JOURNAL

JOURNAL ARCHIVE

April 22, 2008

What a terrific time my wife and I had during a visit to Springfield, MO where I spent time at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield. I was invited to be a part of the Clubs Steak and Steak fundraising dinner, which raised money to help kids.

What a terrific cause and Patrick Gartland (Director of the Club), Chris Whitehad and Randy Davenport, (both adminstrators of the Club) all did a fabulous job with the event. My wife and I had so much fun meeting all the kids and being able to help out in some fashion to this wonderful organization.

See article from Springfield, MO on the event - 1002

 

April 18, 2008

I had a terrific time traveling to Atlanta to be a part of a motivational seminar hosted by Maximum Impact. It was a seminar attended by 1,000 people and also watched by more than 50,000 via satelitte.

The people with Maximum Impact were a pleasure to work with and I was proud to be a speaker at this event. Past speakers include, Terry Bradshaw and Lou Holtz. After I spoke, I had a great time talking to some of the people in attendance during a book signing.

 

Hall of Fame - San Antonio, Texas

It was a memorable weekend for me at the Final Four in San Antonio. I had goosebumps was shaking and had tears flowing down my face when I received a call from Jim Haney telling me I was going to be inducted into the National College Basketball Hall of Fame.

It was so special as the NABC has honored so many great people involved in the college game. I was so happy to see the class of 2008 included the likes of Charles Barkley, Danny Manning, Billy Packer, Arnie Ferrin, Nolan Richardson, Jim Phelan and yours truly.

Then I got the call notifying me that I was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. It was unbelievable and I have so many people to thank, starting with my family. I just wish my mom and dad were still alive to see this because they taught me things I feel are so important in life, such as a strong work ethic, loyalty, family and love.

I have to thank all of my colleagues and all the people I have worked with. I cannot thank all the play-by-play people enough for allowing me to be myself. I cannot name them all, but they have been so special to me. There have been so many individuals over the years, the producers, directors, people behind the scenes, the research people like Howie Schwab and loads of public relations staff. Mike Soltys and Josh Krulewitz in PR worked religiously to get the word out, showing their belief that I deserved this. Whether I deserved this honor or not, it was beautiful to have the voters feel I did.

Believe me, I can go on and on about the players I coached in high school, college and the pros. There were people I coached with on different levels and have meant so much to me and my family. Now to know I will be among those that I have admired, respected and been in awe of, it makes me shake. To be in the Hall with names I watched for years, guys like Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Lew Alcindor, Red Auerbach, John Wooden is simply a huge wow moment! Man this country is the greatest of all because if this honor can happen to me, a former sixth grade teacher in New Jersey, it can happen to so many others.

To ESPN president George Bodenheimer and all the people at the network, I love you so much. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I got an opportunity of a lifetime that I will cherish forever. The memories are just incredible and I am so thrilled with the news of the weekend, going into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City and the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

It is simply awesome, baby with a capital A!

For more information on the Hall of Fame, please go to www.hoophall.com

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THE HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCEMENT CLICK HERE

 

Final Four - San Antonio

It was a great championship game in San Antonio. Kansas won in 1988 with Danny and the miracles. This time it was another miracle. Kansas was down nine points with just over two minutes to play, but Memphis could not finish Bill Self's team off and several mistakes hurt the Tigers.

There was a foul by Joey Dorsey when a Kansas player had the ball 30 feet away from the basket. There were missed free throws that turned out to be an achilles heel. Memphis shot seven-of-16 from the foul line in the second half. Calipari did not want his kids mentally affected by free throw woes down the stretch, but cut it any way you want as the Tigers struggled in the area and it really hurt them. If Memphis hit one more the game they would have been cutting down nets and celebrating on the Riverwalk. Then Memphis did not foul in the final seconds of regulation as Mario Chalmers hit a trifecta to send the game into overtime.

Kansas had a bounce in their step after getting a second chance and I simply do not understand why Memphis did not foul in that situation. I was also surprised Memphis did not call a timeout to set up its defensive gameplan at the end of regulation.

Despite all of that though this was a great season for the Tigers. Memphis went 38-2, but it was not enough to win the title. There was so much emotion and passion in this game. Kansas scrapped and clawed and a big shot by Memphis' Derrick Rose appeared to have the Jayhawks down and out, but that was simply not the case. Give coach Self's team credit for never giving up. Kansas hit its free throws down the stretch to win its first national championship since 1988.

Now the question will come out about Self. Will he go to Oklahoma State and take a boatload of cash to coach his alma mater? Stay tuned as that story could get dramatic.

 

FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM MY TRIP TO SAN ANTONIO CLICK HERE