Sports fans have heard the anthem of college basketball since its debut in 1987 when Indiana beat Syracuse for the title...here is a little information about the famous song...the lyrics were written by David Barrett of Ann Arbor, Michigan...
"Writing this song changed my life. Strange how that is so. I mean; the writing came so effortlessly. I knew immediately after that I had something special on my hands. In fact I got up from the piano and went immediately to the phone and called a friend and said... "Glen I just wrote a great song." It was almost like... "where did this come from?" In any case, the song opened all sorts of doors for me in a professional sense. But on a personal note, it also showed me to write about what mattered to me. I mean, I just wrote it because I thought it was worth writing. I learned to trust that. For years I had been listening to what others thought was valid. It was this song that made it clear to me that my job was to write about what I know, and tell the truth about that... Simple."
Barrett wrote the song after seeing Larry Bird star for Indiana State in the 1979 NCAA tournament...CBS originally planned to debut the song after Super Bowl XXI...however, the game ran later and cut into the primetime show that was to be on after the big game...so CBS scrapped it... CBS then asked Barrett for use of the song after the 1987 NCAA championship game...Barrett had to change the opening lyrics from "The ball is kicked," to "The ball is tipped."...
CBS Sports have screwed around with various versions of the song...they have had Teddy Pendergrass then Luther Vandross sing it...then they tampered with the melody and added a bunch of graphic bullshit...to me, the best version is the original from 1987 when Barrett provided the vocals...
One of the best parts of the CBS telecast was often overshadowed by One Shining Moment...before the One Shining Moment montage, CBS would show a live shot of the winning team cutting down the nets as the credits rolled across the television and a musical piece played on the piano...that segment was great to watch because the viewer got to see the raw emotion of the event - from the players to the cheerleaders to the parents in the stands....also, no matter who was part of the team, the star, bench warmer, coach, manager, etc. each would take the walk up the ladder and cut a piece of the nets...think about it, every little kid dreams of cutting down the nets...the clip below is from the 1987 title game between Indiana and Syracuse...watch for the Indiana players and fans celebrating as the Syracuse players sit dejected on the bench...that is pure raw emotion...
This 2:00 piece is followed by the original and first One Shining Moment from 1987...I thought these snippets were great, so look for them: 1:58 - the Phantom Friar from Providence 3:01 - Jim Boeheim getting surprised with a Gatorade bath 3:15 - A young Rick Pitino waiting with open arms as one of his Providence players comes running for a hug - that player is Billy Donovan 3:17 - look for the UNLV team manager who high steps it - he has a tie and long pants 3:55 - the Syracuse cheerleader who gives that nervous look - check out her hair
During this time of year I think about two greats who are no longer with us - Al McGuire and Jim Valvano...I will be doing a piece on McGuire later...
But in one of the greatest feature articles ever, Sports Illustrated's Gary Smith writes a perfect piece about former N.C. State basketball coach Jim Valvano who was dying of cancer... "He entered the Arena with his wife on his arm and a container of holy water from Lourdes in his black leather bag. His back and hips and knees ached. That was the disease, they told him. His ears rang and his stomach turned and his hands and feet were dead. That, they said, was the cure. Each step he took brought a rattle from his bag. Twenty-four tablets of Advil were usually enough to get him through the day." ...
Below is a 9:48 clip of Jimmy V when he spoke at old Reynolds Coliseum at the 10 year anniversary of the title team...Jimmy V knew he was dying...at the 9:20 mark you will not have a dry eye as he concludes his speech by doing the Wolfpack fight song...
Here is a classic article by Tom Junod in the April 27, 1992 edition of Sports Illustrated... Junod's feature was on the one-and-only Mel Kiper Jr..."Then into the middle of this scene strides a man who talks to everybody, except the groupies, or whom everybody talks to. As he walks through the lobby, you can hear the drumbeat of voices in his wake: "Hey Mel"..."Hey Mel"..."Hey Mel"..."Hey Mel." Everybody knows him, but who is he, and what does he do? He's not a player, that's for sure; he's average-sized, with thick legs and a slight paunch. He's not a coach, either; he looks indoorsy instead of outdoorsy, with a haircut that rises straight off his forehead and would fit just right on a fellow selling odd-lot carpets on late-night TV. He's not a scout, because he wears a tie, and he's not an agent, because the tie isn't pure silk—and besides, he's too nice a guy—and he's not a reporter, because on occasion he's followed by the autograph hounds. He's a star of some sort, but what role does he play?" ...
Stiles Points is starting a new feature by highlighting some of the great moments and athletes in sports by linking to the Sports Illustrated vault...today's feature is the Michigan Fab Five...the article appeared in the November 25, 1991 issue written by Alexander Wolff..."That such obsessive behavior isn't a prerequisite for successful recruiting will become evident to Michigan fans on Dec. 2 when Fisher guides the Wolverines' freshmen class of Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson into its season opener against Detroit." ...
Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe writes about the Patriots trade of Matt Cassel... "Trading Cassel puts it to rest. The Patriots and Brady obviously think he can pick up where he left off when he was the league's Most Valuable Player, throwing 50 touchdown passes, in 2007. Belichick simply would not trade Cassel if he had any doubts about Brady's readiness for September." ...
Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star writes that the Matt Cassel trade looks good on paper for the Chiefs... "We’ve seen this before. Fresh off a Super Bowl victory in 1999, Dick Vermeil used a high draft pick to acquire the QB he loved in St. Louis (Trent Green), spoke confidently about procuring players who “fit the profile,” blasted Larry Johnson for wearing a diaper and wooed the local media with dinner, wine and a spirit of love. You see the similarities?" ...
Eric Prisbell and Steve Yanda of the Washington Post writes how Under Armour may be violating NCAA recruiting policies when dealing with potential Maryland recruits... "The most elite high school basketball players are often recruited by shoe companies, but rarely is a company also a major benefactor of a university pursuing the same player. Under Armour founder and chief executive Kevin Plank is a former Maryland football player and member of the school's Board of Trustees. That means the NCAA considers him a "representative of the institution's athletics interests," commonly known as a booster. Under Armour Inc. is acknowledged by Maryland as a member of its "Legends" benefactor group, meaning it has donated more than $1 million to the school." ...
This past week the Chicago Bulls family lost Norm Van Lier and Johnny "Red" Kerr...
Kerr, who died on February 26th of prostate cancer, was honored by the Bulls just weeks earlier on February 10th...surprisingly Kerr is not in the NBA Hall of Fame...those who do not remember Kerr's playing days may best know him as part of Michael Jordan's pre-game ritual when Jordan would get talc powder and dust it in Kerr's face before each game...
The following is an excerpt from the USA Today...
The Bulls unveiled a statue of Kerr at the United Center during an emotional ceremony earlier this month that included taped messages from President Barack Obama and commissioner David Stern and speeches from Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan.
Pippen said Kerr "makes Chicago Bulls basketball what it is," while Jordan called him "an inspiration to me as a basketball player and as a person."
A Chicago native who served as the team's first head coach and received NBA Coach of the Year honors for leading the Bulls to the playoffs in the inaugural 1966-67 season, Kerr also received a photo collage from Bulls GM John Paxson and the Basketball Hall of Fame's John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from Jerry Colangelo during the ceremony.
"I want to thank everybody here in the audience who has seen the Bulls play not because of Red Kerr but because of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and all the other people in the organization," said a choked up Kerr.
Kerr played 12 seasons (1954-1966) in the NBA for the Syracuse Nationals, Philadelphia 76ers and the Baltimore Bullets. From 1954 to 1965, the three-time NBA All-Star appeared in a then-NBA record 844 consecutive games.
Below is an 8:00 clip from the February 10th ceremony...
