September 26 - "One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!" Winston Churchill   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!! A HYMN OF INSPIRATION- "GOD OF GRACE AND GOD OF GLORY, ON YOUR PEOPLE POUR YOUR POWER" A FIREMAN ASKS, "WHAT IS A REAL HERO?" ENROLLMENT IN THE BLACK LIONS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RE-OPENED - CLICK To find out more     A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: A native of Waukegan, Illinois, he was an outstanding high school football, basketball and baseball player and was state champion in the French horn! He is probably the greatest athlete ever to attend Northwestern. As a single-wing tailback under Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf, he once led the Wildcats to an upset win over Paul Brown's national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, completed 20 of 29 passes against Michigan, and scored 27 points against Wisconsin. He finished third in the 1943 Heisman Trophy voting. He was also the captain of the Northwestern basketball team, and in his senior year was second-leading scorer in the Big Ten. He was MVP of the Big Ten in football, and team MVP in basketball. He was third in batting average on the Wildcats' baseball team. While playing service football in the Navy during World War II, he learned the complexities of becoming a T-formation quarterback, and when the war ended, he was the man Paul Brown selected to build the great Cleveland Browns' dynasty around. (In 1946, before embarking on his pro football career, he managed to get in a season of pro basketball with the Rochester Royals, winner of that year's NBL title.) He played 10 years of professional football, four years in the AAFC and six in the NFL, and took his team to the league championship every one of those years. He was never anything less than one of the game's top quarterbacks. His field-generalship abilties were sometimes questioned because, at a time when all other quarterbacks still called all their own plays, his coach, Paul Brown, insisted on calling the offense, setting the precedent by which all present-day coaches operate. But that was a nit-picking question, anyhow - he was a great passer and team leader, the trigger man in the first true professional offense. In his first NFL game, after four years of quarterbacking the Browns to AAFC titles, his first NFL pass went for a touchdown, stunning the defending NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles. In his final game, in what Paul Brown called "his finest hour," he led the Browns to a 38-14 championship game victory over the Rams, in front of 88,000 in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In his career with the Browns, he threw for 23.584 yards and 174 touchdowns, compared with only 135 interceptions. He completed an impressive 55.8 per cent of his passes, and he was not dinking it, either, in a "controlled-passing", West-Coast-type of offense. He went deep, as evidenced by his 9.0 yards per attempt, by far the highest of any quarterback with more than 1000 attempts - ahead of the likes of Unitas (7.8), Starr (7.8) and Namath (7.4) And as the pro game has become less effective offensively, such "modern" passers as Elway (7.1 yards per attempt), Montana (7.5), Marino (7.3), and Aikman (7.0) fall far short. In fact, his worst year (7.7 yards per attempt) was better than any of their career averages. No one is likely ever to match his record of playing ten years and taking his team to his league's championship game every single year - or of winning the championship in seven of those ten appearances. He spent three years as a head coach in the NFL before being replaced by Vince Lombardi. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. The photo at left was taken while he was at Northwestern (the three stripes - narrow-wide-narrow - were once worn only by Northwestern and became widely known for quite some time as "Northwestern stripes"). The photo at right was taken at Browns' training camp; our man is wearing #14, although earlier in his career, before the league adopted its current numbering system, he wore #60. His teammate on the left is a Hall-of-Famer, the great Marion Motley, one of the game's outstanding runners and a great linebacker, too. *********** THE SPEECH I WOULD STILL LIKE TO HEAR, EVEN THOUGH IT'S BEEN TWO WEEKS - "My fellow members of the Arab-American community and I wish our fellow Americans to know that we consider us all to be in this together. We may share the religion and the ethnicity of the human devils who choose to wage war on this country, and at times we may disagree with our nation's foreign policy, but we love America and we are proud to call ourselves Americans, and we stand ready to do whatever we can to assist in the capture and punishment of anyone who dares to harm America and our fellow Americans. We deplore, but we can understand, the passions that may provoke other Americans to consider taking revenge against the scum who attacked innocent Americans by directing attacks against us and our places of worship. We ask them to understand that we are as horrified as they are at the tragic loss of life, and the fact that Americans can no longer enjoy the security we all once believed was our right. We join them in condemning the animals who carried out the attack on New York, in dedicating ourselves to doing whatever we can to capture and punish them, and in assisting our fellow Americans in rebuilding our nation." I first wrote that on September 14, and I have yet to hear it, or anything like it. It's been 12 days since then, and two weeks since the bombing - two weeks of wise appeals by all sorts of higher-ups not to "lash out" - not to blame an entire group of people for the sins of a few - and even a visit by the President of the United States to a mosque. Their efforts are well-meant and well-directed, but I sure would feel a whole lot better if I could just see a little flag-waving and other open displays of patriotism on the part of the Arab-American or Islamic-American community. *********** One-third of New Yorkers surveyed following the World Trade Center attack approved of the idea of internment camps for anyone who sympathizes with Arab terrorists. And this is New York, one of the most liberal states in our country. Now do you see why I would like to hear that speech and see those flags waving? *********** Could a hijacker with only a box-cutting knife keep you from attacking him? *********** THE SPIRIT OF AMERICA LIVES, IN A SMALL TOWN IN MAINE! Good Morning Hugh, It really is a different world. This weekend at our homecoming game we had a flag ceremony like so many others have had around the country. The local American Legion post brought 200 hundred flags to the game to hand out to the two teams, coaches, cheerleaders, and fans standing along the rope line. These were very good large cloth flags on eighteen inch sticks and the Legion requested we return them after the game. We put two large boxes out on each sideline and had the public address announcer make the request. After the game the representative from the Legion collected and counted the flags --- not one was missing --- all 200 had been returned ! amazing!! Have a great week!! Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine *********** How many years ago was it, anyhow, that the big story was shark attacks? *********** Keith Babb, of Northbrook, Illinois, told me about going to watch his son's high school game last Friday night. His son plays for Glenbrook North, which played Deerfield High. Behind at the half, Glenbrook North took the second half kickoff and drove to get within two points at 15-13. Another drive followed, and Glenbrook North took a 21-15 lead, but Deerfield stopped another Glenbrook North drive short, and with 1:55 left broke loose for a 59-yard run to regain the lead, 29-21. But Glenbrook North passed for a score with 20 seconds left, and made the two point conversion to send the teams into overtime, tied 29-29. (Allow Keith a little bit of understandable fatherly bragging: " My kid threw the key block on a trap play that accounted for the 2-point conversion to tie the game.") Glenbrook North then kicked a field goal in the second overtime to win, 32-29. "The best story of the game," Keith wrote, "was that the kid who caught the last TD pass for GBN is 5 foot 4 inches and weighs 130 pounds. He's played football since 7th grade but this year (he's a senior) is the first year he's seen significant playing time at any level. The pass he caught was thrown high between 2 defenders and he really got up in the air to catch the ball. It's a great testament for those kids who hang in there." Keith's timing was perfect. His story led right up to my sermon. My wife teaches with a staff assistant whose son, whom my wife had as a student when he was a third-grader, went out for football this year as a freshman at a local high school. His older brother played varsity football there, but he himself had never played football before. According to my wife, he is a great kid. Early last week, my wife asked his mother how he was liking football, and she was enraged at the story she heard. The kid had attended all the practices, and when he didn't play a down in the first freshman game, his dad called the coach and left a message for him to call back. When the coach didn't, dad spoke with the AD, who is new to the job, and dismissed the complaint by saying (I asked my wife to go back and make sure this is exactly what she was told) "I was hired to win games." Now, I know that school district, and I know that's a crock. They don't even hire coaches to win games, much less athletic directors. (On the other hand, if that really did turn out to be true, they may have to fire his ass in a couple of years.) Anyhow, nothing came of the meeting, and the kid continued to practice. But when they played their second frosh game last Thursday, and once again, he didn't play, he turned in his gear the next day. He is through with football. Now, how frigging smart is that? Here we are trying to promote our sport, rightly concerned about the inroads that soccer is making, worried about the increasing number of mothers who won't let their kids play football, and a knucklehead freshman coach runs a kid off. Most freshman coaches I know are far too intelligent and far too caring to do that, but hear this well, any of you freshman coaches out there who may have deluded yourselves into thinking that you're the reincarnation of Vince Lombardi - You're not. Your job is to run a farm team for the major league club. It's as simple as that. It is to get kids out for football, teach them the basics, including coachability and good work habits, and make sure they have a good enough experience that they want more - that they'll turn out as sophomores. And that's it. If you win, you win. Great. Have fun coaching the team. Play to win. But not at the expense of those other things. And bear in mind that making sure they turn out as sophomores means making sure they play as freshmen. Everybody. No, not equal playing time. But make sure that every kid who practices and obeys the rules plays. That should be in the form of an order from the head coach, if not the athletic director. You will excuse me if I don't get all that excited about whether the freshmen win - no more than a major league baseball team gets excited about the record of one of its Class A teams. I once coached for six years at a large high school that didn't even have a freshman class. Our school was 10-11-12. Kids came to us as sophomores, and they came to us from five different junior high schools. Those junior highs all played against each other. Some won, and some lost. So what? Somehow we took the kids who came to us and managed to build a winning program with them. What did we care about the record of their ninth-grade team? Some of them were winners and some of them losers.The important thing to us was how well they'd been taught the basics by their ninth grade coaches. The really interesting thing to me about those kids was that some of them looked like hopeless cases as sophomores. It would have been easy to write them off. But we didn't. And because they were willing to work hard in the program, and because we had the luxury of being able to be patient with them, a surprising number of those "hopeless cases" contributed significantly to the varsity as seniors. Here's my point - I consider myself a decent appraiser of talent, and if I can't be sure that a sophomore will never help us, how much more difficult is it to assess freshmen? Sure, anybody can look at a group of freshmen and tell you, barring academic difficulties or attitude problems, who will be a varsity player. That's not tough - the really talented kids stand out. But it's those other kids who are going to have to develop if you're going to have a program. And I have seen enough of them - the so-called hopeless cases - make it over the years through dedication and hard work that I'll be damned if I can look at a freshman and say, "he'll never be a varsity player." I defy any freshman coach to do it, either. Which means, as a varsity coach, that I don't want some hotshot freshman coach chasing a kid out of the program. That is a decision that could affect our varsity in a couple of years - not to mention a kid's life - and it is not a decision I would allow a freshman coach to make. *********** Coach, As I e-mailed you last week, I have been trying to get our Pop Warner organization to switch over to the DW for 2 years now. Last year my team ( 9,10&11 ) went 6-2 on the year and averaged more points per game than any of our teams ever have, all thanks to your system. This year I am an assistant coach on the Midget team 12-15 years old ). Our coach is very resistant to change, since our organization has always run the Wishbone ( and always has a losing record ). But this past weekend I installed a few plays in our attack, namely the Rocket 38, Lazer 29, Rocket 3x and Lazer 2x, and we scored on both x plays and won 27-13. Maybe we will make believers out of these people yet!!! Thanks for all your help! NAME WITHHELD  *********** To my surprise, I've been made aware that I have to write a letter to the (Regional) Pop Warner office detailing the measures that I took to try and prevent a 32 point differential. Before even hearing the details of the game, I've also been told that standard procedure calls for a 1 game suspension (for me) if it happens again. We tried everything humanly possible to keep the score down, at one point running seven 3 wedge's in a row. We also kicked off deep (you know we NEVER do that, in the back of my mind hoping they'd "break" one for a TD), and when we had a 2nd and goal on their 3, I purposely took too long to send a play in resulting in a Delay of Game penalty.. we then put a tackle in at B back and ran 3 wedges to the 2 yd line.. the opponent took over on downs, then promptly fumbled a handoff in their end zone for a safety. We ran zero passes, counters, or sweeps, and made sure if we ran 88 super power that the backs ran between the tackles (which they should anyhow!). In our league you get 2 points to KICK the extra point, so after or 3rd score we started to "run" for the 1 point with our backup unit, calling wedges every time. The referees were well aware that we were trying to make a bad situation better, and it pisses me off to no end that these "officials" of the league would just assume from the score that something bad was going on.. why not call the referees and/or coaches 1st and ask the question? Hell, the (other) coach was pissed because when the score gets lopsided like that, the refs keep the clock moving, no matter what.. he wanted to keep playing stop time so the game could continue longer! (NAME WITHHELD) *********** "Here is one for you. Tonight we did nothing but Bird Dog, O and D. (didn't want any hitting). I watched the game tape last night and kept seeing a D-lineman sliding through the Power, play side blocking (we call wall). I asked the G and T, how the hell can a man slide through your gap? " Coach, he is sliding into my gap and turning his back on me, I can't block him in the back - that would be a clip". You would think after 20 years of this I would not take for granted that a 13, 14 yr. old would fully understand what we mean by a free block zone. Of course, I could not help being my sarcastic self and ask him, if he thought that meant we didn't charge him money to block in there." Frank Simonsen, Cape May, New Jersey   *********** "On Saturday we struggled and lost. We committed four turnovers, two of which resulted in scores. I got way outside my base offense and made some calls I should not have made. This is my third year running the offense and I learned more from this loss than from any of the 22 wins over that time. Patience is certainly something I need to have more of, and trust in what we do in our base offense. We can play with this team but we have to be better than we were on Saturday. We see these guys again in three weeks and I expect a closer game." NAME WITHHELD *********** Maybe one of you can tell me what this means... "Fort Vancouver Little League will hold registration for its fall baseball teams at 11 a.m. Saturday. Sign up at the Fort Vancouver Little League fields. The program is for players who will be between the ages of 9 and 12 next spring." Fall baseball teams? Is it time for to start Spring Football? (I know, I know - the soccer people have all the fields tied up.) *********** There was an article in the Portland Oregonian recently about the Greater Oregon League, eight high school teams from far-flung towns in the mountains and high-desert country to the east of us, as far as you can get from Portland and still be in Oregon. Two of the towns, Vale and Ontario, hug the Idaho border, 500 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Vale, a tiny farm town of 1,500 with a high school of some 300 kids, is a real football town. Vale could probably drop down a class and be a perennial power, but it prefers to play "up" and face the tougher competition in class 3-A. Nearby Ontario, with a population of 11,000, is much larger than Vale, but in head-to-head competition since 1943, Vale's record against Ontario is 30-18-5. Since 1943, Vale has had only 4 losing seasons, and has won10 state championships. But the fans are getting itchy: although it has had numerous close calls lately - four losses in state semi-finals in the last six years - its last state title was in 1993. Vale's best-known football son is Dave Wilcox, who played at Oregon, and then in an 11-year career with the 49ers earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was part of back-to-back state championship teams, in 1957 and 1958. "Out there," he told the Oregonian, "you had your farm duties first, and football was always secondary. And the stuff you did at football practice was so much easier and so much more fun than what you did on the farm, you couldn't wait for football practice." *********** Can you suggest anything for a team that doesn't want to play in the mud??? It was so bad we could barely get a snap off. Wildcat worked well...but I went to it too late. It's funny that your kids don't want to play in the mud. I have noticed the same thing in other parts of the country. Maybe it's because I live in the Pacific Northwest, but I've never coached a team (since becoming a running coach, anyhow) that didn't love practicing in inclement weather - the harder the rain and the muddier the field, the more they liked it. I have always been a believer in being positive about crappy weather, anyhow, and as a result, our kids have always looked forward to practicing on a rainy day. One of my assistants, a former paratrooper, would get all the kids together and get them to shout, "The rain god's a pussy!" We'd design drills specifically to get guys muddy and dirty - including the "high school drags" - relay races in which a guy runs while dragging his partner, who lies on the ground and hangs onto the runner's pants at the waist. It never fails - there is always some kid, usually one of the bigger, heavier guys, whose pants will get pulled down until some "crack" is showing, which is guaranteed to give everybody a big laugh. We will do some West Point Drill (3 on 3) and various other things, including letting linemen carry the ball. Usually, when practice is over, some of the kids will find a huge puddle somewhere and go body-surfing - taking running, head-first, belly-flopping slides in it. *********** "Coach Wyatt, Michigan's helmets may not look blue on T.V., but I can assure you they are blue. I can't comment on Virginia, but I go to Michigan's clinic every year, and the helmets are blue." John Zeller, Evart, Michigan Coach- You will need to come work on the color on my many sets, because I am having a lot of trouble finding the blue in there. Let's just say they have done a nice job of disguising it. But, hey- nothing to apologize for. Everybody's going to black. Look at Northwestern. Look at Oregon. Look at Duke basketball. In every photo I have of old Michigan teams, including many that predate Tom Harmon, the dark of the helmet (the blue, not the maize) is the same shade as the jersey. Nowadays, I guess if you want to see a real Michigan helmet, you will have to go to a Delaware game. *********** Ho-hum. The National Fieldgoal League is back in full swing: Six teams did not score an offensive touchdown this past weekend. The Seattle Seahawks haven't scored one yet this year, and the Washington Redskins treated a Monday Night Football audience to one of the most frightful displays of offensive ineptitude yet - unless, of course, you're the kind who enjoys watching Jeff George complete six yard passes on 3rd and eight.. There were more field goals attempted (53) than offensive touchdowns scored (52) (return TDs are not the result of offensive play) Only three teams failed to attempt a single field goal In seven of the "games" there were no missed field goals 13 of the 28 teams in "action" this past weekend scored 1 touchdown or less. Fans at six of the 14 "games" saw more field goals attempted than offensive touchdowns scored 11 teams treated the fans to at least three field goal attempts Field goal kickers made 79 per cent of their attempts, better than the free throw percentage of all NBA teams except the Bucks 12 of the teams "rushed" for less than 100 yards; Jacksonville rates special mention for its grand total of 19 yards "rushing" The Bears "rushed" for only 47 yards, but with their potent passing game, that is understandable   MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   THE BLACK LION AWARD (FOR MORE INFO) THE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS

READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!! A HYMN OF INSPIRATION- "GOD OF GRACE AND GOD OF GLORY, ON YOUR PEOPLE POUR YOUR POWER" A FIREMAN ASKS, "WHAT IS A REAL HERO?" ENROLL IN THE BLACK LIONS PROGRAM - CLICK To find out more   September 24 - The whole history of the world is summed up in the fact that, when nations are strong, they are not always just, and when they wish to be just, they are no longer strong." Winston Churchill  A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: A native of Waukegan, Illinois, he was an outstanding high school football, basketball and baseball player and was state champion in the french horn!   He is probably the greatest athlete ever to attend Northwestern. As a single-wing tailback under Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf, he once led the Wildcats to an upset win over Paul Brown's national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, completed 20 of 29 passes against Michigan, and scored 27 points against Wisconsin. He finished third in the 1943 Heisman Trophy voting. He was also the captain of the Northwestern basketball team, and in his senior year was second-leading scorer in the Big Ten. He was MVP of the Big Ten in football, and team MVP in basketball. He was third in batting average on the Wildcats' baseball team.   In the Navy during World War II, he played service ball and learned the complexities of becoming a T-formation quarterback, and when the war ended, he was the man selected to build a pro football dynasty around. He played 10 years of professional football, four years in one league and six in another, and was never anything less then one of the game's top quarterbacks. (In 1946, before embarking on his pro football career, he managed to get in a season of pro basketball with the Rochester Royals, winner of that year's NBL title.)   His field-generalship abilties were sometimes questioned because, at a time when all other quarterbacks still called all their own plays, his coach insisted on calling the offense, setting the precedent by which all present-day coaches operate. But that was a nit-pickign question, anyhow - he was a great passer and team leader, the trigger man in the first true professional offense. The first pass he ever threw in the NFL went for a touchdown against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. He spent three years as a head coach in the NFL before being replaced by Vince Lombardi. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. *********** PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN I'm still trying to understand how "TV journalists" (an oxymoron if ever I heard one) think wearing the flag may "confuse the audience," or "compromise their objectivity" as "journalists," but TV stations - the same ones whose sports reporters root openly for the home team - have been ordering their talking heads not to display our flag. Those worms. ABC's Bahbwah Wawtahs said that the reason was that viewers might begin to wonder whether someone who doesn't wear one is less patriotic than one who does. Well, duh. Another reason, according to the manager of a TV station on Long Island, is, "We don't want people to think we lean one way or the other." Uh, didn't our President say you were with us or against us?   The manager went on to say, "we don't want anyone to think that our patriotic emotions will cloud our reporting of the truth." As if there is anyone with a brain who suspects that a TV station might be reporting the truth. *********** "Coach -- It really makes my blood boil when I hear of people in this country that would be offended by the American Flag or think that it represents oppression. Obviously they were absent when the class on the American revolution was held. At least they have the right to dissent, a freedom not many others in the world have. As was said a long time ago, "I may not agree with what you say but I will fight to the death for your right to say it." I wonder what those liberal rectal orifices would do if all of us willing to fight for their rights under the Constitution and Flag of this Great Nation just said to hell with it, defend yourselves. "The American Flag is a symbol of Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights, those that don't understand this should go to Afghanistan and live under the Talibans rule. Then let them see how it is to live without rights. "Freedom can only be achieved by those willing to fight and sometimes die for it." Doug Gibson, Naperville, Illinois *********** Can you imagine anything like what took place in Philadelphia during an NHL hockey game Thursday night? 19,117 Flyers fans demanded that the President's speech be shown on the giant screen! It had been on between periods, but it was removed when the teams returned to the ice. But when the crowd began to chant, "Leave it on! Leave it on! Leave it on!" it returned, and they cheered loudly. And for the rest of the speech, they listened attentively, fans and players alike, and cheered loudly at the high points. And when the speech was over, 30 minutes later, the two teams met at center ice, shook hands, and left the ice. And that was that. Game over. Tied, 2-2. *********** Okay, here comes old Coach Curmudgeon, but after the beautiful pre-game ceremony at Mississippi State Thursday night, with players of both Mississippi State and South Carolina walking in holding a giant flag, I thought it was a bit out of place for Bulldog coach Jackie Sherrill's daughter, dressed for an occasion other than the singing of our National Anthem, to inflict on us a barely recognizable version of the song. Too many people get away with improvising - giving us their own version of the song - because they know, these days at least, nobody will boo the Star Spangled Banner. *********** What a shame to think of 100,000 Americans laid off by airlines, and another 30,000 by Boeing, while Hollywood's beauties are still working 24/7 turning out slime. I am as patriotic as the next person, but since we're talking about sending our service people off to fight to preserve our way of life... watch a little bit of an NFL game on Fox and sit through a couple of Fox' promos for some of their scuzzy prime time shows, and then ask yourself if that is the way of life young Americans could be asked to die to help preserve. *********** My name is ---------- I am 15 yrs. old, attend ---------- High School, and played football for 7 yrs.. I don't play any more because the head coach at the high school is a jerk that knows nothing about football. Despite no longer playing I am the o and d line coach at the middle school and will be the offensive coordinator next year. I hope to put in a double slot offense with the basic run and shoot pass plays without conversions based on the defense. I saw a picture of your offense and was wandering if you would mind telling me how many yards deep the full back is in your offense. Thank You, --------------" Dear --------- : You may not care for what I am going to say, but since you wrote me, it's time somebody told you. Now, it is possible that you are right about the high school coach on both counts. But I am not the best person to be writing to and bad-mouthing a high school coach. Since you are not playing this year, that means you were 14 the last time you played. Somehow, I doubt that as a 14-year-old you had much face-to-face on-the-field experience with the high school head coach. I also seriously doubt that you know enough football to be in a position to say that any high school coach "knows nothing about football." I suspect that you are polly-parroting what somebody else in your community likes to say. I depise that sort of stuff, and if you thought I would be interested in hearing it, you are mistaken. I also can't imagine a school district allowing any 15-year-old to coach youngsters. Especially one who bad-mouths the high school head coach. I would suggest that if you ever want to be a coach someday, you drag your tail back out there and talk to your high school coach and play high school football. And this time get your attitude straight. It could turn things around for you. If you are open-minded and make your own decisions, you might be surprised to learn that you don't know as much as you thought you did and the head coach knows more than you were told he did. Yours truly, Hugh Wyatt (I really did receive that letter. I would caution any other young ex-players reading this not to bother telling me the sad story of why you're not playing. Everybody has the right to play or not to play, of course, but there is a special place in every coach's uh, "heart" for a guy who chooses not to play and blames it on the coach. Gosh, I forgot to give him the advice he asked for.) *********** "Was reading "The News" and saw the responses about the Wing T and its watered-down contemporary version. Thought you might like to know my alma mater, Carnegie Mellon, has been running this offense for decades, and still is. Coach Chuck Klausing passed the team on to a former player, Rich Lackner, in the late 80's, and he is still running it. He commented that due to the lack of teams running it on their level, it really gives them an edge. "By the way, Carnegie Mellon is going after its 26th consecutive winning season. If it ain't broke.... "Todd Bross, Sharon, Pennsylvania *********** From an assistant coach who believes in the Double-Wing and promoted it to the point where his head coach broke down and consented to allow him to run a small package of Tight Stack plays: Coach, just wanted to let you know we are 3-0. We rushed for 441 yds last night on 55 carries (one back had 29 for 256 and one had 15 - 165). No one can stop wedge, it broke for 59 yd TD. They started submarining their interior linemen and blitzing their LBs to the middle. Of course that was great and Super Power was so open it wasnt funny. I gotta tell you, we barely even run coach's spread I (the offense we are "supposed" to shift to. It has been all Stack I SPwr, Cntr, and wedge. Just wanted to update you. Oh yeah we only completed two passes for 13 yds, but we won 34-14. Lets just say coach is impressed with your plays. *********** Hi Coach. Now all these other coaches are jumping on the "I'm the bad guy" band wagon.I run up scores.I manipulated the draft.Not one saying how I gave up 6 draft picks so that a 10 year old that loves football could play.Maybe,just maybe, I study an offense that works.With people that know how to run it.I speak with people all over the nation about defenses.I'm constantly trouble shooting the offense.Defense too.I scout upcoming opponents.I work in practice on execution- Blocking, Tackling, the right and safe way. I teach the boys how to never give up,and that heart is more important than size. Leadership is more important than talent. Pride is still important,and that in everything they do they should always shoot for the stars, and never be satisfied with mediocrity.Maybe these S.O.B's should say GOOD COACHING instead of whining. Has success really become a hated thing in our nation? Cause if it has WE ARE REALLY IN TROUBLE NOW!Best Wishes Coach,thanks for listening. NAME WITHHELD I happen to know this particular coach, and I know he is right when he says he works hard. I also know he is a good man and not a win-at-all-costs guy. The failures in life have always resented successful people and their success. I think that's human nature, and not just America. It is why there is such a thing as socialism, as everybody sharing equally in the wealth produced by the ones who work. The average person simply isn't willing to do the things that some are willing to do, and so he accounts for the difference by saying the winner cheats, or he's lucky, or he runs it up, etc. I think your obligation is to do what's right for football, do what's right for your kids, respect your opponents, and piss on your critics. *********** "You'll appreciate the fact that we recovered 2 kickoffs..I don't call them "onside" kickoffs because that's all we do(hmmm..where'd I get THAT?).. "Every year I have dads tell me "my son's been working on deep kicks..you should give him a shot"..and they just look at me like I'm an idiot when I say "I don't want to kick deep". But days like yesterday clear things up for them!" Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas (Coach Barnes is referring to the fact that for years, I have stubbornly refused to kick the ball high and deep. Of course I have been criticized by knuckleheads in the stands. I tell my kids way in advance that they will probably hear Dad complaining about why we don't kick it deep, and I tell them to tell Dad that since 1980 I have had one kickoff returned for a TD - and that was in 1996, when my kicker decided on his own to kick it deep. We still work very, very hard on correct coverage; there is no substitute for that. But I don't believe in hanging it up there and daring people to negate, in one play, a score we just had to sweat for. Anybody remember the Super Bowl? And those were pros going down on coverage! What is it worth to you to be reasonably sure that you have just eliminated one way even a good team can lose a football game?) *********** "I have been a wreck all day because I get treated like an outcast. I spend 2 hours before practice and at least 1 hour after I get home from practice, working on football. I read my playbook, watch videos read the web site and try to absorb as much as I can. I am the first coach at and the last to leave practice. I have spent my own money for many things for the program and I am the only coach to do so. I am the only coach that sets up the concession stand for fund raiser at games and my girlfriend does the work. "Today we were beaten by a very large and very strong and talented team. The fans were yelling at me today. They blamed me for the game results but I know what happened. The other coach (we are, unfortunately co-head coaches) walked away and stood away from the team when they scored the 2nd T.D. Guess he wanted everyone to know he disagrees with the way or what I teach." NAME WITHHELD *********** "...your tip for centers helped my son out immensely. I was an offensive tackle, and the nuances of the center position are a little vague to me. He was having a bit of trouble with the small, quick nose guards until I read your tip. Thanks ! Mark Rice, Beaver, Pennsylvania *********** "Coach: We're ready to go! Had a lot of trouble getting the exchange between center and L/R backs in our Comet (Wildcat) offense. The center makes consistent and accurate snaps. He also confirms who is receiving the ball in the huddle before every play. No problem there. But my L/R backs were pulling out of position before they had control of the ball and dropping it often. I finally got them to stay put for a fraction of a second AFTER they take the snap. Such a procedure runs counter to any athlete's natural instinct to go on the snap of the ball. The added little piece of time stopped the dropped balls as they now get good control of the ball BEFORE they go on the the handoffs or passes. In addition, the added time gets the backs to the exchange with better overall efficiency." John Braganini. Kalamazoo, Michigan Coach Braganini's tip about making sure that you first catch the ball seems so cotton-pickin' obvious... but then, so do so many things that we wind up having to tell kids over and over because they're not as obvious to the kids as they are to us! *********** "The other thing that is great about this offense is that I don't get really concerned about what kind of a defense the other team is playing. I scouted our next week's opponent this weekend, and took a few notes on how their ends played, etc. Last year, I used to fret on where all of their players lined up on D, so I could go over blocking assignments for everyone. Now, everybody knows their simple blocking rules, and I'm not worried at all about whatever they throw at us. The kids are getting more confident as well." Rick Davis- Duxbury, Massachusetts *********** I know that none of you is an inconsiderate cell phone user, but you might want to post these tips on cellphone etiquette someplace where your rude friends can read them: (1) Treat the cellphone like a portable phone booth - the purppose of phone booths was not only to give you privacy, but to protect others from having to listen to you; (2) Let people know if you're expecting a call at a social function - in a restaurant, or at a party, let people know in advance that you might be interrupted; (3) Speak normally - it's easy to forget that you're only talking to the person on the other end; (4) Take it outside - if you can't keep your voice down, take it where you won't disturb anyone; (5) Turn off your cell phone - movie theaters and church - and Double-Wing clinics! - are NOT the places to receive or make phone calls. You should only make a call in an emergency, and if you are expecting a VERY urgent call, you should have your "ringer" muted and set to vibrate. *********** Boy, Motorola must make good stuff. That's what I figured, because you know how important clear communications is to the NFL, and you can tell by the Motorola logos that all the NFL coaches wear Motorola headsets. Or do they? Actually, they don't. The headsets are not made by Motorola, but by Telex Communications Inc., of Minneapolis. What Motorola does is pay the NFL $20 million a year to be its "official wireless communications sponsor," and part of the deal is the right to put its logos on all the coaches' headsets. Motorola figures that the $20 million it spends to get its logo displayed in this manner would cost it more than $350 million if it actually had to buy the commercial time to do it. The strategy seems to be working. A survey commissioned by Motorola shows that preference for Motorola products is 37 per cent greater among those who are NFL fans than among those who aren't. *********** From Apple's weekly e-mail to Mac users: "My 89-year-old mother, who died in March, 2001, learned to compute using an original iMac. Here was a woman who had seen the first automobile in her rural community, the first airplane fly over that community, heard the first radio, looked at the first television in her community and now at the age of 87 decided to learn about using computers. She taught school for 35 years and the most advanced word processor she had used was an electric typewriter. She was born in a real log cabin with no inside water or toilet, no electricity and the heat and cooking was done by burning wood in cast iron stoves and in fireplaces. From there to iMac, what a journey. "I showed her where the Power button was, showed her how to click on Help and she pretty much learned the rest at a very fast clip, requiring very little help from me. She was soon surfing the web and sending everybody she knew email about her newfound treasure, the iMac. "It was a point of pride for her, and she was the greatest advocate for Macintosh, telling all her friends who did not compute that they should buy [an] ... iMac. Hers was the original Bondi Blue. I still have it--with her story writing and the accounts of her young life saved in AppleWorks. She loved her iMac. She was loved by all who knew her. "I hope you can honor her by publishing this account that shows how an older person can easily step into the Digital Age using Apple computers." *********** I am sometimes asked if I have considered using credit cards and such devices as PayPal, and this is my answer: Yes, on the surface it make some sense, but... There are three reasons why I don't want to screw with any charge feature: (1) They want a piece of my business. That's why I don't deal with publishers and distributors, either. Piss on them. (2) The customer becomes their customer, and not mine. And their customer is always right. They will accept returns for almost any reason. Not me. I will replace defective merchandise, but otherwise, my sales are final. (3) I am small enough that I can deal on a personal level with anyone who buys from me, which I enjoy. I am still able to answer the dozens of e-mail inquiries from them every day, and I have come to meet some great people this way. I know that I could pick up some impulse sales by offering the convenience of credit card purchasing, but as long as I can, I would rather keep any third party from coming between me and the guys I deal with.   *********** Football weekend in review (NFL, not being football, isn't included): What is with high school coaches wearing those trendy sunglasses around their necks - at night games? Yale and Michigan remain tied for first place in all-time wins "They are Saturday's soldiers, and they're prepared for battle" - ESPN referring to football players in using an untimely metaphor to push its Game Plan ESPN was caught napping by Illinois' successful fake punt Notre Dame's patriotic show included some guy with a TV huckster voice reading the Preamble to the Constitution and portions of the Declaration of Independence. I expected him to end with, "and if you ratify now..." Bad day for the Bowdens - Dad Bobby and brother Tommy - as Florida State got hammered by 0-3 North Carolina, and Clemson got nipped at the wire by Virginia. Imagine Notre Dame dropping 5 in a row to Michigan State. The two teams were tied at the half, 10-10, bringing to mind the famous 10-10 tie in 1966 between the two teams. Ohio State lost to UCLA, victimized by place-kicking - missed a PAT and two FG's after twice taking over inside the UCLA 20. UCLA has now won a couple of games with outstanding defense. "They're lined up for a field goal, but this is going to be a pooch kick," said TV expert Todd Blackledge, just prior to Alabama attempting - and making - a field goal Alabama had to punt over against Arkansas because they didn't have seven men on the line of scrimmage. I got news - Alabama never has seven men on the line of scrimmage - on every play, at least one of Alabama's tackles is so far in his own backfield that his helmet barely penetrates the center's heels Texas A & M sold 70,000 tee-shirts and raised $150,000 for aid to the bombing victims I'm getting tired of ABC's tight close ups, allowing me to see more nose hairs and pores than I ever cared to see We have to listen to all kinds of drivel from sideline reporters, but when a Michigan State player lay prostrate on the Spartans' sideline while being attended to, where was the reporter? Pat "Be Sure to Make Everybody Panic" Haden, while the Michigan State player lay there, helpfully volunteered, "Every mother's nightmare." What is it with some of these players going up to officials to call time out, and then patting the officials on the rear end after they give the signal? Will everybody have to use glitter paint on their helmets soon? Virginia became the second blue-helmet team (after Michigan) to switch to black. Who's next in the switch from dark blue to black? Penn State? Navy? As I saw the Syracuse and Auburn players sweating it out, I had to wonder at the irony: the Carrier Dome, whose naming sponsor is an air-conditioning company, is not air conditioned. We won't keep people from teaching holding until we make the penalty amputation of the hands - the offensive coordinator's. Football needs a penalty box for linemen that hold.. BLASPHEMY OF THE WEEK: Syracuse fan holding a sign reading "God Help Auburn" Some team is so into title inflation that it has "co-coordinators." What's next - every assistant a co-coordinator, reporting to a Coordinator-in-Chief? Why did Oregon's Mike Bellotti, formerly one of the few major college coaches to sport a mustache, shave it off? Best catch of the day - a Syracuse blocker, making a neat grab of his quarterback's helmet after he was hit so hard it was sent flying. Why can't I bring myself to like Chris Simms? ESPN's Holly Rowe, telling us before halftime, "The University of Texas players are exhausted." Texas, up 20-14 at the half against Houston, somehow managed to suck it up in the second half to down the Cougars, 53-20. Same Holly Rowe, signing off after an interview with Bill Yeoman, who as head coach at Houston invented the veer: "Hey- and thanks for inventin' the veer." Houston, ahead 14-10, gave Texas 10 points in the final 10 seconds of the half. The biggest bonehead play came on a kickoff when one of the Cougars' up-front men broke a basic special-teams rule and ran back to try to field a semi-short kick. He didn't and Texas recovered. Tommy Tuberville on the Auburn sideline looked almost amused, as if he was on loan to Auburn for the afternoon, and it wasn't going to be his problem once the game was over. If you want to do the broadcast of a football game, you need to be able to say this, any time a player is down: "We don't want to speculate." (I always want to say, "why not?") I am sick to here of teams that punt from the 50 and don't threaten the punter with castration if he punts it into the end zone - which he always tries to do. Talk about weenie kickers - the Oregon punter cramped up and fell to the turf while running onto the field on fourth down, and had to be helped off the field. Oregon, down by a point with 1:21 left, sent a kid out to attempt the first field goal of his career. It was blocked. So Oregon's Joey Harrington makes like Elway at his best, and with 56 seconds left, starts on his own 24 yard line and drives the Ducks 61 yards in five plays - and the Sunday Oregonian pictures the guy who kicked the field goal. (If he'd made a chip shot earlier, none of Harrington's heroics would have been necessary.)   MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)     CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award

September 21 - "He didn't just draw a line in the sand - he bulldozed a trench!" General Norman Schwarzkopf, commenting on President Bush's speech Thursday night   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!! A HYMN OF INSPIRATION- "GOD OF GRACE AND GOD OF GLORY, ON YOUR PEOPLE POUR YOUR POWER" A FIREMAN ASKS, "WHAT IS A REAL HERO?" ENROLLMENT IN THE BLACK LIONS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RE-OPENED - CLICK To find out more   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: James Van Fleet was an outstanding football player at West Point, a teammate and classmate of both Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, a member of "The Class the Stars Fell on." He fought with distinction in both World Wars, and helped lead the Greek Army in defeating the Communist uprising following World War II, but he achieved his greatest fame as the commander of US and UN forces in Korea. He established a military academy in Korea - "The West Point of Korea" - and is known by Koreans as "The Father of the Korean Army."   But as Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story... In 1921, James Van Fleet was sent by the Army to Gainesville, Florida to take over the ROTC program at the University of Florida. He volunteered to serve as an assistant football coach, and when the head coach departed, the University president, concerned about an overall lack of discipline on the campus and on the football team, asked him to take over as head coach. He agreed to do so, at an additional stipend of $600 a year. His 1924 team was his best: the Gators won eight, lost one and tied two. Obviously, he did not remain a football coach. He did a great job at Florida, he enjoyed football coaching, and he was hoping to be anmed football coach at West Point, but it didn't happen. The Army was his life, and the Army became his career. He made it to four-star general. Nevertheless, he would later reflect on the experience coaching gave him as a leader of men: "Responsibility, pressure, decision making, these are the essentials of leadership which are common both in football and in war. Getting along with men is another great asset, knowing your men, knowing the tolls you're working with - a wise person is your greatest tool. Getting the men to like their jobs, and like being properly trained, and giving them the right direction so they can win." He died at the age of 100 on September 23, 1992. At his retirement in 1953, President Truman called him, "the greatest general we have ever had. I sent him to Greece and he won the war. I sent him to Korea and he won the war." Although born in New Jersey, he was raised and educated in Bartow, Florida, and always considered himself a Floridian. He was voted one of the 50 Most Important Floridians of the 20th Century. Although the outbreak of World War II should ordinarily have brought him a promotion to general, Van Fleet's career suffered as a result of an unfortunate coincidence. While at infantry school, he was confused by the assistant commandant, General George C, Marshall, with someone of a similar name who was known to be a heavy drinker. When General Marshall became Chief of Staff in 1939, Van Fleet's career stagnation was assured. As late as 1944, Van Fleet was still a colonel, but so impressive was his demonstration of courage and leadership on D-Day and the fighting that followed that once the confusion over his identity was cleared up to General Marshall's satisfaction, his career progressed rapidly. By war's end, Dwight D. Eisenhower considered General Van Fleet one of the "greatest fighting soldiers" under his command. On April 4, 1952, while in command of US and UN troops in Korea, General Van Fleet suffered the hardest blow a parent can ever feel, when his only son, James Van Fleet, Junior, a 25-year-old Air Force pilot, was lost on a bombing mission over North Korea. Burdened with grief and angry at what he believed was a failure to let him pursue the fighting aggressively, he retired from the Army on March 31, 1953. A year later, on March 31, 1954, his son was presumed dead. General Van Fleet died at the age of 100 on September 23, 1992. The previous March, he was honored by a surprise 100th birthday party given for him by the people of Polk City, Florida. It was his last public appearance. "Thank you very much," he told those in attendance. "I hope I deserve some of it." At least two Medal of Honor winners were present, and my friend, Tom Hinger, who was there, said one of the most moving things he's ever seen was watching the old general greet one of them. Military protocol calls for a Medal of Honor winner to be saluted even by senior officers, and there was 100-year-old four-star General Van Fleet, one of the top-ranking officers in American history, reaching down with his good left arm to pull his paralyzed right arm up to salute a hero. "He was not a man in the bleachers," said his son-in-law, Maj. Gen. J.A. McChristian, at his funeral. "He was on the playing field his entire life." Correctly identifying General James Van Fleet - Adam Wesoloski- Menominee, Michigan... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa... Dave Potter- Durham, North Carolina... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana... Donnie Hayes- Farmington, Michigan ("Even being a U of F Gator fan, I had never heard of him before. Thanks for the information. I really like his view on the challenge of getting your men (players) to like to be trained and to have the outlook that they CAN win if they do what they have been trained to do. My youth team is starting to figure that out and the outlook for the rest of the season is pretty good.")... Whit Snyder- Baytown, Texas ("A quick check in my Pictorial History of Southeast Conference Football and a cross check in The Family Encyclopedia of American History gave me the answer. Very interesting guy. Thank you for bringing this neglected figure to our attention. May God give us more like him.")... Alan Goodwin- Warwick, Rhode Island... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky (" I did not know that he was the head coach at Florida! I had only heard of him from his military career. I am familiar with him because of your reference to President Truman. I have read extensively about President Truman. He is one of my favorite presidents. He had stones! He is also the only president that I have had the pleasure to meet and listen to him tell stories about his life and presidency.")... Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois ("General James Van Fleet was truly remarkable. He never gave up when his career was placed on hold because General Marshall mistakenly thought he had a drinking problem. Once that was cleared up, his rise through the ranks was spectacular.")...   *********** Watching the President's speech, and the obvious unity of Congress in supporting him, I had to wonder if maybe the terrorists didn't base a lot of the assumptions behind their attack on the bitterness and divisiveness they saw in our past presidential election. Hell, as recently as September 10, there were still letters trickling in to the editors of newspapers all over the United States, questioning George W. Bush's legitimacy. But you have to realize that other than Israel, there is no democratic nation in the Middle East, so there is no way that these people could possibly understand that we may hold vicious, nasty elections, but we can still transfer power peacefully; and since they have no conception of freedom other than the freedoms that we gave them and they turned against us, they can't understand how we can openly criticize our government and its leaders, yet still give them our unconditional support when it's needed; and since they have no experience with anything resembling the multiculturalism of a nation that has welcomed more people of more different nationalities, races, and religions than any in the history of the world, they have no idea how fast the hyphens can disappear when hyphenated Americans are united in a cause; and since, just like most Americans, their knowledge of our history doesn't go back past Vietnam and the protests, and not even Americans under the age of 60 can possibly remember how we are capable of acting when we truly believe our nation is in crisis, there is no way non-Americans can possibly understand the things we can do when we pull together. *********** Anybody watch that mutt, the junior Senator from New York/Arkansas, going through the motions of "clapping" during the President's speech? From the spoiled-child pout on her face, you'd have to wonder which side she was on. Of course, she did kiss Mrs. Arafat and she did call for a Palestinian state, so possibly she was disappointed to see all those people upset with her chums. Hey - Jane Fonda may be able to sit one out, with Hillary available to give aid and comfort to the enemy. Sheesh! What a --- (Oops- my wife reads this. Can't let her catch me using the "c" word. She'd be disappointed that I couldn't come up with anything stronger.) *********** If Rudy Giuliani hadn't been diagnosed with prostate cancer, we probably wouldn't have Hillary in Washington, but on the other hand we wouldn't have had Rudy in New York. *********** Has it occured to anyone else that the urgings of the naive young peaceniks on our college campuses to "sit down and talk" with the terrorists, to try to listen to their "message," and look for the "root causes" of terrorism, are no more than calls for us to surrender? Since their analysis of the situation is that terrorism is "caused" by our being so wealthy, consuming so much, and using so much more than "our share" of the world's resources, blah, blah, blah, the only solution is for us stop driving our SUVs and vans and pickups, stop air conditioning our homes and stop eating meat. Uh, isn't this what the terrorists want? If we were to do as the young idealists propose, we'd just surrender, without a fight. We'd give up our way of life - the very thing the terrorists want to destroy. And we still wouldn't be a bit safer than we were on September 11. *********** I have to remind myself of this when I become impatient to strike back: it wasn't until April 18, 1942 - more than four months after Pearl Harbor - that James Doolittle led the bombing raid on Tokyo, in effect our first retaliatory strike against the Japanese.   *********** Fortunately, most of us will otherwise occupied by high school games Friday night, so we won't have to look at the nauseating dog and pony show sure to be put on by those left-wing Hollywood FOB's. *********** Proud to be an American - There has been a rash of flag thefts in the Portland area. In Medford, Oregon, someone burned the flag flying in front of an elderly woman's home. It was the one presented her by an American Legion post when her father died. *********** Proud to be an American - Part II - Tolerance is a wonderful thing, but too often what it really means is "absence of values." And this is the sort of people a nation without values and morals produces: To "show we are sensitive to everyone," Lehigh University administrators ordered American flags removed from university vehicles. Officials were afraid of offending foreign students. Yeah - afraid they'll pull out and take their tuition money with them.   *********** Proud to be an American - Part III - The President of the NAACP branch in Durham, North Carolina said that black people should not fight for the United States. 'This is not the time to sacrifice our fathers, sons and brothers to a country that has not protected our rights," he said, claiming that many of the companies at the World Trade Center discriminated against blacks. Anybody that stupid needs to be replaced before he does serious damage to his organization.   *********** Proud to be an American - Part IV - Two firefighters in Opa-Locka, Florida refused to ride in a fire truck displaying an American flag, claiming that it "represents oppression." *********** Last Friday, when my wife suggested that the classes at her elementary school assemble around the flagpole and recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing "God Bless America, " one of her fellow teachers asked, "What about the Russian children? What if their parents complain?" (Our area has a large number of Russian immigrants. They did not come here in chains. They were willing to come to America and accept our hospitality, but supposedly the religion they were persecuted for over there - the persecution which was used as the reason for allowing them in - does not permit them to honor our flag,) Can you imagine that? They come here, and we're supposed to change our culture for them? The door swings both ways. My wife's response: "Let them." I was very proud of her. The ceremony went on. *********** I heard some things today that made me think of Don Holleder. I would like to nominate for the Black Lion Award a group of selfless passengers trapped aboard the speeding missile that was American Flight 93. When one of the men on board used his cell phone to call his wife, she informed him that the WTC had been struck by two airplanes. Guessing correctly that his plane had been hijacked for the same reason, he asked her to hang on. Then, in an exercise of true American Spirit, he and the other passengers VOTED to try and stop the terrorists on their own flight. Doing so, I'm certain they knew, would mean selling their own lives. Their sacrifice may have saved hundreds, even thousands of people. Can there be any other action more deserving of the memory of Don Holleder? Derek Wade, Tomales, California There is no question that the bravery and self-sacrifice that you refer to is typical of the spirit of Don Holleder that we are trying to instill and inspire in our young men. Regrettably, although this award is befitting people like that - and others whose acts of great courage in time of war are being made known daily - I have had to spend a fair amount of time and effort, and have had to call on some rather high-level contacts, in order to obtain permission from Major Holleder's widow to use his name and image in association with the award. We are strictly limited to the conditions agreed on, part of which specify that it is to be awarded to young football players. *********** Coach, I am an assistant and defensive coordinator for the Millersville, MD Wolverines and Coach Jason Clarke. I attended your clinic with Coach Clarke in PA. I read your News page every week. I agree with most of what you have to say. I to was outraged about the terrorist attacks on our great nation. I also was appalled that so many people were saying that we have to begin the healing. BULLSH--!!! What we need is to be outraged, mad, and wanting to exact revenge and great pain upon ALL of the people responsible. I have two sons ages 10 and 13. My oldest son was injured in his first game on Sat. It may be a torn ACL in his right knee we will get the MIR results on Wednesday. His first concern was if he could still go to practice and be with his team. After the events on Tuesday he said to me, "Dad, after what happened today my knee injury doesn't seem so important now." My youngest son is having a little bit of trouble understanding how some people could commit such acts of terrorism. But we have been doing a lot of talking to both of them. When they both agreed that they hate anyone who could do such things I told them they were absolutely right in feeling that way. I will not preach to my sons the touchy feely bullsh-- that comes from most people these days. Coach Kevin McLucas, MIllersville, Maryland *********** "Coach, Thanks for mentioning the Madison Shockley commentary about football. I just went to the LATimes web site (latimes.com) and searched under the writer's name and came up with the commentary (as well as the letters to the editor clearly written by non-football players). I really enjoyed it and am going to share it with my boys at practice tonight. "Also, I couldn't agree with you more about your comments on the terrorist attacks. Where did our backbone disappear to? I can't help but draw an analogy to something that I witnessed on one of the schools that my kids went to a few years back. We had just returned from NZ and wanted to live in Maine where I'm from (i/o Mass. where my wife is from) for a change of pace. We moved into a small community of 1100 right next to a similarly small community where I grew up. I remember that whenever I got into trouble in school, the least of my problems was what happened to me at school. I was really in a jam when I got home and had to face my parents. Whatever the teacher/principle did to me in school for punishment was supported by my parents (and usually multiplied a couple fold). Now at this small school, whenever a kid did something wrong and word got home to the parents, the parents were in the office the next day stating that my kid didn't do this and that they wouldn't accept the punishment (in most cases, it was a note of apology/acknowledgement of wrong-doing, written by the student at school, and sent home to be signed by the parent). The paper was often thrown back in the principle's (my step-mother in this case) face. I used to wonder out loud to her, "I knew a lot of these parents when they were kids, and I know that their parents would not have tolerated their poor behavior in school (and would have kicked their a_ _ to boot), and would have supported the school. How did we lose those values in just one generation???!!!!! It used to boggle my mind. It's a sad commentary, but we took the yuppy way out, buying an average house in a well-to-do community in Mass. (70% Republican, in Mass., hard to believe) to minimize the chances of there being too many idiots (and idiot parents) in the schools. "Lastly, I saw an old hawk today on one of the news shows, Cap Weinberger. He was great, and to paraphrase, "some leaders of these countries that support these terrorists may have to be killed." 'Nuff said'. Thanks as always for your enjoyable commentary, Rick Davis, Duxbury, Massachusetts *********** Dear Coach Wyatt: As I drove down route 70 outside of Hagerstown, only state troopers and I were on the road. Maryland, DC, and Virginia are in States of Emergency. I was at school and boys were getting calls in class and getting up to leave cause the National Guard was calling them up. Kids just got out of school and went home. I know that I feel awful about this but I do know that I as a young American want my government to strike back. I was listing to the radio and this media guy was interviewing someone and asked the man if American wanted justice for the punks who did this. THe man on the radio said "I don't think Americans want justice, they want these people in hell" or something to that effect. I agree, this isn't a criminal thing, this is open war that has to be met with open war. We all know what has to be done, but the Government has to be willing to stick'em and keep stickin'em. Shoot I hope they do. I have lots of emails from Aussie and NZ, all my mates want to make sure I'm okay, even a few called up. I pray nothing like this ever happens again. Best of luck. Keep It Strong John D. Grimsley, Gaithersburg, Maryland *********** "Harold Westerman was the President at UMaine Orono when I was there, really nice guy. When I was there, Walt Abbott was the head football coach, and he is one of the school's great characters. After he was done coaching, he taught a PE course called Outdoor Preparedness. One of the things he did in the course was a Black Bear run at 5:30 in the morning. It was Nov. when we ran and we ran through lots of swampy areas, where there was a thin layer of ice on top of the water. There was a kid from the ski team in the class (good runner) and myself, who had been doing marathons. We were in great shape, but we could not keep up with Coach Abbott (he must have been at least 55 at that time) and our legs were bloody from the breaking through the thin layers of ice and running through the brambles. We loved it! It is one of my fondest memories of college." Rick Davis, Duxbury, Massachusetts *********** Hugh, Just finished reading the interview about Mike Lude and couldn't help but comment. I worked for 16 years in the Old Town/Orono area anad was had coach at Old Town High School for a couple of years. During that time there were plenty of discussions about the Wing - T, Dave Nelson, and Westy Westerman. I also had an opportunity to talk many times with Ron Rogerson, head coach at Maine and a disciple of the Wing T. Coach Rogerson passed away far too early and was really missed at Maine. Today as you alluded to the traditional wing-t has evolved into something else - too bad. Even Delaware has gotten into the spread option air attack. The Delaware staff is still teaching the tradional Wing -t at clinics along with some of the new stuff but I miss seeing the traditional stuff when the Blue Hens are on the tube. I still think the 187 x Blk is still a great football play along with the other traditional plays. Dennis Creehan, formerly of South Dakota and Rutgers still preaches the traditional style and has written a two volume set on the Wing-T which I found to be very good. Finally, I beleive Ted Kempski, long time assistant at Delaware, is a prime mover in the new style they are playing. Coach Kempski is as knowledgable about the wing-t as anyone I know but I sure would like them to move back to the more conservative wing-T. By the way 47 Brown g-o and 56 Black G-O are two great pass plays whose origin comes from the old wing-t waggle. Something I know you know very well. Anyway, thanks for listening to the ramblings of a closet wing-t coach. Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine *********** John Elway and Joe Montana had planned to kiss good-bye to Mile High Stadium and all its wonderful memories by putting on some bogus "Old-Timers Game" last Saturday, the day before it was set to be demolished. Needless to say, September 16, 2001 was not a good day to even be thinking about demolishing any large buildings. But get this - they were going to be charging admission! Granted, few pro athletes do anything without getting paid, but are you kidding me? (You have to wonder when Elway, one of the greatest ever to play the game will decide he's made enough, and stop looking so shamelessly whorish. He currently co-stars with Michael Vick in a commercial for some sort of high-performance candy bar called Myoplex or some damn thing. Maybe soon he'll be giving us tips on a 900-number phone line.) Talk about a major scheduling conflict for me! How could I be in Denver and in Austin, Minnesota, too? Last Saturday also happened to be the day the Spam Museum was set to open in Austin. I'm sure it was postponed, too, because how would it look if the NFL and major colleges cancelled their entire schedules, while the Spam Museum went ahead with its opening? The Guv, Jesse Ventura, was scheduled to be there, but I'm sure he had to cancel so he could stay back in St. Paul and keep the state safe. *********** "My team has switched to your style of tackling. After seeing your video then after me giving the DC the info from Coach Spurrier's Website. We took it on and it seems to be going OK. At first we had a lot of the guys taking on runners too high. Their helmet was way above the runners. We have had the kids working on sinking the tails lower and it seems to be helping. Like anything it takes time for us to get used to when you have been teaching something for so long. It will be successful for us because our willingness to try new things is what makes us perennial threats every year. Complacency is a coach's worst enemy." Kyle Wagner, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada *********** A coach asked me what my thinking was on going on offense first or second when faced with overtime. I told him that at least at the HS or college level, going second is a no-brainer, for a couple of reasons: (1) After the other side has had its series, you know what you need to win- field goal or TD, one-point or two-point PAT (2) When you "change sides" for second OT, the team that went on offense first in second OT will probably go second in the second OT, which means they stay on defense! Which means they may very well be in a position where you can wear their defense down, while your defense is resting. I saw a stat on this somewhere that indicated a huge advantage for the team that initially goes second. *********** It was a long time ago, but I can still remember as a 16-year-old kid reading the Pennsylvania driver's manual, preparing for my test. Part of the test preparation consisted of a number of sample questions, and one that we all knew to memorize, because all our older friends told us it would be on the test, was "Is a driver's license a right?" The answer was, "No - it is a privilege which can be revoked, etc., etc." Well, the license may still be a privilege, but evidently the traffic safety education (driver ed) course necessary to get a license is considered a right. The state of Washington no longer funds the cost of the program, so in Vancouver, Washington prospective drivers must pay $386 to take the course. Did I say the state no longer funds it? Not for ordinary taxpayers, it doesn't. But for those students who qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch, the cost is only $124. The state - make that "state taxpayers" - pick up the other $262. Now, I'm sorry - no kid is so deserving of a driver's license - or so destitute - that he or she can't go out and earn another $262 to pay for a license. Sure sounds to me like a "right" - make that an entitlement - to me. *********** Just another sign of what is wrong with our schools: The Vancouver, Washington School District has just agreed to "raise" substitute teachers' pay. The otherwise-unemployed teacher who is entrusted with a roomful of our kids will be paid $98 per day (no benefits). On the other hand, a "substitute administrator" - the retired principal whose heavy lifting consists of sitting and drinking coffee in the real principal's office while the real principal is away at a conference, who defers all tough decisions until the real principal returns - will be paid $250 a day. *********** My oldest son (13) was injured in his first game .It may be a torn ACL in his right knee. What do you know about an injury like that? I don't know enough about medicine to do any more than tell you what I have always done - find a doctor you can trust - by that, I mean one who understands kids and how badly they want to play and how quickly their bodies heal - and put yourselves in his - or her - hands. I think that is the key. I assume you have insurance. You might try calling the U of Maryland football office (301-314-7096) and ask who their team orthopedist is. Or they might be able to suggest someone. As long as insurance is paying for it, you might as well go to the best. The worst thing you can do is get in the hands of a physician who thinks it is his (or her) job to wait until everything feels 100 per cent. That is often the approach they will take with an older person like me, but we are dealing here with an athletic young person. And some of these non-sports doctors are so maddeningly predictable. So often, they'll just automatically tell a kid, "two weeks", or "six weeks", or "eight weeks." You'd think that in order to try sounding precise and scientific, they'd say, "fifteen days," or "thiry-seven days." You want a doctor who understands active kids, and who will do whatever he/she can to return a kid to athletics as soon as possible without endangering the kid or his future. *********** Poor Delta Airlines. Not only has it taken a beating along with all the rest of US airline companies since 911, but it suffers from very poor timing. Somehow, after the horrors experienced by those poor, doomed souls about those four airliners used as suicide bombs, I have a feeling a jury wouldn't be quite so sympathetic to the plight of a woman who a month ago was awarded $1.25 million by a Montana jury. She claimed she suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome as a result of her having been a passenger on board a November 1996 Delta fllight from London to Cincinnati that had to make an emergency landing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton. It sounds to me as though the airline did everything it could: when it was determined that the plane was having problems, flight attendants prepared the passengers for a possible crash landing, including making sure everyone counted the number of rows to the nearest exit, but the plane was landed safely. "People had a genuine sense that the plane was going to crash," he lawyer said. (Well, duh.) But rather than be grateful she is alive, the woman sued Delta, claiming that the post-traumatic stress she experienced was actually a brain injury, and therefore a physical injury, for which airlines flying internationally can be held liable. A jury, because this is America, agreed with her and awarded her $1.25 million. Poor thing. "She figures she's never be able to fly again," her lawyer said. I think he means that she's afraid to fly, but it's probably immaterial - I have a feeling she won't find an airline that'll sell her a ticket. *********** Coach - Last night we had some close - real close - lightning come in, so I wanted to get the boys off the field..I brought them into my gym and showed them the Washougal highlights tape, making them "call the play" -- It was great! I didn't think they would sit still to watch, but they sure did..I think it's good for them to see how the play "should" look from a different perspective! but one thing --- I forgot that was a dang "highlights" tape and they are throwing the ball all over the place!!! Dang it Coach! my boys were yucking it up saying "this ain't OUR offense Coach...they PASS the ball!"! Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas *********** Chris Jones, who was an outstanding wingback in dad Steve Jones' Double-Wing at Florence, Mississippi, is a starting wide receiver as a sophomore at Delta State, the number one-ranked team in Division II. Chris' younger brother, Cory, has been tearing them up at Florence for two years, where he's just a junior. The boys come by their speed honestly: Dad was a sprinter at Mississippi State. *********** "We need to protect the integrity and innocence" of college sports, said Penn State basketball coach Jerry Dunn, at a news conference dealing with colleges' opposition to legalized sports gambling. Integrity? Innocence? College sports?   MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)

September 19 - "Without courage, nothing else can really happen." Winston Churchill   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!! A HYMN OF INSPIRATION- "GOD OF GRACE AND GOD OF GLORY, ON YOUR PEOPLE POUR YOUR POWER" A FIREMAN ASKS, "WHAT IS A REAL HERO?" ENROLLMENT IN THE BLACK LIONS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RE-OPENED - CLICK To find out more A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He was an outstanding football player at West Point, a teammate and classmate of both Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, a member of "The Class the Stars Fell on." He fought with distinction in both World Wars, and helped lead the Greek Army in defeating the Communist uprising following World War II, but he achieved his greatest fame as the commander of US and UN forces in Korea. He established a military academy in Korea - "The West Point of Korea" - and is known by Koreans as "The Father of the Korean Army." But as Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story... In 1921, he was sent by the Army to Gainesville, Florida to take over the ROTC program at the University of Florida. He volunteered to serve as an assistant football coach, and when the head coach departed, the University president, concerned about an overall lack of discipline on the campus and on the football team, asked him to take over as head coach. He agreed to do so, at an additional stipend of $600 a year. His 1924 team was his best: the Gators won eight, lost one and tied two. Obviously, he did not remain a football coach. He did a great job at Florida and he enjoyed football coaching. He was hoping to be named football coach at West Point, but it didn't happen. The Army was his life, and the Army became his career. He made it to the exalted rank of four-star general. Nevertheless, he would later reflect on the experience coaching gave him as a leader of men: "Responsibility, pressure, decision making, these are the essentials of leadership which are common both in football and in war. Getting along with men is another great asset, knowing your men, knowing the tolls you're working with - a wise person is your greatest tool. Getting the men to like their jobs, and like being properly trained, and giving them the right direction so they can win." He died at the age of 100 on September 23, 1992. At his retirement in 1953, President Truman called him, "the greatest general we have ever had. I sent him to Greece and he won the war. I sent him to Korea and he won the war." Although born in New Jersey, he was raised and educated in Bartow, Florida, and always considered himself a Floridian. He was voted one of the 50 Most Important Floridians of the 20th Century.     *********** Listen - I am not about to excuse one of the most horribly cruel acts in world history. Nothing makes me angrier than the weasels who say that "corporate America asked for it," or "now we know how the Palestinians feel." And, yes, I am a vengeance guy. But anybody remember what Reverend Jerry Falwell said - that God may have visited this upon us for our views on abortion, homosexuality, etc.? Reverend Falwell came under pressure and felt the need to apologize. So let's leave God out of this for a minute (isn't that, after all, the American way?) and look at it from the standpoint of the radical religious fundamentalists, the ones who call America the Devil. They can see what we've done to our culture, and they're determined not to let us do it to theirs. I'm not even going to deal with abortion and homosexuality. Let's just look at our mass media, which makes it possible for our pop culture to invade every corner of the globe. We have already lost the battle at home - Americans who object to the filth thrown at us from every direction by our own mass media are powerless to fight back. Our own culture has been overwhelmed by the powerful forces of Hollywood and whatever they think they can get away with. Those who object have at best been fighting a rear guard action, pulling their kids out of public school and turning off the TV, while they are scoffed at by the elitists who defend the so-called First Amendment rights of the filth merchants. So when people elsewhere in the world see the "war" being waged against our own culture by our own mass media, might it be reasonable to think that the more deeply, fanatically religious among them would consider American mass media to be the Devil, an influence on their culture pernicious enough to go to war over? They may not have wealth or education, but they have their deeply-held beliefs, and they have shown they will die - and kill - for them. Seen a movie or video or prime time TV show lately? Is this really the best America has to offer? Do people have the right to defend themselves from it? Don't you wish we could? Is it worth fighting for? Is it worth the life of one young American? Is it reasonable to ask God for His strength - to invoke His blessings - while continuing to thumb our noses at Him? Reverend Falwell may have made his forced apology, but his comments ought to cause some of us to stop and think about maybe getting our own house in order before being too sure that God is on our side in this one. *********** A Boca Raton, Florida firm known as the National Council of Compensation Insurance reversed what had to be the most cowardly stand yet taken in the post-WTC era when it apologized to employees for removing American flags from their desks. The chief excecutive had sent a memo to employees on Friday - our National Day of Remembrance and Mourning, right? - reminding them that the company prohibits displaying flags in the workplace. The policy was intended - in typical gutless PC language - "to protect employees from divisive political discussions." Wow. After all, we wouldn't want to create a hostile work environment, would we? Wouldn't want to offend anyone who might object to the flag. Huh? Object to the American flag? I'm crusty enough that it would be okay with me if a loyalty oath were required of all employees. Or anybody entering our country except on a short visit. After Governor Bush requested that all Floridians fly flags, the company reversed its policy over the weekend, and offered flags to employees as they entered the offices on Monday morning. Now, will someone please tell that CEO that those old days are gone - at least temporarily - those days when the rights of those who might object to the sight of an American flag trumped those who chose to fly them? To think that all those people in New York, Virginia and Washington had to give their lives for that.   *********** Just as I was about to ask where he was in all this, Minister Louis Farrakhan issued a warning Sunday to President Bush that declaring war on terrorism could "trigger the war that would end all wars, the war of Armageddon." It's all the fault of our foreign policy, you see. We could end this in a minute, I suppose, by helping the Palestianians drive the Israelis into the sea. He defended the Palestinians shown celebrating in the streets after the attack on America because they have "sustained injustice since 1948," (the year Israel became a nation). "They dance in the streets," he said, "not because they have no feeling for American life, they dance because they wanted America to feel what they feel."   *********** "I flipped out when I passed MTV and saw the flag logo. After years of Rock The Vote, Clinton's underwear, and supporting every alternative lifestyle and pinko with a guitar, they want to jump on the Old Glory bandwagon? Are they serious?" Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts   *********** Keat Crown, one of the captains of Duke's 2000 lacrosse team, was at work on the 106th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center Tuesday morning when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower. Crown and his co-workers rushed toward the stairwell as a part of a planned evacuation. Butt when he reached a mezzanine area on the 78th floor, the employees were told to abandon the evacuation plan and return to their offices. Crown decided to continue toward the ground level, but at that moment, the United Airlines flight exploded into the South Tower a few floors below him. "He's in a cloud of smoke and soot," Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler related. "He's covered in blood - his blood and the blood of others. He was stumbling over bodies. At a couple of points, he said the thought crossed his mind to just give up." Seeing a ray of sunlight, he headed toward it and discovered that it was the stairwell. He and others began descending the stairs, only to come upon an elevator that had crushed the stairwell, blocking their way. Burrowing his way under the elevator and then dropping down into the darkness below, Crown landed in an area where the stairwell was once again passable and limped his way to the bottom floor of the building. He was evacuated and taken to a hospital in Brooklyn, then transferred to a Manhattan hospital. According to his mother, he suffered a broken leg, a broken wrist, broken ribs, burns and serious cuts on his face, and had undergone a series of successful surgeries. "If there's anyone I've coached or been around that I would have believed would have been able to make it out of that building, it would have been that guy," coach Mike Pressler said. "He's tough, he's resilient and he's determined." (From an article in the Durham Herald-Sun)   *********** From a teacher-friend in the East: "This is a real incident that happened to my friend, a teacher in the next room. "On the Friday before the infamous attack on New York, the students in homeroom were at attention when " The Pledge " came over the P.A. system. One student refused to stand up. My friend sent him to supervised study ( " the tank " ) for not following the rules, being disrespectful, and being defiant. The principal sent him back to the room saying that she couldn't do that. My friend replied that she could, since it was in our school handbook along with other rules concerning behaviors of students. The principal sent the information to our superintendent, who said the principal was correct. She's changing the teacher handbook at the next board meeting! As far as we're concerned they can burn the whole damn handbook since nothing's sacred anymore. Is this " The New Americanism " or does this fall under the new crusade in the classroom to teach morals, values and respect ?" (After the events of Tuesday, 9-11, I think that superintendent is going to have a tough sell to the school board.) ************ "The flag is flying up and down our street in Baytown and has since Sept. 11. On Saturday my son's football coach gathered the team together before their game and asked them if they knew why practice had been canceled last Tuesday. They all knew why. He then went on to tell them that there were a number of boys who would not be able to play football that day because they had lost their parents. "I want you to go out and play for them and I want you to play hard for them and yourselves." When it was all said and done we won our first game, 6-0. I could not help but look at the faces of those 11 and 12-year-olds and wonder if they would be called on to fight this thing out sometime in the future. "On a brighter note, I found out the Springboks will face the U.S. national team in Houston on Dec. 1. What a treat." Whit Snyder- Baytown, Texas *********** Q. If Israel did not exist, would these terrorists have attacked the United States? A. "Well it's interesting to hear the Taliban leader, issuing a statement, saying that he describes three great enemies; the British, the Russians, and now the Americans. For them, this is a war of civilization. For them, this is the war of the believers against the infidels. We happen to be a part of the main infidel network. "They don't hate America because of Israel. They hate Israel because of America. They think that we are merely an outpost of the three Western democratic civilizations that they hate so much. And you know the antagonism of militant Islam towards the West goes back 1,000 years, for the millennium before Israel was added to its list of enemies. So I think that if people think that, "Oh well, if we give Yasser Arafat land above Tel Aviv," that this would make any difference. He'd like to be above Tel Aviv because it would enable him to push us into the sea a lot earlier and more easily. But it wouldn't make a world of a difference. Except for the fact that a major outpost of the United States, of the West, would be removed. "I tell you something, if Belgium were here (in the Middle East), if Holland were here, if any other Western country were here, they'd attack us equally, so we're merely an extension, in their view, of this Western culture, working civilization, of free society that they find so hateful, and so much deserving of eradication." Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Natenyahu, in a radio intereview with Michael Savage ("The Savage Nation")   *********** Heard an interesting thing on the radio(phone in show) this morning, apparently the reason we have so many asylum seekers in Britain is because of American foreign policy.(Seems to me like you guys are responsible for everything) Of course when asked to elaborate on her view the caller couldn't, she said it would take too long. At least I think that's what she said , her accent certainly wasn't middle England, it was more middle east. Anyway this is the kind of crap we have to put up with from the BBC, or the Bin laden Broadcasting Corporation as I now call it As Mr Littlejohn would say " you couldn't make it up , you really couldn't " Ta Ta - Mike Kent, Cornwall, England *********** "Tough Week - we ran an inter-faith church service on Friday as part of the day of Rememberance and Prayer. Probably not remarkable considering they were probably being held all over the country. However, ours took place in the school auditorium at ten in the morning during the middle of the school day. I opened it to all students who wanted to come and there was not seat in the place to be had. People were standing in the aisles. Every clergy in town attended -it was truly amazing and inspirational. Not one complaint about separation of church and state. "On Saturday night both teams meet on the middle of the field for the singing of the national anthem. The teams grouped around flag held by a one of the players. The sight of the two teams as one singing our national anthem was something to see. One of the injured palyers standing at the hash mark had his hat on as they began singing the anthem. A father of one of the other players came out out the stands and took it off for him. The man had to come out of the stands walk out to the player and return. The times truly are changing." Jack Tourtillotte, Principal (and offensive coordinator) Boothbay Harbor, Maine ************ "Hope this finds you well in wake of the recent global insanity. On a happier, football note... "I have tried in the past to have a "featured guest" speak to our team whenever possible. Last season, a Fairfax County, VA police officer and former Tennessee State and NFL linebacker, Det. Onzy Elam, speak to our team last year. He emphasized the importance of school work, sports activity and clean living. What an inspiration he was to the team. "This season, Coach Wes Driskill, Head Football Coach at Potomac Falls (VA) High School, spoke also. Coach Driskill added the importance of hard work, dedication and commitment necessary to be a part of a successful football team. His words, too, had a significant impact on the players. "Previously, I mentioned to you that the grandson of Dr. Fred Kriss is on my little league team, the Bears. As we have discussed, Dr. Kriss, a retired medical doctor and brain surgeon, is also an Ohio State "Buckeye" Alum and an end for that school's 1954 National Championship team. "Last night we had the privilege of his attendance at our practice. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with him for sometime. It was very interesting and exciting to hear him (modestly) detail some of his experiences. In particular, his recollection of Coach Woody Hayes' refusal to travel "south" to play against Sonny Jurgensen's alma mater because it meant that the African-American "Buckeyes" would stay in separate accommodations. "The best part was when he accepted my invitation to "address the team" and say a few words. He went on to tell the team how working hard at school and football provided him, a high school player from El Paso, TX, the opportunity to go to a big-time college on an athletic scholarship, work hard academically, succeed at football, and earn another scholarship to Harvard Medical School. In addition, he added how exciting it was to play before 80,000+ screaming "Buckeyes" in Columbus, not to mention even more (Wolverine) "fans" at Ann Arbor (where by the way, his own son attended). "Some of the history and nostalgia might have gone over the heads of our 8+9 year olds (Dads, myself included, were riveted), but, most got the new perspective on the consistent message that football (nee sports) is a metaphor for life and that you need to work hard and develop physical and mental toughness in order to succeed in life. It's not how you start, it's how you finish!" Scott Russell, Sterling, Virginia *********** I was hoping the NFL wouldn't settle with the officials. It's not that I really care about either party, and if the NFL wants to pay $8000 a game to a senior official, it's in line with the unreal salaries it pays everyone else. But for those of you who like to watch that dreck, you must have noticed that penalties were way down with the replacement officials. Of course, it's still up to the members of the "Referee's Union" to vote on the offer. There's always a chance that they'll tun it down, and then maybe they'll wind up working high school games, and some of you guys who've been having trouble with people cutting your kickout men may finally get some officials who know the rules *********** Tank Younger died last week, not all that long after his teammate, Dan Towler passed away. Mr. Younger, along with Mr. Towler and Dick Hoerner, was a member of the Rams' Bull Elephant backfield, so-called because they were all so much bigger than the average backs of their day. Even more significant than their size was the fact that Mr. Younger and Mr. Towler may have been the first pair of black men to appear on the field at the same time in the same backfield.   Mr. Younger will forever be known as the first NFL player to come from a traditionally black college, and he is also known as the first of a long, illustrious line of players to arrive in the NFL from Grambling. Technically, though, he didn't actually attend " Grambling." It didn't officially become "Grambling" until "The Prez" convinced the Louisiana State Legislature to change the name of the college to that of the town where it is located.   "The Prez," Dr. Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, was the school's first football coach (from 1926 to 1932) and was its baseball coach from 1926 to 1977, as well as serving as the school's president. Here, according to Michael Hurd's "Black College Football," is how Dr. Jones made the name change happen: In 1974, he appeared before the state legislature to explain why they should agree to change the name of the school:. "Gentlemen," he told them, "I should like to explain to you why we would like to change our name. Our team was playing a big game last season and the other team had the ball on our seven-yard line. Our stiudent body began to appeal to our defense, 'Hold that line, Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute, hold that line! Hold that line, Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute, hold that line!' Gentlemen, before they could get that cheer out of their mouths, the other team had already scored." *********** This is the first year since 1953, following the retirement of the great Frankie Albert, that there are no former Stanford quarterbacks in the NFL... ******* LAST WEEKEND'S RESULTS AS SUBMITTED BY COACHES ************ COLORADO - Good Morning, Coach! Another Cougar day on Saturday - We moved our players around early in the first half but even after switching backs and linemen we continued to gain positive results. The Super Power was unstoppable, three trap at two, wedge and 38 G.O. all scored. We ended up with ten different players scoring while the defense had their second shut out in a row. After the game my wife, Julie, had the three team captains from both teams meet at the middle of the field and all players kneeled for a moment of silence while releasing red, white and blue balloons into the sky. The parents from both teams were very appreciative of the gesture as the game to most of them I'm sure was meaningless after this week's events. We need to strive to keep our lives and our children's lives as normal as possible - they look to us to shape their opinions and reactions to these types of events. We need to show them that freedom will be protected and that we will protect them from the evil forces in the world. We live in the greatest country in the world and sometimes we take it for granted but the sleeper has awoken. Our fathers, our grandfathers and their fathers before them, paid the ultimate price for what we have today. They faced the same question that we face today - we need to be ready to be the next generation that pays the ultimate price. The cowardly act of last week only proves how the fight for freedom is a continuous battle that should never be assumed to be won but continually protected from those who will challenge our liberty. KERSEY COUGARS 73, FT. LUPTON BLUE DEVILS 0 Thank you and Best Regards, John Dillon, Kersey MARYLAND - Millersville Wolverines 13, PAL Hawks 7 - Happy to say, that we won our second game of the season 13-7. We opened the game with of course, 2-Wedge which gained us 6 yards, followed by another for 3 more. On third down, we tried to run 99Power, but got flagged for a holding penalty. Which pretty much set the tone of the game for the next 2 quarters. We gave up a 35 yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. For the entire 2nd and 3rd quarter we went back in forth. Penalties killed every drive we had. We use the Ice-Pick technique, but somehow they were holding - I guess. Something changed for us in the 4th quarter. Our A-Back, finally ran the Super Power correctly (He kept trying to make it a sweep) and scored our first touchdown (37 yards) of the afternoon. We ran, the 99 Super Power for the extra point attempt, only to have it taken away because of a clipping call. Now we are down 7-6 with 5 min and some change to go. We force PAL to turn the ball over on downs. Two plays later, our A-Back (again, hitting the hole correctly), scored for the second time on a 33 yard Super Power touchdown run. Again, we ran the 99 Super Power for the extra point. I received several compliments from both the fans, parents as well as the opposing team coaches on how the game was played on both teams. This was a very hard-hitting 9 year old football game. My B-Back, even though he didn't get a true "Pancake" block, he came extremely close on several of his kick-out blocks. I know mentioned this last week, but the tackling is 100% better than last year. My staff and I have to credit you for that. The kids enjoy the "Lock-Up", lift and drive, and the Pancake Drill. Talk to you later! Jason Clarke, Millersville CONNECTICUT - Hey Coach, Just some feeedback to let you know we are loving your offense and we are looking like geniuses to the parents.Even though we are currently 1-2, I could not be prouder of the effort they left on the field this past Saturday.Everyone agrees this team looks much better than any team they have seen at this level in years. Frank Hackney, Waterbury MARYLAND - The 11-13 Parkville Patriots of the Harford/Baltimore County Youth Football League ran their record to 3-0 last Friday, with a 34-7 rout of Dundalk at Merritt Point Park. The Packers stunned the Patriots with a 64-yard touchdown run on the game's first snap - the first point allowed by Parkville this season - but the Sean Walsh-directed offense responded with touchdowns on its next five possessions. Fullback Justin Yokubinas got the Patriots rolling with a 3-yard scoring run (Tight 2 wedge), and Tom Nelson's conversion kick put Parkville ahead to stay midway through the first quarter. Jude Ugwu followed with touchdown runs of 15(TR 47C) and 28 yards(TR / CC 47C), Jamell Matthias rambled 53 yards(TL 56C) for the fourth touchdown and Justin Engelskirch closed out the scoring in the third quarter with a 45-yard run (TR 88 SP) on his first touch.  Both teams gathered around the field for a moment of silence before the game, in honor of the Americans who lost their lives in last Tuesday's terrorist attacks. Rick Vain, Parkville MICHIGAN - Good Morning Coach: Your clinic was great. This is our second year running the DW. We are the varsity(12&13yrs old) and we are 2-0. We beat the Royal Oak, Chiefs 42-18, two weeks ago. We beat our arch rival, Clawson Mavericks on Saturday, 21-12. We have an inexperienced C back in his first year of football, who has made the 47C, almost an illegal play. The first time we ran it, the first time he carried the ball, was a 64 yard, untouched TD. Our JV(10&11)now runs it and they are undefeated. Our freshmen(9&10) are now running some of it, just pulling the guard on the super powers. They got a two point conversion passing out of it and are gaining more confidence. Guess who I had to overcome to get it in? They have two former high school coaches who are assistants. The one who has about twenty years as a freshman high school coach, thinks the passing game has to have four wideouts, et cetera. On the varsity, we are over 80% in our completion ratio, with three TD's and 3 two point conversions. He has gotten a lot quieter. Take care. Bill Livingstone, Troy P.S. Have another Michigan clinic next year. ILLINOIS - Hello Coach....The Hurricanes pulled out another victory, this time over the Bartlett Raiders Red team. Another program with multiple teams and scores of kids to choose from, I love coming out with the first 25 kids that come to practice and just dominating the ballgame. We're 5-0 now and in those 5 games we've yet to punt the ball. Bartlett made an adjustment on the 4th play of the game, moving their tackles over our end, and moving 10 men up in the box. All points in the game were scored by passing. We also ran 6G and 3 trap at 2, also wedge but they still wouldn't move in. We were ready for the move just reviewing our "black" call last week at practice. B-back Terry Howell had lots and lots of carries today because of the adjustment. (I'm beat, haven't reviewed the game film) But two touchdown passes to Lucas Lenth on a throwback and 88 SP pass put em away. I've also found a neat little PAT where we start out in Wildcat, shift to Extra point kick, position, then direct snap it to the PAT kicker for a pass to the wing men on a "fire" call. Final score HP Hurricanes 16- Bartlett Raider Red 6. The fourth quarter drive took 8 mins off the clock and was run with perfect execution. I'm still waiting for the "O" to really kick in. It's been my experience that around week 6 or 7 with this offense, it kicks in, they get it....perhaps it's the minimal number of reps needed, but I know we're going only going to get better. Soon they'll be unstoppable. Billy (Bill Lawlor, coach of Hanover Park's younger kids) had success today in a very close game. Had to come from two scores down to pull out a 27-24 victory over a very fast Bartlett team. Thanks and regards, John Urbaniak - Hanover Park WASHINGTON - Coach, Our game over the weekend was a big break from what's been going on this past week. On Friday night we had a candle light minute of silence and spoke with the kids about the attack and what it means to us and our country. All of our teams fell silent as we lit the candles at practice. Being a veteran myself I did choke up a bit trying to express my feelings, I think the kids got the message as we remembered the victims of this cowardly act. Saturday's game was fun as we rolled 47-0 over the Meadowdale Mud Dogs. We played the SSB before the opening kickoff and again had a moment of silence. The game itself was very different as my mind was not totally on the game, but the calls I made all worked. Next week we play a team that's heavily favored (As a matter of fact, no one gives us a chance). They outweigh us by 30 lb. a man up front. All their running backs are older and stronger and they have last years defeat on their minds. I have a feeling we'll hold our own and maybe surprise them a bit, we'll see. Glade Hall, Edmonds IOWA - Fredericksburg 47 Lansing Kee 0 Fredericksburg totaled 313 yds rushing. Our B backs had 19 att for 185 yds. ur QBs had 6 att for 50yds and 3 TDs all on what we call wedge at 2 keep. It's a naked boot left with no defenders around. Great play with great actors. We completed 1 pass, tight 2 explode for a TD. Steve Staker, Fredericksburg  IOWA - Coach Wyatt- Yes we proved to the world that we are not afraid on Friday night. Our HS and most of the teams in the state of Iowa played. An important message was sent to the terrorists, and to our HS athletes. Galva-Holstein 32 Remsen-Union 6 - Team Rushing 55 for 328 yards - Team Passing 5 of 9 for 107 yards 2 TD's Individual StaTs- A Back (starter) 18 carries 89 yards, Backup (with broken hand) 1 carry 5 yards, Freshman 1 carry for 7 yards - B Back 6 carries for 19 yards 1 TD(we can't seem to get the trap or the G to work well for us...need to keep repping in practice) - C Back 26 carries 157 yards 2 TD's, 4 Receptions for 104 yards and 2 TD's as well - QB 3 Rushes for 51 yards (TL 99 Power Boot Keep Right)...ends were chasing HARD...made that play up From the sidelines...another advantage of your system. TD's were on Red Red (31 yard pass to C Back)- 58 Throwback C Post (all 3 recievers were open) - 2 99 Super Powers - 1 Tight 2 Wedge - 2 point conversion was T Rip Stop Red Red Throwback X Corner (tried it 3 times and finally caught one) - (X end is a D 1 prospect at ISU and Mizzou...has dropped 4 great balls this year...needs a little stickum)... Total Offense on the night 435 yards. And by the way we KILLED the 4-5 defense...it was tailor made for this offense...doubled their Tackle and End and walled the backers off...they blitzed backer 2 at a time and we had 0 plays out of 64 for negative yards. Kids are starting to see the BIG picture naw of how good we could actually be. 2 holding calls cost us 2 other TD's...will fix it this week. Ice Picks in the chest, have been teaching it all year and we "forgot" reps reps reps. Also B back again was being cut all night on his kickout...officials can't see anything wrong with it...if he gets hurt one of them will be hurt as well. B Back is trying to get "lower with his shoulders and have his eyes up to "root" them out. Brad Knight, Holstein MICHIGAN - Coach, Another couple of wins for the NFWB (North Famrington Pop Warner) Varsity Vikings and the DW!!! NFWB Varsity Vikings 41, Hazel Park Raiders 6 - We stayed on our winning track Saturday. We racked up 324 yards and 5 TDs on the ground and 30 yards and one TD through the air. The score was 21-0 after only 11 plays so we had to call off the dogs! We beat them up with the Cs, Gs, and SPs. I even got to let everyone of my offensive linemen carry the ball and one of them scored a TD! Let me tell you, all of them were sky-high after the game! NFWB Junior Varsity (JV) Vikings 35, Hazel Park Raiders 6 - I don't have a yardage total for the JV squad but, lets just say it most likely approached that of the varsity squad's totals. The SPs and Gs were working very well and they got a couple of scores through the air. Thanks again for the great system! Donnie Hayes, Farmington Hills MISSOURI - Hello again fellow DW'rs I am Coach Boyles from Blue Springs, Missouri reporting on our 7th grade Youth League Football Team the CHIEFS. Second year with the DW, last year 0-8 (not the DW fault we werent teaching Coach Wyatt's DW it was a so called "simplified version" went to the offense of the week after a few weeks into the season) this year is different though we are 2-0 we have thrown the ball 3 times in two games last week once for an imcompletion, this week they stopped the FB plays so we threw twice both times for TOUCHDOWNS(47 yds and 38 yds) It sure is nice when you dont have to throw because we have to, we throw because we want to! We had one TD for 50+ yds (88 power)called back because of a clipping call, the WB was 15 yds ahead of the guy! We also took a knee on the 3 yd line with 1:45 to go. Score Chiefs 23 Bulldogs 8 - Thanks again for all your help Coach Wyatt. Robert Boyles, Blue Springs MAINE - Gorham 38 - Mount Desert Island 14 - Great Offensive day as my c back rushed for 249 yards on 23 carries. Through three games this season he has averaged 11.1 yards per rush and 9 touchdowns. B back had 99 yards on 16 carries most from 6 G. The guys played well considering we had to travel 200 miles (one way) to play this one. We did some fund raisers for this trip including having every player donate $20. for a coach bus. We were able to watch some good football movies on the way up & have lunch -- donated by a couple of stores in town, play the game and then head into Bangor where we had a sit down meal at an all you can eat buffet. Felt like a college trip but it made for a good team builder. 11 in a row -- tough one this week as we head to Lake Region and the rededication of the football field that we will play on to my father -- who is my eye in the sky. Dave Kilborn, Gorham (Dave's dad, Art, is something of a coaching legend in Maine, and now, in retirement, has been able to help Dave's program, now in its third year of existence.) ILLINOIS - Youth 80 LB Gold Division: Buffalo Grove 14 - Wheaton Rams 8 - Yesterday after a week of sadness and confusion for our children, they were allowed to be kids again and to be able to have an outlet away from all the terror that has rained down on this wonderful place we call America. In our area all the little league games were allowed to be played. With all the death and tragedy that our children have been exposed to this past week, the 2 hour escape of little league football brought a few smiles to a lot of little kids faces and reminded all of us parents the true innocence of a child. Though this will be a scar on American hearts forever, just to see my kids happy and carefree for a few hours made me realize how truly lucky we as parents are. We anticipated a real tough game from them because they've got one of the top teams in the Bill George League football program. We started the game with a Tight 2 Wedge and picked up 6 yards very easy. On our next play we ran a Red-Red and threw a 25 yard pass to our C back who was wide open on the Banana cut route. Needless to say the play had to be brought back because of ineligible receiver down field. So we came back after the penalty and ran 88 superpower for our A back Greg Rachke and he picked up 10 yards easy. We had seen this team play before and they run a 1 safety back with a 5-5-1 defense. We knew they'd try to stack the line up against our power and counters so we tested them deep with the pass to soften them up for our powers. At the 9 yearold level they don't see much passing so they stack the line of scrimmage. This year our team consists of a lot of team speed and a QB that can throw the ball 40 yds in the air so as you can see we our dangerous not only on the ground but in the air. On our 5th possession we ran a Red-Red and went back to our A back who we knew would be wide open again and Erick King connected with David Rosen for a 28 yard scoring strike in full stride! We continued to run 6/7 G all day long because they played their Defensive end outside our tight ends shoulder and we kept gaining ground all day. Our next scoring strike came on a 40 yard scoring strike again! Red-Red sending our left end out on a post pattern down the field. Once again Erick King hits David Rosen in full stride on a play of beauty! I had all the parents telling me that was the prettiest pass they'd ever seen from a 9 yearold let alone having a kid be able to run under in full stride and catch it. These 2 kids Erick King and David Rosen are turning out to be some serious players. I look at the Double Wing as like a boxing match. You're always looking to counter whatever your opponent is trying to do and then you capitalize on their mistake and bam! You knock them out! This offense has so many different options to work with it's almost impossible to stop if it's run the right way. 2 wins in a row and gaining a lot of confidence, looking forward to giving you nexts weeks outcome. We play Lombard next week and they run the DW also so it should be pretty interesting playing a team that runs the same stuff. Thanks again Coach Stacey King, Buffalo Grove NEW JERSEY - Coach, What a game. Of course they are all great when you come out on top. I could not believe the size of their line for a Jr High team. We average about 180 lb. across the front and they were blowing our Center (218 lb.)and best T (210 lb.) T back. The best plays were the 66, and 77 Powers, we doubled down or the big guy and ran under our BBs kick-out on the De E. Just when we would get something going, one of their big boys (at least 240lb.) would blow us up. We went 4 quarters and only made one first down, they had 2 (3 first downs in the whole game). They won the toss for OT and why, I don't know, but wanted the ball first (I think it's better to get the ball second, give me your input on overtime). The old 33 Defense stuffed him twice and we caused a fumble on 3rd down. This gave us the ball on the 25 with our 4 plays to score or make the first. I ran Rip 6G Keep for 4 yr., Rip 6G for 3 yr., then the Rip 6G Opt. to the short side and our AB scored untouched. Lower Cape May Raiders 6, Clayton Clippers 0 in OT. The Defense saved our asses, all the hours and hours of tackling drills and the 33 paid off big time today. Today was one of those days when the O just kept you in the game. However It worked when it counted. I am very happy about the way the game went. They were tough. Our kids were complaining about cheap shots. I told them to shut up, I didn't want to hear it. When they finally realized they were not going to get any help from me they shut up and got the job done. Now they know what it's all about to be battle hardened. Frank Simonsen, Cape May, New Jersey TEXAS - Coach Wyatt, It seems so insignificant to talk football after all that has transpired the past few days. Believe me, we share your rage. Our state association declared the decision to play or not last Friday as a local district issue. Nearly all the scheduled high school games in Texas were played as scheduled. A few were postponed until Saturday. As much as I can gather, there were many and varied ceremonies all over the state in remembrance of those American lives lost on Tuesday. We hope all is well with you and your family. Danbury Panthers 40, Lutheran South Pioneers 0 B-back Patrick Kelley ran for 164 yds. on 9 carries, - A-back Kenny Baker ran for 101 yds. on 6 carries.- Quarterback Bradley Gandy rushed for 47 yds. and 1 TD, as well as passing for 1 TD. We finished with 429 yds. rushing on 39 attempts by nine different backs. Thanks for everything. God bless America.Don Davis, Danbury VIRGINIA - Hello Coach.Terrible times.Around here same as everywhere else in nation.Shock,Prayers,and our Flags flying.Me - add anger.Leftist destroying our military,intelligence,etc.We are still keeping it the same for boys though.America does not hide.Our season this year started rough.3/4 of my team are first year players.We lost our season opener 12-0.Devastated at first.Went to work trouble shooting Double Wing,changing players around.Stuck with it,Stuck with it.Since we have won 3 in a row.Scores 46-21, 37-20, 52-6. We are on a roll. I will keep you posted. Best to you and yours, Armando Castro, Roanoke ILLINOIS - Coach Wyatt, Presently we are 4 and 0. First week in the battle of the doublewings Nashville 35, Columbia 0. Second week Nashville 27, Mater Dei 7. Third week Nashville 50, West Frankfort 7. Fourth week Nashville 49, Sparta 0. We are doing very well and are presently ranked 3rd in the AP Poll for class 4A. Teams concentrate on taking one play away and then there is another that is wide open. Thanks, Bruce Reeder, Nashville INDIANA - MV 41 Washington 6 Good all around game. Roughly 300 rushing yards, 140 passing. Seems like we finally got back on track offensively. Hope all is well with you and your family. Paul Maier, Mount Vernon MINNESOTA - Coach, The Benilde-St.Margaret's double wing offense exploded for 515 total yards as the Red Knights pounded Mound-Westonka 42-6 moving to 2-0 in the Metro Alliance Conference and 3-0 overall. Once again six different running backs contributed to the Red Knights 424 rushing yards. QB Jake Carlson was 5 of 8 passing for 91 yards and two touchdowns. The Mound defense, trying to key off motion was burned on the counter play numerous times, and when the Red Knights ran out of spread and slot without motion the power and base lead it forced Mound to crowd the line of scrimmage. Running the super O pass and Thunder for two 36 yard touchdowns had the White Hawks on their heels. In three games the Red Knights have totaled 1,272 yards, 52 first downs, and 116 points. Hugh, we're having a blast with this thing! Joe Gutilla, Minneapolis NEW YORK - Coach, Glad to win our one yesterday Queensbury 22 Ballston Spa 6. Very distracting week. Tough to get the kids to understand the reality of this tragedy even though it was near here. The ones who had loved ones down there were deeply affected, though. Always seems tough to get people to learn from others. Seems there are many that still only get it when it happens to them. John Irion, Queensbury MISSISSIPPI - We defeated 3 time State Champion(in the 90's) Forest 33-7 Friday night. We were led by Cory Jones ( 20 carries for 285 yards and 4 TD's) We begin division play next week vs. Northeast Jones from Laurel. Steve Jones, Florence ALABAMA -Monrovia White Panthers 26, New Market Chargers 0. 200 Yds Rushing, -8 allowed - We started a bit slow on Saturday. With the resent tragic events in NY and DC, we only practiced 1 time this week and it was the worst one yet. I feel like we were all still grieving. It showed on Saturday. We did not play up to our potential. With that said, we still managed to put up 200 yards of rushing. The Blue O started the game this time with M. Williams # 10 scoring on 47-C after some good runs by # 19, K. Perkey on 2 Wedge and 5X. The Blue D held the Chargers to -4 yds the 1st half. White O came out in the second half and #7, QB J. Stogner scored on 38-G Keep Left after some big gains by #34, P. Lymon and # 23 P. Simpson on 88 and 99 power, and super blocking by the rest of the offense.Scored twice more in the game, #23 P. Simpson on 99 power and H. Henderson on 5 X. Had two 55 yd TDs and 1 52 yd TD called back in the second half. It wasn't the performance I wanted on O but we got the win and played KILLER D. (Blue D held Chargers to - 4 yds in the Second half). I am looking forward to next week to see the type of execution I expect from the GREATEST 22 kids any coach could have. Thanks Again, Stuart Whitener, Huntsville NORTH DAKOTA - Dear Coach We won. Wahpeton44- Grand Forks Red River 6. We ran off tackle all night. It rained so there was no passing. We had 406 yds of offense. 390 on ground. We now have the Catholic School on Friday and they aren't too shabby. GO Dawgs Joel Bickford , Wahpeton UTAH - The Taylorsville Warriors Midgets (7th graders) remained unbeaten in Ute Conference play (4-0) with a 19-14 win over a tough Murray Spartan team. The Warriors started quickly as they jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the 1st half. Murray came charging back to take the lead 14-13 as the Warriors got complacent, and missed some tackles. The Warriors drove almost the length of the field in the 4th quarter mixing it up with wedges, powers, and counters and took the lead. Then they held Murray's last ditch effort to take the win.Al Andrus, Salt Lake City COLORADO HOO-RAH! The Las Animas Trojans are for real after upsetting #1 ranked Limon (Colorado 1A) on Friday night. We completely dominated the game. We had 36:39 time of possession, and we ran 78 offensive plays to 32 for them. We ran the ball 72 times for 353 yards and 3 TD's, and we were 3-6 passing for 24 yards and 1 TD. A-back Zac Wagner had 11 carries for 129 yards and 1 rushing TD, and he caught 1 pass for a 14 yard TD. B-back Andrew Abdulla carried 22 times for 85 yards and 2 TD's. C-back James Lewis carried 18 times for 70 yards, and QB Chris Bogner had 19 carries for 72 yards. This was our first league game, and Limon was the favorite to win not only our league, but the state title. We are now in the driver's seat in our league. By the way, we had a big fourth down conversion on Trips Right Counter, and the criss-cross counters were big all night. Thank you so much for all your assistance over the past 2+ years. It is greatly appreciated. I will let you know how we do next weekend in our second league game vs. Calhan. Have a great week. Greg Koenig, las Animas MINNESOTA- Woodbury 20, Park 13- Paul Herzog, Woodbury MICHIGAN - Coach, Won our second game of the year 40-0 over madison heights lamphere, to improve to 2-2 on the year. Well over 300 yards of offense. Scored on 58-Black-O...Slot-99-O...56-C-Criss-Cross...Wedge...and veer option. We were perfect once again on two-point conversions making us 12-for-12 on the year so far. We've kicked three times and missed them all. Thanks for all the patriotic messages...it does help...our no-huddle is now called Red, White and Blue! God Bless, Rick Desotell, Pontiac Central NEW YORK - Lansingburgh 42, Schalmont 0 - we had 2 rb's go over 150 yards and our defense was stingy. Pete Porcelli, Lansingburgh MAINE - Coach Wyatt, I just read the article Dave Kilborn our Gorham High School coach submitted and thought it would be a good idea to report my (7th & 8th grade) team's success as well. We ran the Wing-T 2 years ago and went 2-7, started the Double Wing last year and went 7-2, so far this year we are 4-0 with 134 points scored and 0 against! We just beat the 2 time defending league champs 28-0 and it was the first game our first string had to play the whole 4 quarters. Interestingly, they loaded men on the ends to stop the 88 and 99 Super Powers and so we ran 9 Tackle Traps for over 120 yards and 2 touchdowns, we also scored on the wedge (62 yarder!) and a counter. The double wing is alive and well in Gorham, Maine! Thanks, Mark Marquis, Gorham GEORGIA- Coach, Although we lost our first game of the season 32-30, it wasn't due to the offense. We scored on every drive except on those caused by our own mistakes. We had 2 fumbles and 2 motion penalties that cost us. 3 trap@2 went 65 yards and a td the first time we ran it and 47C went 63 yards. Over all we had 297 yards on the ground. We averaged 10 yards per carry and the C back had 25 yards per carry all on counter plays. My only complaint was that with 3 minutes left in the game we drove the field on 2 plays to go up 26 to 30 and the other team was able to score at the end of the game. With 37 seconds left, We drove to their 15 yard line in 5 plays but ran out of time. THere is no doubt that we would have scored if we had one more minute. Physically they were bigger and much faster than us. The wedge was so good I couldn't find the B back in the pile and I knew who had the ball. We ave. about 5yds a pop on the wedge and would have ave more, but we used it 3 times for the extra point and that lowered our yd per carry. Please do me a favor. Don't let any one else know about this offense. It scares me to think what would have happened it the other team was using this against us. I am becoming a bit of a snob when I hear hear other coaches say they run the I formation. I roll my eyes and think man, if they only knew what they could do if they ran what we have. YOU HAVE MY GREATEST THANKS AND APPRECIATON FOR ALL THE WORK YOU PUT INTO MAKING THIS THE BEST OFFENSE SYSTEM I HAVE EVER READ AND USED. Dan King, Riverside Middle School Eagles, Evans MICHIGAN- Hugh: My 8th Grade team has won its first 2 games, 44-0 and 50-6. Since I have only 14 players, I can't hold the scores down. We keep it between the tackles after a big lead but your Over 44 Lead (we call it an Over 4 Blast) is good for 5-10 yards a shot. Nobody adjusts to the unbalanced line at our level and we just run it down their throats. Anyway, either I have superior athletes or your "Wildcat" package is lethal. The 88/99 lead and the 47/56C are especially effective from this formation. Thanks again for Dynamics III. John Braganini, Kalamazoo WASHINGTON - La Center 35, Washougal 6 - Class 2A La Center steps up in class and builds a 28-0 lead before Washougal scores. Washougal, no longer a DW team, manages to avert its eighth shutout in its last 11 games with a fourth-quarter TD. MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson  A HYMN OF INSPIRATION- "GOD OF GRACE AND GOD OF GLORY, ON YOUR PEOPLE POUR YOUR POWER" MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)

September 17 - "FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION." General George Joulwan, USA, former NATO Supreme Commander   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!! ENROLLMENT IN THE BLACK LIONS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RE-OPENED - CLICK To find out more   A HYMN OF INSPIRATION- "GOD OF GRACE AND GOD OF GLORY, ON YOUR PEOPLE POUR YOUR POWER"   A FIREMAN ASKS, "WHAT IS A REAL HERO?"     A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: He was an outstanding football player at West Point, a teammate and classmate of both Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, a member of "The Class the Stars Fell on." He fought with distinction in both World Wars, and helped lead the Greek Army in defeating the Communist uprising following World War II, but he achieved his greatest fame as the commander of US and UN forces in Korea. He established a military academy in Korea - "The West Point of Korea" - and is known by Koreans as "The Father of the Korean Army."   But as Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story... In 1921, he was sent by the Army to Gainesville, Florida to take over the ROTC program at the University of Florida. He volunteered to serve as an assistant football coach, and when the head coach departed, the University president, concerned about an overall lack of discipline on the campus and on the football team, asked him to take over as head coach. He agreed to do so, at an additional stipend of $600 a year. His 1924 team was his best: the Gators won eight, lost one and tied two.   Obviously, he did not remain a football coach. He did a great job at Florida and he enjoyed football coaching. He was hoping to be named football coach at West Point, but it didn't happen. The Army was his life, and the Army became his career. He made it to four-star general.   . Nevertheless, he would later reflect on the experience coaching gave him as a leader of men: "Responsibility, pressure, decision making, these are the essentials of leadership which are common both in football and in war. Getting along with men is another great asset, knowing your men, knowing the tolls you're working with - a wise person is your greatest tool. Getting the men to like their jobs, and like being properly trained, and giving them the right direction so they can win." He died at the age of 100 on September 23, 1992. At his retirement in 1953, President Truman called him, "the greatest general we have ever had. I sent him to Greece and he won the war. I sent him to Korea and he won the war." Although born in New Jersey, he was raised and educated in Bartow, Florida, and always considered himself a Floridian. He was voted one of the 50 Most Important Floridians of the 20th Century.   *********** After years of being the faculty hardass - the only guy in the place that seemed to care that a kid had his hat on during the National Anthem, or at least care enough to tell him to take it off - I shouted at a kid Friday night to take his hat off, and a guy behind me shouted to me, "thanks." And the kid whipped it off, without any of the smart-ass stuff I've grown used to. Certain little twerps are going to discover to their surprise that the gloves are off. Their little game is over. Gone are the days of coddling them - of teachers being afraid to be "judgmental," to "confront" them. People who disrespect our country in its time of pain may have the constitutional right to do so but nowhere is it written that they should expect to do so pain-free.   *********** I didn't realize how badly educators had failed our society until I saw all the high school football players out there trying to sing God Bless America Friday night, and they kept looking down at their song sheets - they didn't know the words!   For some time now, our schools have made a conscious choice not to teach essential elements of our culture to our kids - things such as patriotism. They would rather teach them their Fifth Amendment rights. Teachers, despite state laws mandating the daily Pledge of Allegiance, have been know to take it upon themselves to blow it off in their classrooms. Hey - a lot of the teachers are children of the 60's, and they are deeply into, like, peace. But not pariotism.   My God, we were taught - and sang - every patriotic song ever written. Granted, I started school during World War II. Call it rote patriotism if you want, but we even sang hymns! In public school! Now do you see why I love this nation? *********** It was all just another service to me. Until I heard the drums. And then the organ began booming out The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and I heard the choir and congregation singing, and I saw the color guard standing there - those magnificent young men representing our armed forces - and I lost it. And then, five minutes later, I saw that Canadian mountie singing our national anthem, and all those beautiful Canadians assembled out there in the sunshine in front of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, and I lost it again. *********** The best vocal rendition of the national anthem that I've ever heard was sung by, of all people, a Canadian Mountie. Maybe he sings it so seldom that he only knows the straight version, and doesn't feel the need to rearrange it in an effort to outdo the last person who sang it, the way these clowns at baseball and football games do. *********** I know we are talking about some of the most expensive real estate on earth, but my vote is for leaving that enormous pile of steel and powdered concrete that was once the World Trade Center exactly as it is, in the manner of the USS Arizona, to serve as an everlasting reminder of the treachery of those devils, of the thousands of innocents killed and the tens of thousands of people who loved them, of the heroism of the fire, police and rescue people, and of the need for the American people to remain steadfast and united in defense of their country. Just as the World Trade Center had come to symbolize New York, now its remains must serve as a symbol of our entire nation - of the unspeakable cruelty with which we were struck, the unimaginable pain and suffering inflicted on our people, the inspirational heroism and efforts of those first on the scene, and the determination of a united people to get up and fight back. A nation that hadn't known an attack on its shores since 1812, a nation that once believed devoutly that it couldn't happen here, must have a constant, shocking reminder that as of September 11, 2001, it certainly can. *********** In better times, Tom Hensch is a Double-Wing brother, coach of a youth team on Staten Island, New York. In his other life, he is a New York City fireman, and on Tuesday, I sent him an e-mail asking, "Are you okay?" I tried calling him, but the circuits were always busy. Friday, I finally heard from him: "Thanks for asking Coach , I'm ok. I lost 10 guys that I personally worked with. Spent last 36 hrs digging out with the brothers. T.V. can't do this justice, Coach- devastation beyond wildest imagination, 300 brothers still missing, I'm at a loss for words."   *********** Form what I'm hearing, airline pilots would like to have a solid cabin door that can't be kicked in, and a firearm in the cabin. I heard one of these anti-gun nuts on a TV show clucking and saying, "we can't allow firearms on planes in the hands of anyone who's not a professional."   By that, I guess he meant a sworn police officer. But if he's afraid he can't trust an airline pilot with a firearm, then what the f--- are we doing letting him fly a $15 million airplane with 200 people on board?   *********** Hugh I found this poem in todays Sunday (London) Times Newspaper, I hadn't heard it before but believe it is by an American poet, perhaps you could enlighten me. Anyway I thought it was appropriate. Mike Kent, Cornwall, England (Anybody know it?) There is sobbing of the strong, And a pall upon the land; But the People in their weeping Bare the iron hand; Beware the People weeping When they bare the iron hand *********** You can argue both ways about the NFL's and the Division I colleges' decision not to play, but fortunately, our young people are being assisted in dealing with their grief by the folks at MTV. The sleaze network observed our national day of mourning with the usual slutty videos, but in a tribute to patriotism, the "M" in the MTV "bug" in the upper left corner of the screen was done up in red, white and blue. Talk about patriotic. *********** As songwriters burn the midnight oil, I wonder who will be first on the market with a patriotic song. And as fragmented as our music tastes are nowadays, will there be versions in hip-hop, C&W, heavy metal, salsa, reggae, Zydeco, punk and grunge? *********** Where is that worm of a school principal now - the one in Banks, Oregon, who once told a prospective employer that my "problem" was that I "saw things in black and white?" Is he still, even now, trying to see things in shades of gray, trying to see things from the other guy's point of view, struggling to understand what could possibly have caused those terrorists to want to fly airplances full of innocent people into buildings full of innocent people?   *********** "I just saw a GREAT photo of the Rogers High football team of Spokane taking the field waving a large US flag. It gave me goosebumps. I have spent the day searching the Internet. Found the AP story, no picture. Can you try to find it? It would make a GREAT poster. Todd Bross, Sharon, Pennsylvania The Rogers High you refer to is either John Rogers of Spokane (Spo-CAN) or Rogers of Puyallup (Pyew-AHL-up) Washington - maybe someone else has seen it. ANYBODY? *********** When, exactly, did Manhattan become Minhattan? I suspect it was one of those femmie neuterings of our language that gave us chairperson and then chair and - God save us all - herstory. *********** Now that our nation is under attack from any direction, people who might formerly have viewed the Coast Guard's role as one of chasing down dope smugglers and rescuing foolish pleasure boaters may come to realize its importance in defending our shores. *********** Coach; The events of the week make football seem somewhat insignificant. One thing that upset me was the lack of anger that was shown. I can tell you I was PISSED! I really like Gen. Schwarzkopf's response. He was mad and insulted. I don't think that these terrorists really have a clue about the USA. If they wouldn't have done this, we would still be bickering about social security, the budget, etc. Now, with their help, we are united as one. In school today it is red-white-and blue day. Looking at my class there is not one kid that doesn't have those colors or a flag on their person. These morons really screwed up and will pay with their lives. Let our military do its job and go after anyone responsible for this act of war. Also, we can't be squeamish about casualties. Kyle and I were talking and we both agreed--if there is a threat, kill it. Don't ask questions, defend yourself, and know that you are supported. I sure see the beginning of this attitude. Also, why are we the "civilized" ones that don't kill leaders, etc. I say all bets are off and game on. God Bless, Paul Maier, Mt. Vernon, Indiana *********** The same people who just a week ago were quite willing to take away your right to own a gun are the same ones who bleat, "We don't want to trample on peoples' rights" when someone suggest breaking up terrorists' camps here in our own country. *********** "My house is in the flight path of the Providence airport, so when planes are using a certain runway we have a pretty good look at them when they are descending to land at the airport, which is about 4 miles away. Now, I don't freak out when I see the planes in the air, but I sure won't be able to look at one coming in without thinking about the WTC. Probably never will again. Bastards!" Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island RAGE TAKES STRANGE FORMS ON THE LEFT COAST... My wife and I took my elderly mother for her weekly drive on Sunday, and I came back almost trembling with shame. These turds in Vancouver and Camas, people who are quite happy to earn their money in the security of the United States and enjoy its many other blessings, are afraid to rupture themselves lifting a flag and placing it on their homes. I would venture to say that roughly one home in ten flew a flag. We agreed that it couldn't possibly be that way in the South or the Midwest. Get me outta this nest of leftists. Meantime, from the local letters to the editor..... *********** WINNER OF THE PATRIOT OF THE WEEK AWARD. "I am a 19-year old college student. I joined the Oregon National Guard two months before I turned 18. "I write about the possibility of war. I am still in shock about everything that has happened. I want the people reponsible to pay for their crimes. And those are the only people who should pay. "If we go to war. it will be my generation that will have to go. America will ask us to give up our dreams and to die for our country. We will be askd to leave our loved ones, to leave our educations and to die alongside our brothers, sisters and friends. "Please don't ask us to do this. I am not afraid to defend my country, but I am afraid for my country. Enough people have died already. Please don't ask me to kill others or die myself in the name of revenge." That was a young woman, writing to the Portland Oregonian. Sleep well, America. Your National Guard Stands Ready. (But please don't shoot.) *********** "There is no excuse for the horrible and vicious killing of innocent people in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. I can only hope that my fellow citizens will feel the same if President Bush kills innocent people in another country to extract some sort of revenge..." "When our government funds and arms Mideast monarchies and repressive dictators, is this not terrorism? When we tolerate a decade-long war against Iraq, bombing the civilian population every other day and killing more than a million people through sanctions, is this not state-sponsored terrorism?" That was also from The Oregonian. What is more frustrating for a liberal than to know that no one's listening to him any more? *********** "We need to realize that we have been setting policies and running our corporate businesses in such a way that the disenfranchised people of the world are ready to kill us. People from all over the world will speak to us about what has happened. It's obvious it's time to start listening to them. It's obvious we need to ask why this crime in in our lap. It's obvious we need to ask: Why has this thing occured?" That was another "man," writing to the Vancouver Columbian *********** "Now more than ever, it's time to take appropriate action by ending subsidies and loans to Israel, and calling for war-crimes investigations of the Israeli military. If we work for justice in Palestine, we will very likely have peace at home." Didn't I tell you they'd start blaming Israel?   MY PERSONAL FOOTBALL HEROES OF THE PAST WEEKEND... By coincidence, I ran into a former football player and a former student this past weekend, and both informed me they are about to enter the Armed Forces. At LEFT, Chris Young, with his mom, Mrs. Young-Allen, was a 99-pound freshman when I first knew him at La Center, Washington. . As a junior, he caught two TD passes against my Washougal team. Today (Monday) he reports to the US Marine Corps. On the RIGHT, Brandon Kelly was a student of mine at Ridgefield High, where he played for my friend Art Osmundson. His Dad, Dave, was a high school teammate of my son. Brandon has just enlisted in the US Navy. These are tough, hard-working kids. I don't think those guys in the desert realize that there are hundreds of thousands of guys like them in small towns, big cities and suburbs all over America. *********** I thought that the X and Y (ends) were able to come out of their 3 pt stance to shift into another formation. Am I wrong or did we get called for something that we weren't supposed to? You are right. Interior linemen cannot shift once they put a hand down, but the men on the end CAN: Rule 7, Section 1, Article 7c - It is a false start if... Any A player between the snapper and the player on the end of his line, after having placed a hand(s) on or near the ground, moves his hand(s) or makes any quick movement. The rule is pretty clear: An end, since he is "the player on the end of his line" can move his hand(s) after having placed a hand(s) on or near the ground. *********** can we legally do a formation change - like tight to full with two backs in motion and resetting -- AFTER we call Set in our cadence?? That seemed to be the issue of concern....That once we call set we could only have the rip or liz motion and not actually a formation change that involved 2 backs like that. What is your opinion on this. There is nothing in the rules that says you have to say "set" or that if you do, you can't do anything that's legal after you have said "set," or "down," or "go" or "hut" or whatever you want to say. *********** I just wanted you to know I am very impressed with this offense. I went to the 2001 clinic in Rhode Island and have purchased all the tapes. Every time I watch a tape and get into the play book I see something new that really helps us. We got 2 TD's and 1 extra point today. Even though we lost I actually felt like I was in a groove and things seemed to suddenly get very clear to me. I have been coaching youth football for 4 seasons now and this is the first time I feel like our play calling has a method to it. Dave Marcotte- Seabrook, New Hampshire

September 14 - "All we have of freedom, all we use or know/This our fathers bought for us, long and long ago." Rudyard Kipling   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!! As never before, America needs the kind of men - young and old - who understand the meaning of selfless dedication - who embody the principles of a man like Don Holleder ENROLLMENT IN THE BLACK LIONS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RE-OPENED - SIGN UP NOW!!! CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: Billy Joe's teams have made 17 postseason appearances in the last 20 years, and his 218 victories in 27 years as a head coach rank him third among active NCAA Division 1-AA coaches behind only Eastern Kentucky's Roy Kidd (299) and Delaware's Tubby Raymond (296). Coach Joe is a native of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, the son of a steel worker, and played his college football at Villanova, where he was good enough in football to be named MVP in the 1962 Sun Bowl and 1963 Liberty Bowl, and good enough in track to win a silver medal in the Pan American Games as a shot-putter. BIlly Joe was drafted by Denver in 1963 and led the Broncos in rushing as a rookie. In 1965, he was sent to Buffalo in a trade for Cookie Gilchrist, and played on an AFL championship team there. In 1966 and 1967 he played with the Miami Dolphins, and played in 1968 on the Joe Namath-led New York Jets club that upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. (He was injured, and did not played in that game.) He retired as a player in 1969, and worked briefly as a stockbroker before taking a position as an assistant coach at Maryland. After two years at Maryland, he took over at Cheney State University, a small, historically-black college in Pennsylvania, where he stayed for seven years before taking a job as running backs' coach on Dick Vermeil's staff with the Philadelphia Eagles, going to the 1980 Super Bowl. After two years with the Eagles, Coach Joe returned to college football, taking over at Central State, another historically-black college in Ohio. Despite the fact that before he arrived it had had four consecutive losing seasons, and only three winning seasons in the previous 18 years, he built a 120-30-4 record in his 13 seasons there. In one stretch, from 1986 through 1990, his teams went 52-7 and won five consecutive Black College National Championships. He has just begun his eighth year as head coach at Florida A & M, where he has added to its storied football tradition by taking the Rattlers to six straight I-AA Top 25 finishes. His brother Jimmy, who played at Morgan State and in the World Football League with the Philadelphia Bell, serves as his offensive coordinator. In 1995, Coach Joe served as President of the American Football Coaches Association. Correctly indentifying Billy Joe - Bert Ford- Los Angeles... Adam Wesoloski- Menominee, Michigan... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa... John Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... Greg Stout- Thompson's Station, Tennessee... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky ("He recruited several of my players by phone when he was at Central State of Ohio. I have spoken with him several times over the years. He has a very good record as a head coach. He recruited players who could not qualify for NCAA scholarships when I dealt with him. Central State was then NAIA affiliation.")... Keith Babb- Northbrook, Illinois ("I'm sure glad you gave the clue that he's a past president of the NFCA or else I may not have found the answer so easily."). . Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana ("I am embarrassed to say I have never heard of him - he must be a very good coach" Hey- nothing to be embarrassed about. The idea behind the "Legacy" series is to introduce readers to guys many of them have never heard of.)... Bill Nelson - West Burlington, Iowa ( "Saw his team play Western Ill. in 1-AA playoffs a couple of years ago. One of my former players was a trainer at A&M last year")... Alan Goodwin- Warwick, Rhode Island... Whit Snyder- Baytown, Texas... L.P. Warner- Riverside, California (I was a student at Cheney St University, when Coach Joe was HC. Though the facilities were sparse Coach Joe had some very talented teams, one which included his younger brother who was a bruising runner @ 6-2 230, unheard of in the 70's. His saying of "here we go, men, here we go" is familiar to all who ventured near his field. Also two other coaches were there during Coach Joe's tenure, John Chaney of Temple Univ and Vivian Stringer of Rutgers. When those three left , the sports program @ Cheney nosedived. My Neighbor's kid will be playing for Coach Joe ,after visiting the likes of Texas,Washington and UNLV. in 2002.")... John Grimsley- Gaithersburg, Maryland... Jeff Schaum- Abilene, Texas... Tom Hinger- Auburndale, Florida... Joe Daniels, Sacramento, California ("Great coach- master of the turnaround.")... Kevin Latham- Stone Mountain, Georgia... A GUY YOU OUGHT TO KNOW! MY INTERVIEW WITH MIKE LUDE - THE FIRST WING-T LINE COACH IN HISTORY ********************************************************************************************HERE IS THE RAGE.....   READ AN ENGLISHMAN'S INCREDIBLE EXPRESSION OF SUPPORT!!!   ******************************************************************************************** Lance Morrow, in Time.com, says enough with the "healing process" - what we need is rage, and even - gasp! - hatred.   " For once, let's have no fatuous rhetoric about "healing." Healing is inappropriate now, and dangerous. There will be time later for the tears of misfortune note. "A day cannot live in infamy without the nourishment of rage. Let's have rage. What's needed is a unified, unifying, Pearl Harbor sort of purple American fury&emdash;a ruthless indignation that doesn't leak away in a week or two, wandering off into pixils of forgetfulness or into the next media sensation (O.J. … Elián … Chandra …) or into a corruptly thoughtful relativism (as has happened in the recent past, when, for example, you might hear someone say, "Terrible what he did, of course, but, you know, the Unabomber does have a point, doesn't he, about modern technology?"). "... America needs to relearn a lost discipline, self-confident relentlessness&emdash;and to relearn why human nature has equipped us all with a weapon (abhorred in decent peacetime societies) called hatred. "As the bodies are counted, into the thousands and thousands, hatred will not, I think, be a difficult emotion to summon. Is the medicine too strong? Call it, rather, a wholesome and intelligent enmity&emdash;the sort that impels even such a prosperous, messily tolerant organism as America to act. Anyone who does not loathe the people who did these things, and the people who cheer them on, is too philosophical for decent company. "It's a practical matter, anyway. In war, enemies are enemies. You find them and put them out of business, on the sound principle that that's what they are trying to do to you. If what happened on Tuesday does not give Americans the political will needed to exterminate men like Osama bin Laden and those who conspire with them in evil mischief, then nothing ever will and we are in for a procession of black Tuesdays." (This guy is great - we have been so conditioned by a touchy-feely approach to tough times - by busing in the counselors and talking about our feelings and "letting the healing begin" - that many of today's kids [and their parents] have never been exposed to the lesson that competitive sports - especially football - teaches kids: Suck it up! Get back on your feet! Here they come again! You don't have the luxury of feeling sorry for yourself.) *********** "America in Crisis - Day 3 - We Search for Strength" was the headline on AOL. This is exactly what Lance Morrow was writing about (above). "America in Crisis?" What kind of crap is that? Is this a play or something? Does everything have to have a title? "We search for strength?" We do? Maybe some of you do - those of you who've never been through anything tough, or those of you who don't believe in anything, or don't know what Americans were once capable of. Not me. *********** Leonard Pitts, who writes for the Miami Herald, is one of my favorite columnists. In the aftermath of the attack on New York, he wrote an incredible column, and as I was in the process of excerpting parts of it, I received a copy in an e-mail from John Torres, from Manteca, California, another from Dennis Metzger, in Connersville, Indiana, and a third from Al Andrus in Salt Lake City. Mr. Pitts, in essence, writes the column in the form of a letter - "to the unknown author of this suffering. You monster.You beast. You unspeakable bastard." Whoever you are, he says, you misread Americans. "Let me tell you about my people," he writes. "We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless." Yes, he says, we're frivolous, wealthy and spoiled. Some people might also think that means we're weak. But they'd be making a huge mistake: "You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before," he writes. "But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. "This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice." You just don't know Americans, he informs the terrorists. "You see," he writes, "the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish." Wondering what "message" the terrorists intended to send, he writes, "It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case,consider the message received. "And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't know what you just started. "But you're about to learn." *********** I'm listening to MSNBC right now as some Egyptian "dignitary" (their foreign minister) is ragging on US for the fact that some "Arab" people have been mistreated in the streets of NY over the past 2 days (name calling, etc..). he thinks we shouldn't stereotype and jump to conclusions..kiss my red/white/blue a--! Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas I think - I certainly hope - that we are intelligent enough to know that there are millions of Arab-Americans who had nothing to do with this. I also hope that Arab-Americans will make it abundantly clear that they repudiate the acts of Middle-Eastern terrorists. (Wonder what the Egyptian dignitary thinks would happen to an American in the Middle East if we were to attack a Palestinian terrorist camp?) *********** "Coach Wyatt: In the wake of everything that has happened, I can assure you that there is plenty of anger out there. I think that a large part of the apparent apathy we are seeing right now doesn't come from a lack of emotion, but instead a lack of direction. Although many of the leads thus far gathered seem to point to Osama Bin Laudin, we are not certain, and there is no focal point, no ground zero for our rage. "I discovered in martial arts that rage can be a powerful motivator. The problem is that it must be properly focused to be effective. Blind hatred is not the American way of life. My wife has studied Middle Eastern dancing for the past several years, and last night her Yahoo message boards were full of hate mail directed at these dancers, most of whom are American, simply for being interested in a dancing style. Several Muslim web sites have been shut down because of this, and I'm certain that before we close this day, the death toll will be added to by mindless violence directed towards further innocents simply because of their headgear and dark skin. "I cannot speak officially, but the expressions on the faces of my brothers and sisters in the military tell me more eloquently than any words that the rage is there. As I drove to the local blood bank last night, here in Santa Rosa, CA, the same city that displayed just five flags for Memorial Day, I drove past one man who stood on the hood of his car to the side of a busy street. Above his head he held an enormous American Flag. His face was expressionless, but his rage was clear. "Last night my father, a Viet Nam veteran, called me. He was simple in his words, but they showed his anger as well. "Derek," he told me. "If I could go with you, I would." This comes from a man that's been in war, seen friends die, felt the fear of combat, and yet is angry enough to be willing to do it all again. "My wife brought up a very good point last night. We can't demonify these people. We cannot call them animals. That is what THEY do to US. In their propaganda, in their rhetoric, in their beliefs, Americans are not human. We are demons that dare to support another culture and religion. We are the evil ones that believe in a freedom of speech and the right to choose, or even NOT to choose, a religion of our own. They justify the atrocities they commit by calling Americans less than human, so taking the life of an American child causes no more heartache than shooting a dog, or butchering a cow. "We cannot allow ourselves to be lowered to that level. In football terms, we cannot teach our offensive linemen to hold simply because the defensive linemen are holding our pulling guards." Derek Wade, USCG, Tomales, California (I strongly agree that we must not indiscriminately attack anything or anyone that says "Middle East." Frankly, I am afraid that we may go so far in the other direction that we will continue to close our eyes to the obvious - that Middle-Eastern terrorists can be weeded out at airports through profiling, and this may cause embarrassment, inconvenience and discomfort for Arab-Americans. I must disagree somewhat on the comparison to a football game and holding. If we were just playing a game now, I would agree. But if football were a struggle for our way of life - for life itself - we would be wise to kick somebody who is holding us square in the balls.)   *********** "It might look easy to fly a plane into something, but it isn't. They must have had pilots. I watched that plane, and I could see him making a nice coordinated turn, and line up right on the building, and hit it dead center... I'll tell you this: you'd have to kill me. There's no way in hell I'd fly into a building. I'll bet those pilots felt the same way. I'd rather be dead than see my airplane, my crew and my passengers go into the side of a building." An unidentified airline pilot (unidentified, because his airline prohibits speaking to the news media) quoted by the Portland Oregonian's Margie Boule'. (PS- Since he said he got the news of the attack shortly after takeoff from Cincinnati, I think anyone who flies much can pretty quickly figure out what airline he flies for.) *********** "Coach Wyatt, Now do people see why we were upset that Bill Clinton blew up a Sudanese aspirin factory to cover up the Oral Office scandal? My father thinks (Seattle Mayor) Paul Schell's capitulation during the WTO riots attracted terrorists. "I want to send you a sincere thank you; reading your site over the past few months has strengthened my patriotism and respect for the military. That sort of appreciation helps me keep my cool when I think of the magnitude of the destruction. I have confidence that as long as we don't let weenies run the show (what would it have been like under President Gore?) someone will pay." Christopher Anderson, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Well put. I think that the Seattle WTO riots and other acts of rebellion such as so-called eco-terrorism are merely different fronts in the same war, and must be dealt with accordingly.) *********** "I heard an interesting comment by a reporter speaking about some of the courage the rescue squad members had going into the wreckage and trying to look for survivors despite the hazards. The reporter said that courage was fear that has simply said its prayers. I'd never heard it put quite like that." Mike Lane, Avon Grove, Pennsylvania *********** "I was saddened and shocked by the events yesterday. As I sat in my classroom with my students I felt as empty as a human could feel. Of course my students had no idea of what was going on, they were "bored" watching this all day. The more I heard the madder I got. These kids are the ones that are going to be charged with protecting our country in the event of war and they don't give a rat's ass about what is happening. "I then turned to the thought of my newborn daughter, she will be living in a completely different world as a result of this. She will never get to see the World Trade Center, Carolyn and I had talked about taking our children to all the impressive sights around the country when they were old enough to appreciate it. Hopefully, she will be living in a more secure world, one where the most powerful country acts like the most powerful country, a nation where we tighten up our borders, punish countrys that do us wrong, and are feared by those who do wrong. "I am frightened not so much by foreign terrorists as I am by the fact that there had to be some 'American Citizens' who conspired with these animals to pull off the plan that was executed. AMERICAN CITIZENS! nothing could be more enraging or frightening than people that are so heartless and evil as to declare war on the nation in which they live. God Bless America," Chris Davidson, Columbia, North Carolina *********** "Hi Coach, Just wanted to comment on your thoughts you posted about the attack yesterday. I am one person that is really pissed off about the whole thing. I am with you. Where do we sign up to get in on some action against those dirty scum son's of bitches whoever they are. I know that whoever did this will not come out and say "It was us", because they are chicken shi# SOB's and they know we would kick their ass. I don't know if anything will happen here in my town but I am ready to defend me and mine. "I canceled my football practice yesterday, probably just like everyone else did. I know it's just what those scum buckets wanted, but we are going forward today, Thursday, and Friday with practice. I hope Federation doesn't cancel any games for Saturday. Again, just what those SOB's want. I hope we don't follow NCAA and MLB cancellations and possibly the NFL. We must move forward and keep things that we have no control over out of our regular daily activities. "I am sure that the authorities will find out who is responsible for the actions of 9-11-01. They better not play the soft card and really slam bash them. Especially if it is some A-hole group from the US. I don't know who is responsible and quite frankly I don't care where they are from, ASS KICKING IS IN ORDER!!!!!!!!"Dave Cox, Tucson, Arizona *********** "I hope we play this game; if we don't it's playing right into their hands." Bobby Bowden, Florida State coach *********** "This is called a second Pearl Harbor. It's an understandable reference, and yesterday's assault was an act of infamy. But the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor looks like an affair of honor next to Tuesday's aggression." David Reinhard, in the Portland Oregonian *********** "Let this spectacular act of terrorism be the decisive repudiation of the mistaken assumptions that conventional warfare is a thing of the past, that there is a safe window in which we can cut force structure while investing in the revolution in military affairs, that bases and infrastructure abroad have become unnecessary, that the day of the infantryman is dead, and, most importantly, that slighting military expenditure and preparedness is anything other than an invitation to death and defeat. "Short of a major rebuilding, we cannot now inflict upon Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden the great and instantaneous shock with which they should be afflicted. That requires not surgical strikes by aircraft based in the United States, but expeditionary forces with extravagant basing and equipment. I requires not 1- aircraft carrier battle groups but, to do it right and when and where needed, 20. It requires not only all the infantry divisions, transport and air wings that we have needlessly given up in the last decade, but many more. It requires special operations forces of not 35,000, but of 100,000." Mark Helprin, The Wall Street Journal *********** "I believe we will find out what kind of leader we have in Bush. He will either react swiftly or as you say "Alan Aldaish". Joe Daniels, Sacramento, California *********** "Suit me up!" Jeff Schaum, Assistant Coach, McMurry University, Abilene, Texas *********** "Hey Coach, Yesterday was truly a sad day in U.S. History. I didn't really notice it when I was watching the news accounts yesterday but, you are right. All of the people interviewed on TV seemed more shocked and scared that angry. The good news is that everyone that I spoke with is angry, fighting mad, really pi**ed-off. Maybe thats because the people I associate with (my friends) have the same point of view I do. The people (country) responsible for this act of war have to pay dearly. "As a fairly new dad (my son Donovan is almost 3), I am always wondering if I am doing as good a job raising him as my dad did with me. Well Donovan helped answer that question fro me last night while we were watching the news accounts of the day's events. After watching the video tape of the second airplane crashing into the WTC, he asked me "What was that Daddy? Why did the airplane crash that building?" I told him that some very bad people made the airplane crash into the building to hurt alot of people. His response.....Those people need a spanking, Daddy! Hopefully, if my 3 year old can get that, our entire country will realize that whoever responsible does, in fact, need a spanking of epic proportions. "In closing, don't be too disheartened about what the news media put on TV. There are plenty of us out here that are livid about what happened and are ready to fight. Lets just hope that our leaders allow that to happen. Regards, Donnie Hayes, Farmington Hills, Michigan *********** "Hi Coach! Long time no talk! Sorry I haven't been able to email you lately but with the events that happened yesterday I got to thinking I should. "I was shocked, then saddened and now ANGRY at what has happened in your country. As Canadians we pride ourselves on being different than Americans but today, as President Bush said was attack on freedom, and that includes Canada. I, as many others here, support real JUSTICE to those who orchestrated, supported, financed or harboured these cowardess spineless SOB's. It IS an act of war and should be treated as such. I know that Americans will have support from many of us here in Canada. "Well, our thoughts are with all Americans in the days to come and I know that you will come out of this stronger and prouder to be living under the kind of system that we do." Sincerely, Kyle Wagner, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (I fear that one of the casualties - one of the "freedoms" under attack - will be our long tradition of sharing an unguarded border. I am afraid that Canada, since not herself a nation hated by Middle-Easterners, does appear to be an easy point of entry for some of these people, who then slip effortlessly across that unguarded border.) *********** "Coach, Yes, I'm mad. I don't think I've ever felt this much anger. As a Christian man I'm trying very hard not to let my anger consume me. I don't want to bring myself down to the level of those animals. I have to keep reminding myself we live in the greatest country on earth, and justice will prevail. God Bless America." Joe Gutilla , Minneapolis, Minnesota (I agree with what you say about controlled anger. I am perhaps not as optimistic as you that justice will be served. I think that justice is like a sword - it is useless without the courage to use it.) *********** Some nut began removing the flags from a Portland bridge and throwing them in the Willamette River. The police quickly apprehended him, and when he began the routine of complaining about their rough treatment of him, one of the police officers told a radio station that he said to the guy, "you're lucky we're the ones who caught you." *********** "The more I watch the more pissed I get. It takes a tragedy like this to finally get our government to act against these no good, motherless, trash. They've known about them and other terrorists for far too long and should have done something about them before this happened. I served in the Marines when the Barracks in Beiruit was hit and went through the Suez Canal when they were towing the Stark thru the other way after it was hit. It's way overdue for these people to get what's coming to them. I assume you have been watching the news as much as I have. They interviewed Congressman Barr from Georgia who wants to introduce a Declaration of War. One thing that he said that I agree with the most was that "We don't want to catch them and read them their Miranda rights, we want to give them what they got coming." Finally a politician I can agree with. I also was a Police Officer for 10 years and these terrorists definitely waived any rights they ever had a long time ago." Ken Brierly, Carolina, Rhode Island *********** What seemed important a few days ago (in the media, at least) became instantly trivial. If Gary Condit is mentioned once in the next six months on cable television, I will be astonished. Lance Morrow- Time.com *********** Elmer's Flag and Banner, one of the US's great flag stores, has had such a run on American flags that they've had to limit sales to one flag per customer. One customer, asked by a TV reporter why she came in and bought a flag, said, "Because I don't want those bastards to think they've got us down!" *********** Simply put best by one of my HS athletes..."whoever is responsible better strap it up!!!" Brad Knight , Holstein, Iowa  *********** I don't think I'm violating national security if I print this one, from my son-in-law Rob Tiffany, a veteran submariner: "Remember, a Trident-class submarine carries 240 warheads..." ******************************************************************************************** OFF THE TOP: Uh-oh. Now those terrorists are in for it. The United Nations is after them. If we'd properly respected the sanctity of our borders, most of the terrorists wouldn't have been in the US in the first place. If our politicians hadn't been so cowardly on the topic of profiling at security checkpoints, the terrorists might not have gotten on the planes. Maybe the killers are willing to die, but I don't get the idea that their leaders are. Let's find out. Like most of you, I have been deluged with e-mails containing the piece, attributed to a Canadian named Gordon Sinclair, beginning ""This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth..." Not that this isn't a very appropriate time to resurrect it, but the piece actually dates to 1973, when we were catching hell for our role in Vietnam and our dollar was being bashed on world currency exchanges. If you doubt me, bear in mind that a European Consortium, Airbus Industrie, does in fact make jets, has done so for years, and now sells as many jets as Boeing; neither Lockheed nor Douglas has made a plane in years. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central merged into the Penn Central, which went bankrupt and hasn't been heard from since. Draft-dodgers - that in itself should date it - may still be walking the streets of Toronto, but an awful lot of them are back in the US - probably teaching in colleges - and have been ever since they were pardoned by Jimmy Carter. It appeared as a recording, narrated by Mr. Sinclair, with The Battle Hymn of the Republic playing in the background. It made the the rounds of US radio stations and for a brief time was quite a hit. I suspect the guy made a buck or two on it. But that doesn't make it any less appropriate now than it was then. It was with mixed emotions that I watched the flower of American corruption, members of the United States Congress, singing "God Bless America" - for the TV cameras, of course. Not that I object to anyone calling for God's blessings on us at any time - and maybe some cowardly school people will now figure that if Congress can do it, they can too - but considering the running battle so many of those people have been waging against our culture and God's place in it, I felt I was either witnessing shameless hypocrisy ("patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" - Samuel Johnson) or a mass foxhole conversion. ABC's Peter Jennings has rocketed to the top, past even Dan Rather, in my personal Pompous Ass Poll. Yet in a day of watching him, I found myself almost pitying him. Poor guy. He kept wondering aloud whether President Bush was up to the job ("some people are better at it than others," he informed his viewers, shamelessly using a national catastrophe to push his political prejudices) and even appeared to be questioning the President's courage as Air Force One whisked him off to Louisiana and Nebraska. Poor Peter seemed to be pining for the days when we had a real man in the White House. When we had - if you can believe this - Bill Clinton, that man's man, who I am willing to bet has never been in a fistfight in his life (but only because we've never met). I'll bet he'd stand up in front of the American people and tell us exactly what was going on! We could count on him to level with us. (Wasn't he the guy who flew back from Cape Cod to declare war on terrorism?) Our good friends, the French, have been dealing with Saddam Hussein; our good friends, the Chinese, have been supplying nuclear technology and missiles to nations that hate us; likewise our good friends, the Russians, who have even thrown in submarines. THE SPEECH I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR, BUT HAVEN'T HEARD YET - "My fellow members of the Arab-American community and I wish our fellow Americans to know that we consider us all to be in this together. We may share the religion and the ethnicity of the human devils who choose to wage war on this country, and at times we may disagree with our nation's foreign policy, but we love America and we are proud to call ourselves Americans, and we stand ready to do whatever we can to assist in the capture and punishment of anyone who dares to harm America and our fellow Americans. We deplore, but we can understand, the passions that may provoke other Americans to consider taking revenge against the scum who attacked innocent Americans by directing attacks against us and our places of worship. We ask them to understand that we are as horrified as they are at the tragic loss of life, and the fact that Americans can no longer enjoy the security we all once believed was our right. We join them in condemning the animals who carried out the attack on New York, in dedicating ourselves to doing whatever we can to capture and punish them, and in assisting our fellow Americans in rebuilding our nation." When you begin to hear the first wave of excuses for the terrorists, they will likely take the form of a condemnation of Israel - and of America's and American Jews' support for Israel. Let's make sure we don't forget the reason why the Jewish people of Europe, with no homes to return to, were given a homeland in the first place. Anyone remember a guy named Hitler? The junior senator from New York, Mrs. Clinton, has called for a Palestinian state. Hiroshima was a horrible thing, but possibly - just possibly - after generations of peace which allowed dove schoolteachers the luxury of hindsight in teaching our school children about its unmitigated horrors, we will understand what motivated President Truman's decision. The internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was a gross violation of their rights, but somewhat understandable in the context of the near-panic that gripped the US in the days following Pearl Harbor. So real was the US fear of a Japanese attack on the US mainland that large gatherings of people on the West Coast were prohibited - resulting in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, 1942 being moved to Durham, North Carolina. During World War I, during the Red Scares that followed it, and during World War II, Germans, Italians and Japanese, and Americans of German, Italian and Japanese ancestry, experienced far worse treatment from other Americans than anything Arab-Americans are facing now. Where have all the flag-burners gone? Take a brief time out from all those thoughts racing through your mind right now and consider this for a minute - That could have been Madeline Albright up there instead of Colin Powell. Janet Reno instead of John Ashcroft. Whew. I'd like to organize a bunch of football coaches and make this proposal to America's airlines: just give us each a sidearm and let us ride the nation's airplanes. One of the reasons those terrorists did what they did is that they knew everyone else on that plane was unarmed. It is not the American preference to strike at innocents, but this is total war, which by definition involves all citizens, and before you start feeling too sorry for all those "innocent women and children" who might be harmed by an all-out attack on terrorists - did you catch those screaming jackals, mostly women and children, on CNN, dancing in the streets of the Middle East and whooping it up at the news that thousands of Americans had been killed? (If you didn't, it's because someone has retired the clip, for fear of its effect on American tempers.) If we have to send troops into the Middle East in pursuit of terrorists, those people who have condemned former Senator Kerry of Nebraska for supposedly ordering the killing of innocent Vietnamese civilians may come to understand the difficulties of fighting a war against an enemy who doesn't wear red uniforms with shiny brass buttons, but instead is often indistinguishable from the general populace. We may yet have the stones to stop gagging those military people willing to admit that we shouldn't have reduced the physical requirements in our military training just to keep women from washing out. This time, let's not sidestep the issue - let's make sure we declare war, so that our armed forces never have to put up with the treasonous acts of a Jane Fonda, providing aid and comfort to our enemies. My idea of justice for the terrorists would be to announce their entrance, and have them walk through the Big Foot Inn in Washougal, Washington on a Friday night. Let's not kid ourselves - thanks to the disgraceful demilitarization of the "last decade," (see "Clinton Administration") we now find our armed forces understaffed and overcommitted. (Remember when Willie said the troops would be home from Bosnia?) By most accounts, we are militarily unprepared to fight the kind of war we now face. We allowed ourselves to be caught similarly unprepared in 1941, but we rallied and fought back. If we do, indeed, need to rebuild our forces, expect some brave soul to speak a word that a lot of politicians have been avoiding for a long time: D-R-A-F-T. It took a catastrophe to show America what real New Yorkers are really made of. New Yorkers suffer from a generally, uh, negative image in other parts of the country. In all fairness, that's because most outsiders' image of New Yorkers comes from TV shows in which actors play New Yorkers, from TV commercials that show them to be a bunch of young street punks, or from the first-hand experience with the admittedly hard, uncaring people who patronize them when they visit there. (But then, what people in any town that caters to tourists are warm and caring?) For the last several days, though, we have seen New Yorkers as people just like the rest of us, whether in the South, the West or the Heartland. These New Yorkers are tough, they are courageous and they are caring; they care about their fellow humans, and they work tirelessly to help them. In the way that they jumped in and got to work in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on their city, despite the heartbreaking losses they have been hit with, they have been an inspiration to all of us. The most pathetic and moving sight I have seen in my lifetime is that of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of Americans, dazed and wandering the streets of New York with pictures of their loved ones, going from hospital to hospital, desperately searching for the husband who didn't come home, the child who didn't call, the mother they'll never see again. *********** "I have been using the things in the tackling video and it is working wonders. Unfortunately a few of my peers are using the method of smash the guys into each other. They say that is how to build up confidence. Well, last night one of the coaches had two players do that and one of them ended up probably with a concussion and will miss our game. The only comment I heard was well he has get tough somehow. It is frustrating." ("Teaching" tackling by having kids knock the crap out of each other in practice is the equivalent of a teacher giving the final exam to a kid at the end of the first week of school. That is not teaching, and neither is having kids "learn" to "tackle" by smashing into each other at full speed before they know exactly what they are doing. One of the biggest problems our sport has right now is the guys who get their jollies watching kids crash into each other in drills. They probably enjoy watching dogs fight. In this case, let's just say I have my suspicions.)   *********** Maybe you've heard of Plains Indians "counting coup" ("coo"), a rather brave and daring practice in which, in the midst of battle, they would ride up to an enemy and simply touch him - then (obviously) ride off. Quite a show, not only of courage, but of utter disdain for one's foe. Certainly a matter of great pride for the young warrior who could pull it off.   Somehow, I have my doubts about a modern version of the practice attempted by a 22-year-old Vancouver, Washington man recently. He was arrested Tuesday for "allegedly" sneaking into a woman's home and stealing her purse, and a pair of her underpants as well - and then, attempting to steal the pair she was wearing. Evidently she slept through the "theft," but woke up to discover that the skivvies she was wearing had been cut. Police believe the suspect may be connected to a series of "lingerie thefts" in the same neighborhood. Wonder what makes them think that?   ENROLLMENT REOPENED - SHOW YOUR COLORS AND ENROLL YOUR TEAM!!! America needs football!!! At a time like this, we need the kind of men - young and old - who understand the meaning of selfless dedication - who embody the principles of a man like Don Holleder ENROLLMENT FOR THE BLACK LION AWARD HAS BEEN RE-OPENED - SIGN UP NOW!!! CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award

 

September 12 - "OUR COUNTRY! IN HER INTERCOURSE WITH FOREIGN NATIONS MAY SHE ALWAYS BE IN THE RIGHT; BUT OUR COUNTRY, RIGHT OR WRONG." Stephen Decatur, 1816   ******************************************************************************************** WHERE IS THE RAGE? The terrorist attack on our country is a great national tragedy, possibly the greatest in my lifetime (and I was alive in 1941), and maybe even in our entire history. It is also possibly the greatest outrage in my lifetime. But I was home all day Tuesday, and what I seemed to see on TV as the news began to sink in was mostly expressions of grief and fear. But no anger. Yes, it's sad. Unbelievably sad. It's awful thinking of those innocent people whose lives were snuffed out, and of their families. And of the brave, dedicated rescue workers and firefighters who also perished. And, yes, there is some reason for all of us to be afraid. But where, I thought, is the anger - where is the rage? I don't think I saw a single person interviewed on TV who appeared angry - really angry. Where was the anger at the kind of scum who would fly planes full of innocent people into buildings full of innocent people? Where were the people, like the ones I talked to and the others I heard from, ones who sounded ready to suit up right now if that's what it takes to rid the world of those bastards? Have we turned into such a nation of eunuchs - such a bunch of sensitive Alan Aldas - that we'll wring our hands and hug and cry, and worry about what to tell the children, and try to figure out what could possibly make people so angry that they'd lash out at us like that? This was not the way Americans reacted to Pearl Harbor. Are we going to let our leaders get us involved in some do-nothing "coalition" with our gutless European pals, the ones who love to have us defend them in return for the right to criticize us? Are we going to sit passively and listen while the peace-at-any-costers tell us that violence on our part will just beget more violence? While politicians babble about bringing the perpetrators to "justice?" Bringing them to justice, you say? You mean the way we brought the killers of the Marines in Lebanon, or the bombers of the USS Cole to justice? Justice, you say? American justice? The kind that allows a foreign court to deliver a slap on the wrist to the Lockerbie bombers? The kind that leaves no stone unturned in its search for an excuse for the most heinous of crimes, and turns proven killers loose on technicalities? The kind that does everything it can to deprive society of any chance to display its outrage? Isn't anybody else, finally, angry? ********************************************************************************************   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: His teams have made 17 postseason appearances in the last 20 years, and his 218 victories in 27 years as a head coach rank him third among active NCAA Division 1-AA coaches behind only Eastern Kentucky's Roy Kidd (299) and Delaware's Tubby Raymond (296). He is a native of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, the son of a steel worker, and played his college football at Villanova, where he was good enough in football to be named MVP in the 1962 Sun Bowl and 1963 Liberty Bowl, and good enough in track to win a silver medal in the Pan American Games as a shot-putter. He was drafted by Denver in 1963 and led the Broncos in rushing as a rookie. In 1965, he was sent to Buffalo in a trade for Cookie Gilchrist, and played on an AFL championship team there. In 1966 and 1967 he played with the Miami Dolphins, and played in 1968 on the Joe Namath-led New York Jets club that upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. (He was injured, and did not played in that game.) He retired as a player in 1969, and worked briefly as a stockbroker before taking a position as an assistant coach at Maryland. After two years at Maryland, he took over at Cheney State University, a small, historically-black college in Pennsylvania, where he stayed for seven years before taking a job as running backs' coach on Dick Vermeil's staff with the Philadelphia Eagles, going to the 1980 Super Bowl. After two years with the Eagles, he returned to college football, taking over at Central State, another historically-black college in Ohio. Despite the fact that before he arrived it had had four consecutive losing seasons, and only three winning seasons in the previous 18 years, he built a 120-30-4 record in his 13 seasons there. In one stretch, from 1986 through 1990, his teams went 52-7 and won five consecutive Black College National Championships. He has just begun his eighth year as head coach at Florida A & M, where he has added to its storied football tradition by taking the Rattlers to six straight I-AA Top 25 finishes. In 1995, he served as President of the American Football Coaches Association.   A GUY YOU OUGHT TO KNOW! MY INTERVIEW WITH MIKE LUDE - THE FIRST WING-T LINE COACH IN HISTORY   *********** The Pac 10 announced the cancellation of its schedule this weekend. I know a lot of thought went into the decision, and perhaps someone mentioned all the flak that the NFL caught for going ahead with its games as scheduled on the Sunday following President Kennedy's assassination. But just to take the other side of it - should we all be figuratively curling up in the fetal position? Isn't the shut-down of our normal functions exactly what the terrorists hoped to accomplish?   *********** Is it just a coincidence that the date of the terrorist attack was 911? *********** NFL WHISTLEBLOWER- The NFL officials may still be on strike, but that doesn't prevent me from blowing the whistle on the poohbahs of the NFL, who continue to try to pass off what they show us on Sundays as real football. For example, this past Sunday... 26 teams were in "action." Eight of them - nearly a third - failed to score a touchdown. Cleveland's fans were "treated" to the "spectacle" of a 9-6 "game" between Seattle and Cleveland, without seeing a touchdown 12 of the teams "rushed" for under 100 yards; Oakland, with 100, and Pittsburgh, with 101, didn't quite make the list In seven of the games, the two teams between them rushed for 200 yards or less There were exactly as many field goals made (41) as offensive touchdowns scored (return TDs are not the product of the offense) Every team attempted at least one field goal 17 of the 26 teams did not miss a single attempt An NFL FG attempt continued to be less suspenseful than an NBA free throw: NFL kickers made 41 of 50, or .82%; the NBA's best, the Bucks, shot 79% last season (the 76ers shot 75%, the champion Lakers 68%) *********** John Eales began to choke up as he sang the Australian national anthem last week. He was singing it before an international rugby match for the 86th and final time before retiring as captain of the Wallabies, Australia's national team. "I always thought there was going to be a lot of emotion," said the giant Eales, one of Australia's most respected sportsmen. "One of the things when I was a kid I most enjoyed when watching Test (international) rugby was the anthem and I was very nervous going into the first anthem against Wales in `91 and I knew I was going to be a blubbering fool again today. You know you're going to be like that but you still look forward to the moment." *********** Meantime, replacing big John Eales as captain of the Wallabies is little George Gregan. The Captaincy of a rugby side is a position of great prestige and responsibility. American football, now so tightly countrolled by coaches, has no counterpart. Football originated as rugby, but it evolved in many ways, including the role of the coach, from a volunteer who was required to sit in the stands and watch passively, to today's micromanager with wireless communication to the quarterback. Rugby went through no such evolution, and the rugby coach remains more of a combination trainer and long-term strategist, with the captain making all the on-field decisions. In truth, the captain is a player-coach. This puts George Gregan, as captain of the national rugby team, in perhaps the most prestigious position in sports, in a nation wildly passionate about them. On the field, Gregan plays scrum half, the rugby equivalent of football's quarterback, and his elevation to the captaincy of the Wallabies represents a significant breakthrough in Australian sport. George Gregan, you see, is a black man, in a nation whose black population is less than one per cent. He is not an Aborigine, an Australian native, either. He was born in Africa, in Zambia, and came to Australia when he was a boy. He is African-Australian, or whatever they say in Australia. Probably nothing at all, actually, because to his fellow countrymen, he is a Wallaby, as Australian as Crocodile Dundee - he sure sounds Australian, mate - and as the captain of the Wallabies, he's the man.   *********** "Took my boys and one of their young buddies to Rice Stadium Saturday night to see the Owls play Duke (the "Brain Bowl"). They let fans on the field before the game to form a "spirit tunnel" as the Owls come out and they let them on the field again after the game is over. The kids loved it. After Rice won 15-13, the boys went up to a number of Owl players and shook their hands and congratulated them on the win. All they could talk about on the ride home was the size of the players and how cool it was to actually get to talk to them and shake their hands. They got more of a kick out of that than the rather spectacular fireworks show the Rice folks put on after the contest. "At halftime the MOB (Marching Owl Band), produced a satire on Duke, the essence of which was, 'we're smarter, better at football and have a bigger endowment (watch it!) than you.' At one point the MOB spelled out the initials of the "Duke University Marching Band" while playing "If I only Had A Brain." Even my kids thought that was funny." Whit Snyder, Baytown, Texas *********** I was faxed a newspaper column Monday by the ever-alert Frank Simonsen, in Cape May, New Jersey, who first saw it in the Atlantic City Press. ("I was so excited about getting it cut out to send to you, I almost cut myself with the scissors," Frank wrote.) After reading it, I was just as excited as Frank. I just had to talk to the writer. I managed to locate him, and had a long talk with him. His name is Madison Shockley, and he lives in Los Angeles. He is a Harvard graduate, an ordained minister and member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He had been extremely active in community affairs, but he is currently a writer in residence at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication. He is also the father of two sons, one of whom is a ninth-grade football player. His column is absolutely the best defense of our sport - the most powerful argument on behalf of its benefits - that I have ever read. I told him so, and asked for his permission to reprint it on my site, so that football coaches everywhere can read it to their kids, their kids' parents, their administrators and their school boards. He gave me his permission to do so - in fact he is eager to share his wisdom with others - but first we must make certain that there are no hangups on the part of the Los Angeles Times, where his article first appeared. I guarantee you that it is a powerful piece that you will want to get your hands on. You will be tempted to wave it under the noses of certain anti-football people. But resist the urge. It isn't going to make them go away - it is just going to provide you with some intellectual ammunition against the pseudo-intellectuals who have been emboldened by the recent deaths of football players to attack our spport.   Let me tell you just how powerful the article is: Mr. Shockley told me - half-joking, I hope - that his column has provoked such a reaction that in the Times' letters to the editor, he and his article have been blamed for everything from road rage to date rape to global warming. Now, you just know that anything that can arouse the anti-football weenies like that has got to be good.   *********** I mentioned going to watch Ridgefield play on Friday night. Ridgefield, Washington was where I first introduced my Double-Wing in the US, in 1991, after seeing what I call "Super Power" run against me overseas by Don Markham, and adapting my Delaware Wing-T system and its numbering system and terminology to Don's tighter formation. I came back from Finland and convinced Ridgefield's coach, Art "Ozzie" Osmundson to let me run it with his squad. It wasn't a hard sell, because Ozzie and I knew each other well, and there wasn't a whole lot to introduce, because Ridgefield had been using my terminology since 1984, when Ozzie's predecessor, Chris Thompson, brought his staff over to my place to learn the Delaware Wing-T. I learned a lot about the Double-Wing at Ridgefield, because while we had good kids, we seldom had enough talent to put 11 talented kids on the field at the same time, and so we often found ourselves having to use trickery, in the form of multiple sets, shifts and motions, and some of the passes and screens I'd used from my earlier run-and-shoot days. There were occasions when we might go an entire game without running 88 or 99 Super Power. I moved on after a few years, but Ozzie stayed with the Double-Wing, and finally managed to get 11 talented kids on the field at once. And in 1995, Ridgefield won the state Class A championship. The Spudders (used to grow potatoes there - these days, they grow $500,000 mansions on three-acre lots) never had a close game, and in many of their contests, the starters were done by halftime. So Ozzie has 10 years of the Double-Wing under his belt now, and many of the teams he plays have had ten or more looks at his Double-Wing. And in Washington, where scouting takes the form of videotaping opponents' games, there are a lot of Ridgefield tapes circulating. The fact that he runs the Double-Wing hasn't been a surprise to anyone in years. So have defenses solved his Double-Wing? As will happen at a small school, talent at Ridgefield has had its down as well as its ups, and Ozzie has had his critics for his staying with his offense when things were tough. But stay he did. Did I say he had "stones?" So Friday night, he faced Forks. Forks is a logging town deep in the forests of the Olympic Peninsula, to the northwest of us. Its kids are tough. Forks handed us one of our two losses when I coached at Washougal in 1999, and Forks has been handing it to Ozzie over the years. Forks has seen the Double-Wing before. But Friday night, Ozzie handed it to Forks. Big-time. 55-22. His kids were ready, and they didn't beat themselves. And, to my way of thinking as a Double-Wing coach, Ozzie called a near-perfect game. Here's why I say that: on his first series, he ran super power and trap - two plays, five yards total. He ran criss-cross - 65 yards. Then he ran 5-X lead - Touchdown. Hmmm. His next drive went 51 yards. A criss-cross got him twelve of those yards, and 5-X lead - four times - got him 31 yards. Hmmm. His next drive went 41 yards. A criss-cross went for twelve yards, and a trap went for six yards, but the rest was either 5-X Lead or 6-G. See a pattern here? (Hint: The B-Back carried on 5 of 6 plays.) The next drive went 75 yards in 11 plays, four of which were criss-crosses, five of which were B-Back plays. He finally ran his second Super Power of the night, just before halftime, and it scored from eight yards out. Halftime score, 28-14. He came out in the second half and took over at the Forks 25. Three B-Back off-tackle plays - 6-G for 7, 5-X Lead for 8, 6-G for 10 - put him ahead, 35-14. His next drive covered 70 yards in nine plays, eight of them B-Back plays which accounted for 68 of the yards: 6-G (4 plays), 5-X Lead (3 plays), 3 trap 2 (1 play). His final drive, before he pulled his starters, went 80 yards in nine plays (95, actually, if you include having to overcome a 15-yard penalty). Eight of the nine plays were B-Back plays and accounted for 67 yards: 6-G (4 plays), 5-X lead (2 plays), 3 trap 2 (2 plays). The final stats showed Ridgefield with 72 offensive plays and 520 yards rushing. The B-backs accounted for 313 of those yards, on 41 carries. He ran 5-X Lead and 6-G a total of 17 times each. Only three of those plays went for more than 20 yards, and only one of them went for more than 30. That is what you call pounding. He ran five traps, and didn't run a single wedge. Now, you parents of the A- and C-backs ask, "How come my son didn't get to carry the ball more?" And, I will tell them, "Because we play to win. That's why our kids work as hard as they do. And once we find something that works, we stay with it until they stop it. And if they do, we run something else. And if they don't we don't. " And that's why I say Ozzie called a near-perfect game: he had the self-discipline - the stones - not to give in to irrelevancies, such as wanting to spread the ball around, or appeasing the critics, or trying to flaunt his creativity, or just running something to see what would happen. Not to let himself get distracted from what was working. And next week? Who knows. They may shut his B-backs down. Defenses can do that. But they can't stop everything. We have more weapons than that in our arsenal. Assuming that we're not beating ourselves, we have to find out as fast as possible what a defense is doing to shut down a base play, and come up with a countermeasure.   And when you parents of the B-backs ask me why your sons did so well last week and tonight thay hardly touched the ball, I will tell you "Because we play to win. That's why our kids work as hard as they do. And once we find something that works, we stay with it until they stop it. And if they do, we run something else. And if they don't we don't. "   *********** Coach - as you know, Texas doesn't follow the NFHS Rules -- they follow NCAA rules -- In preparing for the season, I wanted to make sure I had the sections handy that dealt with definition of a lineman(for those times when they say my guys are in the backfield), definition of "motion"(for those guys that think only a Roar type motion is "legal")..and other misc things we get call on because the refs aren't knowledgable. Any way, I found the rulebook online at http://www.ncaa.org/library/rules/2001/2001_football_rules.pdf You might want to add it to your links... Scott Barnes, Rockwall, Texas   *********** Bet you didn't know that the accounting practice in most colleges is for the school to charge the athletic department for the cost of each scholarship athlete, and for the athletic department to pay the tuition with revenues, donations or moneys from the general fund. At state colleges, out-of-state students pay far higher tuition than in-state students, and to make it possible to recruit football players form other states, most big college football programs get a special tuition waiver from their financial people so that they are charged in-state tuition for all players, no matter where they come from. But there are some colleges in the US that would love to be able recruit out-of-state football player but can't afford to, because they get no such waiver.   Now, finally, there is hope for them - recruit illegal aliens. Increasingly, states that wouldn't give your kid a break if he or she drove across the border to go to school in a state fifiteen minutes away are allowing illegal aliens (sorry - now it's PC to say "undocumented immigrants") to pay in-state tuition. *********** I saw Atlanta coach Kevin Latham's mention of wanting to see old footage of Tennessee's single wing attack. A few years ago I purchased "100 years of Tennessee Football" from the UT Athletic department. There is plenty of old footage on those tapes. He can order at: http://store.fansonly.com/tennvideo/store.cfm?store_id=98 Keith Babb, Northbrook, Tennessee - oops- Illinois *********** Hi Coach: I wanted to let you know how our team debuted with the double wing offense. We were a little apprehensive coming into this year with only three returning starters from last year. 2 lineman and 1 running back. We accumulated 314 rushing yards on 61 carries (A back 151 yds, B back 87 yds and C back 76 yds) and were 4 of 6 passing for 73 yards. We absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage! Unfortunately we lost the game (37 - 20) on an 80 yard kick return, a 75 yard pass, and on a 14 play drive we started at our own 5 yard line, our A back was stripped of the ball at the opponent 12 yard line and returned for a TD, he didn't have 4 points on the ball. That TD put them up 18-6 instead of us punching it in for an 14-6 lead. The school we played was a classification up from us. Although we are very young (38 players, 5 srs, 8 jrs, 11 sophs and 12 frosh) we feel positive about our season. Thanks a bunch and I'll keep you posted on the remainder of the season. Respectfully, Norm Barney, Chiloquin High Panthers, Chiloquin, OR (Despite the loss, that has to be a very encouraging start, and now Coach Barney's kids have been able to see for themselves the truth of the old football saying that more games are lost than won. I think that when you can show kids the reason why they lost, and get them to agree, and then show them what you are going to be doing to eliminate the causes, you are on your way to being a better football team.) *********** "If you're a youth football coach or high school coach and your kids aren't getting water every 15 or 20 minutes, you should not be coaching." Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans' coach, in USA Today, August 8 "If you're a pro coach paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and you've got Steve McNair at quarterback and Eddie George at running back and still your offense can only produce 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins, you should not be coaching. You should be out there with your stopwatch, monitoring the water breaks at local high school and youth team practices. In fact, judging from your offense's production, maybe that's where you've been." Hugh Wyatt, noted NFL critic. *********** "Why can we not get a call? They were tackling our pullers all night long, and cutting my B back...refs said they would watch for it before the game and every time I told them they were doing it I got the same answer "I didn't see it coach". I told the official at one point I was about to explode on him and he said "I will throw a flag on you coach." I told him that would be the only call he made right all night if he did! I had the rulebook in hand and had gone through the officials checklist and still nothing..." I am so disgusted with refs. They are all over coaches this year, telling us what a responsibility we have to promote sportsmanship. Of course we do. And that includes not teaching illegal tactics. But when that occurs, and you point it out to them, they can't be bothered with enforcing the rules. They are too busy telling you to keep your kids behind the restraining line. If you see something like you describe happening enough on video that you can be reasonably sure it's being taught, I think you have an obligation to call the other coach and let him know that it is illegal. (It is possible that in spite of the fact that coaches are responsible for knowing the rules, he doesn't know that it is.) Tell him that you prefer to handle it at that level without getting administration involved. And if you get no satisfaction, then I would guess the next step would be the AD/principal. Of course, they might not have the stones to fight for their own kids. As for your pulling linemen getting tackled... are you absolutely certain that your kids are off the ball as far as they can be? Next, check to make sure that your center is reaching out with the ball as far as possible. That may be why I have not had the tackling-the-puller problem, but then again it may be because I have been coaching against more ethical guys than you. And as for the cutting of the B-Back, I would tell the officials, "I've told you about the problem, and it's still happening. The rule is there for my kid's protection. If he gets hurt because you knew what was going on and you chose not to enforce the rule, the lawyers will figure that out pretty quick." *********** I see a lot of people talking on your web site about running the double wing. I would like to know how big are some of these high schools are that are running the double wing and are they having success against the big schools using your offense? They range from very big to very small, including 8-man. Realistically, big schools rarely change offenses. It is a much bigger undertaking to do it at a big school because of all the programs and assistants involved in the switch, and all the people who have to be sold on it and educated. When big schools are winning, they see no need to change; when they are losing, they are reluctant to be seen as doing something out of desperation. Big schools tend to stay with the same offense until - win or lose - they change coaches. But here are a few examples of bigger schools that have taken the step: Fitch High, Groton, Connecticut - big school - two-time defending state champion and going for three Assumption High, Davenport, Iowa - biggest class - hasn't missed the playoffs in years Tampa Riverview - big school - made playoffs in its third year of existence Florence, Mississippi - second largest class - led the state in total offense in '00 Queensbury, New York - second largest class - twice made it to state finals As for its effectiveness at a "big" school - I have videotape of the Toronto Argonauts moving the ball in the CFL (three downs to make 10) with the Double-Wing when Don Matthews was coaching there. MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award.. THE UP-TO-DATE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS

September 10 - "I think we've taken the fun out of sport by insisting that everybody must be a champion or a failure." Broadcaster Heywood Hale Broun, who died last week at 83   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: His teams have made 17 postseason appearances in the last 20 years, and his 218 victories in 27 years as a head coach rank him third among active NCAA Division 1-AA coaches behind only Eastern Kentucky's Roy Kidd (299) and Delaware's Tubby Raymond (296). He is a native of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, the sone of a steel worker, and played his college football at Villanova, where he was good enough in football to be named MVP in the 1962 Sun Bowl and 1963 Liberty Bowl, and good enough in track to win a silver medal in the Pan American Games as a shot-putter. He was drafted by Denver in 1963 and led the Broncos in rushing as a rookie. In 1965, he was sent to Buffalo in a trade for Cookie Gilchrist, and played on an AFL championship team there. In 1966 and 1967 he played with the Miami Dolphins, and played in 1968 on the Joe Namath-led New York Jets club that upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. (He was injured, and did not played in that game.) He retired as a player in 1969, and worked briefly as a stockbroker before taking a position as an assistant coach at Maryland. After two years at Maryland, he took over at a small, historically-black college in Pennsylvania, where he stayed for seven years before taking a job as running backs' coach on Dick Vermeil's staff with the Philadelphia Eagles, going to the 1980 Super Bowl. After two years with the Eagles, he returned to college football, taking over at a historically-black college in Ohio. Despite the fact that before he arrived it had had four consecutive losing seasons, and only three winning seasons in the previous 18 years, he built a 120-30-4 record in his 13 seasons there. In one stretch, from 1986 through 1990, his teams went 52-7 and won five consecutive Black College National Championships. He has just begun his eighth year at his current school, where he has taken them to six straight I-AA Top 25 finishes. In 1995, he served as President of the American Football Coaches Association.   A GUY YOU OUGHT TO KNOW! MY INTERVIEW WITH MIKE LUDE - THE FIRST WING-T LINE COACH IN HISTORY   *********** I drove up to Ridgefield, Washington Friday night to watch my old buddy, Art "Ozzie" Osmundson open the season. I'll write more on Wednesday about my impressions of the game, but lemme just say that it was a great night for me, for Ozzie, for Ridgefield and for the Double-Wing, as Ozzie's kids whipped up on traditional toughie Forks, 55-22. *********** It was also a great night for my adopted team, Rich Central High of Olympia Fields, Illinois, which made it 3-0 this year with a 46-7 defeat of defending league champion Tinley Park. Halftime score: RC 40, Tinley Park 0. *********** When Texas' Brett Robin scored from 12 yards out with 36 seconds remaining, the Longhorns took a dive on the extra poiont. was no extra point. Texas quarterback Major Applewhite merely took the snap and took a knee, and the final score went into the record books as Texas 44, North Carolina 14. No, they weren't shaving points. The Longhorns wanted that 44 to stay on the board. They had dedicated the game to teammate Cole Pittman, killed in a car crash back in February. Pittman's jersey number was 44. "The fact that the final score was 44," said quarterback Chance Mock, "there is no doubt in my mind that Cole was here with us this afternoon." Want more? Texas' next-to-last score, the one that put them within a touchdown of 44, came on a punt return by Nathan Vasher. 44 yards. *********** Are you ready for some football? Hell, yes I am. Know where I can find some on a Sunday? On one set I had the Seahawks-Browns, a 9-6 exhibition of offensive ineptness which ended in the NFL's version of euthanasia - a 52-yard field goal with :03 remaining. On the other set I "watched" the Bears and Ravens. It only took the defending Super Bowl champs a little more than three quarters to score the first touchdown of the game.   *********** Nebraska won the adidas (sorry - I originally said Reebok) Bowl, defeating Notre Dame, 27-10. Impressions: (1) I love to watch Eric Crouch and I would love to have him quarterback any team of mine, but he simply isn't going to put up the kind of numbers needed to impress Heisman voters, and besides, too many of them will say that playing on a great team makes him look better than he is (2) Nebraska I-back Dahrran Diedrick is a strong runner and he personally outgained Notre Dame. He seems to be a pretty important part of the Cornhuskers' offense. So did they really need to leave him in there until the very end, safely ahead 27-10? Isn't there at least one other I-back they'd like to look at?... Tennessee-Arkansas: it is seldom that it rains so hard that you can actually see the rain on TV, but it was raining large-caliber bullets in Fayetteville, and the football that resulted was reminiscent of the days of General Bob Neyland himself. I actually saw three-running-back formations from Tennessee a good bit of the time.. Miami 61, Rutgers 0: When the Big East decided to purge itself, why did they stop at Temple?... I saw four punts blocked (by Virginia Tech against Western Michigan, Michigan against Washington, Notre Dame against Nebraska and Stanford against Boston College) in one day of watching college football on TV. Hey - one kid from Central Michigan alone blocked four against Michigan State. You can watch an entire season of pro "football" and not see a punt blocked, because I suspect there is a punters' union that would complain if they tried to block punts, so they don't even bother... Anybody else see the pussy act that Arkansas punter put on after he shanked that fourth-quarter punt? Untouched by human hand, he did a complete spin in the air and landed on the ground - I'm sure the ballet people have a name for the move - then begged the referee for a roughing call. They should have flagged him for unsportsmanlike conduct... I am getting tired of seeing guys score "touchdowns" without physically entering the end zone. I am referring to the version of a little kids' game we used to play, when runners are on their way out of bounds on the one-, or two-, or three-yard line, but somehow manage to reach out and "tag" the top of the pylon with the ball. This absurdity has resulted in several calls already in which subsequent replays have shown the the player stepped out of bounds before "scoring a touchdown." Then there is the quarterback sneak in which the "runner" is stopped, yet reaches out and invades enemy air space with the ball- but that's another story... Georgia Tech 70, Navy 7: After an opening game loss - to Temple, for crying out loud - I am afraid that this season could be the end of the line for Navy's Charley Weatherbie, a truly good man who has already demonstrated that he is a good coach. He'll get the same treatment that Army gave Bob Sutton, and they'll bring in some guy who'll vow to "open things up.".. Wisconsin fans began filing out early, as it became apparent that Fresno State was going to beat the Badgers. I believe it was the first time I can recall ever seeing empty seats during a game in Camp Randall Stadium... They love to tell you who the "Chevrolet MVP's" are before the game is over, and I had just commented on how unusual it was that a defensive back, Omare Lowe, was named Washington's MVP (shows how much the Huskies' offense sucked) when three plays later, he was beaten for a TD. Funny - no comment on the irony by Keith Jackson and Tim Brant... Fashion awards: to Boston College, for numerals that looked as if they came out of a video game; to Washington, for the dullest, drabbest, most lifeless washed-out "purple" jerseys, with the cutest little shoulder stripes you ever did see; to Michigan, whose helmets look more maize and black than maize and blue. Uh, I think that black and gold are Iowa's colors... Georgia Southern 38, Delaware 7: it would be interesting to see how Georgia Southern defends against the Delaware Wing-T, except the game tapes probably won't help much, because Delaware itself doesn't run a whole lot of Delaware Wing-T any more...   *********** I was watching the Stanford-BC game Saturday night and as a Stanford punt bounced around, I was able to hear, thanks to one of those sideline dish mikes, some guys shouting "Pita! Pita! Pita!" I had to laugh. It was not a group of people ordering Middle East bread. Instead, it was a bunch of New England football players yelling, "Peter! Peter! Peter!": Write me if you don't understand what/why they were yelling. *********** "On another note, I picked up a USA Today on Friday. It had a special NFL preview section. On Page 13 (I think) was a photo of Marion Motley (#76) running the ball for the Browns wearing what appears to be a pair of black canvas high top Converse Chuck Taylors. It looks like the other players in the photo are wearing regular cleats. I wonder what the deal was with those shoes?" Alan Goodwin, Warwick, Rhode Island The photo is, indeed, of the great Marion Motley, and if you look closely, you'll see they're all wearing sneaks, a not unheard-of practice whenever they had to play on frozen fields back then. The origin of the practice goes back to the 1930's when the Giants were playing somebody for the championship and they borrowed sneaks from NYU and it gave them sufficient footing for them to win the game.   *********** TV announcer and former UCLA quarterback Tom Ramsey asked it, and it's worth repeating: "I wonder what Vince Lombardi would have said about spiking the ball?" (Or, I might add, about what poses for "blocking" in today's NFL.) *********** USC has been placed on probation by the NCAA because instead of providing academic help, a tutor dropped all pretense and just did the academic work for three athletes, two of them football players and one of them a female diver. (Huh? I didn't realize that the women's swim team coach was under that kind of pressure.) But hey - this isn't buying a kid a cheeseburger or giving him an airline ticket home. This is out-and-out academic fraud, and when it occurs, I think it's time for sanctions from another direction than the NCAA. I think it's time for the associations that accredit universities to move in and determine how many people arrive there - and are kept there - under false pretenses. I think it is time to publicize the fact to college counselors, parents and prospective students that at certain schools, there is a certain privileged class of athletes that pays no tuition and has access to academic assistance known to extend to actually doing the "work" for the "student" - and that as a result, certain of those schools' diplomas may be essentially worthless. And when one of a university's diplomas is worthless, it demeans the entire institution, and the value of every graduate's diploma. *********** I had intended on opening the game with our "wildcat" package, but in talking to the refs before the game, (the checklist)...he said he wouldn't protect the center's "head down position" while snapping. Therefore we just ran Tight and Stack. He claims the back had to be 7 yards back before he could protect the center with his head down. I wasn't going to put any of my kids in that situation of possibly getting hurt. Have you ever run into this before??? Coach- The referee is correct. The center is not entitled to protection unless the man is in position to kick, which is considered to be seven or more yards deep. One of the reasons we put our backs so close to the center is so the center can make the snap without having to look. I make this point in the video (Dynamics III) and in the playbook (page 101). *********** "I will be going to school fulltime starting in the spring. You guessed it. I want to teach and coach. I am and will always be a Dedicated Doublewing Disciple. An apostle of Wyatt power football. Thanks again for everything you have done for me." Jim Fisher, Newport, Virginia (That is so cool. I hope all the sacrifice will be worth it. It was for me and I think I can speak for my wife as well. I don't think any of us wants to be 65 and looking back and kicking ourselves in the rear end because we didn't do it. I also am glad to hear that there will be one more conservative male with stones entering the teaching profession. We need all we can get! TIP: try - try really hard - to keep your opinions to yourself as much as you can while you're still dependent on those liberal professors for your grades.) *********** Mike Dison, of Baltimore's Archbishop Curley High, writes, "Just a note to all High School Football Fanatics on the East Side. CN8 out of NJ broadcasts a HS game every day at 2:30 PM Monday thru. Friday. These are select games out of MD.-PA.-NJ. and DEL. . My wife turns on the VCR every day for me. I have watched 3 Great games so far. Overall they will be televising (71) seventy-one games plus Play-Offs and Championships. Can you believe-it? This is not public TV, this is Commercial TV. Someone CARES." At first glance it does seem like something good for our sport, but, not to rain on anyone's parade, my concern about this is that they are not doing it because they care. They are doing it to try to get viewers, pure and simple. If they could get more viewers putting on a cow-milking contest, they would. What it means for high schools is that the TV people will go for the "biggest" games, which means the ones involving the "biggest" teams, which means that some teams will be on TV a lot more than others, which means that little kids will want to grow up and go to those schools so they will get exposure, giving those schools a recruiting advantage that will ensure that the rich get richer, etc.... And the next thing you kow, high schools will be rolling around in the mud, playing the same dirty game the colleges play - the haves against the have-nots. (Anyone happen to remember the Little League World Series?) *********** "Last night's practice went very well. We provided all of our players with armbands and scrimmaged using no huddle for 50 minutes. In that time we ran 80 plays and the last 20 were run with the type of precision that should allow us to be successful this year. I can't get over how productive practice was. Each of the 8 plays we will run got 10 reps. Using no-huddle and coaching on the fly sure is a great way to maximize one's use of time." Keith Babb, Northbrook, Illinois *********** And you think you've got problems because the grounds crew doesn't cut your grass often enough... "Once again thanks for all that you have done. We beat Russell, Kansas 30-12 and my school is Hoisington which was hit by a tornado on April 21 and we have to play all of our games on the road. Double Wing to You Coach! Lonnie Irvin - Head Football Coach - Hoisington, Kansas" *********** Coach Kevin Latham of Atlanta sent me his team's game report and couldn't resist adding "P.S. Go Vols!!! Thanks for all the great information on Coach Neyland. I sure would like to see some footage of his old single wing teams." *********** Glade Hall, a youth coach in Seattle has the best solution I've heard of so far for parents who act obnoxiously as games. He tells them, "If you should get the urge to act up, try to remember that everybody else here has a camera, and you'll be on the 11 o'clock news." Come to think of it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to employ someone to film the spectators at every game. *********** Coach, Just a note to say that my success with the D-Wing has been nothing short of incredible. Your tapes and play book have given us the head start we needed. Thank you for creating them. We have learned so much in such a short time even my "eternally skeptic" assistant coaches have been converted. Tom Triplett, Thousand Oaks, California   *********** The Oregon State broadcast crew swears that in the fourth quarter at Las Cruces, New Mexico (come to think of it, what is a Pac-10 team doing there?) Saturday night, with New Mexico State playing Oregon State surprisingly tough down into the fourth quarter, several hundred fans got up and left when it was announced that because of technical difficulties there would be no post-game fireworks.  *********** The Red Raiders of Colgate University used to be pretty good. Their 1932 team was unscored-on in nine games, and defeated both Penn State and Syracuse. Its failure to be invited to a bowl game (there was only the Rose Bowl in those days, and Pitt was selected to play USC) caused one sports writer to call it "unbeaten, untied, unscored on - and uninvited." The Red Raiders' coach then was Andy Kerr, who had been Pop Warner's right-hand man at Pitt, and actually stood in for Warner for a year at Stanford when Warner accepted the job there but couldn't get out of his contrtact at Pitt. In a period of six seasons, from 1929 through 1934, Kerr's Colgate teams never lost more than one game a season. When I was in college, the Ivy League schools - some of them, at least - used to be pretty good, but Colgate always seemed to manage to swoop in and knock one of them off. I remember a very good 1956 Yale team winning the first Ivy title, and losing only to Colgate. In fact, the year before, Yale had upset Army and Don Holleder, 14-12 in the Yale Bowl, two weeks after losing to Colgate, 7-0. In somewhat more recent times, Colgate managed to produce a couple of bruising fullbacks whom Oakland Raiders fans will surely remember - Marv Hubbard and Mark Van Eeghen. Lately, though, Colgate football has been played at the non-scholarship I-AA level, and although last year's team went a very respectable 9-2, the university seems more preoccupied with political correctness than athletic achievement. How else would you explain its decision to drop the "Red" from its nickname? Not even Joe McCarthy, in his search for undercover Communists, could do that. But despite the fact that the "Red" merely referred to the school's color, it had to be removed, for fear it might offend someone. So now, Colgate's teams are just plain Raiders. Look out, Texas Tech. You could be next. Just wondering - is it still okay to refer to Army as the Black Knights of the Hudson? Wouldn't want to offend anyone.     MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award

 

September 7 - "No good blocker and tackler was ever left off a football team." General Robert R. Neyland   A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: "People think I'm the greatest damn coach in the world," said the great Bear Bryant, "but Neyland taught me everything I know." The Bear coached against Bob Neyland's Tennessee teams seven times and never beat him. "I never beat him," he said, "but I learned a lot from playing him." Neyland (pronounced "NEE-land") was a native of Greenville, Texas. He started out at Texas A & M, but transferred to West Point after one year. There, he won 3 consecutive heavyweight boxing championships, pitched on the baseball team for four years, once winning 20 straight games and posting a 4-0 record against the Navy, and started three years in football, playing on the 1914 national championship team; he is still considered by many to be the greatest athlete in West Point history. After serving briefly as an assistant at West Point, Neyland decided he wanted to become a coach, and wrote to a number of schools looking for a job as football coach and ROTC instructor. Two responded, Iowa and Tennesse, and he chose Tennessee. His reasoning: "We beat them 41-0 in 1923, and in 1924 they lost the last five games in a row, scoring only 15 points. I knew there was hardly a chance of doing worse."   Although he was originally scheduled to stay at Tennessee three years, he stayed instead for 25. He somehow managd to balance a military career and a coaching career. He served in both World Wars, and twice had his coaching interrupted by military service, once for two years in the mid-thirties, and then, for five years during World War II. He came out of World War II with the rank of Brigadier General, and was known ever after as "The General." Even now, nearly 40 years after his death, few football people refer to him without using the military title. General Neyland has been called the first of the modern coaches. Consider some of the things he intoduced to the game: Pressbox-to-sideline telephones... Low-cut shoes... Lightweight thigh and knee pads... Tear-away jerseys... The balanced line... In-depth scouting reports... The quarterback (He was the first coach to use a quarterback in the sense that it is used today, as the player who handled the ball much of the time and threw most of the passes)... The first to put together a radio network to bring his team's games to people in every corner of a state.   Among his former players who went on to be successful coaches themselves were Ray Graves at Florida, Billy Barnes at UCLA, Bowden Wyatt at Wyoming, Arkansas, and Tennessee, Bob Woodruff at Florida, and Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech.   It is common for modern-day journalists to characterize General Neyland as cold and hard-hearted, and it is likely that media people are still paying him back, years later, for the fact that he had little time for reporters. But it was never easy to find a former player who had anything but good to say about him.   When he arrived in 1926, the University of Tennesee stadium seated 3200; when he died in March, 1962 while serving as athletic director, it was in the middle of expansion to more than 52,000. On October 20, 1962, the stadium, now one of the largest in America, was renamed Neyland Stadium in his honor.   General Bob Neyland won seven conference titles and coached 22 All-Americans. He coached teams in three consecutive different major bowl games : Orange (1939), Rose (1940) and Sugar (1941), and when he took his team to the 1951 Cotton Bowl, became the first man ever to coach a team in the four major bowls. (Can anyone name another to do so, besides Joe Paterno?) He was a great proponent of field position football. He would often punt on third down, knowing full well that his defense could stop opponents. He was right - over his entire career, his teams gave up an average of only six points per game. In 106 of the 216 games he coached, his opponents were shut out. He never had a losing season, and didn't have a losing record against any team he had faced more than once. His teams hold the NCAA record for consecutive shutouts (17) and consecutive shutout quarters (71). His 1939 team was the last in NCAA history to go through an entire regular season without giving up a single point. If you believe in betting, consider combinations involving the number six: in one six year period, Bear Bryant's teams scored a grand total of 6 points against the General's wide-tackle six. Coach Neyland didn't exactly sit still on offense, either. He is considered one of the fathers, if not the father, of the balanced-line single wing, and continued to run it long after most schools had switched to the T-formation. His overall record was 173-31-12. His .830 winning percentage is the best of any coach to coach for more than 20 years. A few great General Neyland stories:   The late broadcaster Lindsay Nelson, a Tennessee guy himself, wrote in his book, Hello, I'm Lindsay Nelson, about General Neyland's total dislike of two-platoon football, and how he used his position on the NCAA rules committee to stave off attempts to liberalize substitution rules. At one meeting, Coach Ray Eliot of Illinois had the nerve to challenge the General, suggesting that there were many coaches who favored two-platoon football. "Neyland surveyed the room," Nelson wrote, " then said 'I don't see any people who want to return to two-platoon. All in favor of the present rules say "aye." ' "With that, Neyland quickly raised his hand and that of committee secretary Dave Nelson (of Delaware - no relation to Lindsay) and roared 'Aye! Opposed, no. The ayes have it -- and we'll have no chickensh-- football this year.'"   The General didn't have a lot of time for fair-weather friends....   Tennessee had an uncharacteristic bad year in 1947, finishing with a 5-5-1 record. Some of the Vols' fans wanted him fired. But a 13-6 win over Kentucky calmed the restless fans somewhat. Following the Kentucky game, a trustee of the University came up to Coach Neyland and patted him on the back and said, "you're the greatest coach in the world." Neyland turned and told him, "that's not what you sons of bitches said two weeks ago."   Anybody who hates those obnoxious TV sideline interviewers who grab the coaches as they're going in at halftime has to appreciate this one...   Coach Neyland was on the field preparing for the 1939 Alabama game when he was approached by messenger from CBS sportscaster Ted Husing. Ted Husing was one of the biggest names in the business then, the Al Michaels or Pat Summerall of his day. "Mr. Husing wants you to come up to the broadcast booth for a pregame interview on the air," the messenger told him. The Coach replied that he was preparing for a game and didn't have time to go up to the pressbox. "But Mr. Neyland," the messenger said. "Mr. Husing is about to go on the air. He needs you now." Said the coach, "Tell Mr. Husing to kiss my a--. I have a game to coach."   ------------   Correctly Identifying General Neyland - Keith Babb - Northbrook, Illinois (I've been waiting for this one a long time. (I haven't even read the rest of the "News".) General Robert Neyland (pronounced Nee-land not Nay-land) is as legendary in Knoxville as Knute Rockne is in South Bend. The stadium that the General built is considered by this years Sporting News as the number one college football stadium in the land. And talk about defense... My dad tells me of the game he saw when Bear Bryant's Kentucky team came to Knoxville with Babe Parilli as quarterback. The game was close but Tennessee's great defense and an assist by a rare Knoxville snowstorm allowed the Big Orange to prevail. Thanks for the memories)... Mike O'Donnell- Pine City, Minnesota... Mark Kaczmarek- Davenport, Iowa... Brian Rochon- Livonia, Michigan... Tom Hinger, Auburndale, Florida... John Reardon- Peru, Illinois... John Bothe- Oregon, Illinois... Jim Fisher- Newport, Virginia ("General Neyland! Go Vols!")... Whit Snyder- Baytown, Texas ("The fellow in the photo is the pride of Greenville, Texas General Robert Neyland (who also coached at the University of Tennessee")... Kevin McCullough- Culver, Indiana ("7-0 vs coach bryant is amazing!")... Dave Potter- Durham, North Carolina ("Forget Bobby Knight. There was only one 'General.'")... David Crump- Owensboro, Kentucky ("This one is easy!! General Bob Neyland. A coach that I would have liked to have met and discussed many things with. I also believe that he invented the wide tackle 6 defense during his years at Tennessee. People in Kentucky blame him for starting the success that Tennessee has enjoyed over the years against the University of Kentucky in football. The tradition of losing to Tennessee will continue for many years to come.")... Bert Ford- Los Angeles... John Grimsley- Gaithersburg, Maryland... Bill Nelson- Burlington, Iowa... Adam Wesoloski- Menominee, Michigan... Greg Stout- Thompson's Station, Tennessee ("If I miss this one I could get hung in effigy, since I live in Nashville. Tennessee plays in a stadium named after him.")... Joe Gutilla - Minneapolis, Minnesota... Tom Compton- Durant, Iowa... Christopher Anderson- Cambridge, Massachusetts...  ----------- HOW MANY OF US EVER GET TO TALK WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS IN ON THE INVENTION - WHO WAS THERE AT THE BIRTH - OF A MAJOR OFFENSIVE SYSTEM? For some time, Jim Shelton, of Englewood, Florida, had been after me to get in touch with Mike Lude, and I finally did. Jim, now retired as a General in the US Army, played guard at Delaware, the cradle of the Wing-T, and Mike Lude was his line coach. Mike Lude played a major part in the invention of the Delaware Wing-T. That in itself would have been enough to interest me in talking with Mike, but to a Washingtonian, Mike Lude is also highly respected as the AD at the University of Washington from 1976 until his retirement in 1991. I managed to catch Mike at home not long ago, and we talked at length. What an amazing career he's had! Read about  MIKE LUDE *********** Bill Livingston, great sports columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, was the Philadelphia Inquirer's beat man assigned to cover the Philadelphia Bell of the WFL when I worked for that "organization" in 1974. Recently, he wrote: "We are so confused in sports that we cannot tell integrity from expediency. "We make Dennis Erickson admirable, and he is nothing but a bandit coach. Under Erickson, Miami officials hid Warren Sapp's positive drug test. Erickson, while winning two national titles with the rootin'-tootin'est program outside Oklahoma under Barry Switzer, got himself and his staff banned from a bar near campus. He has turned Oregon State around with renegades, while soiling the Pac-10's image. "Meanwhile, we say the game has passed Paterno by. "Penn State only entered the Big Ten in 1993 because Paterno wanted to. He always saw the big picture. 'We're honored just to be associated with those people,' he said. He meant the Big Ten's reputation among the nation's elite research institutions. "Now Penn State, once an academic backwater, is in the top 10 among public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. The new library wing, heavily endowed by Paterno, is one reason why. "Victory and defeat are determined in 60 minutes on autumn afternoons. They fade like the leaves. The life of the mind endures. It's why, no matter what happens until he hangs them up, Joe Paterno is a great man."   I wrote BIll and told him that I thought he'd written an excellent column, and this was his reply:   "I covered Penn State three different times for the Philadelphia Inquirer -- 1974  (Cotton Bowl win over Baylor), 1981 (Fiesta over Southern Cal) and 1982 (national title No. 1 in Sugar over Herschel.) Accordingly, I was assigned to do the long feature on him here at The Plain Dealer when Penn State came into the Big Ten.  I've known him for 27 years, off and on, and  I too hate to see it end this way. I think he is one of the few people I have covered in 31 years as a sportswriter who is legitimately deserving of the term 'great.'"   He went on to add, "I came to Cleveland in '84 to do the column and am still at it. I guess my biggest regret is I never met Woody Hayes for a one-on-one before he died. I think, from what writers I trust say, that he was a great man, too. Did a whole lot for people that was never publicized, but became caricatured because he could lose it. Still, at base, a decent guy. "    TALK ABOUT GOOD! WE DONE LOST US A GREAT ONE - I GAR-ON-TEE! Justin Wilson, one a da funniest cooks you ever seen - either dat or one a da best cookin' comedians - died Friday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the age of 87. For years, he had a cooking show on TV, where he combined great food wit' a whole lotta funny banter as he went along. He done a lotta standup comic stuff, too, in Cajun dialect.   I bin a Justin Wilson fan, me, fo' a lo-o-o-ng time. One a mah favorite cook books is "The Justin Wilson Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook." ("Let me tole you," he wrote, "how come the reason for the title 'Gourmet and Gourmand Cookbook.' A gourmet is an epicure, a person who loves to eat well-prepared food. A gourmand is just a P-I-G hog. Me, I'm both.")   Below is one of my favorite Justin Wilson recipes. It's go-o-o-o-od. I gar-on-tee......   LEFTOVER PASTA AND EGGS Bacon Drippings or oleo (I use cooking oil) Romano Cheese, grated (I use Parmesan) Pasta - as much as you have (I like angel hair) Louisana hot sauce (I like Trappey's) Onion powder Eggs (I use 2-3 per person) Garlic powder Naturally, there are no measures on this leftover dish. Place drippings or oleo (or cooking oil) in frying pan or skillet. Add garlic powder or onion powder. In low heat, add pasta, cheese and hot sauce, stirring constantly. Beat eggs (as many as you like) and add to skillet and stir as scrambled eggs. (I like to use leftover angel hair spaghetti, and I add tomato sauce. And I keep adding and stirring in cheese, onion and garlic powder and hot sauce, as much as I feel like.) ************ Herschel Scott has seen to it that even after he dies, he will remain a Georgia Bulldog fan. He will be laid to rest in a red and black casket with Georgia Bulldog logos on it. Inscribed on his headstone - also adorned with Georgia logos - is: "Herschel 'Bulldog' Scott - Bulldog Born, Bulldog Bred, Here I Lie, A Bulldog Dead" and "How 'Bout Them Dogs!" Still to be inscribed are the dates of his birth and death and the number of consecutive Georgia games and total bowl games he attended. The string is still alive - he hasn't missed a Georgia game in 39 years.  "I didn't have anybody to go to the Auburn game with in 1962, so I went to the Alabama-Georgia Tech game in Atlanta instead." he said. "It was a triple experience of the worst kind - first, I missed seeing a Georgia game in person; second I missed witnessing the Bulldogs pulling a great upset over a hated rival in Auburn; and third, I saw Tech upset Alabama 7-6, and I despise seeing Tech win. I learned my lesson and haven't missed seeing a Georgia game in person since." Scott says his all-time favorite Georgia player is Charley Trippi - "the best player I've ever seen play." *********** www.stealitback.com is the web site of a San Clemente, California-based outfit that calls itself the Property Bureau. Started by former police officers including former LA police chief Daryl Gates, it may have figured out a way for police departments to turn the materials stuffed into their evidence lockers into cash. Items of all kinds - bicycles, jewelry, cell phones, stereos, cameras, VCRs, DVDs, computers, electronic games, toys or anything else a thief can steal - typically wind up being sold to auction houses for pennies on the dollar. That's where Property Bureau comes in, obtaining the goods on consignment from local police departments,  then taking them to their own warehouse where they test the items and make repairs if necessary, before offering them for sale on the Web. Property Bureau then splits the take with police departments, 50-50 on items of $1,000 or less. On items selling for more than $1,000, police departments get 75%. I know what you're thinking. There is also a place on the site where theft victims can register to locate items that have been stolen from them.  *********** Next thing you know they'll be blindfolding you as you enter the stadium so you won't be able to remember the game. I'm not at all sure of the details, but what I read indicated that the University of Tennessee has taken an artist to court over his print of UT's 1998 victory over Florida. (Occasions when the Vols beat Florida are understandably great moments in Tennessee.) The University claims that the print is an unlicensed use of the school's trademark. The artist's lawyer contends that it is the artist's impression of a public event. *********** Cisco Systems, Inc. may have taken penny-pinching a little too far. It has long been company policy to provide free beverages in its break rooms, but recently it began urging employees to "Drink Frugally," and "Drink Responsibly." It posted fliers in the break rooms, pointing out that a typical Cisco employee consumes five beverages a day, and that if every employee were to drink one fewer drink a day, the company would save $2.4 million a year. Another flier said that the company could save $250,000 a year if employees were to bring their own coffee cups. Employers everywhere: Beware of looking like a skinflint. Employee jokesters began circulating mock-serious fliers urging workers to eat responsibly... breathe frugally... and flush frugally. Noting that the average employee made three trips daily to the bathroom, one flier said that if every employee were to eliminate one trip to the bathroom, "Cysco" (deliberately misspelled) could save $5.8 billion a year. "Try washing your hands less, " it said, "or washing only one hand." Other suggestions:"Badge scanner processing and new badges cost Cysco $800,000 annually! Do you really need to get in right now? Try waiting for the next person!" Posted next to an extinquisher: "Fire fighting equiptment costs Cysco $2 million annually! Do you really need this extinguisher? Try using a blanket first!" Check out the jokers' Web site: http://www.angelfire.com/ego/frugal *********** In Australia, university researchers found that where charity is concerned, sports fans, at least those Down Under, tend to support their own kind, and winners are definitely more generous than losers. Their study consisted of positioning three collectors for the Salvation Army outside the gates of the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Grounds - the huge stadium where Australian Rules games are played in front of crowds of 100,000 and more), both before and after a game. Two of the collectors wore scarves in the colors of the competing teams; the third wore a plain gray scarf, not identified with either team. Here's what they found: (1) The winning team's fans donated more than the losing team's fans did; (2) Donations by the losing team's fans dropped off significantly from before the game, when their expectations were high, to after the game, when their hopes had been dashed. (3) The two collectors sporting team colors both out-collected Joe Neutral in the gray scarf CONCLUSION: "Sport team identification leads to an enhancement of pro-social behavior." Any US college AD could have told them that. *********** A friend of mine wrote and told me that before his regular season gets under way, he has an opportunity to scrimmage a team that his kids could very well be playing at the end of the season for the championship. He asked me what I thought of the idea. I didn't make a recommendation, but only told him the two ways I could argue the point: First, to scrimmage them now would provide a very good measuring stick. Second, though, it might be useful to tell his kids that "they want a piece of us right now, but I told them there's only one place they're going to get a piece of us, and that's in the championship game, and if they want to play us, they'll have to get there, too." And then use that as a motivator all season long - "one step closer to a shot at the big guys, fellas!" But who knows? If there were sure answers, we'd write them all down in a manual, and then any ribbon clerk could be a coach. *********** "The chasing DE got a taste of the Rip 7G. He was one of their biggest players (180 lb and tall) and our G caught him, trying to catch our motioning A-Back, just about belt buckle high, and took him off his feet to the prettiest pancake you ever saw. He never saw the G until he was on his back gasping for air. Where the hell are the Mom's cameras when you want them? Needless to say, he was very timid about chasing the motion after that." Frank Simonsen, Cape May, New Jersey *********** I heard a great argument not long ago for Gordie Howe's case as the greatest hockey player ever: for most of his career, there were only five other teams in the NHL, which meant that every time he went out on the ice, he was playing against one of the five best hockey players in the world. *********** The most commonly misspelled city names in America: Pittsberg, Tuscon, Cinncinatti and Albaquerque. *********** Maybe somebody call tell me....why the NBA felt the need to create an assistant coaching job for a 25-year-old woman on a team in its new minor league, the National Basketball Development League. Isn't the WNBA the place for that? Or is this supposed to lead to a head coaching job for her in the NBA some day? Actually, the move, no doubt designed to show how enlightened the NBA can be, has all the appearances to me of a potential big-time sex-discrimination or sexual harassment suit somewhere down the line. I mean, c'mon - it's not exactly as if she's well-qualified. We are not talking Pat Summitt or Vivian Stringer here. This woman has had exactly two years' college coaching experience. At Coppin State. *********** I am not making this up, I swear. Police in Stanwood, Washington responded to reports of a naked man wandering around the Stanwood Cinemas, in plain view of moviegoers. He told police that he just felt like being naked, and as he was being ticketed for indecent exposure, was asked by a police officer what he did for a living. "Raise marijuana," he answered, and asked the officer for his help in harvesting his crop. The officer declined, but said he wouldn't mind taking a look at the operation. Led to a shed behind the guy's home on a remote island about 35 miles north of Seattle, police found 80 plants, and listened as the man proudly told them how he managed to grow the weed without dirt, using only lava (volcanic rock) and water. In a written statement, he said, "I grow marijuana for fun and profit, to support myself and my family." And then he helped deputies load the plants and his growing equipment into their vehicles. His wife said she had never been inside his shed. So far as she knew, she told police, that was where he did his artwork and practiced with his yo-yo. *********** "By the way, the 'leaving virgins on the line' phrase has helped our trap tremendously!!! My guys can understand that." Brad Knight, Holstein, Iowa (Just a figure of speech, guys. My literary background getting involved in my coaching. My way of saying that on 3 trap at 2 and 2 trap at 3, we don't want anyone on the playside - tackle, tight end, wingback - to so much as touch any defender on the line of scrimmage.) *********** Lisa Harrison, of the WNBA Phoenix Mercury, got a lot of ink while she was supposedly negotiating with Playboy to have her, uh, "picture" taken. She finally declined to pose, but it doesn't sound as if it was a matter of principle: "they kept upping the money," she said, to what she claimed was six figures, "but they didn't quite get to where I wanted." Once again, I'm reminded of the old story about the guy who asks a woman if she'll go to bed with him for a million dollars. "Sure," she says. "Well, then," he asks, "Will you go to bed with me for five bucks?" "What!?" she says, indignantly. "What do you think I am, a common whore?" "Madam," he replies, "We've already established that. All we're doing now is negotiating."   MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS HELP HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT REAL HEROES - AND HONOR THE PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF OUR REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award.. THE UP-TO-DATE LIST OF BLACK LIONS TEAMS

September 5 - "Never be afraid to lose. The minute you worry about losing you can't play well" Joe Paterno    A LOOK AT OUR LEGACY: "People think I'm the greatest damn coach in the world," said the great Bear Bryant, "but (this coach) taught me everything I know." The Bear coached against him seven times and never beat him. "I never beat him," he said, "but I learned a lot from playing him." He started out at Texas A & M, but transferred to West Point after one year. There, he won 3 consecutive heavyweight boxing championships, pitched on the baseball team for four years, once winning 20 straight games and posting a 4-0 record against the Navy, and started three years in football, playing on the 1914 national championship team; he is still considered by many to be the greatest athlete in West Point history. After serving briefly as an assistant at West Point, he decided he wanted to become a coach, and wrote to a number of schools looking for a job as football coach and ROTC instructor. Two responded, one in the Midwest and one in the South, and he chose the southern college. Although he was originally scheduled to stay there three years, instead he stayed for 25. He somehow managd to balance a military career and a coaching career. He served in both World Wars, and twice had his coaching interrupted by military service, once for two years in the mid-thirties, and then, for five years during World War II. He came out of World War II with the rank of Brigadier General, and was known ever after as "The General." Even now, nearly 40 years after his death, few football people refer to him without using the military title. He has been called the first of the modern coaches. Consider some of the things he intoduced to the game: Pressbox-to-sideline telephones... Low-cut shoes... Lightweight thigh and knee pads... Tear-away jerseys... The balanced line... In-depth scouting reports... The quarterback (He was the first coach to use a quarterback in the sense that it is used today, as the player who handled the ball much of the time and threw most of the passes)... The first to put together a radio network to bring his team's games to people in every corner of a state. Among his former players who went on to be successful coaches themselves were Ray Graves at Florida, Billy Barnes at UCLA, Bowden Wyatt at Wyoming, Arkansas, and Tennessee, Bob Woodruff at Florida, and Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech. He won seven conference titles and coached 22 All-Americans. He was a great proponent of field position football. He would often punt on third down, knowing full well that his defense could stop opponents. He was right - over his entire career, his teams gave up an average of only six points per game. In 106 of the 216 games he coached, his opponents were shut out. He never had a losing season, and didn't have a losing record against any team he had faced more than once. His teams hold the NCAA record for consecutive shutouts (17) and consecutive shutout quarters (71). His 1939 team was the last in NCAA history to go through an entire regular season without giving up a single point. If you believe in betting, consider combinations involving the number six: in one six year period, Bear Bryant's teams scored a grand total of 6 points against the General's wide-tackle six. He didn't exactly sit still on offense, either. He is considered one of the fathers, if not the father, of the balanced-line single wing, and continued to run it long after most schools had switched to the T-formation. His overall record was 173-31-12. His .830 winning percentage is the best of any coach to coach for more than 20 years. *********** "Coach, I just thought you would like to know that my student teacher from last spring (Mike Cecere, DL from Delaware) officially made the final 53 man cut for the New York Jets! He made the NFL! I'm very proud of him. Obviously he is a great player, but even more importantly he is a great person. I wish him all the best with his new job. Sincerely, Mike Lane, Avon Grove, Pennsylvania" ***********Humorist Joe Lavin ( http://joelavin.com) writes about visiting a marketplace during his visit to Beijing: "There's even porn here. In one store hidden away behind some calligraphy sets, we notice small cards with black and white photos of Japanese people having sex. The cards are several years old, and not all that arousing. Frankly, the positions look far more demanding than satisfying. We look at them briefly, though we certainly don't linger. "Throughout the market, there are pictures of famous people who have visited. Over there is a picture of Margaret Thatcher, standing next to a shopkeeper and showing off some pearls. And there's former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Actually, Madeleine's picture is all over the place, leading one to assume that either (a) she's much more popular here than anywhere else or (b) she did a lot more pearl shopping than diplomacy while in China. Madeleine's former boss came here as well. We see several pictures of Bill Clinton from his last trip to Beijing. In one photo, he has an especially wide grin. "We're not sure, but we suspect that it might have been taken in the Japanese porn shop." *********** When you have had one of those "TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT" days, try this. On your way home after work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the section where they keep thermometers. You will need to purchase a rectal thermometer made by "Q-tip". Be very sure that you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes, and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed during your therapy. Change to very comfortable clothing, such as a sweat suit and lie down on your bed. Open the package containing the thermometer and remove the thermometer and carefully place it on the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken. Take the written material that accompanies the thermometer, and as you read it you will notice in small print the statement that every rectal thermometer made by Q-tip is PERSONALLY TESTED. Now... close your eyes and say out loud five times, "I am so-o-o-o glad that I do not work in quality control at the Q-tip Company!" Lou Orlando, Sudbury, Massachusetts  *********** While much of the state of Oregon is very excited about the Oregon Ducks' thrilling win over Wisconsin Saturday, much of it is in a deep funk, after the highly-rated - better make that overrated - Oregon State Beavers had their heads handed to them by Fresno State on Sunday. (Where was Notre Dame when you really needed them? asked a Portland sports columnist, although something tells me Notre Dame would have loved a shot at this bunch.) Evidently a 44-24 butt-whipping by a Fresno team that had done pretty much the same thing to Colorado the week before wasn't enough to convince the Beaver faithful, though - I have actually heard some people on the radio blaming the loss on the officials. The officials! Folks, Dennis Erickson could have been the referee, and the Bulldogs still would have won.   *********** UCLA went into Tuscaloosa and spoiled Dennis Franchione's much-awaited opening game, 20-17. The Bruins were not as flashy as in the past, but get this: NO penalties, and NO turnovers.   *********** Despite the similarity in their colors, Milwaukie High School would not normally be mistaken for Florida State. Milwaukie, a blue-collar suburb of Portland, has fallen on hard times lately: the Mustangs are 1-17 over the last two years.   But sweet are the uses of adversity (That's Shakespeare, an Englishman). Nike, headquartered in nearby Beaverton, Oregon, was stuck with $22,000 worth of Florida State football uniforms, rejected by the Seminoles for some reason, when a Nike rep, who happened to be a graduate of Milwaukie High, offered them to his alma mater free of charge.   Deal! said the Milwaukie AD, gratefully accepting Nike's donation, which included 110 home and 130 away jerseys.   Deciding to go all the way with the look-alike scheme, Milwaukie's first-year coach, Doug Sommers, has had the old maroon helmets (I know, I know, Florida State's red is "garnet", not maroon) painted gold, like the Seminoles'.   "We're going to look pretty sharp," he said. "The kids are very excited." *********** "Lucky me, I was able to see two great football games this weekend. "On Friday evening I covered the Spring High vs Rutherford High of Panama City, Fla. game in the Astrodome. Rutherford won, or should I say survived, 27-25. The Rams (RHS) scored to make it 27-19 with about 5:00 to play but the Lions (Spring) drove 82 yarrds to score a TD with 39 ticks left then missed the two-point conversion. Natcherly, Spring went for the onside kick. The ball was kicked whereupon it rolled, popped up high into the air over the heads of the Rutherford kids' heads, through their hands, into a pile and squirted free on the backside of the stack where a Spring High kid landed on it. Alas, penalty, illegal proceedure on Spring. "Now, Rutherford is considered a powerhouse program in the Sunshine State. The Rams won something like 90 games in the 1990s and have a state title to boot, but they barely outlasted Spring who isn't even considered a power in the Houston area. Even the Lions' Coach observed that, "... here they'd be -- like we are -- an average football team." "Two great players in that game, coach: Adam Karas, Spring QB and Jean Bradshaw, HB Ruthford. Remember those names. "We visited my Mother-In-Law in San Augustine, TX this weekend and I took my nephew to Nacogadoches to see the Stephen F. Austin State vs. Portland State game (...hey, Luke, you ever heard of Neil Lomax and Mouse Davis?....). Portland State won 16-13 but not before SFA had pushed inside their 10-yard-line with less than 10 seconds to play. Why Mike Santiago (SFA's head coach) didn't kick the field goal when he was at the 11 with 16 seconds to go is beyond me. "I actually skipped the Texas-New Mexico Aggies game on TV to see the SFA game. I understand the Horns plan to run the ball this season. Best, Whit Snyder, Baytown, Texas" *********** "... just got back from the emergency room with my son--a few stitches from playing "tackle" with his grandpa! He tackled their coffee table well! He is 2 and amazes me each day that he doesn't get some scrape or bump, etc. Boy is there a major difference between boys and girls! I think it would take major work to feminize that boy, but with our educational system who knows! He proves to me each day that boys were meant to play football! Oh well, I don't want to get started on that one. Saw a commercial put out by the SEC today during a game, the gist of it--"don't be upset when you lose, it's just a game." My reply to that one is B.S. People who think that have never really competed." Paul Maier, Mount Vernon, Indiana (Hey- I wonder if the SEC thinks it has a chance selling that "it's just a game" bit to the folks in Knoxville or Baton Rouge or Tuscaloosa.) *********** Good morning Hugh, Just a brief note - we opened the season with a 42-8 win over Traip Academy. However we lost our starting B-Back with a twisted knee - out indefinitely. He had gained 64 yards on 4 carries before he went down halfway through the second period. He also is a staring inside strong side backer - his loss will really hurt. We also lost our starting A-Back for half the game and all the next one - tossed out for unsportsmanlike conduct early in the second half after already being warned once. I was embarrassed and ashamed that a young man I coached would get tossed especially after the conversation we had during the half-time. Although a fine player and he will be missed - his punishment was swift and just. One more 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty and he will gone for the season at that point.  Suddenly a season that looked very bright will now be a challenge. In a small school losing your top two players really, really hurts. Read your page about everyday and will always be thankful for your help and guidance with the DW. It has kept me young and in education. Jack Tourtillotte, Boothbay Harbor, Maine *********** Butch Davis just doesn't know when to shut up. Last year, he told an out-and-out lie to his kids at Miami, telling them emphatically that he wasn't going anywhere, just before he up and left them for the Cleveland Browns. Then, in Thursday's USA Today, in talking about how much tougher it is coaching in the NFL than in college, he quoted another noted bigmouth, Buddy Ryan, who once said, "There aren't any East Carolinas in the NFL." And a damn good thing for Coach Davis that there aren't. Don't know why he picked on the Pirates, but the last time he played them was September 25, 1999. The whole eastern part of the state of North Carolina was hurtin' - they'd just been hit with disastrous floods, and the game had to be moved to N.C. State's stadium, but the Pirates rallied and beat the Hurricanes, 27-23. As Casey Stengel once said, you could look it up. *********** The NFL has more to worry about than replacement officials. It's got a product that sucks but it won't admit it, and now it's confronted with the thing every businessperson fears - fewer and fewer people are interested in its product.  The elephant in the NFL's living room - the one that it doesn't want to talk about - is its declining TV ratings. Since its new TV contract was signed in 1998, the NFL's ratings are down 1% on Fox, 9.5% on CBS, and 15% (ARE YOU LISTENING, YOU NITWITS WHO HIRED DENNIS MILLER?) on ABC. The networks are not happy. Combined, they are paying $2.25 billion a year for the rights to televise NFL games, and for that money they expected better numbers. Better numbers mean they can charge more for the commercial time they have to sell, and better numbers mean they can try to tease more football viewers into sticking around and watching the dreck that follows the game ("Coming up next - On '60 Minutes' - Hillary Clinton tells Mike Wallace that she grew up in Chicago, but she's always secretly rooted for the Jets..."). As of Wednesday, only 70 per cent of all available commercial spots for this season had been sold; at the same time last year, it was 90 per cent. To try to sell the commercial time, 30-second spots on CBS and Fox are being offered at discount rates of 5% to 15% less than last season; spots on "Monday Night Football" are being offered to advertisers for 10 to 20 % lower than last year. (ARE YOU LISTENING, YOU NITWITS WHO HIRED DENNIS MILLER?) Rates are likely to go lower still. It may be true that the girls get prettier at closing time, but it's definitely true that the price of an unsold commercial spot can go amazingly low just before broadcast time, because once the show goes on the air, the chance to sell that spot is lost forever. Here's the biggest sign that the overblown, overhyped NFL has been double-teamed by waning viewer interest and a downsizing economy: one media buyer estimates that only about half of all the spots in January's Super Bowl have been sold so far; at this point last year, it was 70 per cent. Two years ago, it was 95 per cent. *********** Members of the business community, academics, risk analysts and the general public in countries around the world were asked by Transparency International, a German organization dedicated to exposing corruption in government, to score their perceptions of corruption in their own societies. Grades were awarded, from zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly clean). For the second year in a row, Finland was rated the least corrupt country in the world. In the Corruption Perceptions Index, a ranking of 91 worldwide contries published in June, Finland came out on top with 9.9 points out of a possible 10. All of the other Nordic countries ranked high also, with Denmark in second place with 9.5 points, Iceland fourth with 9.2, the same as Singapore, and Sweden in sixth with 9.0. Among Nordic countries, only Norway, in tenth place with 8.6, scored lower than 9.0 Canada was ranked 7th, with a score of 8.9, and Australia was 11th, with 8.5. The USA was tied for 16th with Israel, with a score of 7.6, but we shouldn't take it too hard. In all fairness, the rankings were compiled while leading Democratic party donors were asleep in the Lincoln Bedroom, and The Man From Hope sat behind his desk with his drawers down around his ankles. *********** The championship of Finnish football (that's Amerikkalainen Jalkapallo - American football, not soccer) was decided Saturday in Helsinki when the the Seinäjoki ("SANE-a-yoke-ee") Crocodiles upset the Helsinki Roosters, 15-13. The Roosters are very good - have been for years - and consistently rank among Europe's best. They cruised through the regular season - 48-21 was their closest game - and thumped their semi-final playoff opponent, 45-0. They hadn't lost to another Finnish team in years. True, the Crocodiles had lost only once in the regular season themselves, but that loss was to the Roosters, who whipped them, 35-7. The Crocodiles' win is huge for Finnish football, because it marks the first time since they started playing the game in 1980 that a team from the countryside - from other than the Helsinki metro area - has won the title. Seinäjoki, a town of about 35,000, is some five hours northwest of Helsinki. The championship game, called the Maple Bowl in honor of the trophy donated years ago by the Canadian ambassador, is played in Helsinki regardless of who the participants are, and is the high point of the Finnish football season. It is the one game sure to be well-attended, and undoubtedly the Crocodiles' upset was a memorable moment in Finnish sport. And then, after all the excitement of the championship game had died down and everyone had gone home to celebrate, they played one more game - to decide third and fourth place - the next day. Now, was that savvy marketing or what? *********** I got a certain satisfaction out of watching BC whip up on West Virginia Saturday. Nothing against the Mountaineers, but let the new coach bleed a little. After all that Don Nehlen did in building that program up from nothing, the new genius retained exactly one coach from the Nehlen staff. *********** Anna Aoki,a friend of the family who started running competively on a fourth grade track team coached by my daughter, Cathy, has just been named the state of Washington's NCAA Woman of the Year. The award is given for excellence in athletics, academics and community leadership. Anna is a wonderful young woman from a great family, and has managed to combine the hard work required of a national-class runner with the study required of a top student. In her four years at the University of Washington, she twice won the Pac-10 championship in the 10,000 meters, and was a three-time All-American. She led the Huskies' cross-country team to the three highest NCAA finishes in its history, and as a student has three times earned Pac-10 All-Academic team honors. MAKE SURE A PLAYER ON YOUR TEAM CAN EARN THE BLACK LION AWARD! "Major Holleder overflew the area (under attack) and saw a whole lot of Viet Cong and many American soldiers, most wounded, trying to make their way our of the ambush area. He landed and headed straight into the jungle, gathering a few soldiers to help him go get the wounded. A sniper's shot killed him before he could get very far. He was a risk-taker who put the common good ahead of himself, whether it was giving up a position in which he had excelled or putting himself in harm's way in an attempt to save the lives of his men. My contact with Major Holleder was very brief and occured just before he was killed, but I have never forgotten him and the sacrifice he made. On a day when acts of heroism were the rule, rather than the exception, his stood out." Michael Robert Patterson MORE ABOUT DON HOLLEDER AND THE TYPE OF MAN HE WAS THE UP-TO-DATE LIST OF BLACK LION TEAMS BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR OUR VETERANS AND KEEP OUR COUNTRY'S SPIRIT ALIVE! BLACK LION TEAMS HONOR THE PLAYER ON THEIR TEAM WHO MOST REPRESENTS THE VALUES OF AMERICA'S REAL HEROES (ALL TEAMS, FROM THE YOUTH LEVEL ON UP, ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE)   CLICK To find out more about the Black Lion Award