The passing of John Wooden was never expected. It always seemed like he would forever be sitting along the railing in the lower bowl at Pauley Pavilion. In his 99 years on this planet, he spent 63 of them mentoring at UCLA. He had outlived several of his former players and outlasted several of the coaches who followed him. His historical numbers and legacy is staggering not just in depth but in width. His impact not only changed UCLA, it changed everything.
When Wooden arrived at UCLA in 1948, the University of Southern California Trojans had already won four national titles in football securing their legacy in this star struck city of the angels. The third generation of USC myopians were already attending classes and singing that annoying fight song. The USC basketball team had won four conference titles and been to a Final Four. USC had already won 18 national championships in men’s athletics before Wooden coached his first game for the Bruins. UCLA had not won any national championships in any sports and were lightly regarded in all sports. The UCLA Basketball team had not finished over .500 in two decades.
Flash forward to the late 60’s, this young Bruin fan was starting to embrace the powder blue and gold but LA was a scary place for all Bruin Fans. USC had practically been added to the articles of incorporation for the city and UCLA was still the plucky public school across town. Trojan Fan had two more generations of in breeding brought on by their success in football, track and baseball. Legendary coach John McKay won football national championships in 1962 and 1967. In 1965, current USC AD Mike Garrett was winning the Heisman trophy followed by the OJ zigzagging his way to another Heisman in 1968.
It took John Wooden seventeen years of coaching at UCLA to win his first title. Those first seventeen teams only made the NCAA tournament four times. Los Angeles media was respectful of UCLA and their puritanical coach but no one knew what was about to be unleashed over the next ten years.
In 1967, Wooden’s dynasty was in its infancy and a perceived anomaly. Wooden was a tea totaling Midwestern bumpkin who was not endeared to the Los Angeles faithful or the LA Times. His legendary sound bites were perceived as corny in this tumultuous era of Viet Nam, Nixon and the Beatles. John McKay was the maverick across town that was the legend not Wooden. Bragging rights still were owned by the school in the hood. The braggers were loud and proud in their cardinal and gold.
In the next nine years John Wooden re-wrote the definition of brilliance. He did it with such subtle humility that the loud crowd from across town hardly knew what had transpired. He did not brag or gloat like McKay and his faithful legions. The LA Times did not know what to make of this no nonsense, intensely private coach who shunned the spotlight and recognition. This was LA! Who does that?
During this historic period, his teams were a combined 230-12. The Bruins lost only one home game. The Bruin’s 88 game winning streak will never be broken. The UCONN Women are dominating but chick hoops are not the same thing. The streak ended with four of the twelve losses coming in 1974. That year a petulant Bill Walton decided that the bong was more important than the teachings of the Wizard. UCLA won eight titles in those nine years. It is and will always be the greatest stretch of coaching brilliance that this planet has witnessed.
Today, coaches negotiate more lucrative contracts for getting to the Sweet 16 or a single Final Four by winning three or five consecutive tournament games. Mike Krzyzewski won 12 tournament games in a row and was a dynasty. Billy Donovan won 12 in a row and he was a genius. From 1967-1974, the UCLA Bruins won 38 tournament games in a row. Wrap your head around that for a minute when you think about your next March Madness pool. Their only tournament loss in Wooden’s last nine years was to David Thompson and North Carolina State in double overtime in the 1974. He coached a lesser team to the 1975 title and he retired.
Most of the accolades and the blessings came much later when the LA Times and others had time to reflect on how historic his results were. His legacy locally to the media grew during the 35 years after he retired not the 47 years that he coached with his simple conviction of how the game should be played. He never coached for the records or to be revered. He coached because he believed in the journey not the results. His teams always found their way because they were coached how to play. The wins were a byproduct not an expectation. He understood that is how life is best lived.
In 1948, USC owned this town and had 18 national championships on their resume. UCLA had none and only the belief and passion of a small town coach and his pyramid of success. In 2010, UCLA has 105 national championships to USC’s 94. It is not about the championships, it is about the conviction and passion of one simple man who forever changed my life, UCLA and the history of this city. The nation noticed along the way but John and me, we lived it. John Wooden, god speed your journey to your beloved Nell! God bless your passion for the school we both love.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Biblical Relevance
It is hard to find the relevance of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and the hated Celtics while BP is turning the Louisiana bayou into a parking lot for the next millennium. This biblical environmental disaster shows no signs of abating. It is surprising that there was so little disaster planning before drilling five miles into the sea a hole the size of a dinner plate to uncork ancient, pressurized toxins that will kill everything for a lifetime if anything goes wrong? We cannot fault BP on their response since the disaster but there did not seem to any preparation for a disaster in this high risk endeavor. New Orleans is going to need to win another Super Bowl soon!
The NBA Playoffs when the Lakers are playing the Celtics is always relevant. There is history that was written long ago that will be relived over the next few weeks. The origins are from our youth but recent history is the litmus test. It will be a marathon defined 24 seconds at a time. The Yard is a Laker Honk that has been defined irrationally over a lifetime. Yard reporting is not unbiased. We only strive for relevance. Relevance is more of a guideline than a strict policy. Bias is a policy.
The Celtics paced themselves into the playoffs peaking at the right time for a deep playoff run after a largely irrelevant regular season. The Celtics lost as many home games as the Lakers lost anywhere. Boston lost by 29 at home to the Cavaliers before vanquishing them. They lost two in row to Orlando before squashing them. The Celtics are who we fear they are. NBA games in June are for the chosen and the Lakers are this year.
The Celtics are first team all sneer. Ray Allen creaks out that half smile past the chip on his shoulder all game. Rajan Rondo fronts the defense with a chin that Jay Leno is jealous of. Rahseed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins are technical fouls on demand. Paul Pierce is never happy about any call or the 36 random hairs growing on his face. The Celtics can win any game as well as lose it. Boston will be playing with the fear of “we will never pass this way again” mortality. Kobe feels that way also but it does not always appear that he has a quorum among the playing eight that it takes to win a championship.
The Lakers stumbled into the playoffs with enough disinterest to fill a high school English class in late May. They were giving up the leads, they lost to lesser teams, at home and on the road. Andrew Bynum was injured. Ron Artest was consistently missing unnecessary 3 pointers. Kobe brooded and Phil reminisced.
Three weeks later, the Lakers are giving up leads to lesser teams. Andrew Bynum is injured. Ron Artest is taking misguided treys and Kobe is brooding. The Lakers have lost on the road but they have not lost at home. Phil has had the best sound bites through it all.
The Lakers will have home court and they will need it to bring Kobe his 5th Championship. Ron Artest has done a number on Paul Pierce this season and that will be the difference. Artest brings an unpredictable psyche of defensive pressure that is a subtle drain on Pierce one possession at a time. The Celts play better when Paul gets his. He will not this time and he will play frustrated. Kobe will be in Rondo’s head from the opening tip. Derek Fisher trying to guard Ray Allen is a mismatch but Fisher has been brilliant in the playoffs. Paul Gasol is a different player than when Kendrick Perkins pushed him around two years ago and Bynum did not play. Rasheed nor the rest of the bench is an upgrade over the players that that were on that championship team.
The Celtics bragged at the 2008 ESPY’s at Staples Center about how awesome they were by winning that championship. Bill Russell has been bragging on ESPN all week about how awesome they were. Kobe has been seething for two years to get to this moment. He wants the stage, the title and his place in history.
Celtic Fan, 1984 and 2008 only come once in your lifetimes. The Celtics upset Laker Showtime in 1984 with Gerald Henderson and Dennis Johnson earning their shamrocks along the way. In 1985 and 1987, Showtime closed out the Celtics in six games and finally celebrated on the parquet in 1985. In 1987, a tearful Larry Bird conceded that Magic Johnson was the greatest player he had ever seen. The Celts never made the finals again until 2008. In 2010, none of these greenies will concede who Kobe has become but he will win his fifth championship while the Celtics go into another 20 year tour of basketball irrelevance. Son, enjoy the past, the future is purple and gold.
Beyond the arc: We support the NFL’s choice and we look forward to seeing all of those Hollywood Celebrities shilling their new series while shivering in their seats. We would love to see the Rolling Stones shaking more than Keith Richards does on Monday mornings. We will be thrilled to coalesce into our sofa, drinking $1 beers watching corporate America shell out $1000 a seat for a frigid football game. And if the economy is still in the tank in 2014, it is going to take more than a Super Bowl to save NYC.
Is it just us or does Floyd Landis get creepier by the day? He spends millions defending himself against doping charges after winning the Tour de France in 2006. His defense is surreal including a last minute blackmail attempt of Greg LeMond threatening to expose that he was sexually abused as a child. He writes a book proclaiming his innocence. Then after fighting for nearly four years, he admits he did dope and everyone else did including Lance Armstrong! Floyd Landis is a whack! Is it just us or does it seem odd that nearly everyone that one testicle Lance beat for seven straight years in the Tour has been accused or indicted for using performance enhancing drugs? Lance was “clean” and he went on the beat all of the dirty guys for seven straight years?! Guys that were younger than him and using EPO, and HGH and blood transfusions and Lance did none of that and beat them all? Wow, now that’s incredible!
Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. ~Plato
The NBA Playoffs when the Lakers are playing the Celtics is always relevant. There is history that was written long ago that will be relived over the next few weeks. The origins are from our youth but recent history is the litmus test. It will be a marathon defined 24 seconds at a time. The Yard is a Laker Honk that has been defined irrationally over a lifetime. Yard reporting is not unbiased. We only strive for relevance. Relevance is more of a guideline than a strict policy. Bias is a policy.
The Celtics paced themselves into the playoffs peaking at the right time for a deep playoff run after a largely irrelevant regular season. The Celtics lost as many home games as the Lakers lost anywhere. Boston lost by 29 at home to the Cavaliers before vanquishing them. They lost two in row to Orlando before squashing them. The Celtics are who we fear they are. NBA games in June are for the chosen and the Lakers are this year.
The Celtics are first team all sneer. Ray Allen creaks out that half smile past the chip on his shoulder all game. Rajan Rondo fronts the defense with a chin that Jay Leno is jealous of. Rahseed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins are technical fouls on demand. Paul Pierce is never happy about any call or the 36 random hairs growing on his face. The Celtics can win any game as well as lose it. Boston will be playing with the fear of “we will never pass this way again” mortality. Kobe feels that way also but it does not always appear that he has a quorum among the playing eight that it takes to win a championship.
The Lakers stumbled into the playoffs with enough disinterest to fill a high school English class in late May. They were giving up the leads, they lost to lesser teams, at home and on the road. Andrew Bynum was injured. Ron Artest was consistently missing unnecessary 3 pointers. Kobe brooded and Phil reminisced.
Three weeks later, the Lakers are giving up leads to lesser teams. Andrew Bynum is injured. Ron Artest is taking misguided treys and Kobe is brooding. The Lakers have lost on the road but they have not lost at home. Phil has had the best sound bites through it all.
The Lakers will have home court and they will need it to bring Kobe his 5th Championship. Ron Artest has done a number on Paul Pierce this season and that will be the difference. Artest brings an unpredictable psyche of defensive pressure that is a subtle drain on Pierce one possession at a time. The Celts play better when Paul gets his. He will not this time and he will play frustrated. Kobe will be in Rondo’s head from the opening tip. Derek Fisher trying to guard Ray Allen is a mismatch but Fisher has been brilliant in the playoffs. Paul Gasol is a different player than when Kendrick Perkins pushed him around two years ago and Bynum did not play. Rasheed nor the rest of the bench is an upgrade over the players that that were on that championship team.
The Celtics bragged at the 2008 ESPY’s at Staples Center about how awesome they were by winning that championship. Bill Russell has been bragging on ESPN all week about how awesome they were. Kobe has been seething for two years to get to this moment. He wants the stage, the title and his place in history.
Celtic Fan, 1984 and 2008 only come once in your lifetimes. The Celtics upset Laker Showtime in 1984 with Gerald Henderson and Dennis Johnson earning their shamrocks along the way. In 1985 and 1987, Showtime closed out the Celtics in six games and finally celebrated on the parquet in 1985. In 1987, a tearful Larry Bird conceded that Magic Johnson was the greatest player he had ever seen. The Celts never made the finals again until 2008. In 2010, none of these greenies will concede who Kobe has become but he will win his fifth championship while the Celtics go into another 20 year tour of basketball irrelevance. Son, enjoy the past, the future is purple and gold.
Beyond the arc: We support the NFL’s choice and we look forward to seeing all of those Hollywood Celebrities shilling their new series while shivering in their seats. We would love to see the Rolling Stones shaking more than Keith Richards does on Monday mornings. We will be thrilled to coalesce into our sofa, drinking $1 beers watching corporate America shell out $1000 a seat for a frigid football game. And if the economy is still in the tank in 2014, it is going to take more than a Super Bowl to save NYC.
Is it just us or does Floyd Landis get creepier by the day? He spends millions defending himself against doping charges after winning the Tour de France in 2006. His defense is surreal including a last minute blackmail attempt of Greg LeMond threatening to expose that he was sexually abused as a child. He writes a book proclaiming his innocence. Then after fighting for nearly four years, he admits he did dope and everyone else did including Lance Armstrong! Floyd Landis is a whack! Is it just us or does it seem odd that nearly everyone that one testicle Lance beat for seven straight years in the Tour has been accused or indicted for using performance enhancing drugs? Lance was “clean” and he went on the beat all of the dirty guys for seven straight years?! Guys that were younger than him and using EPO, and HGH and blood transfusions and Lance did none of that and beat them all? Wow, now that’s incredible!
Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. ~Plato
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The Harvest of the Winter Zen
The immigration legislation in Arizona has definitely sparked debate on both sides of the border. Mexico apparently is going to crack down on American illegal aliens in Mexico. We are waiting for the CNN footage from the Home Depot in Guadalajara with gringos looking for work scrambling away from Mexican immigration. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon went the extra mile to hear the Latin outrage and agreed to meet with Shakira at his office this week. We are not certain if Mrs. Gordon was invited to the luncheon but it certainly got her attention for many reasons beyond immigration reform.
When OKC Thunder Coach Scott Brooks chuckled about the 21 point beat down that his team put on the Lakers last Sunday, he caught Laker coach Phil Jackson’s attention. There are several members of the Buss family trying to figure out how to reach Phil. Scott Brooks DJ’ed a five second sound bite last Sunday at the press podium that sent Phil into orbit. Brooks seems genuine and a solid coach. His young team embarrassed the defending champion Lakers on that Sunday. OKC has not had too many big time sports press conferences since Barry Sanders graduated OK State in 1988. Brooks was as surprised as anyone that his team was leading the Lake Show by 29 last Saturday night and confidently chuckled at the notion. That was his last laugh of the series.
Waking the Phil is never easy or recommended. Phil spends the regular season in a bong hit elucidated Birkenstock haze. He calls less timeouts in a week than Ben Howland calls in a half during the regular season. He lets a player sit for two weeks and then they play 20 minutes in three straight games. His strategies are three dimensional while coaching a one dimensional player. He is the bow legged unappreciated genius who has never coached a team without a hall of famer in the starting line-up. The Hall of Famers he has coached had never won a championship before he coached them. The regular season is his Petri dish for the playoffs. He is an NBA alchemist who has discovered more championship gold than any other coach in history. The Yard has never understood his methods. Life is about results.
Josh Powell, Luke Walton and Shannon Brown scored tonight in harvested brilliance divined from the beakers of Phil’s seasonal experiment. Phil coaches for situations not seasons. The Lakers play in April with the Zen engrained since last November. The defending champions showed up for the first time Tuesday night. The stormed the Thunder last night to clinch the first round. It was the execution of a plan not the orchestration of play that led to the win tonight and the second round. Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks are still trying to figure out how to play into May. Phil coaches to play in June.
The NFL is the best marketed sporting enterprise in the world. With major league baseball just beginning and the NBA and the NHL becoming relevant, the NFL Draft buried all of them in the ratings during prime time. The other sports should have requested out of season respect from the NFL to allow them to garner a few ratings. Yankees versus Angels in an early season match up on Fox 2.3 million viewers. Cavaliers versus Bulls in the heartland on Sunday afternoon had 4.6 million watching. Nascar had 4.9 million watching whatever the Aaron’s 499 is. NFL draft was on several outlets including NFL.com. Every channel carrying the freaking draft beat everyone in their time slot. 45.4 million people watched the draft in prime time. The Yard would make fun of how stupid that is but we watched the draft also.
The best thing about the NFL Draft being held is Mel Kiper Jr. being shelved for another eleven months. We have no idea what he does or where he stores his hair in the off season but we are glad he and his mock drafts are silenced until after next year’s Super Bowl. He touted Jimmy Clausen all through February and March with him being picked as early as 4th but definitely in the first round. Jimmy the Edge was drafted 48th. Picking the right draft picks before the draft is not easy and really not that interesting. Mel Kiper being off ESPN for ten months, priceless.
"In basketball -- as in life -- true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way." Phil Jackson
When OKC Thunder Coach Scott Brooks chuckled about the 21 point beat down that his team put on the Lakers last Sunday, he caught Laker coach Phil Jackson’s attention. There are several members of the Buss family trying to figure out how to reach Phil. Scott Brooks DJ’ed a five second sound bite last Sunday at the press podium that sent Phil into orbit. Brooks seems genuine and a solid coach. His young team embarrassed the defending champion Lakers on that Sunday. OKC has not had too many big time sports press conferences since Barry Sanders graduated OK State in 1988. Brooks was as surprised as anyone that his team was leading the Lake Show by 29 last Saturday night and confidently chuckled at the notion. That was his last laugh of the series.
Waking the Phil is never easy or recommended. Phil spends the regular season in a bong hit elucidated Birkenstock haze. He calls less timeouts in a week than Ben Howland calls in a half during the regular season. He lets a player sit for two weeks and then they play 20 minutes in three straight games. His strategies are three dimensional while coaching a one dimensional player. He is the bow legged unappreciated genius who has never coached a team without a hall of famer in the starting line-up. The Hall of Famers he has coached had never won a championship before he coached them. The regular season is his Petri dish for the playoffs. He is an NBA alchemist who has discovered more championship gold than any other coach in history. The Yard has never understood his methods. Life is about results.
Josh Powell, Luke Walton and Shannon Brown scored tonight in harvested brilliance divined from the beakers of Phil’s seasonal experiment. Phil coaches for situations not seasons. The Lakers play in April with the Zen engrained since last November. The defending champions showed up for the first time Tuesday night. The stormed the Thunder last night to clinch the first round. It was the execution of a plan not the orchestration of play that led to the win tonight and the second round. Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks are still trying to figure out how to play into May. Phil coaches to play in June.
The NFL is the best marketed sporting enterprise in the world. With major league baseball just beginning and the NBA and the NHL becoming relevant, the NFL Draft buried all of them in the ratings during prime time. The other sports should have requested out of season respect from the NFL to allow them to garner a few ratings. Yankees versus Angels in an early season match up on Fox 2.3 million viewers. Cavaliers versus Bulls in the heartland on Sunday afternoon had 4.6 million watching. Nascar had 4.9 million watching whatever the Aaron’s 499 is. NFL draft was on several outlets including NFL.com. Every channel carrying the freaking draft beat everyone in their time slot. 45.4 million people watched the draft in prime time. The Yard would make fun of how stupid that is but we watched the draft also.
The best thing about the NFL Draft being held is Mel Kiper Jr. being shelved for another eleven months. We have no idea what he does or where he stores his hair in the off season but we are glad he and his mock drafts are silenced until after next year’s Super Bowl. He touted Jimmy Clausen all through February and March with him being picked as early as 4th but definitely in the first round. Jimmy the Edge was drafted 48th. Picking the right draft picks before the draft is not easy and really not that interesting. Mel Kiper being off ESPN for ten months, priceless.
"In basketball -- as in life -- true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way." Phil Jackson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
