Today in 1967, John Lennon took his Rolls–Royce to J.P. Fallon Ltd. in Surrey, England, to see if it could paint the car in psychedelic colors. The result three months later:
The number one single today in 1973:
Today in 1956, the CBS Radio Network premiered Alan Freed’s “Rock and Roll Dance Party.”
The number one single today in 1958:
Today in 1962, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met someone who called himself Elmo Lewis. His real name was Brian Jones.
Today in 1956, Elvis Presley signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Studios.
The movies won no Academy Awards, but sold a lot of tickets and a lot of records.
The number one album today in 1968 was the soundtrack to “The Graduate”:
I haven’t written about the NCAA men’s basketball tournament since it began in part because my bracket did as well as you’d expect given the few minutes I spent on it.
I managed to pick none of the Final Four teams. I had three Elite Eight teams, but I picked the wrong Duke–Louisville winner, and I missed Gonzaga’s and Miami’s missing the regional-final weekend.
I’m not sure what prompted Grantland’s Wesley Morris to write this analysis of basketball coaches’ appearance, but he did:
For an event that’s nicknamed the Big Dance, has a round called the Sweet 16, and is annually desperate for a Cinderella story, the NCAA basketball tournament should involve more coaches who look ready to go to a ball. It’s true that we ought to be thankful for the little things: no shiny fabrics, no pocket squares, nothing too outfit-y. But little things are all these guys seem to give. …
No one wants to see versions of Bruce Pearl, the former Tennessee coach — not on 64 teams, anyway — just a couple of men willing to go all out, as Pearl once did, maybe in sherbet-orange suspenders and blazers and ties. You don’t want someone to put your eyes in a state of sugar shock. You want someone like Bob Knight to appall you with his certifiable slovenliness or John Thompson to soothe you with perfectly tailored, avuncular classiness (his son is coaching Georgetown now, and it’s always too much suit).
Instead, we get someone like Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, who claps and wails and sweats on the sideline like Jimmy Swaggart. He does so in gray and brown businesswear and patterned ties. There’s nothing wrong with it — he seems, finally, to have found a flattering hair color. But you wish he’d find clothes to complement his coachly theatrics. Or we get men like Temple’s Fran Dunphy, who always looks to be in need of a pack of Rolaids. His hair does, too. Two years ago, he famously shaved off his mustache and appeared the way a lot of men who shaved their mustaches do: like a skinned animal. He hasn’t looked back since.
Rick Pitino would appear to be a proper answer to the question of what to do. He’s 60 now, but his hair still has the shape and volume of one of Frankie Valli’s Four Seasons. If you believe in that hair, it’s only because he does. Watching the tournament from home, you realize, year after year, that almost no one else has his kind of certainty and confidence or star power. During Louisville games, the broadcasters like to cut to him because he looks important. Pitino knows he’s Rick Pitino, and that knowledge gives him the confidence to storm the sidelines in ivory and in lemony yellow. …
My guess is that some coaches look at Pitino and think, All that flash, all those colors? They’re too much, they’re too mobby. These guys are more at home in the warm-up jackets and sweats they wear to press conferences than the suits they wear to games. They might say, “What Pitino’s doing is great for him, but I’m not the point, basketball is.” That’s how you wind up with the literalism of Marquette’s Buzz Williams, whose hair is as long as most Ramones songs.
Shaved heads and baldness so predominate that you sense that the men with hair have it defensively. Tom Crean of Indiana is an if-you-got-it-flaunt-it coach. There’s something moneyed about him. He looks comfortable in his suits, even the ones that don’t fit. But that hair of his — usually a matte chestnut, frequently parted up the middle — can only be described as boastful. It’s long for the sake of being long. It’s long in a way that’s not entirely embarrassing on a man in his latish 40s who’s not also playing bass in a Dire Straits cover band. But it’s also long in a way that’s worn not for style but for men like Buzz Williams. It’s saying, “Doesn’t all this hair look good on me?” It’s singing, “Nyah, nyah, nyah-nyah nyah.” …
Setting aside his legend at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski still has the hair of certain Legos. Neither the length nor the color appears to have changed in decades, which gives him a kind of dolorous boyishness. It’s the most important hair in professional sports, for what it says both about the primacy of youth and the obsessive maintenance of its patina. He could change it no more than Anna Wintour could open up her curtaining bob. … Coach K would be tinkering with the myth of an institution and its notorious sense of majestic immortality.
At this point some visuals are required, in order of mention in what you’ve read, for a few of the more remarkable examples:
There used to be more variety in basketball coach style. Tom Izzo’s predecessor at Michigan State was Jud Heathcote, who made a point of wearing something green for each Spartan game:
Former Iowa coach George Raveling wore a sweatsuit for a while. The Internet has failed to provide a photo of that look.
Former ABA, NBA and college coach Larry Brown had an interesting, shall we say, look in his ABA days, though he wasn’t alone:
The only way in which Wisconsin basketball coaches have been style leaders is in wearing red, most recently Dick Bennett …
… and Bo Ryan:
Both were predated by, probably among others, hockey coach Bob Johnson:
(Note the red banner on the wall. The, uh, head Leckrone Legionnaire has worn a red blazer and white turtleneck for decades.)
It’s unclear to me why anyone looks to coaches for a certain style. Coaches are usually physical education graduates. Name the last well-dressed phy ed graduate you’ve seen. That’s like asking a journalist for style tips.
This is not a post about the Dodge Viper. (Although I do know a Viper owner.)
This is about a car that could have predated not just the Viper, but the 1955 Ford Thunderbird (briefly Ford’s Corvette), and been a competitor to the first Corvette, from Jalopnik and Hemmings:
While some call it the Dodge Storm or a Bertone, it is actually the Zeder Z-250 (just when you thought Nissan made “Z” cars). The sports car was created by Fred Zeder Jr., son of Frederick Zeder of The Three Musketeers, the engineering team that started the Chrysler Corporation. …
Zeder’s idea was that two cars should be made using a common platform: a two seater race car with a fiber glass body weighting only 150 pounds, and a luxurious aluminum coupe. The bodies were to be easily swappable by using four rubber-bushed nuts, where the performance remained the same in both forms. The Z-250 used a modified version of the Dodge HEMI V8 truck engine, which produced 260 horsepower and about 330 ft-lbs of torque according to this article. That propelled the car from 0-60 mph in about 7.5 seconds, and the quarter mile took just 14.7 seconds. Other parts like the brakes, radiator, clutch, steering, rear axle, fuel tank and electronics came from the shelves of Plymouth and Dodge. The rest like the tube space frame, the suspension and the two bodies were unique to the car, while the transmission was a brand new unit developed by the Spicer Division of Dana Corporation. …
In April 1954, Fred took his pride (now called the Storm Z-250) to Chrysler’s design headquarters in Hamtramck. After his father’s death, his uncle Jim Zeder became the Chief Engineer. He was trained for years by the old trio to not be supportive when it came to new ideas. He borrowed the car so Chrysler could evaluate it, but instead he locked it up in the factory’s storage for two years, under which nobody was supposed to touch or even mention the car. …
Fred’s guess was that Jim feared he wouldn’t get any credit if it succeeded, but would take the heat if it failed. The official reason was that the car was too expensive to produce in order to sell it in profitable quantities. By the time Fred got back his car, people were driving Corvettes and brand new Ford Thunderbirds, not to mention Nash-Healeys, Kaiser-Darrins, and Cunninghams on the tracks. Just like the Oldsmobile or Pontiac “Corvettes,” Chrysler’s was killed as well before it could prove itself.
That is, you must admit, a breathtaking car.
Fox Sports Wisconsin reports on former Packers quarterback Don Majkowski:
The once-great quarterback who seemed poised to turn around the Green Bay Packers in the early 1990s is now experiencing nearly every possible downfall the game of football can present to those who played it. …
“I haven’t worked, I haven’t coached, I haven’t done anything,” Majkowski told FOXSportsWisconsin.com. “It’s very difficult to even sit for five minutes. It’s been a nightmare.”
The list of Majkowski’s physical problems is lengthy and includes everything from degenerative disk disease in his neck and back to post-concussion syndrome. But his issues started with his left ankle. He’s had 11 surgeries on it, including back-to-back fusions after the first attempt didn’t work.
“It’s just locked in place now,” Majkowski said. “I can’t move my foot at all.”
Majkowski’s ankle problems began on a memorable day in Packers history. On Sept. 20, 1992, he tore a ligament in his ankle, opening the door for 22-year-old backup Brett Favre to make his Lambeau Field debut. Favre led the Packers to a comeback win that day and started his next 297 NFL games. Majkowski – a rare combination of talent and swagger dubbed the Majik Man while finishing second in NFL MVP voting to Joe Montana in 1989 — never took another snap in Green Bay and signed on as a backup with the Indianapolis Colts the next season. …
Though he started eight games in 1991 and three games in 1992 with the Packers, Majkowski knew he was never going to make it to the Pro Bowl for a second time. The torn rotator cuff he suffered midway through the 1990 season destroyed his chances of maintaining an elite level of play. …
Unfortunately for Majkowski, the long-lasting damage to his ankle and shoulder is the least of his worries these days. Doctors discovered a couple years ago that Majkowski has degenerative disk disease in his back. Three months ago, he had fusion surgery in hopes of easing the discomfort. …
“I can’t even come close to playing golf,” Majkowski said. “I used to love it.”
Majkowski sold his real estate investment company a couple years ago because working was far too difficult given his multiple ailments.
“I’m completely retired,” he said. “I’m done. Fortunately, I’ve been smart with the money I made.”
He also can no longer coach his eighth-grade son Bo’s football team.
“I coached the year before, but I was in so much pain,” Majkowski said. “I had to wear a back brace just to stand out there. I really enjoyed working with those kids.” …
“I don’t regret it,” Majkowski said. “That’s the sickening part of it. Of course I’d do it all again. It was my childhood dream and I worked extremely hard to achieve that and be in the NFL. It was a privilege and a dream that only a small percentage of guys ever get to do.”
The number one album today in 1980 was Genesis’ “Duke”:
Today in 1985, more than 5,000 radio stations played this at 3:50 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time, which I think is 9:50 a.m. Central time:
“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary.”
“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
“If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say…I’d like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.”
I was going to write a blog for Friday suggesting that Rutgers men’s basketball coach Mike Rice should be fired, not merely suspended, for this:
By 10 a.m. yesterday, Rutgers beat me to it (from NJ.com):
The university terminated Rice’s contract Wednesday morning following a meeting with athletic director Tim Pernetti in his office at the Rutgers Athletic Center. Rice’s job status became tenuous when videotapes of his actions during practices from his first and second years on campus were made public by ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” program on Tuesday.
Rice was seen throwing basketballs at players — including one instance, throwing it at a player’s head — as well as shoving players during a practice. He was also heard using the term “f—— faggot” at a player and using abusive language.
The cynical could look at this as an attempt by Rutgers’ athletic director to save his own skin …
“I am responsible for the decision to attempt a rehabilitation of coach Rice,” Pernetti said in a statement released by the university Wednesday morning. “Dismissal and corrective action were debated in December and I thought it was in the best interest of everyone to rehabilitate, but I was wrong. Moving forward, I will work to regain the trust of the Rutgers community.”
… or as a case of using a word that alienated the wrong people:
Pernetti, who had given Rice a vote of confidence to return next season for the fourth year of his original five-year deal, had stated Tuesday during a brief sitdown with local media that the matter had been dealt with already. But with political heavyweights and leaders of both the country and the state’s LGBT equal rights groups calling for Rice to be terminated for using homophobic slurs, the outcome became inevitable.
Exactly what changed between December, when Rice was suspended, and yesterday? ESPN got hold of the video, that’s what.
Facebook Friend Kyle Cooper points out:
Look, coaches yell. Coaches scream. They may occasionally swear. But there’s a clear difference between being upset and being abusive. Just as there’s a clear difference between solving a problem and hoping it goes away. The focus of this Deadspin article is spot-on: Rutgers knew about Mike Rice’s, uh, methods, and its first impulse was to sweep it under the rug. Only when Rice’s behavior and the administration’s soft-pedaling were finally exposed did the university take action.
Recruiting is a cut-throat activity even when it doesn’t involve an issue that you just gift-wrapped for every conceivable opponent. You can hear the negative recruiting now, can’t you? “Rutgers is a fine school, but let’s just say they’re not much for protecting their student-athletes. They won’t look out for your best interests. You won’t have to worry about that at (university name here). We’ll never put you in a bad situation like that.”
What do a coach’s tirades teach? Football coach Bill Walsh had an interesting approach — when his assistant coaches started yelling at 49ers players, he would yell at the assistants, telling them to teach, not yell.
I’ve seen in a few different places defenses of, if not Rice exactly, “old-school coaches” who, if the writer is to be believed, said and did much worse things than Rice. Well, for one thing, that was then, and this is now.
The opposite of Rice perhaps is shown in this observation about Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, from ESPN.com:
Sports have made room for all sorts of personalities. From the crying Dick Vermeils to the restrained Tom Landrys, there’s no genetic strain that works better than another.
But the most fundamental skill for success seems to be the ability to deal — to deal with life and all its ups, downs, twists and turns.
In that, Boeheim is a master, which has served him well.
“There have been great books and great lectures and great speeches written to suggest what you do to avoid distractions,” he said. “Most people can’t do that. We can’t do that. Life is full of situations. You either handle them or you don’t. That’s nothing new. There are situations every year. Some you see, some you don’t, but there’s always something. If you can’t get through all of that, you’re not in this business very long.”
The coach who might be the best in college basketball today, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, has the coaching ability of his mentor, Indiana and Texas Tech’s Bobby Knight, without the public displays of out-of-control temper. CBS Sports produced a documentary about the early ’90s Duke teams, which featured two players who didn’t necessarily get along, Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley. Krzyzewski reportedly didn’t publicly berate them, or told one or both to knock it off; he simply told them that if they couldn’t get along, Duke wouldn’t win.
There are three questions that, if you can answer any one of them with a “yes,” justify Rice’s firing, and well before yesterday:
On the other hand, maybe something did sink in, based on Rice’s comments reported by ESPN.com:
Rice, in an impromptu news conference outside his home, apologized “for the pain and hardship that I’ve caused.”
“There will never be a time when I use any of that as an excuse,” Rice said, referring to his efforts toward a change in behavior. “I’ve let so many people down. My players, my administration, Rutgers University, the fans. My family, who’s sitting in their house just huddled around because of the fact that their father was an embarrassment to them.
“It’s troubling, but I will at some time, maybe I’ll try to explain it, but right now, there’s no explanation for what’s on those films. Because there is no excuse for it. I was wrong. I want to tell everybody who’s believed in me that I’m deeply sorry.”
Today in 1960, RCA Victor Records announced it would release all singles in both mono and stereo.
Today in 1964, the Beatles had 14 of the Billboard Top 100 singles, including the top five:
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 