The mood at a coaches clinic always excites me. People are there because they want to be, not because they have to be. They want to learn. They talk shop. Right now I’m in Elmhurst, Ill., speaking to the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association. While here I’ve already met great coaches. One of […]
A wise man once described the difference between superstition and ritual. Superstition is doing things to avoid something bad. Rituals mean doing certain things to make something good happen. Superstition involves belief in things beyond your understanding and control. Rituals are a way to organize the things that you can control. All this comes to […]
You can make the case that Super Bowl III, which took place on Jan. 12, 1969, was the single most important sports event in the history of North America. Without that game, in which the New York Jets defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 16-7, there might not be a Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. […]
In his first year as coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Coach Jim Harbaugh led the team to its first playoff berth since 2002. On Saturday the 49ers host the New Orleans Saints, another franchise that has prospered after decades of futility. How? How do turnaround artists show people how to win? Harbaugh said something […]
Congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide for its victory over LSU in the BCS Championship football game in New Orleans. That being said, I find it hard to get too excited over anything in big-time college sports. People who love the college game always point to the spirit and youthful enthusiasm on campus. That may […]
Getting drafted by a pro team guarantees nothing. History is filled with people who are picked high but who never live up to their potential. No one can ever say that about Barry Larkin. If anything, he went beyond expectations. Taken as the fourth overall pick in the 1985 draft, Larkin has landed in the […]
Now comes another story about Tim Tebow and faith. No, not Tebow’s religious faith. This time, it’s the belief that Tebow’s teammates have in him. In beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in overtime on Wild-Card Sunday, the Denver Broncos looked like a team with great belief in each other and in their quarterback, Tebow. “He […]
It’s a scene played out all over the country — and even outside the country — during baseball’s off-season. Big-league players make appearances, either for money, as a favor or out of a sense of gratitude. Whatever the reason, you never know what effect these visits can have. It’s like a stone thrown into a […]
Not long ago, J.J. Watt was delivering pizzas for a living. Yesterday he delivered one of the biggest plays of Wild Card Saturday. Watt intercepted an Andy Dalton pass and returned it for a touchdown, leading the Houston Texans past the Cincinnati Bengals in the first game of the NFL playolffs. Watt’s, play according to […]
You can say with confidence that at least one of this weekend’s NFL playoff games will be decided by a field goal attempt that either is made or missed. For instance, the Denver Broncos, who play the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, would not even be in the playoffs were it not for Matt Prater. He kicked […]