I don't even know what being politically correct means Joe. I don't know what to believe about Clemens, but he is presumably innocent until proven guilty. It is strange that a person would have to work so hard to prove his innocence, when he has yet to be proven guilty.

By the way, referees aren't supposed to win.

Well, I am going to agree here.

Especially with the "yelling at the players on the bench" I do not get that at all. Then the players on the floor get NOTHING said to them. Then again, I am not the coach.

Kudos to Billy for sharing the MVP too.

I can't believe Paul is leaving. He is a great story writer. I know a lot of kids are going to miss him. I see a lot of them chatting with him during baseball season. I am sure he will be missed by a lot, but I wish him the best in his new job. BEST OF LUCK PAUL!

Thanks for this article Joe, maybe it will wake SOME coaches up!

As far as yelling at kids is concerned, I don't think that any mature adult offers one iota of motivation or inspiration by constantly yelling at kids. No matter how old or how skilled the kids are, they are going to make mistakes. Discipline is a key factor to success, but discipline can be gained without screaming and yelling. It may be necessary to raise your voice to grab a player's attention, but once you have their attention it is not necessary to continually scream and deride a player for poor performance. This type of attitude and behavior tends to create a tentative attitude within the player, who then becomes afraid to make mistakes. It isn't necessary to be popular with your players, but it is essential to have their respect.

Too many coaches lose their teaching capabilities by being caught up in the emotion of the game. Teaching the fundamentals and reinforcing these concepts with positive constructive criticism in a calm and consistent manner provides a much more conducive atmosphere for learning. That is the primary job that coaches have, although many appear to not fully comprehend this, they are supposed to teach.

I often play golf with young men who were good ball players around this area and I ask them what they thought of their coach. I've found that it is a lot better to ask these questions several years removed from their playing era to get a less emotional response. There are exceptions, but a lot of coaches and former coaches would be surprised by the paucity of good reviews.

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment." John Wooden

I believe the yelling at the kids on the benches while saying nothing to the players on the floor really shows you what kind of coaches we have in this area.

Coach Knight may be gunning for No. 900 but he's still 7 Championships behind Coach Wooden. From 1967 through 1973 his UCLA team was 205-5 and won 7 straight Championships. He had 4 teams in his coaching career with undefeated records. Plus, he did it all with class and with all those unknowns, like Hazzard, Goodrich, Alcindor, Wicks, Walton,...etc.

"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player." Coach Wooden

It is a fact that there has not been a coach in my lifetime that even compares with Wooden. He has always been my favorite or the man who coached Princeton for years and ran the weave and had a point center to work around. But as for Wooden, just listen to any of the players who played for him and they rarely mention the wins, they just praise the coach. It is a testament to coaching the way the players speak of Wooden. A gentleman of the highest order. To me the greatest basketball coach ever, and he really was a teacher and still teaches. He was an English teacher and Kareen was an English major, and appears to adore the man. The other players Simmons mentioned are all upright people. Something happened to the players of today, they just do not measure up to the players that Wooden had and he was the reason they were there. I even liked Swen Nater and he played forever for the Athletes in Action after backing up Kareem for three years and getting to play few minutes. John Wooden is an inspiration to me and I am sure many others.

Now I did not know that Stengel was a dentist before he was a baseball coach. What a story and a man. He was different than Wooden in ways but they were alike in the way they handled winning. And they won often. The coaches that yell at players on the bench reminds me of Stengel when he was with the Mets and said, "sometimes you look down the bench and have to ask yourself, does anybody here know how to play this game." He handled it well with the Mets and one has to know he did not like losing, but rather than go crazy, he was humble. Those are my three favorite coaches, along with Joe, but I must admit I am biased, about Joe. Joe to me was able to win with the Mets. He was great at using his players to their strengths, a valuable quality for a high school coach. Thanks for allowing me to ask about Wooden, he was a giant of a coach. And I believe he ended up with about ten championships, maybe a couple more. I have never been able to listen to people say he had an advantage by having the players he had, he is the one who got them to go to UCLA. I sure don't recall any violations of rules or conduct. What a man. Simmons quote from Wooden is worth remembering every time you think of coaching basketball. Thanks Simmons.

Here we have mentioned good coaches, and maybe a young one that needs to learn some. However: tonight I saw a more experianced coach at a game -- and it appalled me --- HE WAS TEXTING! yes TEXTING while his boys were shooting freethrows.. oh he was blowing out his opponent.

NOW I am not judging MAYBE he was expecting some IMPORTANT MESSAGE?? but I would figure if that were the case you would have someone come to you and give you the message-- and take another back. BUT to actually take time to text --- ITS A NEW WORLD ORDER IGUESS!

Back to back MVPs were not enough for Maris or Dale Murphy. Just not enough great seasons for either. Roger only played 12 years in the Majors and never hit .300 in a single season.

Casey was a great manager, but he really wasn't liked by the majority of his ballplayers. The 1960 season was his all time low. As much as I liked Casey, when you read about how he pinch hit for Clete Boyer in the first inning of a World Series game in 1960, didn't start Whitey Ford until the third game of the Series and let Ralph (Gopher Ball) Terry pitch to Bill Mazeroski, you knew he had lost it. His team outscored the Pirates 55-27 and he lost the World Series. But he was 70 years old at the time and a little past his prime.