>It sickens me to think of the jackie. He is one symbol of what is wrong in
>sports today.

Or you've been hood-winked by the press and by viewing him as the
opponent.

Or maybe all our opposing teams should have wimps for coaches and should
strictly obey the rules ...  so we could really KILL them?!  :-)

Please allow me to begin to describe a familiar coach: tough.  looks you
straight in the eye.  a proven winner.  recruits great players.
recruits great assistants.  idolized or revered by local fans.  revered
by school.  turns boys into men.  allows players to turn potential into
talent.  straight talk with players.  stresses leadership and
responsibility.  respects college hockey.  respects the game.  rarely
has players fail academically.  bench antics.  apparently not well
liked by some other coaches.

Now was I talking about "Darth" Walsh or "Darker" Parker?

Neither one is perfect, but both give it their all and get great
results.  Admirable.  Maybe they're even honest.  I have no reason
to believe otherwise.

But I'm a dinosaur.  What does the current-day sports fan demand
of coaches and players and refs?  More than is humanly possible,
I suspect.

I put the "blame" squarely on D-I college athletics.  Just win, baby,
and bring in the $s.

Something above should get this discussion jump-started :-)

cheers, wayne

Wayne T. Smith
[log in to unmask]                          Old Town Landing
The College Hockey lists, Hockey-L and Hockey3 at http://lists.Maine.edu/