Tuesday, July 31, 2007
FBCG Sermons Available Online
To listen to weekly sermons from First Baptist Church of Geneva, visit http://www.fbcg.com/weekend.
What Exactly is the Bible?
I write this from my Wi-Fi equipped room at the Jellystone Resort in Warrens, WI. It's a nice place, highly recommended.
Anyway, I want to know what the Bible is. Some people like to say that it is a roadmap, others say that it is a story that we must find our place in. And then there is James Bryan Smith, who says in his book Embracing the Love of God that the Bible is "a divine love letter" from God. So what is it? I am not sure if I like any of these analogies.
Anyway, I want to know what the Bible is. Some people like to say that it is a roadmap, others say that it is a story that we must find our place in. And then there is James Bryan Smith, who says in his book Embracing the Love of God that the Bible is "a divine love letter" from God. So what is it? I am not sure if I like any of these analogies.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Legendary 49ers Coach Bill Walsh Loses Battle With Leukemia
Bill Walsh, the Hall of Fame football coach and visionary who guided the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles and impacted hundreds of student-athletes during his tenure as head coach at Stanford, has died of leukemia at his Woodside home with his family by his side. He was 75.
Walsh, one of only 21 coaches enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the only one nicknamed "The Genius," disclosed in late 2006 that he was battling the disease. He was known for his revolutionary offense, cerebral practice regimens and keen eye for talent, among many other things.
"Bill was blessed with one of the greatest gifts you can have which is the ability to see the future potential of another human being. It just so happened that football was his expertise,” Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young said. “He saw in me much more than I ever saw in myself well before I ever had a chance to understand it. That is the ultimate compliment to the word coach. There's nothing more a coach should be than to see the full potential of a player unfolded. I am eternally grateful to Bill Walsh.”
At Stanford, three generations of student athletes called Walsh "coach." He served as an assistant coach in the in the mid-1960s, and as head coach in the late 1970s and again in the early 1990s. Former Stanford running back Darrin Nelson laughed when he was asked about his first practice with Walsh, whom he met in 1977, the first year Walsh served as head coach.
"He was installing the offense, which was pretty complicated-the same offense the 49ers ran, we did," said Nelson, who still holds several Cardinal records.
"Bill put all the freshman in and said, 'OK, for comic relief, let's see if the freshmen can do it.' He wanted to see if we were paying attention."
Nelson, a senior associate athletic director at Stanford, said Walsh had a rule against hazing freshmen. But they were allowed to tease and laugh at them. It was OK for Walsh too.
"Bill met with the entire freshman class of football players to talk about coming to college and being a college person," Nelson recalled. "One of the things he said was: 'don't worry about your high school girlfriend. She's probably out with your best friend right now.'"
Walsh will be remembered as one of the greatest offensive minds in football history, particularly when it came to tutoring quarterbacks. He coached three Hall of Famers, Dan Fouts, Joe Montana and Steve Young as well as former Cincinnati All Pro Ken Anderson.
"Walsh made me," Anderson said.
"Bill Walsh made all the difference in the world," said Fouts, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Walsh, in 1993.
At Stanford, the novel offensive strategies that would later come to be known as the "West Coast" offense, originated as the "dink and dunk" offense, said former Cardinal quarterback Steve Dils, '78, who played for Walsh in 1977 and 1978.
Dils said Walsh emphasized the positive-what players could do to get better-instead of dwelling on what they were doing wrong. Still, Walsh was an exacting coach.
He said many coaches cared only if a quarterback completed a pass during practice-not how they did it. That wasn't good enough for Walsh, who scrutinized every aspect of a throw-timing, body mechanics, footwork, trajectory-and made Dils run the pass pattern five or six times until it was perfect, then said, 'OK, that's right, now do it again.'"
Dils, who later played professional football in Minnesota, Los Angeles and Atlanta, said he played for some very good coaches. But none compared to Walsh.
"I learned more in two years from Bill about being a quarterback than I did in the rest of my 10 years in the NFL," said Dils, who now works in Atlanta for Grubb & Ellis, a commercial real estate advisory firm. "He taught me so much about the game."
In 1978, in a column in the San Francisco Examiner about the Stanford team, Frank Blackman described Walsh as the "life of the party" on the football field.
"His Stanford team, and the teams he directed as offensive coordinator in the pros at Cincinnati and San Diego, all have one thing in common," he wrote. "They're fun to watch."
It was a winning strategy for Walsh, who led Stanford to two bowl victories-the Sun Bowl in 1977 and the Bluebonnet Bowl in 1978.
The following year he left Stanford for an opportunity he had long coveted-head coach of an NFL team. In this case, he took over the then-woeful San Francisco 49ers and orchestrated one of the greatest success stories in the history of professional sports. In 1979, he took over a team that went 2-14 the previous season and transformed it into a Super Bowl champion in just three seasons. Under Walsh's direction, the 49ers won three Super Bowl titles (1981, '84 and '88), made seven NFC postseason appearances and claimed six NFC West Division Championships. He was twice named NFL Coach-of-the-Year (1981, 1984) and was later named NFL Coach-of-the-Decade for the 1980s. He resigned as head coach in 1989.
"When I came here (in 1979), I just wanted to build a team that would win more than it would lose," Walsh told the late Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough. "I never envisioned the 49ers of the past three decades would become one of the greatest franchises in the history of sports. I'm proud that I played a part in it. I walk away knowing I orchestrated it, but also having a special feeling for everyone who worked and played here. We bonded together. It was like Camelot." In a March 2007 article in Sports Illustrated columnist Michael Silver described Walsh as the "most influential football man of his era" and a "transcendent ringmaster.''
"With his meticulously crafted organization and cerebral practice regimens, to his daring personnel decisions and his visionary offensive schemes, he created an enduring model," Silver wrote. "Today, the West Coast, with its reliance on short passes, precisely timed routes and intricately planned progressions, is the NFL's preeminent scheme. But in the early 1980s it merely drove opposing coaches nuts."
"What really made Bill special is that he understood that the game was bigger than him,” Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott said. “His genius was not centered around Xs and Os, it was centered around his ability to create a platform that made the game inclusive to others. He will forever be cemented with the likes of George Halas, Paul Brown and Vince Lombardi as the best ever."
Aside from transforming the 49ers into one of the NFL's most dominant teams, Walsh was equally influential and innovative off the field. In 1987, Walsh launched the first minority coaching fellowship program to create more opportunities for minority coaches. The first two participants were Jerry Brown and Tyrone Willingham, now the head coach at the University of Washington. Marvin Lewis, head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, was selected by Walsh as a coaching fellow the following year in 1988. The league later implemented the program with all of its teams.
"I don't know if people realize the innovation he has brought to this game on so many levels," Steve Young said to Sports Illustrated. "From a business perspective, I'd compare it to Silicon Valley, where Andy Grove, Steve Jobs and some of the other pioneers really changed business. Bill Walsh, around that same time, brought the same kind of mentality to football. In terms of how you deal with people and the kind of environment you create, his was a very enlightened approach."
For a time, Walsh worked as a football analyst for NBC. But he couldn't stay off the field for long. In 1992, he returned to Stanford as head football coach. Lowell Cohn, author of the 1994 book Rough Magic: Bill Walsh's Return to Stanford Football, compared the press conference in Burnham Pavilion to a coronation of the blue-eyed, white-haired Walsh, who was cheered by 600 people-fans, alumni and staff-and more than six dozen reporters from around the country.
"Walsh walked past them, got up to speak on a makeshift platform, and, quoting Joseph Campbell, said, 'This is my bliss,'" Cohn wrote. "His face glowed. He was in his element. He had come home."
Former Stanford Athletics Director Ted Leland, who hired Walsh in 1992, said Walsh was known for his dry sense of humor. He cited the time Walsh got into hot water after making disparaging comments about the University of Washington football team-comments that were published in the Sacramento Bee and picked up by newspapers across the country. Walsh apologized publicly and privately to UW officials, but the next time the Cardinal football team flew to Seattle for a game, the media was there to greet Walsh.
"When Bill got off the plane he was wearing fake glasses with a fake nose and mustache-as if to say 'Here I am,'" Leland said, laughing at the memory. "He had the ability to appreciate the seriousness of the situation and still joke about the human condition."
During the 1992 season, the Cardinal team achieved its first 10-win season since 1940, earned its first top-10 ranking in more than 20 years, and won the Blockbuster Bowl. The next two years Stanford stumbled, with a 4-7 record in 1993 and a 3-7-1 record in 1994.
Leland said the losses took a toll on Walsh, a proud man who wanted to win more for the students than for himself. By then, Walsh had been coaching football for 30 years.
"When you're young, the euphoria of winning balances out the heartache of losing," Leland said. "When you get older, the euphoria isn't as high, but the heartache is just as big, so the euphoria is tempered. Bill wasn't having fun winning and he was really struggling with the losses. So he stepped down."
In 2002, Walsh began teaching a course on sports business management with Professor George Foster at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 2003, Walsh, Foster and former Stanford wide receiver Gene Washington combined to create the annual NFL-Stanford Executive Education Program, designed to develop and deepen the core business skills of league executives. Later, with a Harvard professor, Walsh and Foster wrote "The Business of Sports: Cases and Text on Strategy and Management," published in 2005.
Walsh rejoined the Stanford Athletic Department in early 2004, as special assistant to the athletics director, a position he held until his death-first under Leland, then Robert Bowlsby. He helped with fund-raising, gave coaching seminars and helped recruit athletes.
His reach in college athletics has extended beyond Stanford in recent years. In 2004 Walsh helped restore strength to the San Jose State athletic department and football program, leading the committee to hire Thomas Bowen as Director of Athletics. Less than a month later he recruited Dick Tomey to become head football coach. All Tomey has done is turn the moribund program into a winner, posting a 9-4 record and New Mexico Bowl crown in 2006. It was the university’s first bowl game appearance in 17 years.
Walsh shared the secrets of his coaching philosophy and winning strategies in books. In 1990, he teamed up with sportswriter Glenn Dickey to write "Building a Champion: On Football and the Making of the 49ers." Seven years later came "Bill Walsh: Finding the Winning Edge."
He also took a lead role in expanding the sport globally. In 1994, Walsh was instrumental in the establishment and management of the World League of American Football, which later became known as NFL Europe.
Walsh's impact on the coaching industry is apparent by the rise of former assistants, players and people who have come under his influence, including Dennis Green, Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Ray Rhodes, Jeff Fisher, Sam Wyche, Rod Dowhower, Bruce Coslet, Sherman Lewis, Brian Billick, Gary Kubiak, George Seifert, Jon Gruden, Paul Hackett, Tom Holmoe, Dwaine Board, Bobb McKittrick, Bill McPherson, Steve Mariucci, Tom Rathman, Jim Mora, Greg Knapp, Harry Sydney and Tom Lovat.
Walsh, who was born in Los Angeles, played wide receiver at San Jose State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1955 and a master's degree in 1959-both in education.
He was preceded in death by his son Steve, an ABC News reporter who died of AIDS at age 46. Walsh is survived by his wife Geri, of Woodside, son Craig, of Redwood City, daughter Elizabeth, of San Francisco, sister Maureen of Mission Viejo, CA and two grandchildren, Samantha and Nathan.
Walsh, one of only 21 coaches enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the only one nicknamed "The Genius," disclosed in late 2006 that he was battling the disease. He was known for his revolutionary offense, cerebral practice regimens and keen eye for talent, among many other things.
"Bill was blessed with one of the greatest gifts you can have which is the ability to see the future potential of another human being. It just so happened that football was his expertise,” Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young said. “He saw in me much more than I ever saw in myself well before I ever had a chance to understand it. That is the ultimate compliment to the word coach. There's nothing more a coach should be than to see the full potential of a player unfolded. I am eternally grateful to Bill Walsh.”
At Stanford, three generations of student athletes called Walsh "coach." He served as an assistant coach in the in the mid-1960s, and as head coach in the late 1970s and again in the early 1990s. Former Stanford running back Darrin Nelson laughed when he was asked about his first practice with Walsh, whom he met in 1977, the first year Walsh served as head coach.
"He was installing the offense, which was pretty complicated-the same offense the 49ers ran, we did," said Nelson, who still holds several Cardinal records.
"Bill put all the freshman in and said, 'OK, for comic relief, let's see if the freshmen can do it.' He wanted to see if we were paying attention."
Nelson, a senior associate athletic director at Stanford, said Walsh had a rule against hazing freshmen. But they were allowed to tease and laugh at them. It was OK for Walsh too.
"Bill met with the entire freshman class of football players to talk about coming to college and being a college person," Nelson recalled. "One of the things he said was: 'don't worry about your high school girlfriend. She's probably out with your best friend right now.'"
Walsh will be remembered as one of the greatest offensive minds in football history, particularly when it came to tutoring quarterbacks. He coached three Hall of Famers, Dan Fouts, Joe Montana and Steve Young as well as former Cincinnati All Pro Ken Anderson.
"Walsh made me," Anderson said.
"Bill Walsh made all the difference in the world," said Fouts, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Walsh, in 1993.
At Stanford, the novel offensive strategies that would later come to be known as the "West Coast" offense, originated as the "dink and dunk" offense, said former Cardinal quarterback Steve Dils, '78, who played for Walsh in 1977 and 1978.
Dils said Walsh emphasized the positive-what players could do to get better-instead of dwelling on what they were doing wrong. Still, Walsh was an exacting coach.
He said many coaches cared only if a quarterback completed a pass during practice-not how they did it. That wasn't good enough for Walsh, who scrutinized every aspect of a throw-timing, body mechanics, footwork, trajectory-and made Dils run the pass pattern five or six times until it was perfect, then said, 'OK, that's right, now do it again.'"
Dils, who later played professional football in Minnesota, Los Angeles and Atlanta, said he played for some very good coaches. But none compared to Walsh.
"I learned more in two years from Bill about being a quarterback than I did in the rest of my 10 years in the NFL," said Dils, who now works in Atlanta for Grubb & Ellis, a commercial real estate advisory firm. "He taught me so much about the game."
In 1978, in a column in the San Francisco Examiner about the Stanford team, Frank Blackman described Walsh as the "life of the party" on the football field.
"His Stanford team, and the teams he directed as offensive coordinator in the pros at Cincinnati and San Diego, all have one thing in common," he wrote. "They're fun to watch."
It was a winning strategy for Walsh, who led Stanford to two bowl victories-the Sun Bowl in 1977 and the Bluebonnet Bowl in 1978.
The following year he left Stanford for an opportunity he had long coveted-head coach of an NFL team. In this case, he took over the then-woeful San Francisco 49ers and orchestrated one of the greatest success stories in the history of professional sports. In 1979, he took over a team that went 2-14 the previous season and transformed it into a Super Bowl champion in just three seasons. Under Walsh's direction, the 49ers won three Super Bowl titles (1981, '84 and '88), made seven NFC postseason appearances and claimed six NFC West Division Championships. He was twice named NFL Coach-of-the-Year (1981, 1984) and was later named NFL Coach-of-the-Decade for the 1980s. He resigned as head coach in 1989.
"When I came here (in 1979), I just wanted to build a team that would win more than it would lose," Walsh told the late Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough. "I never envisioned the 49ers of the past three decades would become one of the greatest franchises in the history of sports. I'm proud that I played a part in it. I walk away knowing I orchestrated it, but also having a special feeling for everyone who worked and played here. We bonded together. It was like Camelot." In a March 2007 article in Sports Illustrated columnist Michael Silver described Walsh as the "most influential football man of his era" and a "transcendent ringmaster.''
"With his meticulously crafted organization and cerebral practice regimens, to his daring personnel decisions and his visionary offensive schemes, he created an enduring model," Silver wrote. "Today, the West Coast, with its reliance on short passes, precisely timed routes and intricately planned progressions, is the NFL's preeminent scheme. But in the early 1980s it merely drove opposing coaches nuts."
"What really made Bill special is that he understood that the game was bigger than him,” Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott said. “His genius was not centered around Xs and Os, it was centered around his ability to create a platform that made the game inclusive to others. He will forever be cemented with the likes of George Halas, Paul Brown and Vince Lombardi as the best ever."
Aside from transforming the 49ers into one of the NFL's most dominant teams, Walsh was equally influential and innovative off the field. In 1987, Walsh launched the first minority coaching fellowship program to create more opportunities for minority coaches. The first two participants were Jerry Brown and Tyrone Willingham, now the head coach at the University of Washington. Marvin Lewis, head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, was selected by Walsh as a coaching fellow the following year in 1988. The league later implemented the program with all of its teams.
"I don't know if people realize the innovation he has brought to this game on so many levels," Steve Young said to Sports Illustrated. "From a business perspective, I'd compare it to Silicon Valley, where Andy Grove, Steve Jobs and some of the other pioneers really changed business. Bill Walsh, around that same time, brought the same kind of mentality to football. In terms of how you deal with people and the kind of environment you create, his was a very enlightened approach."
For a time, Walsh worked as a football analyst for NBC. But he couldn't stay off the field for long. In 1992, he returned to Stanford as head football coach. Lowell Cohn, author of the 1994 book Rough Magic: Bill Walsh's Return to Stanford Football, compared the press conference in Burnham Pavilion to a coronation of the blue-eyed, white-haired Walsh, who was cheered by 600 people-fans, alumni and staff-and more than six dozen reporters from around the country.
"Walsh walked past them, got up to speak on a makeshift platform, and, quoting Joseph Campbell, said, 'This is my bliss,'" Cohn wrote. "His face glowed. He was in his element. He had come home."
Former Stanford Athletics Director Ted Leland, who hired Walsh in 1992, said Walsh was known for his dry sense of humor. He cited the time Walsh got into hot water after making disparaging comments about the University of Washington football team-comments that were published in the Sacramento Bee and picked up by newspapers across the country. Walsh apologized publicly and privately to UW officials, but the next time the Cardinal football team flew to Seattle for a game, the media was there to greet Walsh.
"When Bill got off the plane he was wearing fake glasses with a fake nose and mustache-as if to say 'Here I am,'" Leland said, laughing at the memory. "He had the ability to appreciate the seriousness of the situation and still joke about the human condition."
During the 1992 season, the Cardinal team achieved its first 10-win season since 1940, earned its first top-10 ranking in more than 20 years, and won the Blockbuster Bowl. The next two years Stanford stumbled, with a 4-7 record in 1993 and a 3-7-1 record in 1994.
Leland said the losses took a toll on Walsh, a proud man who wanted to win more for the students than for himself. By then, Walsh had been coaching football for 30 years.
"When you're young, the euphoria of winning balances out the heartache of losing," Leland said. "When you get older, the euphoria isn't as high, but the heartache is just as big, so the euphoria is tempered. Bill wasn't having fun winning and he was really struggling with the losses. So he stepped down."
In 2002, Walsh began teaching a course on sports business management with Professor George Foster at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 2003, Walsh, Foster and former Stanford wide receiver Gene Washington combined to create the annual NFL-Stanford Executive Education Program, designed to develop and deepen the core business skills of league executives. Later, with a Harvard professor, Walsh and Foster wrote "The Business of Sports: Cases and Text on Strategy and Management," published in 2005.
Walsh rejoined the Stanford Athletic Department in early 2004, as special assistant to the athletics director, a position he held until his death-first under Leland, then Robert Bowlsby. He helped with fund-raising, gave coaching seminars and helped recruit athletes.
His reach in college athletics has extended beyond Stanford in recent years. In 2004 Walsh helped restore strength to the San Jose State athletic department and football program, leading the committee to hire Thomas Bowen as Director of Athletics. Less than a month later he recruited Dick Tomey to become head football coach. All Tomey has done is turn the moribund program into a winner, posting a 9-4 record and New Mexico Bowl crown in 2006. It was the university’s first bowl game appearance in 17 years.
Walsh shared the secrets of his coaching philosophy and winning strategies in books. In 1990, he teamed up with sportswriter Glenn Dickey to write "Building a Champion: On Football and the Making of the 49ers." Seven years later came "Bill Walsh: Finding the Winning Edge."
He also took a lead role in expanding the sport globally. In 1994, Walsh was instrumental in the establishment and management of the World League of American Football, which later became known as NFL Europe.
Walsh's impact on the coaching industry is apparent by the rise of former assistants, players and people who have come under his influence, including Dennis Green, Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Ray Rhodes, Jeff Fisher, Sam Wyche, Rod Dowhower, Bruce Coslet, Sherman Lewis, Brian Billick, Gary Kubiak, George Seifert, Jon Gruden, Paul Hackett, Tom Holmoe, Dwaine Board, Bobb McKittrick, Bill McPherson, Steve Mariucci, Tom Rathman, Jim Mora, Greg Knapp, Harry Sydney and Tom Lovat.
Walsh, who was born in Los Angeles, played wide receiver at San Jose State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1955 and a master's degree in 1959-both in education.
He was preceded in death by his son Steve, an ABC News reporter who died of AIDS at age 46. Walsh is survived by his wife Geri, of Woodside, son Craig, of Redwood City, daughter Elizabeth, of San Francisco, sister Maureen of Mission Viejo, CA and two grandchildren, Samantha and Nathan.
Wake Forest Basketball Coach Dies
When things weren't going well for his Wake Forest University basketball team, Skip Prosser was known to quote Thomas Paine: "These are the times that try men's souls."
At heart, Prosser considered himself a high school history teacher who happened to coach basketball.
And when he died at 56 Thursday of an apparent heart attack after a lunchtime jog, the reverberations were felt nationwide - particularly in Cincinnati, where he was either an assistant coach or head coach at Xavier University for 15 seasons.
"We always stressed family," said Byron Larkin, who played at Xavier from 1984-88 and is the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,696 points.
"He would come back to attend the graduations of kids he recruited. He was just a good person like that, but a mentor, and humble. He used to tell me he was just a high school history teacher coaching college basketball.
"For him, it was always about doing the right thing, with character No. 1. And No. 2, be a good basketball player. I admired that about him. I remember thinking, he isn't getting paid to make me a better person. He's getting paid to make me a better basketball player. But Skip wanted you to be a good player and a good person."
Prosser, head coach at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., the past seven seasons, was found slumped on his office couch and unresponsive by director of basketball operations Mike Muse shortly after returning from his noon jog, athletics director Ron Wellman said Thursday night.
Medical personnel performed CPR and used a defibrillator on Prosser, who was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and pronounced dead at 1:41 p.m.
Wellman said he was unaware of any previous health issues for Prosser, calling his death "a devastating loss" during a news conference.
"Because of his strength, we'll be able to go on and we'll be just fine eventually," Wellman said. "We're not right now. We're all suffering right now."
Dr. William Applegate, the dean of the university medical school, said the events were "typical of a sudden massive heart attack."
"This kind of attack, when it's not witnessed by someone next to the person and CPR is not started within seconds, then the outcome is often not good," Applegate said.
Confirmation of Prosser's death was delayed until Thursday night because his wife, Nancy, was traveling to Cincinnati - where the couple still kept a home in Mount Lookout - and could not be reached, Wellman said.
Wellman said team officials gathered several players in the afternoon and took them to an off-campus location without their cell phones for about four hours in an attempt to temporarily shield them from news reports of Prosser's death.
Former University of Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins, who had known Prosser since Prosser was a high school coach and coached against him in the Crosstown Shootout seven times, said the news of Prosser's death was "just terrible."
"We were very close. He's a great guy," said Huggins, who was ousted from UC in 2005, coached at Kansas State last season and is now the coach at West Virginia. In 2002, Huggins had a heart attack in Pittsburgh and was hospitalized there.
"I wasn't supposed to have any visitors, but then Skip came in," he said. "That was during a contact (recruiting) period when all of us were really busy.
"The year I was out (after his ouster at UC), Skip called me once a week, just to check on me, make sure I was all right."
Mick Cronin, the current UC coach, called Prosser's death "a tragic loss for college basketball."
"Skip was a great coach and meant a lot to the Cincinnati community for many years," Cronin said. "He was a better person than he was a coach, and he was a great coach."
Current Xavier head coach Sean Miller said, "College basketball has lost such a great person, who prided himself on working hard and being a teacher. But he didn't think he was better than anybody else. He was a humble, very giving person. And he will be sorely missed by a lot of different people, especially in the Xavier community, where we have lost a great friend."
Tributes poured in from the Xavier community, typically saluting Prosser's off-court qualities as much as his coaching acumen.
"'Carpe diem' ('seize the day') was his favorite phrase," said Andy MacWilliams, former Xavier broadcaster. "And he sucked the marrow right out of life. He worked hard and he played hard. He loved his family. He enjoyed his Guinness beer, and his Irish music. He was an ordinary guy who achieved at a very high level. It's quite a story, and it's a very sad day to know he's not with us any more."
Said Tom Eiser, associate athletic director for media relations: "He genuinely loved Xavier, and he loved Cincinnati. We're going to miss him for a long list of reasons. I will miss him as a friend. I never heard anybody say a bad word about him, in great part because there is nothing phony about him. He's a great example of what college basketball and college athletics should be like."
George Edward "Skip" Prosser was born Nov. 3, 1950, in Pittsburgh. A 1972 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Prosser earned his master's degree in secondary education from West Virginia in 1980 while he was a high school coach. He joined the Xavier staff as an assistant before the 1985-86 season, spending eight years on the bench there.
After a season coaching at Loyola (Md.), he returned to Xavier as head coach in 1995 and stayed for seven seasons before taking the Wake Forest job in the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference.
Prosser averaged nearly 24 wins in his first four seasons at Wake Forest - including a school-record 27 in 2005 - with his up-tempo offense.
But his last two teams struggled to a combined 32-33 record, including 8-24 in the ACC, with youth-laden teams.
Prosser was excited about recent commitments from several highly regarded recruits, said Pete Gillen, who hired Prosser as an assistant at Xavier and coached against Prosser while at Virginia.
"He was a lot smarter than me at Xavier and he was twice as smart at Wake," said Gillen, who lost five of eight ACC meetings with Prosser. "I felt bad when he beat me. I felt bad when I beat him. It was a lose-lose."
Prosser is survived by his wife, Nancy, and sons, Scott and Mark.
Mark Prosser is an assistant coach at Bucknell.
Post staff reporter Victoria Sun, Post contributor Marc Hardin, the Associated Press and the Baltimore Sun contributed to this report.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/NEWS01/707270375
At heart, Prosser considered himself a high school history teacher who happened to coach basketball.
And when he died at 56 Thursday of an apparent heart attack after a lunchtime jog, the reverberations were felt nationwide - particularly in Cincinnati, where he was either an assistant coach or head coach at Xavier University for 15 seasons.
"We always stressed family," said Byron Larkin, who played at Xavier from 1984-88 and is the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,696 points.
"He would come back to attend the graduations of kids he recruited. He was just a good person like that, but a mentor, and humble. He used to tell me he was just a high school history teacher coaching college basketball.
"For him, it was always about doing the right thing, with character No. 1. And No. 2, be a good basketball player. I admired that about him. I remember thinking, he isn't getting paid to make me a better person. He's getting paid to make me a better basketball player. But Skip wanted you to be a good player and a good person."
Prosser, head coach at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., the past seven seasons, was found slumped on his office couch and unresponsive by director of basketball operations Mike Muse shortly after returning from his noon jog, athletics director Ron Wellman said Thursday night.
Medical personnel performed CPR and used a defibrillator on Prosser, who was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and pronounced dead at 1:41 p.m.
Wellman said he was unaware of any previous health issues for Prosser, calling his death "a devastating loss" during a news conference.
"Because of his strength, we'll be able to go on and we'll be just fine eventually," Wellman said. "We're not right now. We're all suffering right now."
Dr. William Applegate, the dean of the university medical school, said the events were "typical of a sudden massive heart attack."
"This kind of attack, when it's not witnessed by someone next to the person and CPR is not started within seconds, then the outcome is often not good," Applegate said.
Confirmation of Prosser's death was delayed until Thursday night because his wife, Nancy, was traveling to Cincinnati - where the couple still kept a home in Mount Lookout - and could not be reached, Wellman said.
Wellman said team officials gathered several players in the afternoon and took them to an off-campus location without their cell phones for about four hours in an attempt to temporarily shield them from news reports of Prosser's death.
Former University of Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins, who had known Prosser since Prosser was a high school coach and coached against him in the Crosstown Shootout seven times, said the news of Prosser's death was "just terrible."
"We were very close. He's a great guy," said Huggins, who was ousted from UC in 2005, coached at Kansas State last season and is now the coach at West Virginia. In 2002, Huggins had a heart attack in Pittsburgh and was hospitalized there.
"I wasn't supposed to have any visitors, but then Skip came in," he said. "That was during a contact (recruiting) period when all of us were really busy.
"The year I was out (after his ouster at UC), Skip called me once a week, just to check on me, make sure I was all right."
Mick Cronin, the current UC coach, called Prosser's death "a tragic loss for college basketball."
"Skip was a great coach and meant a lot to the Cincinnati community for many years," Cronin said. "He was a better person than he was a coach, and he was a great coach."
Current Xavier head coach Sean Miller said, "College basketball has lost such a great person, who prided himself on working hard and being a teacher. But he didn't think he was better than anybody else. He was a humble, very giving person. And he will be sorely missed by a lot of different people, especially in the Xavier community, where we have lost a great friend."
Tributes poured in from the Xavier community, typically saluting Prosser's off-court qualities as much as his coaching acumen.
"'Carpe diem' ('seize the day') was his favorite phrase," said Andy MacWilliams, former Xavier broadcaster. "And he sucked the marrow right out of life. He worked hard and he played hard. He loved his family. He enjoyed his Guinness beer, and his Irish music. He was an ordinary guy who achieved at a very high level. It's quite a story, and it's a very sad day to know he's not with us any more."
Said Tom Eiser, associate athletic director for media relations: "He genuinely loved Xavier, and he loved Cincinnati. We're going to miss him for a long list of reasons. I will miss him as a friend. I never heard anybody say a bad word about him, in great part because there is nothing phony about him. He's a great example of what college basketball and college athletics should be like."
George Edward "Skip" Prosser was born Nov. 3, 1950, in Pittsburgh. A 1972 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Prosser earned his master's degree in secondary education from West Virginia in 1980 while he was a high school coach. He joined the Xavier staff as an assistant before the 1985-86 season, spending eight years on the bench there.
After a season coaching at Loyola (Md.), he returned to Xavier as head coach in 1995 and stayed for seven seasons before taking the Wake Forest job in the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference.
Prosser averaged nearly 24 wins in his first four seasons at Wake Forest - including a school-record 27 in 2005 - with his up-tempo offense.
But his last two teams struggled to a combined 32-33 record, including 8-24 in the ACC, with youth-laden teams.
Prosser was excited about recent commitments from several highly regarded recruits, said Pete Gillen, who hired Prosser as an assistant at Xavier and coached against Prosser while at Virginia.
"He was a lot smarter than me at Xavier and he was twice as smart at Wake," said Gillen, who lost five of eight ACC meetings with Prosser. "I felt bad when he beat me. I felt bad when I beat him. It was a lose-lose."
Prosser is survived by his wife, Nancy, and sons, Scott and Mark.
Mark Prosser is an assistant coach at Bucknell.
Post staff reporter Victoria Sun, Post contributor Marc Hardin, the Associated Press and the Baltimore Sun contributed to this report.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/NEWS01/707270375
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Much Ado About Nothing?
Over the past few weeks, the professional sports scene in America has become riddled with controversy. As Barry Bonds moves closer and closer to breaking Henry Aaron's career home run record, Major League Baseball has had to deal with questions regarding the legitimacy of the new record due to Bonds' alleged steroid use. The NBA recently received word from the FBI that one of its referees, Tom Donaghy, has allegedly been betting on NBA games (including games that he worked). The NFL is dealing with the recent indictment of one is its most prolific stars, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. Vick has allegedly been invloved in an illegal dogfighting ring.
The reaction in newspapers and on TV talk shows has largely been that of outrage. People feel as though the whole pro sports world is crashing down into a pile of ruins. My question is: Why do we even care? Don't get me wrong, I love sports. I have played sports for as long as I can remember and I have been a loyal fan (mostly to Bay Area teams). The fact of the matter is that the United States has become obsessed with sports to the point that we don't know what is important anymore. Instead of worrying about whether Bonds took steroids or not, why not worry about the thousands of people addicted to illegal drugs in our country? Why don't we reach out to help them? Why don't we reach out to those with gambling problems? Instead of dealing with real issues, we worry about the behavior of men who make millions and millions of dollars every year just so they can entertain us by playing games. Think about the lives that could be saved and the problems that could be eradicated with the combined salaries of all the athletes in the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball. If the numbers were calculated I guarantee you would be blown away.
I wish that Americans would realize that while millions of dollars are spent to compensate mostly immature men while they play games, millions of people are dying because they can't get food or the proper medication. These lives can be saved, but for now it seems as though we will choose to debate over whether so-and-so is guilty or not and the effects it will have on whatever game.
The reaction in newspapers and on TV talk shows has largely been that of outrage. People feel as though the whole pro sports world is crashing down into a pile of ruins. My question is: Why do we even care? Don't get me wrong, I love sports. I have played sports for as long as I can remember and I have been a loyal fan (mostly to Bay Area teams). The fact of the matter is that the United States has become obsessed with sports to the point that we don't know what is important anymore. Instead of worrying about whether Bonds took steroids or not, why not worry about the thousands of people addicted to illegal drugs in our country? Why don't we reach out to help them? Why don't we reach out to those with gambling problems? Instead of dealing with real issues, we worry about the behavior of men who make millions and millions of dollars every year just so they can entertain us by playing games. Think about the lives that could be saved and the problems that could be eradicated with the combined salaries of all the athletes in the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball. If the numbers were calculated I guarantee you would be blown away.
I wish that Americans would realize that while millions of dollars are spent to compensate mostly immature men while they play games, millions of people are dying because they can't get food or the proper medication. These lives can be saved, but for now it seems as though we will choose to debate over whether so-and-so is guilty or not and the effects it will have on whatever game.
"If all of us did what was in front of us,
think of how many problems we would solve.
If each of us would take care of a neighbor,
sit and talk with someone who is lonely,
or feed someone who is hungry,
think of what a better world this would be."
Tony Hall, Changing the Face of Hunger
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Value of Wisdom: Proverbs 2:1-8
My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Clock is Ticking
Tick, Tock.
One.
Tick, Tock.
Two.
Every Lost second is a Lost life;
another child is thrust into adulthood.
Every Lost life is a Lost dream;
There is no longer time to play.
With every Lost dream,
there is Lost hope.
The reality of death kills the soul;
With Lost hope
comes sorrow,
as children cry out.
Tick, Tock.
Three.
Tick, Tock.
Four.
Sorrow screams for hope,
but it is Lost;
gone, never to return.
Lost hope means Lost dreams,
Is there any reason to live?
Lost dreams mean Lost life.
No. There is not.
Tick, Tock.
Five.
Tick. Tock.
Six. . .
The reality is, that every day, while we live out our comfortable lives, tens of thousands of people live in suffering. They feel the effects of extreme poverty, hunger, and disease. And the worst part is that there really is nothing they can do about it. But there is hope in that we CAN do something...and not only that, we are called to do something. For those who call themselves Christians, there is no excuse not to serve the needy. It's what Jesus did, and it's what we are to do. But the clock is ticking...
One.
Tick, Tock.
Two.
Every Lost second is a Lost life;
another child is thrust into adulthood.
Every Lost life is a Lost dream;
There is no longer time to play.
With every Lost dream,
there is Lost hope.
The reality of death kills the soul;
With Lost hope
comes sorrow,
as children cry out.
Tick, Tock.
Three.
Tick, Tock.
Four.
Sorrow screams for hope,
but it is Lost;
gone, never to return.
Lost hope means Lost dreams,
Is there any reason to live?
Lost dreams mean Lost life.
No. There is not.
Tick, Tock.
Five.
Tick. Tock.
Six. . .
The reality is, that every day, while we live out our comfortable lives, tens of thousands of people live in suffering. They feel the effects of extreme poverty, hunger, and disease. And the worst part is that there really is nothing they can do about it. But there is hope in that we CAN do something...and not only that, we are called to do something. For those who call themselves Christians, there is no excuse not to serve the needy. It's what Jesus did, and it's what we are to do. But the clock is ticking...
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Dr. James W. Taylor Jr.(1953 - 2007)
Dr. James W. Taylor, Jr., M.D., 54, an 18 year resident of Wheaton; passed away Saturday, July 14, 2007 at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, IL. He was born April 27, 1953 in Elmhurst, IL and raised in Addison, IL.
He graduated from Addison Trail High School in 1971; went on to receive his Undergraduate degree from Trinity International and attended University of Illinois/Chicago for medical school.
Jim’s life reflected his passion for his family and sharing love for Jesus Christ. He lived his life with integrity and honesty. With a desire to be more Christlike everyday, Jim was constantly in the Bible. His heart of humility and service was exemplified through the numerous mission trips overseas. His desire for these trips was not only to share with those he came in contact with the love of Christ, but to open the hearts of his children and give them a new perspective of the world.
Survived by: Wife Judy (Koch), Children: Megan, Matt, B.B., Stephanie, Dog Wrigley, Sister Jan Taylor
Preceded in death by; Parents James Taylor, Sr. and Ruth Taylor (Bliss)
Visitation will take place Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at Wheaton Bible Church, 410 N. Cross St. Wheaton, IL (or Main Street at Franklin) from 1pm-5pm; Memorial service from 7pm-8pm, reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, please write checks to World Vision (The Zambia Project-Wheaton Academy) Wheaton Academy, 900 N. Prince Crossing Road, West Chicago, IL. 60185
He graduated from Addison Trail High School in 1971; went on to receive his Undergraduate degree from Trinity International and attended University of Illinois/Chicago for medical school.
Jim’s life reflected his passion for his family and sharing love for Jesus Christ. He lived his life with integrity and honesty. With a desire to be more Christlike everyday, Jim was constantly in the Bible. His heart of humility and service was exemplified through the numerous mission trips overseas. His desire for these trips was not only to share with those he came in contact with the love of Christ, but to open the hearts of his children and give them a new perspective of the world.
Survived by: Wife Judy (Koch), Children: Megan, Matt, B.B., Stephanie, Dog Wrigley, Sister Jan Taylor
Preceded in death by; Parents James Taylor, Sr. and Ruth Taylor (Bliss)
Visitation will take place Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at Wheaton Bible Church, 410 N. Cross St. Wheaton, IL (or Main Street at Franklin) from 1pm-5pm; Memorial service from 7pm-8pm, reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, please write checks to World Vision (The Zambia Project-Wheaton Academy) Wheaton Academy, 900 N. Prince Crossing Road, West Chicago, IL. 60185
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Don't Forget to be Thankful
Every now and then, it takes an out of the ordinary event or experience to snap us out of our daily routines and help us realize how much we have. These are often referred to as "reality-checks." They come in various forms; different people respond to different things. I am writing this because I experienced one of these reality-checks today, and I don't want anyone else to wait for their next one before they realize how blessed they truly are.
At around 4:00 today I was painting my parents bedroom (and doing a mighty fine job, if I do say so myself) when my dad called and said he had been in a car accident on the way home from work. He said he was ok, but the adrenaline was still pumping. I immediately stopped painting and left with my mom and brother to go pick my dad up.
To make a long story short, my dad wasn't seriously injured, but he could've been. He was t-boned by a car that was traveling around 50 mph. Had it been a truck or SUV, who knows what kind of shape he would be in. I have not had a whole lot of time to process things, but there are some lessons that come to mind right off the bat.
First, don't ever take anyone or anything for granted...you never know when it/they may be gone.
Second, as soon as you're done reading this, tell evryone close to you how much you love them...just in case you don't get another chance.
Third, drive carefully!I could keep going, but I think you get the idea.
Blessings to you all
At around 4:00 today I was painting my parents bedroom (and doing a mighty fine job, if I do say so myself) when my dad called and said he had been in a car accident on the way home from work. He said he was ok, but the adrenaline was still pumping. I immediately stopped painting and left with my mom and brother to go pick my dad up.
To make a long story short, my dad wasn't seriously injured, but he could've been. He was t-boned by a car that was traveling around 50 mph. Had it been a truck or SUV, who knows what kind of shape he would be in. I have not had a whole lot of time to process things, but there are some lessons that come to mind right off the bat.
First, don't ever take anyone or anything for granted...you never know when it/they may be gone.
Second, as soon as you're done reading this, tell evryone close to you how much you love them...just in case you don't get another chance.
Third, drive carefully!I could keep going, but I think you get the idea.
Blessings to you all
First Lady Visits Zambia
First Lady Laura Bush recently traveled to Zambia, where through World Vision she distributed Caregiver Kits that will help those suffering due to AIDS and Malaria. Follow the link below to read about her trip.
http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/pr.nsf/stable/20070628_zambia?open&lid=172&lpos=sb1img_FirstLady
http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/pr.nsf/stable/20070628_zambia?open&lid=172&lpos=sb1img_FirstLady
Monday, July 9, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
Pants Worth $54 Million?
This tells you all you need to know about where our country is headed:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3313923&page=1
http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3313923&page=1
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The Insanity of Profanity
I realized last night while playing at open gym that I really have a low tolerance for people who excessively spew profanity. I'm not talking about people who occasionally use an expletive when extremely frustrated (although, that is also uncalled for). I'm referring to those whom swearing is a part of everyday vocabulary. Those who cannot go more than a couple of sentences (or a trip up and down the basketball floor) without a thundering rendition of a foul four-letter word.
The thing that bothers me the most is that people who are constantly using profanity do not take the time to think about the words they are using. I mean, when someone says, for example, "What the F---" do they really understand what they are saying? I mean, it really doesn't even make sense, if you take them literally.
But that is just the surface of the issue here. What constant profanity really reveals is a lack of maturity, intelligence, and self-control. Let's look at maturity first:
Most of the guys I played open gym with last night are out of high school, quite a few are out of college. You would think that a "man" (I use that term loosely) around the ages of 18-24 would have grown out of the need to be "cool" by usng expletives. It really is a very juvenile thing to do. I mean, think about it, you really don't start hearing those types of words from kids until junior high. Maybe I've just been too "sheltered" or "bubbled" but it seems to me that by senior year of high school most kids have figured out that it just sounds downright stupid when one is constantly swearing.
Now, I also feel as though excessive expletive usage also points to a grave lack of intelligence. Now you may be thinking, "There are smart people who swear a lot." I would submit to you that those people are not as "smart" as you think they are. I'm not talking about the kind of intelligence that gives you a 36 on the ACT and gets you into Princeton. I'm talking about the kind of intelligence that causes a person to think before they speak. People who think about what they say before they say it are, to me, "advanced." However, the reality is that most people don't employ the simple method of thinking twice. (I guess in a way I could be referring to "book intelligence," because if one has spent twenty years of their life in school, including time in higher education, and still can't think of a better way to express oneself, then I suppose they really are stupid. Either that or they just didn't pay attention in class.)
But I'm still really only on the surface of my beef here. The heart of the issue is an immense lack of self-control. And this even applies to the use of "Christian-cursing" which I myself have been guilty of ("Christian-cursing"" is, on some level, even worse than using expletives, but I wont get into that here). The bottom line is that educated people should be able to control themselves and just use normal vocabulary. This is especially true on the basketball court (really in any sport). It really is not that hard to go through a came and not say anything to express frustration. Trust me, I do it all the time. What this issue comes down to is people being willing to control their emotions, and just keep their mouths shut. In regards to people who just use expletives as adjectives in everyday conversation, You just need to think about what you say before you say it. If there is not better way to express your idea other than using a handful of expletives, it would probably be best if you just didn't say anything at all.
The thing that bothers me the most is that people who are constantly using profanity do not take the time to think about the words they are using. I mean, when someone says, for example, "What the F---" do they really understand what they are saying? I mean, it really doesn't even make sense, if you take them literally.
But that is just the surface of the issue here. What constant profanity really reveals is a lack of maturity, intelligence, and self-control. Let's look at maturity first:
Most of the guys I played open gym with last night are out of high school, quite a few are out of college. You would think that a "man" (I use that term loosely) around the ages of 18-24 would have grown out of the need to be "cool" by usng expletives. It really is a very juvenile thing to do. I mean, think about it, you really don't start hearing those types of words from kids until junior high. Maybe I've just been too "sheltered" or "bubbled" but it seems to me that by senior year of high school most kids have figured out that it just sounds downright stupid when one is constantly swearing.
Now, I also feel as though excessive expletive usage also points to a grave lack of intelligence. Now you may be thinking, "There are smart people who swear a lot." I would submit to you that those people are not as "smart" as you think they are. I'm not talking about the kind of intelligence that gives you a 36 on the ACT and gets you into Princeton. I'm talking about the kind of intelligence that causes a person to think before they speak. People who think about what they say before they say it are, to me, "advanced." However, the reality is that most people don't employ the simple method of thinking twice. (I guess in a way I could be referring to "book intelligence," because if one has spent twenty years of their life in school, including time in higher education, and still can't think of a better way to express oneself, then I suppose they really are stupid. Either that or they just didn't pay attention in class.)
But I'm still really only on the surface of my beef here. The heart of the issue is an immense lack of self-control. And this even applies to the use of "Christian-cursing" which I myself have been guilty of ("Christian-cursing"" is, on some level, even worse than using expletives, but I wont get into that here). The bottom line is that educated people should be able to control themselves and just use normal vocabulary. This is especially true on the basketball court (really in any sport). It really is not that hard to go through a came and not say anything to express frustration. Trust me, I do it all the time. What this issue comes down to is people being willing to control their emotions, and just keep their mouths shut. In regards to people who just use expletives as adjectives in everyday conversation, You just need to think about what you say before you say it. If there is not better way to express your idea other than using a handful of expletives, it would probably be best if you just didn't say anything at all.
Monday, July 2, 2007
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