"EVEN OLDER NEWS" (OXYMORON)

EVEN OLDER NEWS - FROM CLEAR BACK IN 1998

("ARCHIVES" SOUNDS TOO STUFFY)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO FOOTBALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!

December 31 - Just got back to the Northwest after a 10-day visit to Colorado and Texas. After being greeted in Denver with temperatures of 13 below, I wound up in South Texas a week later with the temperature a sunny 75.

It was my first time in the famous Hill Country north of San Antonio, and it is everything I'd heard it was. (Yes, Texas can be hilly. And yes, there are trees - lots of them.) It is beautiful country, but from the looks of things, it has never been an easy place to make a living. My son-in-law showed me the ranch (pronounced "rainch" down there) near the tiny town of Harper where his grandparents ran sheep and goats, and from what I could see, life there was a constant battle against nature. Settlers have recently re-discovered the Hill Country, but from the looks of some of the houses they are throwing up, these settlers aren't worried about making a living. They've already made theirs, and now they want to enjoy it in an exotically beautiful part of Texas.

A gem of the Hill Country is the historic little town of Fredericksburg, and a major attraction there is the Admiral Nimitz Museum. Admiral Chester Nimitz, who shared command in the Pacific with General MacArthur during World War II, was born and raised in Fredericksburg, and the museum occupies the building in which his family for years operated the town's only hotel. A sign on the wall quotes advice that the Admiral-to-be got from his grandfather: "The sea, like life itself, is a stern taskmaker. The best way to get along with either is to learn all you can, then do your best and don't worry - especially about things over which you have no control."

The Lakehouse Restaurant in Kerrville serves the best catfish I've ever tasted. (That's right, Yankees - catfish. It's a real delicacy in the South, and these are not mudcats. They're raised on farms.) Actually, you can take your pick of food in those parts and it's good - beef in any form (this is Texas, after all) - catfish - Cajun - Tex-Mex - barbeque (but a word of caution to you southerners from east of the Mississippi who swear by pork barbecue- this is Texas, and in Texas, barbecue means beef brisket - sliced).

By the way, no town I saw - no matter how small, no matter how many empty storefronts in its downtown - skimped on its football stadium. They are well-kept, and their capacities all seem to be about 150% larger than you'd expect elsewhere.

Finally, let me tell you - Kansas State people claim they were shafted by the BCS, and they may have a point, but being sent to San Antonio is definitely NOT the worst thing that could happen to your team. Take it from me - if YOUR favorite team has to settle for a "lesser" bowl next year, and you like having a good time, push hard for the Alamo Bowl (sorry, Builders' Square- you're going to have to pay ME for naming rights, too). Hock whatever you have to. But get there. That town was made for a party.

San Antonio has an authentic Spanish flavor, and its famous Riverwalk, which I first saw when our Portland WFL team visited there in 1975 to play a team called the San Antonio Wings (honest), is more interesting than ever. Amazingly, if you didn't know about the Riverwalk - although I can't imagine how that might happen - you could easily miss it, because the river is quite narrow, and it's one floor below street level. Down in its narrow canyon, seemingly cutting its way through the buildings that surround it on both sides, the tree-shaded San Antonio River winds through downtown, a world apart from the big city up above. Its banks - paved walkways - are lined with endless shops, pubs and restaurants of every description. And these are nice, fun places - I'd call the Riverwalk a blend of Venice Beach, Bourbon Street and the Atlantic City Boardwalk, but far classier, and with a slightly Hispanic flavor. There's a lot going on, and place after place entices strollers to have a seat at an outdoor table - every restaurant's got them - and enjoy a meal or a drink. (I'd like to see that on Bourbon Street or the Boardwalk.) And if you're looking for more action, you can join the crowds inside.

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There were 30,000 K-State fans swarming all over town, every doggone one of them wearing purple, and nearly every one driving a car or van with the Wildcat logo (left) on the door. It sure seemed as if they outnumbered the Purdue fans by about nine to one. They overran the motel where we stayed, but amazingly enough, they didn't keep us awake with their partying. Go figure.

And then, San Antonio has the Alamo itself. It had been 23 years since I last saw it, and I'd forgotten what an awesome place it is. If you are a football coach, someone who preaches courage and dedication to a cause, I promise you that you will be awed when you enter the building.

Everone knows that the Alamo is a symbol of Texas heroism, but what few people realize is that in a larger sense, it is a monument to American patriotism: the nearly 200 heroes of the Alamo came from 20 states besides Texas, and from six foreign countries as well. Amazingly, at least 30 of them - "Volunteers" - came from Tennessee.

On the ground outside is where Colonel William Travis, the commander, with his calls for help unanswered and his men hopelessly outnumbered, drew a line with his sword, challenging all those willing to stay and fight to the finish to cross over and join him. (All but one did.) Coaches - tell that one to your football team some time!

On the wall inside is a copy of the last letter Colonel Travis wrote, in a final, deperate appeal for outside help - "I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country - victory or death." Wow - while you're at it, tell them that one, too.

December 24- As the Colorado Buffs get ready to play the Oregon Ducks in Hawaii, an article in the Denver Post by John Henderson dealt with someone CU folks - all football people, for that matter - can take great pride in. He's Jim Hansen, a 29-year old former offensive tackle for the Buffs who will be spending his Christmas in Oxford, England. How he got there indicates what an impressive young man he is. A native of Seattle and the son of a Boeing aerospace engineer, Jim was a three-time Academic All-American, and earned his bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering at CU with a 3.94 GPA. He passed up a shot at the pro's to get his master's degree at CU - in one year - then was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. There, he earned his doctorate in (no lie) "adaptive observations in spatially extended non-linear dynamical systems" (it supposedly has something to do with long-range weather foecasting). While at Oxford, Jim, now 6-6 and 235, down from his playing weight of 305, found time to play rugby and coach Oxford's American football team. I loved his comments on the latter experience - as an American who has coached in Europe myself, I knew instantly what he was talking about: "That was a bit difficult. You have a certain level of ability or comprehension you expect. Those guys were basically rugby castoffs. You had to go right down to the basics of teaching them how to tackle. I have a greater appreciation for my coaches."

December 23 - Merry Christmas, football lovers. Those 90's types waiting for soccer to replace football in the hearts of America had better stock up on their Snickers, because they're not going anywhere for a while, based on these figures released by the NCAA:

By SCOTT NEWMAN - Bloomberg Business News

OVERLAND PARK, Kansas -- Attendance at NCAA college football games (in Divisions I-A, I-AA, II and III) this season surpassed 37 million for the first time, the NCAA said.

Total attendance for the regular-season games of the 595 schools playing NCAA football this year totaled 37.5 million, about a 2 percent increase from last year, the NCAA said.

The University of Michigan led Division I-A in football attendance, averaging 110,965 fans a game this year. The Wolverines expanded their stadium capacity to 107,051 from 102,501 before this season. Tennessee expanded Neyland Stadium to 102,854 from 91,902 in 1997. The Volunteers averaged 105,914 fans at home games this year.

Two seasons ago, Notre Dame expanded the capacity of its stadium to 80,012 from 59,075. The Fighting Irish averaged 80,012 fans a game this season.

(While coaching overseas, I was disappointed to find that, thanks to the NFL's marketing expertise, most foreigners had no idea that college football existed, so ingrained in their minds was the NFL as synonymous with "American football." Am I the only one who seems to have noticed that the NFL may be using that approach here, too? Do they seem to be using the term "football" (rather than "pro football" or "NFL football") as if they have a monopoloy on the sport - as if the college game doesn't even exist? I am a big fan of the college game, and I will lay in my own supply of Snickers to wait for the day that a pro team outdraws Tennessee, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, etc., etc.)

December 22 - This is great: Dan Marino, in the December 21 Sports Illustrated, says he has trouble watching his son's hockey games because "the coaches tell all the kids what a great job they're doing, instead of making them work harder. I'd make them skate laps. The whole attitude is weird, like it's O.K. to lose. I mean, it's not the end of the world, but no one can tell me losing doesn't hurt. Also, there's this thing about every kid getting to play. When I grew up, you played if you were good enough to play." Welcome to the 90's, Dan. (Why do I think that Dan Marino would have his problems with some of today's parents?)

December 21- Whenever you're inclined to feel sorry for yourself, consider this: you could be Mike Johnston, head coach at Katy, Texas (outside Houston), whose Tigers won the 1997 Texas Class 5-A Division II championship, and went 15-0 on the field in 1998 on their way to another state title. So why wouldn't you want to trade places with him? Read on.

Friday, as Coach Johnson and his players boarded the buses for their trip to Texas Stadium (home of the Cowboys) to play in Saturday's state final, they were informed that the bus trip wouldn't be necessary - they would not be defending their title the next day.

Instead, they would be stripped of two wins, dropped from their number 10 spot in USA Today's national rankings, and staying home to watch the next day's championship game on TV.

It seems that Katy had unknowingly suited up an ineligble player in the previous two games, a quarter-final win over Clear Brook and a semi-final win over San Antonio MacArthur. The player in question had scarcely played, appearing in a handful of plays near the end of the 40-0 win over Clear Brook game two weeks before.

But Texas state law - the "no pass, no play" law - expressly forbids allowing an academically ineligible player to suit up, and specifies a minimum penalty of forfeiture. There is no appeal.

So the governing body of Texas high school sports, the University Interscholastic League (UIL), with prior commitments to televise the championship game, contacted the authorities at San Antonio MacArthur - at 10 o'clock Friday morning - to offer them the chance to take Katy's place against Midland Lee.

MacArthur, a 14-6 loser to Katy just a week ago, had already collected and stored equipment, but nonetheless accepted the invitation, and on less than 24 hours' notice, hastily gathered the troops. There is no fairy tale ending to the story, though, because, with almost no preparation, MacArthur was pounded by Midland Lee, 54-0, in the worst beating in Texas 5-A championship game history. Lee led 33-0 at the half, and outgained MacArthur, 504-166.

Katy self-reported the violation once it was discovered. There was no choice, no option of waiting until after the game - failure to report the infraction immediately would have been a violation of state law. Now here's the part of the story that makes us all gnash our teeth: The violation occured, and Katy's season came to a crashing end, because the player in question - it is alleged - submitted a three-week progress report containing forged grades and forged teachers' signatures.

December 19- I received this e-mail yesterday:

Sir,

While surfing the net I came across your page, and the tribute to Major Holleder. I am a survivor of the battle in which he lost his life, in fact he died in my arms. A visit to West Point would not be complete without a visit to the Holleder Center. For those of us that were lucky enough to survive the Battle of Ong Thanh, the Center is a tribute to all our fallen comrades.

Thank you,

Tom Hinger

NOTE: For those of you who have not taken the time to read the story of Don Holleder, I strongly suggest you do so. Tom Hinger was kind enough to send me a reprint of Newsweek magazine from October 30, 1967 describing the bloody ambush in which the U.S. First Infantry Division's Black Lions Brigade lost 55 men, including Major Don Holleder and the brigade commander, Lt. Colonel Terry Allen. The Newsweek article tells of Don Holleder's heroism in returning under enemy fire to evacuate wounded troops, and extensively quotes Tom Hinger, then a young Medic Pfc.

December 13- In case you wondered: Ashland, down 23-10 in the third period of the Oregon Class AAAA title game, came back to tie Roseburg with 57 seconds to play, then went on to win in overtime, 29-23. It was the first AAAA championship game played since Oregon, responding to an overwhelming demand from its football coaches, finally agreed in September to dump its policy of declaring co-champions at the end of a tie game. The OSAA, ruling body of Oregon HS sports, narrowly escaped controversy in last year's AAAA championship when a last-minute McNary field goal broke a 48-48 tie with Beaverton. "You have to play overtime," said Roseburg's Thurman Bell, who supported the rules change. "Much as it hurts now, that's the only way." Those insensitive football coaches! Don't they even care how the poor losers feel? In the spirit of cooperation, compromise, inclusion and collegiality - wouldn't a tie have been more appropriate? Why even keep score in regular season games? Maybe we could find work for some of the Northwest's out-of-work loggers - cutting down scoreboards!

December 11 - It occurs to me that in previewing tomorrow's Oregon Class AAAA title game and praising Roseburg, one of the finalists, I may have seemedto diss Roseburg's opponent, Ashland. The two towns are about the same size - just under 20,000 - but while Roseburg is a classic Northwest logging and lumber town, Ashland, the last town of any size before you hit the California state line, is seen by many Oregonians as a little bit of California - gift shoppes, boutiques, espresso cafes, bed-and-breakfasts and so forth - relocated north of the border. No matter. The Ashland Grizzlies are good. They are 13-0 and winners of an earlier regular-season game over Roseburg, and they are not strangers to the title game either. In 1989, they defeated Roseburg, 24-22, kicking a field goal with less than a minute remaining, then blocking a Roseburg field goal attempt with no time left. Since Coach Jim Nagel arrived in Ashland in 1983 - from California, no less - he has built the program to the point where every home game has been sold out since 1986, and there is a season-ticket waiting list of 400.

December 8- The Oregon Class AAAA final this coming Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene pits two teams from the Southern Oregon Conference. Unbeaten Ashland (13-0), the conference champ, finds itself in a rematch against Roseburg (10-2). Ashland defeated Roseburg in the fourth game of the year, 35-21, but Roseburg, dedicated to earning the rematch, hasn't lost since then. Don't bet against Roseburg. It is a classic football town, with one high school, and a hard-nosed blue-collar tradition, built around logging and lumber mills, that's reflected in its style of football. It's the kind of town that appreciates - and deserves - a coach like Thurman Bell. In his 28 years at Roseburg, Coach Bell has won 220 games, including 39 playoff wins. His Indians have been to the state finals eight times, and won three titles outright and one co-championship (Oregon is the capital of political correctness: for a while there, they refused to settle a title-game tie - didn't want the losers to feel bad). Only once since 1980 has Roseburg failed to make the playoffs. Coach Bell is an old-fashioned disciplinarian: earlier this year, when two JV's were caught peeling out of the school parking lot, the entire team - varsity, too - paid for their misconduct with extra work the next day. Roseburg's pre-game cals are a sight to see: they display more discipline before the game than some high school teams do in an entire season! Roseburg's motto, in big letters on the locker room wall, says it all: "IT TAKES US ALL TO MAKE US ONE." (I have worked with Roseburg kids at U. of Oregon's summer camp, and even when surrounded by other good kids, they still stand out. They are a pleasure to work with.)

December 6- Just finished talking to my high school coach, Ed Lawless, back in Pennsylvania. He is a single wing guy, and he agrees with me that the offense is made to order for the so-called "slash" player - imagine Kordell Stewart as a single wing tailback! In fact, a lot of what Kansas State does with Michael Bishop out of their "shotgun" sure looks like single wing stuff to me. Some of the guys I've seen just this year - Akili Smith at Oregon, Ortege Jenkins at Arizona, Corby Jones at Missouri - convince me that it's just a matter of time before somebody brings back the single wing. (Whether they'll have the guts to call it by that name is another matter! ) Ed played his college ball in the late '40s, at Penn, then a single-wing power whose center was Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik. Penn's George Munger was one of the East's top coaches, and year in and year out, his Quakers held their own against the nation's best, but when Penn's administration decided to join the no-scholarship Ivy League, while still honoring its long-term scheduling commitments against the likes of Notre Dame, Penn State, Virginia Tech and California, Coach Munger said no thanks - and retired. His successor, Steve Sebo, was a good football man, but he should have listened to George Munger: his teams would lose more than 20 games in a row before Penn's schedule finally came down to the level of its talent. Coach Munger, incidentally, made do with a staff of only three assistants, one of whom was his long-time line coach, Rae Crowther . In coaching the offensive line, Coach Crowther (rhymes, by the way, with "brother) was considered a master technician who had few equals. So into the techniques of blocking was coach Crowther that he invented and patented the blocking sled that still bears his name, and eventually got out of coaching to devote full time to the sled business. Ed speaks with reverence of Coach Crowther, and like me, can't stand watching a lot of today's offensive line play. He says, "if Rae Crowther saw some of the 'blocking' that goes on today, he'd throw up!"

December 5- This from Coach Bruce Eien, at Brethren Christian High School in California, in response to the "self-esteem" comments below: "The biggest problem I face at a private school is parents saving their kids from anything that is hard, so when the game gets tough these kids don't have any idea of how to save themselves or fight back, because mommy and daddy are always there to save them." AMEN

December 3- Anyone looking for reasons why football participation is down - military recruitment, too - struck gold on ABC's "20/20" Wednesday night. One of the topics was the self-esteem sham that's being pushed by feel-good educators and assorted do-gooders all over the country.

The self-esteem movement is based on the fact that successful people have high self-esteem (Duh). So therefore, in a classic case of putting the cart before the horse, the self-esteemers argue that if we raise kids' self-esteem, they'll be successful. Really. Anyhow, that's the logic behind it, and by extension, it means that achievement is downplayed, because kids don't have to do anything particularly hard or good to be lavishly praised - they're already perfectly wonderful just as they are! Never correct them if they get an answer wrong - you'll damage their self-esteem. Honor rolls? Gone - how will the kids who don't make the honor roll feel?

Any of us who has ever taught weight training has seen the real pride of accomplishment - which is what we ought to be talking about instead of self esteem - that comes from working hard to improve. Meanwhile, real achievement - and competition - are taking it on the chin. Self-improvement? Forgettaboutit. Experts travel around the country telling kids at assemblies that their self-esteem doesn't depend on achievement - they're great just as they are. All they have to do is agree with the speaker that they're okay. And despite study after study showing that this brainwashing, based as it is on empty, unearned praise - on "proud to be me" and "self-affirmation" - is total garbage, the self-esteemies continue to win their battle with the evils of competition.

Beginning to see how this is affecting football? To the feel-good bunch, if competition is their enemy, then football is their Antichrist. Does everybody who turns out for the football team get a trophy ? (They did in soccer last year.) Are you going to keep score? (That means there'll be losers. How are they going to feel?) Does everybody get to play equal time? (What will it do to a kid's self-esteem when he finds out he's not starting? or when he wants to play quarterback, but you put him at center? or, for that matter, when you put him at end but never throw to him?)

Anyone notice how sensitive kids have become to coaches' correction - much less criticism? Brace yourself, coach. It can only get worse, according to a professor of psychology on the show: "Conceited people get nasty when you burst their bubble of self-love."

In fact, why should a kid play football at all when he can not play and get the same rewards, for a lot less effort? After all, he doesn't have to prove anything - he already knows how great he is, just for being himself. He's been told it and told it, since kindergarten. And no one dares to criticize him if he doesn't play - that would be "judgmental". In a society that continues to downplay achievement - and other manly virtues - the slacker is often a bigger hero than the football player.

We can scoff all we like, but this is the society we are forced to coach in. Guys, we've got a big job on our hands.

December 1- Paul Herzog, head man at North St. Paul (Minnesota) High, had a great season, making it as far as the state quarter-finals for the first time in school history. But his "Polars" fell one game short of "making it to the Dome" - qualifying for the state semi-finals, held in the MetroDome. So Paul was selected to serve as a team host in the Dome - performing the duties that a host athletic director would normally perform for a visiting team (or ought to). You can be sure that Paul was at his most courteous, because he was assigned to host Champlin Park High, one of whose assistants is newly-elected Minnesota Governor (and former pro wrestler) Jesse Ventura.

November 30 - Happy first day on earth to my youngest grandson, Michael Wyatt Tiffany, born in Houston to my daughter, Cathy and son-in-law Rob Tiffany. Rob, a Longhorn, narrowly lost out in his bid to name the little guy Ricky Williams Tiffany. It's too bad they never asked me; my vote might have swung it.

November 30 - I just returned from a trip to the Philadelphia-New Jersey area, where the prime topic was football - in the newspapers, in conversations, and on Philly's hard-core sports talk station, WIP.

First, the pros. Philadelphia fans love their "Iggles," and even support them when they're bad, but this year the entire city is in a funk over their sad state, as radio callers took turns lambasting owner Jeffrey Lurie, Coach Ray Rhodes, and quarterback (until yesterday) Bobby Hoying, and dreaming about drafting Ricky Williams.

Next, the colleges. For a few days there, the "experts" were even taking it out on Penn State's legendary Joe Paterno, in the wake of Wisconsin's thumping of the Nittany Lions. It didn't matter to them that the Lions had lost to some pretty good teams in Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. Joe Pa is finally too old - he can't get a team ready the way he used to, he can't win the big ones any more, he never could coach quarterbacks, the game has passed him by, blah, blah, blah. And then the Lions went out and blew Michigan State away, so now maybe they'll let Joe stick around a little longer.

Finally, the high schools. Can you imagine getting ready for a playoff game on Saturday, but first having to interrupt your preparations in order to play a non-league game - on Thursday? Are you serious? Very - if the Thursday in question is Thanksgiving Day, and you're coaching in New Jersey. Traditional Thanksgiving Day games are still huge in the East, from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, but nowhere more so than in New Jersey, where the tradition is so strong it may be hard for outsiders to believe - several teams still in the state playoffs nevertheless put things on hold while they played Thanksgiving Day games against their traditional rivals! And at least one of those playoff teams lost their Thanksgiving Day game - to a non-playoff team!

While in Philadelphia, I learned that an old and dear friend, Doug Moister, has just decided to hang it up after 26 years as head man at Abington High, a large suburban Philadelphia school. Abington competes in the Suburban One League, possibly Pennsylvania's toughest: it produced last year's state AAAA champion - and current USA Today #9 - Central Bucks West, of Doylestown. Compounding the difficulty of competing against such tough opposition, Doug's school district allowed its facilities to deteriorate to the point where after 1995, opponents refused to play there. But opposition from local residents has stalled new stadium construction, so since then, Doug's kids have played just one home game. In all, Abington has had to play 32 of its last 33 games on the road - the last 22 in a row. Only one of this year's seniors had the experience of playing a game on his home field! Doug has had some great teams, and some great players, including Notre Dame grad Shawn Wooden, now a starting defensive back for the Miami Dolphins. But the best player he ever had is one he never got to coach, a promising sophomore named Eddie George whose Mom decided to withdraw him from Abington and send him to a private school, Fork Union Military Academy, in Virginia. From there, Eddie went on to Ohio State and the Heisman Trophy. Doug always respected Eddies's Mom's decision and was never bitter about it, and Eddie still manages to visit when he's in the area. In recent years, Doug has grown concerned about the growing use of creatine, openly advocated by some of the other coaches in his league, and has vocally opposed its use. "How can I stand in front of my health classes and say 'don't do drugs,' and then push that stuff?" he asks. " I wouldn't allow my sons to use it, so I can't ask these kids to do it." Unfortunately, says Doug, "You can really see the difference when you watch a team whose players use it." Not that Doug won't have enough to keep him busy in retirement. He will continue as a health and PE teacher, and spend more time with his family: in addition to sons Doug and Drew, Doug and his wife, Peggy, have a young daughter, Anna, who came to them originally as one of the more than 40 foster kids they have cared for over the last 13 years. Doug, a man of deep faith, has been a great model for young men and a real credit to our profession.

Central Bucks West, incidentally, won its 28th straight in the state quarter-finals this past Saturday, advancing to next week's semi-finals. Talk about success- for CB West coach Mike Pettine, 36 years at the job, this current 28-game win streak is only the third longest of his career! Mike's closest game this season was against North Penn, coached by Mike Pettine, Jr.

November 24 - "Quitters never win, and winners never quit." To many coaches, slogans like that are the mother's milk of motivation. To many others, though, they are corny, weary, trite. If you fall into the latter category, Tompkins Press, in Raleigh, NC wants your entry in their "Most Trite, Generic, Hokey, Overused, Cliched or Unmotivating Motivational Slogan" contest. First prize is two free round-trip tickets to any North American city served by US Airways, plus $1000 in cash to spend when you get there (you could be talkin' Rose Bowl, guys). Send your "UMS" (short for "Useless Motivational Slogan") to slogans@tompkinsinc.com Deadline is March 1. So enter today. (Remember, "today is the first day of the rest of your life." Oops.)

November 23- Vale 28, Bandon 6

November 16 - Don Markham's Bandon Tigers won their opening-round Oregon Class 3-A playoff game Saturday, defeating Sutherlin, 54-0. Bandon, ranked #8, travels next week to play #9-ranked Vale. For those of you who enjoy bus rides, it is more than 500 miles from Bandon, on the southern Oregon coast, to Vale, near the Idaho border. Does any other school in the U.S. have to travel that far for a playoff game?

November 13- Received a call from Dave Hutchison, in Wagner, South Dakota. Coming off a 1-7 season in 1997, Dave finished 5-3 - Wagner's first winning season since 1991 - and made it to the state playoffs. There, Dave's boys came within a whisker of upsetting the eventual state champs, leading at halftime, 14-13, before finally falling 26-14. Dave started three sophomores on the offensive line, and with a lot of other starters returning, he is already excited thinking about next year.

November 4- I spoke today with Don Forti, coach at University School of Milwaukee, who is preparing for this weekend's Wisconsin Independent Schools' state semi-finals. University School, running out of the double-wing "about 75 per cent of the time," in Coach Forti's estimate, is now 9-1, and was undefeated in league play for the first time since 1974. At a school with an intense emphasis on college preparation, Coach Forti manages to be successful despite rarely having his entire team at practice, and even then having to limit his practices to 1-1/2 hours daily. Compensating factors are intelligent and highly motivated young men, including 6-foot, 210 pound fullback Lawrence Canada. Canada, son of former NFL running back Larry Canada and Doctor Cecelia Howell-Canada, has been averaging 150 yards a game, and carried 28 times for 172 yards in last Saturday's quarterfinal win over Menasha St. Mary. He is considered a Division I prospect and has been hearing from Wisconsin, Michigan State and Northwestern, among others. Summing up his performance last Saturday, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel sports columnist D. O. Ledbetter wrote, "Canada rushed for four touchdowns, made several tackles, had an interception and sold hot cocoa at halftime. He would have played in the band, but it didn't perform."

November 3 - Jack Tourtillotte, of Boothbay Harbor, Maine is offensive coordinator of Boothbay Regional High's undefeated football team. His daughter is a student at Goucher College, outside Baltimore, and her roommate is from a small town in Western Maryland named Thurmont. Jack happened to be reading the scores on my "Double-Wing Winners" page and noticed Thurmont's high school, Catoctin High, among the winners. Using his daughter's connection with Thurmont as his pretext, Jack called Catoctin High, and - bingo - he and Catoctin coach Doug Williams have hooked up to compare ideas. Jack, incidentally, claims he may be the highest paid offensive coordinator in the Maine. Not that he isn't worth it on the basis of his coaching expertise alone, but Jack is also the high school principal!

Don Markham's Bandon Tigers returned to their winning ways Friday with a 70-24 defeat of Coquille. Reedsport, conqueror of Bandon a week ago, continued unbeaten with a 34-0 win over Brookings.

October 27 - No doubt Reedsport, Oregon High School's switchboard has been busy the past few days, mostly with callers wanting to speak to the football coach about defense. That's because #10-ranked (3A) Reedsport defeated Don Markham's #3-ranked Bandon Tigers, 36-22, at Bandon Friday night. Bandon had averaged 67 points a game in its first six games, and is now 6-1. No further details were available.

October 22 - It's been brought to my attention that someone, claiming to be me, has written a scurrilous note to a chat site. It is so over the top that it would be hard to believe that anyone in our profession would be such a braggart as this letter makes me out to be, but understandably, the letter has drawn some indignant responses from coaches upset at what I am supposed to have said. Please understand this: I limit my over-the-web communication to this web site. Period. I have no interest in exchanging material through those other sites. I sent an e-mail to cybertown explaining that I did not write the letter "signed" by me, and that its readers could be sure that any time in the future they saw an e-mail "signed" by me, I had not sent it. At least my daily newspaper calls me to make sure I actually sent the mail "signed" by me. TO SEE WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO ANY OF US

October 20 - Double-wing great Don Markham is featured in a story on the front sports page of today's Portland Oregonian. The gist of the article is that his return from California to Oregon has been triumphant but controversial. His Bandon Tigers have been winning by huge scores (such as a recent 90-6 win over a league rival); Don denies that he is running up the score; and very few of his opponents are complaining - at least openly. The biggest complaint any of his league victims voiced was that he found Don's double-wing "just too boring to watch."

So what's the problem? Well, it could be, as the Oregonian's Dave Charbonneau notes, that Don is being set up.

Possibly anticipating Don's return to Oregon, the state's leagues were given the option of dropping the 45-point mercy rule (The so-called "Don Markham Rule") in favor of one requiring coaches who win by more than 45 points to submit a report to their league detailing what steps they took to keep down the score. The Far West League, of which Bandon is a member, chose the report option. Some observers see this as setting Don up for some sort of league sanction - including possible forfeits or even disqualification from playoffs - which wouldn't have taken place under the old 45-point rule.

"This is the only time in the history of sports, that I know of, when administrators are trying to stop athletes from doing well," Don told Charbonneau. "Are we going to tell the volleyball team they can't win by 15 points? Do we take the music program and tell them, 'you're too good; make sure you have some sour notes, because we don't want other people to feel bad?'"

October 17 - Got a call from Pat Pimmel, coach of the St. Charles (Missouri) Gators, a 10-11 year-old team in the St. Louis area. The Gators, whom I had the opportunity to coach at a camp last summer, are now 3-0, outscoring opponents 100-24. In a recent game against an inner-city powerhouse, the Gators gained over 300 yards on the ground. Each of the backs - A, B and C - gained over 100 yards. Pretty good, huh? (Did I mention that they play eight-minute quarters?)

October 12- In Monday's USA TODAY high school football roundup, one of the OHIO footballers honored is a Double-Winger, Richmond Heights' T. R. Atkinson, who scored 5 TDs and ran for a school-record 272 yards in the Spartans' 76-6 win over Beachwood.

Also mentioned in OREGON are Don Markham's Bandon Tigers, 90-6 (that's right, 90) winners over Douglas.

Chatfield High, a Double-Wing school in the Denver suburb of Littleton, won its homecoming game, 42-15, over Standley Lake, and the Homecoming Queen was - the place-kicker. Crowned at halftime in her maroon-and-white football uniform, Katie Hnida went 6-for-6 on PAT attempts. She is for real: her longest field goal this year is 35 yards.

October 5 - Double-Wing Coach John Naylor from Fort Worth informs me that Texas' Ricky Williams has received special permission to wear the late Doak Walker's Number 37 in this Saturday's Texas-Oklahoma game in Dallas. Even die-hard SMU fans will have to pay tribute to Ricky for making such a noble and gracious gesture. Just to think of Number 37 running wild on the floor of the Cotton Bowl one more time - even in the orange-and-white of the rival Longhorns - has to give them chills. I have my sentimental moments, and this is one of them. God bless Ricky Williams, and God grant him the strength to play for two men on Saturday!

Richmond Heights (Ohio) running back J. R. Atkinson is one of five Cleveland-area running backs you can vote for as Cleveland Online's best running back of the year. J.R. is the Cleveland area's leading scorer with 118 points in five games.

October 4 - Double-Wing legend Don Markham is back in Oregon after a spectacular run at Bloomington, California which included setting a new national scoring record (880 points in 14 games, just in case you wanted to know what you had to shoot for). And evidently very little has changed since Don's last coaching stint in the Pacific Northwest: his Bandon Tigers are now 4-0 after Friday night's 58-7 defeat of South Umpqua .

Include me in the legion of football fans who are saddened by the recent passing of Doak Walker, a great football player and a great man, and one of my first football heroes. I respected - almost revered - him as a player and a person, and he never let me down. His death prompts me once again to recommend Doak Walker - More Than a Hero, by Whit Canning, and edited by Dan Jenkins.

One of the book's many great anecdotes concerns The Doaker's decision to attend SMU, where his popularity twice led to enlargement of the Cotton Bowl just to hold the fans clamoring to see him and the Mustangs. Walker had originally been convinced by his former Highland Park (Dallas) High School teammate, Bobby Layne (yes, for those of you who know your football history, the Bobby Layne), to attend Texas with him. How Doak was instead lured away from the Longhorns and persuaded to stay home in Dallas and play at SMU is a great story, and Jenkins, a native Texan and a great football writer, can sure tell a story.

It is heartwarming to learn of the relationship that evidently developed between Doak Walker and Texas' Ricky Williams, and to hear the great Longhorn running back tell of the influence Doak Walker has had on him. God bless Doak Walker.

September 26 - Got a great letter from Robbie Robertson, Offensive Coordinator at North Cobb High School in suburban Atlanta. While speaking on the Wing-T at a clinic last winter, Coach Robertson was introduced to my first tape by a 7th grade coach from another district, and last Spring, he "tinkered" with the Double-Wing. North Cobb, 9-2 in 1997 and ranked 12th in Georgia Class AAAA, got off to an 0-2 start this year, but the few Double-Wing plays that Coach Robertson had installed were averaging 11 yards a play, so with heavily-favored Walton coming up, he decided to go exclusively to the Double-Wing. The result was a 27-18 North Cobb win. "If we had stayed in our conventional Wing-T," writes Coach Robertson, "we would have lost." Now, here's the best part: Coach Robertson was head coach at Walton from 1990 until 1994, when he was fired - after going 32-20. Those of us who've been through anything like that can appreciate the vindication Coach Robertson must have felt.

September 25 - Things could be worse - you could be in Bob Becnel's shoes. Coach Becnel, at Belle Chasse, Louisiana, has just been informed that tonight's game will not be played - his second hurricane-cancellation in this short season. Belle Chasse is located in low-lying Plaquemines Parish (County), and with Hurricane Georges headed its way, Belle Chasse High School has to be used as an emergency shelter. Belle Chasse did manage to squeeze in a game last week - in the mud - against parish rival, Port Sulphur, and pulled out a 6-0 win - in two overtimes! Other double-wing coaches will appreciate Coach Becnel's play selection on the winning drive: 1st Down: Wedge for six yards; 2nd Down: Wedge for four yards and the winning touchdown.

September 22 - Got a call from Dave Hutchison, Double-Wing coach in Wagner, South Dakota. Dave's team is now 2-2, with close losses to the #1 and #3 teams in the state. He was playing golf last summer with his cousin's husband, Gene Esser, head football coach at Logan, Iowa. Gene happened to mention that he was getting ready to run a new offense - the Double-Wing - after getting a tape from "a coach in Washington(!)." Turned out that Dave had just ordered the same tape! Gene and Dave are now both running the Double-Wing, and needless to say, spending a lot of time on the phone.

September 21 - Ron Timson, head coach at Bennington, Nebraska, notified me about an article in last Friday's Omaha World Herald about John Stineman, who runs our Double- Wing in Utica, Nebraska. John, now in his 20th year at Utica Centennial High, has been named one of the five finalists for the NFL High School Football Coach of the Year Award. John was nominated for the award by former player Quentin Neujahr who now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. As if the honor itself weren't enough, John will receive $2,500 for himself, and $5,000 for his football program. The final winner of the NFL Coach of the Year Award (ever wonder how they can somehow pick one, out of the hundreds - maybe thousands - of great coaches in this country?) will be flown to the Super Bowl, where he will be presented with $5,000 for himself, and $10,000 for his program. Ron Timson added that Coach Stineman, whose career record is 126-69-1, is "a real credit to our profession."

Viroqua High, a Double-Wing school in Wisconsin, had three starters ejected from last Friday's game - for wearing illegal shoes! No kidding! They weren't wearing golf shoes, or track shoes, or even extra-long cleats. Their crime? They were wearing - gasp! - molded-sole shoes, in apparent violation of a new state rule narrowly defining what is legal footwear.

Equipment Warning: Maybe it's because we play on a lot of muddy fields in the Pacific Northwest, but we've encountered a few sporting goods stores that handle illegal extra-long cleats, while assuring kids that they're legal. I have had my wife call some stores just to verify what the kids have said. Recently, we found a set on our fullback. We told him they had to go, and thought that was the end of it, but in our opening game, a suspicious official checked him out and found him to be illegally equipped; we were assessed a 15-yard penalty and he was removed from the game until we could get another pair of shoes on him. Turned out that instead of replacing the illegal cleats, he had hack-sawed them down to what he thought was legal length. (The official detected him, incidentally, on the PAT following a 51-yard touchdown run he had just made! Whew!)

September 17 - I came across a great football web site that coaches will enjoy. It's entitled The Gagliardi Trophy, and it deals with the award given annually to the top quarterback in NCAA Division III. But it also provides links to every Division III Conference, and better still, it devotes some space to the trophy's namesake, John Gagliardi (pronounced Ga-LARD-ee). Coach Gagliardi, college football's winningest active coach, is now in his 50th year of coaching, and his 46th year at the same place, St. John's College in Minnesota. Read more about Coach John Gagliardi and his unusual approach to coaching football.

September 11 - Coach Paul Briggs will be honored at halftime of tomorrow's game between Orange Coast College and Fullerton College, in Costa Mesa, California. Coach Briggs will be recognized for 50 years of coaching! Now a volunteer assistant at Orange Coast (a JC), Coach Briggs retired in 1985 after 33 years as head coach of Bakersfield High School, where he had compiled a record of 244-99-12. Figure it out - anybody who can coach 33 years and not lose 100 games has had one heck of a run. In fact, surviving 33 years in one place is in itself quite an achievement. His Bakersfield Drillers were real powerhouses - when he arrived there, the school had 4,800 students.

I heard Coach Briggs speak at a clinic in 1977, and he really wowed the coaches in attendance. A big, gruff bear of a man, he was dynamic, boisterous, humorous and supremely confident, and he gave a presentation on motivation and dealing with people that I still draw on after all these years. "I don't own a set of golf clubs, I don't play tennis, and I don't have a boat," he once told The Bakersfield Californian. "I live and breathe football 12 months out of the year. I pursue excellence relentlessly." In 50 years of coaching, coach Briggs has never missed a practice.

September 10 - Family ties compel me to mention the biggest football game of the year, coming up soon. In Australia, that is. My son, Ed, in his role as a producer with Fox Sports World, has become deeply involved in production and promotion of Australian Rules Football ("footy," to its millions of loyal fans) on TV, and Fox will be bringing the Australian Grand Final to the US live on Friday, September 23 at 8 PM PDT. Talk about athletes! Those footy guys are studs.

September 7 - I had the good fortune to speak with coach Roger Brookes, of King William High School, near Richmond, Virginia. For years, Coach Brookes has been running his unique brand of double-wing - featuring a direct-snap to a quarterback 3 yards back - and last year, also mixing in some of my T-formation double-wing, King William High amassed 3800 yards of total offense, en route to an 11-1 record! He's promised to send me a copy of his 1997 highlights tape. I can't wait to see it.

August 30 - Just finished our first week of practice. We are thin in numbers - as usual - but we have some pretty good-looking kids. Our 6-4, 240 pound B-Back is back for his senior year, and we have three wingbacks with good speed. At QB, we are very young, but the 2 contenders are okay on the mechanics - now it's a matter of poise and toughness.

August 14 - Returned from a 4-day trip to Wells, Nevada. What exotic beauty! Wells, elevation 5,600 feet, is located in the high desert country of northeast Nevada, about two hours south of Twin Falls, Idaho and three hours west of Salt Lake City. and sits at the base of 11,000 foot mountains. There, 9,000 feet up on the shores of Angel's Lake, the staff and their families held a cookout on the night before practice started. A point worth noting: during camp, a simple handoff left QB Mark Kessler holding his mouth, and fullback Chris Sueuga bleeding from his upper arm. As you might have guessed, Chris' upraised elbow had struck Mark in the mouth, leaving a little chunk of skin behind - in Mark's braces! Fortunately, I had a toothpick, with which Mark was able to remove the flesh from his braces. It was a minor gross-out, but ,thank goodness, nothing was broken - because the orthodontist is in Elko, 50 miles away. My dentist informs me that having the braces on may actually have prevented the loss of teeth, although he strongly urges using mouthpieces any time there is a chance of a collision. But he also tells me I need to floss regularly. (No word, incidentally, on whether Chris will need rabies shots.)

August 7- I got this e-mail from a youth coach in Southern California: "I got home last night from practice and received a phone call from an assistant coach of the team we were supposed to scrimmage next week. Said he just 'happened' to be driving by our practice last night and asked what type of 'new' offense we were running this year. I said the double wing and it was not 'new' but was 'old as dirt'. He asked how long we had been practicing and I informed him (by now I am getting a little irritated, but not wanting to show my hand I wanted to jab him a little) that we started when everyone else did, 5 days ago, and that the double wing lets you get things done fast and you can make some good progress with it. He promptly cancelled their scrimmage with us, saying that we were 'too far ahead' of his team. Go figure! "

August 5- Wow! 150 kids at our camp in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. With formal practices starting next week, these kids are going to be ready! Wisconsin State rules prohibit coaches from working with their own teams, but nothing prevents a coach from another school from working with them.

August 1- Football coaches everywhere are heading into the homestretch - almost time for practice - and I'm headed to Wisconsin for a double-wing camp consisting of seven double-wing schools from Wisconsin and Minnesota. (More about that when I return next weekend!)

July 25 - There's a great story on the late home run king Roger Maris in today's Portland Oregonian. Reporter Ken Wheeler travelled to Maris' hometown, Fargo, ND to talk with the people there about Mark McGuire's assault on Maris' home run record (which, incidentally, has held up even longer than Babe Ruth's did). What's this got to do with football? A lot - Maris, it seems, was a great football player in high school. Sid Cichy, Maris' high school coach, recalled one game when he (Maris) ran four kickoffs back for touchdowns. Maris, who also participated in high school basketball and track, was a good enough football player to have been recruited by powerhouse Oklahoma. He actually enrolled at OU but left shortly afterward and returned to Fargo - and a career in baseball. (It's worth pointing out to any year-round baseball kids that Maris and McGuire were both football players in high school - how did playing football hurt them? )

July 23 -Doak Walker is headed home. Cards and letters can be mailed to him at P.O. Box 773329, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477. He has already received thousands of cards and letters, and so many faxes that the Denver hospital where he was staying had to bring in an extra fax machine to handle the volume.

July 21- DOAK WALKER UPDATE - While visiting Denver, I was encouraged to read Woody Paige's column in the Denver Post, devoted as it was to the great Doak Walker, whom I'd mentioned previously. Walker, three-time All-American and four-time All-Pro, remains paralyzed from the neck down, nearly six months after the Colorado skiing accident that almost cost him his life. He is due to leave his Denver hospital for his home in Steamboat Springs this week, but Paige mentioned in his column that the "Doaker" will require 24-hour-a-day care as well as treatment and therapy, and his home will require renovation (ramps) as well. This means enormous expenses for Walker and his wife, former Olympic skier Skeeter (Werner) Walker, and a fund has been set up to help. (Although one of the players who paved the way for today's multi-million-dollar contracts, Doak played his pro ball in the days when players had to work at off-season jobs to supplement their modest salaries.) I'm certain that any checks made out to The Doak Walker Rehabilitation Fund and sent to Woody Paige in care of the Denver Post, 1560 Broadway, Denver 80202 will find their way to the right place. (And if you care to add a note of encouragement I'm sure it would be appreciated, too.)

July 11- Had a chance to start reading a birthday present from my daughter and son-in-law in Houston. Entitled Doak Walker - More Than a Hero, its dust jacket says it is part of "Dan Jenkins' Texas College Football Legends." Since it doesn't list any other books in the series, quite possibly this is the first. If so, Mr. Jenkins - himself a legend as a sportswriter - has his work cut out for him in trying to come up with another "legend"comparable to Doak Walker, a three-time All-American (SMU) and four-time All-Pro (Detroit Lions). What a guy - it is amazing to read the wonderful things that his former teammates - college and pro - still say about him. Sadly, at last report, Doak Walker, now 70, lay paralyzed in a Colorado hospital, fighting to regain full use of his body after a near-fatal skiing accident earlier this year.

Mickey Minnich, Executive Director of the "Big 33," which annually stages the Pennsylvania vs Ohio Big 33 All-Star Football Classic, sent me a copy of the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Journal, published quarterly by the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association. Included in this issue are the rosters for this year's Big 33 game, the 41st annual, scheduled for July 25 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In recent years, the game has matched Pennsylvania against Ohio, but for a time, years ago, it was Pennsylvania versus Texas, with the Texas team coached by three illustrious former Detroit Lions - and Texans - Bobby Layne, Harley Sewell, and, yes, Doak Walker! (Not to date myself, but my wife and I spent part of our honeymoon watching the Big 33 getting ready to play the U.S. All-Stars - in 1959!) For more info about the BIG 33 GAME or about joining the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association ($20 a year), contact Mickey Minnich at 717-774-3303.

July 7- Dennis Murphy, Athletic Director at South Medford High School, in Medford, Oregon, has decided to take on today's increasing number of Parents From Hell. At South Medford, all coaches meet with parents before their sport's season - nothing new there. But at their meetings, coaches hand out a code of conduct - for parents! And they must sign it! One of the stipulations is that coaches will NOT discuss the issue of playing time. In addition, parents are advised about the best way to approach a coach - NEVER, for instance, before or after a game. As a result, said Murphy in an article in the June 14 Portland OREGONIAN, he had to speak with only two parents all this year! "We are trying to be up front," Murphy is quoted, "saying 'here are our expectations, not only for the kids but for you as parents.' Parents need to be in a supportive role, and we expect them to be a good role model for their sons and daughters." E-mail me your favorite Parent From Hell story -I'll share it with our readers!

From Texas, Walter Fortune informs me he has been promoted from Offensive Coordinator to Head Coach at Tarkington High School in Cleveland, Texas. I had the pleasure of meeting Coach Fortune at my Houston clinic, and he impressed me with his know-how.

Tim Harper has been named Offensive Coordinator - and has installed the Double Wing - at Glen Rose High School in Malvern, Arkansas. Glen Rose was 2-8 in 1997, and has had only 2 winning seasons in 25 years!

Jim Sinnerud, from Creighton Prep in Omaha, Nebraska, was kind enough to share with me a huge packet of offensive material generated by the great Homer Smith when he was offensive coordinator at UCLA. Coach Smith's Handbook for Coaching the Football Passing Attack (Parker Publishing, 1970) is a fundamental textbook that every coach ought to read. Coach Smith was Jim's freshman coach at Stanford, back when freshmen were ineligible for varsity play.

I just finished looking at the 1997 Lawrenceville (N.J.)School highlights, sent to me by Ed Racely. Lawrenceville, which runs a classic single wing, is coached by Dr. Ken Keuffel, who learned his single wing playing at Princeton in the 1940's! Trust me - none of us wants to have to prepare to play against the Lawrenceville offense!

July 4- I've just returned from three days in St. Louis, conducting a camp for youth-league players ranging in age from 8 to 11. Pat Pimmel, head coach of the St. Charles Gators (age 10-11) of the St. Louis Junior Football League, made all the arrangements, and combined his players with Coach Carl Herr's Steelers (age 8-9) for the camp.

Along with "Coach Pat" and Coach Terry Devins, we showed the kids lots of new drills, and since they had helmets and shoulder pads on, we did a lot of controlled hitting with the pancake drill - using it to teach blocking, tackling and power running.

We installed the double wing, and by noon of the third day, I was able to videotape them running 88 and 99 (Power, Super Power and Power Keep); 6-G and 7-G; 47-C and 56-C (they even ran passable versions of the Criss-Cross counters); 3 Trap 2 and 2 Trap 3; the Wedge; and Thunder and Lightning. We even ran a little unbalanced!

We were joined on Wednesday by Paul Maier, newly-appointed coach at Mt. Vernon, Indiana, and assistant John Mitchell, who jumped in and applied their double wing expertise.

They tell me that it was cool by St. Louis standards (high 80's) but it was hot enough for me, and I was impressed by how hard the kids worked. We went from 9-12 and 1-4 on Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 9-12 on Thursday.

It wasn't all work, though. St. Louis is a lively city with great restaurants, and Pat, fellow coach Rich Hart and team supporter "Doc" Parcinski proved to be gracious hosts and super dinner companions. (Doc's son, Luke, is a pretty smooth little QB.) You wouldn't believe the Italian food at Favazza's in The Hill, the Italian-American section of St. Louis made famous by Joe Garagiola in his stories about growing up there with Yogi Berra. Judd's Memphis Barbecue was excellent, and at Rich Andrews', if you want a sandwich, I recommend their Muffuletta - a New Orleans favorite.

This will be the last season together for Coach Hart and his 14-year-olds, who next year will move on to their respective high schools. Rich, who has been with them since they were 8-year-olds, is hoping to find a team in California, Arizona or Florida ("or someplace sunny") willing to play his kids in a post-season game. (COACHES- CONTACT ME IF YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED AND I'LL PASS THE INFO ALONG TO RICH.)

Three years ago, when Pat Pimmel took over his team, they were the castoffs, passed over by the regular team because they had never played football. But they have proved to be talented, tough, smart and hard working. Last year, they were 4-2, and if what I saw at camp is any indication, this year they will be very good.

As proof that I'm willing to go to unusual lengths to get to a camp or clinic, I offer my itinerary: Portland to Boise to Las Vegas to Phoenix to - 9-1/2 hours later - St. Louis. Returning was a snap: St. Louis-Kansas City-Portland.

FRIENDS OF FOOTBALL DEPT: I have now heard from two coaches in the last two weeks who have lost QB's to injuries suffered in summer basketball tournaments.

JOB OPENING: Central Catholic High (Portland) is suddenly looking for a head coach.(503-235-3138). I can't tell you any more, but I coached and taught there years ago, and I loved the place and the people.

June 17- John Torres, youth coach in Los Angeles, recently won one over soccer. A soccer mom, unsure about whether to let her son play football, asked John whether football was too violent. John, who was at my LA clinic, quoted my statistic that in the state of Washington last year, one sport led all others, by 2-to-1, in ejections from high school contests - soccer!

Speaking about soccer --- Spread the News! Rich Central High, in Olympia Fields, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, dropped soccer, because of lack of interest in the sport. I was at Rich Central last week, introducing the Double-Wing at the invitation of Coach Jon McLaughlin, and all I can say is that soccer's loss is football's gain - they have got some serious quicks at Rich Central. They also have a 6-4, 270-pound lineman, Aaron Hodges, who has already been offered by Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Ohio State! You don't need me to tell you he can move. Coach McLaughlin had obviously done his homework before I got there - his staff didn't just stand back, they jumped right in and helped me coach the Double Wing. Chicago-area coaching has always enjoyed a good reputation around the country, and I must say I was impressed by their knowledge. Coach McLaughlin runs three programs - varsity, sophomore and freshman - and is assisted by Jeff Beaumont, Dave Connell, Mike Hundley, Bryan Mays, Larry Rostron, Ron Ryan , Art Schuldt, Ed Schmeski and Bill Snedden. His three frosh coaches, Mike Hundley, Larry Rostron and Bill Snedden, bring a total of over 100 years' coaching experience to the job. Coach Snedden was head man at Rich Central for 17 years. Thanks to AD Jimmy Daniels for making the clinic possible.

Ed Raceley, of Atherton, California, is probably football's leading Single-Wing historian, and I recently sent him a copy of my "Dynamics III" video, with its direct-snap series. In return, he graciously sent me some Single-Wing videos, including a tape of the 1958 Princeton-Rutgers game (probably the last time two major Single-Wing schools faced each other).

George Caine is moving from Scott City, Kansas to Hill City. It's a smaller school, but not a step down - at Hill City, George is going to be running the Double Wing with the fastest kid in the state - in all classifications. George says he's confident that with a little work he can coach him from 10.3 up to about 11.5!

FREE BEER TOMORROW - Sign on the wall of Big Foot Tavern, Washougal, Washington - (it's been there for 10 years now.)

Saturday, June 6 - Miscellaneous news:Paul Maier has been named head coach at Mt. Vernon, Indiana, succeeding my good friend Greg Meyers, on whose staff Paul served as an assistant. Paul, a native of Poseyville, Indiana who played at the University of Indiana, will continue to run the Double Wing.

Linc Passmore, offensive coodinator at Dover-Sherburn High in Dover, Mass. has been named Head Coach there. Linc played football at Amherst College in Massachusetts and will have the good fortune to be coaching his own son, a quarterback.

BE-GLAD-YOU-WORK-FOR-THE-ADMINISTRATORS-YOU-DO-AND-NOT-THESE-GUYS DEPARTMENT: In rural Molalla, Oregon, a parent of a linebacker was upset because the defensive coordinator's son was named second-team all-league linebacker ahead of his son. Claiming errors in the defensive statistics that favored the coach's son, he asked to see the game tapes. He was allowed to see them, and, using God-knows-what kind of grading system, graded the tapes. When his grading appeared to confirm his suspicions, he took his findings to the athletic director, who then looked at the tapes himself (!) - and agreed with the parent! With that, the defensive coordinator was " non-renewed"- as in much of the country, Oregon coaches serve year-to-year and can be automatically fired - with no reason given - if the administration merely decides not to renew their contracts.

Upset at the way his defensive coordinator was dealt with, Head Coach Mike Clarke and his other assistants debated resigning en masse. But Clarke has performed miracles in his six years at Molalla, a program at one time so bad that it withdrew from its league and played an independent schedule in hopes of scheduling a win or two. So parents and community members - including his recently-fired deefensive coordinator - rallied behind Clarke and his assistants, and they agreed to stay on. End of story. Right?

Wrong. This past week, Clarke was fired, accused of bringing the community into the squabble.

Wednesday, May 13 - I had the great pleasure of talking once again with Herman Masin, Editor-in-Chief of Scholastic Coach Magazine. What a guy! We talk about twice a year, and it's always for an hour or more - I can't put the phone down! Herman has been at the job since 1938 (!) and he has seen, known, talked to, written about all the great coaches of our time. If you respect those people - the Bryants, the Wilkinsons, the Blaiks, the Parseghians - as I do, you can only imagine what a kick it is listening to his endless supply of stories about them. It is really incredible - mention any sports figure of any stature from the last 60+ years and Herman will have a story about him (or her). Herman once set out to do Al Davis' biography, but he gave up because - many of you may have trouble believing this - he couldn't find anything negative to write! He was amazed at what a great teacher he was, and how much his players liked him. I keep telling Herman that he simply has to get these stories down in writing, for others to read. He not only knows his coaches, he knows his football, too. He has been able to fill me in on Pop Warner, inventor of the real , original Double Wing, one of whose prize pupils at the University of Pittsburgh, a halfback named Herb McCracken, went on to found Scholastic Coach Magazine!