IRONY OF ICONS

ICONS

     Paul McCartney playing with Nirvana may have been the  cosmic rift that some have attributed to the Mayans.

      First at the Sandy benefit international broadcast, 12/12/12 and then again on Saturday Night Live (SNL), McCartney assumed the late Kurt Cobain's role. That is not something we saw coming, nor would ever expect.

        By virtue of his "Beatledom," McCartney is probably the reigning star in the Rock realm.  Some ascribe such cultural and musical shaping influence to the Beatles they belong in Darwin's theory of evolution.  Of course most of that is true.  And Paul is a superb player, in addition to writer, composer, arranger, producer and by most accounts a grand fellow.  He certainly held his own, and in a way was saying, I maybe the grand old man and the master of pop and ballads and lyrics, but I can still kick out the jam.  Still

McCartney with Nirvana was just plain weird!

THE LEGEND MAKERS

     One more item of Iconography.  One of the greatest sports legends, because it is true, is the "Goliath killer" Butler Bull Dogs.  

       The small Indianapolis north side University thrilled NCAA fans a couple of years ago with back to back national championship runs, ending up as runner up two years in a row.  Over the weekend the "Dawgs" worked their way into the nation's top 25 again by knocking off the nation's number 1 powerhouse, neighboring Indiana University.

       The IU Hoosiers lay claim to 5 national championships and 8 final four appearances.  To some, IU under Bob Knight, UCLA under John Wooden and Duke under Coach K are the epitome of college basketball powerhouses.

      Well,...way back, in my kid hood, we remember the great and historic Butler teams under the legendary Tony Hinkle.  Always a small school, but with a brand of basketball that cast a national shadow.  

      Under former coach, now athletic director Barry Collier and coach Brad Stevens, Butler has become the favorite little guy. Their intelligence, determination and toughness remind millions of how basketball excellence can look.  

      If you saw the classic movie Hoosiers written by Angel Pizzo, you may be inclined to say the real Hoosiers in Indiana-the little guys who knock off the big boys, are the Bull Dogs!  Great stuff.

Day File
at the coast

  See you down the trail.

EXTRAORDINARY MATTERS

THE WINNINGEST

Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

THE SUPER K's

It was an historic moment when Duke Coach Mike  Krzyewski and his mentor, former Coach Bob Knight

embraced after Coach K surpassed Knight as the 

college basketball coach with the most wins.

And it was special. Touching even.  Coach K

played for Knight at Army and was an assistant to Knight.

I consider it good fortune to have spent time with both

men.  I covered Bob Knight for a couple of decades.

The men admire each other.  Both are brilliant students of the game and they have an unequaled success. And as Knight mentored Coach K, Coach K has mentored many others.  Before moving from Indiana, one of our "farewell tour" events was watching Duke play IU at Assembly Hall.

My WISH TV sports anchor Anthony Calhoun arranged for tickets immediately behind the Duke bench.  What a show!

When Coach K, stood, his assistant coaches stood.  When

he unbuttoned his blue blazer, his assistant coaches unbuttoned their blue blazers, and so it went.

My all time favorite coach was the great Johnny Wooden

who combined class and decorum with brilliance.

Coach K is cut from that cloth. The kids who emulate him

are getting a good pattern of excellence.

Last night as I watched Mike and Bob embrace

I thought that if Bob had better controlled his

emotions and had found, at times, a better and more appropriate channel for his 

extraordinary perception of the game, Mike

might still be trying to better Knight's record.

ONE MORE TIME

GET THE BIG MONEY OUT OF POLITICS

Tea party or OWS activist, conservative or

liberal, regardless of your stance, all should

agree that getting big money out of politics

will make for better government.

In fact experience leads me to believe until

corporate and big dollar influence is limited

we'll continue to see a deterioration of the quality

of government and a sell out to denizens of greed.

NPR presented a brilliant demonstration of the problem

with a focus on how the Nixon administration sold out

to the milk producers.  What was illegal then is noW

appropriate.  This might raise your blood pressure.

Link here for the audio.

DAY BOOK

COASTAL SCENES

 The Big Blue (and turquoise)

 Dunes Hiking

 Well off the beaten path

See you down the trail.