After a holiday hiatus, it’s time to return to my weekly post on what I’m reading and stories I like.
As the NFL season draws to a close with the approaching Super Bowl, attention turns to college basketball and the run-up to the NCAA tourney, better known as March Madness.
Perfect time, it seems to me, to settle in with a book on John Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood, the legendary basketball coach atUCLAduring the glory years.
Young fans may know Wooden, who died in 2010, only as a name from
…
After a holiday hiatus, it’s time to return to my weekly post on what I’m reading and stories I like.
As the NFL season draws to a close with the approaching Super Bowl, attention turns to college basketball and the run-up to the NCAA tourney, better known as March Madness.
Perfect time, it seems to me, to settle in with a book on John Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood, the legendary basketball coach atUCLAduring the glory years.
Young fans may know Wooden, who died in 2010, only as a name from the past.
But true fans will remember him as a champion.
By chance, I got to meet Wooden years ago when I wrote a series of stories on his last team to win the NCAA championship. That was back in 1975 and one of the team’s stars was Richard Washington, who graduated from Portland’s Benson High School, played at UCLA and went on to an NBA career.
Wooden announced his retirement before the NCAA finals, Washington hit a clutch shot in the semifinal overtime game and the team rolled to the championship and sent Wooden out as a winner.
I had a long interview with Wooden in his modest California condo, and the man was gracious and down to earth. Another Wooden connection to Portland is that he coached Bill Walton, who later led the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship.
Author Seth Davis, a writer at Sports Illustrated, has a great new book out — Wooden: A coach’s life –– and it’s an in-depth look at the man.
Also, news broke last week that was of interest to true-crime fans and anyone who considers “Goodfellas”one of the best movies of all time.
Authorities arrested a man they believe is one of the key players in the crime, a member of the crime family on which the movie is based. This fascinating story by Michael Daly is worth your time.And speaking of crime, does anyone believe that “Dancing With Wolves” really was the best movie of 1990 and won the Oscar for best picture over “Goodfellas”?If you have any doubt, look at this clip.
A couple questions for readers to weigh in on:
1. What was the worst movie — in hindsight — to win an Oscar?
2. Could the best UCLA teams of the past compete with the teams of today?
3. How much would Wooden be paid by a college today? He never made more than $35,000. For perspective, Mike Krzyzewski, the coach at Duke University, reportedly pulls down $4.7 million a year.
–Tom Hallman Jr.