way? As long as we're second-guessing, though... the winning Georgia play (LEFT) was stunning - a play-action pass featuring a fake tailback blast followed by a pass to a wide-open fullback, hooking in the middle of the end zone! From the reaction of the Tennessee inside linebackers, you got the impressions that it hadn't occurred to anyone that the fullback might actually be a receiver. They didn't honor the fake to the tailback, which was understandable, given that Georgia had 10 seconds to play and six yards to go, but I would have expected them to tackle anyone who tried to come through the line. At noontime on the West Coast, we had our choice of Notre Dame-Pitt, Oklahoma-Texas, Florida-LSU and Washington-USC Texas' orange jerseys look great. Michigan, I am forced to admit after receiving a newspaper photo sent me by John Zeller, of Sears, Michigan, is definitely wearing blue, not black, as I suggested. The Washington Huskies' jerseys look like the sort of thing I used to see in Europe, when FILA or one of those soccer designers would try their hand at designing a football jersey and it just didn't quite come off. And the color scheme - powder purple (or is it lavender?) and something that looks like Grey Poupon, It sure as hell ain't gold. General Neyland had a way of describing this business about no intentional grounding once a guy is out of the pocket - chickensh-- football. On the other hand, the rule is made to order for Phil Simms, who can't throw on the run and without the rule, you might not be able to tell ordinary incompletions from intentional grounding. It is hard to watch a team on offense when its linemen don't even crouch, let alone get into a three-point stance. (Oklahoma) If you have kids who whine about not playing, tell 'em about Jason White of Oklahoma. He was beaten out for the QB job by Nate Hybl, and had scarcely played - if at all - until Hybl went down against Texas. And then he stepped in and won the game - running, passing and running the option. I'm not normally the kind who gives much of a rip about quarterback controversies, but I'm still waiting for Mack Brown to admit that Major Applewhite has been screwed, and that the kid has to play if Texas is going to be more than just another pretty team. Taylor Barton finally got to play for Rick Neuheisel. Taylor, whose dad, Greg, played in the CFL and, briefly for the Lions, and coached our Portland WFL team for a time, originally signed to play at Colorado when Neuheisel was coaching there. Then, Neuheisel left for Seattle, followed by strong hints that he was making contact with some of his former players at Colorado, and the Huskies, fearing problems, refused to let Barton transfer. So the kid transferred instead to a California JC, and then to Washington. And when starting Husky QB Cody Pickett injured his shoulder, Barton came in. After a shaky start which included three fumbles snaps, he got himself settled down and showed a great touch in leading the Huskies to victory. Leave me out of this one - it was the Good-looking Coaches Bowl when Rick Neuheisel of Washington faced Pete Carroll of USC. Carroll, with the exception of a stirring opening-game win over powerful San Jose State, has yet to show he can win at the college level. Hmmm... maybe his players knew something when they gave him the Gatorade shower after the San Jose State win. Talk about great first-year coaching jobs: Mark Richt at Georgia and Ralph Friedgen at Maryland. Oops - after watching Ohio State thump Northwestern, guess I have to put Jim Tressel in there, too. Any time a team can beat two unbeaten, top-ten teams in consecutive weeks, it has to be Number One. That's Oklahoma, guys. You realize how tough it is to play a game like last week's Kansas State game, and then come right back and beat Texas? And if Oklahoma ain't number one, how the hell you ever gonna get Miami out of there with the cake schedule (only one top ten team - Virginia Tech) they got left? A LESSON IN LEADERSHIP: Oklahoma's Rocky Calmus is one heck of a linebacker. I get the feeling that he is a team leader, too. One of the big OU linemen was called for a personal foul, and as he began to lip off to the referee, Calmus, who was maybe six inches shorter, grabbed the guy's face mask and angrily and forcefully pulled him away. Washington State built a 31-0 halftime lead over Sports Illustrated's pre-season pick for Number One, Oregon State. Poor old OSU, with a couple of outstanding runners, one of whom, Ken Simonton, got some pre-season Heisman mention, couldn't rush for 100 yards. The Beavers' total was 18 yards at the half. Mack Brown might want to spend a little time with his special teams this week. Oklahoma, leading 7-3, lined up for a long field goal. But the holder took the snap and lateralled it to the kicker, who punted the ball. And a Texas safety fielded the ball on the fly - on his own one! Are you kidding me, Coach Brown???? On the next play, Texas failed to pick up a blitz, Chris Simms was hit and threw poorly, and an Oklahoma lineman intercepted on the three and walked in. Texas still had an outside chance, but Simms threw an interception that looked as if Texas practices its pass offense without linebackers in the secondary. Those "Nothing Beats an Original" Coors ads in which Ahmad Rashad or some guy from ESPN tells us a few wonderful things about former jocks who must need the money - Gordie Howe, Barry Sanders, Hank Aaron, Bobby Hull, Willie Mayes - and then they come on at the end and deliver some dumbass one-liner are proof that advertising money is wasted and that people are either going to drink your beer or they're not. Bring back Peter Coors, tromping through the high country looking for yellow snow. Washington State, leading 34-20 with a minute to play is passing (!) and the fool QB plays loosey-goosey with the ball as he scrambles around, and the ball gets knocked loose, picked up by an Oregon State defender and run in for a TD. And suddenly it's 34-27, with 35 seconds left, and only when the Cougars recover the onside kick can they breathe easy. Arizona QB Jason Johnson is a native of Puyallup, Washington, and is the grandson of Frosty Westering, great coach at Division III Pacific Lutheran. He was recruited to 'zona by Homer Smith. Arizona scored on a 78-yard run by Clarence Farmer on what you and I would call "52 Tackle Trap." A thing of beauty. Maybe we'll see more wing-T stuff as younger coaches "discover" it. They went down to the Arizona sideline, where reporter Lewis Johnson held up a couple of plastic bags and said, :"See these ice bags?" He got my attention. I figured they must be very important ice bags for a guy to be talking about them. I'm thinking, yeah - must be some space-age thing that cures torn ligaments in a couple of minutes. Nope. He went on to tell us - I am not kidding - that an Arizona player had been injured, and had had to put ice on the injury, and these were the very ice bags he'd had on! Hey, I know what let's do- let's pay a visit to those old bowl foes, Joey Harrington and Chris Simms. Harrington played the ass off of Simms in their head-to-head last winter, but everyone's been saying that Simms is a lot better this year. So-o-o-o much smarter. Let's pretend we didn't watch them both ion Saturday, and just open the Sunday paper and see what we can see: Joey Harrington of Oregon: 15 of 24 for 279 yards and three TD's. And one interception. 11.625 yards per attempt. One interception in every 24 attempts. Three times as many touchdowns as interceptions. Chris Simms of Texas: 24 of 42 for 198 yards and - oops - no TDs. Four interceptions, though. Lessee - that's 4.714 yards per attempt - not exactly going vertical. One interception in every 10.5 attempts. And - damn! somebody help me figure this one out - no touchdowns and four interceptions. I never could grasp the concept of infinity. "For Major Applewhite to sit on the bench, Chris Simms has to play great, not good." Terry Bowden. I rest my case. *********** Walter Mossberg, Personal Technology Editor of the Wall Street Journal, devoted his column Thursday to the issue of the Internet, the way in which the terrorists were able to use it to advantage in carrying out their plot, and the somewhat paranoid attitude that still exists toward e-mail "privacy." His point? "There is nothing more private about an e-mail than there is about a phone call or a letter. There's nothing more sacred about the records of what sites a person visits on the Web than there is about records documenting hotel stays, car rentals and other real-world activities." And then he really hits a home run. Anybody ever read the garbage, the crude insults that so-called "coaches" toss at each other on certain Web forums? Ever seen one of those people sign his own name when attacking another coach? Hear Mr. Mossberg out: "One more thing: Isn't it finally time for America Online, Microsoft Network, EarthLink and other Internet service providers to re-examine the juvenile practice of allowing customers to hide behind multiple "screen names," instead of requiring them to conduct themselves online using their real identities or e-mail addresses that correspond with their real names? We don't go around wearing masks in the real world. There, we are responsible - by name - for what we do and say. That makes it harder for malefactors (evildoers) to operate. "I'm not suggesting that skilled terrorists can't and don't forge their identities, even in a real world where real names are the norm. But why make it easy for them, or for lesser criminals and scam artists, to operate with impunity online? Why provide a sea of anonymity for them to swim in." Hear, hear. It is why some of you get caller ID - and if you don;t have it, it's why you ask who's calling. It's why, when you get an unsigned letter of complaint, you blow your nose in it. And it is why I don't answer unidentified e-mail- here is my stock response: I take pride in answering all my mail and I will be glad to answer what questions I can, but as a matter of policy I do not answer any mail in which people do not fully identify themselves. *********** A tree-hugger who called himself "Ridge" (these eco-activists like to operate in anonymity this way) was camped high in a a tree in an Oregon forest, as various state foresters tried to get him down. Finally, after days of resisting their offers to help him down, he fell asleep, and fell 60 feet to the forest floor. Hah! Call him an activist, call him a protestor, But the bastard was trespassing and he'd been ordered down. A fellow activist, who calls herself "Kyrstin Westwind" (get it? West wind? These people are cute) said that the law enforcement officers didn't play fair! Do you know what they did? Why, some of them actually shouted up to him that maybe some loggers should cut down the tree he was in! "I guess the argument could be made that he was engaged in illegal activities," she said, "so they were justified. But this is so far beyond anything we've dealt with before." Do you see why we have the problems we do with these eco-buttheads? It's because we are so predictable. These "children" march in the streets, so we hold up traffic for them. They occupy a ledge of an office building and we let them sit there. They trespass then climb up a tree because they know they won't be cut down. Piss on them. Crank up the chain saw. And many happy landings, Ridge. *********** Sent me by a friend who thought others might benefit from his experience: This season has been a tremendous learning experience for me and I am a better man and coach for it. Here are a few things I have learned that I want to share with 1st time double wing coaches. Feel free to share it at your website if you wish. 1. Stay the course. This is easy to do win you're winning. If you're losing the criticism will come hard and fast. This week I had to go to my principal (female) and defend my offense because parents and coaches were telling her that what I was doing won't work. You have to know that it will work and coach it hard to make it happen. 2. Keep it simple. When our team started struggling this season, I tried to defend what I was doing by opening up the offense to show the potential power of the double wing system. BIG MISTAKE. As Coach Wyatt told me in an e-mail, "don't let them scare you out of tight formation". Other teams didn't but I allowed coaches to influence me to work from spread and delta and some other looks that we really don't need right now. I started wasting valuable time in practice, stealing reps from our core package. 3. Sell it first but if you can't, get rid of those that don't buy in. This season I had several coaches come into our school after the season started that wanted to help out with the team. We had already begun practice so they just came out to help out and like an idiot I allowed it. They called themselves offering constructive criticism, but for a double-wing coach to say that your fullback is up too close or your line splits are too close is not constructive. That's my own damn fault because I allowed them on my practice field without having an understanding of what I was trying to accomplish. I never sold it to the new guys and I had to fire both of them because they became a cancer at practice and in games. They didn't believe it could work. My motto is a simple one, you can bad mouth me all you want, but you can't be on my staff and do it.  4. Stay loyal to your kids, first and foremost. Develop a relationship with them and together you can transcend almost anything that may come along. Assistant coaches will invariably come and go.  To all the double wing coaches out there who are feeling the heat because you've lost a few games. Stay true to yourself and don't bow down to the critics. They would probably find something to criticize even if you were undefeated. NAME WITHHELD ************ According to Sports Illustrated, the NCAA posted a note on its Web site warning colleges that "Institutions desiring to place flags on uniforms should consider the nationalities of all student-athletes before doing so." I'm sure, in reading through the NCAA's press releases of the last year, that it must have been referring to the Confederate flag, and certainly not the flag of a nation in which it is permissable for American taxpayer-funded institutions to grant athletic scholarships to citizens of other countries, while acing out the sons and daughters of American taxpayers. They weren't brought here in chains, and if they don't like the way we do things here, send 'em home on the next boat. *********** How are you? Just got back from Adelaide. I had a couple of great days in South Australia. It's beautiful country, very green and lush. Driving from Adelaide to Renmark (3 hours northeast) we went through the Barossa Valley, which is big wine country. There were acres and acres (or should I say hectares?) of grapes, as well as beautiful fields of canola and a purple weed called Patterson's Curse. All sorts of bird spotting...eagles, magpies, mynah birds, cockatoos, even emus! Renmark is an agricultural town, lots of oranges and tangerines. The town reminded me of an Eastern Oregon town. I met the Prokapec family - Luke will return from the LA Dodgers next Tuesday - who are a real baseball family...they all play, even the Mum and daughter! Very nice people. They have a new house on a cliff (a bit like Prune Hill, except not as crowded) overlooking the Murray River and all sorts of wetlands. Adelaide itself is very pretty and peaceful, with widers streets than Melbourne or Sydney...a bit like Denver or Salt Lake perhaps. I could see how Melburnians would think it's slow...but it's really nice and very liveable.   *********** "Coach Wyatt, Are you kidding me? I can't believe the story that you spoke of about the parent video taping the coach only to rip him!" Mike Lane, Avon Grove, Pennsylvania *********** A coach asked how come, if you can't hand the ball to a lineman, you can hand it to a Tight End, or to a Wingback in "Uptight" formation:  Anybody can hand the ball backward to any teammate at any time, anywhere on the field. But you can only hand the ball forward (1) during a scrimmage down (2) when both players are in or behind the neutral zone, and even when it is legally handed forward, it can only be handed to-- (1) a lineman who has clearly faced his goal line by moving both feet in a half-turn and is at least one yard behind his line when he receives the ball; or (2) a back or a teammate who at the snap was on an end of his line and was not the snapper or adjacent to the snapper. *********** I got a letter recently from Jason Beckman, who had installed the Double-Wing a few years ago at Amherst, New York, a school in a well-to-do Buffalo suburb that hadn't been having too much success. I had a chance to see his work at a camp in Buffalo, and it was apparent he was doing an excellent job as offensive coordinator. The program was on the edge of a great turnaround when the head coach moved on, so Jason applied for the head job. To make a long story short, he didn't get it - one of these deals where he doesn't teach in the building and there are no teaching spots available. So he went looking elsewhere... "I finally landed a position at Canisius High School - a private/Catholic school here in Buffalo. Although as an offensive assistant I would not be able to run the double wing, this seemed like a good opportunity to coach some quality athletes and play against some big time schools. You see Section VI (WNY) does not allow the Catholic schools to play the public schools (they also won't let any of the Catholic schools into the state playoffs). We have our own 4 team league that usually ends up filling their schedules by playing schools from Rochester (Section V), Pennsylvania, and Ohio. "At any rate, we played a school this past week from Rochester - "Aquinas Institute", a perennial powerhouse. As our team was dressing in the locker room I took a walk out into their foyer to look at their "Hall of Fame". (They have a very elaborate display with pictures, plaques and the like.) "Well, the first plaque in the display case was for Don Holleder, a graduate of Aquinas Institute. I couldn't believe my eyes at first, so I read the info. on the plaque and sure enough it was for the Major Don Holleder that I had read about at your website. The plaque has a picture of Don on it and also a picture of the Sports Illustrated cover that he was on. It has an explanation of his talents, all his athletic awards, etc. and then also tells of his military heroism and his death in Vietnam. I couldn't help but feel, standing their in the foyer, that I was in the midst of greatness. "Had I never visited your website I may have passed right over that plaque without a second glance. Something that would have been a shame. "Anyway, thanks for all the help in the past and for all the great articles on your website. I hope to land a head coaching position soon so that I can put the double wing back to work. "For what it is worth - Cheektowaga, and Coach Chuck Tilley are running the double wing and are 4-0 to start the season. I watched them play this past Friday, they will be tough to beat. Thanks again Coach," Jason Beckman, Amherst, New York ************ I live in Indiana and admire Coach Tiller. He is a no nonsense guy who has done a great job with the Purdue program. Just a question about the Purdue game (against Iowa, in which Purdue managed to get the ball in play with one second remaining and the clock due to start when the referee gave the 'ready for play" signal) ---if there was only one second on the clock---how could the kicking unit be set for one second before the snap and still have enough time to snap the ball? Regardless it shows what can be accomplished when you prepare for such situations. Sunday's Indianapolis Star had an article about how the FG unit practices this situation each week. Dennis Metzger, Connersville, Indiana Coach Tiller doesn't have to prove anything to me. I have seen so many years of Purdue football when they never could quite get there that I hope for the sake of Purdue and football in general that he stays there forever.  Your question is a good one. High school rules don't specify that a team has to be set for a full second after the "ready for play" signal. High school rules (7-2-6) say only that "after a huddle or snap all 11 players of A shall come to an absolute stop and shall remain stationary simultaneously without movement of hands, feet, head or body for at least one second before the snap." Granted, these are not NCAA rules. But under HS rules, Purdue seems to be okay. And besides, they didn't even huddle! What Purdue did has to be okay, because otherwise the officials would have signalled "game over" when one-second showed, knowing that Purdue could not get a play off. Masterful job of preparation.   MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award

October 5 - "We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival." Winston Churchill   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!!    A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: His name was Byron "Whizzer" White, and he led the nation in rushing, scoring and total offense his senior year, made every All-American team, and led his undefeated Colorado team to a Cotton Bowl berth, the first time a team from the Rocky Mountain area had ever been selected to play in a bowl game. A single-wing tailback, he ran, passed and punted (for an average 43.3 yards per punt). He also started on defense, and returned 36 punts for 731 yards.   And long after his playing days were over, and he was serving as a member of one of America's most distinguished and important governmental organizations, he would still occasionally be referred to by "Whizzer," the alliterative nickname he picked up when he was the toast of American college football.   He was president of Colorado's student body, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the top college academic society, and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford.   He was offered a salary of $15,800 - an enormous sum then, higher than any other NFL player - to play professionally with the Pittsburgh Steelers. (" I don't remember what the last eight hundred was for - whether it was for exhibition games or because he had a Rhodes Scholarship and needed the eight to go to Oxford, or what," recalled Art Rooney, the man who signed him.) Rival team owners were outraged that a club would pay a rookie that much money, but Rooney thought signing him "would bring a little class to the game." It did. Not only was the publicity good for the league, but his distinguished career as a lawyer and judge would, even years later, reflect well on the NFL.   Playing first with the Steelers and then with the Lions, he used his pro football earnings to pay his way through Yale Law School.   It was while he was in England studying at Oxford that he first met a young Harvard graduate named John F. Kennedy, whose father was the U.S. Ambassador to England.   While serving in the Pacific with Naval intelligence during World War II, he and Kennedy, a Naval officier, became friends, and he coincidentally, he was assigned the job of preparing the intelligence report on the sinking of PT-109, Kennedy's craft.   After the War, White served as a clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson, then joined a Denver law firm, where he was working when he waas asked by Kennedy to take a major part in his presidential campaign.   Following Kennedy's election, he joined the Kennedy adminstration as deputy attorney general, and played a key role in the government's pursuit of justice in the civil rights cases. In 1962 he was named by President Kennedy to the United States Supreme Court, where he served as an associate justice until his retirement in 1993.   Like so many of us who try unsuccessfully to outlive the nicknames of our boyhood days, Justice White despised the nickname Whizzer (or "Buzzer," as Mississippi senator James Eastland and others sometimes mistakenly called him). In fact, the title of his biography, "The Man Who Once Was Whizzer White" (by Dennis J. Hutchinson) comes from a remark he once made to a waitress, indicating his desire to be known as someone whose useful, productive life did not end with his football playing days.   (One interesting note from the biography: as boys, he and his brother worked harvesting beets, which was when, in an effort to keep mosquitoes away, he developed a cigarette smoking that he didn't shake until he was 56 years old.)   Correctly identifying Byron "Whizzer" White - Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa ("It's Byron "Whizzer" White the right-of-center moderate constitutional former jurist of the Supreme Court.")... Mike O'Donnell- Pine City, Minnesota... Adam Wesoloski- Menominee, Michigan ("Mr. Colorado Football, Byron "Wizzer" White was Colorado's first football All-American when he rushed for what was then a national-record 1,121 yards and scored 122 points in 1937 - in only eight games. White, second in voting for the Heisman Trophy in '37, was chosen to Colorado's all-century team. He was a two-time All-Pro selection as a halfback with Pittsburgh and Detroit. Oh, and he served for 31 years as a United States Supreme Court justice.")... John Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... Dave Potter- Durham,, North Carolina ( "Thanks for the "lawyer and judge" tip. I didn't know the answer til then.")... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky ("I didn't recognize the picture of this great Colorado Buffalo immediately. I got to thinking about the clue of the Cotton Bowl and the first team from the Rockies to be in a major bowl game and I knew that it had to be Byron "Whizzer" White. I learned some interesting things about him several years ago from a book entitled "The Man Who Was Once Whizzer White". I never knew that he and JFK met during the war and that friendship later developed into a nomination to to the Supreme Court when JFK was president!)... John Grimsley- Gaithersburg, Maryland ( "I first heard of him in a church meeting as a teenager. The Speaker was an older Elder who had played football at the University of Utah. He spoke of how they went to Colorado and White handed it to them.")... Whit Snyder- Baytown, Texas... Tom Hinger, Auburndale, Florida... Jay Stewart, Oakland, Maryland... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois... Dennis Metzger- Connersville, Indiana... Paul Courmier- Rochester, New Hampshire... Don Capaldo- Keokuk, Iowa... *********** I never thought I'd live to see the day that someone broke the immortal Mark McGwire's home run record. Wow. What's it been - three years? *********** "After our game on Sunday, I watched the light weight game with Dave Duerson and Matt Suhey (former Chicago Bears) who have 7th grade sons on that team. I hope their sons grow enough to play on my team next year. These guys are great parents to have around. Treg Duerson also attended to watch his little brother play. Treg was my A- back the first year we ran the DW. Now, Treg is a sophomore at Loyola Academy and has scored 15 TD's in 6 games for the Soph team in the tough Catholic League." Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois *********** Greetings Coach.Hope all is well. This D.W. is now 7-1.Yesterday beat (------- ) 43-19.They only scored because of what we call the,"Double Wing Rule". After last year the county implemented this rule. Everybody seems to think it was because of my team.If a team is up by more than or 24 points then losing team gets ball on the 10 yard line going in.If you stop them after 4 downs then team up gets it on the 5 going the other way.Yesterday the refs changed the rule,and kept giving it to them until they were only losing by less than 24.I put in all my little guys on defense and let them score just so that we could keep playing.Is this crazy or what?With the team I have this year I could not have imagined a season so good so I did not get upset. Just kept scoring. Again 47c and the trusty power plays came thru.Best Wishes to you and yours.NAME WITHHELD *********** He cost the Portland Trail Blazers a shot at advancing in the NBA playoffs, and he cost Mike Dunleavy his job, and now Rasheed Wallace, Mister "T", has announced, "I've got something for all you who were talking about me last year...Something for all you throughout the season... you'll find out." I'm guessing it's the same thing as last year - a middle finger. *********** I read somewhere that a survey of Harvard students showed that 68 per cent of them supported military action - but only 38 per cent of them would be willing to serve. So they want to fight, but they want somebody else to do the fighting. Clearly, there are a few thousand Harvard students who I would imagine would be willing to pay for others to serve in their place, the same way it was done during the Civil War. Hey- here's how we can pay the cost of rebuilding New York City and securing our airports, too: restore the draft, and then charge college kids $10,000-100,000 apiece (based on their need, of course) for a draft exemption and a Canadian visa. Canada would come out ahead on the deal, too, by passing a tax on the allowances that mommy and daddy would send their little darlings every week. *********** Scott Barnes, of Rockwall, Texas, headed this "What a Weekend!" Ok Coach - I start out with practice(Mustangs) this afternoon. I quickly load everyone up and head to town for the homecoming bonfire and festivities - It's homecoming weekend for the Mighty Yellowjackets of Rockwall. Tomorrow (Friday) night, well, it's the homecoming game. Girls with mums hanging down to the ground, decorated w/football players nums on them in glitter, bells clanging..Stands packed w/the orange/white of the home team..band blasting the fight song and kids running around under the bleachers scrounging coins and playing sandlot football on the grass just the other side of the stands...Rockwall will open with their awesome Wing-T and have their Sr. Fullback back in the starting lineup after missing 2 games with a busted arm. He actually returned last week for a 327yd night..yep, you heard me. Wing-T full-back, 327 yds in a Texas 5A district game. Vincent Meeks is the real deal..save that name -- you'll be hearin' it. Saturday morning will have the undefeated Rockwall Mustangs lining up against our arch rival Raiders. The Raiders coaches yelled at me last year for running the wedge, claiming it wasn't even a football play...we actually had some "significant" words after the game(out of the earshot of my boys) and lets just say that there is a mutual disrespect between Coaches. They will be the toughest game we have. Ahhh...can't wait! Saturday afternoon - If there is a better game this weekend than the Texas-OU game, I'd sure like to know about it! Great fall weather in the house that Doak built! State Fair of Texas going on...2 undefeated teams...THIS is what Texas-OU weekend is supposed to be!!! Can you think of a better weekend??? I'll snap some pics for you of the bonfire and game -- you should plan on spending falls in Texas! *********** You could coach till you're 100, and you'd never see it all... Watch out for this trap, you coaches out there. This actually happened to a youth coach I know, but it could happen to a high school coach just as easily: "In reading your story about the camera mic and unwanted remarks being recorded... Here's one you may have run into, it's the first time I have. After our game I'm talking to a few parents as I'm making my way off the field. A parent of one of my players (his mom) who has been very supportive of me in the past, who I thought understood my coaching style, offers me a game tape of Saturday's game. I accept it, thank her, and carry on with my Saturday. Last night I put it in the vcr and sat back to review the game. What it turns out to be is our game with a running commentary on my coaching abilities, play calling choices, and use of her son on the team. I'm not talking about observations about the game. She was talking directly to me and addressing her comments to me. Her husband gets in the act as well and says I need to throw more. Her son's a good kid but not what you could call a front line player. He plays throughout the game on both offense and defense and stays out of trouble. He's young, inexperienced, and needs work to become a better player. She even enlists kids at the end of the game and asks them how much they played and if that was enough. Any kid will say "not very much" because they NEVER play enough. This lady wanted to make a statement to me and what better way of doing it than on video for a full hour? I do give her credit for having the guts to do something like that. But, she has a well inflated ego regarding her knowledge of football. Things aren't always as they seem are they?" NAME WITHHELD (If she hands you a box of chocolates after the next game, suspect Ex-Lax.) *********** Hey Coach, I am getting so sick and tired of hearing all of the people being paraded in front of TV cameras on newscasts saying that we need to find a peaceful resolution to this situation. They say, "The Taliban are willing to negotiate, and we should listen to them to find out what they have to say." A disc jockey on the radio this morning was saying that he is "not so angry anymore, he is just sad." Well, I agree, he is sad, pathetic, weak, cowardly, etc....... The only reason that the Taliban wants to negotiate is that they underestimated the majority of the American people and our President - just as the hijackers on Flight 93 underestimated the Americans on that flight. They figured that we would remain passive and do nothing. The passengers of Flight 93 responded like true American heroes and fought for themselves, their loved ones, and for people they didn't even know. And now our country is also responding with courage. The Taliban leader told his people that the Americans do not have the courage to attack. He is dead wrong. The people on Flight 93 were Americans, and they had the courage to do what was right no matter what they were sacrificing personally. The United States of America may not be perfect, but it is head and shoulders above any other nation in the world. As someone wrote recently, "America sometimes does things wrong but, they generally do those wrong things for the right reasons." And in this case, we are right and sometimes you must fight for what is right. Our founding fathers knew this and they fought for their and our freedom. We need to teach our children about why and how America was founded and the sacrifices that thousands of brave men and women have made over the last two centuries to ensure that we can raise our children free, and so that the news media is free to go on TV and beg for mercy for the Taliban and other bastards that did this, and so that some pussy can get on the radio and say how he isn't angry anymore. I'm as sad about what happened to America on 9/11 as anyone else. I get sad, too, looking at the photos of "ground zero" and thinking about all the families that have been devastated by this tragedy and I thank God every day that I get to go home to my wife and son but, I also get pissed off. My wife sent me an e-mail with a link to a website that had a tribute to the victims of 9/11. It had a song "I Can't Cry Hard Enough" and photos of the devastation as well as of those that died and those they left behind. At first, it made me sad, but as I watched the screen, I became angry, fist pounding angry, that someone would be so arrogant to think that they could do this to my country and get away with it! So I am sick and tired of people saying that they are not angry anymore about what happened. I say to those people, go to the web sites and look at the photos of the rubble, those that died, those left behind, the children who will never know their moms or dads, look into their eyes and ask themselves, "What is the right thing to do? How do we make sure that nothing like this ever happens again and how do we make sure those lost did not die in vain?" The simple answer is that we need to fight for right and freedom no matter what the cost. That is why America is the greatest nation on earth. Sorry for the rant but, I had to vent. Regards, Donnie Hayes, Farmington Hills, Michigan You have to remember, of course, that this is a country that loves its candlelight vigils - for years now, they've been held for murderers sentenced to fry. While the rest of us have gone to work every day, those idle brats have demonstrated for the rights of the most despicable of criminals. Scarcely a week would go by without "60 Minutes" devoting a piece to this murder or that claiming to be unjustly convicted. As a nation we have stood by and allowed ourselves to be intimidated by what others might think of us to the point where we haven't had the stones to execute the vilest of murderers. We have accorded to murderers and rapists "rights" that they never gave their victims. So why now should the liberals think anything has changed? Just because this time there are 7,000 victims? Does that give us any more right to exact revenge? To punish? To forget that the aim of our justice system is to rehabilitate? Do you see where these people are coming from? Yes, they are misguided. But they have been taught well. They have been taught by the leftists who make up the faculties in our universities - leftists who never saw a villain whose cause they couldn't embrace, and never heard of an evil act that didn't have a root cause hidden away somewhere in the greed of capitalist America. Our universities are infested with the treacherous remnants of the "Peace" movement that fought in the streets, blew up laboratories, and dishonored our fighting men during the 60's and 70's. They have enjoyed the security of tenure and the worship of their young students, and now they sense that their time has come once again, so it is small wonder that they are crawling out from under their their rocks. These are the same universities, by the way - the same great bastions of free thought - that have routinely allowed students and faculty to discourage, to shout down, to sometimes cancel campus appearances by conservative speakers who might dare to present a point of view different from theirs - but more in harmony with the rest of America. *********** Which brings me to this... What to do if you happen upon a peace rally by naive, hemp-shirt-wearing spoiled college idiots, in order to teach them why force is sometimes needed: 1) Approach a dumb, well off, ignorant student shouting about "peace" and saying there should be "no retaliation." 2) Engage him in brief conversation, then ask if military force is appropriate. 3) When he says "No," ask, "Why not?" 4) Wait until he says something to the effect of, "Because that would just cause more innocent deaths, which would be awful and would only lead to more violence." 5) When he's in mid-sentence, punch him in the face as hard as you can. 6) When he gets back up to punch you, point out that it would be a mistake and contrary to his values to strike you, because that would, "be awful and would only lead to more violence." 7) Wait until he agrees that he has pledged not to commit additional violence. 8) Punch him in the face again, harder this time. Repeat steps 5 through 8 until he understands that sometimes it is necessary to punch back. (Smuggled out from behind enemy lines by Lou Orlando, in a right-wing, patriotic cell somewhere deep in student-occupied Massachusetts.) *********** ANY HELP OUT THERE? I am running for football director at a park that does not vote for this position until June prior to the season which begins in August. I want to convince the county and the park board that voting for the football directors position during the month of November or December will give the director the opportunity to plan and establish a board(by the way, the football program does not have its own board). I need help in the areas of establishing a football board, coaching clinics, etc. This is a great park, but the park board is made up of parents from baseball and they really have no concern for football. I really want this to go off well so that the community will see the turn around with the football program. ANY HELP OUT THERE? ANY SUGGESTIONS?   ************ Coach Wyatt - I just had to write you and tell you how well we did yesterday.Sunday 30 2001 was our season opening. The past 2 games were canceled. This community is Manhattans Bedroom. and it's been numbing lately. Football Just didn't seem important. We were asked by many parents to continue on in spite of our losess in the community. We needed that support, needed to keep going and get this Tragedy out of our minds even if for just a few hours. Please let me explain.This team that I got this year had won only 2 games in 2 years one a forfeit. A new breed of players have been born.. I preach to this team about the DW. We have installed The Wedge, 99/88 3 trap@2, 47C, 6G, and red red and blue blue..I tell them to trust your team mates to do the things that have to be done, run to the hole, it will be open, trust your teammates..and they believed...yesterday they won 20-6, in a cold rainy, mudding field. The wedge was amazing to watch it roll down the field. TR88P gained respectable yards each time. except for a fumble on the 3trap @ 2 due to the wet weather that ran for 15, 30 yards each other time we called it. Coach, everything you've taught me I taught my kids.Even the Coaching Tips I would sometimes copy them and give to my coaches to help them understand what we were trying to do.I have spent a large amount of time effort to make this happen.They Won! to see the expressions on their little mud caked faces the joy and happiness in such an unhappy time. The Thanks from the Parents and Grandparents and families attending the games was overwhelming to me. I am a very calm guy and didn't think much of it. I mean I'm a coach that's what I'm supposed to do..teach , coach and prepare my team to win.I always felt that the team wins and coaches lose more games then players. Late last night after I dried off and warmed up with a plate of pasta and a glass of wine in front of me it hit me. After all we have been thru ..They Held the rope..a smile came across my face.. We did good! I have never felt so satisfied and confident in coaching as I did last night. Even if it was only our first game. Thanks Coach for all your Help - sonny D - Sonny DiGregorio, Valley Stream, New York *********** Received a call tonight from a fellow Head Coach. Since we can not film during scouting of other teams, he asked if I had any notes for his upcoming opponents. I did so I emailed him the notes. He called later thanking me profusely for something I just consider "coach hustle". As we were talking he said something to the effect, "You know you have a rep as being very organized, don't you?". I answered in the negative since we are a first year ball club and I don't know many of the other coaches and they surely don't know me. He then said, "...and that damn 'Cox Box" you run. No one can figure it out". I told him that it was really the Double Wing. He said that everyone thought they were going to run over us this season due to us being a "brand new ball club" and "brand new coaches". I chuckled. He commented on the effectiveness of the "Cox Box" (his words, not mine) and said we have the whole league worried now since we are scoring so many points a game (averaging 26 pts. an outing!) Said he would never have believed we could pull both backside guards and tackles at this age leve (9,10,11). He made my day. JT -( Terry Cox coached at a HS called Golden Sierra - I think he has moved - and he did a great job of running his double-wing, which somebody tagged, "The Cox Box." I have seen his offense on tape, and I would say to be compared with him is a high compliment. HW) *********** I'm coaching 7-9yr olds. At first I wasn't sure I would like it. A true football coach can take any hand dealt to him and put together a competitive product......Coach Greg and I have done that...!! Only 4 of my 25 kids has ever played football before....!! We had to make a QB out of a kid who had never played any kind of organized youth sports before...!! Getting new kids to love our sport and want to come back next year is real coaching....Hey you might even win some games along the way..!!! Dwayne Pierce, Washington, D.C. *********** "Coach; Thought you would like this. Had a "concerned" parent come in to express some concerns (nice way of putting that he wanted to bitch). Said that the offense was boring and we didn't fully utilize our talent. My first thought was to tell him that if he was bored, stay home, but I held back. After he vented for a while, I reminded him that we have had 10 different kids score td's, we have had 5 kids that have rushed for over 250 yards in 5 games, etc. "I think that what he meant to say was "we weren't throwing enough". (Did I mention that his son is a TE??) He went on and on about a game 2 weeks ago when we were 5-9 for 150 yds and 2 td's. His question to me was "Why don't we spread the field and air it out more?" "My response to him was easy. He had played here (and I had looked this up prior to our conversation) and in his sophomore-senior years they won 4 games. I said that if we aired it out we might win as many games as he did in high school--oh wait, we already had - THIS YEAR! He didn't appreciate my facts! "His parting shot was "I am so sick of (Coach's name) Football I could puke." "My response was, "based upon your high school experience you must like to lose then." "Just making more friends by the minute!" (Name Withheld) Sheesh! Imagine that poor kid, having to come home from practice and listen to that crap every night. ************ Dear Coach Wyatt, Do you ever get attendees at your clinics who do not have a background in coaching, but, attend because they want to learn your offense, and are looking for an opportunity to break into coaching?? I get people from all levels of coaching, including some who have never coached at all. I don't ask them what their credentials are. My main concern, after years in the classroom of having to deal with students who didn't want to learn, is that the people who are there are interested. You are more than welcome.   *********** Hugh, I just thought I'd let you know about the first part of our season( or maybe I should say lack of season). Our first game was supposed to be against Plainfield High School, a conference opponent. It was scheduled for the Saturday after our country was attacked. The CIAC, our states athletic governing board, sent out a memo that each school should handle the decision to play that weekend individually and that no school would be penalized for not playing games. Our principal agonized over the decision and, because our town is the home of the only military base in the state(40 % of our students are military dependents), he decided not to participate in any athletic events that weekend. He mistakenly assumed that Plainfield would do the honorable thing and reschedule the game for Monday like countless other schools did that weekend. Plainfield replied that the game is scheduled for Saturday and we should show up because they were the home team and had no intention of rescheduling it. We have a common open date the weekend before Thanksgiving, but they are determined not to play that game. Whether games should or should not have been played that weekend is open for debate, but to use that tragedy as an excuse to dodge someone is, to me, unconscionable. The bottom line playoff- wise is that points are accumulated on an average. In other words, it really doesn't matter whether you play 8, 9 or 10 games.The point total will be divided by 8, 9 or 10. So it won't really matter much mathematically whether that game is played or not. However, we are still hoping that the CIAC will get involved because playing the game is the right thing to do.Meanwhile, our kids played a great game against Platt, of Meridan the next week which we won 48-7. Our starters played about two and a half quarters. Friday night we played New London and were ahead 44-0 when a lightning storm hit forcing the officials to stop the game. Federation rules allow the game to be stopped at that point as long as both coaches agreed. We decided there was no point in finishing the game even though there was about 9 minutes left in the second quarter. Now this week we are faced with an open date that has been on our schedule all along. We play Killingly in 2 weeks and their kids will have played 4 games while our starters will have played about 4 quarters. Fortunately, we have some great kids who I'm confident will " keep their eyes on the prize " and persevere though all of this. Anyway, I thought your readers might find these situations interesting. Both of them were firsts for me and I've been coaching more than 20 years. Good luck to all you fellow double wingers out there, and remember, " Don't get bored with Super Power. " Mike Emery, Fitch High School, Groton, Connecticut *********** Hi Coach, Just a clarification. USF (San Francisco) tried to bring football back, TWICE, after they dropped it in 1951. The first time was in the late 60's. They played on the small college level and their coach, Vince Tringali, was a successful HS school coach out of SF St. Ignatius. I know this because I was recruited out of a CA Juco to play there in 1971 only to find out in the summer that they dropped the program, again. In 1980 USF tried to resurrect the program again, as a club sport. They gave the job to a former Don, Jim Klaczak, who played there from 1967-70. He lasted a year. The head coaching duty was handed to Klaczak's young assistant coach who immediately went to work on recruiting students, and drumming up support from the alums. The club, known as the "Grey Fog", couldn't use the "Dons" as a mascot name because it wasn't an intercollegiate program. The 1981 team played a 10 game schedule against Division III programs from So Cal, NAIA teams from Oregon, and a club team from Chapman University. They played their home games in old Kezar Stadium, traveled to away games on a bus, had 60 players on the team, and began to generate a real interest in football on campus. They didn't win any games, but were in almost every game they played until the end. At the end of the season a number of former Dons greats (Matson, Brown, Marchetti etc.) gave generous financial donations to the club validating its legitimacy. Unfortunately, this all happened at the same time the basketball scandal hit USF. The president of the school shut down the basketball program, and made it very clear to that young football coach that USF would never support an intercollegiate football team as long as he was in charge. The players on the team disbanded the club, and a number of them transferred to other schools. The young coach left USF for a junior college job, and they haven't talked about football on the hilltop ever since. How do I know all of this you ask? Because I was that young football coach. It was the best and worst of times, but the experience helped me grow as a coach in ways you cannot measure through wins and losses. It has certainly helped me become the coach I am today. And if (and that's a BIG if) USF ever decides to get serious about football again I'dl throw my hat into the ring to be its next head coach in a heartbeat. Regards, Joe Gutilla, Benilde-St.Margaret's School, Minneapolis *********** Unaffected by the tightening of our borders, so far at least, have been the kids of Point Roberts, Washington. Every day, as a part of the normal routine of going to and from school, they have to make four international border crossings. Point Roberts, which sits at the tip of a small peninsula, became part of Washington when the 49th parallel was agreed on as the border between the U.S, and Canada from Puget Sound eastward. Only problem is, the border left Point Roberts dangling there, an American appendage sticking out from Canada and surrounded by water on three sides, impossible to reach by land from anyplace else in Washington. And since Point Roberts, with only 130-some school kids in all 12 grades, is too small to justify a high school of its own, its kids go to high school in Blaine, Washington, a 40-minute bus ride (route shown in yellow) with two border crossings each way. The crossing just north of Blaine is the busiest west of Detroit, with trucks these days reporting delays of several hours. Figuring that those sure ain't gonna work for school kids, I spoke with the director of transportation for Blaine Schools, who said that the US/Canadian immigration and customs officials have done everything possible to expedite the school buses' twice-daily border crossings, to keep the time close to 40 minutes. It's another matter for Point Roberts parents wanting to go into Blaine to watch a game - their trips can take a couple of hours each way. Blaine High's nickname: The "Borderites."      MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS

October 3 - "Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival." Winston Churchill READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!!   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He led the nation in rushing, scoring and total offense his senior year, made every All-American team, and led his undefeated Colorado team to a Cotton Bowl berth, the first time a team from the Rocky Mountain area had ever been selected to play in a bowl game. A single-wing tailback, he ran, passed and punted (for an average 43.3 yards per punt). He also started on defense, and returned 36 punts for 731 yards. And long after his playing days were over, and he was serving as a member of one of America's most distinguished and important governmental organizations, he would still occasionally be referred to by the alliterative nickname he picked up when he was the toast of American college football. He was president of his college's student body and graduated first in his class. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the college academic society, and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford. He was offered a salary of $15,800 - an enormous sum then, higher than any other NFL player - to play professionally. (" I don't remember what the last eight hundred was for - whether it was for exhibition games or because he had a Rhodes Scholarship and needed the eight to go to Oxford, or what," recalled Art Rooney, the man who signed him.) Rival team owners were outraged that a club would pay a rookie that much money, but Rooney thought signing him "would bring a little class to the game." It did. Not only was the publicity good for the league, but his distinguished career as a lawyer and judge would, even years later, reflect well on the NFL. Playing first with the Steelers and then with the Lions, he used his pro football earnings to pay his way through Yale Law School. It was while he was in England studying at Oxford that he first met a young Harvard graduate named John F. Kennedy, whose father was the U.S. Ambassador to England. While serving in the Pacific with Naval intelligence during World War II, he and Kennedy, a Naval officer, became friends, and coincidentally, he was assigned the job of preparing the intelligence report on the sinking of PT-109, Kennedy's craft. Following the War, he served as a clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson, then joined a Denver law firm, where he was working when he was asked by Kennedy to play a major part in his presidential campaign. Following Kennedy's election, he joined the Kennedy adminsitration as deputy attorney general, and played a key role in the government's pursuit of justice in civil rights cases. In 1962 he was named by President Kennedy to the United States Supreme Court, where he served as an associate justice until his retirement in 1993.. *********** So there are - what? - a dozen or more countries said to be offering support in one form or another to terrorist organizations? And we really shouldn't bomb them all, right? So who says we have to? Let's see if we can't find a lesson in the world of sports. Wait - here's one now: The great Gordie Howe, one of the most skilled hockey players who ever lived, was also one of the meanest. Nobody screwed around with Gordie Howe. But when he made a comeback after two years of retirement, he was 45, and, tough as he was, "I knew some kid was going to be trying to make a name for himself coming at me," he said. "The first one went away with six stitches on his head, the second one was eight...after I got the second one, word got around." See what I mean? We only have to bomb one or two. After that, word will get around. ************ The Bisbane Lions won the Grand Final, the championship of Australian Rules football, defeating the defending champion Essendon Bombers, 108-82 before 91,200 in the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. Not only was it one of those rare occasions that a team from outside the state of Victoria has won the Grand Final, but it was the first time in the history of the sport that a team from the state of Queensland has won it. Surprisingly, the win was wildly cheered by many Melbourne folks as well. Here's why: the Lions were formed in 1996 through a merger of a team called the Brisbane Bears and a Melbourne-based club called Fitzroy. Fitzroy hadn't been enjoying the greatest of success, and hadn't won a Grand Final since 1944, but Australian Footy fans are nothing if not loyal, even if their old team now plays under a new guise - my son said the stands were full of "teary-eyed old geezers in Fitzroy attire." *********** VIDEO TIP: Sometimes, without realizing it when you're videotaping a game, your camera collects some unwelcome audio - maybe, as an example, the cameraperson or someone standing nearby says something critical about one of the kids. You can't imagine some of the stuff that can get picked up when you're videotaping from the press box, with the cameraperson sometimes in the same booth as the team spotters. The camera's internal mic is amazingly strong and it's omnidirectional - it'll pick up anything within range, in any direction, including some things that you didn't particularly want anyone to hear later. Yes, you could just turn down the volume when you're showing the tape to your kids, but that audio is still on that tape, and if you happen to make a copy for somebody without remembering that....... So-o-o-o-o-o..... suppose you want to record video without recording any audio. Here's what you do: You need to plug the camera's external mic jack. (If your camera has one, you will see a small hole, probably somewhere on the side, possibly labelled "MIC." If it doesn't have one, you're screwed, basically. Anyhow, that's where you would plug in a hand-held or similar "external" microphone. Doing so automatically disables your camera's internal microphone. Actually, inserting any plug in that microphone jack will you disable the internal microphone. I took a cheap microphone that I had no more use for and snipped off its plug with a little bit of cord attached. I made a loop with the cord and taped the plug around my lens cap cord so that I always have it handy. BONUS TIP- If you ever do this, don't forget to unplug it before videotaping your daughter's piano recital. *********** This week's thrill ride through the NFL... 11 of the teams in "action" this past weekend could produce no more than one offensive TD There would surely have been two more in that group, except the Cowboys and Seahawks each scored twice during mop-up time 3 of the teams in "action" (including the 49ers on Monday night) managed to win despite scoring only one offensive TD 13 teams were unable to "rush" for 100 yards Only one team - Kansas City - was able to rush for 200 yards, which is deceiving, because the Chiefs were playing the Redskins There were six games in which the two teams combined didn't rush for 200 yards The Green Bay-Carolina game gets the Woody Hayes Grind 'Em Out Award, with a two-team total of 111 yards rushing Five of the teams didn't attempt a single field goal The 49ers attempted - and made - four field goals Field goal kickers from both teams were perfect in eight of the games played Only one kicker, Seattle's Ryan Lindell, missed more than one field goal; otherwise, it coould have been 28-20, instead of 38-14 For the first time in a long, long while, offensive TD's far exceeded field goals attempted, 64-45 Talk about suspense! - kickers made 82 pct of field goals attempted, better than the NBA-leading Bucks' 78 pct on free throws *********** Regarding my comments Monday on the Florida-Mississippi State score... Coach Wyatt- I wanted to share with you some thoughts on running up the score from two well respected and longstanding coaches that I have had the privilege to learn from as a G.A. and Assistant Coach: Coach Bob Ford (the only Head Coach at the University at Albany (NY)) "In college, you don't contract a score you contract a game". I've also never forgotten the words of Coach Larry Layman, the former Head Coach (now retired) at Crossland High(Temple Hills MD ) and Old Bal'more Colt fan) on running up the score in a high school game. "Whatever your feelings are for the other coach, only the kids on the losing end are hurt when you run up the score." Also, next week 10/12 Albion High School(4-0) plays Cheektowaga (4-0) in a game that will certainly have playoff implications. I'll keep you posted. Wishing you the best. Rob Banzer, Brockport, New York (Cheektowaga is a Double-Wing team. HW) *********** Reading about the despicable bastards who defame our country and our President at a time like this and think that somehow "freedom of speech" insures them against the wrath of their fellow citizens reminds me of an incident in the spring of 1955. It was my junior year in high school, and we were riding back from a baseball game in George Beck's car. (Those were less-litigious times, and since ours was a private school, with no school buses, we normally car-pooled to away games.) I was sitting in the back seat, right-hand side. As we drove along Midvale Avenue in Germantown, we passed a big red truck that said "Ridgefield Steel Company" on the door. Being a typical Philly wise-ass of the time, I hollered out the open window, "Ridgefield Steel Company Eats Sh--!" The truck driver looked down at me as we sped by.("Eats sh--" was our way back then of saying that something sucked, back before "suck", in that context, had been invented.) Everybody laughed. Several blocks farther on, we stopped at a light, and as we sat there, George glanced up in his rear-view mirror and said, "Uh-oh, Hughie - here comes that truck driver." My second mistake (my first was hollering at the wrong truck driver) was looking back to verify what George had said, because sure enough, this guy had left his truck idling way back there, and was working his way very determinedly through the stopped cars toward ours. I can still see him coming - he was stocky and red-headed, and he clearly had something on his mind. By the time I could turn around and grab the knob on the window crank, his big arm was inside the car window, and he had a fistful of my shirt. He yanked me to the window and popped me one, hard, right in the nose, and said "That'll teach you to yell sh-- out the window at me!" And then, mission accomplished, he returned to his truck. With both hands I held my nose, bleeding like a stuck pig - Lord, it hurt - while the light changed and we drove off, everybody laughing their rear ends off , partly because it didn't happen to them, partly because I had it coming. I never told a soul about it. I was too damned embarrassed. My dad lived another 26 years after that. My mother is still alive at the age of 98. But neither one of them ever heard a word about it. My dad would have just laughed his rear end off and said, "serves you right. That'll teach you to yell sh-- out the window at somebody." You see, we were smartasses, but back in those days, when most "older" guys (between 30 and 45) were World War II vets who didn't take any crap off anybody, we all knew that a knuckle sandwich was one of the risks we took when we lipped off to somebody. (Maybe that's what made it exciting - I don't know.) And we sure knew not to expect any sympathy from anybody if we got smacked in the mouth. Which brings me back to the subject of the people nowadays who are blaming America for the WTC bombing, defaming the flag, saying outrageous things about our country - all the while hollering "freedom of speech!" as if that made them bulletproof. What they need to understand is that the First Amendment with which they cloak their hateful speech says only this: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercize thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...etc., etc"). And that's it. Yep, they can say just about anything else they want. No law against it. No, they can't threaten the President, or use the word "bomb" around the metal detector at an airport, or holler "Fire!" in a crowded theater , but otherwise, the Constitution says they can say damn near anything they want - and not go to jail for it. But... nowhere does the Constitution guarantee that a person won't be fired, divorced, thrown out of a bar or punched in the mouth for something he says. So I was perfectly within my rights that spring day in 1955 - the Constitution said that Congress couldn't pass any law preventing me from hollering whatever I wanted out the window at that truck driver. But it didn't say anything about what would happen after that.. *********** After all the crap Daunte Culpepper had to endure from Cris Carter and Randy Moss last week, you had to wonder, from the way he spiked the ball - twice - after hurtling into the end zone for the winning TD against the Buccaneers, whether he thought, for a moment, that he was spiking helmets. First Carter's, then Moss'. With their heads still inside. *********** Chris Berman's highlights at halftime of the Sunday ESPN games suck. There is no reason to race through the games, showing an average of less than 1.5 plays per game, just to give Mr. Berman a chance to make a couple of smart remarks. Going back several years, I am reminded of "Where's the beef?" *********** With everybody who stands up to sing the National Anthem giving us a version of his or her own choosing, usually at the pace of a funereal dirge, how in the hell are we supposed to "join in singing our National Anthem?" Somebody has to have the cojones to tell those stars, IT'S NOT YOUR SONG! SEE ALL THOSE PEOPLE OUT THERE? IT'S THEIR SONG, TOO! GOT THAT? THEY DON'T KNOW YOUR %$#&* VERSION! THEY ONLY KNOW IT THE WAY IT WAS SUNG FOR ALMOST 200 YEARS, UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG! NOW, GO SING IT THE WAY IT WAS COMPOSED! *********** It is my good fortune to know a man named Tom Hinger. We have become correspondents as a result of my interest in Don Holleder and Tom's having been on the scene when Major Holleder died. Tom will not be happy with me for writing this. He is uncomfortable in the role of hero. Like so many men who've actually seen combat, he is very modest and self-effacing. He says he's not a hero, just an ordinary guy from Latrobe, Pennsylvania who got drafted and sent to Vietnam and did the job he was sent there to do: "The heroes are the names on the wall; the rest of us were just there." I must respectfully disagree. Tom, and men like him who survived, are indeed heroes. His is an astonishing story of heroism, forced on him, as so often happens, when duty and danger collide. A hero does not have to die. But he (she) does have to put it all on the line. A hero does something that has to be done, does it for the benefit of others, and does so at great risk to life, or reputation or fortune - does so despite the risks - maybe even death - that may lie ahead. Sometimes the hero dies. Sometimes he doesn't. But in either case, he has laid it on the line for the sake of others, and in my eyes he is no less of a hero. Read this testimonial to Tom's heroism, written by a former comrade-in-arms, and see if you don't agree that he's a hero: On the 17th of October 1967 Specialist 4 Tom Hinger found himself in a holocaust of fear, death, and pain. He was a medic for the second platoon. While moving through thick jungle, Company A, 2/28 Inf was met with a fusillade of enemy machine guns, claymores, AK-47, and RPG fire. In minutes both lead platoon leaders were killed, and minutes later the Company Commander was blinded and deafened by an enemy claymore, leaving him helpless. Tom Hinger surged forward and began to bandage every wounded soldier he could find. Many were already dead. Oblivious to enemy fire, Hinger systematically, as a medic's duty demanded, moved from man to man, bandaging, helping, holding, applying tourniquets, and quickly running out of medical supplies. Morphine became as gold. He found a wounded medic and began using his bag of medical supplies. The enemy fire was ferocious, and Company A ceased to exist as a fighting force. But the wounded still needed help, as Tom Hinger's DUTY demanded. He continued to work and move. Suddenly an enemy soldier appeared from nowhere. Hinger used his .45 to defend himself, killing the enemy soldier. He continued his precious DUTY, saving the lives of his buddies. He left both of his canteens with wounded men who needed and were out of water. He noticed that he was wounded himself but he continued to minister to his men. As he was helping a wounded man out of the battle area a huge US Army Major appeared before him and said, "Come with me, Doc. There's some wounded men over there." Doc followed the Major for about 50 yards when the Major went down, shot through the withers by an enemy sniper. Doc got to the Major, and as he started to lift him up, the Major died in Tom Hinger's arms. He later learned that the Major was Major Don Holleder, the Brigade Operations officer, who had seen a small group of wounded soldiers struggling out of the jungle. Major Holleder, a former All American football player at West Point, received the Silver Star and Purple Heart posthumously for his bravery and giving his life trying to help Black Lion soldiers. After the 3-hour battle the enemy withdrew, leaving 55 American soldiers dead, 73 wounded, and two missing. Enemy casualties were estimated at over one hundred. Among the friendly wounded was Tom "Doc" Hinger, covered with his own blood and the blood of his comrades. Tom Hinger was awarded the Silver Star for his superb DEVOTION TO DUTY in saving the wounded and the Purple Heart for giving his own blood to his country in carrying out his DUTY. He fulfilled his call to DUTY that day. Those comrades still alive call him "DOC". He was the epitome of the word DUTY. He fulfilled his obligation to his comrades and his country. He never dodged it. His comrades were too important! DUTY FIRST! BLACK LIONS! It has also been my good fortune to have been able to bring together Tom, who now lives in Auburndale, Florida, and a football coach whom I hold in great regard, Ron Timson, head coach at Umatilla, Florida High. Ron invited Tom and his wife to be his guest at Umatilla's homecoming game last weekend, and here's what he wrote me afterward: Coach, What a great opportunity I had to meet Tom Hinger. The Black Lions can be, and I am sure they are, proud to be able to call this man a "Black Lion." He came to our game this past Friday night, and during the time I was e-mailing him about coming to our game and being my guest, he was always so modest. He kept saying that he was just a draftee that happened to survive the battle that Maj Don Holleder was killed in. I asked if he would mind speaking to my team before the game, and though he agree he continued to say that he certainly was not a celebrity, nor a very good speaker, but that he would be happy to speak to them. Well, he was wrong on both counts. He was a very good speaker, and came across well to my team. And certainly based on some of the information he left me he was certainly a celebrity of the 28th Infantry. He did just about as much as humanly possible to save as many men in his outfit as possible, and was there with Major Holleder as he died in his arms. I and my team are so much better for having the opportunity to meet and spend just a few precious moments with this gentleman. He is a true warrior with a set of stones. I will continue to try and keep a running dialogue with him, and only hope I have another chance to spend more time with him. Thanks for being responsible for me having the opportunity to meet such a remarkable individual. Ron Timson, Umatilla, Florida P.S. My kids were still saying "Black Lions Sir" as they headed toward their homecoming dance. What a treat to see high school kids respond to Mr. Hinger's few words the way they did. By the way, we treated him and his wife to a 41-0 victory over Wildwood. *********** By the way, I have several candidates for the "Black Lion" award. It seems the very mention of it has my players thinking more in terms of "team" and not "me". Al Andrus, Salt Lake City, Utah *********** Whenever I listen to John Madden, I wonder why he isn't required to make some sort of disclosure to the effect that he can't be totally objective about the circus antics of pro football players, since he is profiting heavily from sales of Madden 2002, whihc is chock-full of the very dancin' and shuckin' and jivin' that he ought to be deploring. *********** True Cinderella story... Following a Friday night loss - the fourth in a row - the coaching staff at Spruce Creek High in Port Orange, Florida, decided to bring the kids in over the weekend and install the Double-Wing. They weren't exactly flying blind - offensive coordinator Tim Smith knew the offense. He had run the Double-Wing as head coach at tiny Warner Christian High in Daytona Beach, and more recently at Umatilla, and when he called me Saturday a week ago and told me their plans, all I could say was, "Go for it." I got another call from Coach Smith this past weekend, reporting the score from the night before: Spruce Creek 26, Winter Springs 24. In their first series running the Double-Wing, they drove 80 yards. This took some serious stones, guys. This is big-school football. *********** There was one of those Celebrity golf tournaments in town over the weekend. The organizer was Duey Graham son of Otto Graham,last weeks legacy. Dewey lives and works in town and his father visits often. Ben Davidson and Ted Hendricks, here for the golf, visited the team Friday night before we left for the game. They both did a nice job talking to the kids and they still look in great shape - it was amazing how big they really are. I never was a great Oakland fan but both men took time they didn't have to take and spoke well. Also Earl Morrall stayed at the motel Susan works at and said he was also very personable and approachable. Interesting considering how the modern day athlete often does not want to be bothered. Jack Toutillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine *********** Man, you gave me a laugh talkin' bout that Pam Somethin' doin' play-by-play for the AF-SDSU game. I caught some of it early -- REAL early -- when the Aztecs were rollin' on the Falcons before retirin' to my office to do some work. When I came back, Air Force was way out in front but the voice on the TV was just so odd. Then came a shot of the broadcasters in the booth, "Damn," I said to myself, "he's a chick!" To paraphrase something I read a Texas coach say about our beloved Major Applewhite before the season started: "What he did going into Lincoln to beat Nebraska was just amazing. He fed our families with that performance." Amen. There are a a hell of a lot of us Horn fans who will always love that tough-assed kid. Coach, it seems like the Blame-Amerikkka-First crowd feels it's safe to come out into the open now. Check this tasteless bit from a NY Times cartoonist called Ted Rall (It was a vicious attack on our President - HW). Ever notice how Jesse Jackson is always welcome in the camps of our enemies? Using CNN's reasoning, Hitler was an "alleged mass murderer." Too much objectivity actually obscures the truth. It's Texas-OU week. Whit Snyder, Baytown, Texas *********** "I see from your website you have plenty of anti-war hug-a-terrorist types in America as well. I thought we had a monopoly on them over here. I,am going on holiday to Spain in 5 weeks, looking forward to it as we have not had a proper holiday since buying our first business 8 years ago. Mind you I'm not particularly looking forward to flying, but if anybody of an Arabic hue is on the flight and so much as twitches they'll find out what the pancake drill is all about." Mike Kent, Cornwall, England     MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)     CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award