It was a typical, crisp autumn day in New England. I was a 13-year-old boy in eighth grade. Little did I know the most memorable days of my life were about to occur. It was Friday, November 22, 1963....MORE…

For every Joe Pa, Coach K & Pat Summitt there are numerous campus coaching legends like Anson Dorrance, Beth Anders & Mike Candrea whom you’ve probably never heard of. Jim Weber heralds 13 heroes of the fall (winter & spring).

College Coaching’s Unsung Legends

The Major League Baseball Hot Stove Season has officially started. This is the time of year when talented baseball players stand in line for handouts. However, rather than a small, tin cup in their hand, players back up Brinks trucks to the door of crazy team owners who hand out cash like it’s Monopoly money.

I guess it was foolish of me to think the current financial crisis would hit home with MLB. With capitalism gone amuck from the greed on Wall Street and the crazy like fox CEO’s who horded company money while their firms were crumbling – MLB owners appear to be well on their way to, yet again, another record-breaking contract season. With players like Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia likely to sign deals in excess of $150 million, I guess MLB thinks they’re not vulnerable to any future liquidity crisis. Either that or they know our new socialistic system will bail their asses out too if and when the time comes.

Understand this…baseball teams cannot survive solely from ticket sales and charging ludicrous prices for hot dogs and beer. They need corporate America. Without them, their current ability to print money will soon come to an end. And, with the economy as is, you’d think they’d begin tightening their payroll belts. When the Yankees have trouble selling all their new luxury boxes, it should be a sign of times to come. Hell, even the end-all capitalist team, Boston Red Sox, have put a freeze on ticket prices for 2009.

Who knows, maybe our game has become bigger-than-life and is recession proof. Maybe money will continue to flow into team coffers indefinitely. Maybe owners think fans will continue to flock to stadiums to watch these over-paid players.

Sellers beware.

In November of 1996, I was producing the NBC comedy Suddenly Susan starring Brooke Shields. Shortly after that year’s presidential election, won by Bill Clinton, I got the far fetched idea to invite his defeated republican opponent, Senator Robert Dole, to appear as a guest on our show. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to reach Senator Dole’s office and how quickly he agreed to appear in our show.

Fewer than four weeks after his defeat for the most powerful office in the free world, Senator Dole arrived on Stage 26 at the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, California. Senator Dole had run what many considered a “mean” campaign, and I in fact had not voted for him.

However, I surely would have voted for the man that was on our set that day. He was charming, engaging, funny, and as word got out that he was on the stage, he stood uncomplaining until all who wished had their picture taken with him. “Where was that Bob Dole during the campaign? ” I asked his chief of staff. “Nowhere to be found,” he answered.

“The people who ran the campaign, never let Bob Dole be Bob Dole,” he explained. “Now that they are all gone, he’s back to being Bob Dole.” Reading up on Dole after meeting, him I learned that Dole was considered one of the funniest, popular and most effective members of the Senate, not to mention his World War II heroism.  We finally saw his sense of humor sometime later in his very funny American Express “Do You Know Me?” television commercials.

I couldn’t help but think back on that story watching the concluding weeks of this Presidential Election. While I didn’t vote for Senator McCain, I couldn’t help but again wonder watching him at the Al Smith Dinner and again during his concession speech.

“Where was that guy?”  He was both funny and human. It appeared obvious to me that the people who ran the campaign never let John McCain be John McCain. It seemed obvious that the real John McCain wanted Joe Leiberman to be his running mate, rather than Sarah Palin, but it seems that decision, and so many others  that defined McCain’s White House run, were taken out of his hands.

At one time, years ago, John McCain might have received my vote. The real John McCain. The maverick he spoke of. It’s just possible that now all the handlers are gone, the maverick will be back and John McCain might be a more effective leader for change as a member of the US Senate than he could have as President.

If that happens, everyone wins.