The Genz

Every time I watch a college basketball game, the image of John Wooden always seems to pop into my mind. I am not sure why. In truth, I was never much of a UCLA fan. During the Bruins’ winning years, I often rooted against the Bruins, always hoping they would fail. But, in the end, the Wooden-led teams most often prevailed and in a classy way. Coach Wooden was always kind and respectful of opponents and everyone he met or talked with; was a keen mind and brilliant strategist on the basketball court. At least from this writer’s perspective, Wooden, who died in 2010, was not only the greatest-ever college basketball coach but also a great man. Nearly every day, I am reminded about Wooden from clippings that hang in a frame on my bedroom wall. Years ago when my uncle Ed Ralston passed away, he left some old clippings, including several from the San Diego Union about Wooden’s final championship, his 10thin his 12 years. While I did not root for UCLA, I always respected the school...

Sometimes I just shake my head. I wonder why honoring committees, whether it be state, university or professional, wait until a person is gone before they are recognized. Having worked with both the University of South Dakota Coyote Sports Hall of Fame and now with the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, I can tell you first-hand that a lot of candidates have credentials that make them deserving ofn recognition. I know it is a difficult task in making  decisions on who deserves enshrinement. It takes a lot of deliberation and hard work. Still, I wonder why we don't act when we know a deserving person is in the final stages of life. I acknowledge that sometimes, it can't be helped. And, yes, decisions on Hall of Fame inductions (and other honoring events) is subjective. Still... Until it was announced earlier this fall by Baseball's Veteran's Hall of Fame Committee, Ron Santo, one of baseball's all-time greats at third base, was continually bypass...

A "good guy" is coming home. Joe Glenn, 62, has always extolled a positive, upbeat message, whether coaching, congregating with family or friends, addressing the public or just living his life. He always has lived the ideal of "being a good guy." That positive message was on display as Glenn was named The University of South Dakota's 29th head football coach at press announcement on Monday Dec. 6 on the Vermillion campus. Once a player and assistant coach for the Coyotes, Glenn's career has come full circle as he takes over the reins of the state's most storied football program as it begins a new era as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. From all appearances, the arrival of Glenn appears to be a perfect fit. A high-motivation guy who loves USD, he now gets to talk the Coyote talk and walk the Coyote walk in Coyote land. “Somebody come pinch me," said Glenn, who graduated from USD in 1971. "Words can’t express how I feel right now. ...

The great American poet Robert Frost wrote that "the best way out is through." Frost, who won four Pulitzers for poetry and often wrote about rural life in New England, has been quoted frequently in pieces all over the world. So it is here. His comments about determination finds grounding in the Central Plains. The history of Dakota territory was measured by the will and resiliency of its people. A lot of Dakota pioneers found that the best way out of difficult situations was pushing forward or "through." Fast forward to the 21st century and the collegiate game of football at The University of South Dakota, where its Coyotes are starting to make noise. Already they have attained a 4-2 mark and the highest ranking ever in the FCS polls at 14th. It is a team that began the season facing its own shadow after a 2010 campaign that began with promise and finished with significant disappointment. On Saturday, the Coyotes fought through and again answered their primar...

You can't help but like the personable South Dakota head football coach Ed Meierkort. Called by his own team as a player's coach, he talks straight, offers humor in almost any situation and is loved by his players and supporters. "He is definitely a player's coach," said USD junior receiver Will Powell. "I have learned so much from him. He has so much knowledge about the game. He is a great guy to play for." Meierkort, now 49-20 in his career (104-85 overall) at USD, knows how to win. He owns a 35-5 record at the DakotaDome, an unreal winning percentage of .875. The 35th home win came in a 30-17 decision over #1 FCS ranked Eastern Washington, the defending Football Championship Subdivision champion, on Saturday. It was the Chicago native's second program-defining win at USD in two years after knocking off Minnesota in 2010. The win over Eastern Washington is USD's first-ever over a top-ranked FCS team and thus commands great importance fo...

It is 916 miles from Sioux Falls to Cleveland and 854 miles to Detroit. Not exactly the hop, skip and a jump away that makes a weekend junket feasible -- well unless you own an airplane. No, I am not planning a trip to those cities, although it would be fun. On Friday night, the Tigers and Indians open a crucial (baseball) series in the American League Central division at Comerica in Detroit. The battle for first place promises a lot of balls flying all over the park this weekend. Yet, it is a nondescript preseason football game in Cleveland that will capture my attention. When the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns gather for an exhibition NFL game on Friday, a pair of former University of South Dakota Coyotes -- Stefan Logan (Lions) and Ko Quaye (Browns) -- will have a chance to reacquaint themselves.  Quaye who spent parts of last season with both Jacksonville and Buffalo practice squads was signed to the Browns active roster in December. A 6-1, 3...

Sometimes during the evening hours, a TV show will draw out something that I had not thought about or considered previously. That is, when I turn away from the entertaining pointless comedy (OK, sometimes bad comedy) for a show that offers a bit of substance. The other night I was watching an old episode of the Waltons , Earl Hemmer Jr., series from 1971-81 about a Virginia family during the Depression and WWII. It is a TV show that still feel warms my heart. After watching reruns of  According to Jim and King of Queens , the Waltons show, which I watched years ago as a kid, provided me insight about groups. The episode centered on John Boy Walton (Actor - Richard Thomas) delivering a sermon after the local minister had just tied the knot with a local teacher and they were off on a honeymoon. It was John Boy's message of family and friendship in the Church setting that grabbed me. As I observed the Church congregation singing "Amazing Grace," it...

In a basement office with no windows, newspapers and media guides are stacked in piles atop the desk, nearly hiding the outdated laptop and even the SID as he focuses on a project until a noise breaks his concentration. Flipping his chair around, he doesn't move but a few short feet as the SID  turns to greet a guest to his abode. As he speaks, his feet smack into the boxes of game programs that eat up the office's limited space. Three of the five drawers in the file cabinet are open with old scorebooks opened on top. "Sorry about the mess, I am glad you stopped by, we need to talk about..." For sports information directors, space is rarely a concern. Except, maybe for the space between periods in a sentence, or the white space that is utilized in designing the "perfect" notes package (eye of the beholder) for the media and others who eat up the useless facts that fill up the PR documents. Rather, SIDs value the space needed to do their sports...

For some reason, I was thinking the other day about what 18th Century English novelist Jane Austen might say about the rabid behavior of sports fans. Why you ask, I am not sure? Just choke it up to my rambling mind. I am a rambling man, you know. Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and other books, wrote of realism and often offered biting social commentary in her work. If she observed some of the conduct in stadiums and in bars or home surrounding sporting events, her thoughts most likely would not be positive, nor viewed favorably by the sporting community, especially fans that lose themselves in game and exhibit less than socially acceptable behavior. A female philosopher of her time, she wrote with a comical slant at times. So maybe, her commentary might poke sarcastic (and deserved) fun at some of the fan behavior of today. More likely Austen, who writings were controversial during her life, would just shake her head a...

Life is fleeting. We were reminded of how short life can be on Monday night when former University of South Dakota and Kentucky star Desmond Allison, 31, was shot and killed outside an apartment complex in Columbus, Ohio. http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2011-07-26/former-uk-basketball-player-desmond-allison-shot-killed I did not really know Desmond Allison, except for the relationship that a (former) Sports Information Director has with athletes competing at The University of South Dakota. In my association with him in 2005-07, I  liked the soft-spoken Allison as I worked with the coaches (and Dez) to set up interviews with the media. What I remember about him - other than being a remarkable athlete - was how considerate he was and how glowingly teammates talked about him as a teammate. As I looked over Google for stories about Allison, I began recalling from my time at USD how some Coyote athletes died too young ...