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 stories in their own words.

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

Thumbnails Jul 15

by Tony Medley

Humpback Whales (10/10): This film tells the story of the Humpback Whales’ comeback from a population 200 years ago of 250,000 to where there were only 12,500 left. Their comeback has been remarkable as now there are approximately 100,000. As usual with the work of father and son team Greg and Shaun McGillivray, the IMAX photography is mind-boggling. Because of the size of the film, 10 times larger than normal 35mm film, it has 10 times the clarity. When you add 3-D to the IMAX, the result is a visual experience you will never forget.

Love and Mercy (9/10):. Although there are snippets of lots of Beach Boys songs, this is far from a musical. Instead it’s the story of ground-breaking writer/singer/guitarist Dennis Wilson and his battle back from drugs and mental illness, along with the battle of his wife-to-be, Melinda (Elizabeth Banks), to rescue him from the grasp of Los Angeles psychotherapist Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti), who had made Dennis a virtual prisoner. The film is comprised of tandem tales of Dennis (Paul Dano) as a young man, and then a couple of decades later (John Cusack) fighting his demons. I’d give lots of Oscar® nominations to this film, especially to Dano, Cusack, Giamatti, and Banks, as well as director Bill Pohland.

Jurassic World (9/10): This is as good a monster thriller as you will ever see. The special effects are mind-boggling, the 3D doesn’t dilute the color and is ever-present, and the story is good enough to hold interest for over two hours. When you’re dealing with an island full of dinosaurs created from DNA, you don’t expect crushing reality.

Big Game (5/10): The cast in this, Samuel L. Jackson, Felicity Huffman, and Jim Broadbent, led me to believe that it might be something worthwhile seeing. This is an interesting idea, but it needs a better story, a better script, more believable situations, and better music.

Aloha (5/10): How could you go wrong with a film that has Rachel McAdams and Emma Stone for the guys and Bradley Cooper for the gals, set in Hawaii? This answers that question. Exacerbating the woefully weak story, Director Cameron Crowe has such washed out scenes of Hawaii it might as well have been filmed in Needles. The best performance in the film is by Danielle Rose Russell, who plays Grace, McAdams’ daughter. Her short performance at the end of the film (totally unconnected to the story) is Oscar®-nomination quality. Alas, even with the three gorgeous stars, that’s not enough to justify the price of admission.

Entourage (2/10): When that great scorekeeper in the sky comes to write of the awful films of 2015, Entourage will be near the top of the list. Perhaps the worst part of this deplorable film is the appearance of Ronda Rousey, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s undefeated bantamweight champion and Olympic medalist in judo. She should stick to fighting. Every time she grunts a line it’s clear that she belongs in the ring, grunting with each punch.

Ted 2 (1/10): One would think that good-looking, clean cut personable writer/director Seth MacFarlane, was a person with good values. But here’s what he said on national TV to Bill Maher, “I like a good A—F--- as much as the next guy.” He is a vulgarian who shows in this film that he represents the worst of Hollywood. Here he presents one stomach-churning crudity after another and represents them as comedy. Filled with F-bombs and ridiculous situations that don’t even qualify as sophomoric, Ted 2, is an unfunny, vulgar sequel that aims for the lowest common denominator.