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.

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

RED 2 (9/10)

by Tony Medley

Runtime 116 minutes.

Not for children.

For a film with a cast that includes Academy award winners Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, along with Academy award nominee John Malkovich and starring the always charming Bruce Willis, who would have dreamed that the film would be stolen by Mary Louise Parker?

This is a reprise of the 2010 sleeper hit RED about a bunch of old geezer operatives who kill more people and spew more bullets while creating more laughs than any film this year. The plot is irrelevant, except that everybody except our heroes is a bad guy. Finally, there is a film that paints Iran as a bad guy. Apparently this film was not approved by Hollywood’s political correctness department.

Although I thought it a little long, director Dean Perisot (taking over from the original’s director, Robert Schwentke) keeps the pace moving admirably and the screenplay (Jon & Eric Hoeber) keeps the jokes coming just as fast. Both Willis and Malkovich have mastered their deadpan humor, but they are constantly being upstage by Parker to whom this film really belongs.

The entertainment value of the movie is bolstered by the exotic locations, mostly Paris but some of the action takes place in Moscow. This is not a movie to go on and on about. The only thing that’s important is that what it lacks in credibility it more than makes up for in entertainment value.

July 16, 2013