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BACK ISSUES - FEBRUARY, 2004

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  February 27, 2004 -    "Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." John Adams    FIRST 2004 CLINIC SCHEDULED - ATLANTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   *********** NO "LEGACY" QUESTION THIS WEEK, EITHER. SORRY - GETTING READY FOR THIS WEEKEND'S CLINIC. *********** When a particular ethnic group continues to perform poorly overall in schoolwork, vocal representatives of that group - plus, of course, the politicians who mine them for votes - scream "discrimination," as if the results were the fault of schools, or teachers, or our racist society. Not so, says Thomas Sowell, one of my favorite writers. There are differences between groups that have nothing to do with discrimination. "Does anyone seriously believe," he writes, "that whites usually play basketball as well as blacks? Is anyone surprised when Asian-American youngsters walk off with science prizes, year after year." The difference, Sowell writes, is to a great extent embedded in a group's culture, in the things it values. To illustrate his point, he offered this story: Back in the early 19th century, a Russian official reported that even the poorest Jews there somehow managed to have books in their homes and "their entire population studies," while books were virtutally unknown among the surrounding population. When S-SPAN's Brian Lamb recently asked author Abigail Thernstrom why Jews scored so high on mental tests, she replied, "They have been preparing for them for a thousand years." Nevertheless, he writes, we duck from the obvious conclusions in our own society, and look for the politically-correct way out, refusing to recognize that groups have different values: "Any school that disciplines black boys much more frequently than Asian-American girls can be risking a federal lawsuit, as if there could not possible be any differences in behavior among the children themselves. The answer, he concludes, is for groups to stop claiming that lower performance automatically equals discrimination, and realize that maybe the problem lies with them "The biggest losers from these dogmatic notions are people who very much need to change their behavior, fom whom that crucial knowledge is withheld by their 'leaders' and 'friends.'" *********** Humorist Argus Hamilton writes that when they televise the NFL combine this weekend and we see them test for such things as speed, strength, agility and body fat, the guys the teams will draft will be the ones "that jury consultants say are the ones most likely to be acquitted." *********** I read that Kobe has expressed interest in possibly playing for the Denver Nuggets next year. Does this mean his lawyers are working on some kind of deal to get him out on work release? *********** From a column in the Portland Oregonian by a guy named Doug Neville: On a cold night in December of 1992, I met my Kelly. It was one of those "love at first sight" kind of things. Now some 11 years later, Kelly is still by my side as we go through life. Kelly has been there during the good times. Kelly has also been there during the many hospitalizations and illnesses I've had. We're in this for the long haul. I'd love to marry Kelly, but Kelly is a man. *********** A couple of coaches who happen also to be teachers wrote me, indicating they'd taken offense at Secretary of Educaton Dr. Rodney Paige's description of the NEA, the goliath teachers' union, as a "Terrorist Group." Now, they are good, patriotic citizens, and no doubt they are dedicated teachers, as well, so I was disappointed that they take Dr. Paige's remarks, aimed at the huge, fat bureaucracy that takes its members' money and then spends it - always on liberal causes, always on Democratic candidates - without any accountability to its members. In my 18 years teaching in Washington public schools, the NEA shook me down for thousands of dollars, and used it to promote causes I strongly disagreed with, and fight against causes I believe strongly in. I had no choice in the matter. I I wanted to teach, I belonged to the union. It's that simple. "Terrorist?" Bad choice of words. Some of the Demos threw a hissy fit, and as could be expected, made his words sound like an attack on every teacher in the United States. But it seems to me I remember that at the time we were fighting Saddam Hussein, a certain Senator from Massachusetts - Kerry by name - said we could use a "regime change" here in the USA. "Terrorist?" I could have come up with a lot of others that would have been more on the money, and a whole lot stronger. But before I did, I'd want to ask Dr. Paige, "What took you so long?" I happen to feel that the NEA - not its members, certainly not individual teachers - is an enemy of education. My wife is still a member and she is not a terrorist and she agrees with me and Dr. Paige. If those guys who wrote me really identify that closely with that union, I suggest they watch how hard it fights for them if they ever get "non-renewed" as coaches. *********** Just had to comment about the guy worried about his assistants taking too much credit for the good season. I loved your response, but think you might have left out a pointed comment to the writer. The remark from Coach Collier is right on. Who cares who gets the credit. I've learned through the years that it's a whole lot more about making other people feel good than worrying who gets the credit... I'm not talking about PC feel good, but real, "you've worked hard and you deserve it" feel good. (of course the flip side of that is feeling bad when you don't do well) I really think as a Head Coach it's part of my job to let people think they were a huge part of our success. Lack of loyalty is a huge problem, and one that should be addressed swiftly and seriously. But what difference does it really make if an assistant takes credit for success...sounds to me like a head coach who is insecure in his abilities and is trying to take the credit himself...Mike Waters, Phoenix, Arizona (I am distrustful of anyone who takes credit for a team's success. HW) *********** Hello Hugh, Looking forward to the clinic in Atlanta and hope all is going great. I have accepted a head coaching position at a small private school and am totally excited about getting started. The school has struggled in football for 30 years and I love the challenge of making a dramatic change happen there. It reminds me of your LaCenter Team from a few years ago. I wanted to respond to your News column when you were talking about a thoroughbred offense that gets weakened by delusions of mixing non- related pieces of other things (you referred to like a Dog Show). You remember my strange experience from last year and the constant berating I had to endure, while I was racking up yards and wins with the pure DW. By the way, My offense led our county last year in rushing and turned a dismal program around to a real force in the league.  I have mentioned keeping the DW pure and sound before, and I just think that you can do different things from time to time according to your talent, but you best make sure that the offense is has its vitals. When one starts experimenting with the splitting of ends and wings and even line splits etc., you lose the integrity of the offense and the reason for running the thing in the first place. My thinking is: if you don't want to stay tight and get down in the double wing completely, You are best to do Something Else, because you probably won't be very successful with your new concoction. You could call it the Broken Wing. Any way, I'm looking forward to the clinic and seeing the local wingers again. I'm going to have a small web page soon that will be a little something to play with. I am learning, ever so slowly about web pages and it will be something, mainly for my kids and whoever is related to check in on our football team, and various NGA football related things. I'm not going to make it a double wing page so much, but I'm sure it will be mentioned quite frequently, I'm sure. I hope you will allow me to put your picture on there. Have a great trip to the "Big A" and we'll see you there. Larry Harrison, Head Football Coach, Nathanael Greene Academy, Siloam, Georgia *********** I have known teachers who, for whatever reason, couldn't be bothered correcting their students' spelling errors. Oh, dear. I wonder what they're going to do when a former student sues them... A woman who wanted to sell a pair of dangling earrings listed them on eBay and got no takers. She tried a second time, and still had no success Her problem? She offered a beautiful pair of "chandaleer"earrings. Other poor spellers suffer the same fate when they try to sell "labtop" computers, throwing "knifes". Art "Deko" vases, "camras", "comferters" and "saphires." So common is the practice that it has created a new type of entrepreneur, one who who sans eBay for misspellings, then buys items inexpensively and resells them over again on eBay. But this time, the item is spelled correctly, and this time it sells - and at a far better price. A jeweler in Florida once bought a box of "gers" for $2. Actualyy, they were "gears" - for pocket watches. He cleaned them up and offered them for sale again and, with the corect spelling, they sold for $200. Because of poor spelling or vague descriptions, "I've bought and sold stuff on eBay and Yahoo that I bought for next to nothing", he told the New York Times. An hour's search of the eBay site by a New York Times reporter turned up "bycicles", "telefones", "dimonds", "mother of perl", "cuttlery", "bedroom suits" and plenty of "antiks." *********** Writes the LA Times' Kenneth Turan about "The Passion of the Christ": "It has the potential to foster divisiveness." Well, yeah, although it does seem to be a little late in the game to be blaming Jews for Christ's death - but couldn't you say the same thing about an Alabama-Auburn football game or a Duke-North Carolina basketball game? *********** The president of Winona State University, in Minnesota thought it would be a nice idea to place a small American flag in every classroom. So do I. But not so fast. We're dealing, after all, with college faculty members, cossetted in their castles by tenure. They think being anti-American makes them appear to be intellectuals, and they don't think it's such a good idea. They filed a grievance against the president, because - gasp! - they weren't even consulted! *********** Heading into the final round of last year's British Open, Mark Roe was two strokes off the lead. He'd be playing the final round paired off with Tiger Woods. And then, as will sometimes happen in golf, it developed that he'd committed some stupid scorecard infraction (no, he didn't change his score) which, the rules of golf being what they are, called for his disqualification. And that was that. No agent standing in front of a forest of microphones, no players' union automatically appealling. And, most significant of all, no Mark Roe bitching about the tough break. He understood the rules, he violated one of them, and he accepted the consequences without complaint. And that's what makes golf a special game. Roe said a youngster came up to him later and said, "You made me proud to be a golfer the way you handled it." Now, looking back, I can see a kid saying that to Roger Staubach. But how many of today's NFL football players will ever have a kid come up to him and say, "you made me proud to be a football player?" *********** It seems as if we can not "close" the deal when we get in the second half. Conditioning may be one factor that I can address.   Any suggestions on how I can approach this for the team from a mental stand point?  If this were you what "theme" would you use for the week?  Any psychological advantages?  Anything you can suggest would be appreciated. NAME WITHHELD We all fear the emotional let-down that comes from getting a big lead early. I feel that if we get a quick early score, it usually means that we will have a hell of a battle on our hands because the kids will get the idea that it's going to be easy and it's not going to require much effort. One thing that I have found is somethat effective is to equate it to a boxing match. We are going 15 rounds for the championship of the world. This is why we train - so we can be just as tough in the late rounds as in the early rounds. A fighter can't get out to an early lead and then expect to coast, because he could find himself on his back. And you don't want to leave it up to the judges, either. We want a knockout or a unanimous decision. No matter what the score, no matter what the round, we have to "keep punchin'." When we score an early touchdown, our approach is, "Okay - we just won round one... Now the bell's getting ready to ring for round two, and you'd better come out swinging." *********** I want to run unbalanced. So do I run "Tackle Over" by moving the left Tackle over and leaving the tight end in place so I am not called for being "uncovered" on the left side? An official called me for that last year as we shifted a TE and did not have an eligible guy left there. That official was totally wrong about having to have an "end" on the line. You and I may call a guy a tackle, and he may wear an ineligible number, but if he is on the end of the line, he is referred to in the rule books as "the end man on the line." The guy you referred to must have wanted to sound brilliant by using that "uncovered" business. There is no rule that stipulates that the end man on your line must have an "eligible" number. The rules merely stipulate that you must have at least seven men on the line and at least five of them must have ineligible numbers; only the end men on the line are eligible to catch a pass, and then only if they are wearing eligible numbers. (Except in the NFL, of course, which for some reason refuses to do away with the farcical "tackle eligible" play.) In other words, all seven of your linemen can wear ineligible numbers - even both ends. In fact, everybody on your entire team can wear ineligible numbers. You just can't send any of them out on a pass play. *********** Ever had a parent get upset because you seemed to lose your temper down on the sidelines? With the Australian Rules Football ("Footy") season about to get under way, I'm reminded of a story that illustrates how little the public understands about what goes on in the heat of battle. In footy, the coaching staff coaches from the press box, and in one particular game, Hawthorn Hawks' coach Peter Schwab was caught by TV cameras yelling and pointing his finger aggressively at Donald McDonald, who serves as coach of the Hawls' minor league team. Afterward, asked about it, Schwab joked that he had to leave the post-game press conference to go and console McDonald, who, he said, was "crying" in the Hawks' dressing room. "I'd better go back in and see how he is," Schwab said "I'm only joking, I can't even remember it." Schwab said such arguments between the coaching staff often occur in the heat of the moment during a game but they are not usually so public as this one.. "You've got to have a thick skin in footy, if you took offence with everything that was said in the (coaches') box you wouldn't do it &endash; you'd hate each others guts by the end of the year," Schwab said. "I guarantee you it happens a real lot because there is so much tension in there.We do say some terrible things to each other but we are all mates and you've got to accept that we're all under pressure. It might have looked as though I got angry with him but it's never personal. I couldn't remember 99 per cent of the things I said tonight." The incident did not adversely affect the Hawks' play. They defeated the Collingwood Magpies 105-97. *********** Suppose your daughter is away at college, and you learn that she's dating a running back for the school's nationally ranked football team. You know nothing more about the fellow. Do his athletic credentials make you worry more or less? I'm a huge sports fan, but the sad fact is I'd worry more, a lot more. Despite the great character-building potential of sports, far too many modern day athletes develop a "can't touch me" entitlement attitude about life that is more likely to stunt than stimulate the development of virtues like self-restraint, unselfishness and fidelity. We are doing horrible things to our fine young athletes. As early as elementary school exceptional youngsters are pegged and then preened for their role as stars. The expectations and demands on their lives outside of sports become lower and lower. Parents, coaches and boosters often make excuses for them, get them out of trouble and otherwise run interference for their journey through life. So we can't really be surprised when an uncomfortably high percentage of them become instinctively self-indulgent and egocentric. What's really amazing is how many quality youngsters emerge from this process. We promote overconfidence and the delusion that wealth and fame are inevitable. Consequently, many young athletes shortchange their education and ignore the development of other critical life skills. And when injuries or the sheer crush of competition eliminate all but a select few from the race, most of them have to rebuild a self-concept without athletics and fight the fear that their futures are behind them. We owe youngsters much more than that. That's why the national Pursuing Victory With Honor campaign is so important. It makes it clear that coaches are first and foremost teachers, and that responsible sports programs go well beyond teaching techniques and strategies of enhanced athletic performance. Youth sports should, above all, foster the development of character and enhance the mental, social and moral development of athletes to help them become personally successful and socially responsible. Michael Josephson, Character Counts (Mr. Josephson wrote that two years ago. Things certainly haven't gotten any better since then. HW) *********** Why we coach... John Lambert, of La Center, Washington, a former student, former player, former assistant of mine and now an excellent head coach in his own right, took his team to the state Class 2A semifinals this year. Only one team from our section of the state - Ridgefield High School in 1993, another Double-Wing team - has ever gone further. On top of that, one of John's players was awarded one of two scholarships given every year by the local chapter of the National Football Foundation. The young man's dad cared enough to write John a great letter, which John was kind enough to share with me. (John writes. "He is the type of guy you love to have as a parent. It certainly helps reinforce one of the reasons we coach." After reading it, I would have to say, "No kidding." The letter starts off dealing with some "inside" matters, but it concludes: As you continue your coaching and teaching career....You will have many ups and downs.  When you are winning, it will be easy and when you're losing you will have to put up with the "comments", and such, from the parents! I KNOW you didn't enter this profession for the money.  It is definitely a labor of love.  However, I just want you to know this.... Some year, when the team is losing, and the twins are wondering why Daddy is at work soooo long, and he comes home in a bad mood.  You can show them this email. You made a difference in a student's life.  You made a difference in a young man's life.  You MADE a difference! I work for Delta airlines.  It is a good job. I work in Operations at the airport at PDX.  I enjoy it.  However, when I retire ...I won't be able to look back on it with the same pride that you will be able to look upon your job.  For that , I envy you.  And if nothing else as exciting as going to the Tacoma Dome in 2003!...  Or winning the sportsmanship award in 2001/2003!...or anything that comes close to your accomplishments in the future.  Know this... There will be a  man,  who WILL remember the impact you had on his life. He was the kid... who was not the strongest, not the fastest, and not the most gifted athlete you will have ever coached.  But, he will be the man who will look back at this time of his life and smile.  And be forever grateful for what you did for him. Thanks John, Thanks again for everything!  And good luck next year! Mick Scanlan    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  February 24, 2004 -    "Happiness begins where selfishness ends."John Wooden   FIRST 2004 CLINIC SCHEDULED - ATLANTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   *********** NO "LEGACY" QUESTION THIS WEEK, EITHER. SORRY - GETTING READY FOR THIS WEEKEND'S CLINIC.   *********** So little girls wear tee-shirts that say "BOYS ARE GOOBERS" and "BOYS LIE...MAKE THEM CRY", etc. Isn't that cute? We're empowering our little girls. You wonder what would happen if little boys were to wear tee-shirts saying "BOYS RULE"? All you had to do was see what happened when Gary Barnett dared - dared! - to say that Katie Hnida was "terrible" - she was a "girl" and she wasn't any good. Uh-oh. He had the nerve to say out loud that the Emperor had no clothes. (Sorry to have to use the sex/nudity reference.) Naturally, all America wanted to continue believing otherwise, because a cute young woman (a blonde at that) playing football (however trivial her role) was such a nice story. It showed our little girls that they can do anything boys can do. Just like GI Jane. And there that brute Gary Barnett was, shattering all those illusions, telling one and all that Katie Hnida, who insists she's a rape victim (although she won't press charges), wasn't any good at all. Terrible, in fact. Uh-oh. Now everyone says that Barnett should go. But not for recruiting violations. Maybe there was ugliness in the recruiting that he knew (or should have known) about, but people for the most part have been willing to wait for an investigation to play out before judging him on that. But once his impatience got the best of him, and he got tired of playing the PC game and finally blurted out what anybody who knows anything about football knows - that Ms. Hnida's being on a Division I football team was a farce - that was it for him. He is marked forever with the Scarlet I, for Insensitive. *********** Now, then - as to Katie Hnida's charges that she was raped by a teammate. Would someone please tell me what, other than Ms. Hnida's timing, that four-year-old incident has to do with the Colorado football program? The alleged rape - and in order to be able serve on a jury in Colorado, I have to continue to be uncertain one way or the other that it even occured - took place in the alleged rapist's off-campus apartment, to which, Ms. Hnida admits, she willingly went. Clearly, she trusted this person, which means it is not likely that he was one of the teammates who supposedly belittled her, harassed her and exposed themselves to her. Yes, rape is a crime, and if a crime occured, let's get after the guy. Press charges, Katie. But otherwise, what was your point? As it is, it is just talk and it is injurious to others. Are you hoping to sell your story to ESPN? And as for all those parents being shown on TV wringing their hands and wondering whether their daughters are safe on the CU campus, it doesn't exactly sound as if women walking across the campus are being jumped from behind and dragged behind the bushes by sexual predators. *********** What you wanna bet she gets it? Probably just a coincidence, but last week - just before she went public with her charges of rape and sexual harassment, - Katie Hnida asked the NCAA to grant her another year of eligibility. Her argument is that she lost a year while having to deal with the mental trauma and other health issues that resulted from her time at Colorado. Now, after all she's been through, what male, no matter how sexist, is going to turn her down? *********** I suppose that when I interview in the future, I had better voice my support of women and the transgendered in football. It doesn't make much sense - the reporteR asks him why Hnida left Colorado, and he gives the straight answer. A strange legal mutation of Title IX seems to be the "civil right" to play a sport - ANY sport. Interesting adjunct to that - I read two articles, one citing Colorado's reputation as a bigtime party school as a challenge to any coach, and another touting the no frills recruiting of *gasp* Bobby Knight. I think Knight's reputation in the press is another indicator of the feminization of society. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Peoples' Republic of Massachusetts *********** Coach Wyatt, Some thoughts on the Katie Hnida and Colorado situations. Was anybody really surprised at her allegations? I was wondering what took her so long. And isn't it convenient for her that she isn't giving any specifics? Why are alleged rape victims allowed to come forward after such a long time? As for Gary Barnett's comments, again, why is this a big deal now, when it wasn't three years ago? Is he being suspended for his program being out of control, or because he called a girl awful, or whatever he said? I'll tell you what, I saw her on TV in last years Las Vegas Bowl, and from what I saw, she WAS awful! When will this end? Will a coach be repremanded for honest evaluation of talent? And finally, if girls want to play football, let them get their own league. Nothing good can come from having females playing against males on any level of football. I believe it is immoral to allow them to compete against each other in contact sports. Here in this part of Michigan, we have several girls competing in wrestling. Sorry, I just can't buy it. I would give up my positon as a coach before I would let a girl play on my team. Even (especially) as a kicker! John Zeller, Tustin, Michigan *********** A coach wrote me about his frustration at seeing teams not executing as well as his, but nonetheless doing very well - because they had "the horses." I see this all the time, watching tape of inner-city schools whose execution isn't always sharp, but who have the talent to break a big one at any time. The only solution, I tell the guys who coach the farm kids and small-town boys, is that they're just going to have to "score slower." The disadvantage to that, of course, is that they're going to have to execute the offense quite well, hang onto the football, and not commit stupid penalties. The advantage to scoring slower is that they'll remain on offense - and keep the ball away from those talented guys on the other side - a lot longer. *********** This Connecticut Yankee has been a big NASCAR fan ever since my North Carolina wife (then girlfriend) dragged me to a Winston Cup race in 1991 at the old North Wilkesboro Speedway, just a few miles from her hometown in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. I loved it from the start. Like ice hockey, stock car racing is best appreciated live. While TV coverage is good, nothing compares to seeing a race in person, with the noise, smells, and sense of speed that you just can't get on television. We have been attending a Winston Cup (now Nextel) race every July at New Hampshire since 1993 and have been to a few others over the years, including Daytona. I root for a fellow New Englander, Ricky Craven of Maine, who drives the No. 32 Tide-sponsored car (the "Tide Ride"). My wife, like so many Tarheels, is a big Dale Earnhardt fan, first father and now son. Back to football, UConn's non-Big East schedule this year is: at Western Michigan, Duke, Army, at Georgia Tech, and Buffalo. The Big East has not announced its schedule yet. I think if we can win 3 of the non-conference games and somehow manage to split the 6 Big East games, the Huskies could get to a bowl this year. I know you have to play the games on the field, but I like this team, especially on offense. Best wishes, Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island *********** War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. John Stuart Mill *********** I am the O-line coach at ----- High in --------- . I often read your web page and am impressed with the tips that you give and I would like your opinion about my o-line for next year. I have a pretty good group on the o-line, but I have two kids that are above and beyond the others in size speed and just raw power. I was wondering if you would recomend putting one at each tackle, or putting them both on the right side. I am leaning towards putting them side by side, because if teams overload our right then they will both be pulling leading our toss left. I am also sure that the kids that would end up on the other side would do a pretty good job. I would really appreciate your opinion on the subject. I'm asked this a lot, and my answer is always - "put them at the guards." For one reason, it has been my experience that we can get by with less talent, speed and strength at the tackles, but we will only be as good as our guards. Our system depends heavily on the Wedge and the fullback G-play, which both depend on good guard play, not to mention the rest of the offense. There is much more technique required of the guards than of the tackles. For another reason, I believe that the major asset of a Double-Wing system is its balance - its ability to threaten the defense with the same thing to the right as to the left. I think that a good defense, once its scouting reports show that you are one-handed, will take that into account and will present you with overloads that can cause problems (remember that if you put your best linemen on one side, such as to make them the playside on a power play, your weakest linemen would be on the playside when you wanted to run the power.  *********** Coach - Finished reading your NEWS section and noticed all the kudos for the IMovie software and Macs and all.  I think I am finally going to buy one of these sumbitches.  Why?  Well our season ended around the first of December. I started working on my highligt tape for our banquet which was around the 11th of December or so.  Plenty of time since I had a little experience doing one from the last two years (you have a copy of last years).  Anyway, I have been involved in the HIGHLIGHT VIDEO FROM HELL!  Not because of content, hell we finished 11-2.   I finished my first draft (I ended up having 4 versions, all starting from scratch!) and tried to "render" it and recieved memory error problems, my 512 was entirely too slow.  I upgraded to 2 gigs and then thought I was "rolling" and would get the video done.  NOT!  I then started recieving "virtual memory" errors.  Fixed that, finally.  Then started recieving "error messages" with the software (Pinnacle).  Got on the phone with their help desk and waited for about an hour "in the cue" and finally gave up.  Figured out the problem myself and downloaded some pathches that corrected it.  Now we are in January by this time before I get it all working.  Finished the sumbitch this past Monday night, about 6 weeks after I started it.  We have a Sponsors Dinner tomorrow night and will debut it then.  When I told my oldest son Zack that the tape was done, he said "Its about time...Heck you should win the Academy for all the time you put into it..".  Smart ass kids.  I have historically hated Macs but now will try your "alternative lifestyle" computer system (lol).  OK, tell me Coach, what do I buy?  Coach JT Looks like your cheapest membership in the Mac fraternity would be what's called an eMac (the "e" was for "educators"). The model you need retails for $1094. No need to do a lot of shopping around if you find a place that has one, because you just don't find discounts on Macs. As for memory, this model has 256 megabytes of RAM. I think at least 512 mb is best. I assume that you can add RAM and you will probably want to double that. Extra RAM is not that expensive. It has an 80 gigabyte hard drive. You will need all of that, because each 5 minutes of digital video eats up a 1 gb of hard drive space. There is a cheaper model but it does not come with a "SuperDrive" which is Apple's drive that enables you to play AND record DVDs. If you're going to buy an Apple computer, you would be silly not to get one with SuperDrive. It also comes with the latest Mac Operating System (OS X 10.3 "Panther') which I think is really cool. And it is very stable - eat your heart out, Windows people, because I don't believe it's ever crashed on me. It does NOT come with iMovie. What you will need is their latest release, called iLife 04. It costs $49.95 and it is well worth it. It contains a lot of killer programs - iMovie plus iDVD, iTunes, iPhoto and a cool sound-track creation program called GarageBand. To make sure, you will want to ask the guy at the Apple store (Mac people tend to be pretty knowledgeable, because they actually like what they are selling) but it seems to me that with this machine and iMovie - and a digital video camera - you are ready to go. iMovie provides a great tutorial video that will have you up and running in minutes. The next step up would be an iMac, at $1794, but it does seem to me that the $1094 eMac will do the same thing. You can get more info online at www.apple.com. *********** A little elementary school girl in Pittsburgh heard a classmate say, "I swear to God," and she told him, "You'll go to hell for that!" SHE was suspended for swearing. Nothing happened to the kid who broke the commandment against taking the Lord's name in vain. *********** There's a new show on BBC called "Babyfather." Evidently that's a popular hip-hoppish term in England now - a sort of over-there name for the sort of "men" who promiscuously sire children without having married the mother. What Dr. Laura Schlesinger calls Sperm Donors. *********** ""I never had a team before where the players wore ponytails. Or wore earrings. Or had a woman trainer. I got rid of the first two." George Allen, Super Bowl-winning coach, after taking over as head coach at Long Beach State *********** "It has been said that fight fans would not spend 20 cents to watch Van Gogh paint sunflowers but they would fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground (capacity 100,000) to see him slice off an ear." Roy Masters, in the Melbourne Age   *********** I am beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with how much credit one or two of my assistants is taking for our winning year.  We are all proud of our year, and I want them to feel proud about their contribution...but I don't want it leading down the wrong road to disloyalty.  Any thoughts on this? Thanks I think that at your banquet, you need to make a point of recognizing everyone, stressing that it was a total team effort - mention the Moms and dads, and managers and everybody else. Keep stressing the fact that no one person made the team successful - that it was a true joint effort by the players and assistants. And when you get to the assistants, stress the specific area each guy worked in (so that people don't get the idea that he was more important than he really was) and mention that the job he did with the defense - or the linebackers - or the running backs, or whatever, was a very important part of the overall success of the team. Keep dwelling on the fact that teams are successful only when people forget about who gets the credit, and all work together - players and coaches - for the common good. As Blanton Collier, championship coach of the Cleveland Browns once said, "you can accomplish anything if you don't care who gets the credit." You get the idea. ************ Little old Frederick, Maryland, has grown quite a bit since we left it in 1970. Then, its population was about 25,000, but the Washington, D.C. area has reached out and nearly absorbed it, and now its population is double that, with Lord knows how many more in the "suburbs." (I still have a hard time dealing with the concept of "suburban Frederick.") Along with growth in numbers has come big-city problems. Not so long ago, Frederick police picked up a woman who has been running a big-time "escort service", serving the entire D.C. area out of little old Frederick. But they had a hard time getting the goods on her, and in return for a plea, they let her off easy. Too easy, it seemed to the local newspaper, which upopn further digging learned that part of the plea bargain was that she would turn over her little black book of clients, plus her hard drive with all her e-mail on it. Whereupon the newspaper, the Frederick News-Post (I once wrote for it), sued for access to the book, and won. Copies and copies have been printed and sold. And women by the dozens were reported to be calling in to find if their husbands' names were in the book. If you're a divorce lawyer in Frederick County, Maryland, you can go ahead and buy that yacht you've been looking at. Meantime, some of the e-mail was amusing, if not incriminating. A guy identified only as Alex, from Arlington, Virginia, wrote that he was strapped for money, and a friend suggested that he go into the escort service. "I didn't even know there was a market for male escorts," he wrote. "Is there a demand?" The "madam" advised him: "Male escorts are a myth. Women don't have to pay for it. There is no market. Sorry." ************ I read an old Darrell Royal book in which he drew on his CFL experience and said that it makes no sense to him to give the opponents the ball on the 20 if a kick goes into the end zone. He argues that that is giving the defense too much of an edge, when it is the offense that should receive a bonus of some sort for moving the ball as far as it did. That's where Canadian rules come in, of course, with the single. (Canadian football still has the 'return kick" rule, so a guy can field a punt in his end zone and punt it back out again.) Royal argued that at the very least, the ball should be brought out no farther than the five. I might like the idea of awarding one point any time the defense can't run it out, even with the smaller American end zone. Even if the ball is punted out of the end zone. Maybe two points if it's punted through the uprights. Think of the way it would change strategy - will they pass up the sure one, the possible two, to go for a field goal?    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  February 20, 2004 -    "Asking 'who ought to be the boss?' is like asking 'who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?' Obviously, the man who can sing tenor." Henry Ford   FIRST 2004 CLINIC SCHEDULED - ATLANTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   *********** HEY THERE! As you may know, I use the Mac OS, which - so far - is unaffected by most viruses. But it is possible that one of these attack programs has grabbed my address and is sending sh-- to all sorts of people I don't even know. We all need to be careful about what we open. So--- to anybody out there who sends and receives e-mail --- if by some chance you appear to have received e-mail from me with an attachment, DON'T OPEN IT. Trust me - If I am sending you an attachment, I will give you advance notice. Likewise, if you send me an attachment unsolicited, I am not going to open it unless you give me advance notice. *********** NO "LEGACY" QUESTION THIS WEEK! *********** My suitemate organized a tacit protest (keep reading, don't get sick) about the infamous "flag issue." Over the summer a student was forced to take his Israeli flag from outside his window by the house manager, who was motivated by a resident who said it was "offensive" and "detracted from the openness of the community" or somesuch BS. This was followed by administrative contortionsm including the argument that a flag was a dangerous "structural modification" of the dorm. To make a long story short, administrators came to work today to twin USA flags, flapping side by side out of our windows, among other items all over the campus and a huge flag strung between two buildings. It took not till 9:15 when a janitor was apologetically "entering" my apartment with his keys, telling me apologetically that the housing manager wanted the flags down. "It's an American flag, the day after President's day...I don't really see what the problem is. But that's what the manager's telling me." 20 minutes later, the manager himself came up to let me know he expected I would take care of the situation. Being intrinsically conservative and grudgingly respectful of authority, I complied. Can't fly Old Glory at the Institute (or any flag for that matter). Maybe I should expand the cover of "When Pride Still Mattered" and poster the dorm with that. It's nice to know that around dormitory that has had a rash of armed robberies, sexual assaults, and even a sniper, the speed of response for dangerous and malicious flags is at an all time high. Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Maybe this way the administration figures the terrorists will think MIT is friendly. HW) *********** Yesterday we had our first staff meeting of the year. It was great to be talking serious football again! Anyhow, I told you about the fact that we were able to bring Dan Stanley on board. Coach Stanley is a down right legend for people in the know down here. After a long and significant career in KC high school football he had the opportunity to serve as the head coach at his alma mater, Missouri Valley College. In his second year there they went 9-1 and won a conference title. Due to some tragic circumstances he had to leave that job after 8 seasons and move back to KC. Needless to say, I feel very fortunate to have him on our staff. Sam Knopik, Kansas City, Missouri *********** Coach, I'm not one to talk politics as I feel it accomplished little to nothing. But your blurb on Al Sharpton reminded me of something. As I watched one of the Democratic Debate prior to the South Carolina primary I noticed that Peter Jennings, or whoever, was avoiding the candidates who were not Kerry, Dean and Edwards. Finally at the end of the night he threw Sharpton a pitch and this guy did what he always does... tells it like it is. Please keep in mind I am not endorsing anyone but I thought I would write to him and say that as a football coach at a school that is pumping out civic and commerce leaders of the future his words are well received. Sam Knopik, Kansas City (Actually, it was hard to take him seriously as a candidate for President, but then when you look at some of the others... he did show some wisdom, though, and, since saying outrageous things is what maintains his following, he could usually be counted on to provide some comic relief. HW) *********** Good morning coach: We are the number one sports city in Michigan, voted as such by Sports Illustrated. A magazine, in my opinion that hasn't been worth a s--- for at least ten years now. When we were awarded said honor last week, Mooch was there, Lem Barney, ALL the local politicians, and the heads of each organization. All mugging for tv and feeling so good about themselves. No coaches of course. So what does the number one sports city in Michigan do? Build soccer field after soccer field, that's what. We have dozens of the cursed things. The biggest waste of real estate, that's what I tell our kids every year. Don't call it a soccer field, a spade is a spade, it's a "waste." "Coach, why do they do that?" I say, "I don't know Jimmy. Sometimes life just isn't fair." Our practice field doubles as our game field. Our game field is so bad we only schedule three home games per season (11 game season). We are the Gypsies of the league. Our field is so bad, when we hosted the playoffs in 2001, we rented the damn Silverdome and hosted the playoffs there. Our field is so bad, we rented another cities High School field for the Super Bowl in 2002, which we were the host of. Most of the two high schools starting backfields, and captains, are our ex-guys. You see coach, the number one sports city in Michigan as voted on by SI has two major high schools in the city that charge us $3000.00 per day to use their football fields! If we were females and played with that little black and white ball, the fields would be free. Our practice/game field is situated to where we look at three empty soccer fields six days per week. In my eights years coaching the Troy Cowboys, the best organization, year after year in our league, I have never seen a soccer game on those three fields. The only time they are used is when a bunch of guys are out there playing a pick up game of football. Why am I venting to you coach? Because, the number one sports town in Michigan is building a CRICKET field in our park! Where we practice and play our games! You see our city counsel recognizes CRICKET as the number two sport in the world, behind soccer, and GOD DAMN IT, we need to get these guys a field. We have been waiting for our "new field" since 1979. Well, enough is enough. We showed up in force at the last city counsel meeting. Not to fight the Crickets, as we know call them, but to point out that football is still the number one sport in America, yes? We are not saying, not in our backyard, but just get us a damn field. Make one of the many empty soccer fields a football field. The mayor did point out to us that Cricket was, in fact here before football in this city, and country. Please help on that one coach so we can make a proper reply. All I thought of while hearing this nonsense was I wish I had Wyatt's historical mind here to counter that one. We thought surely Rod Serling is going to pop out at anytime, because we must be in the Twilight Zone. Anyway, more to come on this little fight in our neck of the woods. Take care coach. David Livingstone. Troy, Michigan (Do you realize how big a cricket field is? Maybe four acres - four football fields? As for cricket being the number two sport in the world - based on what? Attendance? And what, exactly, does the world have to do with how you spend money on parks designed for the people of Troy Michigan? The American Indians were playing lacrosse long before the Europeans arrived - so tell the city you want them to build a lacrosse field - and you can use it in the fall. HW) *********** RICK NEUHEISEL STRIKES AGAIN... Rick Neuheisel seems to be one of those guys who moves on and leaves cluster bombs behind. One of them went off this week in Colorado, a place he left years ago, when a young woman named Katie Hnida whom he had recruited to kick charged that while on the football team at Colorado, she'd been repeatedly harassed sexually. Oh, yes - raped, too. She didn't say anything about the rape at the time. Actually, she didn't say anything for four years, but finally, she told her story to Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly. She claims she was raped, but says she didn't - still doesn't - want to press charges because she doesn't want the publicity. So she talks to Rick Reilly instead? So now here's Rick Reilly, patron saint of all that's just and good, taking up Katie's cause, conveniently helping Sports Illustrated climb out of the slime of the near-porn swimsuit issue and move up to the moral high ground. *********** Sports Illustrated makes a very big deal of the fact that colleges are using sex to sell their programs to high school athletes. Should they be doing so? Of course not. The practice is a disgusting perversion of a university's true mission. It is crude and vulgar and demeaning to women (whether or not they are willing accomplices), and it further reinforces the strong sense of entitlement among so many young male athletes that they eventually take to the NFL and NBA, where it is turned into an art form. But big-time college sports (football and men's basketball) is big business, and as businesspeople know, sex sells. How else can you explain this same, sanctimonious Sports Illustrated just a little over a week ago devoting an entire issue - and the cover - to photos of young, near-naked women with pouty/near-orgasmic/come-hither looks on their faces, either (a) topless, (b) thumbs suggestively tugging their thongs down to pubic level or below, or (c) both? *********** Multiple-choice: Which two of the following will never have a spot on one of my football teams? (1) Rapists (2) Kicking specialists *********** Hey, you high school coaches out there... next time you think it'd be cool to have open kicking tryouts, remember two names: Heather Sue Mercer and Katie Hnida. Heather Sue, God Bless her, won a $2 million settlement from Duke, claiming in a lawsuit that coach Fred Goldsmith first told her she'd made the team and then cut her because of her gender. Katie was recruited by Rick Neuheisel, who then followed the smell of money to Washington and left her for Gary Barnett to deal with. She is alleging that, among other forms of mistreatment while she was at CU, she was raped by a teammate. Think it couldn't happen to your program? Take a look at all those little girls out there playing soccer. How many of them do you suppose dream of kicking in the NFL someday? More than you think, I'll bet. Hell, when you get right down to it, what's to prevent them? There's so little in the way of real football participation required of a kicker that if you're going to bring in a soccer player to do nothing but kick, why not a woman? If they'd only listened to me and changed the rules to stipulate that no one could kick the ball more than once in any game, there wouldn't be any kicking specialists at all. Boys or girls. They'd have to stick to soccer. *********** What Gary Barnett said: "It's a guys' sport. (Players) felt like Katie was forced on them. It was obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful. You know what guys do? They respect your ability... Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible, okay? There's no other way to say it." Oh, no? That's not what the president of the University of Colorado thinks. Here's what she said: "I have told him (Barnett) in no uncertain terms that was an unacceptable remark." Here's what Gary Barnett should have said: "I believe that every football coach should consider it a major part of his job to promote gender diversity on his team, so imagine my delight on arriving in Boulder to discover that just before leaving for Washington, my honored and respected predecessor, Rick Neuheisel, had already offered a spot on the team to a young person of the female gender. And then, imagine my further delight on discovering that in addition to being a female person, she was a kicker, too. She was fairly accurate from extra point range out to about 30 yards. She was a much better kicker than a lot of our offensive linemen. If anything had happened to our first eight kickers, I have every confidence that Katie could have stepped in there and any time we got inside the opponents' 10-yard line, we could possibly be looking at three-points. Believe me, it was a sad day for all of us when Katie decided to leave our program, and it was a giant step for women - no, for the game of football - no, for all of mankind - er, make that personkind - when she made the team at New Mexico and kicked an actual extra point in a bowl game." *********** I think the simplest way to determine whether Katie Hnida was any good is to find out if she was one of the Colorado players Rick Neuheisel tried to get to transfer after he left CU for Washington. *********** LSU just signed Nick Saban to a seven-year contract that makes him the highest-paid college football coach. He is guaranteed at least $2.3 million this year, with a chance to earn an extra $400,000 based on bowl bonuses and team graduation rates. He could make as much as $3.4 million in 2010, the final year of the contract. This is what coaches get when they win. When they lose, they wind up selling insurance. The difference often comes down to "skill" in recruiting. (Just in case you wondered why there is a sex-and-booze scandal just waiting to be exposed at the your favorite college.) *********** A report by Arthur Levitt, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that the National Hockey League League lost about $273 million last season and that of the nearly $2 billion the NHL took in, 75 percent of it was paid out in salaries, bonuses, benefits and other items for players. In the NBA and the NFL, Levitt said, players receive a much smaller share of the revenue. "As a former investment banker and investor, I'd have to say that is totally inconsistent with any sound business practices," he told a news conference last week. Hmmm. Doesn't look like a lot of room for cost-cutting except in the area of "salaries, bonuses, benefits and other items for players." *********** One of the reasons why Penn State is Penn State is its long tradition of stability. Not enough of the credit for it belongs to Rip Engle, who arranged with the president of the university for brash, cocky (mouthy?) young Joe Paterno to succeed him. That way, all Rip had to do once he decided to retire (he didn't have to) was to step aside and let Joe, his long-time assistant, step in. You couldn't have asked for a smoother transition. Paterno himself certainly deserves a great deal of credit for maintaining that stability. For years, his staff rarely turned over, and, consisting as it did of mostly Penn Staters, it was assumed that at some point the torch would be passed to one of them, and the winning would continue forever. There was defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, a former PSU end, producer of so many great linebackers that Penn State was (once) called "Linebacker U." And there was offensive coordinator Fran Ganter, former running back. Sandusky turned down the Maryland job in order to stay at State College, partly, it must be pointed out, because of his involvement in a project to help toubled youngsters. He finally retired, apparently convinced that Coach Paterno was going to outlast him. And now Ganter has been releived of his coordinator position, and "reassigned" within the athletic department. The new offensive coordinator is apparently going to be Galen Hall, also a former Penn Stater and once offensive coordinator for Barry Switzer at Oklahoma and then successful head coach at Florida. Successful on the field, that is. There were some NCAA problems, as I recall, but the guy can coach. But Galen Hall is as old as I am, and he's not going to be Coach Paterno's successor, so any hope for another smooth transition appears to be gone. Penn State is staring at a changeover that could be as traumatic as the one Nebraska's undergoing. But there's Joe, the Old Lion, his hands lashed to the wheel to weather the storm, telling recruits that he'll be here until they graduate. If that's true, he'll be 82. How'd you like to be the AD at Penn State - the one who has to walk out to the mound and ask JoePa for the ball? *********** Some sound advice from a veteran coach... I'm 90% sure going to be back at at my present school next year, but a few openings have caught my eye of late.  I guess I'll always have the itch to take on new challenges...  either that or I'm a complete moron. I've applied for a three or four head coach vacancies and the interview process has begun...  so I'm hitting the road every so often.  I just got back from one that had me smacking my forehead with a Homer Simpson "DOH!" Three hours to get there and just a 30 minute interview (yes, I brushed my teeth before the interview and, yes, my fly was zipped when I walked in the room!).  They had a sheet of 15 questions candidates were to address, but at the begining of the interview the principal informed me that for the sake of brevity I should pick 7 of the 15 out to answer since he wanted to keep the interview under 30 minutes.   There was a definite lack of follow-up questions from the get-go, so I don't think I managed to blow the interview. I got the distinct impression the principal had pretty much made up his mind earlier, but just wanted to finish the interview process.  (!)  It sure would have been nice to know that ahead of time...  sigh.   I told this yesterday to the basketball coach, who chuckled and told me something he used to ask A.D.'s before heading out for an interview.  Feel free to pass it on! FYI, If you're called in for an interview which involves traveling more than a couple of hours, do yourself a favor and ask the A. D. the folowing question first:  "I'm a professional and your're a professional, so I'm going to ask you flat-out, is this more than just a token interview?  I'm interested in the job but if you honestly think someone else has it sewn-up, please let me know before I spend the time traveling back and forth."  You would think that the question shouldn't need to be asked, but I've recently been reminded that, yes, it does need to be asked at times!  Sheesh..... Have a great week, NAME WITHHELD *********** A coach responded to my suggestion that, since some interviewers might hold your offensive system against you, there is no harm in calling it by another name. He pretty much took the tack that "this is what I run, and if you don't like it..." Having an edge of maybe 30 or so years of hard knocks on him, I felt I had to write him back. You see, I was once a "this is what I run, and if you don't like it..." kind of guy myself... Ideally, you can show enough success in your background and people will be so hungry for a change that they won't care what you're running. But the reality is that nowadays people feel they have to ask those questions. But who's kidding who? Very few of them have any idea what it's really all about, and if you can't have their heards spinning within 30 seconds or so, you're not much of a coach. However - the reality also is that when you don't have a job and you're in the running for one, you shouldn't go out of your way to alienate anybody. Not when it only takes one red-ass on the interview panel to veto you. Never forget - you can have six votes for you and one against and still not get the job. If there is just one guy on the panel who is dead set against hiring you, you won't get the job. It has happened to me. Back in 1988 I interviewed for what I thought would be a decent job. It happened to be in the town I now live in. In the interview I talked about my offensive philosophy - running the ball with my wing-T offense, etc. I had something of a reputation, having had some success with it at a bigger school in a nearby town. The group seemed interested enough, but I did notice that one guy kept asking me questions about passing the ball and I kept answering that passing was part of the plan but it wasn't our main objective. I thought I had nailed the interview, which even included having to teach a mini-lesson right there in front of the interview committee. And I knew I had better credentials than anyone else who'd applied. But when I talked to a friend who lived in the town, and I described the guy who'd asked me about passing, he laughed and said, "Oh, sh--. That's --- -------. He's the president of the school board, and his son's the quarterback." I didn't get the job. And damned if the guy who did get the job didn't come in and run the wing-T. Same as I would have done. (Except, if I may say so, not as well.) And apparently he never came under a great deal of pressure to change, because he was there eight years and had only one winning season. The main thing is, he got the job, and I didn't. In retrospect, I didn't get it because in explaining and defending my offense, I got sidetracked, and lost sight of my main objective - which was getting the job. It simply wasn't necessary to get that deeply into my philosophy. I could have said that my offense was multiple (which is true), and versatile enough to accomodate the talents of any gifted player (which is true) and let it go at that. The immediate objective is not to defend yourself or your offense, or explain it in great detail. The objective is to get the job.      A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  February 17, 2004 -    "People usually know what they should do to get what they want. They just won't do it. They won't pay the price." John Wooden   FIRST 2004 CLINIC SCHEDULED - ATLANTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   *********** HEY THERE! As you may know, I use the Mac OS, which - so far - is unaffected by most viruses. But it is possible that one of these attack programs has grabbed my address and is sending sh-- to all sorts of people I don't even know. We all need to be careful about what we open. So--- to anybody out there who sends and receives e-mail --- if by some chance you appear to have received e-mail from me with an attachment, DON'T OPEN IT. Trust me - If I am sending you an attachment, I will give you advance notice. Likewise, if you send me an attachment unsolicited, I am not going to open it unless you give me advance notice. *********** NO "LEGACY" QUESTION THIS WEEK! *********** It's possible that you've heard about the offer by Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, to purchase Disney and everything that goes with it (ABC and ESPN). Now, business news might not normally interest you, but if you remember the way we all got worked over by the CBS-MTV combination at halftime of the Super Bowl, you might want to consider what such a huge transaction could mean. William Safire summed it up pretty well in the New York Times... If one huge corporation controlled both the production and the dissemination of most of our news and entertainment, couldn't it rule the world? Can't happen here, you say; America is the land of competition that generates new technology to ensure a diversity of voices. But consider how a supine Congress and a feckless majority of the Federal Communications Commission have been failing to protect our access to a variety of news, views and entertainment. The media giant known as Viacom-CBS-MTV just showed us how it controls both content and communication of the sexiest Super Bowl. The five other big sisters that now bestride the world are (1) Murdoch-FoxTV-HarperCollins-WeeklyStandard-NewYorkPost-LondonTimes-DirecTV; (2) G.E.-NBC-Universal-Vivendi; (3) Time-Warner-CNN-AOL; (4) Disney-ABC-ESPN; and (5) the biggest cable company, Comcast. As predicted here in an "Office Pool" over two years ago, Comcast has just bid to take over Disney. If the $50 billion deal is successful, the six giants would shrink to five, with Disney-Comcast becoming the biggest. Would Rupert Murdoch stand for being merely No. 2? Not on your life. He would take over a competitor, perhaps the Time-Warner-CNN-AOL combine, making him biggest again. Meanwhile, cash-rich Microsoft &emdash; which already owns 7 percent of Comcast and is a partner of G.E.'s MSNBC &emdash; would swallow both Disney-ABC and G.E.-NBC. Then there would be three, on the way to one. If you live in Philly, writes Mr. Safire, you already have an idea where all this is headed. Philly is the home of Comcast. Comcast owns the 76ers. And the arena they play in. And the cable sports channel on which the Sixers' games are broadcast. And the cable system that brings you your television. Now, then, on top of all that, add in ESPN... *********** Sunday may have been the day I got hooked on NASCAR... what got me started was curiosity about how a local kid (yes, a Yankee) was doing, but I found myself caught up in the Daytona 500. And so did my wife. This certainly wasn't the first time we've ever had a race on. But it was the first time we'd ever paid attention. One of the things I like most about the whole deal is that everybody involved is so real. Drivers making millions still act like human beings. (Are you listening, NBA?) I'm guessing it's because they know that while they might be stars, they'd better not try putting on any airs, because (are you listening, NFL wide receivers?) they know good and well that without a good team behind them, they're nothing. I laughed my ass off when they interviewed Michael Waltrip following a spectacular wreck in which his car rolled three or four times, finally coming to rest on its roof. As it lay there, upside-down, rescue workers debating the best way to extricate Waltrip seemed to have at least a dozen different ideas how to do it. Finally, though, after 10 minutes or so of figuring out how to cut him out of there, they decided to just flip the car back, right-side-up, and Waltrip climbed out. Boy, was he hot during the interview. "I kept tellin' 'em!" he said, but, obviously, they just wouldn't listen. What he kept tellin' 'em, he said, was that seeing as how he'd already rolled three or four times, what harm would it do just to roll the car back onto its wheels? There was more. Lots more. There was "Junior" (Dale Earnhardt, Junior), who won the race exactly six years to the day after his late father won it. And damned if Junior didn't go out and celebrate Sunday night (according to his crew chief) and then come back Monday and win a 300-mile race. (And damned if we didn't watch that, too.) I'm not going to get into whether race car drivers are technically "athletes." But they sure are tough, and courageous, and skillful as hell. Nascar is already plenty big, of course, but here's a prediction: they do such a great job of televising it, with so many cameras, and there are so many stories to tell during the race, and things can happen so fast, that it's hard to look away. As more and more homes get PVRs, and more and more people are able to make sure they don't miss any action, this sport is really going to take off.. *********** Coach, Just some thoughts concerning the men who wrote to you this week. 1) The guy who got blind sided by the D-Coord needs to go be a head coach. No matter what title he has at that school, the scenario described will continue and continue. Throw in a loss here and there and somebody might get a chair thrown at them sooner or later. 2) The guy who has his X'sand O's ready to go for an interview: My thoughts are if an interview committee really cares that much about what you are running, beyond just checking to make sure you know the game, you might consider walking away now as opposed to limping away later. In my opinion if a committee can't determine if you know your X's and O's before they ask you for an interview they have their priorities out of wack. First, they don't really care about your influence with kids and secondly, they don't really care about your influence with kids. So, while the words of advice from the administrator were sound and well spoken that district really sucks. Sam Knopik, Kansas City *********** Dear Coach Wyatt: I know that the American legal system works in strange ways, but this Clarett decision has me baffled. In my line of work, the  company sets minimum educational requirements or experience levels required before employment is offered.  Teaching of course requires a degree, and these days before you can even do skilled manual labor some degree of trade school and a period of  apprenticeship is required.  So why is the NFL any different?  I would like to make the kind of money that Johnny Cochran is hauling down but I did not go to law school.   Where is the Bill of Rights provision that anyone is entitled to play in the NFL?  Nobody is depriving him of making a living.  Clarett is free to go into any line of work he wishes and for which he is qualified.  In my view, the NFL roughly corresponds to a private sector corporation, with various subsidiaries, and should be free to set their own rules of employment.  And further, I can see charges of "collusion" being levied if some hot shot high school kid (or college freshman with 1 year of "apprenticeship" is not drafted or signed by any NFL team. On a DW note:  On 47XX, if the A back pitches the ball to the C back instead of making the shovel handoff, and the C back drops it, would it not be considered  an incomplete forward pass?  Assuming the referees know the rules, it seems to be the same principal as the shuffle pass. Regards, Mark Rice, Beaver, Pa. Good point on the qualifications. I see coaching jobs advertised which call for "three years head coaching experience" or some such. Why, I wonder, can't the NFL say it needs "three years' college playing experience or the equivalent?" As for the question --- unless that ball is tossed forward, it will be a fumble if it is dropped. (A dropped lateral is a fumble.) *********** TIME FOR A LITTLE PATRIOTISM ---- http://www.nathanadams.com/WeSupportU.htm *********** Lake Region High School, of Eagle Lake, Florida, announced the hiring of Greg Meyers as its new head coach. Coach Meyers was an assistant at Lake Wales High last season, his first year in Florida. Coach Meyers and I go back a ways, to when he hosted the first clinic I ever put on, back in 1997 at Mount Vernon, Indiana, just outside Evansville. We filmed "Installing the System" there. He is a native of Vincennes, Indiana, and he confided in me that his high school's nickname was the Alices. (I am not kidding - it is based on a historical novel about the town's early days called "Alice of Old Vincennes.") Coach Meyers played college ball at Indiana University, and following a successful run as head coach at Mount Vernon, he served as defensive coordinator of the Evansville Blue Cats of the National Indoor Football League before moving to Florida. *********** With the "Footy" (Australian Rules Football) season about to get under way, my son, Ed, who lives Down Under in the Heart of Footy territory (Melbourne), sent me this... To give you an idea of how passionate A great Melbourne footy story for you...a few years back Essendon was playing Sydney in a final (playoff) the same night a group of guys had gathered for a bachelor party.  The guys were watching the game waiting for the stripper to show up.  The stripper, however, showed up early, with a quarter of footy still to play.  After a brief deliberation, the guys asked the stripper if she could come back in 30 minutes, after the game finished!  That's footy for ya! *********** For those of you who are always looking for new ways of explaining lateness... "Let's say we could be more disciplined with deadlines." Panos K. Protopsaltis, the guy in charge of transportation for the 2004 Athens Olympics, now less than six months away. *********** Comments... "Call it the Double Slot or the Flex-Wing. Show everything from slot formation."  You used a term a couple of years ago -- I think it was "West Coast Multi-Wing"..I can't remember exactly, but it was funny as sh--!  What a bunch of crap that the guy is qualified for the job, yet has to come up with something like this because of ignorant administrators that don't have the stones themselves to stand on the sidelines. "He said that he could stop that play by bltzing his Will Linebacker."  Only if his Will is named Clark Kent! "Damn! Why doesn't somebody tell the guys at Holmes JC that the Double Wing won't work? HW" - the real question is why doesn't one of the other Mississippi teams hire Coach Einstein..he'd stop that darn power every time. At the very least, he should be considered for a LB Coaching position because his guys can do things no other human's playing that position can! Also - "Soccer is our national sport," one young Mexican said. "We cannot let the Americans beat us at our game."  I'll concede soccer...and keep jobs, food, housing, healthcare, education......football. Also - Abraham Lincoln once said, "it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."  I'm Not big on the "fantasy dinner" thing, but if I could have one -- Abe Lincoln would be at mine.  A total stud.  Would have been a DW Coach. And finally - I've got lots of comments about the entire SB halftime fiasco, but they've all been said -- except, this..How in the hell can the NFL continue to hand out fines for taunting, and claim they are trying to "clean up" their act -- and then release a video game like NFL Street?  Yes, there is a copy in our home..and it's just stupid.  These are real (in name) NFL players -- talkin' smack and acting like idiots on the video game -- the video game endorsed by the NFL -- and then the NFL acts surprised at how the real players act?  Let me tell you something..it's not the guys that act like professionals who are ending up as characters in these video games!  Crazy.. Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** For those of you who have youngsters who might have a service academy in their futures, it is very important that they "start young", preparing themselves even before high school, and certainly before they get too far into their high school careers. Whether it's the Military Academy, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, the Coast Guard Academy or the Merchant Marine Academy, you will find useful advice for youngsters on the West Point site --- http://www.usma.edu/admissions/startyoung.asp *********** Kobe Bryant denied reports that he planned to leave the Lakers when he becomes a free agent this summer. "That's just not true, " he said. "I want to be a Laker for the rest of my life. That hasn't changed. I've been a Laker fan since I was 6. It's been a dream come true to play for the Lakers." Then why, he was asked, why he would opt out of his contract and test the market, if he really wanted to stay? "I want to look at different options," he said. "I've never had the opportunity to look at different options." I understand perfectly. I have a similar situation with a contract of my own. See, I want to stay married to my wife for the rest of my life, but I'm sure she'll understand if I just want to "look at different options." *********** Houston's Jack Yates High School has sent a lot of top-notch football players on to college. Any follower of football recuiting can tell you that. The story is a bit different for those kids who don't play football. In the last few years, Yates has gone without a library for more than a year, and a principal has replaced dozens of experienced teachers with less-costly substitutes and uncertified teachers. In 2000, only a third of its students even took the SAT, and their combined average score was only 763 (out of a possible 1600). The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reported that fewer than 50 percent of Yates's 2000 graduates took any credits at all at any state college or university. Yet, in its reports to the state, Yates claimed that from 1998 to 2002, between 99 and 100 per cent its graduates planned to attend college. Yates was not alone. Similar reports came from other Houston high schools. Davis High School, whose students averaged a combined SAT score of 791 in 1998 (and that's of the kids who took the SAT) , reported that every single one of its graduates that year planned to go to college; Sharpstown High School reported in 2001 that 98.4 percent of its graduates expected to attend college (Sharpstown also falsely claimed zero dropouts in 2002). "Absolutely, positively, no way," Larry Blackmon, a Yates alumnus and parent told the New York Times. "You'd get more of an accurate count asking elementary kids if they plan to go to college." *********** Congratulations to Brad Knight, named Northwest Iowa 1A/2A Coach of the Year! *********** The Reverend Al Sharpton on Rap... (from "Al On America" by Al Sharpton) I had a discussion with a few rappers a while back, and I asked them why they use so much profanity and are so misogynistic in their music. "Rev, we're like a mirror to society," one of the rappers said. "We are merely reflecting what we see." "Well, I don't know about you, but I use a mirror to correct what's wrong with me," I told them. "I don't look in the mirror to see my hair messed up and my teeth need brushing and just walk out of the house that way. I use the mirror to fix me." This hip-hop culture must use their music, their influence to correct what's wrong, not to continue to perpetuate what's wrong, not continue to promote what's wrong. They have the power to do that. And if they really want to have an impact on society, they must change their focus and show America the best of us instead of the worst. I went to a hip-hop conference in New York, and one of the main topics of discussion was a fight for the right to use bitch and ho in lyrics. They wanted the right to call a woman a bitch - something the slave master called black women with impunity. With all the stuff going on in this world, all they're worried about is being able to call a woman out of her name?! That's their cause? First of all, it's wrong. But second, it is insulting. These rappers and "hip-hop impresarios" weren't worried about unemployment or the financial conditions of those who support their records and made them stars. They weren't worried about the education system that keeps too many of their fans and families in poverty. They weren't worried about voting rights. They didn't have any conferences on any of that. There wasn't one seminar entitled "Economic Empowerment" or "Jobs for the 21st Century." No, they want the right to call somebody a ho or a bitch - somebody who brought them into this world. As far as I'm concerned, they are low-down devious things who aren't worth the millions of dollars young people spend to make them stars. When I look at the hip-hop generation I am disappointed, but I also see promise. I see potential unrealized. I see tremendous power. These young people have created a culture. Their words, their spirit is so powerful that their voices have penetrated the mainstream culture to the point where America's culture is intertwined with the hip-hop culture, from its language to its clothing to its music. You cannot turn on a television or watch a movie and not see the influence of hip-hop. Even suburban America has been bitten by the hip-hop bug. Unfortunately, much of what they're selling is a fraud. They spew hedonism, misogyny, and self-hate. They glorify the prison culture, the pimp culture, and drug culture. They tell the young that they're not worthy unless they're "rocking" Chanel, Gucci, or wearing platinum and diamonds. Not only is this message immoral, but it is also flawed. It's a lie. The most ludicrous thing in the world is to see a former rapper walking around Broadway with gold teeth and a tarnished ring, his career is gone and he has nothing else. That's how most of these stories end, but nobody is rapping or singing about that. These artists get huge advances from the record labels, and the first thing they do is run out and buy a big, fancy car. They buy, buy, buy what they wanty, and beg for what they need, and end up with nothing. I think that projecting these images to young people - the bling-bling and the showpieces - and not talking about real estate and land and the fundamental things in life, is almost criminal. These so-called artists are leading our youth down a road that will ultimately lead to their destruction *********** Sam Knopik, head coach at Pembroke Hill School, a private day school in Kansas City, needs a game October 8. Pembroke Hill has been shifted to another league, leaving him with an open date smack in the heart of the schedule. He says that he'll be happy to host a team from almost anywhere, and he's willing to travel. He's serious - Pembroke Hill is already scheduled to play a game in St. Louis, and they've gone as far as Tulsa. Pembroke Hill has 350 kids (9-12) and has been very competitive in its class. Sam runs a class operation. If you're interested, give Sam a call at his office - 816-936-1529. (We pronounce the first "K" in Sam's name - "kin-NOPP-ik")    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  February 13, 2004 -    "Never feel you have all the answers. Always be learning and always be a teacher." Bud Wilkinson's advice to former player Dee Andros, on taking his first head coaching job   FIRST 2004 CLINIC SCHEDULED - ATLANTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   *********** HEY THERE! As you may know, I use the Mac OS, which - so far - is unaffected by most viruses. But it is possible that one of these attack programs has grabbed my address and is sending sh-- to all sorts of people I don't even know. We all need to be careful about what we open. So--- to anybody out there who sends and receives e-mail --- if by some chance you appear to have received e-mail from me with an attachment, DON'T OPEN IT. Trust me - If I am sending you an attachment, I will give you advance notice. Likewise, if you send me an attachment unsolicited, I am not going to open it unless you give me advance notice. A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY. Of all the great players from the great Packers' teams, Willie Davis was one of the very greatest. And of all the great players turned out by Eddie Robinson in Grambling's heyday, Willie Davis was also one of the very greatest. Born in rural Louisiana, he attended high school in Texarkana, Arkansas, and played college football at Grambling, under the great Coach Rob. But despite being a Black College All-American (to show how lowly-regarded black college football was at the time) he wasn't drafted until the 15th round by the Cleveland Browns in 1956. He missed the 1956 and 1957 seasons, serving in the Army and playing service football, but on his return he earned a spot on the Browns' roster, then played two years for Cleveland before being traded to Green Bay for a player named A. D. Williams. At Green Bay, Vince Lombardi instantly saw his pass-rushing potential and made him a fixture on his defensive line. As a standout member of the Packers' defense for the next 10 years, he played in the NFL title game in his first season with Green Bay, and in five of the next seven seasons. He also played on the first two Super Bowl championship teams (even though the game was not then called the Super Bowl). And (back when the game really meant something) he played in five Pro Bowl games. In his 12-year pro career, from 1958 through 1969, he didn't miss a game - 162 consecutive games in all. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.. But he always had an eye on something bigger than football. During his two years in Cleveland, he taught high school classes in the off-season. In 1967, Davis was given the Byron White Award, named for the late pro football player who became a Supreme Court justice, and given to the athlete contributing most to his country, his community and his team. In 1968, he received a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago, while joining the Schlitz Brewing Company's marketing training program. After retirement from pro football in 1969, he devoted full-time to business, including ownership of West Coast Beverage, a Los Angeles-based beer distributorship, and interests in numerous radio stations. He currently serves as president of All-Pro Broadcasting, Inc. Willie Davis was elected in 1994 to the Green Bay Packers' Board of Directors, and in 1998 to the Marquette University board of trustees. He also serves on the board of trustees of the University of Chicago. No one can call Willie Davis a shirker: he serves on the board of directors for the Sara Lee Corp., Dow Chemical Co., MGM, Inc., Alliance Bank, Johnson Controls, Inc., Bassett Furniture, Strong Funds, Wisconsin Energy Corp., Manpower, Inc., and MGM Grand Inc. Guess who the mystery man is - e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com. To receive credit, please include your full name and where you're writing from. NOTE: In the interest of time, I will not respond to tell you that your answer is correct. If you do not receive a reply, you may assume that your answer is correct. Correctly identifying Willie Davis - Adam Wesoloski- Pulaski, Wisconsin... Joe Daniels- Sacramento... John Urbaniak- Hanover Park, Illinois... Greg Stout- Thompson's Station, Tennessee... Steve Smith- Middlesboro, Kentucky... Steve Staker- Fredericksburg, Iowa... John Reardon- Peru, Illinois... David Maley- Rosalia, Washington... Mark Kaczmarek- East Moline, Illinois ("Easy one for a Cheesehead")... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois ("He was prominent in all of the University of Chicago Business School literature I received when I was applying to B-schools all those many years ago.")... Bill Nelson- West Burlington, Iowa... Pete Porcellu- Lansingburgh, New York ("Would never have known if it wasn't for NFL Films.")... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky... Scott Russell- Potomac Falls, Virginia... Don Capaldo, Keokuk, Iowa... *********** Some interesting things about the Lombardi-Davis days in Green Bay, taken from David Maraniss' magnificent biography of Vince Lombardi, "When Pride Still Mattered." * When Davis joined the Packers, he became the fourth black player on the team, joining Emlen Tunnell, Paul Winslow and Willie Wood. Wrote Maraniss, "The four black Packers used to say that they constituted four-fifths of the permanent black population of the city, the fifth being the shoeshine man at the Hotel Northland." (Actually, David points out, "this was a slight exaggeration: according to the 1960 U.S. Census, 128 blacks then lived in Brown County, but this was still only about .01 percent of the total population.") * "During his first year in Green Bay, Lombardi called his team together on the practice field and delivered a rare lecture on racism. 'If I ever hear nigger or dago or kike or anything like that around here, regardless of who you are, you're through with me. You can't play for me if you have any kind of prejudice.'" * "Before the season began, Lombardi spread the word among Green Bay's tavern and restaurant owners that any establishment that did not welcome his black players would be declared off-limits to the entire team." * "At Tunnell's suggestion, he (Lombardi) allowed the black players to leave the St. Norbert's training camp twice during the preseason for quick trips down to Milwaukee, the closest city where they could find barbers who knew how to cut their hair." * Although Lombardi had a reputation for sparing no man when it came to chewing ass, Willie Davis actually was the exception. "Willie Davis was above reproach," David Maraniss wrote. "Lombardi shrieked at him once, then explained the next day that he was only 'trying to prove nobody is beyond chewing out.'" * Davis, Lombardi's team captain all those years, paid his final visit to the coach as he lay in a Washington hospital dying of cancer. "His boys", wrote David Maraniss, made a pilgrimage to see their old coach. "Willie Davis makes the red-eye flight from San Diego. He had played for great coaches all his career, first Eddie Robinson at Grambling and then Paul Brown at Clevelabd, but it was Lombardi, he says, who changed his life. He walks into the room and sees a ghost of his old coach and says if you'll come back to Green Bay, I'll come out of retirement, and Lombardi growls, 'You're a hell of a man, Willie. Now get out of here!' In for maybe a minute and a half, and even now he does what the coach says and leaves." *********** More about Willie Davis from "Never Before, Never Again," the autobiography of Eddie Robinson, written with Richard Lapchick: ** "Willie was from Texarkana and was highly recruited. I spoke to his cousin, who told me that Willie's Momma was a devout Christian. I could relate to Willie right away because, like me, he came from a broken home. When I had dinner with the Davis family on a recruiting visit, I told them about Grambling's campus, its great faculty and academics, and of course, about Grambling football. As I was leaving, I told Willie's Momma, 'I've told you everything about Grambling, but there's one additional thing I must share. If your son comes to Grambling, he's going to have to go to church.' Willie later repeated to me what his Momma said after I left. There was no doubt in her mind. 'Oh, Lordy, you're going to Grambling.' Whenever I see Willie today, he still teases me about that. he tells me that that was "hitting below the belt.'" ** "Willie was always a leader, on and off the field. Long after his playing career, I heard Bill Curry speak of Willie's impact on him. Curry was a rookie out of Georgia Tech with a deep southern accent. Curry hadn't even expected to be drafted, let along make the team. It was the first time he'd been around blacks, and he was sure they would single him out as a cracker because of the way he spoke. One day, Curry was walking alone and heard a voice call him from behind. 'I thought it was the voice of God,' recalled Curry. It was Willie, who took him under his wing and gave him the confidence to be a fine pro and go on to be a veteran NFL assistant and college head coach. That was Willie Davis, the man." ** Whenever Davis would return to Grambling after the pro season was over, Coach Rob said he would encourage him to continue his studies. But, admitted Coach Robinson ruefully, "I realized that although he had graduated, I didn't know what Willie had majored in." The coach said that when Davis went to sign up for graduate courses, he realized that he didn't know what he wanted to study. Coach Robinson tells it from there... "When I responded, 'Why?' Willie asserted, 'Because when I first came to Grambling, I told my advisor that I wanted to major in business. However, my advisor told me that I didn't have the mentality to major in business so I just picked another field.' "Imagine- Willie Davis had wanted to major in business and this woman told him he would be wasting his time. It made me sick to think that this advisor discouraged a student as bright as Willie Davis. I wondered about all the others she had counseled. Or what high school students are told not to study. I asserted, 'Well, you're a scholar-athlete, and if you look at your own transcript, you could have majored in business. Why don't you take a couple of courses now, and when you come abck next year, then see what you think about it.'" And, Coach Rob goes on, that's what led to Davis enrolling in the MBA program at the University of Chicago. Wrote the Coach, "The was a real lesson for me and all my coaches. We have to be active with all the academic people at the university. Of course, in most cases the academic people are going to be right, but we can't let anybody discourage our student-athletes with what they want to do." ** Willie Davis was instrumental in raising funds to endow a chair ( a professorship) at Grambling in Coach Robinson's honor. "Grambling's new president, Steve Favors, announced the Eddie Robinson Chair during Grambling's Founders' Day ceremony in 1998. Willie Davis had donated $100,000 and committed to raise another $500,000. The state of Louisiana will match everything. Willie Davis gave me one of the proudest moments of my life." ** "I was honored to help present Willie the Lou Gehrig Award in March of 1999. To say I am proud of Willie Davis is a major understatement. Willie is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but if there was an "American Hall of Fame," he would be one of the first people inducted."  *********** "A comment on Switzer's ability to recruit -- just heard this one yesterday.  It's a long story, but bottom line is, one of Switzer's assistants found out that a kid's dad was a huge fan of Pearl beer.  So when Switzer showed up at the house and was asked by the dad if he wanted something to drink, Switzer  quickly replied "only if you have a Pearl!" -- a master. Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** There is such a thing as being too good. It has been revealed that prior to our raid on Iraq, Arabic-speaking Americans placed calls to the private telephones of top Iraqi officials, attempting to persuade them to turn against Mr. Hussein and thereby avoid war. Problem was, the callers were so fluent in Arabic that the officials refused to believe they were Americans. The Iraqi officials said later during interrogation that they believed that the calls were actually from Mr. Hussein's secret services, part of a "loyalty test," and for fear of being arrested and tortured or even killed, they refused to go along. *********** The image of American kids playing soccer is of little blonde tykes in satin shorts popping out of minivans carrying their water jogs and soccer balls, while Mommy and Daddy carry their folding chairs. Everything is so-o-o-o-o mellow. And that's the way it goes for the little kiddies, playing on a succession of elite teams, until suddenly they are introduced to international competiton. Hoooo boy. The US under-23 team (what is so special about age 23, anyhow?) got the treatment in Guadalajara, Mexcico as a crowd of 60,000 frenzied Mexicans screamed vulgarities (one reason why it pays not to learn Spanish) and blew air horns during player introductions, whistled and booed during our National Anthem, then chanted "Osama! Osama! Osama!" throughout the match, which, by the way, the Mexicans won, 4-0. I think in soccer that's an ass-kicking. For the US team, the defeat meant there would be no place for them in this summer's Olympic Games. For most Americans, it didn't interfere with the sun rise the next day. But for Mexicans, soccer-crazed and insanely jealous and resentful of the United States, it was like a rebirth. Mexico had managed only one win and one tie in the previous seven games against the US. "Soccer is our national sport," one young Mexican said. "We cannot let the Americans beat us at our game." A friend added that anti-American chants of "Osama! Osama!" were meant mostly as a joke.. "We make fun of everything," he said. "We think the United States exaggerated its reaction about terrorism and security measures. We criticize the reasons why America goes to war." Actually, if it weren't for the "Osama!" chants, I would be stifling a big yawn about now. Our national pride, such as it is, does not depend on the outcome of sailboat races, or figure-skating, or soccer. In fact, we have even learned that we can suffer international defeats in baseball and basketball, and our nation is not diminished in the slightest. (Now, let a team of Mexicans or Russians or - aargh - Frenchmen beat the Patiots, and that would be something else entirely.) Not that young Americans attending a soccer match against Mexico would likely be any more tasteful - if any of them really cared passionately enough about the outcome of an international soccer match. As it is, though, there is no way the American fans can retaliate, because any time a Mexican team plays an American team in the US, the crowd is 90 per cent Mexican. Here's one way to even things out, the next time a Mexican team plays in the US - put out the word that the whole thing is actually an elaborate sting, and the ticket-takers are really Border Patrol agents. *********** On Tuesday, a young New York woman dropped her cellphone onto the tracks in a subway station, and was killed when she climbed down from the platform onto the tracks to retrieve it and was hit by a train. A little less than four months ago, New York subway service was disrupted when a man dropped his cellphone in the toilet of a moving train, then, in trying to to retrieve it, got his arm stuck up to the elbow in the stainless steel commode. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to free the arm. SO WHO'S GOING TO BE THE FIRST GRANDSTANDING CONGRESSMAN TO DEMAND WARNING LABELS ON CELLPHONES? *********** It is always funny to read several seemingly unrelated articles and then suddenly - Bam! - realize that there is a connection, often humorous. So there I was, reading about Cowboys' QB Chad Hutchinson heading for NFL Europe, to get a little experience. And then I read about Willie Williams, oustanding linebacker and something less than model citizen, signing with Miami despite accusations of serious misbehavior during a recruiting visit to Florida. And the subsequent discovery that the guy has been arrested 14 times since the age of 14, and he was on probation at the time of the Florida incidents, any one of which might be considered violations of the probation. And then I read about the Maurice Clarett decision, which apparently means that high school kids (and younger) are now free to sign with NFL teams without having to go through the sham of pretending to be real college students. And - BAM! - I began to make the connection. There's Willie Williams, possibly now considered persona non grata by any serious college in the United States, with no place to go but to the NFL. Maybe he's ready for the NFL, maybe not. Certainly in terms of his criminal record, he is. Probably not physically, though. But he is too good a prospect down the line. Someone will draft him. But then what to do with him? He's not ready to play in the NFL yet. He needs experience. Why, of course - why didn't I think of that? Send him to Europe! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Payback time. I mean, it's only fair, after they've harbored terrorists and sent them to our shores, that we repay them by sending them some of the finest young people we have to offer. Call it "Thugs for Terrorists!" It could actually be funny. Having spent a lot of time in Europe, I chuckle to think of the screenplay opportunities it'll create, when Williams and teenagers like him find themselves stuck in Barcelona, or Berlin, or wherever the hell else NFL Europe has teams. *********** The 76ers just fired first-year coach Randy Akers, making new head coach Chris Ford the third guy to coach the Sixers in the last 10 months. Coach Ford had better watch his back: 18 of the 29 NBA head coaches have been on the job with their present team less than a full season. *********** Coach Wyatt:  I am the Offensive Coordinator at (-----------).  First, I would like to say that it was a real pleasure to meet you in (----------). last year at your clinic.  I took so much info from that Clinic that I felt like I should have paid you more.    My question is;  I finally got our Head Coach to run the Double Wing after a lot of politicking by me.  Last week at our first coaches meeting,  I was attacked by some of the most ignorant things that I ever encountered from a "coach", a defensive coach no less.  He laughed at the whole premise of the super power.  He said that it was the dumbest thing that he ever heard of: pulling both the backside guard and tackle.  He said that he could stop that play by bltzing his Will Linebacker.  It took alot of self control to keep from smacking him in the face with my tapes.  How do you handle such ignorance.  You must have a lot of self control.  I envy you.  Just thought that I'd share that piece of garbage with you.  Hopefully, I'll be able to attend your (-----------) Clinic this year.  We are going to run threw the (-------) League this year with the Double Wing.  Thank you for all of your time and information.  I hate to say it, but the head coach needed to step in on something like that. A coaches' meeting is not the place for an attack on what another member of the staff is doing. Clearly, the guy was showing off, and he should have been put in his place, but it's not your place to do it. Abraham Lincoln once said, "it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." That guy is so ignorant that he doesn't realize what a fool he becomes when he shoots his mouth off. The Double Wing has had more than 10 years of success against far smarter coaches than that guy. In fact, I can't believe a guy that ignorant is really a coach at the high school level. If he has anything to do with running your defense, God help you if you go up against a good Double-Wing. But even worse than his ignorance is the fact that he is obviously not enough of a team player to know his place. Please feel free to show this to your head coach. If he objects, please tell him I'm sorry for him, but I'm glad that guy is not my problem. I know he has a big job to do, and I am afraid he will have a big problem down the line with a loudmouth like that on his staff. That kind of intra-staff bickering and ridicule does no one any good. (Check out the letter below from Coach Sean Murphy of Baltimore. Somebody should tell the Mississippi junior college coaches that you have a guy on your staff who has the answer to stopping the Double-Wing. Oh yes, and speaking of Coach Murphy, I spoke Thursday night with Coach Tim Murphy, from Clovis East High School, outside Fresno, California. Coach Murphy has been running the Double-Wing for six years now, and this past year, his kids went 12-1, won the Central Sectional Championship (equivalent to most state titles). And finished #23 in USA Today's final poll. Now, how dumb an offense is that? Oh - and along the way, Clovis East defeated fabled Long Beach Poly - the school that has produced more NFL players than any other. And they did it at Long Beach. Hmm. Maybe your Coach Einstein would be willing to share his brilliance with the coaches at Long Beach Poly. HW)) *********** From a coach who's applied for a head coaching job at a big school... Hugh, I had to tell you today what happened. I put the total package together for my interview when one of the coaches I used to work with came in my room to see me. He is now an administrator and he was impressed with the package until he got to the offense. He said very impressive but you will hit a roadblock with the double wing and I said why? well speaking from an administrators point of view the parents will be on them about not throwing the ball. I said you can throw the hell out of the ball with this offense, and  what's more, you are a veer man yourself. He said I am just telling what a administrator will think. They don't want to deal with it! Thought you would find some humor in that. Listen to the guy. Like it or not, he is giving you good advice. The trick is to get the job, and then you can do as you damn please. I assume that they are looking for a coach because the last one didn't win enough. Call it the Double Slot or the Flex-Wing. Show everything from slot formation. Trust me on this. Don't get down to the one-yard-line and then fumble because of what you name your offense.  *********** Like General Wesley Clark, I have no proof one way or the other whether President Bush is a deserter. But I am as sure as I can be that George W. Bush flew jets in the Texas Air National Guard, which as the Wall Street Journal writes, "is not exactly a risk-free exercize." And I am also as sure as I can be that our previous President was an out-and-out draft-dodger. Yet while John Kerrey defended Bill Clinton - "We do not need to divide America over who served and how," he said in 1992 - he has been coming very close to implying that George W. Bush took the easy way out by serving in the National Guard. I really do think that at a time when very few of our nation's leaders have had any military service at all, and at a time when National Guardsmen and reservists are being pulled from their day jobs and shipped off to Iraq, Mr. Kerry and others, nobody, no matter how desirous he may be of defeating Mr. Bush, ought to be suggesting that his service in the National Guard was akin to draft-dodging. *********** Hey Coach!  I have always held you in the highest regard, but openly bragging about a driver (like Biffle) north of the Mason-Dixon line is totally unacceptable! Have a good one! See you at one of the clinics. Jeff Murdock, Ware Shoals, South Carolina  *********** Hugh, What a coincidence - Hershel Moore. I heard him speak Saturday at the Glazier clinic in Boston. He is 77 years old and a real character. He began by saying "at 77 years young every morning I get up is a great day". He said in 2001 he fired himself for a poor coaching performance but the University hired him back because everyone else was too expensive. He spoke for a couple of hours on the Buck Sweep and ways to run it today regardless of the defense. He was chewing a ward of something during the talk and with, juice, arms, legs, and pencil going in all directions it was an entertaining and worthwhile learning experience. He has been at Cumberland for a long, long, long, time but finished by saying if he had another year like last year he would fire himself again. Imagine the Wing T knowledge that man must have and I knew he commanded some respect when Rich Ederly (sp), Carnegie -Mellon Wing -T guru and clinic speaker himself,  was there taking notes. Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine (Coach Moore may joke about doing a poor job, but at 77 he is living proof that none of us knows enough to compensate for a lack of talent. HW) *********** Coach, I wanted to pass this information on to you regarding a conversation I had with a Juco coach in Mississippi.  I have a very good junior O-Tackle, 6'-6" - 325 lbs, but he is not in great shape academically, so therefore, I'm trying to get info on for some strong Juco programs.  I came across Holmes Junior college in Mississippi, as it turns out they are a Double Wing Team, and have had a great deal of success running the offense.  I spoke to one of the asst. coaches, he said the offense is a "Bitch" to stop.  They won the Mississippi Juco State Championship two years ago.  He said in one game they ran power 25 times in a row, the defense was clueless.  The coach was laughing because other Mississippi Juco coaches called their offense a JV/Rec offense, he said, "they can call it what they want, but we have the hardware in our trophy case". Hope all is well with you and your family, look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia.  Sean Murphy, Archbishop Curley HS, Baltimore, Maryland (Damn! Why doesn't somebody tell the guys at Holmes JC that the Double Wing won't work? HW) *********** Coach Wyatt, I was just reading your 'News' section and wanted you to feel free to drop Rick Davis a line to let him know that Gorham will be running the Double Wing as long as I am here.    We are also a lot closer to Mass. than Jack & Tim are in Boothbay.  We finished last season at 8-3 and a loss to a good team from Belfast.   We lost ONE senior (Center) so I am looking forward to next season.  We have also had another school add football so we will be playing Poland High School next fall in a varsity football game.  Its amazing the numbers of schools in this state that are adding football.  I will be playing three teams next fall that are within the two year period of class  B football.   I can't get over this even though we are going into our fourth year of class B football.   I hope to make it down to Providence but I need to reschedule some things. I hear that Jack Tourtillotte is planning on speaking about passing within the DW.  One area  that I think will make us a more dangerous team next fall.  It is my goal to have at least three rushers with over 1000 yards and a QB throw for more than 1000 yards. Take Care, Dave Kilborn, Gorham, Maine *********** I wanted to get some computer advice from you.  I'm looking into buying a Mac powerbook.  My main purpose is for the editing program.  Could you please give me some information on what would be needed/wanted to do the job right (hard drive, external hard drive, ram, etc..).  I'm not worried about the cost.  I understand it will probably be high. At the present time I am looking at buying a newer G4 Powerbook than the one I have had for the last couple of years. I have nothing but good to say about it. The one with the 15" screen retails for $2595. The one with the 17" screen - it is huge - retails for $2995. They have everything I will need, so I assume they'll work for you, too. They are plenty fast enough, and they both have 512mb of RAM - for $150 or less, your Apple seller will be able to install another 512. It's worth it. They both have 80 gigabyte hard drives, so it would be a while before you'd need an extrernal hard drive (I need to use external drives now because my current Powerbook has only 20 gigabytes). But even if you do need one, prices are really coming down - you can get a good 120 gb external hard drive (made by LaCie) for $199. They both have SuperDrives, which read and write CDs and DVDs. And both come with iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto and iDVD - they're only available for Macs. If you have a digital camera, you could hook it up to your Powerbook with FireWire and be up and editing in less than half an hour. Apple stuff is expensive, but it kicks ass. *********** Coach Wyatt, Read the news and agree wholeheartedly with the coaches who believe football is the last bastion for high school males.  I am surely glad that there are coaches who understand this and teach the old values of  hardwork, dedication, and team work.  As an old line dog myself and a line coach for over 30 years, that is what I have always truly believed.  To be a great offensive lineman attention to detail and trying to be perfect in every move you make is what it is all about.  As far as high school players going to the pros, there in my opinion will never be an offensive lineman who makes that jump.  Besides the physical disparity the mechanics of being an offensive lineman are lacking in the high school football player.  I was told at a clinic once by the 49ers great line coach Bobb McKittrick that it took 10,000 blocks by an O lineman to become profecient.  If you work that out that means that you start to get it right about your third year in the Pros if you consider 4 years of high school and 4 years of college.  He told me this back in the days when you couldn't use your hands and shoulder blocking was still the methodology, so maybe things have changed now but I still believe in the old ways that technique is everything and you must practice, practice, practice and no matter how good you have become you can always get better. Keep the faith and keep up the great work. The old line coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California (You and Coach McKittrick are right, of course - excepting probably quarterback, offensive line is the last place you'll ever see a kid make the jump from HS to the pros. Push-blocking or not. HW) *********** Sam Knopik, head coach at Pembroke Hill School, a private day school in Kansas City, needs a game October 8. Pembroke Hill has been shifted to another league, leaving him with an open date smack in the heart of the schedule. He says that he'll be happy to host a team from almost anywhere, and he's willing to travel. He's serious - Pembroke Hill is already scheduled to play a game in St. Louis, and they've gone as far as Tulsa. Pembroke Hill has 350 kids (9-12) and has been very competitive in its class. Sam runs a class operation. If you're interested, give Sam a call at his office - 816-936-1529. (We pronounce the first "K" in Sam's name - "kin-NOPP-ik")  A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  February 10, 2004 -    "Prayer in the American stadium is not an issue that will fade gently away." Frank DeFord   FIRST 2004 CLINIC SCHEDULED - ATLANTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   *********** HEY THERE! As you may know, I use the Mac OS, which - so far - is unaffected by most viruses. But it is possible that one of these attack programs has grabbed my address and is sending sh-- to all sorts of people I don't even know. We all need to be careful about what we open. So--- to anybody out there who sends and receives e-mail --- if by some chance you appear to have received e-mail from me with an attachment, DON'T OPEN IT. Trust me - If I am sending you an attachment, I will give you advance notice. Likewise, if you send me an attachment unsolicited, I am not going to open it unless you give me advance notice. A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY. Of all the great players from the great Packers' teams, he was one of the very greatest. And of all the great players turned out by Eddie Robinson in Grambling's heyday, he was also one of the very greatest. And when his football career was over, he embarked upon a career in business that was every bit as successful Born in rural Louisiana, he attended high school in Texarkana, Arkansas, and played college football at Grambling, under the great Coach Rob. But despite being a Black College All-American (to show how lowly-regarded black college football was at the time) he wasn't drafted until the 15th round by the Cleveland Browns in 1956. He missed the 1956 and 1957 seasons, serving in the Army and playing service football, but on his return he earned a spot on the Browns' roster, then played two years for Cleveland before being traded to Green Bay for a player named A. D. Williams. At Green Bay, Vince Lombardi instantly saw his pass-rushing potential and made him a fixture on his defensive line. As a standout member of the Packers' defense for the next 10 years, he played in the NFL title game in his first season with Green Bay, and in five of the next seven seasons. He also played on the first two Super Bowl championship teams (even though the game was not then called the Super Bowl). And (back when the game really meant something) he played in five Pro Bowl games. In his 12-year pro career, from 1958 through 1969, he didn't miss a game - 162 consecutive games in all. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.. But he always had an eye on something bigger than football. During his two years in Cleveland, he taught high school classes in the off-season. In 1967, he was given the Byron White Award, named for the late pro football player who became a Supreme Court justice, and given to the athlete contributing most to his country, his community and his team. In 1968, he received an MBA from the University of Chicago, while joining the Schlitz Brewing Company's marketing training program. After retirement from pro football in 1969, he devoted full-time to business, which for 18 years meant ownership of West Coast Beverage, a Los Angeles-based beer distributorship, as well as interests in radio stations. He currently serves as president of All-Pro Broadcasting, Inc. He was elected in 1994 to the Green Bay Packers' Board of Directors, and in 1998 to the Marquette University board of trustees. He also serves on the board of trustees of the University of Chicago. No one can call him a shirker: he serves on the board of directors for the Sara Lee Corp., Dow Chemical Co., MGM, Inc., Alliance Bank, Johnson Controls, Inc., Bassett Furniture, Strong Funds, Wisconsin Energy Corp., Manpower, Inc., and MGM Grand Inc. Guess who the mystery man is - e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com. To receive credit, please include your full name and where you're writing from. NOTE: In the interest of time, I will not respond to tell you that your answer is correct. If you do not receive a reply, you may assume that your answer is correct. *********** Coach, You and the numerous writers to your column are absolutely correct about the half-time mess and all of the far reaching problems.  However, this incident is getting all of the attention for a problem that has existed for years.  I don't know if you have ever watched the sitcom "Friends" or the many shows like it which fill prime time slots, but they are laced with references to sex (of any kind).  While they may not show a bare breast, there are numerous references which are just as distasteful.  Yesterday my wife was home from work all day and spent some time watching Black Entertainment Television.  She told me when I got home that we need to block that channel from our reception because it is all about sex.  While she is right, I told her that we need to block "Friends" and all the other shows just like it as well.  Our society has allowed a slow degradation of our moral standards through the media over the last 20 years, and the problem has crept into every area of our lives.  I hope it isn't too late for the good people of our country who wish to re-establish a moral base to take a stand, but I fear we may have allowed this mess to continue to the point that those of us with high moral standards are now the minority.  I think what we have to do is control what we can - our homes, our football teams, our classrooms.  We need to take time to tell kids what is right and wrong and teach them not to be afraid to stand up for what is right.  The first team rule that we have on our football team is very simple - DO THE RIGHT THING.  And we expect our players to follow this rule in every area of their lives. I know that God blessed each of us with a conscience, so it really isn't that difficult to get young people to understand the difference between right and wrong.  Everyone knows what is right or wrong.  I tell kids all the time, "If you have to wonder wether what you are about to do is right or wrong, it is wrong.  Don't do it."  We just need enough influential adults to stand up for what is right and speak out against what is wrong.  We must model what is appropriate if we want our young people to develop high morals. As a coach, I am constantly aware of my public persona.  I don't want anything that I do or say to lead my players in the wrong direction.  We are in a battle, and we must act with integrity in all that we do.  What an incredible responsibility we are faced with.  I am trying hard not to give too much attention to the half-time debacle.  Instead, I hope to draw attention away from the negative and get young people to focus on the positives - two teams who played with great determination, dedication, team work, etc.  The battle can be won, but it will take a steadfast approach...kind of like calling TIGHT RIP 88 SUPER POWER over and over...just keep at it...don't waver...do the right thing again and again.  God bless you, Coach.  Keep getting the word out, taking a stand against the wrong things, and focusing on doing the right thing. Greg Koenig, Las Animas, Colorado Well-reasoned and well-written. You are right that our first duty is to "build the moat" and protect our own families. But then we have to have the courage to do battle with the barbarians outside the gates. What we are seeing is the result of years and years or permissiveness, years and years of non-judgmentalism ("who are we to judge?"), and years and years of cowardly surrender by parents and teachers to this Cult of the Child. When parents fear their children and never say "no" to them, what kind of adults can we expect those children to grow up to be? Answer: Exactly the ones we see at NFL games, and exactly the ones that the NFL broadcasts, and ads, and halftimes are aimed at. It's not enough just to build walls around our castles - we have to have the courage to go outside the walls and take on the enemy and wipe them out. "Onward Christian Soldiers" might ordinarily be an appropriate theme, except that we don't want to exclude American Jews and Muslims. It's their fight, too. *********** Coach, It wasn't a good week to be a conservative in Massachusetts. We've just bought a bigger house in the same town that is walking distance from the schools......otherwise, I would have given serious consideration to moving. I'm from Maine and have dropped a few hints to my wife in the last couple of months...."how about Boothbay Harbor? It's lovely there".....thinking in the back of my mind how great it would be for my son to play on a double-wing team. I have an open mind about music, but the entertainment during halftime at the Super Bowl was horrendous. Let's think this one through.....the game is in Houston...I'm not necessarily a big country music fan, but how about a couple of good country entertainers...Tobi Keith, etc.....Something the majority of people could enjoy and not worry about seeing grinding pelvises or having something bizarre happening. They just don't get it. See you in April. Rick Davis, Duxbury, Massachusetts *********** Hi Coach, While I'm a fairly big advocate for free speech and free expression, I do believe there is a time and a place for everything and halftime of the Super Bowl is not the time or the place the sort of display that occured this year. As you said in the letter the NFL commissioner should have written, if you want to see something like that, watch MTV. What's really sad about this is that as much as we're all ripping the NFL, MTV, CBS, etc. for this, the very fact that we're all talking about this probably means the show was a success. Say what you will about MTV, but when it comes to making sure that something happens that is The Thing That Everyone Talks About The Next Day, nobody does it better. Just look at the awards show the network puts on every year around Labor Day. I can't for the life of me remember who won what award (I've never actually watched the show, not even once) but I remember hearing about Andrew Dice Clay's monologue in 1989, they "protest" by the guy from Rage Against the Machine a few years ago and of course, Madonna and Britney Spears last year. I swear stunts like those are the whole reason for that show. Like you, I wish the game could just stand on its own. Line them up, play the game, no BS, just football, but of course the networks have to squeeze out every possible dollar and I've also come to think that all the sizzle, the excessive pregame and postgame shows, the entertainers, the ads, the promos for other network shows, is how people in this culture know that an event is a big deal. By the way, what did you think of that direct snap on the Patriots' two-point conversion? Have a good weekend, Steve Tobey, Malden, Massachusetts You are spot on with the observation that the bottom line for those people is - "are they watching?"  But I do think that this time they went too far in their lust for numbers and ratings. I really think that the NFL people in charge of the halftime show really believed that MTV was the way to get the young people to watch football, except that they didn't understand that a lot of the people who gravitate to MTV and the like do so because they don't want anything to do with football. But also, a lot of the people who watch football want nothing to do with MTV and the culture it represents, and when you import it into a football game, you are running certain risks. For them, a halftime show featuring professional entertainers is out of place - the reaction is "what the hell are they doing out there?" - but under most conditions they grit their teeth and get through it. But when it combines the arrogance and sexual ugliness of hip-hop, disrespect for the the American flag and public lewdness, it is like waving a red flag in front of them. Until now, few of us have spoken publicly about the way entertainers reflect the coarsening of our culture. I think many people have been afraid to speak out against rap/hip-hop for fear of being labelled racist, and knowing that they operate under the protection of a misguided racial tolerance, rappers have been given a license to vocalize all manner of filth and degradation, and what is worse, a legitimacy that enables their crude acts to penetrate the mainstream. Racist? I hardly think so. The Reverend Al Sharpton is one of the most vocal critics of rap. I think the biggest thing that could come out of the Super Bowl incident could be the emboldening of those Americans who still know what right is to speak out for what's right. As for going for the last dime on the table - at some point the NFL is going to have to wake up. I don't see how it can condemn a fictitious show on ESPN while continuining to do business as usual. Direct snap? Cool. Not for nothing does Bill Belichick have an extensive library of old football books. HW *********** Not that our corner of the country is NASCAR nuts, exactly, but I do have to brag about a local kid, Greg Biffle, from Vancouver, Washington, who won the pole for Sunday's Daytona 500. I heard him interviewed on the radio and damned if he isn't starting to drawl a little. *********** Coach, Good evening.  Hope all is well with you and your family.  I wanted to see if you caught last night's ESPN "Top 10" NFL Playoff Highlights?  If so, you saw that numbers 2-9 were passes, runs and great defensive plays....and the number 1 highlight?  A keeker from New England, Vinatieri (sp?) I believe....making a game winning field goal!  Of all the games played in the playoffs, they pick that.  That and the halftime show just shows that this world is skewed.  Next we'll see soccer top ten lists...sheesh.  Take care. Coach Marvin Garcia, NMYAFL Monarch Sophomores, Albuquerque, New Mexico (Coach- did you say the world is "skewed?" Shouldn't there be an "r" in there?" HW) *********** Hi Coach, I plucked this off a BBQ forum I frequent. In that you & I both have the Q bug, I thought you would get a kick outta this: "Barry Switzer got Keith Jackson to come to Oklahoma by sitting in the kitchen for 2 hours talking to his mother about cracklin' bread and exchanging cornbread recipes. Keith said he sat in the living room watching them in the kitchen and Switzer never said anything to him about football. When he left Keith's momma said "If you don't go to Arkansas, Oklahoma's your only other choice!" Switzer LOVES to talk about cornbread!" Now, to get a tight end like Jackson, that MUST have been one helluva recipe! Todd Bross, Sharon, Pennsylvania (The man could flat recruit. I am told that he used to tell his top recruits to make sure to watch nationally-televised games, and then at halftime, he'd turn the coaching over to his assistants while one by one he called the recruits to chat 'em up about what was going on and what to look for in the second half. HW) *********** In view of the NFL's attempt to appeal to the "younger audience" by giving them a halftime of the MTV stuff that they're addicted to, I thought it might be useful to draw on the wisdom or Professor James Covert. Some 25 years ago, while studying for my Master's Degree at the University of Portland, I took a course in World History taught by Professor Covert. The guy was something of a legend at the U of P, and he was really good. I had majored in history at Yale and there I'd had classes taught by some of the best men in their field, but as a teacher, Professor Covert was their equal. One lesson really left an impression on me, and I I transferred the gist of it to a note card, which for years, I've kept on an index card, pinned to a bookcase for ready reference.( In parentheses, I've suggested parallels in our decadent culture.) THE CAUSES OF THE FALL OF ROME 1. COST OF GLADIATORIAL GAMES (TAXPAYERS BUILD STADIUMS, WHILE SCHOOLS GO UNDERFUNDED) 2. HIRED ARMIES, RATHER THAN CITIZEN ARMIES (DON'T SERVE YOUR COUNTRY - HIRE AN ARMY OF ONE TO DO IT FOR YOU.) 3. POPULATION PRESSURES FROM OUTSIDE (PRESIDENT BUSH HAS A GREAT SCHEME TO GRANT AMNESTY TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. NEED I SAY MORE?) 4. GOVERNMENTAL CORRUPTION (THE LINCOLN BEDROOM? YOU CAN SLEEP THERE FOR ONLY $10,000. WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY? THE CHINESE NEED HELP LAUNCHING SATELLITES INTO SPACE?) *********** Coach, after Wedge, 3 trap at 2, and the G plays, with a horse at fullback should I put in a another play for him? No.   *********** Vote your shares. That's what Red Hipp used to say. Red was the majority owner of the minor league football team I ran and coached in Hagerstown, Maryland. He'd managed to spread his risk a bit by selling shares in the club to assorted local businessmen, but he retained majority control. And on those few occasions when there would be grumbling among the minority shareholders about the way things were being run, Red would always close out the discussion by saying, very bluntly, "Vote your shares." By that he meant that they could squawk all they liked, but it wasn't going to do them any good, because he had them outvoted. I'm reminded of that when I think of that feminist witch, Martha Burk, who keeps pressing, with the help of the ever-cooperative liberal news media, for a change in Augusta National Golf Club's male-only membership policy. With the Masters coming up again, Burk's b-a-a-a-a-ck. A survey commissioned by the Club showed that 70 per cent of the people in the United States - evidently aware that if Augusta National has to admit women, then Kappa Kappa Gamma and other college sororities will one day have to admit men - support the right of a private club to admit members as it chooses. Burk, like all feminists, claims to speak for women, but as has been proven over and over, that claim is bogus. The majority of women in the United States do not identify with "women" like Burk. Let's hope not, anyhow - just to show what a nut she is, in a 1997 article in Ms. Magazine entitled 'The Sperm Stops Here", she wrote, "So how do we control men's fertility? Mandatory contraception beginning at puberty, with the rule relaxed only for procreation under the right circumstances (he can afford it and has a willing partner) and for the right reasons (determined by a panel of experts, and with the permission of his designated female partner). This could be easily accomplished with a masculine version of the contraceptive implants some judges are now trying to force on some women by court order." This is the person who was given given all that newspaper space so she could chop up a bunch of rich guys who just want to get away and play golf with other rich guys, and can afford to belong to a club that doesn't have any female members. I would say to her, "it's 70-30, Butch. Vote your shares." *********** Whoever sent me this really got ripped off by that typing (or spelling) class they took. "The only proven metehod to enheance the gizrth and lenfght of your peonis!"  *********** Jim Chones was a decent basketball player, a 6-11 center who played two years for Al McGuire at Marquette, then signed with the New York Nets of the ABA. He had some sucess as a pro, but nothing to compare with the success he and his wife, Elores, have had as parents. At the present time, the Choneses have four kids playing college basketball - a daughter and three sons. The daughter, Kaayla, is a senior at N. C. State. The sons, Kameron, Kendall and Kyle - triplets - are freshmen, Kameron at Brown and Kendall and Kyle at Colgate. An older daughter, Kareeda, played for Marquette and now works for the Milwaukee Bucks. Jim Chones knows the importance of a father and a mother in a kid's life - he lost his father while he was in high school, leaving his mother to raise him and five younger children. Now an executive with a Cleveland construction company, Chones - and his wife - can take justifiable pride in the accomplishments of their children. "This is a dream come true," Dad Chones told USA Today. "When I was growing up, athletes were always known as dumb jocks, and you fight that stigma your entire life. We wanted to be sure wherever our kids went, they don't just graduate, but earn a degree from a school than means something." *********** It will be interesting to see how the Maurice Clarett decision turns out, assuming that the NFL loses on appeal. I really don't see kids going from high school to the NFL, and certainly not making any impact, in anywhere close to the way they've done in the NBA. Pro football's physical maturity requirements being what they are (and the fact - you will have to admit - that for the most part football requires more brains and discipline than basketball or baseball), it is unusual enough for a "true freshman" to make a contribution at the college level - much less stand out to a degree that anyone could realistically project him as a pro. It is hard to believe that such a kid could go from a high school playoff game to an NFL camp in seven months. Clarett is the one at issue here, but people forget that long before he showed character and scholarship deficiencies, he was having durability problems as a college freshman. Playing tailback at Ohio State is a high-profile, high-risk proposition, but it can't compare to playing running back in the NFL. I don't see the NFL tying up much salary cap money signing kids right out of high school and sitting them on the bench for two or three years the way the NBA does. In fact, I can't imagine NFL personnel people, who are notoriously inaccurate with their projections after having seen guys play college ball for three or four years, sticking their necks out to draft many high school kids. It's not so easy projecting the value of a football player - there is no instance of high school football players playing in pickup games with pros, as is often the case with high school basketball players who show pro potential. The reality is a lot different from the nightmare vision of kids flocking to the pros. Rather than going straight to the pros, most college freshman spend a red-shirt year during which they learn the system and mature, both mentally and physically. In fact, there is a growing trend among many high school players to spend an extra year at a prep school to better prepare for the jump to college. I do see it becoming a problem with guys dropping out of college after their first or second years. And I do see a problem with the sort of kids we see more and more of these days, kids whose self-assessment of their own pro potential is at variance with the facts. They will be happy to take a couple of hundred bucks from the neighborhood Pro Pimp, the street agent who's getting a head start at building his stable. That kind of money goes a long way when you're a high school junior. College recruiting, whorish at it already is, will have a new cast of characters at play. High school kids will be recruited as hard by agents as by college coaches. And I see a huge problem for colleges, having to deal with players who've been relentlessly hounded by agents from the time they were juniors in high school. The NCAA is going to go nuts checking out cases cases where kids are offered "items of value" while still in high school. Who knows? Maybe there's a college coach out there somewhere who will throw in with one of these sleazy street agents. You don't suppose there's really a college coach anywhere who would do that, do you? *********** Coach, My name is Brady Stone and I have coached football for 14 years. I enjoyed your articles on soccer and its net effects on our society and I totally agree. Young men are not only being emasculated by soccer but school as well. Teachers let the students decide what grade they want, or they grade each others' papers, or they do a community project and receive pass or fail notices but no standard grading form of education exists. They have taken competition out of the schools so that the losers will feel better about themselves and not kill there classmates. Society is in a shambles and it stems from the down fall of public education. When liberal teachers took the competition out of schools. You know the ones- They hate football and believe that its violence is what creates rape and battery towards women. Tree hugging flakes. I am most certainly not a Republican- I am a Democrat and the left liberals of that party need to be ousted before they destroy America. I believe in a strong military and A's and B's. Moderate Democrats and Republicans need to take back their Parties and oust radicals before their polarization pulls this country apart. Football is the remaining fabric that is holding our society together and I truly believe that. Keep on keeping on, Brady Stone, Miles City, Montana.  *********** Who's a fella to believe? The woman who accused as many as six St. Johns' basketball players of raping her was actually a prostitute, who decided to take dire action when she wasn't paid. And the woman who claims she was paid to have sex with University of Colorado recruits has been called "not believable," and may have been a mere adventuress. *********** I was deeply saddened to watch an ESPN special on John Mackey, a pro football pioneer as a blocking tight end who was also a deep threat, and a labor activist who served as the first president of the NFL Players' Association. Although he is physically quite strong and close to his playing weight, he now suffers from a form of dementia somewhat like Alzheimer's in its effects. It attacks most recent memory first, so as a result he recognizes people and lives an active life but has virtually no short-term memory. He is fortunate to have his wife of more than 40 years, Sylvia, to care for him, but she had to go back to work as a flight attendant to help pay bills, which means he is sometimes alone for two or three days at a time. Other than what Mrs. Mackey earn, there is only his NFL pension. At the time he was playing, it looked as if he'd be set for life. Now, at today's prices, $2,000 is not enough for them to live comfortably on. *********** "I just spent this past weekend attending the Pemco Clinic in Seattle. The new hot topic and thing to do in 2004 is running Jet or Fly motion from a wing position. If you're in California it's called Fly, and if you're in Washington it's called Jet, is what I'm told. We've had that in our offense since 2000 calling it Rocket or Laser motion as found in your play book, and had success in certain situations. All the Wing T guys were packing the room to hear at least five coaches speak on the subject. "I look so forward to attending your clinic every year and being with coaches who run the II Wing. You really are a teacher and coach. Many of these clinic guys are great at coachspeak, but don't teach much." Glade Hall, Seattle I appreciate the compliments. I will concede that lots of other guys may be better coaches, but I'll go up against any of them as a teacher, perhaps because I've spent so much time having to teach all manner of things other than football. Guys who work in small high schools will understand - much of my teaching/coaching career has been spent in small high schools, where you're often asked to teach a wide variety of subjects (you wouldn't believe some of the courses I've been asked to teach) to a wide variety of kids, covering the full range of age group and ability, from eighth graders to seniors, from college prep to remedial. "Fly" is actually specific to an offensive system which is fairly popular in California. "Jet" seems to be more common in most other places, originating, as far as I can tell, with a coach at Cumberland University in Tennessee named Hershel Moore. He does all sorts of stuff with it. In fact, although it appears that it's finally caught the attention of mainstream Wing-T guys, coaches back in Kentucky and Tennessee have been running this stuff in their Wing-T offenses for a long time - even longer than us . I think that the mass media first "discovered"when Steve Spurrier ran it at Florida. That's usually the way it goes - nothing really happens until it's "discovered" by the numbnuts on network TV. *********** The article sent me by Christopher Anderson started out, "ZAPOPAN, Mexico - The Mexican crowd hooted "The Star-Spangled Banner." It booed U.S. goals. It chanted "Osama! Osama! Osama!" as U.S. players left the field with a 2-0 victory. And that was in a game against Canada on Thursday before just 1,500 people." Can't say I get too excited about people booing us. I mean, we started it all with our obnoxious chants of "USA! USA! USA!" The "Osama" crap enrages me, of course, especially considering the way we prop up their economy by (1) refusing to enforce our borders and our immigration laws; (2) providing jobs for Mexican nationals willing to work for the kind of wages that won't attract Americans; (3) paying wages to illegals that are wired right back to Mexico; (4) assuming the burden of providing medical services and education for illegals, who are rightly the responsibility of the government of Mexico; (5) sending Mexico the factory jobs that used to be the backbone of our economy. Wait - you say that's what my own President, a Republican, seems to favor? Never mind. I don't want to complain too loudly or the next thing you know someone (maybe Kerry - he's a soccer player) will suggest that a nation with a weak soccer team is a nation at risk, and we'll wind up making soccer the National Sport and committing a billion dollars to a War or Soccer Mediocrity. *********** Wrote a correspondent to the New York Times - "basically I point the finger at Paul Tagliabue. Yeah, some of it can be traced to [former Commissioner] Rozelle, but the infusion of pop smarm skyrocketed under Tagliabue. The kickoff party at Times Square or the Washington Mall. The completely bizarre halftime shows at the N.F.C. and A.F.C. Championships -- i.e. Sheryl Crow performing a few years ago at the Steelers-Pats game; Ja Rule and Ashanti at the Eagles-Bucs game, etc. The Super Bowl pregame concerts, the halftime show and the postgame concerts (which mercifully, I think they did away with this year). I think Tagliabue is obsessed with synergy (the melding of entertainment and sport) and turning the sport into a spectacle." *********** I took your advice and attended some local H.S. coaching clinics -- great group of guys, these H.S. coaches.  Met some super folks who gave me their email addresses, numbers, etc. and invited me to come by anytime, sit and join them for pre-season internal coaching clinics, chalk sessions, tape breakdown and also offered to provide me training tapes for free of their own internal drills (O-line, Receivers, QB development and Defense) as well as in-season and spring practice for help with tips, drills and adaptation of some of their defensive schemes for simplified use at the youth level.  They all agreed the DW was a great choice for the kids as well.  These were also guys that either won or were runners up in the past 3-4 years at the 5-A and 4-A level in TX and were really willing to share their knowledge.  I'll be well-armed after I attend one of your DW clinics this spring when August and next fall comes around. Key learning point from the clinic - As for selfless play (why special teams are not breathers for the starters) and why we can never stop teaching it to our kids in this day and age especially, one coach highlighted where one of his kids, not a super fast kid either he said, "Got his full scholarship right here on these two special teams plays - [ran the video] - he went straight downfield, busted up the kickoff wedge, broke down and I emphasize here [tape pause, rewind, replay] - watch him break down and not blow by the runner with out of control speed - he breaks down in a good tackle fit position, made the runner break down, and he made the tackle.  Twice.  Got a full ride right then and there."  Not a bad days work, getting a college education and all, and that kid (and his parents) have a Coach to thank for teaching him something about playing hard, every down, every play... Finally, I'd also like to repay them and show my appreciation for those Coaches who invited and will allow me to observe and learn from their teams (I don't think a case of an adult beverage would be appropriate, although I'm sure they would appreciate it) -- any suggestions on how I can give back to them since I don't have as  much to offer as I'm a 9-10 year old level coach?  Certificate of Appreciation?  Case of soft drinks?  A classic football coaching book, or rare hard to find 'artifact' of the single-wing era?  Something useful to their coaching needs - any other ideas?  What would a Coach like yourself find useful that they don't already have?  Thanks again, Coach - see you soon at an upcoming DW Clinic (when I iron out my travel plans!) Mark Bergen, Keller, Texas (I know for sure that a letter to a coach's boss - probably his principal, because in Texas, most 4-A/5-A coaches are the AD's - would be a nice touch. In this day and age of instant communication and e-mail, not enough people take the time to write an actual letter. Beyond that, I'm not sure what you could give them that they don't have, but I bet a tub full of iced-down soft drinks, delivered at the end of a hot practice, would be appreciated. I remember one time taking a cold case of beer into the U of Oregon coaches' locker room after one spring practice session. It went fast. HW) *********** Knowing your aversion to "keekers"......what about this one...??? Let's go back to the old "drop kick".    I happened to be showing the JV kids at Rich Central, they'de never seen anything like it.  After knocking through a couple of 30 yarders, I let them have a wing at it.   After a few "shanks" they gave up.  Talk about a lost art. And for good ole "papa bear....apparently his legacy continues to this day on the Chicago Bears sidelines.  In the last week or so I've seen Superbowlers Todd Sauerbraun and Ted Washington ripping how the Bears treated them while in Chicago.  Alot of ill-feelings from players throughout the league that once played for the hapless Bears.  Throughout the playoffs I saw former Bears that stoodout...that were pretty much ignored in the Bears grand scheme of things.   As a Bears fan I'm used to it. I don't know what the fans around the country know of this program.....but maybe it's time to hire a few youth coaches....let em run Wing-T and have at it that way.   It certainly would be more entertaining than what I've seen from the Bears in the last 10 years.   And I KNOW they'd be able to manage the clock better. Rgds, John Urbaniak, Hanover Park Illinois (When they streamlined the ball to help the passers, they made it too pointy for a drop-kicker to get a consistent bounce. Come to think of it, though, maybe that's all the more reason to bring it back. HW)   A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  February 6, 2004 -    "It's the standard that you can do whatever you want to and if you apologize the next day, it's okay." Michael Powell, head of the FCC (and General Colin Powell's son).   FIRST 2004 CLINIC SCHEDULED - ATLANTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: George Blanda was a true iron man - he played pro football in four different decades, starting in 1949 and retiring after the 1975 season. He's shown at left in the uniform of the Chicago Bears, with whom he spent 10 seasons; in the middle photo, the Houston Oilers, with whom he spent seven seasons; in the photo at right, the Raiders, the team from which he finally retired, just weeks shy of his 49th birthday, after nine years in Oakland. With one year off in 1959, that's 26 years of professional football. He's also one of the very first in the long line of professional quarterbacks - Parilli, Unitas, Namath, Kelly, Marino, Montana, among others - spawned in Western Pennsylvania. In his 26-year pro football career, he threw for 26,920 yards - 1,000 yards a year. Blanda was also an excellent place kicker - straight-on. He once kicked 201 consecutive extra points, and is the only player to have scored more than 500 points for three different clubs. A coal miner's son from Youngwood, PA, he was one of four football-playing brothers. He played college ball at Kentucky, where his coach his junior and senior years was Bear Bryant. But Kentucky won only seven games in his three years. His college career was unexceptional, and he was drafted 12th by the Chicago Bears. He spent 10 years with the Bears, enjoying only sporadic success ("I didn't have much fun," he said, in summarizing years there), and after the 1958 season, he retired. He sat out the 1959 season, then signed with Houston when the American Football League started up. With him at quarterback, the Oilers won the AFL title its first two years. Blanda led the AFL in passing in 1961, and was the United Press International and Sporting News AFL Player of the Year. He threw for 3,330 yards and his 36 touchdown passes stood as the professional record for 23 years (until Dan Marino broke it in 1984). He was Houston's leading scorer and passer for all seven years of his stay there. In 1967, at the ripe old age of 39, he was traded to the Oakland Raiders, and, although seemingly at the end of the line, played nine more years for them. He scored more than 100 points in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 seasons, and from 1967 through 1971 he kicked 201 straight extra points without a miss. In 1970, at the age of 43, for his heroics in relief of injured starter Daryle Lamonica, he was the AFC Player of the Year. George Blanda was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981, the first year he became eligible. Guess who the mystery man is - e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com. To receive credit, please include your full name and where you're writing from. NOTE: In the interest of time, I will not respond to tell you that your answer is correct. If you do not receive a reply, you may assume that your answer is correct. CORRECTLY IDENTIFYING GEORGE BLANDA: John Muckian- Lynn, Massachusetts... Joe Daniels- Sacramento... Steve Smith- Middlesboro, Kentucky... Adam Wesoloski- Pulaski, Wisconsin... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois ("It's appropriate that you should include a minor Houston legend as this week's legacy question.  Now that I'm about to complete my 5th decade on this planet, I really appreciate what George Blanda did to play effective football late in his career.  He still inspires us who were young then but gracefully aging now.")... Mike Benton- Colfax, Illinois ("He was my grandfather's favorite player because he played well into his 40's.")... John Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... Dave Livingstone- Troy, Michigan ("George Blanda is your man.  Amazing, in his early to mid thirties when most of the lucky players are winding down their careers, he was just starting his.")... Glade Hall, Seattle ("I used to wait all day for the late game to come on tv so I could watch those AFL games. George Blanda played football, period. He always made something happen. Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis used to do the play by play and always loved it when Blanda would trot out on the field late in the game.")... Brad Elliott- Soquel, California ("When he was kicking all those last minute field goals for the Raiders and winning games with last minute heroics, that was really exciting.  But the story I love is the one when they cut him from the team.  He was so mad that he marched right into the locker room, tore it up and stormed out without saying goodbye to anyone.  He still thought he was better than all the other Raiders.  John Madden says that if you called him up today, he still believes that he is better than half the quarterbacks that are starting in the NFL and that he could still play.  He is a physical fitness nut.  George was and is a very unique individual and I love that kind of player and person.")... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa... Joe Gutilla- Minneapolis ("That's George Blanda of course!  I remember the year he stepped in at QB for the Raiders.  I know I'm getting old, but was it an injured Lamonica or Stabler he replaced?")... Ross Woody- Vallejo, California ("One of my favorite Raider players from the past.")... Roy Lamberton- Guilford, Connecticut ("Though I was 11 when he retired I thoroughly enjoyed watching George and his Raider teammates.  As you said, a true 'iron man.'")... Armando Castro- Roanoke, Virginia (" Don't get many Coach, But I got this one. That man would've played football for lunch money. He always seemed like he truly loved the game.")... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky ("Hugh; Too easy this week!  I enjoyed watching him play for the Houston Oilers.  Those early teams were fun to watch and they played very good football.  George's  early success was what helped propel the AFL as strong competition to the NFL.  I thought the AFL at that time played more interesting football.  My dad and I watched every Sunday afternoon on NBC.")... John Reardon- Peru, Illinois... Alan Goodwin- Warwick, Rhode Island... Steve Staker- Fredereicksburg, Iowa... Mike Foristiere- Boise, Idaho... Mike O'Donnell- Pine City, Minnesota... Greg Koenig- Las Animas, Colorado... Sam Knopik- Kansas City, Missouri... Don Capaldo- Keokuk, Iowa... Ronald Singer- Toronto... Matt Ratel- Tonawanda, New York... John Urbaniak- Hanover Park, Illinois ("Gotta love those straight on kickers.  And it doesn't surprise me he didn't have a good time while in Chicago. See ya at the clinic.")... Daniel Anderson- MIllersville, Maryland... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... *********** New Raiders' coach Norv Turner talked about being a kid, growing up as a Raiders' fan in Martinez, California. "In the streets, I was Daryle Lamonica many times. When my arm got tired, I was George Blanda." *********** Blanda was in all the football books in our old public library here in Middlesboro.  I used to ride my bike there every Saturday and go through every football book I could find.  Most were pretty laughable but some were pretty good.  My favorite was "Born to Run," by Jim Kiick (sp?) and Larry Csonka, which chronicled their days in the NFL (unlike Ms. Jackson, it revealed what it needed to but left a lot for the imagination!) Perhaps one day you might ask your readers to list their top 5 or 10 Football books with a short "why" thrown in for each. I've read quite a few, but am always looking for my next good read. Steve Smith, Middlesboro, Kentucky  *********** Despite the Patriots' Super Bowl win, it's been a tough week for the folks of Massachusetts. First, the Pats' great accomplishment was upstaged by the Super Bowl halftime show; then, after the results of "Super Tuesday" it appears they might have to give up their beloved Senator Kerry so that he can serve the entire nation; and finally, on not-so-Super Wednesday, their Supreme Court made the Bay State the epicenter of Gay Love. Be sure to circle May 17 on your calendar - that's the day brides will wear mustaches in Massachusetts. I'm already thinking of some slogans for the new Massachusetts license plates. Speaking of license plates - does this ruling mean that prisoners will be able to "marry?" *********** Nothing against Troy State, or Central Florida, or Louisiana-Monroe, but it's kind of degrading to learn that the people at a Pac-10 school are going places for paychecks just like a smaller, lesser-conference school. Oregon State is grubbing for the bucks, too. First the Beavers had to to duck out of a previously-scheduled home game with Temple. When Temple managed to hook up with Virginia, that left the Beavers available to play LSU. In Baton Rouge. On September 4. Sure, it's a chance to play the defending BCS National Champion. And sure, it's a chance to be on national TV. But it's also a chance to get their asses whipped, big-time. (Do those people know what a rough place Tiger Stadium is to play in? Do they know how much noise those people can make? And how hot and humid it will be in South Louisiana around Labor Day?) No matter. In return for putting their necks on the block in front of 91,000 raving Tiger fans, the Beavers expect to bank a million dollars. That's about as much as they'd make playing two home games. Welcome to the Big Time. *********** Can't call Bobby Knight a bully any more, can we? Not after he got into it with his boss, the chancellor of the university. In public, yet. In a grocery store. Bob Lochner, of the Portland Oregonian, suggests that it all may have started when Knight tried to get into the nine-items-or-less express checkout lane with 10 items. *********** Ever notice how sometimes kids are given dumbass nicknames and then they seem to do their level best to try to fit into them? Bonzi Wells comes immediately to mind. I mean, the Portland Trail Blazers had to know that very few totally stable people are going to come packaged as "Bonzi." So finally they got rid of him. And now, in an effort to get fans to forget him, and to push Rasheed Wallace into the background, they've been featuring Zach Randolph, who seems to be a pretty good player and a decent enough person. By NBA standards, at least. So what does the team's play-by-play guy do but tag him with a nickname - "Zeebo." Not exactly up there with "Big E," or "The Iceman," or "The Admiral," or "Magic." In fact, it sounds suspiciously close to "Bonzi," if you ask me. *********** The sports guy on the local radio station was lamenting the fact that Zach "Zeebo" Randolph of the Trail Blazers was left off the NBA All-Star squad. Quoted Zach as saying he was "disappointed." Replied the morning bimbo, "Awwww... I hope this doesn't mean he won't play hard now." HEY- DID SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE NFL??? *********** Advertisers paid more than $2 million per 30-second spot in the Super Bowl. And CBS sold every spot it had. And then proceeded to screw those advertisers. Because, like a crooked usher at a ball game who takes your $50 ticket but lets his brother sit next to you for free, CBS took the sponsors' millions, then held the door open and let lots and lots of its own family members sneak in free. I'm talking about Network "Promos", those semi-commercials for the network's own shows that they mix in with the real sponsors' messages, urging us to watch Survivor All-Stars, and the Grammy's, and Two and a Half Men, and Everybody Loves Raymond, and Survivor All-Stars, and Without a Trace, and March Madness, and The Masters, and Survivor All-Stars, and King of Queens, and Cold Case, and Survivor All-Stars, and CSI and "Super Monday," and Survivor All-Stars, and - enough already! You get the idea. I can't tell you how many of those promos they ran, but I kept a rough count, and I'm willing to bet that they amounted to 20-25 per cent of all commercial time on the broadcast. In other words, if you were an advertiser, you paid a lot of money to show the audience something, and your message, surrounded by all these promos, got lost in what advertisers call "clutter" - a clutter caused, in large part, by the people who took your money. The practice is not new, but the Super Bowl really seemed to take it to excess. Now, advertisers are not fools, and they see what is going on. Anheuser-Busch, brewer of Budweiser and Bud Light, which bought five or six of those $2 million-plus Super Bowl commercials, said that in the future it will be "more vocal" about this practice. "We haven't leaned on this too hard in the past," said Tony Ponturo, A-B's Vice-President of Sports and Marketing, in Sports Business Journal. "But I think it's an issue that is growing to the point that we now need to address it. It's something that needs to be a constant drum we're beating. We have to get our message across. Commercials underwrite sports." *********** In much the same way as Pete Rose stole the spotlight from the Baseball Hall of Fame's newest inductees, Janet 'n' Justin, the luv kittens, diverted the sports world's attention away from the Pro Football Hall of Fames four newest members - Bob Brown, Karl Eller, John Elway and Barry Sanders. I can't remember a more solid group. No question about Elway and Sanders. They have the stats and the highlights films to prove their worthiness. Brown and Eller? To be honest, if you'd asked me, I'd have said I thought they were already in. *********** Don't expect any big-time congressional investigation into the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake escapade. MTV and CBS are both owned by Viacom, which also owns most of our congressmen. And besides, the NFL can always pull their Redskins' season passes.  *********** It has been said by some that maybe this past Sunday's incidents will be a "wake up call." I believe that this past Super Bowl Sunday was either the day we (a) rolled over and gave up and turned America over to the barbarians, or (b) woke up to what has been happening to our country and decided that it's still worth fighting for, and we've seen the real enemy. I think that if there was any wake-up call for anybody Sunday, it was for us and all the others on our side of the wall. Trouble is, if we do decide to stand and fight, I'm not sure whose side the NFL will be on. (Hint: follow the money.) *********** The scariest thing about the NFL/CBS/MTV halftime debacle has been the reaction of so many young kids and the people who know them best - essentially, what's the big deal? Nothing they don't see and hear all the time. My response to that is that this does NOT mean that it's no big deal. It shows what a big deal it really is - how, while indulgent parents and timid educators have looked the other way, have closed our eyes and ears to what's been going on, their kids' minds (such as they are) have been captured by the merchants of filth and degradation and hedonism. To say it's no big deal is to acknowledge how deeply the roots of this vile subset have penetrated our culture. *********** My son, Ed, is the Deion Sanders of Australia. Okay - Jim Nance, maybe. Anyhow, as maybe the only Yank working full-time in Australian sports media, for the third year in a row he was studio host for the Down Under broadcast of the Super Bowl. (That meant that he was on before and after the game, as well as the beginning and end of the half, just like the Nance, Sanders, Esiason and Marino crew. But the Australian "feed" doesn't contain the commercials that we see, so when it's time for a commercial break, Ed and his partner are in the studio, expected to fill the time with wit and brilliance. Ed said that the first quarter was pretty tough - not so much because of the lack of big, exciting plays, but because, you'll recall, it was pretty much one series right after the other of one-two-three-punt/cut-to-commercial. That meant that every couple of minutes they'd find themselves on camera with little action to talk about, scrambling to fill the time. Trust me, having done some TV myself, two or three minutes on-camera can be lot of time to have to "fill" when it's suddenly dumped on you.) Here's Ed's post-op report... Our broadcast went well - I was a little slow out of the blocks but got going and was flying by the end of the game.  Damien Lovelock, my co-host, was at his quirky best.  At one point he said "If I had to make a choice, if my family was held hostage, I'd pick Carolina."  After New England scored to make it 21-10, he said "I think my family's in trouble."  Very funny.  I did about 5 radio interviews as well afterward. I liked the stuff on your site.  And I liked the SI article - time for sports to cut the tie-ins with the "entertainers."  In a strange way, this fiasco may (and I emphasize MAY) be a wakeup call to the NFL.  I actually am a fan of Nelly's, but I questioned his inclusion from the get-go.  As family entertainment his stuff doesn't cut it.  Timberlake is borderline as well.  Kid Rock should have been replaced with someone more mainstream and Janet Jackson is a has-been who's trying to promote an upcoming CD.  To pull that stunt was ridiculous.   I loved your take on the NASA thing - we didn't show that "tribute" live so I missed the audio part - great insight on the "all but asking to send our donations" thing! The game was good - we didn't get Phil Simms, we had the international feed with Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston and they were pretty good.  Damien and I had already talked about how it might be low-scoring, with low-risk offenses and strong defenses.  I was hoping for overtime &endash; how about that Kasey kickoff?  What a bizarre thing - Aussies of course, could understand that with the "out on the full" thing in Aussie Rules and rugby. I'll bet Stockton and Johnson were better than Gumbel and Simms, who I thought were a couple of stiffs. I don't think it's a wakeup call as far as the NFL is concerned. I think the NFL, CBS - and maybe some major advertisers - knew exactly what they were doing, in going for the young audience that it doesn't reach with straight-up football. I keep hearing that young people don't think it's any big deal, which is a sorry symptom of the overall coarsening of our culture. I don't look for any major changes in halftime entertainment strategy. I think the Mormon Tabernacle Choir can go ahead and book another engagement next Super Bowl Sunday. *********** Coach Wyatt - Coach the NFL got exactly what it deserved. You do business with low-lifes and if they end up making you look like an A-hole you deserve it! People would take shots at Coach Woody Hayes, because he would never let any of his players pose for the Playboy All-American Team. He felt it would denigrate the prestige of the Ohio St. program. Well, looking back, Coach Hayes was 110% correct. People could call him a prude, old-fashioned, Anti this, but he had the  right idea. Also hopefully, but I doubt it, this can be a wake-up call to the NFL, so during the Super Bowl they can tone-down all that entertainment B.S. and let the game be the game. (Not that the NFL product on the field is that appealing either) The NFL should take a page from the, NCAA basketball tournament, College Bowl Games (especially the classic ones),The Triple Crown Races, World Series, Stanley Cup, and a few other American sporting events I missed , where the GAME is the center stage for the event and the STORY !! minus the so-called frills and the B.S.-see ya Friday Coach  John Muckian  Lynn, Massachusetts *********** A friend of the family who lives in England - and works for Manchester United, if you can believe that! - writes to give me another possible slant on the NFL's complicity in the Janet 'n' Justin incident. My former boss at Nike was actually at the Super Bowl and I got a full update.  It was on at 10pm here.  To be honest, I didn't think it was going to be that interesting of the game. What a fool I was!   The game itself was incredible in my opinion and I wasn't too excited about the teams.   And then with Janet and the streaker (from Liverpool) sounds like it was the place to be and the event to watch.  The hype of the half-time show was ridiculous and for them to turn around and say it wasn't planned.   The English press have been making fun of CBS for being so naive.  The title of the song they sang said it all.   Everyone in my office was just commenting last week about how boring American Football is so we all had a laugh on Monday.  They still don't understand the rules but they will learn. Interesting. It never occurred to me that perhaps the streaker and the Janet/Justin incident were staged to appeal to the potentially giant foreign market for the Super Bowl broadcast. Those people aren't shocked by the weird things our a**hole entertainers do. They expect it from us. They think we're all that way. *********** I can only be reminded of the following: "panis et spectaculum". Mark Kaczmarek, Davenport, Iowa (It so happens that I had five years of Latin. "Coach Kaz" says in his case it was "Classic Catholic Education and being an altar boy.  Having to memorize the Mass, I wanted to know what I was saying." The phrase - literally, "Bread and Circuses" - referred to the way the Roman leaders kept the masses contented and under control. American version - "Bud Light and Super Bowls." HW) *********** Coach Wyatt, Really enjoyed the Super Bowl.  Two well coached teams (and I use the word TEAM with all its meaning) knocking the heck out of each other and playing straight hard nosed football.   I turned off half-time so didn't see all the crap that made a farce out of a great sporting event.  I agree with you, that we don't need anything else with our sports, but the sports themselves.  Leave the half-times to the marching bands or frisbee catching dogs.  My mother who is 91 years old called me after the game to complain about the half-time.  She loves football and baseball on TV.  Her comment was and she doesn't ever swear, " What the hell was that?  What kind of music do you call that?  That was the worst noise and awful display I have ever seen!!!"  This was from my 91 year old mother. The old line coach, Brad Elliott, Soquel, California *********** Where do I begin?  First of all, I didn't get to see the first three quarters.  My kids and my wife were watching though.  When I got home, the first comment my wife made was, "I thought that the sleazy stuff would come through in the game, but it's not!"  As you know, in our house we always turn football games off at the commercials, and my wife and I knew better than to let our kids watch the halftime show.  In spite of that, I am still saddened and angry about what did happen.  Unlike some, I don't see any real change coming until the NFL and the sponsors start to feel it in the pocketbook.  It is time we coaches and we parents start letting the powers that be know about it. As far as the game was concerned, I didn't really think it was one of the greatest ever, but just coming down to the wire was special.  I cannot "dis" the whole game just because it ended in a field goal.  I thought that this was a whale of alot better than the patriots other play-off games, which seemed to have five field goals and one touchdown.   One final thought.  I don't remember seeing a game in a good long time that just ended on a kick-off.  It seemed odd that after the kick-off, it was just over! Well, it did to me anyway. John Zeller, McBain, Michigan *********** Hey Dad, I just read your comments about the Super Bowl. It was a great game, and we also hated that it came down to a kick. Two things: One, who's their target audience for the "shows" surrounding the actual game? They might be aiming for the 20-30 year olds, but they're getting the attention of kids way younger. The performers appeal to my kids (middle-school and younger). It's skewed to middle and high school kids, a strange choice considering the game ends after bedtime for kids on the East coast. Second, I agree with everyone who thinks CBS and the NFL are ridiculous in disavowing MTV. They had no idea. Please! Janet Jackson went only a little further than the rest of the show. It was all tasteless and ridiculous. As a follow up to the question "what did you expect from MTV?", I'm thinking "what did MTV expect the NFL wanted, after seeing the NFL's sleazy cheerleaders and seeing CBS blatantly use female sideline reporters whose main credentials are 'babe looks'?" Sure, the MTV show was sleazy and sexed up. That's what they do.  And you hire them, they do their stuff to a newer sleazy and sexed up level, and you are shocked. Please! And don't even get me started on the ads - worst year ever. Julia Love, Durham, North Carolina *********** Some comments on this Super Bowl.  Watched at the home of one of my assistant coaches with a large group of players, parents and coaches.  To watch this game on a widescreen HDTV was nothing short of awesome.  What a picture!  I felt like one of those guys on the Best Buy electronics store commercial, "Sweet!"  Speaking of commercials, we used to look forward to clever, imaginative ads from Pepsi and the like.  Almost all this year were infantile, frat house humor.  A competition to see who could stoop the lowest.  Glancing around the room after each played, the only ones laughing were the kids.  Bud may have dropped Spuds Mackenzie but they sure found other ways to get to the kids.  I was pleased to see that almost all the parents seemed to share the view that these ads are over the top, or should I say, something I scraped off the bottom of my shoe.  We were all in the kitchen at halftime and missed the entire show.  Later descriptions of events just proved to me that my decision to watch as little NFL as possible this year was sound.  While the football was terrific, everything else surrounding the game was disgusting.  Can't wait for college football to return. As a youth coach I have been receiving a lot of stuff from the NFL lately.  JPD they call it, junior player development.  I can't say I will be to quick to implement any program the NFL endorses, based on the crap I see week in and week out on Sunday. Best regards, Roy Lamberton, Guilford, Connecticut *********** NFL half time show: I was embarrassed for a lot of reasons. Mostly for America itself. This broadcast was shown around the world for all to see. It depicted a lifestyle that I and my family don't believe should describe America. I'm disgusted with the whole mess they call the NFL. I spent a tour of duty in the Navy. I was exposed to all sorts of things that would make the boob shot look church like. The scary thing is that modern parents and kids think things like this are acceptable. I have a fifteen and thirteen year old who know the difference between right and wrong. The NFL (Tagliabue) have their heads so far up Viacom's corporate a$$ that they don't care about  what's right, only what makes money. Hip Hop singers grabbing their crotch, stripping cheerleaders, Kid Rock yelling something, what I don't know. There are some very good coaches in the NFL that must cringe every time they see this kind of thing associated with the game. Now we'll have a bunch of chest pounding and assurances that things will get changed. Do you know who R. Kelly is? He's a hip hop singer who's been arrested and indicted for child porn and acts with a minor. The NAACP has nominated him for a Achievement Award. What's up with that? Glade Hall, Seattle (It was, indeed, an embarrassment. The problem, of course, is that this sewage has been festering beneath the surface for years, hidden away on cable channels, and we all knew it but looked the other way - and all the while it was perverting our kids. Now we're mainly indignant because it bubbled to the surface right in the middle of the Super Bowl. But if it hadn't, we'd have been content to let them continue to purvey their filth on MTV and such. Out of sight, out of mind. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - The Islamic Fundamentalists are right about the poisonous effects of our popular culture. Many of them, anyhow. (Could you defend that halftime show to a foreigner who argued that our culture is sick?) So if a few terrorists want to clean out the stable for us, I say bring 'em on, with just two conditions - I get to pick the targets. And then they get their asses back to their beloved homeland. HW) *********** Janet Jackson knew what she was doing.  The new album comes out his spring.  Good timing.  What a family huh?  These celebrities and their self aggrandizing.  It never stops.  The music award shows, the acting award shows.  I never watch them and will never understand why these fruitballs are treated like royalty and get so much coverage.  I loved watching the Panthers pitch sweeps with so many white jerseys leading to the outside ala student body right or left.  Hopefully, we saw the end of the dink, dunk era that has plagued the pro, college and high schools for too many years now.  If we have to wait two weeks for this game why not play it on a Saturday?  Give some of us a day to reflect or recover if ya know what  I mean.  Just like basketball, where I have no idea what a foul is or isn't, what is an incomplete or complete pass anymore?  That Panther receiver did catch the ball, take two steps and fumble!  I don't give a rats ass what the new rules are.  It cost the Patriots a defensive six.  Of course, the replays were minimal and the announcer silence spoke volumes.  It was another quick whistle that changed the course of the game because "it never happened."  Why can't announcers speak their minds anymore?  Sometimes the fact that our occasionally "Animal Farm" society is so prevalent at times really bugs me.  Once again, the Super Bowl was merely an event we watch here in the Detroit area, not one we are a part of.  Good stuff as usual coach.  Take care,  Dave Livingstone Troy, Michigan   (Spot on with the announcing crew's reluctance to say what any damn fool, not to mention people who really know the game, could see. You damn right that ball was caught. You damn right the receiver took two steps before coughing it up. You damn right it could have cost the Pats a defensive TD. Unfortunately, you also damn right that Detroit is not entirely "involved" in the Super Bowl. HW) *********** I can't tell you how I was looking forward to your comments today.  I agree with all that you and the other readers said about the state of the NFL.  I will not attend games and have no desire to watch the NFL on TV anymore. There are plenty of high school and college football games to slake my football thirst.   And, I did write the NFL and tell them so. I watched the first 20 minutes of the game (while it was still "boring") in a pub while waiting to go to my daughter's softball game. Unfortunately, I saw the infamous horse fart commercial you described.  Since we were in a pub, the TV was using close-captioning. During the commercial (you're not going to believe this...) the close captioning actually printed this, "(fart)" about 1/2 second before the horse blew.  I'm glad they did that. I wouldn't have been able to tell what was going on otherwise. Unbelievable!  By the way, I had the square 3-0 for the game.  The Patriots keeker's shank in the 1st quarter cost me a win. Finally, congratulations to Coach McLaughlin on his coaching change.  I'm sure he'll do a fine job.  He will be competing in a tough conference. Please let me know where you are staying for the clinic and maybe we can hook up for dinner. Regards,  Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois *********** Read your "News"section. Great issue. Liked the letter. I cannot believe what is going on. You  know not too long ago I got a letter from USA Football telling me about this ambassador program for the youth leagues. I told myself, "Yeah that's what we need the NFL taking over the youth football programs." It is not enough that we have pee wees wanting to do touchdown dances as it is. You should have read the letter - Sportsmanship, respect, all that is good. That is what the NFL is all about. And since you guys at the youth level cannot accomplish that without us, we will help you.I laughed and threw it away. No thanks. We will manage. Regards, Armando Castro, Roanoke, Virginia (Keep your eye on USA Football - it is the tentacle of the NFL octopus which is reaching out to seize control of Amateur football - everything other than organized high schools and colleges. Its bait, as always, is money. HW) *********** You want a good laugh? The NFL objected to "Playmakers" because - you aren't going to believe this - the show gave the league a bad image! The NFL! I am not kidding. The NFL crawls out of a cesspool of its own making and points to ESPN and says, "you're making me smell bad!" And so the NFL apparently has pressured ESPN to forget any plans to continue with the highly-popular series, which portrayed a fictional pro football team, the Cougars, and to "sex up" its story line, employed stereotypical members of a pro football organization - the wife-beater, the oversexed quarterback, the drug abuser, the duplicitous owner - while dealing with issues such as racism, sexual promiscuity, illegitimacy and acceptance/rejection of homosexuals. Since they hadn't yet gotten around to having any Cougars refusing to cooperate with a murder investigation, or driving drunk at twice the legal threshold or arranging the contract killing of their pregnant girlfriends, I was eagerly looking forward to next season. "Playmakers" was well-received by the public - only the NFL games themselves have drawn higher ratings in ESPN than the series - as well as the critics, and under normal conditions it would seem to have been a sure thing for renewal. But these were not normal conditions. Lord Paul Tagliabue, Emperor of All Football, actually went so far as to make a personal call (well, I'm sure his secretary did the dialing) to Michael Eisner, CEO of Walt Disney, which owns ESPN, to tell him that he considered the show to be a "gross mischaracterization of our sport." And that, apparently, was that. I enjoyed the show, partly because I knew it made the corporate suits at the NFL offices uncomfortable. And for once, I found myself agreeing with Deion Sanders, who said it was an accurate depiction of the underside of pro football. Sure, it was overdone - you have to overdo things if you're going to cram a week's worth of aberrant behavior into a one-hour show. John Eisendrath, the creator and executive producer of "The Playmakers," said he believed that the series had been cancelled under orders from the NFL. "The NFL is entitled to its opinion," he told the New York Times, "but I think they're wrong, and I think they're bullies. They're a monopoly. I think it fell to ESPN to have the strength to stand up to the NFL's opinion. It's offensive to me that they would bully ESPN that way, so I'm most offended by the NFL's attitude, which is blatantly hypocritical considering some of the things that go on in the league, which far exceed anything I wrote about." "Mischaracterization," did I hear Lord Tagliabue say? If I were to give you 60 seconds and a list of NFL teams and ask you to name (a) a wife-beater (b) an oversexed quarterback, (c) a drug abuser, and (d) a duplicitous owner, you'd be done in 30 seconds and asking if you could name two of each for extra credit. *********** Regarding my comments about the AOL commercials, Adam Wesoloski writes from Pulaski, Wisconsin... Coach, the guys in this commercial are from the Discovery Channel's program "American Chopper". They are from a small town in NY and build custom motorcycles and are noted for their theme bikes. A few examples are a FDNY, MIA/POA Vietnam, NY Jets, Snap-On Tools, and Spider-man bikes. Really great pieces of art and the family dynamic is interesting as well. Orange County Choppers is the name of their company and website I believe. I just started watching the show and it is pretty cool. I watch for the artistry of the bikes more than anything. The father, Paul Tuttel, Sr., is a successful iron worker and built a company from the ground up and a few years ago got into this business as well. One son, Paul Jr., is a very creative builder, but he and his father often have a difference in opinion about things - more of a generation thing I suppose. Probably more than you wanted to know. P.S. Excellent news today (The AOL spots, I have since learned, were the creation of a local (Portland) ad agency, Weiden+Kennedy, which does most of Nike's stuff. HW) *********** The really encouraging thing about the Super Bowl is that I went 4+ hours and watched God-knows-how-many commercials and I don't recall once hearing the word "carbs." *********** I couldn't agree more with your thoughts about the direction the Super Bowl "entertainment" has been taking. Give me a college marching band (Grambling will do just fine), some Chinese acrobats or midget wrestling, then let's play the second half. On a more important note, score one for UConn football. Fitch has a running back/linebacker who had given a verbal commitment to Nebraska where he was slotted to play on offense. Now it's not every day that a football school like Nebraska offers a scholarship to a kid in Groton, Connecticut, so people around town were pretty impressed. But then the kid changes his mind and decides to go to UConn instead, where he'll play linebacker instead of running back because the Huskies are loaded with talent in the offensive backfield. Pretty good catch for State U. And they'll get the Connecticut high school player of the year, a QB from Bristol, who was also heavily recruited by some big-time football schools, including the evil empire (Boston College). I can't wait for the season to begin. But first, we've got a national championship to win in basketball… Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island *********** Good Morning Hugh, All of New England is happy and the Pats have almost wiped out the memory of last season's Red Sox's disaster but not quite. Too bad the half time show has taken away from what is arguably the best football game in Super Bowl history. How about that two point play - a 2 wedge off a direct snap. And Carolina what an effort. Brady is truly as he seems a nice kid who loves to play football now if he can only stay that way. But which ever one of those 17 coaches is responsible for the offensive line needs a big hug and kiss - not one sack given-up in the play-offs - God bless good offensive lineman. I do not know if anyone noticed but the offensive line is fairly athletic looking without many guts hanging out. Could it be that speed and good technique is one reason they did so well. I also wanted to comment on those play action passes on the goalline,  strong run fakes leading to touchdowns. Coach Bill and his coaching staff have done a terrific job and the fact that they anticipated the Carolina Zone defense on the 3rd and long and called  the out route  between the corner and the safety is just an example of how good they are. That play set up the winning Ouch! field goal. Have a great day and see you in April!! Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine *********** The commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Edward S. Banas Sr., of Voluntown, Conn., said while the US media have made a big deal of Janet Jackson's vile act, they've ignored Kid Rock's "inappropriate and disrespectful" use of the American flag. Mr. Banas said he was outraged at media organizations for ignoring the desecration of the American flag by Kid Rock, who slit a hole in a flag and wore it as a poncho then, later in his act, tossing it into the crowd. "While MTV and CBS have issued apologies for the Janet Jackson incident," Mr. Banas said, "they have yet to address Kid Rock's disgusting use of an American flag as a costume prop. The 1.6 million members of the VFW agree that Kid Rock's stunt was in poor taste and extremely disrespectful to the members of our armed forces who everyday pledge their allegiance -- and their life -- to our flag. I find it unconscionable that the entire news media, along with CBS, the NFL and MTV, have yet to address this." ************* Meantime, nobody's been talking about the game, and sponsors are pissed because nobody's talking about the commercials, either. Wrote the New York Times in an editorial... CBS can pretend all it wants to honor the pristine values of network television, as if the networks were a sex-free safe zone for family viewing. MTV can deny &emdash; in its most solemn utterance ever &emdash; that the unveiling was intentional. The N.F.L. can take its stand on the sanctity of the game. Let the blame fall on Mr. Timberlake and Ms. Jackson's costume designer, whose sense of infrastructure is woeful. Since the endless furor over all this has displaced any discussion of the actual game, it looks as if the real victim is Tom Brady. *********** The trite old saw goes "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." In this great piece in National Review Online (www.nationalreview.com) Michael Novak suggests a solution to the NFL's problems, one that will be good for everyone except decadent "entertainers"... A Half-Witted NFL? by Michael Novak - www.michaelnovak.net. A confession: One of the things I have enjoyed about Europe is that at poolside, at the beach, and on the shore of Swiss lakes, European women unselfconsciously remove their tops to absorb the sun. The men seem to be unselfconscious about it, too. For myself, the first two or three times I had difficulty breathing. Like all difficult things, one gets used to it. So the sight of Janet Jackson's bare breast during the NFL halftime show Sunday cannot be said to have shocked me. But the firestorm it has ignited across the nation may concentrate attention on what a colossal moral waste the NFL halftime shows have been for years and years, one or two seasons excepted. Football is a great game of hard work, sacrifice, the endurance of pain, precision, discipline, the love of brothers for one another, guts, spirit, the will to overcome adversity, and intense and sustained determination. Why, then, has the NFL been so dense as to allow its halftime show, year after year, to be a celebration of decadence and degradation? If the moral morons the NFL hires to produce these shows set out to dramatize the last days of the Roman empire in all its legendary sickness, what would they do differently? Who are these seemingly drugged, indifferent, writhing pagan figures they now throw around the platform? These are not living human beings in action, these are sacks of flesh, writhing, grinding, pawing, acting out no higher appeal than bodily functions. They evoke no virtues of the human spirit. It is as if they wish to suffocate any spark of Jewish or Christian womanhood and manhood. It is as if they mean to corrupt, seduce, degrade. A more radically anti-Jewish and anti-Christian assault, embodying the sort of Wagnerian images of pagan disgust and decay that enraptured Hitlerian audiences, would be hard for them to produce. Why does the NFL do this? Why do they want to dramatize in corrupt "art" the very opposite of what they dramatize on the field, in the inherent beauty of football itself? Why do they turn halftime over to people who loathe every virtue football stands for and depends on? There are so many beautiful events in the history of our nation that our children and our families deserve to know, so many glorious episodes to dramatize. Why doesn't the NFL stage a ten-year sequence of halftime shows that tell the great story of the Founding of our nation? For this story embodies all the virtues required by championship football, and many others besides. And it can be done, beautifully and affectingly. One year (was it the Super Bowl after 9/11?), the NFL did stage a very moving tribute to the American Founding and its basic documents; I remember Jack Kemp, among others, reading those resonant words, in a decorous and solemn setting that filled all who saw it with resolve and purpose. But this may have been a film produced in advance, and shown only in the stadium, with pageant and color in silent motion spread out below the giant stadium screens. It may even have been only the pre-game show. Our historians, novelists, dramatists, songwriters, and choreographers have certainly given us a rich mine of works that are the proper heritage of all our people. Why could these not be presented before worldwide audiences? Why can't the NFL support the Herculean struggles of besieged families, and overworked schools, against the horrid drudge of a sick popular culture, and help parents and teachers to fire the imaginations of our children with ennobling images of greatness and achievement? Why does the NFL put our families through the sludge of an exhausted, desperate pagan culture that is going nowhere, and celebrates losers and freaks? Our families have enough enemies to fight through. Must they also fight the NFL? On a deeper level, why does the NFL go against its own nature, beliefs, and strengths? Why does it embarrass and demean itself? For no other event during the year are more Americans focused together on the same liturgical celebration, especially as families, than at Super Bowl halftime. An NFL halftime should feed our minds and souls, and our sense of nobility and beauty, and remain forever a memory cherished by children and families alike. Until now, halftime has been a cultural waste. A broken cistern, yielding no water. A ruin. It speaks ill of the producers who imagined it and set it before us. Reprinted with permission A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD

(UPDATED WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT - BUT USUALLY ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS)  February 3, 2004 -    "Chance favors the prepared mind." Louis Pasteur      FIRST 2004 CLINIC SCHEDULED - ATLANTA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Click Here ----------->> <<----------- Click Here    A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He is a true iron man, who played pro football in four different decades, starting in 1949 and retiring after the 1975 season. He's shown at left in the uniform of the team with which he spent 10 seasons; in the middle photo, the team with which he spent seven seasons; in the photo at right, the team from which he finally retired, just weeks shy of his 49th birthday, after nine years. With one year off in 1959, that's 26 years of professional football. He's also one of the very first in the long line of professional quarterbacks - Parilli, Unitas, Namath, Kelly, Marino, Montana, among others - spawned in Western Pennsylvania. In his 26-year pro football career, he threw for 26,920 yards - 1,000 yards a year. He was also an excellent place kicker. He once kicked 201 consecutive extra points, and is the only player to have scored more than 500 points for three different clubs. A coal miner's son from Youngwood, PA, he was one of four football-playing brothers. He played college ball at Kentucky, where his coach his junior and senior years was Bear Bryant. But Kentucky won only seven games in his three years. His college career was unexceptional, and he was drafted 12th by the Chicago Bears. He played for 10 years, with only sporadic success ("I didn't have much fun," he said, in summarizing years there), and after the 1958 season, he retired. He sat out the 1959 season and then signed with Houston when the American Football League started up. With him at quarterback, the Oilers won the AFL title its first two years. He led the AFL in passing in 1961, and was the United Press International and Sporting News AFL Player of the Year. He threw for 3,330 yards and his 36 touchdown passes stood as the professional record for 23 years (until Dan Marino broke it in 1984). He was Houston's leading scorer and passer for all seven years of his stay. In 1967, at the ripe old age of 39, he was traded to the Oakland Raiders, and played nine more years for them. He scored more than 100 points in the 1967, 1968 and 1969 seasons, and from 1967 through 1971 he kicked 201 straight extra points without a miss. In 1970, at the age of 43, for his heroics in relief of injured starter Daryle Lamonica, he was the AFC Player of the Year. He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981, the first year he became eligible. Guess who the mystery man is - e-mail your answer to coachwyatt@aol.com. To receive credit, please include your full name and where you're writing from. NOTE: In the interest of time, I will not respond to tell you that your answer is correct. If you do not receive a reply, you may assume that your answer is correct. *********** The Open Letter Paul Tagliabue Should Write - But Won't. To All the Fans of the NFL Who Have So Loyally Supported Us: I waited to write this letter until, as our teams' coaches like to say, "I saw the film." I have now seen the film, and it is disgusting. On behalf of the team owners and all the players and coaches who make our great game possible, I apologize to you all for what happened. So long as I am commissioner, you have my word that nothing like it will ever happen again. Our aim is to provide wholesome entertainment by putting the best possible product on the field. Our teams have done their part during the actual games, but for some time now, we have been led to believe that we could enhance the viewing experience by bringing in entertainers from outside the world of sports to perform at halftime. We were advised that there was a certain synergy to be achieved in combining the best of the sports world and the best of the entertainment world - that by doing so, we could expose our game to more viewers. As it turns out, we were given bad advice. We got the "exposure," if you will pardon my joke, but in the process, we insulted millions of our viewers who watch football simply because it is football - the greatest of all games. And we dishonored that game. We realize that if people tune into a football game, they should be able to expect to see a football game. If they want to watch the kind of programming MTV provides, they are, of course, free to watch MTV, but not when they tune in to watch a football game. They should be able to tune in a football game - or let their kids tune a football game - and be confident that they will not be confronted with the sort of trash commonly associated with MTV. We will not make that mistake again. Effective immediately, I am ordering all NFL teams to make sure that in the future their halftime shows consist of high school, college or military bands, youth football games, or dogs catching frisbees. Any attempt to book professional entertainers will be dealt with harshly by this office. Furthermore, I have asked the networks with which we do business to review objectionable advertising. I refer to beer or other alcoholic beverage commercials that feature scantily-attired young women and portray drinking to excess, any advertising that relies for its humor on sexual innuendo or excretory functions or blows - feigned or real - to the male groin area, and any advertising of products that deal with Erectile Dysfunction, prophylactics, penile enhancement or feminine hygiene. Thank you for sticking with us during this difficult period, and thank you for your continued support. We hope to earn back your confidence. After all, you are the game. Yours truly, Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner *********** I'm going to go along with the people who call it the Best Super Bowl In Years. Maybe the BEST EVER. For 59 minutes and 52 seconds, that is. But then, unfortunately, the action came to a halt, and we all settled back for the anticlimactic ending which the NFL is so good at providing - a "game-winning field goal." And after a game distinguished by power running, long pass plays, clever play-action and brutal hitting on defense - as well as a dearth of field goals - the game suddenly came to an end with :08 left on the clock and the score tied. That's when the do-nothing-but-kick keeker came out and "won the game" in a play as exciting - and predictable - as a gunshot that puts a dying horse out of its misery. Yeah, I know, I know - this kick was extra exciting because Patriots' keeker Adam Vinitieri had missed two earlier attempts. But be honest - if someone had offered to bet you $100,000 against your life that he'd miss, wouldn't you have taken the bet? And then came the greatest insult of all to the real football players, and to hard-core fans: after two teams slugged it out in a classic battle, I'll be damned if the keeker wasn't the one being hoisted into the air on the front pages of newspapers all over America. *********** Those were two good teams. Well-prepared, too. The Patriots are a very good team. They remind me somewhat of the old (Lombardi) Packers. I wish there were no salary cap so they could stay together for another couple of years. *********** Until the two teams lit it up toward the end of the first half, Phil "It isn't exciting" Simms was worried about what the analysts would be able to say at halftime. Maybe that's because they really can't analyze - they don't understand defenses and what the two teams were to throttle each other. *********** Not taking anything away from Tom Brady as MVP, understand, but the Patriots' offensive line sure did a hell of a job. *********** Did you happen to catch Patriots' owner Robert Kraft, giving credit after the game to 53 players and 17 coaches? *********** Greedy, lewd, immoral - you name it. The NFL is the single biggest threat our sport faces. The XFL couldn't have put on a more revolting halftime show than the NFL did on Sunday. And now that it's blown up in their faces, the NFL is trying to distance itself from the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake on-stage sex acts, blaming it on MTV. In a way, that's fortunate for them, because that keeps them from having to answer the obvious question of why they ever approved a mostly hip-hop halftime. I mean, for a league that's supposedly concerned about the thuggish image of far too many of its players, the Official Sound of Thuggery sure was a strange choice. Yeah, right - "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes." Not exactly the Ohio State marching band, would you say? And then there was Kid Rock wearing a poncho that looked suspiciously like an American flag. Very respectful. MTV's fault, is it? Uh, who provided the field and the halftime? You mean to tell me you didn't have the right of prior approval? The NFL is faking indignation over what went on. "We had no way of knowing!" they say. Bullsh--. NOTHING happens in, around and to the NFL that they don't know about - and control. Those suits knew what they were getting in for when they made their corrupt decision to cross the line between sport and entertainment. They just didn't know that the trouble was going to come from sweet little Janet. They thought that when P. Diddy's act ended without incident they were home free. Bear in mind, this NFL, this purveyor of gross behavior, is the same Big Football that spreads the money around as it worms its way into youth football. Remind you of drug dealers sponsoring teams in the ghetto? You coaches out there - can't you see the hypocrisy in an organization that cozies up to you and slips you money, claiming to support football, while at the same time it exposes your kids to all manner of filth and degradation? If you're a parent with kids still in school and you don't write or holler to somebody in the NFL about the monstrosity they're creating, you have no stones. And if you take their money, remember this - when you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. *********** The most hilarious line of the whole day, to me, came just as we were leaving the Super Bowl (Post-Game Show, that is) to go to Survivor All-Stars: "THANK YOU FOR WATCHING THIS PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE ON CBS SPORTS." Actually, CBS should have thanked me for watching that "presentation." All I tuned in to watch was a football game. Instead, I got a vile display of the future of sportsentertainment. Next year, I fully expect a homosexual orgy at halftime. Or a mass murder. Or, if there is time, both. On Monday, CBS (which is owned by Viacom, which also owns MTV) gave it one of those, "if anyone was offended" apologies. As if they were surprised to find that in this day and age there are still some peoplewho might actually be offended by what they probably think is perfectly acceptable. What a sleazy bunch of bastards. You telling me they didn't know what was going to happen? *********** If it hadn't been for the great game (all 59 minutes and 52 seconds of it) played by two good teams, this would have been the Super Bowl which eliminated any blurry lines between sport and entertainment. Between the noble and the vile. It still might turn out to be. The game itself saved what was otherwise a nauseous "presentation." I mean, horses farting? Wardrobe malfunctions? Janet Jackson grinding her "booty" in Justin Timberlake's groin? *********** Even before the National Anthem - which took a world-record two minutes (exactly double what it takes a good college band) - there was the NASA Anthem, a cheesy infomercial for the President's newest space initiative, sung by a guy with a wool scarf around his neck as a little guy in a space suit planted a flag on a moon. We were, we were told, honoring all the brave Americans who worked in our space effort (which coincidentally provides a big boost to Houston's economy) and in the true spirit of televangelism, we were urged to keep those brave Americans in orbit. "To not continue," the announcer told us, "would be to insult their legacy." They did everything but tell us where to send our money. Not to worry. The government knows where to find us and comes and gets it from us. *********** We know the NFL won't let us see fights on the field. And they stayed with a close-up of Teddy Bruschi for 15 full seconds (which in TV is a lifetime) rather than show us a streaker being decked and carried off. And there must have been an NFL order not to show replays of penalties, certainly not when they were personal fouls. And they wouldn't accept an ad from some organization But it's okay to show Janet Jackson reaching back and grasping Justin Timberlake's buttocks, the better to pull him against her hinder grinder. And as long as people are paying $2 million for the right to do so, it's okay for them to sell beer by showing horses farting,, Nyuk, nyuk. *********** Anybody who's ever seen a home video shot by an amateur who "firehoses" - rapidly panning with the camera from right to left or left to right knows that queasy feeling you get. That CBS "EyeVideo" or whatever they call the camera that quickly - too quickly - switches from one vantage point to another on the same play delivers the same effect. I know that the CBS people are really proud of their new toy, but they should wait until they've solved that very annoying problem. *********** Boy, are those Levitra people clever, or what? They show a football being thrown through a tire. Over and over. Something is going in the hole. Get it? What- am I going to have to make a circle with the thumb and forefinger of my left hand and stick out the forefinger of the other hand and demonstrate? *********** I liked Homer Simpson for MasterCard - "Getting errands done quickly, so you can spend more time with your family- Priceless" - said by the voice-over just as Homer sits down in the tavern to have a cold mug of Duff's (the real reason why he got his errands done quickly). Guilt getting the best of him, he sheepishly gets up and leaves his beer and goes home. *********** I don't think ED remedies are appropriate on TV, but given that, I liked Mike Ditka's comparing baseball to football, saying "Baseball could use Levitra." *********** Geez - until I saw the product, I thought the Gillette shaving commercial was an ad for another one of the Erectile Dysfunction remedies. *********** I liked the 7-Up Slam Dunk Truck, with the hoop on the back, coming to a stop as one poor guy who's been chasing it down the street leaps - and slams into rear of the truck, then taking off as another guy, going up for a stuff, goes flying to the ground. Undoubtedly, this was introducing an upcoming promotion. Pretty clever. *********** I liked the Staples commercial, in which Randy, the Godfather in charge of supplies, insists that office workers pay tribute to him (in the form of doughnuts and assorted baked goods) in return for which he dispenses favors (manila folders, paper clips). *********** I liked the AOL Top Speed Technology ads, in which a racing team tries the "technology" on cars, scooters, motorcycles with disastrous results ("Turns out it's just supposed to make the Internet fast"). *********** I liked this one - Seattle, 1953. To think that if Jimmy Hendrix had put his dime in a Coke machine (instead of a Pepsi machine) and then seen something in the nearby accordion store window that caught his eye (instead of in the window of the guitar store over by the Pepsi machine... "Whew! That was a close one!" *********** Undoubtedly the favorite commercial of female viewers had to be a certain Budweiser spot with a warm and fuzzy message of inclusion and tolerance. Honoring diversity. Call it "No Quadruped Left Behind." A donkey aspires to be a Budweiser Clydesdale and finally gets his shot because - well, because he makes a lot of noise and acts like a jackass. And then we see him marching in hitch with the huge draft horses. It's precious. What we'll never see, of course, is what happens in real life - the rest of the team will have to slow down so that he can keep up with them. *********** Remember Spuds MacKenzie, the little bull terrier that Anheuser Busch had to remove from its advertising because people said he was being used to lure kids into watching their commercials? The A-B folks have found a different way of getting at the kids - humor that's aimed at their level. Bud Light comes up with a lot of good ones, but with the ball-in-the-groin/kick-in-the-groin/knee-in-the-groin laugh-getter getting old, their resort to the attack terrier, biting a guy's privates until he lets go of his Bud Light, was pretty sophomoric. And then, to show that if they're not actually employing middle-schoolers to write their commercials they're at least taking careful aim at that future group of beer drinkers, they showed a guy - this is hilarious - out with his girl in a horse-drawn sleigh - I can't control myself - and he gives her a candle, see, because it's romantic, and while he's bending over to open a couple of cold Bud Lights - you're not going to believe this - we see the horse's tail raise and - ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha - the horse lets one go. A blast. And then we see the girl, and her eyebrows have been burned off. See, she was holding the candle, and the horse blew some methane gas right over the flame... Bring back Spuds Mackenzie. On second thought, thinking about all the obnoxious things dogs can do, maybe that's not such a great idea. *********** The Charmin commercial ("For your end zone") was pretty weak. They should have saved the millions and stuck with Mr. Whipple. *********** Funniest line - and possible scenario for a future tasteless Bud Light commercial - was a warning in the Cialis commercial... "Erections lasting longer than four hours, though rare, require immediate medical help." The commercial: "Cedric... I thought you wanted to drink those two ice-cold bottles of Bud Light. Why are you holding them in your lap? All kidding aside - can't you just see yourself in the emergency room, explaining your "problem" to the giggling young women behind the counter? *********** I didn't actually "watch" the Super Bowl halftime performance - halftime is when we walk our dogs - but I did go back and review it on the PVR. Carefully. I mean, you can't criticize something you haven't seen, right? So here's my take... Only Michael Jackson rolling around with little boys in a huge bed on the 50 (not to say he actually did anything wrong - I mean, we all know that he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, right?) would have been grosser than sister Janet's freak show at halftime. I mean, whips, women in leather, and guys dressed like Chippendales? In fact, did anybody else think that Janet looked a little bit like Michael? Is it too late to substitute her for him? The point, for these bozos who say, "What's the big deal about showing some titty?" is this - what kind of a man has so little respect for a woman that he does what Justin Timberlake did to Janet Jackson in public? (If you consider a TV audience of hundreds of millions "public?") I tell you - if Michael were a man, he'd have gone up on stage and smacked that guy. If the "wardrobe" hadn't "malfunctioned," would it then have been okay for Timberlake to grope her on stage? Isn't this what much of the "sex scandal" at the Air Force Academy is all about? Maybe this is what happens to a guy when Britney Spears ditches him and then kisses Madonna on TV. Forget the "wardrobe malfunction" that Timberlake blames the titty-baring on and deal instead with what went on just before that - the "dance" routine in which Ms. Jackson kept grinding her rear end against his, uh, "joint." Was that supposed to be okay? Where was Terry Tate, Halftime Linebacker? He'd have knocked those two dogs in heat into next week. *********** Coach Wyatt, Ran across this interesting information. I thought for sure you would have a comment, or two, about it. So here goes.... There are now 880 players in the NFL (Out of a total of approx. 1,696 players) who have earned their college degrees. The teams with the most amount of degreed players are the following: Carolina has 42 players with college degrees. Indy has 37 players with college degrees. And New England has 35 players with college degrees. How interesting is it that in this year's Super Bowl that the two teams playing lead the NFL with the most educated players? So much for a "heart" of a champion. Looks like this year you'll need brains too! Mike Lane. Avon Grove, Pennsylvania (Sounds to me as if the issue is not so much intelligence as it is the work habits, the diligence, and the emotional maturity that the degree is a reflection of. By the way, I have my doubts that #77 Chris Jenkins, the Carolina DT who jumped offside three different times, is one of the 42 you mentioned. HW) *********** I just saw a female announcer named Doris Burke at the Indiana-Michigan State game interviewing the coaches. Let's just say that based on her looks, they found her in the Yellow Pages under "Escort Services." *********** To help celebrate ESPN's 25th birthday, Michigan State played Saturday in "throwback uniforms", supposedly from 1979. Yeah, throwback. If anybody back in 1979 had worn shorts down to their knees, making them look like women in culottes, they'd have been laughed off the floor. *********** As big a turd as Terrell Owens is, what possible reason could Nike have for featuring him in their magazine ads?  *********** NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue reminded the NFL's players that they had a responsibility to be role models for America's kids. But what about the NFL itself? What kind of a role model is it? How does if justify taking money from them when they buy video games like "NFL Street?" *********** Commissioner Paul Tagliabue warned the NFL's players that they could face increasingly larger penalties during the 2004 season for taunting and such acts. The commissioner said that several coaches had called him to ask for harsher penalties for players who taunt or celebrate excessively. New York Jets Coach Herman Edwards was among those who called him to request that some players face a suspension, in addition to fines, for certain acts. "Many coaches called me when incidents occurred that they felt were way outside the rules and uncalled for and humiliating to their own players and embarrassing to players, including cellphone incidents," He said. "The discipline will continue to escalate unless it stops." "My level of concern matters less than the level of concern of the coaches, the owners and the other players," Tagliabue said. "Unsportsmanlike conduct, be it cellphones or pens, are strictly prohibited." Meantime, outside"The NFL Experience" was holding a contest for fans, challenging them to outdo each other in an "end zone dance" competition. *********** Hugh, By now I'm certain you are in the middle of writing a great article for your news about the Super Bowl, and the now infamous Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake expose at halftime.  First, about the game.  I thought both teams played outstanding defense for a quarter and a half.  Then, all of a sudden it was as if someone in the production truck told the coaches they needed more action because they were losing viewers and WHAM, BAM, whaddya know?  TD's being cranked out faster than sliders at White Castle!  In the second half both teams seemed to get back to the business of playing good football.  In the end, New England proved that by running the football, throwing the football can result in points. About the halftime "entertainment."  When I heard MTV would be producing the halftime show I thought, "oh, great.  We'll see a lot of skin, T & A, hear crass music lyrics, and see bumpin' and grindin' everywhere!"  Well, I was right!  They were at their MTV breast!  Uh, er, I mean best!  Once again, professional sports finds a way to embarrass itself, and proves once again, that regardless of the acronym (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL), pro sports is all about the Benjamins, and nothing about character. Looking forward to your news. Joe Gutilla, Minneapolis *********** Even before last night's terrible half time the NFL has been acting like the WWF for a long time now. It is a DISGRACE to the great game of football. I have helped coach high school football for 47 years and that's all I am going to watch is  high school, because we are real. Somebody HELP the NFL. Dick Gahagan, Lake Worth, Florida *********** One of the plusses of watching the game in a crowd in a dormitory lounge was that the chatter noise drowned out the talking heads. Phil Simms is on my list of "TV Announcing Blowhards." Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Who else noticed Phil Simms complaining about how dull the game was - what an ugly game it was? Actually, I wonder if it occurs to the network suits how many people watch games under those same circumstances, rarely hearing what the highly-paid announcers say? HW) *********** Coach Wyatt, Tuned in 1 second before kickoff.  Did not watch a second of the halftime show.  Pretty entertaining game.  Both teams really played hard, really went after one another.  Phil or Greg made a comment about how you haven't seen a lot of excessive celebration, self promotion or general asinine behavior.  That was true, which made the game enjoyable.  Phil would have made my announcer hall of fame if he would have expounded on the point:       " . . . you won't see any piece of trash, worthless excuse for human being, criminal, pimp wanna be sh*tpiles, like Deion Sanders on either of these teams."  "Okay Jim, back to you for the halftime report."   Game observations:  Either the refs were calling the specialty plays tight, or guys are just idiots.  Field position penalties were killers.  NE is solid, they don't have any gaping holes anywhere. They did what they needed to win, run, pass, trickeration.  I think Ricky Proehl could play for just about anyone, any era.  NE TE #82 is a hell of a blocker for a lean, "pass catching type" he had a pancake block on the DE and then took out the LB on the same play, a 4th & short.  I think Carolina should not have called the timeout with 1:45 left at the 15 yard line.  They had all three timeouts, could have ran it down to about 30 seconds then used their timeouts as needed.  1:08 was too much time to leave Brady. And finally, your damn kicker earns $400,000.  I realize that is the league minimum, but it is still a nice salary.  The damn field is 53 yards wide.  There is only 1 possible way you could really f##k it up. Mission accomplished. Carolina would have been better off having one of their linemen straight toe the damn thing right down the middle of the field. take care, Mick Yanke Dassel-Cokato HS, Cokato, Minnesota *********** Hugh, Man, do these f'in' a**holes p*ss me the f off! Justin Timberlake called it a "wardrobe malfunction"?! Dirtbag!! Matt Bastardi, Montgomery, New Jersey ************ THE FINAL WORD - From Phil Taylor, SI.com To all the embarrassed parties, we can only say, What did you expect? An event like Sunday's was the inevitable result of the insistence on mixing sports and entertainment, a marriage that ought to be annulled immediately. Professional sports leagues apparently think that associating with singers and actors broadens their appeal, but it doesn't. It just makes the games seem cheesy. We don't want some rapper and the guy from Ed playing hoops on the NBA's All-Star weekend. We don't want Trista fromThe Bachelorette playing center field in some celebrity softball contest at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. We don't want endless shots of Jack at Lakers games or Spike at Knicks games. We certainly don't need Aerosmith or Britney Spears or Bon Jovi to trick up the games with mini-concerts before, during or after the action. Every act inevitably tries to top the one before it, and before long something like Sunday happens, making fans wonder if they're watching the Super Bowl orSex and the City. If we want to see actors, we'll go to a theater. If we want to hear music, we'll buy a CD. The Lakers and Mavericks don't play each other during intermission at a Nelly concert, do they? If it were up to us, we'd permit professional singers to do the national anthem only, to allow for the occasional inspired performance like Marvin Gaye's at the NBA All-Star Game back in the '80s. Otherwise, the celebs can have a seat and enjoy the game just like the rest of us. Leave the halftimes to high school marching bands and dogs who catch flying Frisbees, just like the old days. That will give us time to do the things that have to be done during intermission, like hit the restroom, refill the nacho bowl and put out the grease fire the kids started in the kitchen while we totally ignored them during the first half. Keep the celebs out of our Super Bowls and we won't be tempted to stay glued to the couch during halftime, which, as we discovered on Sunday, can leave everyone feeling like a boob.   A LIST OF SOME TOP DOUBLE-WING HS TEAMS   "The Beast Was out There," by General James M. Shelton, subtitled "The 28th Infantry Black Lions and the Battle of Ong Thanh Vietnam October 1967" is available through the publisher, Cantigny Press, Wheaton, Illinois. to order a copy, go to http://www.rrmtf.org/firstdivision/ and click on "Publications and Products") Or contact me if you'd like to obtain a personally-autographed copy, and I'll give you General Shelton's address. (Great gift!) General Shelton is a former wing-T guard from Delaware who now serves as Honorary Colonel of the Black Lions. All profits from the sale of his books go to the Black Lions and the 1st Infantry Division Foundation, , sponsors of the Black Lion Award).   I have my copy. It is well worth the price just for the "playbooks" it contains in the back - "Fundamentals of Infantry" and "Fundamentals of Artillery," as well as a glossary of all those military terms, so that guys like you and me can understand what they're talking about.      --- GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD --- HONOR BRAVE MEN AND RECOGNIZE GREAT KIDS SIGN UP YOUR TEAM OR ORGANIZATION FOR 2003 "NO MISSION TOO DIFFICULT - NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT - DUTY FIRST" inscribed on the wall of the 1st Division Museum, at Cantigny, Wheaton, Ilinois Coaches - Black Lions teams for 2003 are now listed, by state. Please check to make sure your team in on the list. If it is not, it means that your team is no enrolled, and you need to e-mail me to get on the list. HW BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM (FOR MORE INFO ABOUT) THE BLACK LION AWARD