A True Legend I Never Knew

I woke up this morning around 8:15am and immediately went upstairs to get my usual morning coffee, 1 sugar no cream. I decided to finish the laundry I had started the day before and found out the dryer was having a major malfunction, aka not working. So I took it old school and my clothes are currently hanging on my deck railing drying, here's to praying the rain stays away for at least a couple hours. So after I do my best Beverley hillbillies impersonation, I then proceed back to my computer to do my daily sports rounds on the computer.

As I'm sure you are all aware, the great and legendary former UCLA basketball coach and icon John Wooden passed away and the old age of 99(1910-2010). In many highly respected circles, Mr. Wooden is regarded as the greatest basketball coach ever and a true ambassador of the sport. His accomplishments and accolades are off the charts and speak for themselves. As a guard at Purdue University, he was a 3 time consensus all-american, 1 time national player of the year and 1 time national champion. Amongst his players, coaches and national media, he was nicknamed "The Indiana Rubber Man" for his suicidal dives on the hard court. As a coach for the UCLA bruins, he won 620 games in 27 seasons and the national championship an unprecedented 10 times in a 12 year span, including 7 in a row. Ten times, thats right, I said ten! He was a 6 time NCAA coach of the year and was inducted into the 2006 founding class of the College Basketball hall of fame. Since 1977, the most coveted of four college basketball player of the year awards has been named the John R. Wooden Award. The list could go on and on, but im sure you get the picture here. Their truly isn't an accolade John Wooden didn't accomplish or receive. Even more impressive in my eyes is he never made more than $35,000 a year salary including 1975, the year he won his 10th national championship and he never asked for a raise or expected one. According to his own writings, Wooden turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from owner Jack Kent Cooke that may have been ten times what UCLA was paying him. Money simply wasn't important to him, life lessons and faith were.

From everything I have read, as impressive as his resume is regarding the game of basketball, its equally as impressive off the court. John grew up in a family of five, three brothers and two sisters(both who tragically passed at a very early age). He met his wife Nellie at a carnival in July 1926 and they married 6 years later in a small ceremony in Indianapolis. John and Nellie had two children, James and Nancy. They stayed devoted to each other for 53 years before Nellie passed away from cancer on March 21st, 1985. Even after her passing Wooden remained completely devoted to Nellie, until Wooden's own death. Since her death, John kept to a monthly ritual on the 21st, he visited her grave, and then wrote a love letter to her. After completing the letter, he placed it in an envelope and added it to a stack of similar letters that accumulated over the years on the pillow she slept on during their life together. In mourning Nellie's death, Wooden was comforted by his faith and looked to god for answers and tranquility. John was a Christian for years upon years and he made it known his beliefs were more important to him than basketball. He is quoted as saying, "I have always tried to make it clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior." Wooden's faith definitely influenced his life. He read the Bible daily and attended church daily. He often said that he hopes his faith is apparent to others, "If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me."

This faith and knowledge transferred over to the basketball world. Mr. Wooden has compiled "life lessons" that have become legendary, here are couple of my personal favorite. "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." "Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be." Lastly,"Never mistake activity for achievement." These are the type of lessons and principles he instilled in his players and anyone he came in touch with. He wanted to not only be a basketball coach and maintain a winning program, but to sustain a positive growth and learning environment for the young men he considered his "sons". It was more important to John to see his players succeed off the court and build character to that will last them forever, then to win on the court. Maybe that's why his teams always won so many games because his players were mature, had character and played for each other and the good of the team, not for individual achievements. He preached hardwork, commitment and teamwork. He would often remind his players that you should never be afraid to fail, its not putting in maximum effort and taking risks that is the greatest failure of all.

I was born in June of 1982, so I never had the privilege of watching Mr. Wooden play basketball or coach and mentor his young college athletes. I never had the opportunity to see him stalk the sidelines and get the full effect of why he was nicknamed the "wizard of westwood." I was an athlete growing up, still play sports to this day and have followed sports thoroughly almost my entire life. I have seen many coaches in every sport come and go and to me Mr. Wooden stands out head and shoulders above the rest. He should be a benchmark for current and future coaches to follow and a playbook on how to tutor young college athletes who often lose their way in life. So thank you Mr. Wooden for not only being a great basketball coach and true ambassador of the game, but for putting life and character first. For instilling principles and life lessons in young athletes that is completely lost today in the world of sports today. You are the true definition of a leader and will never be forgotten. I'm just sad I was never alive to see it.

History in the making..

So I'm sitting at my desk at work and I get a phone call from a close buddy around 4:45, he proceeds to tell me he has two tickets to the Tigers game tonight and wanted to know if I wanted to go with him. Now keep in mind, this is the same buddy I'm am training with for the Triathlon and we have planned on getting a solid session at the gym tonight, swim, run, lift, the works. So I ponder his offer and say to him, "if we wanna be ready for this come August, we need to make sacrifices." He calmly replies "your right, lets get it done tonight." Now normally that's the complete opposite for both of us, as avid Detroit sports fans, we would normally say, screw the workout and lets go to this Tigers game and enjoy ourselves like gentleman, but not tonight. We are determined to stay on my training schedule and kick some A$$ in this Tri. Good for us right?!

As we walk out of the gym sipping our usual J.Rob(protein shake) bullshitting and patting ourselves on the back for having such a good work out, I reach for my blackberry and notice I have an unusual amount of text messages and missed phone calls. Now listen, I know I'm a popular guy and all but 173 texts and 49 missed calls in 2 hours is a bit above average. Kidding of course, but after checking a couple texts I look at my buddy (who prefers to remain nameless) and I say, we gotta get to the car, ASAFP! I tell him Armando is perfect through 7 innings and he just gives me this look that says it all. We rush to the car and put on 97.1 the ticket immediately. Both listening very intently we look at each and we don't need to utter a word, we are both already thinking it..Why in gods name are we not there right now?!

As we listen to Armando go perfect through 8, we still don't say much, as if to not let Galaragga hear us, we don't want to be the reason for something bad happening. As they come out for the 9th, we are both gitty about the possibility of Armando becoming the first pitcher in Tigers history to throw a perfect game, 1st EVER. As he starts off the 9th against Mark Grudzielanek, Armando hangs a fastball over the plate and Mark pounds it to deep left center. As we both listen to the call on the radio holding our breath, the announcer belts "Jackson, tracking to deep center, at the warning track, HE GOT IT! CAUGHT! CAUGHT!" What we would eventually see later that night was the recently acquired rookie phenom CF Austin Jackson make one of the better catches you will see in baseball. Which sadly will go overlooked in many circles after what is about to transpire, 1 down. Next up is Mike Redmond, ground out, 2 down. So here it is, the stage is set, 26 up, 26 down. Galaragga is only one out away from making history. Only 3 strikes from doing something only 20 other pitchers have done in major league baseball history and a feat that has never been accomplished while wearing the legendary old english D. Jason Donald comes to the plate, my buddy and I listening so intently and looking at each other with sheer excitement inside..."Galaragga delivers, Donald swings its a ground ball towards first, Cabrera over to make the play, Galaragga covering the throw is on time, he's Oooouuu SAFE!! OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG" the announcer continues to say. My buddy look at each other in total disbelief, this can't be happening. My phone proceeds to ring from a handful of my closest friends, some local, some from out of town, but all with one thing in common, die hard Detroit sports faithful. "Did you just see that they ask, that was the worst call I have ever seen." "I can't believe that just happened" one friend repeats. "what an absolute joke!" As we look at each other in disbelief still with with out vision of what just transpired, I can hardly wait to get home. "wait till you see the replays, your going to flip out" one friend says. He was right, when I saw the replays I was absolutely outraged. I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. I was actually lucky enough to catch the entire 9th inning replayed live and had chills the entire time up until the end when my stomach hit the floor. I can't remember the last time I felt so genuinely bad for an athlete. He had something so pure and sacred stolen from him right in front of his eyes, with total unjust. I proceeded to rant to my father, "Ref's ruin everything, this happens so damn much in sports and im sick of it!" I continue to complain about, "why doesn't baseball have instant replay at a broader scale, this is total bullshit!" As I sat there and continued to watch coverage and put myself through agony, several things started running through my mind. Such as, I could of been at this game and witnessed this entire chain of event's live. I also thought to myself, wow Armando is really showing maturity and grace after being robbed blind of such a historic feat. As I walked around my house and thought about everything that had just transpired in more depth, I came to this conclusion. I didn't witness a travesty and I didn't just miss out on an opportunity to a game that will be remembered for ages. I just witnessed the 28 year old Armando Galaragga of my hometown Detroit Tigers pitch the first 28 out perfect game in Major league baseball history. All in completely thrilling and suspenseful manor.

So congratulations to you Mr. Galaragga. On this overcast Wednesday in early June I will always remember you as perfect, not only by your play on the mound but also because of the professionalism and class you exude.

A Collective Sigh

I don't think many sports fans in Detroit truly thought Nick Lidstrom was really going to retire or anyone in the Red Wings' front office for that matter, but make no mistake there was a huge collective sigh of relief that swept across all of Detroit when reports released that Nick Lidstrom had signed a 1 year deal for $6.2 million to return next season. The longtime great Red Wings GM Ken Holland said it best, "I am thrilled, absolutely thrilled." We all hear you Ken, I think the entire state of Michigan is. Losing the great number 5 to retirement this year would of not only hurt us obviously on the ice, where Lidstrom was a +22 this past year and we have made the playoffs all 18 seasons he has played, but one other essential ingredient, leadership. Even at age 40 he is one of the best two way defenseman in the league and a player everyone on the ice looks up and looks to for answeres when things aren't always going right. Nick brings a certain aura of invincibility to not only a hockey team, but Detroit hockey fans. He gives everyone on the ice with him and fans watching the games a level of comfortability that can't be described nor be replaced. Its not very often you have the privilege of watching or playing alongside a 4 time Stanley cup champion and 6 time Norris Trophy winner. That's what us privileged Detroit Red Wings fans have grown to cherish and love with all our hearts. Had Nick the great retired this year, it would have not only ended an era that none of us wanted to see or admit would end, but also any legitimate shot the Red Wings had of making it back to the Stanley Cup Finals next year. He is simply irreplaceable, period. Here's to you Nick, thanks for coming back, if even for only one more year.

The King of what?!

Now I know the Cavs have been eliminated from the playoffs for weeks now, but every time I turn on ESPN, Lebron James is still in the headlines regarding his pending free agency. I cant even visit any of my favorite sports websites without it being a main story, will he stay or will he go? For me, July 1st can't get here soon enough. It's not so much the constant coverage that bothers me, although I do think its extremely excessive considering the other gold medal winning superstar free agents available in this years class(Wade,Bosh,Johnson,Amare,etc). What really bothers me, what really gets under my skin, is Lebron's nickname. For the past 7 years I have heard Lebron James being called nicknames such as "Bron Bron","the chosen one" and most notably the one that has stuck, "The King" or "King James". "The King", lets think about what that really means? Now to me, when you use the word "King", that refers to someone who is a complete ruler of their kingdom, a master of all his domain so to speak. So that brings up the question, what exactly does Lebron rule? The regular season, dance contests, getting dunked on and trying tirelessly to hide the video from the media? Yes 55 win seasons and two MVP's are nice, but should the most valuable player in the league be dancing around before and during games in such a bush league manor that makes you feel embarrassed for him? You'd have a better chance of Bo schembechler rooting for OSU football in his after life than seeing MJ, Kobe or Bird pull such ridiculous and disrespectful antics. This unjustly appointed king has showed us nothing other than continuous early exits in the playoffs and poor leadership abilities. Yes he made the finals in 2008, but a 4 game sweep hardly even counts as an appearance. To me, Lebron is the king of giving up on his team and if he leaves Cleveland, his hometown. A hometown that has done nothing but stand by him 100% and give him everything has, now it seems he is ready to turn his back on them just like he did his teamates after losing game 5 to the celtics. Don't get me wrong here, Lebron James is definitely the most talented player in the league and the sky is the limit for this guy. He is a freak of nature with all the basketball ability in the world, but what he needs to realize is there is more to the game of basketball than just highlight reel dunks and Nike commercials. You don't win championships on talent alone, just ask guys like Larry Bird or Karl Malone and John Stockton. Top 50 players of all time from both ends of the spectrum of winning it all and coming oh so painfully close time and again. Talent can take you a long way but that road eventually reaches a dead end, as it has year after year for Lebron James the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now they say "we are all witnesses", but all we have witnessed from lebron is a grown man acting selfishly and not take responsibility for his team underachieving. At this point LBJ should feel privilege to be referred to as a prince because he has a long way to go before he can become a King. Am I saying Lebron will never win a championship, no I'm not, but in my opinion he is taking steps backwards, not forwards.

Rivalry Revisited

The 2010 NBA finals is just two days away. It's not only a classic rivalry revisited, but a rematch from just two years ago when a hungrier more physical Boston team took it too a soft and intimidated Lakers team. I don't see that happening this time around. Make no mistake, the lakers want revenge and Kobe is thirsty to firmly cement his label as the greatest laker to ever play the game and top 5 players of all time. The Celtics are banged up and have come off two very tough, physical and emotionally draining series. Even though both teams have played the same amount of games in the playoffs, the Lakers just seemed to do it with more ease vs less physical opponents out West. Some might argue that Bostons Physicality will bother the Lakers, I say Boston runs out of gas, the Lakers supporting cast outplays Boston's and Kobe "the assassin" Bryant takes over...This one could get nasty, the Lake Show in 6..

Roger that..

Roger Federer was bounced today from the quarterfinals of the 2010 French Open by fellow Swed Robin Soderling (pictured above). This is Roger's earliest exit from a grand slam in 23 events dating back too 2004! Some experts predicted it would be this tournament, considering his average form of late and clay being his weakest surface, if there is such a thing for him. With Wimbledon right around the corner, It will be very interesting to see how the Swiss Prince bounces back. Considering his total dominance at the All England Lawn Tennis club over the past 6 years, I have a hunch you will see him making a very deep run as usual. Then again, could this be the start of his demise, everyones run at the top is bound to end sooner or later. Even, with that being said, if I was a betting man, come late June 21st I wouldn't bet against him.

A's Barton stealing signs?!

So the Tigers had a hunch that the A's Daric Barton was stealing signs during their series loss this weekend at Comerica Park. However, they couldnt quite pinpoint their reasoning, I thought this might be some strong evidence to bring to the table...Maybe this explains why the the A's won the series 3-1, well that or some HORRENDUS Tigers pitching, I will leave it up to you do decide..