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.

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NFL 2010 Playoffs Second Round

by Tony Medley

Last week I was 2 out of 3 if you don’t want to count the Seattle fiasco, which I don’t. Who would have guessed that the Saints were going to defend Seattle with the Little Sisters of Mary? All Seattle QB Matt Hasselback had to do was get the ball in the air and it was a touchdown. You won’t see worse safety and corner play than New Orleans played it. And that 67 yard run by Marshawn Lynch to clinch it? Motormouth ESPN commentator Joe Theismann called it the best run he’d ever seen, which shows how little he knows about football. That run was nothing but horrible tackling by New Orleans.

If Mike Vick doesn’t throw a horrible pass at the end of the game, Philly beats Green Bay and I pick them all correctly. Oh well, that’s football.

This week is much easier. Pittsburgh should beat Baltimore despite all the hype about Baltimore after they beat a weak Kansas City team. If Ray Rice can’t run against KC, what’s he going to do against the Steelers with the best defense in football? And if he can’t run, forget Baltimore and its aging defense.

Then there’s the game in which the two weakest teams left square off against each other, Chicago against Seattle. Weak as Chicago is, and their offensive line is maybe the worst in football among teams with better than .500 records, Seattle is no match for it. Seattle’s only hope is to pressure Jay Cutler so much he can’t mount an effective passing attack. Defensively, Chicago plays cover 2 (which New Orleans didn’t, at least most of the time that I could see, although it’s difficult to see on TV) the way it’s supposed to be played with the two safeties not letting any receiver get behind them, so Hasselback won’t be able to get those easy long passing plays he got against New Orleans.

I’ve only seen Atlanta play once, losing to New Orleans, and they certainly didn’t impress me. They will be playing at home against Green Bay’s good defense and good qb, but Green Bay is a team that has shown a running game only once, last week with James Stark finally getting some playing time. By the by, if Stark was so good, why did it take until the first game of the playoffs to display his wares? Maybe for the same reason that Tom Brady couldn’t beat Drew Bledsoe out for the starting quarterback position at New England until Bledsoe got hurt? Or why Johnny Unitas, cut by Pittsburgh and signed by the Colts, couldn’t beat George Shaw out until Shaw got hurt in 1956 and Unitas got his chance. Coaches aren’t as smart as they’re cracked up to be, especially in judging talent. If Green Bay can balance Aaron Rodgers’ passing attack with Stark’s runs, they have a good defense (5^th in the league) and should be able to beat Atlanta, whose pass defense is less than average.

So we’re down to the best game of the weekend, the Jets vs. New England. Lots of people think that since the Patriots blew the Jets out last month that this is no contest, especially with NE playing at home. But lots of people forget things. They might remember that in 1940 the Bears annihilated the Redskins in the NFL Title game, 73-0 (in that season the Bears introduced Clark Shaughnessy’s T-formation to professional football). What most don’t know or remember is that three weeks previously the Redskins had beaten the Bears 7-3, so what’s past is not necessarily prologue.

The Patriots have a well-rounded offense, 11^th in passing and 9^th in running, but are weak on defense, 9^th against the run but 30^th against the pass, which is why Sanchez is so crucial to the Jets’ success. The Jets’ big weakness is Antonio Cromartie, who stunk out the place last week. If the other corner, Darrrelle Revis, can stop Wes Welker, Brady’s most consistent receiver, which he probably can, the pressure will be on Cromartie because Brady spreads his passes around and he is sure to pick on the Jets’ weakest link.

Cromartie has been mouthing off, which seems inappropriate after his dismal defensive performance last week (despite his fine kickoff return that set up their win). He’s a flawed character who has apparently fathered 9 children with 8 different women in 6 states. This is not the type of guy I want on my team, and his play at corner has been horrible all year. If he can step up, the Jets can make life much more difficult for Tom Brady. But I doubt if Cromartie is up to the task. Coach Rex Ryan still disdains the nickel defense and blitzes more than other teams, and I like that. Brady is better when pressured than he used to be but pressure is the best defense against a great passer.

The Jets have a fine offensive line that was responsible for last week’s victory (they are 4^th in rushing offense but only 22^nd in passing offense). The Jets have a very good offensive line and a smart runner in Tomlinson. If Sanchez can have a good game and his receivers don’t drop all those passes on him, with a good running game to mix in with Sanchez passes (assuming he’s accurate), they can win this game, just like I said they could win last week’s game. But as I’ve said before, the Jets have to let Sanchez throw downfield. If he’s accurate, the Jets can win. I just wish he could throw an out consistently.

So I’m picking Pittsburgh, Chicago, Green Bay, and the Jets, but I’m crossing my fingers on the last two.