The Hockey Stop

What would John Wooden do?

Coach, player, business exec, volunteer, politician. It doesn't matter. If you ask yourself that question every time you do something, it will be the right thing to do.

I found out legendary UCLA basketball head coach John Wooden died Friday at age 99 when I was biking in Venice Beach. I knew it was coming but the reality of it was somewhat emotionally overwhelming. While I was riding the bus back from Santa Monica to my home in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles, my friend called me and we decided to meet in front of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where Wooden passed away. There was a small gathering of UCLA students across Westwood Boulevard -- the leftovers from a bigger gathering earlier that evening. While I didn't attend UCLA (I did get a certificate in print journalism from UCLA Extension) I had family members that graduated from the school. I'm glad I got the chance to pay my respects to Wooden. At the bottom of this story there are pictures I took with my camera phone from the gathering at the UCLA Medical Center.

This humble Midwestern man, who led the Bruins to 10 championships and 88 straight wins, was genuinely a good person. I'm sure he had his flaws like everyone, but they certainly were not greed or putting winning above everything else -- sadly two of the qualities that have tarnished college basketball since the Wizard of Westwood worked his magic.

Wooden personified everything that is good and right about sports. He was loved by the UCLA community and will be missed tremendously.

I attended George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and have to believe that Wooden set the blueprint for Patriots coach Jim Larranaga's magic carpet ride to the Final Four in 2006. Wooden and Larranaga share many of the same coaching philosophies, namely putting integrity, honesty and hard work above the win-at-all-cost mentality that is so pervasive in competitive sports.

Of course since this is a hockey blog, I'd be remiss not to make some connection to the sport. I found this story on PennLive.com about Hershey Bears (the Washington Capitals minor league affiliate currently battling the Texas Stars in the Calder Cup Final) coach Mark French and his affinity for Wooden.

French keeps a copy of Wooden's book "They Call Me Coach" on the bookshelf of his Giant Center office.

Here is the brief story from PennLive.com. Click here for the link to the article:

A copy of John Wooden's "They Call Me Coach" is on the bookshelf in Mark French's Giant Center office. French coaches hockey as head coach of the Hershey Bears, but he has drawn guidance and inspiration from the lessons of the basketball coaching legend, who died at 99 Friday.

"One of first coaching books I read, and I read it my first year getting involved in coaching," French said Saturday. "I’d heard one guy say every time he had to make a decision as a coach, he thought, What would John Wooden have done in these situations? After reading his book, I’m not so sure that’s not a blueprint of how you want to live your life.

"He was more than a coach. He changed his players' lives by the lessons of life that he taught them. I think all coaches aspire to have a greater impact than maybe just on the game and truly affect their athetes’ lives. He was a true philosopher-coach. He did that. He saw beyond the game. And he was very successful, too.”

French often talks about focusing on the process of a season instead of fixating on results. He said that's something he adopted from Wooden's philosophy.

“You can drive yourself nuts as a coach if you worry about wins and losses," French said. "But if you worry about, as Wooden did, a very patient way of just doing things the right way day in and out and repetition, you’ll get the desired result.

"I think that’s the only way a coach can look at a situation. It’s the only thing you’re in control of is the process. You’re not in control of wins and losses. I think he was the first one to really put those into defining terms.”

1. NO GUNS IN HOCKEY



A hockey player would never store unloaded guns in his locker room and then lay them out Wild West style to intimidate a teammate over a gambling dispute like Washington Wizards player Gilbert Arenas did.

And a hockey player would absolutely under no circumstances dishonor the legacy of a beloved recently deceased owner such as Abe Pollin, who changed the name Bullets to Wizards because of gun violence.

And a hockey player would never bring guns to an arena like the Verizon Center in a city like Washington, D.C. where young black men have tragically been killing other young black men with guns at an alarming rate for way too long.

Sure, NHL players from places like Saskatoon participate in redneck activities like hunting Moose in the offseason, but their rifles are thankfully far from civilization.

2. HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE GREEN



NHL athletes get it when it comes to urgent environmental issues, as these two recent examples demonstrate.

Anaheim Ducks star Scott Niedermayer publicly announced his ownership of a Honda FCX Clarity Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle. He will drive this zero emissions vehicle from his home in southern Orange County to the Honda Center. From the Ducks blog on the Orange County Register website:

“It’s something that’s important to me - being responsible as far as how we treat the environment,” Niedermayer said. “It provides everything we need to survive here. We should show a little responsibility and turn back to the planet. I’ve always considered that. I grew up in a beautiful part of the world (Cranbrook, British Columbia) where you’re able to drink from the streams … It’s just a passion, something that I feel is important.”

Former Rangers goaltender Mike Richter and other NHL reps and environmental experts participated in a panel discussion at Fenway Park prior to the Winter Classic game titled "Sustainable Success: A Discussion on Business and the Environment."

The panel was moderated by New York Times columnist David Brooks and the main topic of conversation centered around how professional sports can help be a part of the solution to the climate crisis. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made perhaps the most obvious but overlooked point:

"We as a League, well, we worry about the ice melting perhaps more than any other sport," said Bettman.

3. THE NHL WOULDN'T NIX 'HAWKS-BEARS PARTNERSHIP



A marketing deal between the Chicago Blackhawks and Bears sounds like a win-win right? Well, not according to the NFL.

The partnership would have included ads featuring players from both teams explaining their respective sports to each other. But those TV commercials will never air because the stooges at the NFL are citing an archaic rule to justify nixing the deal. From the Chicago Tribune:

"The NFL prohibits use of team marks and logos in connection with the promotion of other sports except by a three-quarters vote of the league's 32 clubs, according to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello."

This might be the dumbest rule in all of professional sports.

It would be in the NFL's best interest to allow the Bears to ride the coattails of the hottest team in Chitown, because it certainly isn't the playoff-missing Bears. The most coveted ticket in town right now is a seat at the United Center for a 'Hawks game.

Are you listening NFL?

Chicago's hockey team is better than its football team. Sort of like what is going on in our nation's capital with the Capitals and Redskins.

The NFL should reverse this rule so Patrick Kane can help sell some tickets to Soldier Field.

The Chicago Blackhawks are hitching onto the popularity of the Chicago Bears and the NFL franchise is riding the winning ways of the NHL team.

The Bears and Blackhawks have entered into a marketing partnership, reports ESPNChicago.com. The deal will include commercials, appearances at United Center and Soldier Field, and other cross-promotional activities.

Blackhawks stars such as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will join Bears players such as Jay Cutler and Devin Hester in the spots.





Quebec City is making an aggressive push for an NHL franchise.

Mayor Régis Labeaume recently announced the city is building a new arena to lure a team and the NHL's top brass are taking notice. Both commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly have both stated that a new arena will help Quebec City's cause in its competition with Kansas City and Las Vegas for a team.

The city lost the Nordiques to Denver (Colorado Avalanche) which could hurt its cause, but it also could be a positive as Daly stated: "Both Winnipeg and Quebec have already done that (supported an NHL team). We'll see how things evolve."