"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs, Chapter 8, Verses 10-11)Feel Sorry For the Fired Assistants - They Don't Get Golden Parachutes! (See"NEWS")
Like Irony? Eli Could Have Been a Charger - But he Wanted to be a Giant! (See"NEWS")
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November
28, 2006 -
"The eternal verities
will always prevail. Such things as truth, honesty,
character and loyalty will never change." Dean
Elizabeth Hamilton, of Miami (O) University, quoted by
Paul Brown- IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS --- WE ARE TAKING ORDERS NOT FOR "VIRTUAL CLINIC II" - THE 3-DVD VERSION OF LAST SPRING'S NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CLINIC, WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE TO SHIP NEXT WEEK.
- IT IS BY FAR THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE WORK ON THE DOUBLE WING THAT I HAVE DONE, AND IT DEALS WITH THE NITTY-GRITTY AND THE MOST RECENT ADVANCES OF MY DOUBLE WING.
- IT GOES FROM A "TUNEUP" ON THE OVERALL BASICS, TO COVERING NOT ONLY FINE POINTS OF THE CORE PLAYS - POWER, WEDGE, COUNTER, TRAP, SWEEP, "G", AND ROLL OUT AND BOOTLEG AS WELL AS THE NEW "800/900" PASSES - BUT ALSO VARIATIONS OF THOSE PLAYS FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF FORMATIONS SUCH AS SLOT, SPREAD, AND STACK. WEDGE REVERSE, QB REVERSE AND 66-G ARE JUST A FEW OF THE PLAYS SHOWN HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON ANY OF MY VIDEOS.
- IT RUNS FOR NEARLY SIX HOURS AND IS PRICED AT $69.95, BUT IF PURCHASED ALONG WITH THE FIRST "VIRTUAL CLINIC" SET OF 3 DVDS, THE TWO SETS (SIX DVDS TOTAL) WILL COST $99.90 TOGETHER (WHICH WORKS OUT TO JUST $49.95 EACH).
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY PURCHASED THE FIRST "VIRTUAL CLINIC," YOU MAY PURCHASE "VIRTUAL CLINIC II" FOR THE INTRODUCTORY PRICE - THROUGH JANUARY 1 - OF $49.95.
- *********** Hugh, I don't know if you watched the Patriots vs Bears game yesterday; but in case you missed it:
- The ball was placed for a measurement and one of the Patriot players moved it a few inches with his "foot wedge" ( you know the one golfers without integrity use).
- Anyway, Troy Aikman then says " That's what they are looking for in the NFL; smart players," "that was a smart move by a smart player" . The other announcer ( Joe Buck) said "it's a good thing he didn't get caught" and Troy said that's what being a smart player is all about or words to that effect!
- Can you believe it; on national TV Troy Aikman condones cheating!
- I am going to write both the
network and the NFL... if that is what being a hall of
fame QB is all about, then they should fold up the tents
and go home! No wonder kids act the way they do, if its
ok for Troy and the Patriots, it must be ok...
not.
Rich Golden, Montville, Connecticut (I'm glad I didn't hear it or I'd have chewed my drinking glass. What a sorry-ass thing to say. Of course, this is a league whose entire show (meaning offensive football) is predicated on cheating - on the belief that officials simply won't enforce the rule against holding. HW)
- *********** I'll bet you can go on YouTube and find a slip of the Arizona punter who mishandled the snap and then reverted to his formner life as a soccer player and dribbled the damn thing - kicked it three times while it was on the ground.
- *********** The Arizona QB, Willie Tuitama, was knocked out of the game by the most flagrant head butt I have ever seen. The ASU tackle hit Tuitama in the chest with the crown of his helmet and should have been ejected. One of these days, one of these suicide bombers will kill himself and we'll all cluck and say how dangerous football is, without ever asking officials when, exactly, the last time was that a guy was ejected from a game - anywhere, at any level - for spearing.
- *********** One of the nice things about living on the West Coast is that occasionally you get to see Hawaii play. That's not so easy when you live on the East Coast and the Warriors' (no, no, no - not "Rainbow" Warriors!) games come on at 11 PM Saturday night.
- Hawaiii - oops, Hawai'i - is the real deal. Their QB, Colt Brennan, can throw and he's got a mess of receivers to throw to. And they have a runing back named Nate Ilaoa - he's not from Hawaii, but from Stafford, Virginia - who is 5-9, 250. He is fast and quick and, needless to say, a bitch to bring down.
- *********** Writes Ann Coulter... "Six imams removed from a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix are calling on Muslims to boycott the airline. If only we could get Muslims to boycott all airlines, we could dispense with airport security altogether."
- A GENTLE NOTE TO CHEATING COACHES FROM THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION (AFCA)
- *********** Coach, We won 14-8 in the pouring rain (and a little sleet mixed in). We won a share of our league title and qualified for the state playoffs. It's the first league title for Tolland in six years and the first trip to the post season in seven. We play a really tough Catholic school out of Waterbury on Tuesday night. Hoping the DW can make up some of the athletic disparity between the two teams. I'll keep you posted. Hope you had a great holiday. Patrick Cox, Tolland HS, Tolland, Connecticut
- *********** Coach, I was reading your News (as I do every week, twice a week) and came across this Rutgers tidbit. As a long-time RU fan, I felt the need to respond and attempt to set the record straight.
-
- Dan Lane Canton Massachusetts wrote: "I am disappointed that I can't take any enjoyment out of what really is a fairytale scenario. I just remember the crap Schianos team pulled at Annapolis in 2004. (Dancing on the Navy "N") I can't separate those antics from the head coach"
- Your response: I'm not familiar with the Rutgers antics at Navy, but I am willing to give Schiano the benefit of the doubt as a young coach who may have been cutting a few corners in trying to get his program under way (he didn't do very well his first three years there).
- That was an embarrassing episode to many of us RU fans, but the reality of the situation was that it was a dumb mistake made by a young head coach that was blown out of proportion. It was not done in any way to upstage the Mids. The situation unfolded like this, it was Navy's final home game of the year (senior day) and Kyle Eckel's last home game. As if emotions weren't already high enough, the Naval Academy's graduating class had just gotten their orders the day before, and many were going overseas to Iraq so the emotions in the building were sky-high. I was in Navy Marine Corps Stadium that day (as a Rutgers fan) and you could practically touch the intensity in the air.
- Anyway, as those who have attended a game at NMCS know, the pregame ceremonies are very rigidly scripted time-wise, from the Mids entering in formation (much like the Cadets at West Point) to the band playing pre-game to the teams entering and leaving the field. So this is where Coach Schiano's inexperience shone brightly. In that stadium on that day, Coach Schiano made 2 blunders before the game even started. First, he stayed on the field to finish his pre-game warmup routine an extra 5 minutes after his allotted time, causing the band to have to wait in the tunnel for the team to get off the field. Normally I don't think that would be such a big deal, but not on that field... not on that day. Second, RU concluded their warmups the same way they did for each and every game that year. The punter kicked his last warm up punt to the return man. The return man caught the punt, and the entire team gathered around him and jumped up and down whooping it up. The problem was, the punter kicked the ball from his endzone and the return man caught the ball at midfield, right on the midfield logo. Not a good idea on that field... not on that day. Navy took it as an insult and proceeded to release all of their pent up emotion on RU. The final score is in the history books. As I recall, the real thing that got the Mids upset was making them wait, not the "jumping on the logo".
- Coach Schiano is a class individual who runs a tight program (hasn't lost a player to academics since he's been head coach) and I don't believe would ever allow his team to purposely disrespect the academies. He is on record in the papers as saying it was a dumb mistake on his part and that he in no way meant any disrespect to Navy.
- Unfortunately,he didn't learn from his mistake and a similar thing happened at Louisville in 2005. Once again, to end their pre-game warmups (the same way they did every game to that point) the punter kicked his last warm up from his endzone to midfield, the team gathered around to jump up and down. This time, it was Louisville who took offense to RU "stomping on their logo" and proceeded to smack RU. Since that game, RU has finally wised up and had the punter kick from the 50 into their endzone (they still gather around the returner after the last punt and whoop it up before heading back to the locker room).
- So I hope I cleared things up a little and allowed Coach Lane to enjoy the season Rutgers is having... I know as a long suffering RU fan, I certainly am.
- Thanks again for your site. It is an invaluable resource to coaches starting out like myself (but you already knew that) and I cannot convey how much I appreciate the knowledge you have shared with all of us.
- Sincerely, Craig Torres, Flemington, New Jersey (Thanks for the note. I admire what Greg Schiano has done, and I hope he stays at Rutgers. My personal feeling is that professionally, Rutgers is now a better place to be than Miami. I do appreciate the fact that you didn't get after Coach Lane, because I am determined that my site will never have room for disrespect of another poster. It has been a great season for Rutgers, and I know what that means to Rutgers people everywhere! HW
- *********** My vote for Coach of the Year goes to Bob Stoops, of Oklahoma. Lose your quarterback and one of the top runners in the country, and still finish 10-2? Who can top that one?
- And come to think of it, with one of those losses the highly controversial 34-33 decision at Oregon and the other one to Texas, what is Oklahoma doing ranked two spots below double-blowout Notre Dame in the latest BCS standings?
- (Now watch - after I just said all that, Nebraska will go out and beat the Sooners in the Big 12 Championship game.)
- *********** I'm not big on guests in the broadcast booth, but Jimmy Kimmel broke me up Monday night. He talked about how cool it was with the snow coming down, and said, "John Madden would love this if he was alive."
- *********** The snow you saw at the Seahawks' game was pretty much done by the end of the game, but outside on the roads it was a bitch. One busload of fans from the Portland area (normally about a three-hour drive) left Seattle at 9 PM and didn't make it back home until 6 AM Tuesday. I didn't hear whether they ran out of beer.
- *********** Coach, I know it's been awhile since I sent you an email - but just to give you a quick overview of how the season was for us. As you know I went back down to coach the little guys. I took the 8/9 year old team. We ended up 4-3-1, and lost in the first round of the playoffs. We beat two teams that were more talented then we were. When you just don't have the same caliber of athletes as your opponents mistakes will kill you. I will tell you this, if I ever doubted the DOUBLE-WING, I doubt it ability no longer! Several times this season, we had 8-9 minute drives! So you can imagine the frustration level of opposing coaches. I know one particular game, we ran only 3 plays from 2 different sets. I will get you a copy of our Highlight DVD as usual, but again, I just want to thank you for your continued support and guidance through all these years. This past season was one of the best I've had, because Coach, I was back to teaching - not trying to stay ahead of the curve! take care, and talk with you soon. Jason Clarke, Millersville Wolverines, Millersville, Maryland (Coach Clarke has had a great run of success in suburban Baltimore youth football, and this past season he accepted the challenge of starting over fresh with beginning kids. HW)
- *********** Am I missing something here? "Fighting Illini" is offensive to some American Indians. So, too, is Illinois Chief Illiniwek. So every year in football Illinois plays Northwestern - about as liberal and politically correct as a Big Ten team can get - for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy.
- *********** According to the National Football Foundation's weekly news releases, Syracuse football players did community service last week by visiting and speaking to incarcerated youngsters at the Syracuse Justice Center. What a setup. I couldn't let this one go: In Florida, high school youngsters do community service by visiting and speaking to incarcerated college football players.
- *********** Wherever the Mineral Water Bowl is played, it's on December 2, and Pittsburg State will play Bemidji State. You read it here first.
- *********** John Stiegman, a great single wing coach, died recently at the age of 83. He was head coach of Rutgers from 1956 through 1959 before moving to Penn, and his 1958 Rutgers team, with standout Billy Austin at tailback, went 8-1 and was the talk of the East.
- *********** LONGEST DIVISION I-A COLLEGE RIVALRIES (Courtesy of National Football Foundation)
-
- 116, Minnesota-Wisconsin, (First played 1890)
- 115, Missouri-Kansas 1891
- 113, Nebraska-Kansas, 1892
- 113, Texas-Texas A&M 1894
- 111, Miami (Ohio)-Cincinnati, 1888
- 111, North Carolina-Virginia, 1892
- 110, Auburn-Georgia, 1892
- 110, Oregon-Oregon State, 1894
- 109, Indiana-Purdue, 1891
- 109, Stanford-California 1892
- *********** Finished up the final stats for the year. Hit the 4000 mark again, barely. A-back Tony Falk finished with the single season rushing, career rushing, and career scoring leader for MCC. (We became MCC in 1992, before my time.) He is something special to watch in the open field. All-Area player of the year, competing with the all the 2A, 3A, and Marshall 4A schools. Quite and honor for the kid. Hard worker. Check out the Marshall independent newspaper article about him this weekend. Hope all your holidays went well. Chris Davis, Martin County Central Slayton, Minnesota (Tony Falk carried 193 times for 1922 yards, (9.9 average) and 24 TDs. Amazingly, 16 different kids carried the ball at least once! HW)
- ************* Coach - just a few stats for you for our double wing in 2006. Through 13 games Rushing - 635 carries for 3750 yards 5.9 per carry 47 TDs. Passing - 30 comp. 66 att. 480 yards 16.0 per catch 7 TD's 3 INTs (2 of the INT's were on hail marys). Total yards 4230 yards. Our A back had 135 for 782 and 9 TD's. Our B back had 152 for 1090 and 16 TD's. Our C back had 195 for 1119 and 15 TD's. Real proud of these kids - best season in school history ever 11-2 State runner ups. John Dowd, Oakfield, New York
- *********** We have at least one cowboy in the junior high program. Our head coach has complained about him several times about how he wants to run his own system and won't listen to anything. Our head coach has also said how the middle school principal/other administrators haven't supported him either! My question is, does this sound like the ideal situation to you?
- How vital do you feel the junior high program is with implementing the double wing system"
- If he is just a maverick who likes to run his own stuff (which appears to be okay with the school administration), that doesn't have to be any more than a minor pain in the ass, so long as he is not doing or saying anything detrimental to the high school program.
- I wouldn't give too much thought to what he runs
offensively or defensively, so long as the kids (1) Learn
to be disciplined, learn to work (and work together) and
learn to take coaching; (2) Learn how to block and tackle
and protect themselves; (3) Turn out for football as
freshmen.
*********** One of the big problems with taking the snap the "pro way" is that the quarterback's hands often come apart as the ball is being snapped. You can harp on it all you like, but it seems to be a reflex that is very difficult to correct.
- Rex Grossman fumbled a snap Sunday, and video replay showed the heels of his hands were nearly a foot apart at the snap, so that the ball hit his upper hand and, without the left hand to serve as a clamp, it fell to the ground
- *********** You guys that made that phone commercial
where Rex Grossman says, "I'll vote for you if you'll
vote for me?" I think you'd better pull it.
*********** How would you like your job to depend on your being evaluated by an AD named Lisa?
- Arizona State Athletic director Lisa Love announced Sunday - right after the team's awards banquet - that Dirk Koetter was being let go, with three years remaining on his contract.
- In his six seasons at Tempe, Koetter went 40-33, going 4-2 against Arizona, and this past Saturday, the Sun Devils earned a third straight bowl berth by thumping Arizona 28-14 to finish 7-5. Unfortunately, you see, he couldn't outperform USC. There was no word on whether Koetter would coach the team in a bowl game.
- Less than a year ago, Love gave him a contract extension through 2009, calling for Koetter to be paid $2.85 million from 2007 to 2009.
- Koetter becomes the second straight coach that Arizona State has fired despite having an overall winning record and coaching the Devils to a bowl berth. His predecessor, Bruce Snyder, went 58-47 in nine seasons yet was let go despite getting to the Aloha Bowl in 2000.
- Just down the road in Tucson was a perfect example of
what can happen when you fire a coach because he wins,
but doesn't win enough: They let Dick Tomey go after the
200 seasons, and they haven't had a winning season since.
*********** So now it's "All New" Friday Night Lights, is it? Good luck with your soap opera, guys.
- *********** If you like irony, you can't beat the thought that Archie Manning maneuvered to get Eli with the Giants, rather than with that supposed going-nowhere franchise in San Diego.
- So Eli winds up in New York, playing for that a$$hole Tom Coughlin. Just last week, Coughlin got on Tiki Barber for airing his frustrations to the news media about not getting to carry the ball more. (Bear in mind that Tiki Barber is not T.O.) Coughlin said that his door is always open, and Tiki should have come to him, because this stuff is supposed to stay in the family.
- So Eli, presumably a family member, kills the Giants' chances for a comeback Sunday by throwing an interception, and then gets ripped by Coughlin at his post-game press conference. In public, in other words.
- Meantime, San Diego may be the best team in football, while the Giants appear headed down the chute.
- And every time Philip Rivers, San Diego's "consolation prize" for losing Eli, throws another TD pass, I get a good chuckle.
- *********** Hi Coach; What a season! We won the Regional Jr. Midget D-3 championship beating the East County Jets 26-0 last Sunday. The score could have been much higher however; there was no need for it. I was given the opportunity for my 2nd team to play the entire second half and I even had some of my O-linemen run the ball on wedge and superpowers! They had a blast. I was very proud of our team. As a team I believe we progressed throughout the year more so then any team I have coached before. Our kids bought into the system and had a great time with it. I believe I will be moving up with them to the Midget level next year and hopefully most of the kids will return. I hope you will be conducting a clinic out here again next year as I certainly will be attending as well as a few of the coaches in our organization from a couple of different levels. I think they bought into the Double Wing this year after observing what we did. I know they had doubts early however; it is hard to argue what the end result was. Thank you again for all your support. I will be purchasing the other videos from you soon now that I have little experience with the double wing and look forward to talking with you next year. I hope you and your family have a blessed Holiday Season. Sincerely, John Nigro, South Valley-San Jose Jr. Midget Head Coach, San Jose, California
- *********** Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel received a $225,000 annual raise plus a three-year contract extension. Look for him to be fired after next season. Dirk Koetter, Chuck Amato and Mike Shula all got their walking papers with at least three years left on their contracts.
- But don't grieve excessively for fired college head coaches. Outside of the fact that they are out of work and they do lose some pretty nice perks, they have golden parachutes that corporate executives would be envious of. Dirk Koetter had three years remaining on his contract at Arizona State. Chuck Amato, just let go at NC State, and Mike Shula, canned at Alabama, also have three years, and all will be paid in the neighborhood of $3 million. Feel sorry for their assistants, who typically work on one-year contracts, and will likely be working the lobby hard at January's AFCA convention.
- *********** Coach - Not to much to report from the Peoples Republic,the Horse Sh**t weather put a damper on Turkey day, Most of the games were played ( Thank God ! Just not the same when there played on Friday or Sat afternoon ) some pretty good upsets, Saugus beat Peabody for the first time in 18 years. other minor upsets included Marblehead over Swampscott, Medford over Malden, North Andover over Masconomet
- The Ipswich - Hamilton-Wenham game by all accounts was a Classic !! Ipswich pulled it out 7-0 the CAL Small title was on the line and Div 3 play-off spot.
- Coach - I don't how much College Football you caught over the weekend , but if you saw the GA Tech - Gawga Game. I don't Know if Chan Gailey deserves Coach of the Year honors or he needs his head examine for staying with that kid at QB , How the Hell they Got to the 9 win mark and on a the Cusp of an ACC title and BCS Bowl berth with kid Ball as QB is a Mystery
- What a Game you guys had in the Great Northwest !!! Oregon-Oregon ST !!!
- Great to See ND and big mouth Weis get the Ball shoved down their throats !!! that is disgraceful that team will walk away with 12 Mil and be on the National Stage in BCS game, and LSU,Wisconsin,Louisville/Rutgers, Arkansas,Cal,Boise St the majority of these teams will get screwed and be left out in the cold over ND
- see ya friday - John Muckian, Lynn, Massachusetts
- Reggie Ball has had his moments, but in my opinion, he is very inconsistent, and as a result, also in my opinion, Georgia Tech is not a great team.
- Oregon-Oregon State was a hell of a game. I was surprised that the play was as good as it was, because it poured like an SOB the entire game. Only when the Oregon kid's plant foot slipped on that final missed FG attempt did the weather really seem to play a part.
- OSU deserved to win, I thought, but Oregon played hard, which was quite a coaching accomplishment after two straight blowouts the previous two weeks (USC, Arizona), and given the fact that for the last ten years or so, the home team always wins this one. Bellotti, the UO coach, took something of gamble, I thought, by benching starting QB Dennis Dixon, who had been struggling, and starting Brady Leaf (Ryan's younger brother). Leaf played well enough to win it.
- My wife's alma mater finally made it to the PA state playoffs (after they expanded the field) and got so excited that it cancelled its Thanksgiving Day game, which has been a tradition for at least 80 years, because it had a playoff game on Saturday.
- You may have seen Easton, PA beat Phillipsburg, NJ on Thanksgiving (I got up at 6 AM to watch). Two days later, Easton had to play Bethlehem Liberty High in a state playoff game. Easton knew what was involved, but there was no consideration ever given to trashing the annul game with P-burg. Easton lost the playoff game, 35-14, but I suspect that the people in Easton wouldn't have traded a game with ancient rival Phillipsburg for a playoff win.
- Notre Dame's marketing and political power, thanks to their exclusive network contract, is disgusting. They've been blown out twice, yet they're still in the Top Ten, and they'll still get into a big BCS game, and they'll pocket every f--king penny they're paid because they don't have to share with any conference members. The Irish have beaten only three teams that could be considered halfway tough - Georgia Tech, Penn State and Purdue. Navy and UCLA, although bowl teams, were not BCS-quality opponents. And then there were Michigan State, Stanford, North Carolina, Air Force and Army. If you dislike Notre Dame, Weis is the perfect guy to be their coach. Check out Big Charlie's record some time. How many ranked opponents has he beaten?
- God, I would love to see ND get matched up against a Rutgers or Louisville or West Virginia and get brought down to earth.
- *********** Coach, I was looking through my son's football card collection over the weekend when I made a disturbing observation. I went through his new cards twice just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I asked him if they were all his cards; did he throw any cards away or trade them? "No Dad", those are all my cards. Well, was I upset and disturbed! Then I became very angry &endash; angry at the NFL, the card companies and what they have become. What could possibly get me so upset over football cards?
- I'll tell you &endash; they no longer make cards for offensive lineman!!! I don't know how long this has been going on, but I do know that when I was a kid collecting cards in the 70's and early 80's, we had offensive lineman cards. John Hannah, Mike Webster, Dan Dierdorf, Stan Walters, etc, I still have them! Topps does make a card that shows all of the team's lineman on one card. The other card makers do not make cards for individual lineman (unless that lineman is part of their "rookie" high draft pick series).
- What's the message this sends to young kids??? Offensive linemen are worthless, or at the most worth 1/5 that of some big-mouth "wide receiver". This is soooooo infuriating as a coach, especially when you have parents ask you when their son is "stuck" on the line.
- Then I wondered "what came first?" Do card companies not include O-lineman because the kids don't want them?? If so, why don't they want them? Football is the greatest team sport &endash; but somewhere along the line that message has been lost. Unfortunately, now football is about all about the man with the ball.
- Thanks for letting me vent. BTW &endash; we finished our season 5-1 ( 9,10 yr olds). Our last game was rained out. First year with DW &endash; thanks much!!
- Chris Dikos, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania
- (Man, that does piss me off! Thanks a lot, NFL. Thanks a lot, Topps. Bad enough that the NFL's pitch-and-catch game makes offensive line play even more grunt work than ever, but to dishonor those guys by not even letting kids know that they are actually football players, but merely the galley slaves who row the emperor's barges. This, it seems to me, is a job for the NFLPA, the players' union. Those linemen are paying dues, too, and they are full-time football players. If the kids want to throw away their lineman cards, or trade seven of them for one T.O., that is their business, but devaluing linemen makes the youth coach's job harder and, in the long run, will hurt the pro game. (Not that the NFL is all that interested in the long run - either referring to a play or referring to the future.) I also suspect that there is some sort of connection here between bubble gum cards and that abomination called Fantasy Football, which has no use for linemen or, so far as I know (because I pay zero attention to it), defensive players. HW)
- *********** My friend Scott Barnes isn't jjust satisfied with coaching youth football and starting a wrestling program in his town; he just got back from racing in the Baja 1000 - an extreme "road" race along the length of the Baja California, from Ensenada, just south of Tijuana, to La Paz, at the tip. He's got some great photos on a Web site, and his blog is some pretty interesting reading.
- We returned from Baja last week. This years Baja 1000 has been touted as the most difficult in the 39 year history of the race. Unfortunately, mechanical issues prevented us from a finish, but we ran strong. I guess that should be expected with a brand new racer. For a detailed race write-up, you can go to this link; http://scottblog.endeavorbaja.com/
- For lot's of pics and some video clips, you can go to this link;
- http://www.endeavorbaja.com/baja1000.htm
- I've enclosed a pic of our racer (I'm driving) as we left Ensenada, heading for La Paz.
- Coach, The most disappointing aspect of the adventure was the way that many, many of the locals "participated" by placing booby traps and such. There are numerous stories coming out which include death and serious injuries to racers this year. We met one racer who had his Class 1 (very fast) car ripped in half by a large steel pipe filled with concrete that had been planted deep, angled toward the oncoming racers and hidden by some brush. His co-driver had to be care-flighted out. Another guy I know just emailed me. He was racing a motorcycle and hit a trap. He busted a leg and a couple of ribs. I've been told that this is, hands down, the worst it's ever been. It's the one thing (other than a couple of murders and kidnappings of U.S. folks in Ensenada during the time we were there) that will keep John and I from racing down there many more times. If you carry weapons in Mexico, then you'll spend a long, long time in a Mexican prison. I don't know what's going on down there right now, but the mood has changed dramatically since the last time I was there. We were planning on running the Baja 500 in June, but have now decided to do the Vegas to Reno in August instead. Too bad, because Mexico has a lot to offer but it's not worth that B.S.
- All of that stuff aside, it was truly a terrific experience. You aren't racing the other cars as much as you are racing Baja. It just eats cars alive! Only about 1/3 finished this year, and just making it 215 miles was a lot further than many. Heck, we passed Jesse James' trophy truck at around Race Mile 65! Anyway, we had fun and it's nice to know that we can still do something like that even when we're "old"! ;-)
- I've got a bunch more pics of the racer that are being sent to me by that company...all copyright free. I'll let you know when I get them posted.
- Take care Amigo -- I hope you had a GREAT THANKSGIVING!!
- Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas
Osama shows that he will stop at nothing in his plot to weaken America... 
BECOME A BLACK LION TEAM 
GIVE THE BLACK LION AWARD TO ONE OF YOUR PLAYERS!
Army's Will Sullivan wore his Black Lion patch (awarded to all winners) in the Army-Navy game
(FOR MORE INFO) The Black Lion certificate is awarded to all winners
***********
On hand to help Coach John Collins of Chesterfield,
Missouri present the Black Lion Award to Zach Moats was
Jack Benecke, an Army football letterman from the West
Point Class of '95. Coach Collins said that prior to the
award, Jack lent Zach his "100 Years of Army Football"
video to help him better understand the sort of man that
Don Holleder was. (That's John Collins on the left and
Jack Benecke on the right.)
In
the example shown here, a play going to the right, the
center is responsible for the area immediately to his right,
as is the guard. But before the snap, they have no idea who
will attack their areas. So the center drives for the
defensive tackle (Lombardi recommended the "crotch" as his
target), and if the tackle takes an inside charge, he runs
right into the center, and the center blocks him. Meantime,
the guard aims for the DT's outside hip, and if the tackle
takes the inside charge, the guard continues upfield for the
backer, who, it is assumed, will be protecting that area. On
the other hand, if the tackle takes an outside charge, the
center then assumes that the backer will be coming inside,
and he takes on the backer, while the guard takes the tackle
who is slanting toward him.
***********
Coach, We finished the year on a good note winning 44-14.
We ended the year with a 4-5 record but finished 4th of 7
in the league after being last in the previous year. We
ran for 2383 yards on 467 carries. My A back, senior Adam
Diver ran for 826 yards on 155 carries, and my C back ran
for 951 yards on 120 carries. The biggest surprise is
that in the All-League voting they both made first team
at running back.
