Out of print for more than 30 years, now available for the first time as an eBook, this is the controversial story of John Wooden's first 25 years and first 8 NCAA Championships as UCLA Head Basketball Coach. This is the only book that gives a true picture of the character of John Wooden and the influence of his assistant, Jerry Norman, whose contributions Wooden  ignored and tried to bury.

Compiled with more than 40 hours of interviews with Coach Wooden, learn about the man behind the coach. The players tell their their stories in their own words. This is the book that UCLA Athletic Director J.D. Morgan tried to ban.

Click the book to read the first chapter and for ordering information. Also available on Kindle.

Project X (1/10)

by Tony Medley

Run time 90 minutes.

Not for children.

Producer Todd Phillips is from the Judd Apatow mold of comedic producers/directors. He eschews intelligence and wit for crudity and shock value.

In what is probably the lowest cost film of the year, he gets rookie Nima Nourizadeh to direct a bunch of unknowns who were cast through a nationwide talent search, so I won't waste your time naming them. Three 17 year old seniors want to create a reputation among the cool kids in school so they throw a wild party at the house of Thomas Mann when his parents leave for the weekend. His father put his trust in Thomas to take care of the house.

Naturally it's destroyed as Thomas gets thousands of teenagers to party, drink, and rut in the house, backyard, and swimming pool. There is a plethora of drinking, drug use, nudity, lots of quick shots of nubile girls' breasts, and sex. What's lacking is humor and morality.

In fact, the moral of this tawdry film is that even though Thomas betrayed his parents' trust, destroys the house, forces his father into bankruptcy, and turns the neighborhood into anarchy, in the end Phillips' moral is that this was exactly the right thing to do and Thomas gains his father's respect. Maybe there are parents in this world who are as bereft of common sense as Thomas' father, but I hope there aren't many.

I wonder how many impressionable teens will be encouraged to disrespect their parents' trust after they see this movie that glorifies idiotic, depraved behavior. While the staging and cinematography (Ken Seng) are exceptionally good, this is a despicable movie and Warner Bros. should be ashamed of itself. It seems intended to appeal to immature teens and young adults to influence them to think that this sort of behavior is the way to become liberated.