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: Red Sanders Single Wingers 13 Nov 17

by Tony Medley

It was in the 1950s that UCLA reached its football pinnacle under the stewardship of Coach Red Sanders. I was at UCLA during part of this period. Rudy Feldman, who was co-captain of the 1953 Rose Bowl Bruins, has, for the past 14 years, hosted a luncheon honoring the players who played under Coach Sanders, who passed away suddenly in 1958. He named the group the Red Sanders Single Wingers.

Friday, November 10 was the most recent luncheon at UCLA’s J.D. Morgan Center, and 48 former players attended, one, 1958 All American Bill Leeka, flying all the way from North Carolina to be in attendance.

Coach Jim Mora was once again noticeable in his absence. Mora attended a few of these luncheons at the beginning of his tenure, but he failed to show at the last two. For this one he sent assistant coach Angus McClure to brief these former players on today’s team. Bill Leeka can fly across the country to attend and honor his former coach and teammates but Mora can’t walk five minutes from his office to do so to pay tribute to these octogenarians who put UCLA football on the map and still clearly love the school and the program.

Following the luncheon those interested were given a tour of UCLA’s sparkling new football building. When advised that it cost $110 million, many of the old-timers scoffed at what they considered a frivolous waste of money. My fellow former Daily Bruin Sports Editor and TV producer Bob Seizer explained that the purpose of the building was to recruit players and compete with schools like Oregon that get lots of money from Nike founder Phil Knight who in 2007 donated $100 million to help support Oregon’s athletic programs.  Still…

Say it again, Sam: “They are going to turn around and hand the ball off. There is no play for third and 30.” That's what Fox commentator Ronde Barber said during the Rams-Giants game when the Rams had 3rd and 33 on their own 48 yard line. The result was a short pass that resulted in a 52 yard touchdown.

Budding Superstar: Fox has one of the best football commentators to appear in a long time, which might be damning with faint praise. But Charles Davis, who works with play by play man Kevin Burkhardt, is a man to listen to. Like Hubie Brown in basketball, he sees things that others don’t see and he sees them as they are happening. If you listen you can learn a lot about the game.

Ill-advised commercial: One of the most disgusting commercials of the year, if not the decade, is the one featuring some NFL players telling everyone how patriotic they are. What makes this so hypocritical is that it’s sponsored by the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), which has encouraged its players to take a knee during the playing of the National Anthem and in front of the flag.

If you don’t ask, you definitely won’t get it: Apparently NFL Commissioner Roger the Dodger Goodell is not satisfied with his $40 million annual salary. Word has come that he’s now demanding $50 million per year plus lifetime health care and the lifetime use of a personal jet, among other perks. That’s Chutzpah, but don’t bet that he won’t get it.

‘Way to go Vinnie: Kudos to Vin Scully for saying he would not watch any more NFL games because of its disrespect of the flag and the National Anthem. The games of November 12 were sparsely attended, maybe the worst attendance at NFL games in several decades, because of a nationwide boycott, which was pretty much ignored by the MSM. Attendance is down throughout the league and it’s well deserved.