Is Smith on your Mount Rushmore of coaches?
With the death of Dean Smith at the age of 83, I echo all the wonderful things being said about this great man.
His talents as a coach were much more than just X's and O's. He built the North Carolina program, and only had one losing season in his 36 seasons there.
He won 13 ACC tournaments, made 11 Final Four appearances, and won two NCAA titles. His coaching innovations and philosophies are still widely used today.
Many people eulogizing coach Smith were coaches and former players, such as Roy Williams and Michael Jordan. The common thread among so many was the love and respect they all felt for the man.
Jordan commented that except for his parents no one had a bigger influence on his life, which is high praise from the man. Fans and players, both former and current, coaches that followed him and the UNC family totally revered him.
While Smith was a great coach, I don't believe he was the greatest of all time.
Would you place him on your Mount Rushmore of greatest college coaches? Or do you need a fifth bar stool to find his spot?
It's difficult not to have UCLA's John Wooden with his double digit titles as the No. 1 coach, with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and his 4 NCAA titles, 11 Final Fours and more than 1,000 victories at a close second. Then Bobby Knight with his three titles and 902 wins at third.
Who is fourth?
How about Jim Calhoun with three titles at Connecticut? Or Rick Pitino or maybe John Calipari?
Which coach I do believe merits a strong case as fourth? After further review, I can't discount the integrity, innovation and decency of Dean Smith - he's my fourth on Mount Rushmore.
Tiger good for business
Tiger Woods is now just an accident waiting to happen. It's like he has become golf's version of NASCAR.
I didn't watch the Farmers Insurance Open last weekend because Tiger wasn't there. No matter how he's playing, Woods makes it worth watching.
When I flipped to the tournament to see who was winning, I couldn't help but miss him.
Here's that subjective subject of greatness again.
While it's not a bad thing to be second or third or even fourth, I always thought Tiger was an all-time great - just not the greatest because that spot belongs to Jack Nicklaus.
I never expected Jack's record of 18 majors to be beaten by Tiger, and I can't believe how some people believe Woods still can catch Nicklaus. They are delusional!
The absence of Tiger at tournaments is leaving a massive void, though I think only Rory McIlroy may be able to fill it. McIlroy may be the new stud in town, but Tiger Woods - good, bad or ugly - is still better for business.
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