>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/