My Friends Jim and Carol Wendel Have the Best Of 2 Worlds -- They Enjoy All the Benefits Of Living On a Golf Course, But They Don't Play the Game

My friends Jim and Carol Wendel truly have the best of both worlds.

They live on a golf course, but they don't play golf.

In other words, they can enjoy the serenity of the links, but they don't have to pay any greens fees and they don't have to get frustrated when they hit the ball onto a fairway other than the one they're supposed to be playing.

Jim Wendel is a very nice man, and Carol Wendel is a very nice woman.

I saw them this week for the first time in 48 years.

We made a connection because they were in town to visit Living History Farm.

Jim and I worked at the same place in 1958 and part of 1959. He taught me how to use a Speed Graphic, one of those huge cameras that became famous in black-and-white movies in the 1930s and 1940s in which Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney appeared.

Jim Wendel took good pictures, I just took pictures.

It seems like he was always correcting my photographical mistakes. Like I said, Jim is a good guy.

I eventually left the company we both worked for because I wanted a change of scenery.

He did the same thing a few years later. He went north, I went south.

He later went back to the small town, I didn't. Instead, I drive through the town every chance I get. It wasn't until this week, though, that I found out Jim and Carol had moved back there.

Jim still takes good pictures, I still just take pictures.

I probably lost a million golf balls on the course Jim and Carol live on now. For a couple of summers, I hacked away with the clubs I bought at Montgomery Ward's, and I got to be pretty decent with the putter Lindy Davis loaned me.

My problem was, I wasn't worth a damn before I got to the green.

I chewed up a lot of grass and dirt with my 7-iron.

Jim Wendel told me he and Carol played golf for a while after they moved to their home on the course, but now they've quit the game. One of them -- I forget which -- was getting backaches every time they went out there.

Jim and Carol are smart people. If I had backaches, I'd quit playing golf, too.

In fact, I quit playing golf, and I don't have backaches.

One thing all of us have decided is that we're not going to wait another 48 years before we have another lunch and conversation.

*

Photo of Carol and Jim Wendel [top] by Ron Maly. Photo of Speed Graphic camera [right] and Humphrey Bogart [left] courtesy of Google.

Al Schallau Sees Deep-Fried Hot Dogs From Rutt's Hut On TV, Then Cooks His Own -- And They Turn Out To Be Better Than Those At Dodger Stadium

I'm thinking about having Al Schallau arrested for cruelty.

That's a joke, Al.

My friend Al [pictured at the right], the Hawkeye sports fan who now practices law in California, wrote to me about hot dogs and how much he likes to eat them.

I fully understand. For many years, I was a champion hot dog eater. Ballparks, press boxes, Little League games, picnics....you name it, I ate hot dogs there.

But they haven't been on my diet for more than 20 years, so it pains me [naturally, right in the belly] to read what Schallau wrote about hot dogs and how much I miss them.

Anyway, here's his e-mail:

"I love hot dogs. I love hot dogs a lot. When I go to a major league baseball game, the first thing I do is buy a grilled Dodger dog, or at Anaheim, an Italian sausage dog.

"Today I was watching the Travel Channel. They did a feature about hot dogs. They took us to Rutt's Hut in Clifton, N.J., which serves deep-fried hot dogs. Please see the attached illustration concerning Rutt's Hut.

"I had never eaten a deep-fried hot dog. So I went to the store and bought two packs of six, and some French rolls.

"Then I cooked six hot dogs in vegetable oil for about 12-plus minutes, with the French fryer set at 375 degrees. When the dogs start cracking open and/or start turning a bit black, they are ready to take out. I let them drain for a bit on some paper towels.

"Then came the eating experience. One cracked open deep fried hot dog on a French roll, with some chopped onions, mustard and relish.

"Wow. BEST HOT DOG I HAVE EVER HAD.

"Now I can have better hot dogs at home than they sell at Dodger Stadium.

"Best,"

Al Schallau

[NOTE: Al adds today, "On Monday, I deep-fried six dogs and ate one. Yesterday I took one out of the refrigerator and microwaved it on High for 50 seconds. It was just as good as the original. So I have four left for the rest of the week. One per day is definitely my limit."]

Ex-Hawkeye Tyler Smith Starts Summer Classes Monday At Tennessee; Volunteers' Coach Bruce Pearl Tips His Cap To Iowa's Todd Lickliter

As expected, former University of Iowa basketball player Tyler Smith has enrolled at Tennessee.

Smith will begin taking summer school classes Monday at Tennessee, according to the university's athletic website.

"I am really excited about Tyler Smith coming back to Tennessee," Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl said.

"Our program and Tyler's situations have changed and it is clear to me that this has a chance to work out for Tyler and the University of Tennessee. I would be remiss if I did not publicly acknowledge the University of Iowa's support for Tyler and his family.

"Coach Todd Lickliter came into a tough situation and has allowed Tyler the opportunity to come home to be close to his family."

Pearl is a former assistant coach at Iowa.

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Photos of Tyler Smith [right] and Bruce Pearl [left] courtesy of Google.

Track Fan Says NCAA Officials Who Ran the Poorly-Attended, Poorly-Managed Regional Meet At Drake Stadium 'Should Be Fired for Incompetence'

After reading accounts in the paper of the NCAA Midwest Regional track meet that was held at Drake Stadium last weekend, I got the idea it was a well-managed, well-attended event.

Evidently, that wasn't the case.

Barry Crist of West Des Moines, who has always been impressed with the Drake Relays, was less than enchanted with what happened at the regional event.

Here's his e-mail:

"I have always enjoyed the Drake Relays. The sprints and the relay events were always my favorites. Perhaps that's because as a boy I watched Duke's Dave Sime edge Abilene Christian's Bobby Morrow in the 100 yard sprint in the rain on a cinder track that had standing water. The time of 9.4 seconds was a tenth off the WORLD record. The 6-4 redhead was an impressive figure blazing down the track. But, Morrow went on to win four gold medals in the 1956 Olympics as Sime was absent due to a groin injury. Also a swashbuckling centerfielder, Dave Sime was a bonus-baby and signed a contract with the Dodgers. I scanned the Sporting News each week for news about his career. However, It would appear that the groin injury was not the only curveball that life would through Sime, as he also couldn't hit one. His fall back plan was to become an eye surgeon.

"Given my long history as a track fan, I was so looking forward to the NCAA Regional track meet at Drake. However, it was a total Chinese fire drill. The Des Moines Register reported 3,700 attended on Friday. But I only saw about 700. A far cry from the 20,000-plus at the Drake Relays. The stands were as barren as the hair on Don Rickles' head. NCAA officials ran this, not Drake University. They should all be summarily FIRED for incompetence.

"The Drake Relays run like clockwork with most of the workers being volunteers. In addition the events are much closer together than the laborious event run by the NCAA. I have never seen a major error by officials at the Drake Relays. Then the NCAA came to town.

"On Friday I watched the following:

"After getting perfect tickets at the finish line, I was looking forward to a great day of track. However, I noticed that the runners were lining up on the other side of the field. Funny, I thought the press box was on the west side for a reason. So we walked around the stadium. There were ZERO fans in attendance. All the people we talked to were parents of athletes, coaches or participants and team members.

"In a heat of the women's 100-meter hurdles, the officials forgot to time it. Small error. Why time track events? The winner was Iowa's Tiffany Johnson, so she advanced while the others had to run another heat in order to get times.

"In a men's 100-meter heat, the officials had an incorrect finish line. Apparently, none of them had a digital measure. Therefore, the heat was run again.

"That did it for me as I had then seen enough of the NCAA event. Unless they let Drake officials run the nationals in Des Moines next summer, I will not be in attendance.

"As the wag once said, the only thing more boring than track is field. Especially if the event is run by the NCAA."

Barry Crist
1341 17th
West Des Moines,
IA 50265

515-222-1177

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: It's a shame the NCAA Midwest Regional meet didn't draw better in a stadium that's famous for huge track and field crowds. Trying to find any attendance figures in the paper was very difficult [after all, this is a "just-use-the-good-news" era in the newsroom], but Crist said he estimated that only 1,500 spectators were present on Saturday. That was after the gathering of 700 that Crist said was on hand Friday. The competitors must have been wondering if this was the same place that has mammoth crowds every April for the Drake Relays. "On Friday, it started at 2 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. I guess the NCAA officials are late risers," Crist tells me. As for the ridiculous management of the meet by the NCAA, I agree with you, Barry, that Drake's outstanding team of officials should take care of the 2008 national meet.

*

Drake women's basketball coach Amy Stephens today announced the signing of Morgan Herrick of Grafton, Wis., to a national letter of intent.

"Morgan is an outstanding student-athlete who exemplifies everything we're looking for in our players at Drake University," commented Stephens. "Her versatility on the basketball court will allow her to play many positions and give us added depth to our small forward position."

Herrick, a 6-1 forward, earned first-team Division I all-state accolades from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association as a senior after helping guide Cedarburg High School its third consecutive conference title.

*

Photo of entertainer Don Rickles [right] courtesy of Google. Photo of track athlete [left] courtesy of NCAA.com.

No Swagger, No Killer Instinct; Piniella Is 63, But Acts 83; Cliff Floyd Says Opponents Are 'Too Comfortable' Playing the Disappointing Chicago Cubs

This is for the benefit of those us -- me included -- who fell asleep last night [actually, this morning] before the Chicago Cubs lost another game.

The game took 3 hours 14 minutes to play and ended so late -- at 12:54 a.m., Iowa time -- that most newspapers in time zones east of California, including the one in Des Moines, didn't have the results.

Besides, there wouldn't have been any room for the Cubs result anyway. The paper was turned over to track. Some field, too.

If you didn't like track, or field, you were pretty much out of the loop.

Babe Ruth could have died again and there wouldn't have been room in the paper for the obituary.

The Cubs lost another game, even though they uncharacteristically scored a whopping seven runs in the seventh inning.

Chicago found a way to continue being the worst in the world at losing one-run games.

The Cubs now have a 2-10 record in one-run outcomes. That's terrible.

They lost last night's game, 9-8, because their lousy relief pitching staff surrendered four runs in the eighth inning.

Those relievers are so bad they should all be shipped to No-Name Ballteam so their careers can end at a place known as No-Name Ballfield in Des Moines.

Meanwhile, there appears to be some unrest in the Chicago clubhouse.

Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, who is showing some strong reporting ability in his first year on the Cubs beat, got veteran outfielder Cliff Floyd to say some interesting things.

Floyd and Wittenmeyer say a "swagger" and a killer instinct are something foreign to the Cubs.

Floyd is a 15-year major league veteran. He's been around so long that he no doubt figures nothing can happen even if he pisses his bosses off.

"I've seen a lot," he told Wittenmeyer. "The [New York Mets] team I was with last year, the reason we won was that toward the All-Star break, we started playing like every game was the playoffs. When we stepped on the field, we tried to kill you -- first inning to ninth inning. We got ahead, and it's over."

But Floyd said teams are too comfortable playing the Cubs. Despite a $100 million payroll and a productive, veteran roster that includes eight former All-Stars, the Cubs have a losing record [21-25] and have lost 10 of their last 15 games.

"By me not playing a lot, I observe a lot," Floyd said. "I see how comfortable teams feel. They feel they hang around, they hang around and they're going to get us."

Obviously, that's exactly what happened last night.

Floyd said the Cubs, under first-year manager Lou Piniella, don't understand how good they are. "We can't realize it, not with the inconsistent way we've played. You can't realize it. Sometimes that takes longer than other times. But we have every ingredient we need [to contend]."

To me, Piniella still doesn't have a grasp of this Cubs team. He's been a success as the manager at Seattle and Cincinnati, but he's 63 now -- and he's showing it.

I won't say -- yet -- that baseball has passed him by. But he'd better get a grip on this team or I'll be saying that exact thing.

It's time for Piniella to throw some bases around and kick some dirt on home plate. The guy is being entirely too nice to everyone except Wittenmeyer and the other reporters.

After last night's loss, Piniella told reporters, “What do you want me to say about it? Look, we battled. We gave it back to them, but we battled. I’m happy that we battled. How’s that? I really am. It’s good to see us swing the bats the way we did. The bullpen didn’t get the job done today. Well, we’ll go out and play tomorrow.”

All I know is, general manager Jim Hendry has invested far too much money in this Cubs team to allow it to wilt again -- as so many Chicago clubs filled with has-beens and never-weres have done in the past.

It's a good thing Chicago is in a weak division -- one that Milwaukee leads by 6 games. If the Central was tougher, the Cubs would already be buried.

Meanwhile, they're still hanging around even though they're acting like they're dead.

*

Photo of the Chicago Cubs in last night's game [top] courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times. Photos of Cubs manager Lou Piniella [right] and outfielder Cliff Floyd [left] courtesy of Google.

Alive In Clive Says He Might Be Interested In Tubby's Day Camp I; Also, While I Search for No-Smoking Sections, Erv Koehn Stays On 2 Packs a Day At 88

Interesting ad on page 3 of the Register's sports section this morning.

It was for Tubby Smith's summer basketball camps in Minneapolis.

Smith [pictured at the top], of course, is the former Kentucky and present Minnesota coach.

The local folks appreciate your business, Tubby, even though the coaches around here who run their own camps may wonder why you're taking some of the money out of their pockets.

Anyway, good luck on the camps.

Alive In Clive says he might be interested in Day Camp I from June 24-28.

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We'll play "You Add the Caption" to the photograph at the right that was on page 1 of the paper's business section today. By the way, there's another page 1 photo [which you won't find here] accompanying the same page 1 story in the paper that talks about the company's "fruit day." Photo courtesy of the Des Moines Register.

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While I spend my time asking for the no-smoking section in restaurants so I can try to dodge second-hand smoke, two-pack-a-day smoker Erv Koehn celebrated his 88th birthday this week in an eastern Iowa nursing home.

As far as everyone knows, Koehn [pronounced Cane] is cancer-free despite being a smoker since his teen-age years. He had a couple of strokes a few years ago, but continues to enjoy life -- as long as he can find someone to push him out the door in his wheelchair so he can have a smoke or several.

*

Something I'm pretty excited about:

The Register named its 10-member film critic blog team today.

Some might say Zach Johnson is too good to be true. Whatever, the 2007 Masters golf champion was good today for Des Moines and Drake University,

>
his alma mater. Johnson received a hero's welcome on his return to the Drake campus, where he received a blue jacket from president David Maxwell and athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb [second photo from the top]. Maxwell and Hatfield thought Johnson should have a blue jacket in addition to the legendary green jacket he received after winning the Masters in Augusta, Ga. In a question-and-answer session with reporters, Johnson displayed the "boy-next-door" image that he has portrayed on the David Letterman and Oprah TV shows since becoming world-famous after his Masters victory. Although Johnson's hair is thinning, he doesn't look his 31 years of age. Forty-two people attended the press conference at mid-afternoon in the Paul Morrison Room at the Knapp Center. Clubb even had Zach "sign" a national letter of intent for his son, Will -- now 4 months old -- to attend Drake [second photo from the bottom]. Hey, this is all supposed to be fun, isn't it? Johnson's wife, Kim, is pictured in the lower photo with Zach's agent. [All photos by Ron Maly].

For a Guy Who Was Asleep During a Chicago Cubs' Game, Airhead Kyle Farnsworth Suddenly Becomes An Expert On What Roger Clemens Should Do

A few of the things going on, and being said, in sports these days:

Kyle Farnsworth is known for two things -- a fastball that rarely goes where it's supposed to go, and a brain that's stuck on empty most of the time.

The latest thing the New York Yankees' relief pitcher did was say -- not just once, but twice -- that Roger Clemens shouldn't be able to leave the team whenever he wants to after he joins the club that will pay him a one-season salary of $28 million.

Now, I agree with Farnsworth that Clemens should be with the team he hasn't yet joined throughout what has turned into a horrible season. The Yankees are already 10 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox, and obviously are going nowhere.

The thing I take issue with Farnsworth about is that he's the guy who cared so much about the Chicago Cubs team he pitched for a few years ago that he was found sleeping in the clubhouse during a game.

I know a lot of people snoozed during the time Dusty Baker managed the Cubs, but at least his own players should have stayed awake.

*

Michelle Wie, who hasn't made the cut in a half-dozen PGA tournaments, has accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in the John Deere Classic for the third year in succession.

Dumb idea.

The only reason tournament officials want Wie, who will graduate from high school next week, in the field is because of the publicity aspect.

She's not ready for the PGA tour, and she's becoming an embarrassment.

*

The Chicago Cubs have sent left-hander Neal Cotts to No-Name Ballteam of the Pacific Coast League so he can become a starting pitcher instead of a reliever.

Great.

That'll turn him into the same kind of disaster the Chicago Cubs have on their pitching staff now.

I'll tell you what I think was the real reason Cotts was demoted to No-Name Ballteam.

You won't get anybody in Chicago to admit it, but I think Cotts grooved the pitch Sunday that A. J. Pierzynski blasted for a grand-slam home run into the bleachers at Wrigley Field to give the Chicago White Sox a 10-6 victory over the Cubs.

Pierzynski was the White Sox catcher when Cotts was a Sox reliever last year.

Nothing like helping out an old teammate.

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Folks at the Albuquerque Tribune say they've had a hard time catching up with New Mexico basketball coach Steve Alford [you remember him, don't you?].

You know how it goes. All those recruiting trips, all those journeys back to his home in Coralville.

Finally, the Trib got Alford to sit down for a question-and-answer session.

It was less than riveting.

One segment:

"On what he thinks makes him a good coach:

"I've played. Being a player, I knew what it was like to play, know what these guys are going through. I've walked the walk as a collegiate player and a pro player. There's not a player who can come in my office and say, 'This is my goal; this is where I want to get to,' and me not know what they are talking about. So, it's experience and relating to players."

Good coach? They've got a few things to learn out there in Albuquerque.

*

The Chicago Cubs' front office will honor Ernie Banks by having a statue of him erected outside Wrigley Field.

It's about time.

Banks played in 2,528 games for the Cubs from 1953 to 1971. The man is called "Mr. Cub."

I can't figure out how and why a statue of play-by-play announcer Harry Caray was erected outside the ballpark before the statue of Banks was planned.

*

Little did I know a few years ago that the cordial young man I interviewed a number of times in the basketball offices and locker room at Iowa State would turn into a fairly famous guy.

Well, maybe not as famous as Steve Alford or Larry Eustachy, but well-known nonetheless.

I'm talking about Paul Shirley, who lettered as a Cyclone basketball player from 1997-2001.

Shirley has published a new book and writes journals regularly for ESPN.com about his travels as a professional basketball player.

Here's part of his latest entry:

"Marcus Fizer and I have never been close, but the man has had a significant influence on my life. Because he flamed out of the NBA due to injury and a slight problem with authority, people forget just how talented a player he is. After his junior season, he was named Big 12 Player of the Year, was runner-up for the national award of the same name and left college early to be picked fourth in the NBA draft. In his NBA career, he averaged about 10 points per game.

"Unfortunately, something never clicked. Marcus has never taken to the concept of coachability. And while he's a very smart guy, no one ever accused him in college of being particularly friendly. Even as he helped lead my team to the Elite Eight in my own junior season, I was pretty sure that there was only a 35 percent chance that he knew my last name.

"But he was a really good basketball player. I was not nearly so good. I was good enough to start, but in college, I was never going to be mistaken for a first-team all-American.

"So, I helped in the ways I could. I learned how to derive pleasure from an offensive rebound or an assist -- with Marcus and Jamaal Tinsley around, there weren't enough balls to supply a nightly barrage of shooting on my part.

"Over time, I accepted my role. I even claimed to like it. I would now estimate that 90 percent of me wasn't lying. Sadly, like most people, I have the other 10 percent as well: the 10 percent that governs resentment, jealousy and -- at least for me in college -- motivation...."

Darn it, another myth destroyed. I thought those guys who played on bigtime collegiate teams always got along well together.

*

Photo of Ernie Banks [top] courtesy of Google. Photos of Kyle Farnsworth [lower right] and Roger Clemens [lower left] courtesy of ESPN.com.

Channel 13's 'Today In Iowa' Goes To the Farm; Can There Be Hilton Magic In July?; Will the Last One Out Of Newsroom Door Please Turn Off the Lights

He was the “Anchor for Today” on NBC’s Today Show in March, winning among significant national competition.

Now, Wayne county farmer Brad Hook invites "Today in Iowa" anchors Trisha Shepherd and Patrick Dix to his farm for a day of fun and pranks. This special "Today in Iowa" program will air Wednesday from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. on channel 13.

“This guy is full of life and knows how to have fun,” says "Today in Iowa" co-anchor Shepherd. “We just couldn’t believe everything Brad had up his sleeve for our visit.”

Dix said, “He went all out. And, honestly, I fell for a couple of Brad’s stunts. It was a good time.”

Pat and Trisha got to milk a bull [really!], feed cattle, drive tractors and much more. They were welcomed to Corydon with a police escort, parade, and a traditional Iowa farm dinner.

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Hilton Coliseum in Ames will be the place to be July 21. A collection of former Iowa State basketball players will unite that day to participate in the “ISU Hilton Magic All-Star Celebrity basketball game.”

The game is the culmination of a two-day celebration in memory of Barry Stevens, an Iowa State All-Century team member who died of a heart attack in February. All proceeds from the weekend events will go to the Barry W. Stevens Education and Health Foundation and the American Heart Association. Tickets for the game will be $20 for adults and $10 for children 15 and under. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.

Players scheduled to appear include five members of Iowa State's All-Century team that will be honored throughout the season. All-Century team members Victor Alexander, Jeff Grayer, Jeff Hornacek, Jamaal Tinsley and Fred Hoiberg will play alongside former Cyclone standouts Ron Harris, Tom Peterson, Elmer Robinson, Will Blalock, Ron Virgil, Lafester Rhodes, Sam Hill, Marc Urquhart and Julius Michalik.

In addition, Mateen Cleeves, Morris Peterson and Antonio Smith, who helped Michigan State to the 2000 NCAA championship, will also play. Former Cyclone coach Johnny Orr will be in attendance.

“The main reason we decided to do this is because Barry meant so much to me and the entire Cyclone family,” Grayer said. “Without Barry, there would be a lot of players, including myself, that would have never gone to Iowa State. Barry was a unique and special person and I feel honored I was his friend. He touched a lot of lives.”

The event begins on July 20 with a golf outing at The Harvester Golf Club from 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m., followed by a youth skills clinic at the Lied Recreation Center on the campus from 4-8 p.m. The clinic is for boys and girls age 8-17. A $100 entry fee to the clinic includes a T-shirt and the opportunity to learn from the six current or former NBA players who will be instructors [Tinsley, Grayer, Alexander, Hoiberg, Peterson and Cleaves].

Tickets for the all-star game can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the Iowa State Center box office. Call 515-233-1888 or log onto ticketmaster.com for more ticket information. To sign up for the youth skills clinic, contact Ev Cochrane at 515-290-5004 or ev@icsmail.net. All checks or donations can be sent to the Barry Stevens Foundation, P.O. Box 1102, Ames, IA 50014.

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Bud Appleby of Des Moines writes about some former Des Moines Register newsroom employees:

"In case you did not read the third page of the business section in the Register [one day last week]:

"Kathy Richardson is the new director of the School of Journalism at Drake.

"Rick Tapscott has been hired to teach a class there. [He lasted about as long at that paper in Delaware as he did at the Register]. I assume Tapscott's job at Drake is fulltime and permanent. He bought a house here a couple of weeks ago.

"And I believe the Lori Blachford mentioned in that article used to work on the Register's sports copy desk."

*

Photo of Trisha Shepherd, Brad Hook and Patrick Dix courtesy of WHO-TV. Text by Tim Gardner, director of creative services, WHO-TV. Iowa State basketball story by Mike Green of the university's sports information office. Photo of Kathleen Richardson [lower right] courtesy of Drake University. Photo of Barry Stevens [lower left] courtesy of Iowa State University.

Sandy Hatfield Clubb Had the Good Life In Arizona, So Why Go To Drake? But She Did, And Now She's Making Her Mark As the Bulldogs' Athletic Director

 

When Sandy Hatfield Clubb was first approached about becoming the 16th athletic director at Drake, she turned thumbs down.

I mean, why in the world would she be interested?

"I had spent 16 years at Arizona State," Sandy explained. "I was very excited to get a call from a headhunter who wanted to see if we had any interest in coming to Drake.

"But, when I got the call, I knew only a few things about Drake. The first thing that came to mind were the Drake Relays. I had studied the Drake Relays when we did the Sun Angel [track and field] meet at Arizona State.

"I knew that Drake had a basketball history and I knew it had a high academic reputation -- but that was all I knew. I didn't even know Drake it was in Des Moines."

So Sandy, then 42 years of age and doing very well as Arizona State's senior associate athletic director, did the same thing I'd do if I were happy in the Arizona desert.

Hey, I've been through plenty of Iowa winters, and I know how the people in Arizona feel sorry for us in January when Ed Wilson is telling us about all that snow we're going to get [or already got], and they're running around in Tempe and Mesa without coats.

"Being a woman administrator in the Pac-10 Conference, I had received many phone calls for positions," Sandy said. "I respectfully declined [the invitation from the headhunter working for Drake] because my husband [Jeff] had a very good job in the Phoenix area and my children were very happy," Sandy said.

But it wasn't over.

"The headhunter said, 'Your husband is from Iowa, isn't he?'

Indeed, he is. Jeff is a native of Sigourney.

Unless you've been going to games on Venus for a while, you already know that the term "headhunter" is used frequently in collegiate athletics -- and collegigiate everything -- these days.

A headhunter is someone who's paid thousands of dollars to find coaches, athletic department personnel and even university presidents who might be interested in changing jobs.

Iowa State used a headhunter to find football coach Gene Chizik, the University of Iowa used a headhunter to find athletic director Gary Barta and basketball coach Todd Lickliter.

I don't happen to believe headhunters should be necessary, but that's just the way it is these days.

It seems the University of Iowa has been using a headhunter since the turn of the century -- the 19th century, that is -- to find a new president. After spending all that time and money, there's still no president in Iowa City.

The way I look at it, the solution would be to use a headhunter to replace the Board of Regents.

Anyway, back to Drake....

"The headhunter asked if I'd talk to my husband [about the athletic director job], and [Jeff] was very encouraging," Sandy Hatfield Clubb said. "He told me, 'Sandy if we had to raise our children the right way, it would be in the state of Iowa. This is a fabulous community, with lots of fabulous energy.

"I could tell that the Drake athletic department was in a solid position," Sandy told folks at the Des Moines Register retirees' club.

So she came aboard less than a year ago to become the 25th female athletic director among 334 Division I schools. She's the first woman athletic director in history at a university in this state.

At Drake, she's filling a job that such folks as Dave Blank, Lynn King, Curt Blake, Bob Karnes, Jack McClelland and others -- going back to W. W. Wharton in 1894 -- handled with various degrees of success.

I like what Sandy is doing. So far, I don't think she needs to take a backseat to Blank, King, Karnes or any of the rest of them. I wasn't around when Doc Pell [1907] and Ossie Solem [1922-1932] were doing their thing at Drake, but I'll bet they'd approve of the job Sandy is doing, too.

And, oh, yes, she's not complaining about the stiff academic requirements placed on Drake athletes, she's raving about it.

"We are the Missouri Valley Conference academic champions this year," she said. "Our 350 student-athletes have the highest grade-point average in the Valley."

Drake's tough 2.0 grade-point rule for athletes has been a cource of conversation among coaches and administrators around the nation for years. I'm sure it had something to do with costing at least a couple of coaches their jobs.

"It means an athlete can't play in the second semester if he or she doesn't have a 2.0 in the first semester," Sandy explained.

"People ask, 'How do you compete against that, and how do you recruit against that?" she said. "I say, 'Have you asked the other schools why they don't [have the rule]?

"Three of our programs went to NCAA tournaments -- women's soccer, women's basketball and men's tennis."

Sandy likes to talk about Drake's 2006-2007 women's basketball team, which advanced to the NCAA despite having a losing record.

"If you stick to your values you can be champions," she said. "There were all sorts of injuries with that team. We had illness after injury after illness.

"We began one game with seven players. Our coach [Amy Stephens] said to me, 'Sandy, I'm going to sit two starters. They missed class today. Are you OK if we start with only five players?'

"I said, 'You darn right I am.' So she didn't start those two players."

Difficult grade-point averages or not, Drake's men's basketball team had its first winning season in 20 years in 2006-2007 -- and managed to beat Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa [twice] while doing it.

Tom Davis turned the ocaching over to his son, Keno, after the season ended, but Tom is sticking around as an assistant to Sandy.

It's a given that, regardless of who the athletic director is, there'll be a successful Drake Relays at the university. It happened again this spring.

Drake hosted the Missouri Valley Conference track and field meet, and there's an NCAA Regional track and field meet coming later this month.

The NCAA national championships will be held at Drake in 2008, and Sandy said she's not looking at that as a one-shot deal.

"We'd like to host the meet every four years," she said. "We're trying to sell out Drake Stadium for the 2008 meet a year in advance.

Knowing what Sandy can accomplish, I'll bet she gets the job done.

*

Photo of Sandy Hatfield Clubb by Ron Maly.

Drake's Women Will Play In Dallas Tournament. This Man Expects the Bulldogs To Win That Event, And Also the Missouri Valley Conference Championship

Bud Appleby of Des Moines, who pays close attention to the Drake women's basketball scene, writes:

"The Drake women's basketball team will play in a Thanksgiving tournament Nov. 23-24 in Dallas. The other teams in the tournament are Kansas, Southern Methodist and Western Michigan."

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I told Appleby that I'm glad the Bulldogs will be spending Thanksgiving in Dallas. But I added that I questioned whether playing in what appears to be a tough tournament is good for a team that finished with a sub-.500 record [14-19] this past season and will need to rebuild in 2007-2008. But I added, "What the hell do I know about it?" It turns out I don't know much of anything. Appleby wrote, "I disagree on a need to rebuild. Drake did not lose any seniors and will have two starters from the 2005-2006 team back who did not play last season because of injuries. One of them, Jill Martin, is easily the best player in the conference. That means they will have four of the five starters from the 2005-2006 team back this year One of them was the leading scorer last year, but did not play in the conference or NCAA tournaments because of illness. I would expect Drake to win that tournament in Dallas and also the conference championship." Amy Stephens' team, of course, won the Missouri Valley Conference's postseason tournament this past season at the Knapp Center -- which is why the Bulldogs made it to the NCAA tournament with a losing record].

*

Photo of Drake women's basketball coach Amy Stephens [lower right] courtesy of Drake University. Photo of the Bulldogs' 2007 Missouri Valley Conference postseason tournament championship team courtesy of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Last I Saw Of Paul Shirley He Was Still In a Cyclone Uniform. But Now You'll Be Able To Buy His Book About 'Life As a Basketball Vagabond'

Former Iowa State basketball player Paul Shirley is the author of a new book that will be available in stores Tuesday.

The book is titled, "Can I keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond."

Shirley, a native of Meriden, Kan., played at Iowa State from 1997-2000. He has gained cult status among sports fans for his insightful and witty blogs on ESPN.com during his time as a Phoenix Sun from 2004-05.

In his book, Shirley pokes fun at himself while giving readers an up-close and inside look on life in professional basketball from a journeyman perspective. Shirley has played for 11 professional basketball teams in his seven years after earning his engineering degree from Iowa State in December, 2000.

Shirley scored 822 points in his Cyclone career, averaging 7.5 points and 5 rebounds. He started all 31 games in the 2000-01 season, averaging 10 points and 6.9 rebounds to help Iowa State win the 2001 Big 12 championship.

He earned honorable mention all-Big 12 Conference and second-team academic all-American honors as a senior.

*

DODIE DUNSON ISN'T WRITING A BOOK -- HE'S JUST SAYING ADIOS

Another Iowa State basketball player [or rather a former player] I'm not that familiar with -- somebody called Dodie Dunson -- says he's bailing out of the program.

The good thing is that it's opening up a scholarship.

Here's Iowa State's story on Dunson. Notice how nice everyone is being -- at least in the release from the sports information office:

Iowa State freshman guard Dodie Dunson is transferring to another school, coach Greg McDermott said today.

“It was an honor and privilege to be able to coach Dodie last season,” McDermott said. “He is an outstanding young man and we wish him nothing but the best as he pursues his basketball career.”

Dunson, a native of Bloomington, Ill., was one of the Cyclones' top reserves in his rookie season. He averaged 5.2 points and 1.5 rebounds while playing in all 31 games. Dunson was third on the team in 3-point field goals (30) and his career-high 19 points at Missouri helped Iowa State win its first Big 12 game of the season. He led the Cyclones in free-throw percentage (81.6 percent), earning the school's Free-Throw Award at the postseason awards banquet.

“I really enjoyed my time at Iowa State,” Dunson said. “I know the experience I had in Ames will help me be successful later in life. The coaches, players and the fans were all like family to me.”

*

ANYBODY WANT TO COACH GOLF AT [AHEM] IOWA?

With our state having about a two-week spring, it's difficult for collegiate golf teams to have much in the way of success.

I mean, guys named Zach Johnson [the former Drake golfer who won the 2007 Masters] come along only once in a lifetime.

But here's a collegiate golf story nonetheless from Iowa City, which has never been mistaken for Augusta:

The University of Iowa will begin a national search for a new men’s golf coach as part of a reorganization of varsity men’s golf program and the day-to-day operation of Finkbine golf course.

Iowa will be seeking a replacement for Terry Anderson, the former coach and director of golf operations. Anderson resigned from the positions earlier this spring. A search for the individual who will oversee the operations of the school's award-winning championship golf course will begin at the end of the 2007 golf year.

“We see this as an exciting opportunity and a move that is consistent with our department-wide strategic planning process,” said Iowa athletic director Gary Barta.

“We want to continue to improve what we recognize as one of the premier golf courses in Iowa. At the same time, we must become more competitive in the Big Ten Conference and nationally in men’s golf.”

*
Most of the content in these stories was written for www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com by Mike Green of Iowa State's sports information office and University of Iowa sports information director Phil Haddy. Any editorial comment in them can probably be blamed on Ron Maly. Photo of the cover of Paul Shirley's book courtesy of Amazon.com. Photo of Shirley courtesy of Google.

'After Several Days Of Prayer,' John Michael Hall Says He'll Play for Drake; 'I Wanted To Go Where God Wanted Me To Go,' the 6-5 Guard Comments

John Michael Hall, a 6-foot 5-inch junior college guard, told the Moultrie [Ga.] Observer that he prayed for several days before deciding to play the rest of his collegiate basketball career at Drake.

Now Bulldogs coach Keno Davis hopes he's the answer to Drake's prayers.

Here's the story on Hall that was written by Wayne Grandy of the Moultrie Observer:

After two seasons at Abraham Baldwin College, John Michael Hall wanted to play his last two years of collegiate basketball at the highest level possible.

But, he said, that was not his first consideration.

“I wanted to go where God wanted me to go,” the former Colquitt County all-Region player.

So after several days of prayer, Hall decided to accept an offer to play at Drake.

“When the time came to make a decision, I felt at peace about Drake,” Hall said. “And my parents did, too. It was nice we were all on the same page.

“It’s a good basketball opportunity and a good opportunity academically. And it’s a chance to live in a different place.”

First-year Drake coach Keno Davis likes Hall’s versatility.

“John Michael is a very good athlete and possesses the ability to create off the dribble as well as shoot from the perimeter,” Davis said. “He played in fast- breaking system at Abraham Baldwin and that will ease his transition into our system.”

Hall said he enjoyed his visit to Des Moines.

“I liked the coaching staff and the players,” he said. “There is nothing I didn’t like.”

Hall was on the varsity for four years at Colquitt County, where he played for his father, Keith Hall, and earned all-Region honors three times.

As a senior, he averaged 18.1 points game and cast his lot with ABAC, where he has started the last two seasons.

This year, he averaged 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists while helping lead the Stallions to a 27-5 record and a No. 11 ranking in the final National Junior College Athletic Association Division I poll.

ABAC coach Todd Sheppard said he believes Hall will be successful at the next level.

“I feel his athleticism, high energy level and a genuine love for the game have helped him prepare for this opportunity,” Sheppard said. “His basketball IQ, along with excellent athleticism helped to lead our team to a record-setting season.

“He has truly been an ambassador for ABAC ... a tremendous asset to our program on the court and off.”

Hall said he enjoyed his two seasons at ABAC, where he recently was recognized as a “Pace Setter,” for excellence on the Tifton campus.

“I couldn’t be more thankful to ABAC,” Hall said. “I truly enjoyed both years here, both in basketball and otherwise.

“And I’m thankful to have played for coach Sheppard. He is absolutely the hardest worker I’ve known. He goes above and beyond getting out and let people watch us play.”

Hall will report to Drake on June 8 and will stay for several week playing basketball in the community.

He then will return to Moultrie and prepare for a mission trip to Uganda. He had hoped to make another mission trip to Honduras, but is unsure if he will be able schedule it this summer.

Back To the Register's Screwup Of the Bill Garrett and Dick Culberson Story: Book's Co-Author Tells Me About the Big Ten's Sad 'Gentleman's Agreement'

Tom Graham, co-author of the book, "Getting Open: The Unknown Story Of Bill Garrett and the Integration Of College Basketball," caught up on the Internet with a column I wrote last January and the heated discussion that took place on the Des Moines Register's website about a story it published about former Indiana basketball player Bill Garrett.

In a poorly-researched, poorly-written and poorly-edited story, the Register completely ignored Dick Culberson, a University of Iowa athlete from Iowa City who was the first black basketball player in the Big Ten.

Culberson is pictured with his Hawkeye teammates in a photo of Iowa's conference title team of 1944-45 in the Iowa basketball media guide. Garrett didn't join the Indiana program until 1947.

At the time the Register story was published on Jan. 16, Bill Garrett's son, Billy, was on Steve Alford's staff at Iowa. He's now the head coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Here's Graham's e-mail:

"Ron,

"I just now came across the article about Bill Garrett in the Des Moines Register of last January, and the criticisms that raged for a few days over the comment that Garrett was the first black to play basketball in the Big Ten. I am the co-author, with my daughter, of 'Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball'. Probably our book was a source for the Register's article, and I'd like to offer these belated comments.

"We point out in our book that Dick Culberson was the Big Ten's first African-American basketball player. ('It was an open secret [in 1947] that the basketball coaches of the Big Ten--the conference to which [Indiana] and other large midwestern schools belonged -- had a 'gentleman's agreement' not to recruit or play blacks. Only one black basketball player, Dick Culberson, had ever suited up in a Big Ten basketball uniform, and he had seen only limited action for Iowa in part of one season during World War II....') (p. 92)

"Culberson was the exception that proved the rule. I don't want to minimize his achievement nor the difficulties he faced, but Culberson's breakthrough was isolated--like those of the handful of blacks who played in the L.A. and New York areas, at the University of Toledo and at Pitt in the 1940's. It did not 'break' the gentleman's agreement, did not provide a dramatic example to other coaches, and was not followed quickly by a steady progression of black basketball players into the Big Ten or other midwestern conferences. On the contrary, for four years after Culberson's 1943-44 season with Iowa, the Big Ten gentleman's agreement continued as before.

"Technically, Bill Garrett was the first African-American to be a regular starter on a Big Ten basketball team--and that is (as far as I could tell from reading excerpts online) how The Register described him.

"But more important, it was Garrett who broke once and for all the Big Ten's gentleman's agreement, whose example on and off the court motivated coaches all around the midwest to look for 'Bill Garretts,' and who started the steady movement of black players into major college basketball. In our book, we were careful to describe Garrett's breakthrough that way, and it is in that sense that we called him 'the Jackie Robinson of college basketball.'

"I realize this is probably old hat now, but unfortunately I didn't see the online discussion in time to join it.

"I'll look forward to reading your online column more regularly in the future.

"Best wishes,"

Tom Graham, co-author, with Rachel Graham Cody, of "Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and Integration of College Basketball" (Atria Books: 2006)

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I'm glad you point out in your book, Tom, that Iowa's Dick Culberson was the Big Ten's first black basketball player. I agree with you that your book appears to be a source of the Register's story. That being the case, I can't understand how the newspaper's story on Garrett completely ignored Culberson, who was a reserve on an Iowa team in 1944-45 that had a 17-1 record and won the Big Ten championship. The minute the story appeared on the Register's website, readers were challenging it because they were aware that Culberson was the Big Ten's first black player -- regardless of whether he was a reserve or a starter. One of the first responses to the story on the website said, "What else do you expect from the Register? This is a snippet from the link on the prior posting: It was an unspoken agreement among coaches. No one risked challenging it in the Big Ten until 1944, when the University of Iowa for the first time added to its roster a black, Richard T. Culberson....Dear Gannett, would you take the Register's editors and sports section off of life support and get someone who knows how to put together a sports stlory and/or sports column. This passes for journalism?" When I called Bob Schulz, a four-year letterwinner who was a freshman on Iowa's 1944-45 squad and a teammate of Culberson, he acknowledged that he was "a bit shook up" to read in the paper that Garrett was called the first black player to compete in the Big Ten." The day after the story appeared, the Register [in its print edition] carried this clarification: "Former Indiana men's basketball player William Garrett was the first black to regularly play and consistently start in the Big Ten Conference. Ex-Iowa player Dick Culberson was the first to play in the Big Ten, a few seasons earlier. Information from the Univeristy of Iowa and other sources was incorrect in some cases, and contradictory and unclear in others." The story was quickly removed from the newspaper's website. After exchanging e-mails with Graham about the matter, he wrote: "....please correct my spelling of Dick Culberson's name. I'm embarrassed to say we spelled it wrong [Culbertson] in our book also. I hope you'll see that the book is researched and end-noted thoroughly, but we still slipped up there. The focus of our book is the breaking of the Big Ten's gentleman's agreement, in the setting of how race relations were in the midwest of the '40's. I grew up in Garrett's hometown, with memories of the paradox of the town's segregation and its intense pride in Bill Garrett. The book is available on Amazon and similar websites, as well as on the Simon & Schuster website, 'Simonsays.com.' Atria is a Simon & Schuster imprint. In was published in March, 2006, and is also still available in some book stores....A stray related fact is that, among midwestern colleges, the University of Toledo stood out for taking black players early. The explanation I've heard is that Toledo didn't belong to a conference (hence no gentleman's agreement), and had a lot of East Coast schools on its schedule." Thanks for writing, Tom, and I join many others in saying what a great job you and your daughter did in researching and writing the book. I corrected the spelling of Culberson's name five times in your e-mail comments to me, but unfortunately I couldn't do anything about taking that "t" out of his name in the book.]

*

Update:

A guy tells me a cup of beer now costs $6 at No-Name Stadium -- up 25 cents from last season.

Awful.

No-Name's owners should be arrested for robbery.

*

An e-mail from Bud Appleby of Des Moines:

"Did you notice the corrections on the sports page [of the Register] Wednesday?

"I'm not sure what the mistake was, but it looks like someone covered the conference track meet and reported the wrong team winning."

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: You're right, Bud. The correction said: "All references to Monday's CIML Central Conference girls' track meet published in Tuesday's Register should have said Dowling Catholic won the title." That's the same as a sportswriter covering a basketball game in which Valley beat Dowling, then writing that Dowling won the game. I think the writer who covered the track meet has now been reassigned to carry Jerry Perkins' computer around when he checks on hogs at the State Fair.

*

From Larry Lehmer of Urbandale:

"To commemorate Personal History Month, When Words Matter, Ltd., a personal history services company, will offer a free on-linemini-course on how to write a personal history.

"The month-long course, which will include tips on time management, using memory triggers, organizing thoughts and materials and the writing process, will be taught by When Words Matter founder and president Larry Lehmer, a former editor at The Des Moines Register and published author.

"'While many people eagerly research their family's history, few of us are taking the time to record our own life stories for future generations,' Lehmer said. 'Our descendants will someday ask the same questions about us that we are asking about our ancestors.'

"The on-line course requires no special skills in writing or genealogical research. There are no assignments, deadlines, tests or papers to turn in. There is no registration required. Just visit http://whenwordsmatter.typepad.com anytime during the month. All lessons will be archived on the web site.

"It's an easy way for someone to spend a little time each day reflecting on their life's journey," Lehmer said. "They can be selective about what they choose to use in crafting their own life story."

"Lehmer also makes presentations to clubs and groups about personal history and conducts workshops on how to write legacy letters and histories. In addition, he helps small businesses with general editorial services, such as writing and editing.

"For more information, call (515) 270-2084, check www.whenwordsmatter.typepad.com or e-mail lwlehmer@whenwordsmatter.com

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: It was a pleasure breaking bread [or at least Chinese food] with you at the Register retirees' lunch yesterday, Larry. Keep up the great work].

*

Photo of the cover of "Getting Open: The Unknown Story Of Bill Garrett and the Integration Of College Basketball" courtesy of Google. The illustration from Larry Lehmer's website courtesy of www.whenwordsmatter.com.

Back In the Saddle....

Everybody deserves a second chance.

Or -- in Terry Carroll's case -- a third chance or a fourth chance, for that matter.

Susan Denk of the Burlington Hawk Eye writes that Carroll, who was fired as the basketball coach at the University of Denver after his team had a 4-25 record this past season, is now at Southeastern Community College in Burlington.

During the 4-25 season at Denver, Carroll left the team Dec. 20 for what the school said were "personal issues" and had no contact with athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes afterward.

Here's Denk's story, courtesy of Bud Appleby of Des Moines, that appeared in the Ottumwa Courier:

WEST BURLINGTON — Southeastern Community College introduced Terry Carroll as its new head basketball coach Thursday.

Carroll previously was head coach at the University of Denver and Indian Hills Community College. He also coached one season at Ottumwa High School.

“I know what a great tradition there is here,” Carroll said of Southeastern. “That’s what makes this one of the top jobs in the country. I’m really honored and privileged to be part of this.”

SCC president Beverly Simone announced Carroll as the new coach after talking about the BlackHawks program and how much the program and the team means to the community.

“I didn’t realize how much this program meant to the community until we started this search,” Simone said. “I think it’s terrific how involved the community is in supporting the BlackHawk men’s basketball team, the school, and athletics in general.”

Carroll’s first official day on the job is May 21, but he will meet with the team’s freshmen and assistant coaches later Thursday.

Southeastern fans are familiar with Carroll’s tenure at Indian Hills. He took over the Warrior program in 1989 and posted a 269–50 record over nine years, including consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association championships in 1997 and 1998.

Carroll was named NJCAA coach of the year following both seasons. While at the Ottumwa school, Carroll led the Warriors to 72 consecutive wins, an NJCAA basketball record. Those wins were a part of IHCC’s 89-game winning streak, the longest in college basketball history.

Carroll was head coach at Denver from 2001 up to this past season. A native of Ames, Carroll accepted the position at Denver after spending three seasons at Iowa State as an assistant and associate head coach.

His collegiate coaching experience also includes a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Drake University under head coach Gary Garner (1984-88). Carroll also spent three seasons (1981-84) as the head boys’ basketball coach at Fort Dodge and one year (1988-89) at the helm of the boys’ basketball program at Ottumwa.

[RON MALY'S COMMENT: I hope it all works out for you this time, Terry].

*

Photo of Terry Carroll courtesy of Google.

That Darn Sam Is At It Again!

Sam from the Suburbs -- not his real name -- occasionally spends time at home leafing through literature that displays the latest in football uniforms for collegiate players.

Obviously, am didn't want to keep his latest "find" to himself. So he sent me a photograph and this e-mail:

"I read recently Iowa State is letting fans make suggestions as to what their new football uniforms should look like. Great idea, getting the fans involved. As happens many times when a new football coach is hired, the entire athletic department gets a new 'look.' Here ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard models new attire perfect for any Cyclone fan to sport on 'Casual Friday,' or any day of the week for that matter!"

*

[RON MALY'S COMMENT: By the way, Sam from the Suburbs also uses his Photoshop tool a lot so he can doctor up photos].

Like the Old Coach Said, 'Welcome To the World Of Basketball Recruiting'--Drake Thought It Was Getting a 6-7 Player, But 'Candy Store' Didn't Work Out

Mark Sanchez is a 6-foot 7-inch, 240-pound power forward.

He averaged 19.7 points and 8.3 rebounds as a sophomore for the basketball team at Pima Community College in Arizona.

Those are the kinds of numbers that make major-college coaches drool.

Certainly at Drake, which has to crawl and scratch for any decent player it can get these days.

Even a 6-7 guy who can't keep a promise.

Sanchez sounds like someone the Bulldogs could use next season in Keno Davis' first year as the coach.

He'd be all over the boards and the baskets in the Knapp Center.

And -- wouldn't you know it? -- Sanchez originally said he planned to play for the Bulldogs.

He even gave one of those "verbal commitments" to Drake.

Well, so much for verbal commitments.

Especially from a junior college basketball player.

The Idaho Statesman says Sanchez is taking his act to Boise State. Indeed, he has signed a national letter of intent to play for the Broncos.

The way I look at it, Boise State can have him after he said he'd attend Drake, then changed his mind.

Sounds to me like Boise State continued to recruit Sanchez even after he made the verbal promise to attend Drake.

That seems to happen a lot in big-time basketball these days.

What happened with Sanchez and Drake reminds of a recruiting incident and a conversation I had a few years ago with Tim Floyd, who then was coaching at Iowa State.

Floyd was basketball-smart and recruiting-smart. He knew everything there was to know about what goes on when Division I coaches are recruiting junior college players.

Floyd thought he was going to bring in a junior college guard at midseason. I even called the player on the phone, and he told me how happy he was that he'd be suiting up in Hilton Coliseum and performing for the Cyclones.

Then, at the last minute, he changed his mind and enrolled at a Big East Conference university instead.

Promises, promises.

When I asked Floyd about it, he said, "Welcome to the world of basketball recruiting."

Floyd didn't let losing a guard who had a decent collegiate career send him into selling used cars or real estate.

After a sad-sack several seasons with the Chicago Bulls, he's winning big at Southern California.

Now back to Sanchez....

Of his verbal commitment to attend Drake -- which turned out to be no commitment at all -- Sanchez told the Statesman, "That was my first visit, and I was like a kid in the candy store. I just gave it more thought and asked myself, 'How would I know if that's all I've seen?....'"

The Statesman said Sanchez changed his mind on attending Drake "after a coaching change and after having second thoughts."

Drake turned its coaching job over to Keno Davis after Davis' dad, Tom, was in charge of the program for four seasons.

*

It's getting tougher for baseball players to get a drink in the clubhouse after--or even before and during -- games.

It's a good thing Babe Ruth, who always enjoyed a beer or several between home runs, isn't still playing. He'd really be pissed off about what's going on.

Pretty soon, somebody may tack a sheet of paper on the bulletin board in the clubhouse at Chicago's Wrigley Field that says:

"GAME AGAINST PITTSBURGH TOMORROW. BYOL."

Because of the death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock, major league teams are addressing the alcohol issue aggressively.

Well, kind of aggressively.

Maybe with a wink.

Chicago reporters are saying the Cubs have banned all alcohol from their own clubhouse and on charter flights from Chicago.

But drinks will be allowed in the Cubs' clubhouse on the road and on flights to other cities.

Naturally, the new policy will begin May 18 when the Cubs play the Chicago White Sox.

I'm sure there would've been a lot of drinking then.

The New York Yankees have completely barred alcohol from both clubhouses.

I'm fairly certain that all of this action is happening because the teams expect major league baseball to take some sort of stand against alcohol whenever commissioner Bud Selig wakes up and somebody tells him what to say.

And I'm sure the fact that alcohol has been available in the Cubs' clubhouse is why the team has been so lousy for the last century.

That and terrible players and managers.

Of course, beer [at ridiculously high prices] will continue to be available to fans who will buy it in ridiculously large amounts when they go to ballparks around America -- including No-Name Ballfield in Des Moines, a place that's bush league in every way possible.

Don't forget, Bud Light is a big player in every baseball town in America. Bud hits home runs in commercials during games on TV every night.

*

Photo of Tim Floyd courtesy of Google.

Our Own Des Moines Register Is Named a Gold Medal Winner By the Gannett Co.; Editor Carolyn Washburn Is Honored for Her 'Leadership On Every Level'

Grab a glass or a cup of something. This is big. I mean, real big.

Gannett, a news company that's big on awards, has handed out a bunch. And our own Des Moines Register and its editor and vice-president, Carolyn Washburn, have come away with some of the prizes.

I'm pretty sure the prizes are even bigger than those we all got when we were kids and pulled trinkets out of our Cracker Jacks.

Speaking of Cracker Jacks, the Register has been a Cracker Jack of a paper lately and I'm glad the big boys [and girls] at Gannett have noticed.

By the way, the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., was also an award-winner. The only reason I mention that is because Arnie Garson used to work there.

Anyway, these awards are all so huge that I'm putting this story in bold-face type.

Here it is, courtesy of the Gannett Co. and Jim Romenesko's media news website:

Florida Today at Brevard and Terry Eberle, executive editor of the newspaper, and Randell Beck, executive editor of the Argus Leader at Sioux Falls, S.D., have received Gannett's highest news awards for 2006.

Gold Medal and President's Ring winners were announced recemtly at Gannett headquarters in McLean, Va.

A leader in the development of the Information Center and a champion of innovative approaches to Web and print coverage, Florida Today wins Gannett's Outstanding Achievement Award for Best News Performance by a Newspaper.

Eberle and Beck tie for Gannett's Editor of the Year and top President's Ring winner for 2006.

Eberle is a six-time President's Ring winner. Beck is a five-time President's Ring winner, and, as such, he earns a Chairman's Ring.

INDEX

Gold Medal

President's Rings

Five other newspapers were named Gold Medal winners. They are:

The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Des Moines Register
The News-Press, Fort Myers
The Arizona Republic, Phoenix
Argus Leader, Sioux Falls

"In a year of newsroom transition to the Information Center, the Gold Medal newspapers are leading the way in approaches and content while maintaining strengths essential to our First Amendment roles," said Sue Clark-Johnson, Newspaper Division president. "These newspapers have shown energy, innovation, drive and determination to make the changes. The combination is powerful."

The other President's Ring winners are:

First runner-up: Kate Marymont, editor and vice president/News, The News-Press, Fort Myers. This is her fourth President's Ring.

Second runner-up: Tom Callinan, editor and vice president/News, The Cincinnati Enquirer. This is his eighth President's Ring.

Seven other editors also received President's Rings for 2006. They are (alphabetically):

Ronnie Agnew, executive editor, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss. This is his second President's Ring.

Ward Bushee, editor and vice president/News, The Arizona Republic. This is his 12th President's Ring.

Linda Cunningham, executive editor, Rockford Register Star. This is her second President's Ring.

Bob Gabordi, executive editor, Tallahassee Democrat. This is his third President's Ring.

David Ledford, executive editor, The News Journal, Wilmington. This is his third President's Ring.

Karen Magnuson, editor and vice president/News, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. This is her third President's Ring.

Carolyn Washburn, vice president/editor, The Des Moines Register. This is her second President's Ring.

INDEX

Gold Medal

President's Rings

The judges for President's Ring were: Craig Dubow, chairman, president and CEO; Sue Clark-Johnson, president, Newspaper Division; Phil Currie, senior vice president/News; and Jennifer Carroll, vice president/New Media Content.

GOLD MEDAL

The Gold Medal awards recognize Gannett newspapers for outstanding news performance in several categories. Criteria include leadership; managing a diverse content portfolio that includes daily, non-daily and online; quality of content in print and online; implementation of the New Media Spectrum and work toward developing the Information Center; performance in Best of Gannett and All-American; work with other departments to achieve overall goals; innovation; circulation factors; and Web site metrics.

Judges take into account the difficulty of achieving the performance and any special circumstances that merit consideration.

The judges for the Gold Medal awards were: Sue Clark-Johnson, Phil Currie and Jennifer Carroll.

Florida Today receives a $5,000 prize as winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award for Best News Performance by a Newspaper in 2006. Other Gold Medal newspapers receive $2,000.

Here are the details on the Gold Medal winners.


OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR BEST NEWS PERFORMANCE BY A NEWSPAPER

Florida Today at Brevard

Florida Today was cited for its commitment to community journalism, its increased focus on First Amendment work and its fast and effective transition to an Information Center. The newspaper's First Amendment team and its watchdog/Brevard Watchlist site devote attention to clean government, responsible business and safe neighborhoods. The newspaper improved non-daily products and expanded local coverage in sports, neighborhoods and classrooms. Brevard was Gannett's test site for video training, and the staff offered suggestions used throughout the Gannett video-training effort. The newspaper's Web site includes five hyper-local sites to reach new audiences, including Little League, youth football and soccer, Palm Bay and the Kennedy Space Center. Web-site performance reflects a 30 percent increase in page views and unique visitors. The newspaper was a leader in Best of Gannett.

In praising the accomplishments of Florida Today, the judges said: "In every place and in every way, Florida Today has taken up and successfully carried out the challenge of becoming an effective Information Center for delivery of news and information on multiple platforms. As a winner of the Innovation Award, as the developer of both local-local news approaches and inventive online First Amendment content, and as the place where integration of effort has come together, Florida Today has set the standard and has upheld it in all areas. From every perspective, Florida Today had an absolutely outstanding year."

INDEX

Gold Medal

President's Rings

OTHER GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Cincinnati Enquirer was cited for the development of an Information Center that manages a diverse content portfolio including the daily newspaper, non-daily publications, community newspapers and around-the-clock Web sites for both the region and individual communities. The newspaper expanded the use of the Get Published! tool, which allows people in the community to post to community Web sites. Cincinnati.com's Data Desk, one of the key components of the Information Center, includes more than 11 million public records. The newspaper's 2006 research showed good progress, and the newspaper's circulation was up 4.6 percent. The Enquirer was the top-performing newspaper in Best of Gannett. It was among the top five in All-American performance and won the Freedom of Information top award (a tie).

In saluting the Enquirer's efforts, the judges said: "Cincinnati moved forward on multiple fronts -- in its neighborhoods, in Kentucky, online and in special products -- and it carried off each effort very well. The result was broader, deeper, more targeted content for its readers and online users. It was a great job."


The Des Moines Register

The Des Moines Register was cited for its cumulative efforts related to digital, watchdog and community coverage. The Register excelled in authoritative public service journalism, established more local and more enterprise-oriented suburban coverage across all platforms, developed a stronger Business section and introduced an expanded news-update report online. The Information Center's Data Desk was launched with several effective community databases. The newspaper was among the top five in the All-American Review.

Citing the work of the Register, the judges said: "The Des Moines Register team made sure that size and reputation weren't deterrents to new thinking and new progress. Maintaining the long-time strengths of the Register, the newspaper broke new ground in both approaches and content, giving each area the same attention and quality the Register long has maintained. Can the Information Center be built and work in a traditional and respected environment? You bet, and Des Moines is proving it."


INDEX

Gold Medal

President's Rings

The News-Press at Fort Myers

The News-Press was cited for its introduction of new and creative approaches to coverage as it built its Information Center. These efforts include "MoJos" or mobile journalists and First Amendment efforts, including an innovative crowd-sourcing approach that drew significant community input. The newspaper reorganized its staff to focus on multi-platform publishing that resulted in continual news reporting and updates. The newspaper developed effective new approaches to coverage in key competitive coverage areas. Its online traffic grew 35 percent. The newspaper was a finalist in the Freedom of Information Award, the runner-up in the All-American Diversity Award and was second in Best of Gannett performance.

In saluting The News-Press, the judges said: "The News-Press was the home of breakthrough ideas -- MoJos and crowd-sourcing being two big ones -- and a creative building of its Information Center. It delivered on Freedom of Information, public service and diversity, and it used its new tools for solid approaches on breaking news, First Amendment and local-local coverage. The package as a whole is quite impressive."


The Arizona Republic at Phoenix

The Arizona Republic was cited for its strategic and tactical approach to developing an Information Center in a large, metro market. The Information Center plan, which integrated the staffs of the Republic and azcentral.com, focused on audience targets, platforms and the consolidation of news staffs. The Republic enhanced its print newspaper for a 40-plus audience, restructured the metro staff to improve the level of regional reporting and developed Boomer-centric content for print. Web site efforts included the expansion of micro-sites for communities and other topics; a Dining Center site; and a Web companion site to Yes Style. The newspaper streamlined its approach to its community newspapers and Web sites and integrated its array of magazines. The Arizona Republic was a finalist for the Freedom of Information Award.

In recognizing the work of the Republic, the judges said: "In an ever-changing market, where vast numbers of residents come and go and new communities seem to spring up overnight, The Arizona Republic team did a tremendous job of keeping pace with the change of the community and the change in the newsroom. Innovative ideas rolled out along with very solid approaches. Even more contact was made and content was delivered in print and online for the suburban communities critical to growth of the Republic. Tenacious pursuit and dogged efforts at training and development marked another strong year for Phoenix."


Argus Leader at Sioux Falls

The Argus Leader at Sioux Falls was cited for its leadership in creating an Information Center that resulted in a new and better local and local-local newspaper and Web site. The newspaper's efforts included a continued strong commitment to enterprise and public-service journalism. In reshaping the print newspaper, Sioux Falls introduced several approaches that are serving as models for other newspapers. These include an all-local A section, a "Voices" community conversations section and themed, tabloid features sections. The newspaper was a top performer in Best of Gannett, where it won the top Innovation Award, and in the All-American Review. It also won the Freedom of Information top award (a tie).

In saluting the Argus Leader's work, the judges said: "The Argus Leader took on the task of rethinking its operation and developing new packages for its audience in print and online. The new print product delivered effective change in new ways, including an imaginative Voices section. This special work was coupled with aggressive updating of stories online, reshaping of non-daily products, aggressive Freedom of Information efforts, and overall energy making a big impact. Together, these gave the Argus Leader a tremendous year."

PRESIDENT'S RINGS


A President's Ring recognizes editors who have assured excellent progress and performance by their newsrooms in a number of areas. These areas include: leadership; managing a diverse content portfolio of daily, non-daily and online products; the quality of newspaper content and coverage online; implementation of the New Media Spectrum, the initial steps toward a fully operating Information Center; work with other departments to achieve overall newspaper goals; innovation; work on corporate projects and overcoming obstacles.

INDEX

Gold Medal

President's Rings

EDITOR OF THE YEAR (tie)

Terry Eberle, executive editor, Florida Today at Brevard

The 2006 Editor of the Year awards go to Terry Eberle, executive editor of Florida Today at Brevard, and Randell Beck, executive editor of the Argus Leader at Sioux Falls.

Terry Eberle is cited for his efforts in assuring that Florida Today is positioned to meet the changing needs of readers in print, online and other platforms. He strengthened the newspaper's commitment to community journalism, increased the amount and quality of First Amendment work and made the transition to a multi-platform Information Center in 67 days. Under Eberle's leadership, Brevard journalists reinvented the way they approach their work, devised work flows and newsroom systems to meet the new expectations, improved interaction with readers and trained employees in video production. The newspaper used new media techniques to transform First Amendment journalism from big projects to a daily experience and a source of conversation for the audience. Florida Today won a Gold Medal and the award for Outstanding Achievement in News. This is Terry's sixth President's Ring.

The judges said: "In a year of extensive transition, Terry provided outstanding leadership in taking Florida Today through all aspects of change. The newsroom swiftly converted to an Information Center, preserving the important First Amendment aspects while also being extraordinarily innovative. Eberle's steady hand effectively guided the whole process. It was a remarkable job."


EDITOR OF THE YEAR (Tie)

Randell Beck, executive editor, Argus Leader at Sioux Falls

Randell Beck was cited for his leadership in conceiving a new and better local/local-local newspaper and Web site. He worked closely with the publisher and Operating Committee members to create new advertising opportunities within the model newspaper and Web site. During a time of change, Beck kept the newspaper's commitment to high-level enterprise and public-service journalism through coverage examining such issues as pistol permits and racism in South Dakota sports. Beck and others in the Pacific Group developed a frontline editor training program. A champion of diversity, Beck worked with several Native American groups to mentor and encourage prospective journalists. The Argus Leader won a Gold Medal.

This is Randell's fifth President's Ring. That earns him a Chairman's Ring, given to those who are cited in five different years for their leadership.

The judges said: "Randell provided enthusiastic and focused leadership that resulted in an effective series of changes at the Argus Leader, making it a newspaper that many others emulated throughout the year. His creative, persistent approach brought about great concepts and content, and it played a big role in First Amendment/Freedom of Information journalism that kept citizens well informed even as the legislature tried to sweep some things under the rug."

FIRST RUNNER-UP

Kate Marymont, editor and vice president/News, The News-Press, Fort Myers

Kate Marymont was cited for building a new organization and developing a new culture that resulted in a multi-platform approach to news and information in the community. Marymont reallocated resources to build readership in a competitive area and to position The News-Press as a catalyst for community dialogue. As a test site for First Amendment reporting, Marymont's team developed the use of "crowd-sourcing" as a tool for investigative reporting that resulted in significant community input and industry attention and brought strong results. She provided leadership during a time of transition on understanding target audiences and their needs. The News-Press won a Gold Medal. This is Kate's fourth President's Ring.

The judges said: "Kate welcomed one new approach after another in the Fort Myers newsroom and took the steps necessary to make them succeed. She led the newspaper to excellent performance in Best of Gannett, All-American and other standard measures while bringing the new Information Center approach into clear focus and operation. Kate covered all responsibilities very well."

INDEX

Gold Medal

President's Rings

SECOND RUNNER-UP

Tom Callinan, editor and vice president/News, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Tom Callinan was cited for his leadership in setting a foundation for the Information Center. Callinan broadened his responsibilities to oversee all content for Cincinnati.com and its related Web sites, the custom publishing operation and 27 community newspapers. He emphasized the Northern Kentucky commitment and kept attention on high quality in the core products. He led a restructuring of the online content team to consolidate and streamline operations. With Tom's leadership, the Data Desk has grown into an Information and Research Center with extensive database features and revenue opportunities. Callinan and his team work closely with other departments on strategic and quality issues. Through all this, the newspaper produced strong watchdog efforts for the community. The Cincinnati Enquirer won a Gold Medal. This is Tom's eighth President's Ring.

The judges said: "Tom's decisive leadership made certain that changes in The Cincinnati Enquirer operation were sweeping and effective. His clear direction, including his 'break news online, update in print,' had substantial impact in bringing cultural change in the newsroom. At the same time, Cincinnati delivered in Freedom of Information, Best of Gannett Innovation and Public Service and in a strong diversity performance. It was a great year for Tom."


OTHER RING WINNERS

Ronnie Agnew, executive editor, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss.

Ronnie Agnew was cited for his leadership in enterprise and First Amendment battles, including suing the city of Jackson and the mayor over public records; for working with his Operating Committee colleagues to develop successful business strategies; for working with the staff to develop a strong breaking-news culture online; for expanding the overall components of clarionledger.com; and for his leadership in diversity efforts for his staff, his community and the industry. The Clarion-Ledger was named by Editor & Publisher magazine as one of the 10 newspapers in the industry "that get it right." This is Ronnie's second President's Ring.

The judges said: "Ronnie's accomplishments included taking on a mayor who tried to deny The Clarion-Ledger -- and the public -- information to which they were entitled. In the end, the newspaper got access to the information, and the mayor got indicted. The Clarion-Ledger moved forward on the Information Center, continued its strong public-service work and built its diversity effectively."

INDEX

Gold Medal

President's Rings

Ward Bushee, editor and vice president/News, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix

Ward Bushee was cited for his strong vision, leadership and guidance in a significant year of transition for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. He zero-based resources, redirected staffing and retooled content to meet the needs of an audience-based strategy and print and online platforms. Bushee and his team created a strategic and tactical path that led to the Republic's unique blueprint for the Information Center. He was an advocate of content for audiences, a constant change agent and a careful observer of what changes the readers want. The Arizona Republic was a Gold Medal winner. This is Ward's 12th President's Ring, the most awarded to any Gannett editor.

The judges said: "Ward had the huge task of working toward bringing the Information Center into existence across the vast Phoenix operation at the same time the newspaper was expanding its suburban coverage and increasing its line of products. He effectively oversaw all of that -- and more."

Linda Cunningham, executive editor, Rockford Register Star

Linda Cunningham was cited for her leadership in the redesign of the Register Star for its new press with new content, sections, color and format; for the creation of new non-daily products, including Rockford Woman and GO NOW; and for the restructure of the newsroom into an Information Center. Cunningham championed significant improvements to the Register Star, rrstar.com and its non-daily products. She worked closely throughout the year with the online manager to develop content tied to the New Media Spectrum priorities. This is Linda's second President's Ring.

The judges said: "Linda took on the task of building an improved product to match up with a new press -- and the readers came out ahead with the combination. She also moved Rockford forward on non-daily and online fronts, again with positive success. Over the years, Linda has led Rockford successfully through a variety of changes. This was a capstone year for her."

INDEX

Gold Medal

President's Rings

Bob Gabordi, executive editor, Tallahassee Democrat

Bob Gabordi was cited for his leadership in creating a new culture that resulted in significant changes and improvements to the Tallahassee Democrat and to Tallahassee.com. This work ultimately led to the development of the Information Center. Gabordi's focus on public-service journalism resulted in coverage that changed people's lives and resulted in the top Public Service award in Division II Best of Gannett. The overall efforts resulted in circulation progress and a Web site with strong market penetration. Gabordi led steps to improve the quality of writing and emphasize local topics that needed attention. The newspaper launched two new community newspapers, and it was strong performer in Best of Gannett. This is Bob's third President's Ring.

The judges said: "Bob oversaw sweeping changes in the Tallahassee operation, bringing new concepts to the newsroom and building its base to higher levels. The newspaper achieved the top award in Public Service in its division, demonstrating the commitment Bob and the staff have to making an impact in the community."

David Ledford, executive editor, The News Journal at Wilmington

David Ledford was cited for his leadership in work related to the newspaper's evolution to the Information Center. Ledford worked with his editors to devise a plan to take the newsroom to a 24-7 operation, a model for other Gannett newspapers. He championed a culture of experimentation, especially in storytelling with multimedia. Ledford's strong attention to investigative journalism resulted in projects on Delaware state prison officials, the handling of a nerve agent and the possible release of its residual into the Delaware River. He participated in training sessions and told of the Information Center developments in industry meetings. Ledford is vice president of APME. This is David's third President's Ring.

The judges said: "David was at the forefront of advances toward the Information Center concept, with an especially strong effort in building the digital report for readers. His no-nonsense, get-it-done approach moved the News Journal along swiftly, and his commitment to First Amendment journalism stood out throughout the year."

Karen Magnuson, editor and vice president/News, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Karen Magnuson was cited for her efforts in transforming a print-centric newsroom into a nimble, robust Information Center focused on hyper-local news. She guided efforts as Rochester tested Multimedia Desk approaches. She reorganized the reporting staff to expand coverage in the suburbs, launched a redesigned Our Towns for print and created community news sites for the Web. She established a Public Service Center with a focus on investigative reporting. This center produced two "multimedia first" experiments that resulted in both significant Web traffic and record single-copy sales. Magnuson worked with Operating Committee members and others to build on aggregated audience opportunities. Magnuson sustained a strong focus on diversity. The newspaper was rated No. 1 in the All-American Review and won the first All-American Diversity award. Magnuson became president of APME in October after serving a year as vice president. This is Karen's third President's Ring.

The judges said: "Karen and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle provided break-through ideas combining online and print efforts to conduct First Amendment journalism and build audience. She helped drive a strong multimedia effort, and on the national stage, she served as president of APME. Her commitment to diversity won the newspaper Gannett's first newsroom All-American Diversity Award. In an incredibly busy year, she did it all."

Carolyn Washburn, vice-president/editor, The Des Moines Register

Carolyn Washburn provided leadership on every level -- for the staff, on the Operating Committee and in the community -- to drive a culture of innovation and solutions for the Des Moines audience. She led the effort as a test site for and development of the Information Center by guiding her staff through conversations and decisions that resulted in comprehensive digital, watchdog and community efforts. She developed new performance reviews, made effective use of resources and maintained strong training efforts. She worked on several company task forces and spoke frequently with others in the industry about Information Center initiatives. The Register won a Gold Medal. This is Carolyn's second President's Ring.

The judges said: "Carolyn has demonstrated clear direction and determination in leading The Des Moines Register on its impressive trek to establish the Information Center and bring even more approaches to delivery of news and information to the Register's readers and online users. With continued respect for the strengths a larger staff delivers, she helped show the way to other metro newspapers also undertaking the changes."

*

Photo of Carolyn Washburn [lower right] courtesy of Google. Photo of Gannett Co. gold ring [lower left] courtesy of Gannett.com. Photo of Cracker Jack box [top center] courtesy of Wikipedia.

A Super Bowl Ring On the Horizon for Iowa's Mike Elgin? Kirk Ferentz 'Engineered' a Good Deal With the Patriots for a Guy With a 3.98 Classroom Score

Barry Crist of West Des Moines is among those who have last weekend's National Football League draft on their minds:

Here's Crist's e-mail:

"The winner of the off-season (free agency/NFL draft) is clearly the New England Patriots. Their position of weakness last year was at wide receiver. They came with one lost contact lens by the former Florida WR in the AFC championship game of being the world champion -- again. The receiver had lost his contact lens on the previous play and did not have the presence of mind to call a time out. The next play he was not covered and could not catch any of the three balls he saw coming toward him. He would have walked into the end zone.

"Now the Pats have acquired All-World Randy Moss for a FOURTH round pick. Moss was a malcontent at Oakland and Minnesota because he wants to play for a winner. He agreed to cut his pay in HALF and ran a 4.29 forty for the Patriots recently in a workout in Boca Raton, FL. Previously, the Pats acquired free agent signed wide receivers Donte Stallworth and Kelly Washington and traded a 2nd round pick for slot receiver and returner, Wesley Welker.

"The defense gort a huge boost when the Pats signed All-Pro LB, Adalius Thomas. They also added USC LB, Oscar Lua in the draft. Lua was good enough to start for two years over the No. 1 linebacker recruit of two years ago. Brandon Merriweather, their first round pick dropped to 24 due to character issues. However, he had a PERMIT and the gun was registered. That has to be a first for young African-American males in Miami....

"Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz 'engineered' his old mentor, Bill Belichick, into drafting Mike Elgin, a three-year Iowa starter at center and guard. At 6-3 and 285, Elgin is too small to play guard, but will do well at center. Mike carries a 3.98 GPA in engineering and will have a long career in Boston. He will get a Super Bowl ring in his first season as the New England Patriots will reign supreme in the NFL in 2008. Book it, Dano!

"In addition, New England traded the 28th pick in the first round to San Francisco for a fourth-round pick (Randy Moss) and San Francisco's first round pick in 2008. That pick will certainly be a lot higher in the first round than 28th. Since SF lost their offensive genius, Norv Turner, to the Chargers, it could be a top ten pick.

"Bill Belichick and his GM understand the draft like no other staff in the NFL."

Barry Crist
West Des Moines

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: With Ferentz and his NFL connections, any Hawkeye player with an ounce of ability has the chance to get an opportunity with a professional team. Mike Elgin has always been a class act, and I hope things go well for him in the play-on-Sunday league].

*

Bob Nicholas, the uncle of former Iowa football player Scott Chandler, also writes about the NFL draft:

"Ron,

"Well, it looks like Scott hit the big time.

"From their father's home in Southlake, TX, Sunday, Big Nate told me that Scott was very low as many of the teams that had expressed an interest passed him by in the fourth round.

"But then, Scott got a call from the Chargers. He talked to by the owner, the coach, Antonio Gates, and Hawkeye kicking great Nate Kaeding. Wow!!!

"Of course, being Proud Uncle Bob, I know the selection was made for me; it's the closest pro team to Huntington Beach.

"Best Regards,"

Proud Uncle Bob

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Thanks for writing, Uncle Bob. I think your nephew has a chance to play professional football for a number of years. Good luck to him].

*

I wrote about Drake sports information director Mike Mahon the other day in connection with his hard work during the Drake Relays.

That evidently got George Davison of Des Moines thinking about another man who handled the sports publicity responsibilities at Drake:

"Ron:

"In my opinion, Drake has generally been blessed with some very, very good sports information directors.

"My attention is focused on Dick Dietl. He was SID during most of the time I attended Drake (during those glory years with Maury John and the belly-button defense, as well as Jack Wallace who put some pretty good football teams together).

"What sticks out in my mind about Dick was the amount of informationthat he would provide those covering the games or events at Drake. A group of us in broadcast journalism would video tape the games at Veterans Auditorium (Maury would review the video tapes). The project involved student directors, camera operators, and announcers. Dick provided us with all the information he did the commercial broadcasters, and it was voluminous (including a running play-by-play with times, etc.) I wish I had saved some of those information sheets he prepared and provided (they were printed on one of those spirit duplicators which used a blue substance and left the paper full of enough fumes to make you high!)...."

George F. Davison, Jr, JD
Des Moines

RON MALY'S COMMENTS: George, thanks for recalling Dick Dietl's strong work in the sports information office at Drake. Dietl, of course, followed in the footsteps of the sports information trailblazer at Drake -- the incomparable Paul Morrison. After his years at Northern Iowa and Drake, Dietl went on to become the athletic director at West Texas State. The last I heard, he was living in Oregon. Dietl was followed at Drake by other outstanding sports information folks, including Steve Hellyer, Steve Roe, Dave Williford and now Mike Mahon. Hellyer now is on the football staff at the University of Kentucky, Roe is associate sports information director at Iowa and Williford is the sports information director at Oregon.

*

Fred from Fairfax writes:

"Here's a pretty good story the Register and other members of the media have missed: The Iowa baseball team has scored 95 runs in winning seven straight Big Ten games. The team batting average was better than .400 in four straight wins at Northwestern. The other side of the coin is that our pitching has been almost as bad, but good enough to win seven in a row...."

Fred from Fairfax

[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: I hate to get into one of those "they-don't-do-it-the-way-we-used-to-do-it" routines again, but....well, they don't. You need a microscope and DNA testing anymore to find out anything about college baseball in a daily newspaper these days. Obviously, the Hawkeyes' success is one of the best-kept secrets in the state. But give the Register some credit, Fred. The editors finally got the Jim Rosborough-is-through-at-Arizona story from the Arizona Daily Star in the paper last Sunday -- eight days after it appeared here. I guess it took 'em that long to figure out who Rosborough is. But it could be they're trying to catch up].

*

I wrote about professional baseball's troubles with alcohol the other day, and lots of people are talking about it following the death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock.

The Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Cubs don't have any immediate plans to ban alcohol in the clubhouse, but manager Lou Piniella would support such a move if major league baseball determines a ban on alcohol would avoid tragedies.

"I'm for what's good for the player," Piniella said.

Piniella, who is in his first year with the Cubs, said he's had to ban liquor from the clubhouse in the past, but hasn't banned beer.

"I always ask the clubhouse guys around the league how we [compare]," he said, "and I've had some clubhouse guys tell me, 'Your team, they use the blender a little more than others.'"

*

Also from the Sun-Times:

When Piniella went to the mound the other night to talk to pitcher Ted Lilly, this conversation took place:

"Skip, your zipper's down," Lilly said.

"Forget my zipper," Piniella said.

Lilly said later, "I was just trying to help him out. I figured he might be on national television."

*

Photo of Bill Belichick [right] courtesy of Google. Photo of Mike Elgin [left] courtesy of the University of Iowa.

The Death Of St. Louis Cardinals Pitcher Josh Hancock Is Another Vivid, Sad Reminder Of the Problem Baseball and Sports In General Have With Alcohol

Rick Majerus sure picked the wrong week to agree to a six-year contract as the basketball coach at St. Louis University.

Majerus, the grossly overweight former ESPN basketball announcer and coach at the University of Utah among other places, definitely took a back seat to some sad news involving the professional baseball team in the same town.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock, 29, was killed at 12:35 a.m. Sunday when a rented 2007 Ford Explorer he was driving ran into the back of a 26,000-pound tow-truck on an Interstate highway.

Let me mention right now that I join the Cardinals, all of baseball and much of America in offering sympathy to Hancock's family at this terrible time.

Still, I also want to mention that I think Hancock had a problem, and I'm starting to think baseball has a problem, too.

A serious problem.

And I'm not talking about steroids.

I'm talking about alcohol.

The fatal crash Hancock had over the weekend was another reminder of that.

Indeed, it was his second bout with a traffic problem in the space of several days.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Hancock "was in a potentially serious traffic accident less than three days before the one that took his life Sunday, according to police reports."

The newspaper said Hancock walked away from that early Thursday morning crash uninjured, but he was late for the team's afternoon game a few hours later. The club and several teammates said he had overslept.

"But sources say he was late because he was hung over," Post-Dispatch reporters Joe Srauss and Jake Wagman wrote.

Two nights later, after pitching in a Saturday afternoon game against the Chicago Cubs, Hancock spent the evening at Mike Shannon's restaurant to a "point of impairment, according to a couple at the restaurant.

"The couple said they overheard Hancock telling ESPN broadcaster Dave Campbell that manager Tony LaRussa had been infuriated with Hancock on Thursday because he was 'too hung over to play.' A club source said Hancock was hung over when he arrived at the ballpark."

Two witnesses said Hancock appeared impaired. One said the pitcher "had a mixed drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. And my wife's comment was, 'He can barely put a sentence together.'"

Three days earlier, the paper said, Hancock had a close call when his vehicle edged several inches into an intersection. A tractor-trailer struck Hancock's GMC Denali, tearing off the vehicle's front bumper.

"Just another inch or so and he could have died because that tractor-trailer was traveling about 45 to 50 miles per hour," a police chief told the paper.

Hancock was not ticketed.

Hmmm.

The accident happened at 5:30 a.m., just hours before the Cardinals were scheduled to play Cincinnati at 12:10 p.m. Someone said he overheard Hancock say at Shannon's restaurant Saturday night that he missed the start of Thursday's game because he had spent the previous night drinking, and LaRussa fined him $500.

This is the same LaRussa who was arrested for drunk driving while police found him slumped over the steering wheel of his car late at night during spring training in Jupitor, Fla.

Hancock was part of a team of players who had fun spraying one another with champagne following their World Series victory last year over Detroit.

Lots of champagne....it's all in fun, right?

Oh, yeah, so much fun. Even for a guy who, early in the 2007 season, managed to get dead-drunk.

This is a Cardinals team that plays in Busch Stadium, and Busch is a huge brewery.

The brewery is so big a part of the ballclub that a team of Clydesdale horses owned by the brewery marches through the stadium prior to the season's opening game every year.

Beer is a big, big part of advertising in major league baseball and in sports in general. Beer is in the clubhouse of most, if not all, professional baseball teams.

Vendors regularly come through the stands at places like No-Name Ballfield in Des Moines, selling large cups of beer that cost an atrocious $5.75.

The money-hungry owners at No-Name -- who'd call their ballfield Whorehouse Park if a bunch of prostitutes offered to give them $100 for the naming rights -- won't let people smoke, but they sure let 'em, or want 'em to, drink the beer they sell.

Beer is also available in coolers in the press boxes of major league ballparks for reporters to drink whenever they want it.

At least that was the case in the years when I sat in big league press boxes.

Baseball has a number of problems, and alcohol is definitely one of the big ones.

Someone should have addressed Josh Hancock's problem -- and maybe Tony LaRussa's, too -- before police had to get involved. And, in Hancock's situation, before the mortician had to get involved.

But can you imagine LaRussa -- with the DUI rap hanging over his head now -- trying to tell Hancock to quit drinking a week ago?

We've got trouble, folks. Right here in America's Pastime.

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Photos of Josh Hancock and what was left of the vehicle in which he died courtesy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

ABC Will Televise Iowa's 7 P.M. Big Ten Football Opener Sept. 22 At Wisconsin; 6-5 Junior College Guard Signs Letter Of Intent With Drake

Iowa's football team will open the 2007 Big Ten season in primetime. ABC-TV will televise the Hawkeyes’ Sept. 22 game at Wisconsin at 7 p.m. to kick off the Big Ten schedule.

The game will mark Iowa’s second night game of the 2007 season and the second time in two seasons Iowa has been selected by ABC for a primetime telecast. Iowa’s home opener, Sept. 8 against Syracuse, will also have a 7 p.m. kickoff and will be aired on the Big Ten network.

A year ago, Iowa’s home game against top-ranked Ohio State was televised throughout the nation by ABC in primetime. The Ohio State game also included a visit to the Iowa campus by ESPN’s “Game Day” crew, as thousands of Iowa fans flooded Hubbard Park Friday afternoon and Saturday morning for the airing of that show.

As was the case with the 2006 Ohio State-Iowa game, a second Big Ten game (Purdue at Minnesota, 8 p.m., ESPN2) will be aired during the evening window on Sept. 22.

“Having a primetime telecast on ABC-TV will only add to the excitement of the start of the conference season,” said Iowa athletic director Gary Barta. “As is the case with the primetime event we are hosting versus Syracuse, this will provide great exposure on a national scale to both our football program and the University of Iowa.”

Iowa and Wisconsin will be meeting for the 83rd time when the two teams open conference action, with the series knotted at 40-40-2. The 2007 game will mark the first ever between the two teams in September. Iowa had won four straight meetings, including wins in Madison in both 2003 and 2005, before Wisconsin’s 24-21 victory in Kinnick Stadium a year ago.

The game at Wisconsin also marks the eighth time in the last nine seasons the Hawkeyes will open Big Ten action with a road game.

Iowa's homecoming game Sept. 29 against Indiana will start at 11 a.m. and will be televised by either ESPN, ESPN2 or the Big Ten network.

As in the past, ABC-TV and the family of ESPN networks will also provide weekly live television coverage of Big Ten Conference football games. The broadcast schedule for those games will be announced at a later date.

Iowa’s game at Wisconsin is one of seven primetime games announced by the Big Ten involving league teams that will be aired on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The seven games are the following:

Sept. 8 Notre Dame at Penn State 5 p.m. ESPN
Sept. 22 Iowa at Wisconsin 7 p.m. ABC
Sept. 22 Purdue at Minnesota 8 p.m. ESPN2
Sept. 29 Ohio State at Minnesota 7 p.m. TBA
Oct. 6 Ohio State at Purdue 7 p.m. TBA
Oct. 20 Michigan at Illinois 7 p.m. TBA
Oct. 27 Ohio State at Penn State 7 p.m. TBA

In addition to Iowa’s home game against Syracuse, the Big Ten network will televise four additional conference games in primetime during the upcoming season, along with weekly coverage of other league games. The additional four primetime games on the Big Ten network include Indiana State at Indiana (Sept. 1, 7 p.m.), Duke at Northwestern (Sept. 15, 7 p.m.), Indiana at Michigan State (Oct. 13, 6 p.m.) and Illinois at Minnesota (Nov. 3, 7 p.m.).

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This story was written for www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com by Steve Roe of the University of Iowa's sports information office.

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6-5 JUNIOR COLLEGE GUARD SIGNS WITH DRAKE

John Michael Hall, a 6-foot 5-inch guard from Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) Community College, has signed a national basketball letter of intent at Drake.

Hall averaged 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists while leading his team to a 27-5 record in 2006-07, including a No. 11 ranking in the final National Junior College Athletic Association Division I poll.

He scored 20 or more points four times, including a season-high 23 points against Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College. He grabbed a season-high nine rebounds against Cape Fear Community College.

Hall attended Colquitt County High School in Moultrie, Ga., where he averaged 18.1 points and 7.2 rebounds as a senior in 2004-05 en route to earning three-time all-region and all-area honors. He was named the region most valuable player as a senior.

"John Michael is a very good athlete and possesses the ability to create off the dribble as well as shoot from the perimeter," said Drake coach Keno Davis. "He played in a fast breaking system at Abraham Baldwin and that will ease his transition into our system."

Said Abraham Baldwin coach Todd Sheppard: "The Abraham Baldwin family is extremely excited about John Michael's choice to attend Drake University. The two seemed to fit each other very well. John Michael chose Drake over several other schools because he felt at peace at Drake University. I feel that his athleticism, high energy level and a genuine love for the game have helped him prepare for this opportunity. His basketball IQ along with excellent athleticism helped to lead our team to a record setting season.

"Last week John Michael was recognized as a "Pace Setter" at ABAC. This award is given to a couple of people on our campus that lead by demonstrating excellence. He was the only student selected. John Michael is involved in so many things on our campus and has truly been an ambassador for ABAC. He was a tremendous asset to our program on the court and off. We will miss him a great deal and we will all be following his progress at Drake University."

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This story for www.wesleyvaclav.blogspot.com was written by Drake sports information director Mike Mahon.