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.

Sports Medley NFL Playoffs Round 1 4 Jan 15

by Tony Medley

Seattle over Minneapolis: Seattle is the best team in football right now and Minneapolis isn’t close.

Green Bay over Washington: Green Bay stinks this year and Aaron Rodgers isn’t the Rodgers of old. No offensive line and Aaron really misses receiver Jordy Nelson. When I saw Washington earlier in the year, they were horrible; they won the weakest division in football. Flip a coin, but when push comes to shove I’ll take Aaron.

Cincinnati over Pittsburgh: Last year I made two huge mistakes, picking Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to win. This year they play each other, so I can only be wrong once. Pittsburgh hasn’t impressed me and Cincinnati has. Also, for the past four years the Bengals have had Andy Dalton at quarterback. Dalton is to NFL playoffs as Clayton Kershaw is to major league playoffs, disaster. Now they have A.J. McCarron at quarterback and he has impressed me when I’ve seen him. The Bengals have a great defense and generally protect McCarron. They overpowered Denver in the first half last week but wilted in the second half, no doubt due to playing in the Himalayan high altitude. At ground level I think the Bengals have it all over Pittsburgh.

Kansas City over Houston: This is a tough one. Both are playing well but the odds are that neither will make it to the Super Bowl, so why worry about it? Both have good defenses and mediocre offenses. Kansas City is steadier, so I’m going with them. The score could be 3-0. Bring NoDoz.

Are NCAA Referees better than the NFL? Ohio State’s defensive end Joey Bosa (who is rumored to become the first pick in the NFL draft in 2016) speared the Notre Dame quarter back in the chest with the crown of his helmet. Ohio State was penalized 15 yards and Bosa was ejected from the game in the middle of the first quarter for targeting, which was obvious. Compare that with Terry McAuley’s NFL crew who saw prima donna New York Giants wide receiver David Beckham target Carolina defensive back Josh Norman by blindsiding him helmet to helmet and was allowed to stay in the game. Worse, the referees received no punishment from the NFL for their inaction. The lesson here is that if you are an NFL star like Beckham who brings fame, glory and big bucks to the NFL, you may act with virtual impunity because you are where the money is. I’m sure that Bosa’s vicious (stupid) play trying to put the quarterback out of the game will enhance his appeal to the venomous NFL.

NCAA Final Four Redux: The "playoffs" proved that the Final Four should have been Clemson, Alabama, Stanford, and Ohio State. I'd love to see Stanford face off against Alabama in the Championship game. And does anyone not believe that if Christian McCaffrey played in the midwest, east, or south he would have been the unanimous Heisman Trophy Winner?

Baywater Babe Approaches Rock Bottom: With Stanford leading Iowa 35-0 at the half in the Rose Bowl game, here are the two questions a third grader would think too idiotic to ask that ESPN’s hot chick interviewer Maria Taylor posed to Stanford Coach David Shaw (with proposed answers that probably would be given if she asked them of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has made no secret of his disdain for these frivolous interviews and the boobs who ask them):

1. “Well, Coach, you hold Iowa out of the end zone and you’re up by five scores. What’s the statement your team made in the first half?” A. “We were five touchdowns better than they were.”
2. “We saw Christian McCaffrey score on two explosive plays. What has he given to you in the first half?” A. “Two touchdowns.”

But she wasn’t finished. After the game she asked star Stanford running back McCaffrey her coup de grâce, “How aware were you of your productition throughout the game?” A friend called me almost immediately exclaiming, “She used a word not in the English language!”