That’s the situation at the University of Tennessee, where two players are back in the fold after a brawl that left an off-duty police officer seriously injured.

Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley has reinstated sophomore linebacker Greg King and sophomore defensive tackle Marlon Walls, who were suspended after the July 9 episode.

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The Los Angeles Angels have made a dramatic move in their outfield, moving center fielder Torii Hunter to right. Hunter and Manager Mike Scioscia discussed the move.

Hunter had won nine Gold Gloves for defensive excellence in center, but says he is fine with switching to a new position if it helps his chances of getting to the playoffs.

“If it’s best for the team, OK. I’ve never been to a World Series — not even to lose,” Hunter said.

There’s a human element that won’t show up in the box score. With the move, player and manager alike are acknowledging that Hunter has lost some speed. And there’s the element of uncertainty: Hunter is being replaced in center by an untested player, Peter Bourjos.

But that’s the way of sports. Careers are finite. Players age, and younger ones are pushing their way into the picture.

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To book a seminar by Coach Tully, call (973) 800-5836.

That’s what medical experts told a sports concussion summit hosted by the Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey on Monday. The story appeared in The Record.

The concussion guidelines, adopted by the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association, call for athletes to sit at least 12 days after suffering a concussion. Some experts fear the length of the injury time may deter athletes from reporting their symptoms.

“Unquestionably, in some people it will happen,” said Dr. Robert Cantu, one of the nation’s top concussion specialists.

Whether it was a walk on the beach or para-sailing over the Sound, these vacationers wanted great things out of their week by the ocean.

This idea carries a lesson for coaches and student-athletes who want great things in the coming school year. And the lesson is this: It’s nothing special to want great things. Everyone does. Everybody who goes on vacation, everybody who plays the lottery, everybody who plays a game or takes a test wants great things to happen.

But not everyone is willing to do what it takes to make those great things happen. They think that good things will somehow materialize in their lives. It doesn’t work that way. There’s a connection between what you do and what you get.

In our gym, we have a saying: Extraordinary preparation leads to extraordinary results. If you want great results, you better take a look at how you’re preparing. If you prepare in an ordinary way, you will get ordinary results. And if you prepare in a sloppy way, you can guess what kind of results you will get.

For instance, back in June, coaches all over the state asked their athletes do some extra work this summer. Some athletes have ignored it, some have done it halfway, and some have done it to the best of their ability.

What do you suppose it will be like to compete against someone who has done it fully if you have not done it at all?

As you embark on another school year, ask yourself this question: What do I want out of this year? Once you know the answer to that question, you can then challenge yourself with another: Am I willing to do what it takes to get what I want?

As detailed in this Sports Illustrated article, defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth has drawn the attention of his coach and teammates for his attitude, particularly by boycotting the team’s off-season workouts.

Haynesworth failed a conditioning test yesterday, and coach Mike Shanahan kept him off the field until he passes it.

“The bottom line,” Shanahan said, “is we’re going to get him in shape.

Haynesworth signed a seven-year, $100 million deal a year ago. But he doesn’t like the team’s new approach to defense. Big money and bad attitude are not a good mix for any team. It will test Shanahan’s ability to motivate.

“The sooner all this gets behind us,” center Casey Rabach said, “it’ll be better for this team.”

As this Sports Illustrated article points out, Maradona’s recent experience as a World Cup coach ended far less successfully than his stint as World Cup player.

And so it is with many athletes. So often the great coaches and managers are people who had to scratch to survive during their playing careers. Phil Jackson, who recently won his 11th NBA title. He was far from a legend as a player.

Same for Tommy Lasorda, who led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a pair of World Series titles.

By contrast, it’s difficult to name many superstar athletes who matched their playing achievements after crossing over to the other side of the bench. Joe Torre is one of the exceptions, putting together a stellar managerial career after being a star player.

Those who must work hard to be great managers bring to mind the subject of praise, and how important it is for coaches to focus on the right thing when they praise their athletes.

This article in New York magazine  – it’s called “The Inverse Power of Praise” — looks at the work of Stanford researcher Carol Dweck, who says that praising a child for intelligence can backfire. It’s better, says the article, to praise hard work, progress and achievement.

And that’s perhaps how average athletes become great managers. They understand hard work better than superstars. They must work harder than the stars to progress and achieve. They can never rest, which is good practice for when they coach!

“I was drafted to play football, not carry another player’s pads,” Bryant, who was the Cowboys’ first-round pick in April, said in explaining his refusal.

As rookie rituals go, carrying a veteran’s shoulder pads seems pretty mild. No one knows yet how Bryant’s refusal will be received by his new teammates.

The incident raises questions for coaches interested in building tight, cohesive units. What specific activities lend themselves to team-building? Which ones might tend to divide?

Obviously, any form of hazing is out. The dictionary says hazing means “to subject (freshmen, newcomers, etc.) to abusive or humiliating tricks and ridicule.” Coaches can — and should — be fired for creating a culture in which that sort of thing can happen.

But how about rites of passage? When Bill Parcells was coaching, it was part of a rookie’s job to bring water to the coach during breaks in practice. That seems reasonable, a reminder that every rookie, no matter how highly drafted or how well paid, is part of a team.

To be most effective, rituals should carry some message. For instance, on the first day of practice, upperclassmen might provide lunch or snack for the newcomers, as a symbol of welcome.

Whatever the coach decides to do, the ritual should be clean and quick, with no lingering effects. Players should be concentrating on acquiring skill, not on navigating social and peer pressures.

There’s a saying that a lawyer should never ask a question unless he knows the answer. Same way with newcomer rituals. Now that Bryant has refused to carry a teammate’s shoulder pads, no one knows if the issue is still stewing in the locker room.

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Coach Tully will be speaking to the Minnesota High School Soccer Coaches Aug. 13. The topics are: “Building Mental Skills in Practice” and “Team-Building With High Ideals.”

To book a talk by Coach Tully, go to this page on www.totalgameplan.com

The week went well, except for one drill. No one had any energy. No one seemed to want to improve. So not wanting to have a losing drill, the coaches made it a learning drill.

Calling the girls in, we asked this question: Would you rather have results or reasons?

It’s an important question for anyone who wants to accomplish anything worthwhile. Reasons are always easier than results. It’s always easier to find reasons why something DIDN’T happen than to have the toughness to make sure it DOES happen.

You can be sure that fans of the Miami Heat want results now that LeBron James has joined their team. No one wants reasons.

To illustrate the point about results and reasons, we asked the girls at our camp to start listing REASONS why the drill didn’t go well. Here are some of their answers:

It’s too hot.

It’s too hard.

It’s too unfamiliar.

The other girl keeps messing it up.

I don’t like this drill.

I don’t see why this drill is important.

Pretty soon we had filled up the whiteboard with all reasons why we hadn’t done well. There were lots of reasons, and few results.

No matter what you’re doing in life, this question about reasons and results can guide and challenge you. Let’s say you’re a student who has been assigned some summer reading. At the end of summer vacation, will you have results or reasons? How about New Year’s and your resolutions? One week into January, will you have results or reasons?

One other thing: Do you suppose winners have results or reasons?

Coach Tully and Gary Pritchard have teamed up to produce the book: “Ten Things Great Coaches Know.” It’s available at:
http://www.tenthingsgreatcoachesknow.com.

You can be in school or into school. You can be in a sport or into a sport. You can be in a relationship or into it.

You get the idea.

People achieve great things because they are totally into what they are doing.
So tell us. Call this number: (973) 743-4690. You will hear about an essay contest.

You do the rest.

There is no catch, no obligation. This contest is just Dr. Rob Gilbert’s way of learning about people who are into it. Call the number now!

No written word, no spoken plea
Can teach our youth what they should be
Nor all the books on all the shelves
It’s what the teachers are themselves

Jeff Beer is the golf coach at the Montclair Kimberley Academy in Montclair, N.J. His team recently won the state championship. He credits the fact that there is a strong junior varsity team in place at the school. Here is his story:

“The thing that was so satisfying about the season was that of the four top players, three of them really developed their game in the high school years by playing on the JV team at MKA. When I started to coach at MKA, I felt that it was important to have a JV because I hated to turn away interested golfers and because I thought it was important for us to develop talent at MKA.

“The three players who made this dramatic development did so with the help of outside instruction.  Golf is a very technical sport and there is no substitute for a PGA certified instructor.  But I believe that they were motivated to work on their games because through the JV program there was a place for them to play at MKA.

“One of the three was completely unformed as a golfer as a ninth-grader.  When I played with him I was literally afraid that he might hit me with the ball even if I was standing off to the side.  When he game back as a sophomore, after working tirelessly on his game during the summer, I could not believe he was the same person.

“Another one of the players was also completely clueless as a freshman.  He barely knew how to address the ball on a putt.  This same player shot a 1-under par 35 in windy conditions, at a very challenging course in a dual match.

“In the case of these players, I truly believe that the fact that we had a place for them to play on a JV team made all the difference in the world, and they accomplished something over the course of four years that no MKA team has accomplished since 2002.

Coach Beer is raising a profound issue here. If you want to have a great program, you must attract as many people as possible, then give them opportunity and direction. You never know which of them will become a great player. Initial ability and final ability are not closely related.

In too many programs, the junior varsity is a throwaway program, and by far most of the attention goes to the varsity. Instead, stop thinking about JUNIOR varsity and start thinking about the FUTURE varsity.

Thank you, Coach Beer. You did a tremendous job of motiving young people.