5-10-99 - "If his brain were placed on the edge of a razor blade, it would look like a Tic-Tac in the center stripe of a 4-lane highway." Anonymous
"The first and foremost requisite of a good football player is that he must have a burning desire to play the game. There is absolutely no substitute for this." Frank Leahy, all-time great coach at Notre Dame
"I never saw people with more self-esteem in the world than street-level drug dealers. They had all kinds of self-esteem. But they didn't have any self-respect." William Bennett, former US Drug Czar, former Secretary of Education
4-26-99 - "It's like Christianity. If you believe in it only until something goes wrong, you didn't believe in it in the first place." Pepper Rodgers, former UCLA football coach, on the need to be committed to your offense (in his case, the Wishbone)
"Some people say it is too bad that, when two teams meet on a field of play, one team has to win and the other team has to lose. I think that is the most most American thing there is about the game of football." Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf, outstanding coach at the University of California in the 1950s.
"Any coward can fight when he is winning." George Eliot
4-13-99 - "For every person who wants to teach, there are approximately thirty who don't want to be taught."
"Unless you have patience, your players will not improve much." H.O. "Fritz" Crisler, Coach at Minnesota, Princeton, and Michigan
"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult, and left untried." Harold Begbie, The Life of William Booth
4-1-99 -"We went down to Alabama and found we had a drug problem - they drug us up and down the field." Don James, former Washington Huskies' coach, describing a trip south early in his career at UW
There is no question that the relationships that exist between teammates in football particularly are the same as those between comrades on the battlefield--depending on each other creates a bond of respect which reaches to the highest levels of human relationships--it is love of the highest nature--I think it is called "agape." General Jim Shelton, USA Ret., former All-American Guard at Delaware.
"The best thing you can do with an enemy is make him a friend." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
3-18-99 "If he had a handful of rice, he couldn't hit Pernell." Tommy Brooks, trainer of boxer Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker, discussing a sparring partner
"As coaches we represent one of the few remaining organized systems for demanding discipline of young men. Their education will not be complete if it does not include the discipline and generosity that can come from being a team member, if it does not include an awareness of responsibility to others. We are "people coaches," not just "football coaches." Ara Parseghian
"The supreme values are self-respect, integrity of mind, contempt of fear, and hatred of sham." Sign on one of the buildings at the University of Virginia
3-9-99 "My only friend was my dog, and I told my wife a man should have at least two friends. So she bought me another dog." Pepper Rodgers, ex-Kansas, Georgia Tech and UCLA head coach
"You should never let anybody that doesn't like you, doesn't care about you, have the authority to critique your situation." Basketball great Bill Russell, in a Sporting News interview, March 1, 1999
"Ultimately, the only things that matter are God, country, family, friends and charity. I can wish you no more success in life than that you enjoy each to the fullest." Businessman and Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, writing to his son on his graduation from college
2-25-99 "If I ever get a heart transplant, I want one from a sportswriter, because I know it's never been used." Bobby Knight
"Field goals frustrate me, to be honest. You get tired of the damn things unless you're the guy kicking them. When you get beat by some kid kicking four field goals you say, 'Come on. What the heck kind of way is that to lose a game?'" Bo Schembechler
"Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them back." President Richard M. Nixon, at the time of leaving office
2-15-99 "I don't know - I only played for him for nine years." - former Cowboys' fullback Walt Garrison, when asked if Tom Landry ever smiled.
"Football is one of our great American games. It is the duty and responsibility of each of us to see that it is kept in its proper perspective, and that it is protected. We should see that it is used to attain the objectives that mean so much to our way of life." Coach Bobby Dodd, Georgia Tech's greatest coach (1945-1966)
"In the fell clutch of circumstance/ I have not winced nor cried aloud/ Under the bludgeonings of chance/ My head is bloody, but unbowed." from INVICTUS, by William Ernest Henley
2-8-99 "I presume, come lunch time, that the players actually feed themselves, but I have no hard evidence of it." Dwight Jaynes, sports columnist for the Oregonian (Portland), writing about the way management pampers the Portland Trail Blazers
"Played wholeheartedly, football is a soul-satisfying outlet for the rugged, courageous type of boy who likes physical contact. Played halfheartedly, football is a waste of time and energy. Football is no halfway game. To play it, you have to get wet all over."
Dana X. Bible, former coach at LSU, Texas A & M, Nebraska and Texas
"Lives of great men all remind us/ We can make our lives sublime/ And, departing, leave behind us/ Footprints on the sands of time."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "A Psalm of Life"
I feel more strongly about this than anything else in coaching: anybody who lacks discipline, who doesn't want to be part of the team, who doesn't want to meet the requirements - has to go. It's that simple." Bud Wilkinson
"One man with courage makes a majority." Andrew Jackson ("Old Hickory")
"The higher the monkey climbs, the more he shows his ass." Thomas J. Watson, Jr., late President of IBM
"On the day of victory, no one is tired." Old Arab Proverb
"The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer." Old U.S. Army Air Corps slogan
"The only players I hurt with my words are the ones who have an inflated opinion of their ability." Bill Parcells, quoted in Sports Illustrated, December 14, 1998
"We don't want to make a loafer into an All-American. We want to screen out the loafers in the first place." Don James, former Head Coach, U of Washington and winningest coach in school history
"If you make every game a life-or-death proposition, your're going to have problems. For one thing, you'll be dead a lot." Dean Smith, former North Carolina basketball coach
"The guy who won't work in the off-season program will be the first one to give you problems." Doug Dickey, former coach at Florida and AD at Tennessee
"Fame is fleeting. I planned to stay at West Virginia the rest of my life until I saw how people treated me when we were losing. If you get a better opportunity, take it." Bobby Bowden, in USA Today
"Heroes and cowards feel exactly the same fear; heroes just act differently." Cus D'Amato, late boxing trainer
"Self esteem is not something that can be given. It must be earned." John Silber, Chancellor, Boston University and leading expert on education
"You learn early in team sports to work with other people, to pull together. I never had the luxury of throwing temper tantrums on the field, and therefore I never throw them on the set." Actor Ed Marinaro, former college (Cornell) and NFL (Vikings) great
"Don't save your pitcher for tomorrow; it might rain tomorrow." Leo Durocher, Hall of Fame baseball manager
"I don't build character. I eliminate the people who don't have it." Vince Lombardi
"Commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken makes a contribution. The pig makes a commitment." Fred Shero, Stanley Cup-winning coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970's
"The mass of men lead lives of quiet despair." Henry David Thoreau
"It is better to live one day as a lion than one thousand days as a sheep." Inscription on the headstone of Lt. Col. Charles C. Clinger, USA, in Arlington National Cemetery
"A pack of jackasses led by a lion is superior to a pack of lions led by a jackass." George Washington
"There are a lot of good football coaches. But I want great people around me. I want to enjoy coaching. I don't want to have to fight and argue all the time." Bob Toledo, UCLA Head Coach, talking to the Portland Oregonian in praise of new Defensive Coordinator Nick Aliotti.
"I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it." Jonathan Winters (quote provided by George Ashfield, Maplewood, Minnesota)
"I've learned life from football. Game time? I worked on that in practice. I learned that in high school. "The Fourth Quarter," we called it. When we were dead-tired and could barely move, that's when we would go practice the Fourth Quarter, That's one of those things you learn and never lose." Ricky Henderson, baseball All-Timer
"You don't win with X's and O's; you win with Jimmies and Joes." Joel Whitcher, Bolivar, N.Y.
"Eight seconds in the arena are better than a lifetime in the stands." Bumper sticker seen (on a pickup truck) in rodeo country
"Pressure is something you feel when you don't know what you're doing." Chuck Noll, former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and winner of four Super Bowls
"I wish I saw more kids playing everything. But today's kids are so serious with one sport. They play year-round and get burnt-out." Mark McGuire, St. Louis Cardinals' slugger
"Give me a 75% idea executed at 100% instead of a 100% idea executed at 75%" Phil Marineau, North American Marketing Chief, Pepsi-Cola
"Do what has to be done, when it has to be done." Robert Crandall, who retired May 20 as CEO of American Airlines, on his formula for success
"It's how well the average player performs that gives your team consistency and substance." Eddie Crowder, former Colorado coach
"You don't win by making sensational plays; you win by not making mistakes." Bum Phillips, legendary high school, college and professional coach
"If an assistant doesn't buy your philosophy, one of you won't be there long." the late Roy Thompson, long-time successful HS and college coach in the Pacific Northwest
"Be considerate of your players' needs and feelings, but always do what's best for the team." John Wooden, perhaps college basketball's greatest coach
"A football coach's most important job is evaluation of players." Lee Corso
"It's better to stay too long than to leave too soon." Julius Erving
"Discipline is 90 per cent anticipation." Woody Hayes, former Ohio State great coach
"A good coach makes his players see what they can be, rather than what they are."Ara Parseghian, Maybe Notre Dame's Finest Coach
"Either get a better player or get a player better." Eddie Robinson, College Football's winningest coach
"You have to convince your players that the only reason a play failed was that they didn't execute properly." Bill McCartney, former Colorado coach, now President of Promise Keepers
"The key to your success will be not what you do, but how well you teach what you do." John Robinson
"A star can win any game; a team can win every game."Jack Ramsay, Hall of Fame basketball coach
"Your players' attitude toward you hinges on just one thing, and that is respect. If they do not respect you, you've lost them. If you have their respect, you've got it made."Bud Wilkinson, all-time great coach at Oklahoma
"I'll borrow from anybody, but once I use it, it's mine." Wayne Hardin, former coach, Navy and Temple
"Never steal anything you wouldn't be proud to own." Bill Veeck, baseball owner
REFLECTIONS ON THE ISSUE OF CHARACTER
"Fire is the test of gold; adversity is the test of strong men." Seneca (Roman statesman and philosopher)
"Honor and truth and manhood- / These are the things that stand, Though the sneer and the jibe of the cynic tribe / Are loud throughout the land." Ted Olson - These are the Things that Endure
"No man can cllimb higher than the limits of his own character." John Viscount Morley
"What you are stands over you, and thunders so loud I cannot hear what you say to the contrary." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side." James Russell Lowell - 1844 - used as words to a Hymn
"When oaths cease to be sacred, our dearest and most valuable rights cease to be secure." John Jay, Founding Father of our Country
"No one is above the law; actions have consequences; always tell the truth." Rep. Lamar Smith, of Texas
"Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do." St. Thomas Aquinas - about 700 years ago!
"He did not tread on the rights of others and he did not permit others to tread on his." Epitaph of George Washington Thurmond, grand-father of Senator Strom Thurmond (who turned 96 on Dec. 5)
"I'd like to be the man my dog thinks I am." My neighbor, Bill Anderson
"Pardon one offense and you encourage the commission of many." Publius Syrus
"Always do the right thing. It will please many people - and surprise many more." Mark Twain
"Character is much easier kept than recovered." Thomas Paine, American Revolutionary writer
"Neutrality is a sign of weakness." Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian national hero
"Trust everybody, but cut the cards." Finley Peter Dunne
"The lie travels a thousand miles while the truth is still putting its boots on." Anonymous
"What is left when honor is lost?" Publius Syrus
"It is dangerous for men in power if no one dares to tell them when they go wrong." Thomas Becket, writing to a friend after being appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1162
"Every time good and evil compromise, evil takes another step forward and good takes another step backward." Apocryphal (of uncertain origin)
"Society's demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases." John Adams, 2nd President of the United States, quoted in The Wall Street Journal, 9-15-98
"Half the truth is sometimes the greater lie." Benjamin Franklin
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave...When first we practice to deceive." Sir Walter Scott
"If we tell the truth, we only have to tell the truth once. If you lie, you have to keep lying forever." Rabbi Wayne Dosick, quoted in "Finish Strong," by Richard Capen, Jr.
"Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking." J.C. Watts, Congressman from Oklahoma (and former wishbone QB at OU)
"If decency doesn't abide in the captain of the ship, then it's not on board." The court trying Captain William Bligh
"Character is what you accomplish on the third or fourth try." Author James Michener
"You can't be truly great unless you are first truly good." (ANONYMOUS)
"Win without boasting...lose without excuse." Albert P. Terhune
"Principles don't mean anything until they cost you something." Dr. Laura Schlesinger
"Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the mastery of fear." Mark Twain
"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar." Abraham Lincoln
"The price of hating other human beings is loving one's own self less" Eldridge Cleaver
"A sharp tongue is the only tool that gets keener with use." Washington Irving
"The supreme values are self-respect, integrity of mind, contempt of fear, and hatred of sham." Thomas Jefferson
"Ninety-nine per cent of failures come from people who are in the habit of making excuses" Dr. George Washington Carver