Not A Dime Back: A Legend in His Own Time and The Legacy of Winning

What makes a legend? Is it winning the big game? Scoring the most points on your team? Getting the big hit? What defines who becomes legendary? What if the legend is someone who didn’t hit the big shot-but was the reason that big shot took place. In my mind, there is no definition of a legend- but the closest thing to it, is the now retired UConn Huskies men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun.

Now I have to say it, this one is close to my heart. I was born into a UConn family. My parents graduated from there and since then, my father especially, grew extremely strong (obsessed) feelings for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball program. I have had the privilege of having season tickets to UConn games since I was literally old enough to start going to games. I’ve been to countless Big East title games, Final Fours and have experienced the most euphoric moments in my lifetime with UConn basketball. To me, my family and all the other Husky Nation fanatics, UConn basketball isn’t just a sport. It’s a way of life. Jim Calhoun was the foundation that started the madness of my 21 years of being a husky fan.

I’m not going to give you the play by play of his career. There’s no need to. He started in 1986 with UConn when UConn was literally in the cellar of the Big East conference. The bluebloods of college basketball in North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky etc. were all off winning their titles. Who was UConn at the time? Nobodies.

Now we look back- 26 years later. Where is UConn today? Three national championships, seven Big East championships, 27 NBA draftees. The list can go on. Calhoun built an institute of greatness. He built a fan base that rival the likes of Duke and North Carolina. He most recently built a brand new state of the art basketball facility for practice that should be open on campus soon. In 2005 he was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame. He has won 873 games in his career, which puts him at 6^th all time in most wins by a Division 1 college basketball coach. You see- UConn didn’t do any of this- Jimmy did. Without Calhoun there would be none of this.

Sure he also built all the endorsements throughout the years as well. UConn has become a Nike favorite on apparel and new jerseys. But these are minor things compared to the growth that the basketball team has witnessed since Coach Calhoun came on board.

It can be argued that UConn is the best college basketball team in the past 12 years of the sport. They have titles in 1999, 2004 and 2011, with another Final Four appearance as well in 2009. They also have four Big East titles in that time span as well. From the likes of Ray Allen to Richard Hamilton, Emeka Okafor to Ben Gordon, Caron Butler to the newest elite member Kemba Walker, Calhoun was the builder and developed all of those men into the players they are today.

He was known for his fiery attitude, whether that was on the court or in the press conference after. He was never afraid to go toe to toe with someone and he would sure as hell let you know that. He was the most intense person on the court at all times-including the players. He was quick to get into a players face and even quicker to bench them after a mistake on the court. He would jabber at reporters and more then once fire back and argue with them on numerous topics. “NOT A DIME BACK” Calhoun once shouted at a reporter for asking him if he would be giving any of his 1.6 million dollar paycheck back to the state. Not a dime back. And that was the truth. Calhoun didn’t give a dime back- he left all of the dimes that he had with him on the court. There was absolutely nothing to give back. He left it all on the court every single time. If UConn ever lost, there was no question that Calhoun still did everything he could, and left everything he had on that court.

But Calhoun was so much more then that. He was a three-time cancer survivor.  He broke five ribs after a bike accident in 2009. He had spinal surgery and had to take a leave of absence. Most recently he fractured his hip after another bike accident. His health never shied him away from coaching the game, ever.

He’s also known for his philanthropy, including the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn and the annual Jim Calhoun Holiday Food Drive, which has raised nearly $1 million supporting food assistance agencies that serve to help families in need throughout the State of Connecticut. In 1998, a $125,000 gift from Jim Calhoun and his wife Pat established the Jim and Pat Calhoun Cardiology Research Fund at UConn Health Center. The Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic Golf Tournament was launched in 1999 and has since raised millions in support of the endowment fund. In 2003 & 2004, Coach Calhoun served as celebrity host of the black tie gala "Hoops For Hope", by Coaches vs. Cancer, a program established in 1993 by the American Cancer Society; the events raised over $400,000 for the ACS. 2007 is the first year of The Big Y Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride statewide event to benefit The Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center; the ride raised over $225,000.

I’m going to remember all of those times I spent with at UConn games watching Calhoun. The celebrating before and after every big game in the crowd, the yelling, the cheering, the laughing but most of all, always having one eye open watching Calhoun coach. It was something I never missed. I reacted the way he reacted. And it seemed that everyone else did as well. He was the ringleader, the drum major, beating his drum as his players and the crowd responded. The captain of our ship. The man we prayed to before going to bed every night.

The one example that I can use as a showing of the respect that Calhoun had from the fans was an act that I noticed my father did at every basketball game that I had watched and noticed as he did this. At the beginning of every game the pump up song “Lets Get Ready To Rumble” would play as the starting line-up was announced. The crowd would all be standing up, clapping their hands to the beat and going wild for every name announced since…well..that’s what you’re supposed to do at a game, cheer for the players. My brother and I would be going nuts, “C’mon Kemba!” or “Let’s go Charrrrrlieee”  (for example) for years after the players name would be announced. But not my father. He would be standing up, arms folded, staring intently at the court, watching the players run off the bench on the court as their name was announced. Maybe a nod or two from him after a players name was announced who had been playing well of late, but that was it. After the starting line up was called, the announcer would then say lastly “And the head coach of the Huskies in his (insert number of year he was there) season, Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun!!!!!” A roar would go off from the crowd and every time…every single time, my dad would finally clap his hands together and yell out a big “YEAH!” One night I think I remember myself asking him, why he only cheered for Calhoun. “Respect,” he said. “That man deserves all the respect in the world.” From then on in, I found myself doing the exact same thing. Every game. Calhoun deserved ALL of the clapping.

I think the fondest memory I have (maybe because it’s the most recent) other than that first title in 1999, is the job Calhoun did in 2011 with the 9 freshman and sophomores and star in Kemba Walker. He brought them from an unranked team, to that miracle March with five wins in five days, and then six wins after that to a National Championship. It was something college basketball had never seen before, and it only cemented Calhoun even more into basketball Heaven.

He built a program from the ground up. No help from former coaches or former teams before him. UConn was a project at first, a “let’s see what I can do here” type of thing. But Calhoun never looked back. He took that program and built it into a national powerhouse, a team that is always feared in March and a team that will always be remembered for their now blue blood legacy.

As for what’s next with UConn, I have a sneaking suspicion that Calhoun will always have something to do with UConn- whether that be in the front office or just a helpful voice from above in situations- I do not think he will completely leave the University behind. How could he anyways? He was the creator. His successor, Kevin Ollie for now, will have big shoes to fill, but if Calhoun believes in him, I think it’s safe to say that we can believe in him as well.

Calhoun’s legacy is something that will never be touched at UConn. He was the creator, the controller, the mastermind and the champion that has built the program into what it is today. I am going to miss that man more then anything I’ve most likely ever missed in my life. But I am so glad I was along for the ride. Thanks Jim. You truly never did give a dime back. It was ALWAYS left on the court.

Penn St: Hell Freezes Over

Happy Valley. Who would have ever thought things would come to this. Is there a college football program more historic then Penn St? Historic highs come with historic lows. That’s an understatement. Would JoePa ever step down from coaching? Yeah, when hell freezes over.

 It has frozen over, and frozen in the most ugly and disgusting way one could imagine. And it doesn’t look like Nittanyville will be recovering any time soon. There are plenty of questions that have yet to be answered, but let’s start at the beginning. We Are..

..Penn St. shouted the crowd of students and supporters outside of Joe Paterno’s home the night he decided to step down from his throne as the coach with the most wins and bowl wins in college football history. Days before that, assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had been accused of sexually molesting 10 boys dating back to 1998 during his camp for underprivileged children, The Second Mile, which took place for years on the Penn. St. campus.

Many of the boys, now broken men, claimed that they were molested in the Penn St. showers, as Sandusky showered with them separately on several occasions, some said they were molested in the hotel rooms that Sandusky brought them to as they attended trips to away games with the Lions.

Hang on a minute, Sandusky was allowed to bring young boys on a trip, which is one thing, but actually got away with sleepovers? Did anyone question why Sandusky slept in the same room as the boys in the first place? Did anyone ever exercise any moral judgment? Or was moral judgment ignored as long as Paterno was the head coach. We are..

..Joe Paterno. The definition of Penn St. football. He was the program. Since becoming head coach in 1966, and hiring Sandusky in 1969 as assistant, they had accumulated two national championships, 409 wins and 24 bowl wins. A storied program that could never be touched from the ranks of greatness. A program where football took the place of a scandal. A coach that was willing to cover it all up, just for Penn St. football. In November it was decided that because of the coming scandal and health issues that Paterno would step down as head coach. Controversy ensued as many fans thought he was pushed out. In January, Paterno passed away. Leaving some to question where his legacy would go from here. We are..

..Accessories. According to Louis Freeh, former director of the FBI who did a separate internal investigation into the matter for Penn St. What he found seemed to stun some, and reassure others. University president Graham Spanier, vice president Gary Shultz, athletic director Tim Curley, and head coach Joe Paterno, all had known and covered up Sandusky’s crimes since 1998. Various disturbing e-mails and phone records proved this to be true.

Why is it that football is so much more than just a sport in Happy Valley? Why did it take precedence to a disgusting act on multiple young boys? Why did faculty and staff including the two time coach of the year Paterno feel the need to cover up something so vile? The answer may be simpler than one may think.

The obsession with football, the winning tradition, the respect amongst collegiate athletics. All of this has gone over Penn St.’s head. Think of it as the jock of your college or high school. They thought they could do anything and get away with it. Any trouble that ensued for Penn St., Paterno could get them out of it. The president could get them out of it. They were Penn St. football, they were legendary. They could not be touched. Until Sandusky’s touch proved to be too much.

Is this what college sports teams have come to? National powerhouses thinking they are too good for God? Did the four men mostly responsible for this concealing really think that this was okay to cover up, or are their heads almost as screwed up as Sandusky’s himself?

Legendary gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson wrote in an excerpt from his famous wave speech in his 1971 publication of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, “We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill, look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”

Can you see that high water mark at Penn St? How far has the crest of the wave fallen and rolled back? Is there any more water even left in that ocean? We are..

..Torn. The feelings towards the University, the officials and even the athletes are varied, depending where and who you’re asking. The Joe Paterno statue is in jeopardy of being demolished. And now one question finally remains. Was it worth protecting a football program? Better yet, is it worth protecting a sports program? I suppose these kinds of questions may never be answered. Whatever comes of this will come and go with time. But they have surely surfaced over everyone’s mind that has an even remote idea about this tragedy.

Will this be a lesson in history? Will there be something learned from this? God can only hope- because the school that once thought they were as powerful as Him- has now frozen over.

We are. Penn St.

The Olympics: Witness Greatness-Again

Jordan. Ruth. Rice. Nicklaus. The list continues. The greatest players in each sport. Season after season, every year of pure dominance. There were no breaks for those athletes (well, except for Jordan.) Every end to the season meant another four months of fine tuning and they’d be competing again.

This is half the case for American swimmer Michael Phelps. Yes- there is a season he competes in every year. But there is also one clear goal that he uses those seasons to train for- Olympic gold. And although his “championship performance” comes out only every four years- it can still be argued that he is the greatest athlete of our time.

Phelps has set 39 world records in swimming. 29 being completely individual. Legend Babe Ruth only has three baseball records. And although Phelps only holds seven of those records still to this day- the bar has been set to any other challenger who would like to attempt to break 40 swimming records in a career.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Phelps won a record breaking eight gold medals, five of them being individual and three of them being relays. All but one of those gold medals were world record breaking times. He won every event he swam in, and broke fellow swimmer Mark Spitz’s Olympic record of seven gold medals. That record had stood since 1972.

 Here’s the kicker though- he has even more Olympic gold’s.

In 2004, Phelps snagged six additional gold medals. Four of those were individual. That adds Phelps’ astonishing Olympic gold medal total to 14. Nine of which are individual, with five of them breaking the world record at the time. Add two bronze medal performances in 2004 to Phelps’ list and he has a grand total of 16 Olympic medals on his athletic resume. That’s probably the most Olympic medals all time right? Well, no. Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina has 18 Olympic medals total, nine of them being gold. But that was from 1956-1964, which means she is for sure not competing anymore. Well guess what. Phelps is competing again. This summer. Seven more times. That means there is a strong possibility he could shatter the Olympic medals record- and add to his record of most gold in Olympic history as well.

“Epic. It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he's maybe the greatest athlete of all time. He's the greatest racer who ever walked the planet.”- Mark Spitz (Phelps’ predecessor-on Phelps after his seventh gold medal in 2008. He added one more for the record after.)

Well what about the world’s greatest athlete Jim Thorpe? The man who won two gold medals and also played professional baseball and football? A short answer: Thorpe won gold in the pentathlon and decathlon in 1912. Both of those performances would be shattered by the 1950’s in time. Thorpe played baseball for six years with a .252 career batting average and a total of 186 hits in those years. Thorpe had a wonderful college football career, that’s about it.

Think this is a diss to Jordan? Even Lance Armstrong-who won six Tour de France’s in a row?  Nope- Jordan has set only 13 NBA records. Armstrong’s amazing six straight Tour de France’s have been somewhat blinded by his alleged steroid ousted career. Phelps has continuously set and broken his own and other swimming records, mostly by himself. No team to help him out.

In Phelps’ career of gold medal races, which comprises of his two Olympics, World Championships (every even year) and Pan Pacific Championships (every odd year), Phelps has won 52 gold medals. Need it in sports terms? Think of it as being comparable to Tiger winning 20-25 majors. (He has 14 currently.)

If Phelps can manage to win gold in three out of seven of his scheduled events starting in about a week and half at the 2012 Olympic games, he will set a new standard in athletic competition. He will hold the record for the most gold medals in a single Olympics, have the most medals, and add to his already enormous lead in total gold medals won in Olympic history. Three out of seven? That seems like a premonition, not a challenge.

In any case, the argument for Phelps being the greatest athlete ever is clearly plausible. Training day after day- just like the greats right now- Kobe, Tiger, Brady etc. Yet having something more distinguished then three super bowls or 14 major championships.

Every four years the Olympics come around, and for the past two times, the only name we’ve been hearing about is Michael Phelps. A record breaking Olympian. And still going strong.