Mark Price may have been one of the most consistent free throw shooters, but John Branch of The New York Times wrote an interesting article about how free throw shooting percentages as a whole have not increased over the last 50 years... "Basketball in the United States has changed in myriad ways over the decades, from flat-footed set shots to dunks, from crotch-hugging uniforms to baggy knee-length shorts, from the dominance of American players to the recent infusion of international stars. But one thing has remained remarkably constant: the rate at which players make free throws." ...
Last week Stiles Points remembered the life of Jimmy Valvano...this week, we look back at former Marquette basketball coach and college basketball analyst Al McGuire...McGuire was a different bird...he was eccentric...but he was "real"...he was streetsmart fella from New York City who got his first break at little Belmont Abbey College...
Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly wrote this wonderful piece about McGuire just before he died...this appeared in the September 18, 2000 edition of Sports Illustrated...."Al McGuire never liked funerals. "Why wait until the guy's dead?" he'd ask. "Buy him a drink while he's alive!" So with McGuire lying in a hospice outside Milwaukee—leukemia whittling him to 115 pounds and dropping—let's raise our glasses: Here's to Alfred Emanuel McGuire of Rockaway Beach, N.Y. There never was, never could be, never will be anybody else like him."...
Below is the obit that appeared in Sports Illustrated after McGuire died on January 26, 2001...
WE COULD recite the details of the life of Al McGuire, the former college basketball coach and TV commentator who died of a blood disorder last Friday at age 72, but he wouldn't want us to. McGuire didn't believe in details. He blithely forgot names, of players in games he telecast and of those on his own team. Jerome Whitehead, a star of McGuire's 1977 NCAA champion Marquette team, was forever Whitehorse. So was Whitehead's father, a minister who must have frowned upon realizing that White Horse is a brand of scotch.
But both Whiteheads surely knew the futility of correcting the man whose rules for life and basketball had been formed in the taverns and playgrounds of Rockaway Beach, N.Y. Forever fuzzy on the particulars, McGuire never erred in the broad strokes. When he said, "Just show me the numbers," he didn't mean that literally, only that what interested him was the metaphorical bottom line.
"He had a gift for seeing the wonder and the goodness of God's creation, sometimes in the most unlikely places, and for sharing his delight in that discovery with those around him," Robert Wild, the Jesuit priest who is Marquette's president, said last week. Wild was no doubt referring to the coach's habit of telling lunch companions, "If the waitress has dirty ankles, the chili's terrific."
McGuire quit right after he and Whitehorse won that NCAA title 24 years ago, so his basketball legacy requires some brushing up on. He'll be remembered for his sensibility, including that picturesque urban argot of which Dick Vitale's is wincingly derivative. He was without peer as a game coach. "I don't know basketball," he said. "I feel basketball. Drop me in the middle of a game, and I could manage it by the ebb and flow."
He won his title because the button-down guy on the other bench, North Carolina's Dean Smith—who lost a lead after ordering his Tar Heels into a four-corners delay—didn't understand what McGuire did: that basketball resists excessive organization. He had the cojones and self-possession to walk away from the summit of the clipboard racket in midlife.
McGuire didn't let details encumber him. He didn't let basketball do so, either.
Below are some of the great quotes from McGuire...
"When I was losing, they called me nuts. When I was winning they called me eccentric.”
"If the waitress has dirty ankles, the chili should be good.”
"When a guy takes off his coat, he's not going to fight. When a guy takes off his wristwatch, watch out!”
"Winning is overrated. The only time it is really important is in surgery and war.”
"I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver. Then they would really be educated.”
Finally, I can't leave you without the famous dance that Al McGuire did with the Syracuse basketball team after they won the regional finals to head to the Final Four...this is great 1:30 clip!!!
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...
For the fourth time, Manny Ramirez and his agent Scott Bore-ass declined the Dodgers offer...this time they turned down a $25 million, one-year contract with a $20 million player option for 2010...
The Dodgers are assholes if they continue to pursue Ramirez...they have made more than fair offers...the time has come where L.A. should announce that they have moved on and will no longer offer Ramirez a contract...
As for Manny, I have this to say to him and his agent - "Go fuck yourself you greedy long-haired bastard!!!"....
Think about it, this dude has turned down $25 million...$25 million!!!!...and it's not like this is his first ever baseball contract...he has already made over $100 million over his career...
Here is a news story that will be getting a lot of play...last week in Wampum, Pennsylvania, just north of Pittsburgh, 11-year-old Jordan Brown is accused of taking a shotgun and murdering his father's 26-year-old girlfriend, Kenzie Marie Houk, (below photo, center) who was nine months pregnant...
Pennsylvania law states that Brown must be tried as an adult...he can face life in prison...the family suggests jealousy was a possible motive...
T.D. Thornton, a Boston Globe correspondent, writes how an American won the 1904 Olympic marathon with a little help... "For athletes in the 21st century, the elixir of choice is steroids. More than 100 years ago, Thomas J. Hicks opted for a vile concoction of egg whites and brandy laced with strychnine, the active ingredient in rat poison." ...
The Boston Globe has a 7-part series on Ted Kennedy...this link will lead you to part 7...you have to click on the top of the page for the previous 6 parts...
Sam Farmer of The Los Angeles Times writes how Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer will not be going to the NFL... "Carroll and Meyer have not hinted at leaving their current jobs, and why would they? Carroll makes $4.4 million per year at USC and surely could have more if he pushed for it. Meyer's yearly compensation is $3.25 million and he has a chance to win a third national championship in four years. Those guys would be nuts to walk away from what they have, because NFL teams wouldn't come close to matching either of those deals. Simply put, NFL jobs aren't what they used to be." ...
Together with Lawrence Taylor, they formed the unit known as the Crunch Bunch, considered one of the top linebacking corps in Giants history, from 1981 to '83. They have remained close ever since, doing everything from golf outings to charity work together.
"I'm saddened," Carson told the Daily News. "I lost a teammate and my very good friend, He went much too soon at 57."
"Un-frigging-believable," Kelley told the Daily News. "He didn't deserve this. He was just a good person, such a great guy who would give you the shirt off his back. He wasn't material, he didn't own a lot of things. My wife nailed it when she said he had the Peter Pan Syndrome. He just never wanted to grow up."
Kelley said he called Taylor with news Tuesday night and all L.T, could say was, "No, no, no."
Van Pelt was the Giants' first draft pick out of Michigan State in 1973 and spent the first 11 years of a 14-year NFL career with them.
Although he enjoyed just one winning season as a Giant, when the team reached the playoffs in 1981, he was voted the team's Player of the Decade for the 1970s and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. After leaving the Giants, he played two years for the Raiders before ending his career with Cleveland in 1986.
Van Pelt, who also starred in baseball and played basketball at Michigan State, was a two-time All American safety and the 1972 winner of the Maxwell Award as the nation's best player. He was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in 2001 and nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Van Pelt's son, Bradlee, was a backup quarterback for the Broncos and Texans and just two weeks ago, was given a tryout as a safety by the Giants. His father, Arnold, passed away from a heart attack at age 49 in 1976.
This Saturday, February 21st, my girl Jennifer Love Hewitt is turning the BIG THREE OH...to honor her, each day this week Stiles Points will post a photos of JLH...heck, I just turned 40-years-old last month, so 10 years is not a big difference in age - I'm just saying...cuz you know she just broke up with her fiancee...
Over the weekend I was catching up on my newspapers when I came across the death notice of Phil Carey...the name will not ring a bell to most, but the name of the character he played sure will - Asa Buchanan (seated in photo)...
Carey played Asa Buchanan, the big Texas billionaire, on the soap opera One Life to Live from 1979 to 2008...Carey was 83-years-old and died of lung cancer on February 6, 2009 in New York...
Interestingly, while researching Carey's death, I came across the death notice of another former One Life to Live star - Clint Ritchie...Ritche played the role of Clint Buchanan (standing, right) , Asa's oldest son on the soap opera...
Ritchie, who died January 31, 2008, was 70-years-old and died in Roseville, California after a brief illness...
The following is a 3:02 honoring Phil Carey with clips from his last appearance on One Life to Live on December 29, 2008...
Mark Price may have been one of the most consistent free throw shooters, but John Branch of The New York Times wrote an interesting article about how free throw shooting percentages as a whole have not increased over the last 50 years... "Basketball in the United States has changed in myriad ways over the decades, from flat-footed set shots to dunks, from crotch-hugging uniforms to baggy knee-length shorts, from the dominance of American players to the recent infusion of international stars. But one thing has remained remarkably constant: the rate at which players make free throws." ...
