Coaching Changes

March Madness is upon us. But it's not just the games that bring excitement...many coaches are making career moves that better themselves and their staffs. It's a domino effect that leaves many coaches on a roller-coaster ride.

Yet, behind many exciting press conferences announcing a new coach is the flip-side of the change. Several of these openings are due to someone being fired. And when that someone gets fired, that also means the four or five other coaches on the staff are let go, too. And in many cases, so are the strength coaches, athletic trainers, secretaries. You may have 10 families involved who are suddenly looking for jobs.

Many of the firings may be warranted, for whatever rationale. But, let's not lose sight of the human element involved. At the very least, we should genuinely pray for the people involved.

Saints' Sin

It appears the Saints, under the direction of former Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams, broke league rules by paying players to intentionally hurt opponents. Williams, a well-respected coach throughout the NFL, stood up and accepted the blame, even going so far as to say that he knew it was wrong when they were doing it, yet continued the practice.

Does this news change your view of the Saints and their success? Does it taint their defensive accomplishments in your eyes?

One of the things that jumps out at me initially is the lack of player leadership to stand up to the coaches to say it is wrong. It's not popular, or easy, to stand up to coaches, but still surprised no one had the courage to stand up for what is right.

Your thoughts?

Iowa High School Wrestler Refuses To Wrestle Girl

A high school wrestler in Iowa gave up his chance for a state championship by refusing to wrestle against his first round opponent, who happened to be a girl.

Joel Northrup, who is a Christian, said it went against his religious convictions to compete against a girl. Before getting too upset with Northrup and calling him out as a sexist, take a look at his reasoning. He said he didn't feel it was appropriate to engage in violent acts toward women. Here is a young man that should be applauded for his views, yet it seems many are lashing out at him as sexist. To the contrary, Northrup is a young man with uncommon courage to take a stand on his convictions. In a society that has endured way too much violence toward women, his actions are a breath of fresh air.

Another aspect that Northrup did not discuss was that fact that in wrestling, it is inevitable that wrestlers must touch each other in areas that aren't appropriate for those of the opposite sex.

Northrup wasn't shying away from competition. This isn't a tennis match or golf tournament or NASCAR race where there is no physical contact. Perhaps this is a wake-up call for the state organizers who allow such competition. Let's hope Joel Northrup is a name that will be remembered for years as a true champion.

Link to Greg Doyel article
Link to Rick Reily article. Reily just doesn't "get it."

David Platt's book Radical

I'm finally reading David Platt's book, Radical. It's one of those books that you start reading and you know you'll be different after reading it. Can't wait to finish! Here's a link to the book.

Wake Forest Baseball Coach Steps Up To The Plate...And Knocks It Out Of The Park

Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter says it was a "no brainer" of a decision, but his decision to donate a kidney to one of his players was a selfless act that deserves hero's attention.

Sophomore outfielder Kevin Jordan needed a kidney transplant, and when none of his relatives were a match, Walter determined he was, and he knew what he needed to do. And one of the beautiful storylines is that he didn't do it to get back a great player -- there is no guarantee of a return to baseball -- he did it because he wanted Jordan to survive and function every day.

Kevin, we are all praying for a successful transplant and a healthy recovery. And let's hope Walter's act gets a great deal of attention. Not because we need to lift him up. But because we need to evaluate our lives to see if we are willing to do similar acts of selflessness.

Rangers Celebrate With The Team In Mind

The Texas Rangers just won the American League Divisional Series over the Tampa Bay Rays, and they celebrated a little differently than most teams. One of their players, Josh Hamilton, is a recovering alcoholic and they decided to keep the bubbly away from him.

This is a group of guys who understand what a team is all about. These guys could have easily decided to celebrate like most teams do, and like they probably dreamed of, by breaking out the bottles of champagne. Yet, they knew it would keep one of their teammates away from the celebration. And they weren't about to let a tradition get in the way of the unity of their team.

It's easy to cheer for a group of guys who "get it" like this group of Rangers get it.

Ron Brown Is Not Ashamed of The Gospel

Ron Brown, longtime assistant football coach at Nebraska, has used his platform to share the gospel for years. He's been a leading Christian voice not only in the sports world, but in all the world.

When a person takes a bold stand for Christ, it's inevitable he or she will face strong opposition. That has certainly been the case for Brown. And Brown's stance has been so bold that his opposition of one of the fiercest, the ACLU.

But unlike most people, Brown is not intimidated and is not backing down. In fact, he's calling out all Christian leaders to have more backbone in their faith and stance for Christ.

We're living in unprecedented times in the U.S. The current opposition of Jesus in this country was unthinkable 15-20 years ago. After reading stories in the Bible about persecution, we would talk about persecution in other countries as current day examples. Now we're citing examples from our own country - and our own city.

I hope this article will help all of us to re-think our public commitment to Christ. What are we willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ?

Stoops Takes a Stand

I love the stance Bob Stoops is taking in holding his players accountable for their actions. Stoops suspended wide receiver Jaz Reynolds for his insensitive remarks on his Twitter account.

Our society needs to understand that you can't just say things off-the cuff and not be responsible for it. Hopefully this will be a great learning experience for this young man and he gains some maturity for the accountability Stoops' enforces.

Billy Donovan's Trip With His Son

Jeff Goodman is a great writer on college basketball for FoxSports.com. He wrote this article on Florida coach Billy Donovan's trip to Africa with his son.

The story and Donovan's adventures are great. But what struck me most was Donovan spending time with his son watching TV and dreaming big dreams. And more importantly, making those dreams a reality.

It's great watching fathers teach and lead their sons.

Family First

Brent Sutter is a successful NHL coach in the middle of a re-building project with the New Jersey Devils. But last week, Sutter did the unthinkable in the eyes of most professionals - Sutter walked away from his job to be with his family 3,000 miles away.

"It might not be the right decision for some people," Sutter said, "and that's fine. I don't look at it like I am quitting on anything. I threw two years of my life and made a big commitment 3,000 miles away from where my life was and tried to do everything I possibly could to accomplish a goal. So by me doing that my life has suffered in other areas, and those areas to me are bigger than the game."

After spending several weeks deciding whether or not to return to the Devils, he finally decided to go home to run a family business and actually be with his family.

"I just wanted to make sure I never looked back and regretted it. To be quite honest, I had a decent sleep last night for the first time in seven weeks."

I don't anything about Sutter spiritually. But he made a decision few professionals make, choosing family over the pursuit of their career. And for that, I admire him and tip my hat to him.

Wayman Tisdale

We lost one of the great men who ever stepped foot on a basketball court. I remember first seeing Wayman Tisdale when he dominated college basketball for the University of Oklahoma. Then for years he was one of the leading scorers in the NBA.

But even greater than his basketball prowess was Wayman's love of God, of people, and of life. He continued to use the gifts God gave him after he finished his basketball career by becoming a Grammy Award winning jazz bassist. And as much fun as he appeared to have playing basketball couldn't match the obvious fun he had creating music.

We lost a man way before we should have. We can all learn from Wayman to make the most of the days God's given us.