• The guy is synonymous with college basketball. The former UCLA coach, who won ten titles helming the Bruins over 27 years, died today at 99. Some other key stats about the dude:

• 19 number of conference titles Wooden won over his tenure
• 88 number of games Wooden won in a row over four seasons
• three number of All-American honors he earned as a player source

Off-the-court pride

• I think that’s the factor from which i have received the greatest satisfaction and pleasure. The fact that practically all of my players did get their degrees and practically all of them have done well in whatever their chosen profession might be.
• John Wooden • Regarding what he was most proud of in his basketball coaching career. He’s from a different era – an era where players went to school the whole term. Wooden might as well be chiseled out of history. The legend earned his place in basketball history the old-fashioned way. Through hard work. source

• I have ignored my health for years, but recent developments have forced me to re-evaluate my priorities of faith and family.
• Florida football coach Urban Meyer • On his reasons for resignation. Meyer is one of those workaholic guys who eats, sleeps and breathes football, something his wife would try to do everything to help work around. But Meyer has also had some significant health problems – he was diagnosed with an arachnoid cyst on his brain in 1999, which is about as scary as it sounds. Many fans are largely supportive of his decision, as sad and shocking as it is to the ultra-successful Florida program. source

• Well, there’s not many words to say yet, We did not treat this team lightly. We knew this team was good. They came in and got out ahead, but we certainly were not out of the game.
• Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn • On losing to the freaking Detroit Lions, giving what’s possibly the worst team in football history its first win in nearly two seasons. He’s right. The Redskins were in it, never more than two touchdowns away from the lead, but they also never had the lead in the game. Zorn is on guillotine watch in D.C. tonight. • source

• Several months ago Coach Pitino informed me about the alleged extortion attempt. I’ve now been informed that there may be other details which, if true, I find surprising. My thoughts are with Coach Pitino and his family.
• University of Louisville President James Ramsey • Regarding the bizarre mess his star basketball coach, Rick Pitino, has found himself in. Pitino himself is actually clean and hasn’t been charged with a crime. But Karen Sypher, a waitress at a Louisville restaurant, allegedly had sex with him (which Pitino admits), forced him to pay for an abortion for her, and – years later – tried to extort him by alleging rape charges against him. You know, pretty much the kind of thing you don’t want to have spill out into the press. Best of luck, Rick – it sounds like you’ve got a lot to deal with at the moment. • source

• $24 million to coach the Gators in football for six years source

• history Back in the late 1980s, we were glued to our TV sets whenever the Detroit Pistons were on. We watched a team that had a solid nucleus and a rep for physical play as they won the NBA finals twice. They were the Bad Boys.
• focus None of this would have happened without Chuck Daly. Daly was the guy responsible for much of the team’s success – they never had back-to-back winning seasons before he started coaching the Bad Boys. He ruled.
• legacy Sure, there were other players – Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer – but really, he was the glue that held them together. Daly died this morning at 78. His legacy is one of the greatest in basketball history. source

• Of course I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t empty, by the way. He looked at me at that moment and I said, ‘Hey, you hit me in the face!’ He just grinned.
• Claudette Chandonia • After getting a bottle of Gatorade thrown at her by New York Rangers coach John Tortorella. Tortorella, who suspended former Dallas Star Sean Avery after rough penalties in Game 4 of their series with the Washington Capitals, was suspended himself for the act of coach-fan violence. The NHL does not look kindly on you doing that, just an FYI. • source

• John Calipari, a man torn by opportunity. The coach of the perennially-hot Memphis decided to leave for the bluegrass of Kentucky. It was a heart-wrenching decision for both Memphis, which has soared to great heights under Calipari’s helm, and Calipari himself, who will be coaching an iconic college basketball team that’s fallen on hard times. Memphis students and fans begged Calipari not to do it, but it was too late. Peace, brotha. source