Jake Mesar rolls up the leg of his pants to show jurors the scar from an injury he suffered sliding into third base years earlier. (Sketch by Mona Edwards)

Excerpt #1 from March 9, 2016 deposition. John A. Suk is questioned by Rubin M. Sinins, attorney for the plaintiff:

Q. You did signal for him to slide to third base, correct?

A. Correct.

Q. OK. What was the reason for that?

A. The proximity of the ball to the runner approaching third base.

Q. OK. Based upon your telling us that there was a play at third base.

A. Correct.

Q. OK. How close was he to third base when you signaled for him to slide?

A. Approximately six feet.

Q. He was running at full speed, correct?

A. Correct.

Q. Giving no indication that he was going to slide, correct?

A. He was running full speed around the bases. He his eyes were not affixed on the ball. He did not see the ball coming. I did. Therefore, he was running full speed, but upon my decision and telling him at a safe distance to slide, he was able to do so.

Edward M. Coleman, gray-haired and bespectacled, settles into his seat behind the bench in Courtroom 301. He is a retired Superior Court justice who has been called back to ease the heavy caseload, a longtime criminal judge who once presided over one of the biggest cases the state has seen.

That was the manslaughter trial of NBA star Jayson Williams, a two-month legal odyssey that attracted nonstop coverage from Court TV.

This one is a bit different.

When the jurors are seated for the first time, on June 17, there is exactly one person in the gallery: me.

Coleman instructs the jury to keep an open mind during the proceedings, so I resolve to do so as well. That slide, of course, did not end well for the kid, and the story of what happens to him over the days, months and years after he hit the infield clay is awful in every way.

Jake Mesar steps down from the witness stand and, at the instruction of his attorney, rolls up the right pants leg of his tan Dockers. The jurors position themselves for a better look at the two nasty scars on his ankle.

Seven years ago, Mesar was a 15-year-old freshman at Bound Brook High School and the best player on his junior varsity team. He already had made the varsity basketball team that winter, and given his talent and passion for sports, this seemed like the beginning of an athletic career that might go down in school history.

Then came April 4, 2012.

We will hear in excruciating detail what the plaintiffs believe Suk did and did not do on that day when Bound Brook played its first game of the season, at Gill St. Bernards in Gladstone. Before traveling down that rabbit hole, lets review the facts not in dispute.

Did the coach sitting with his head down at the defense table really ruin this kids life?

The visiting team was leading, 6-0, in the top of the second inning when Mesar, batting for the second time, laced a line drive over the left fielders head.

Two runs scored. Mesar rounded second and headed for third. And next, a sickening sound echoed across the diamond as he hit the ground.

POP!

As Mesar wailed in agony, Suk (pronounced SOOK) rushed to his side. So did the players father, Rob Mesar, who was keeping the scorebook in the dugout. An ambulance arrived. No one knew it then, but that promising freshman two innings into his high school career would never play another baseball game.

I felt bad for my parents, Jake Mesar, now 22 and attending Rutgers, testifies on the second day of the trial. They would never be able to see me play.

Baseball was the least of his worries. Even after three surgeries, the ankle was not improving one doctor even presented amputation as a possible outcome. A specialist from the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, Robert Rozbruch, found post-traumatic arthritis and signs of necrosis evidence the bone was dying.

Mesar needed two more surgeries, including one to inject stem cells into the ankle tissue, and he was fit with an external fixator, a stabilizing frame to keep the bones properly positioned. The injury improved, but Rozbruch told the once-active teenager to avoid high-impact activities. Even jogging.

When it comes time for Rozbruch to testify, he abandons the clinical language of his profession and makes it clear that Mesars baseball dreams died on third base that day.

He will never recover fully, the doctor says.

It is more than a physical injury. Mesar has endured frequent bouts of depression and a pair of panic attacks, including one that sent him from a family party on Christmas Eve to the emergency room. The injury is, as his lawyer tells the jury, something he has to live with every minute, every hour, every day of his life.

All of this, to use a decidedly non-legal word, sucks. How can anyone sit here, listen to his story and not have your heart break?

Still, injuries happen. That is at the cold reality of sports. Did the coach sitting with his head down at the defense table really ruin this kids life?

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He told a kid to slide. Then he got sued. - NJ.com

Apparently, there is no problem too complex that an application cannot be created to solve it.

We have finally come to that place where the last bastion for neurotic, depressed, confused, hopelessly miserable human beings, seeking to find relief, nirvana, happiness, the meaning of life, money, marital bliss and emotional stability has been reduced to a phone application.

Along the way, a cadre of techno-psychiatric-analyst-coaching charlatans has created venture-funded startups that effectively take Sigmund Freud and his couch from the warm, safe confines of a small, windowless office and replaced it with a panoply of pop psychology in the Apple Store, suitable for download at the slightest overcast from the dark clouds of life which might temporarily block out the sun.

In other words, welcome to Shrink On The Phone, with a dollop of artificial intelligence sprinkled over it, sort of like psychiatric pasta in a light garlic and oil sauce. Silicon Valley has finally done it on-demand therapy, complete with metrics and return-on-equity analysis. The age of matching therapists with clients, using the tools of online dating has arrived. Swipe left you get a Freudian; swipe right and you get a new age guru.

Kip is a startup that says, We took world-class providers, supercharged them with smart software tools and designed a seamless experience for both clients and providers. The Kip system breaks your therapy into data and quizzes in order to determine exactly how your happiness and anxiety levels are progressing. The app encourages clients to record their moods in real time, with pop-up questions throughout the day designed by your therapist. The founder, Ti Zhao claims that this technique decreases recency bias.

Another Valley startup, Reflect, calls its therapy offering the gym for your soul. Still another, Two Chairs, is a startup that has raised $21 million dollars. Alex Katz, the founder, claims, Were out to build a new mental health system.

But wait, just like late-night television, theres more. Stoic, a mental health tracker app that provides charts and insights. Y Combinator has funded Stoic, as well as another app company, Quirk, which uses behavioral therapy to treat people with anxiety (let me tell you, just writing about this insanity is giving me anxiety and depression). I dont want any adverse psychiatric indication to be left out in the cold, unloved, with no app to meet with me on a snowy night on a park bench. (I know there is no snow in Silicon Valley, but I like the image.)

Y Combinator also funded Mindset Health which was founded by two brothers, Alex and Chris Naoumidis whose previous skills in the area of the human mind resided in their ability to create a peer-to-peer dress-sharing app. When that app failed, we were overcome with anxiety. Sure, that seems rational, you lost a ton of other peoples money and now you are nervous that you will never work again, so you build an app to relieve your anxiety. The Valley is like The Twilight Zone.

But wait, theres still more. If a phone is too impersonal, there are life coaches. Allie Stark is a coach in the region and her mantra is, Theres a beauty in existentialism. Its also very paralyzing. I wonder if Ms. Stark would say that to a double amputee above the knee.

There actually is an Existential Humanistic Institute in San Francisco, and its leader, Dr. Kirk Schneider has been quoted as saying, The goal is to move from a sense of abject terror and paralysis to a gradual sense of intrigue and eventual wonder. Better maybe to just delete the stock market app.

Now a final confession. I have been seeing the same psychoanalyst for 26 years. I wanted to become sane, and he was looking for some entrepreneurial business advice, so now, from time to time, we just switch chairs. I think hes made a lot of progress. And trust me, he wont know about this column he doesnt read the paper. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result. Albert Einstein

Rule No. 635: Get a life, Dr. Ben Sobel, from the movie, Analyze This.

Neil Senturia, a serial entrepreneur who invests in early-stage technology companies, writes weekly about entrepreneurship in San Diego. Please email ideas to Neil at neil@blackbirdv.com.

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Alternatives to therapy? There's an app for that - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Leanne Williamson has garnered a 122-57 career record in five years as USD's head volleyball coach. Peyton Beyers | The Volante

Mothering three young children and managing a team of 17 young adults requires the same elements: work, time and dedication. USD head volleyball coach Leanne Williamson wears both hats, and if a 25-1 record and regular-season title mean anything, shes finding great success.

Williamson found herself on the road almost every weekend for the first month of the 2019 season, away for non-conference volleyball tournaments. Her husband was overseas serving the country during that time.

Now, just over a week away from the Summit League tournament, Williamson has led a 25-1 Coyote volleyball team to its first regular-season Summit League title.

Id love to say it was easy, but it wasnt, its probably the hardest thing Ive ever done, Williamson said.

Williamson became the head coach of the Coyote volleyball team in 2014. Since taking the reigns, she has seen her fair share of success with a 122-57 overall record and a 70-22 record in Summit League play. Williamson won the 2016 Summit League Coach of the Year award and led the Coyotes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018, but she doesnt take the credit for it all.

This is their team, its not my program, Williamson said. Im a small part of it in the grand scheme of things. Im going to help them, Im going to be their biggest advocates.

Williamson, like most coaches, recruit players they believe can lead, but Williamson coaches to help her players lead themselves.

In the middle of that first season, Williamson was pregnant with her first two children, twins Jaxson and Logan. Williamson presented the team at the time with a question, and they responded the way she hoped.

I was going to go into labor at some point in time, and I just asked them, what are you going to do if Im all of a sudden not there one day?' Williamson said. Theyre like, well, no offense but you dont play the game, and were like, perfect. Thats what we (the coaching staff) wants, and I dont feel like Im bigger than I need to be. I am a small part of their program.

Kinsley, Williamsons youngest at less than a year old, has traveled with the Coyotes throughout the season, making her first appearance in Indianapolis on August 30.

While Williamsons husband, Tyler, was overseas, she carried the parenting workload alone until late October, when he returned from duty.

Leanne said while it is the hardest thing she has ever done, it is also one of the most rewarding things. She would have loved for her husband to be in Vermillion for the majority of the season, she said, but she understood.

I really tried to leave work at work, Williamson said. If I was watching film it was when the kids were sleeping and just things like that. The other thing is, I had a great support system.

Williamsons parents and in-laws, along with friends and coaches, helped her through the first part of this season. The team was there for her, too, just like in 2014.

They recognized Williamsons life outside of the arena and were helpful and understanding when she had to leave right after practice, she said.

I wouldnt say I was perfect in that situation, but I tried not to let stress affect the different parts of my life, Williamson said.

Each coach presents a different style, method or mentality to the sport they coach. For Williamson, it is simple: 1-0.

Shes always said that about just winning the day, winning this practice, winning this drill, senior libero Anne Rasmussen said. I think that does get implemented into our practices. We talked about, how can we be the best we can be that day, and how can we improve that day?

Rasmussen said the mentality helped throughout the season, easing pressure surrounding the win streak or how far they have left to go in the season.

The 1-0 Mentality has taken the Coyotes further and further nearly every season. Williamson acknowledges it can be easy to dissect the big picture or the past, but the focus should be on the 1-0.

I think in sports its very easy to dwell on past accomplishments, past struggles, past losses, past wins, Williamson said. If youre winning a lot, you can feel like youre just going to win because you have won a lot. But if you have a loss, if you have a bad game maybe as an individual, you start dwelling on that.

The mental ability to clean the slate is one of the best parts about Williamson as a coach, Rasmussen said.

Shes remained pretty steady, whether were losing a ton or winning a ton, through my four years here, Rasmussen said. Shes always been that steady presence. Shes always held us to a high standard. And that doesnt change with our win-loss record. She knows what were trying to reach, we know what she expects us to reach, and every day in the gym we show that.

A few years ago, Williamson began referring to goals as expectations. The team is aware of the expectations, and that they are attainable through 1-0 mentality, she said.

Not that were going to hit absolutely everything, but we dont want these to feel lofty, Williamson said. We want these to feel like something that is attainable every single year.

Four seniors have guided this years Coyote team on its historic run. They have won 22 consecutive games won with two regular-season and at least one postseason game yet to play; no team before this year had won more than 20 games in a row.

I do think that it takes a special person to not let the lights and the excitement around those situations get to you, Williamson said. What I really like what this team is we played in really big moments in our home tournament when we played Wyoming we played Iowa and beat both of them on our home floor.

The relationship between the players and coaches is another unique thing about this years squad, Rasmussen said.

I think its really something special between our coaches and us, Rasmussen said. Well be joking on the bus with them. We actually dont mind having to sit next to them at team meals like we actually enjoy getting to talk to them and seeing their views on things. So its actually a really cool relationship that I think a lot of programs dont have.

MORE: USD volleyball claims full share of Summit League title after Senior Day sweep

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On both sides of the net: Williamson on coaching, caretaking - The Volante

"Arkansas is a brutal job."-- an otherwise unidentified "industry expert" quoted Sunday by a writer for espn.com.

_

Here we go again, drunk as skunks on another hogaholic binge.

We drink heavily from the high-dollar bottle of hype. Then those contents age into a bottle of heartache. So, we pour them out. Then we reach for another high-dollar bottle of hype, something to restore the buzz.

This is the Arkansas Razorback way. It is what we do.

We were lured in the 1960s into the happy buzz of college football prominence. We've been unable for nearly six decades now to purge our systems of those old feelings and urges.

We were excelling artificially then, in times of racial segregation and in a little Texas conference that we could typically handle for eight or nine wins and a bowl game we'd probably lose to Alabama or Ole Miss. Every once in a while, we'd beat Texas. Horns would honk all night on Dickson and Markham.

It's not been the same since, though it has been nearly like that for fleeting moments, first with Lou Holtz and then Bobby Petrino. But those temporarily successful coaching eras ended in catastrophe, of course--in Holtz losing favor by getting political and letting down on recruiting, and with Petrino in an off-road motorcycle tumble with a former volleyball player.

It's been that way both in football and basketball, even with a national championship in the latter. The coaching legend who achieved for us that national basketball pinnacle, Nolan Richardson, wound up leaving amid his charges of racism in a federal court lawsuit.

It's not every sports-crazed culture that can mess up a national championship and turn against the icon who brought it home.

At least much of that has been somewhat reconciled.

In football, a coach got fired on the spot for losing one game, to The Citadel. Ken Hatfield, a playing legend from the happy '60s, had great coaching success but left in a huff because he couldn't co-exist with his old coach, Frank Broyles, by then the athletic director. Houston Nutt became a folk hero until he wasn't, caught up in a soap opera produced in Springdale. Bret Bielema had a moment, then gained weight.

Now we have the brief passer-through on the left lane named Chad Morris. He was supposed to be the answer--a master of high-octane offense and certain recruiter of Texas talent--except that his teams got worse the longer he was in charge.

Now he's quickly vanished--a bottle of heartache poured dry--and we're doing a nationwide tour in search of just the right new bottle of hype.

Through it all, truer words were never spoken than those quoted above by the unidentified "industry expert."

Football coach at the University of Arkansas is a "brutal job" because fan expectations are stuck in the Southwest Conference of the '60s while our realities are beset as a permanent weak sister in the modern Southeastern Conference, where we have descended to Vanderbilt's equal partner in doormat-ship.

It's because we are at a talent disadvantage as a relatively small school by SEC standards situated amid remote hills in a place that is lovely and prosperous with a high quality of life but wholly detached from the fertile football recruiting territory of the teams we play.

There are far fewer elite football prospects in the high schools of southern Kansas and Missouri, eastern Oklahoma and all of Arkansas than there are in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, from New Orleans over to Atlanta and down to Miami, where our conference bullies are located.

As for the talent wealth in Texas, you have the University of Texas, Texas A&M and a dozen other in-state teams competing better than Arkansas for those players, not to mention Oklahoma, which dips down and does well enough to be highly ranked nationally year after year.

Hiring a guy who'd been successful coaching high school in Texas was not the answer, as evidenced by the fact that his recruits in Texas who started de-committing Sunday on news of his firing were three-star recruits.

The recruiting gurus impose a five-star system to rate prospects, and Alabama and Georgia and Ohio State and maybe LSU get the five-stars. Most of the other teams in our conference get the four-stars. Arkansas frets that a three-star might bolt for Rice.

It's a "brutal job" indeed, except for buyouts upon firings, which pay well at Arkansas.

Please understand that I'm merely explaining, not complaining.

I grew up in the '60s adoring Jon Brittenum, Harry Jones, Jim Lindsey, Bobby Crockett, Ronnie Caveness, Loyd Phillips, Bill Montgomery, Chuck Dicus and on and on. One of the three or four highlights of my life was getting invited to a joint reunion of the 1969 team and the Texas team it famously played for the national championship.

I'll even share something I'm ashamed of: When a rumor broke during Petrino's era that he might go to Florida, I sent him an email pleading with him to stay. I confess it. I did it. A grown man, at least by the calendar. I'm not proud. I'm just honest. I'm just pure Arkansas.

And the live-tweeting irreverence I do during Hog football games ... it's a defense mechanism deployed to cope with the frustration to which I've long become accustomed.

It helps keep me sober through the hogaholic binges.

John Brummett, whose column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, is a member of the Arkansas Writers' Hall of Fame. Email him at jbrummett@arkansasonline.com. Read his @johnbrummett Twitter feed.

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BRUMMETT ONLINE: It's the Razorback way - Arkansas Online

Singles Day, the annual holiday championing those that are unattached, has become the worlds biggest online and offline shopping event since it originated in China in the 90s.

The day of recognition is said to have been coined by a group of student in Nanjing University in 1993, as a celebration of being uncoupled effectively, an anti-Valentines Day.

Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba later capitalised on the day as a shopping occasion.

The holiday has grown in popularity in the UK over the past few years and today reports predictSingles Daywill generate 1.3 billion in UK sales. Numerous retailers slash prices to mark the annual event, including ASOS, Amazon and Sports Direct.

Meanwhile, Singles Day is still going stronger than ever for the southeast Asian market: in its first hour of trading alone today, Singles Day has raked in 11 billion on Alibaba.

READ MORE: Are single parents right to put their children before dating?

While Singles Day has evolved into whats predominantly considered a shopping event, the idea of being happily single is by no means over.

It was recently addressed by Emma Watson, whodescribed herself as self-partnered in a British Vogue interview.

To celebrate the single and proud philosophy behind Singles Day, we spoke to three women on why theyre happy with their solo status.

Katilena, 50, hasn't had a serious relationship for 11 years. [Photo: Supplied]

Katilena Alpe, 50, is a widow with 12-year-old twins. Shes been single for 11 years.

Alpe says she has truly enjoyed being single, a state she associates with freedom and not having to be with a man and look after his every wish.Alpe, a PR executive who lives between Athens and London says she finds it liberating being single.

She has a close circle of friends half single, half married whom shes known since she was at school and are a big part of [her] life.

She has also made a number of friendships through her tennis club and her life-coaching group.

Despite loving her present lifestyle, Alpe never expected to be single. She was happily married for 22 years until her husbands untimely death from a heart attack when she was 39.

The pair met when Alpe was just 18, and enjoyed a whirlwind romance, marrying the same year. They enjoyed their independence as a married couple - something that shes never been able to find with any partners since.

READ MORE:Diane Keaton reveals she hasn't been on a date in 35 years

I dont know if I could be in a long-term relationship right now, she says. Im so comfortable with my life with my kids.

Some five years ago, Alpe dipped her toe in the dating waters but found the notion of being answerable to someone else suffocating.

I kept being asked, Why are you spending so much time with your friends? Why havent you called in five hours? It was suffocating, she explains.

Since then, Alpe feels no rush to get into a long-term relationship.

People say to me, You have to lower your standards, but Im not prepared to do that, and thats my choice. If someone comes along who fits my lifestyle, I might consider it. But for now Im perfectly happy.

Rosie Dutton, 35, has been single for eight years. [Photo: Supplied]

Rosie Dutton, 35, who lives in Tamworth, Birmingham, has been single for the past eight years ever since splitting up with her husband, and father of her daughter, in 2011.

The separation was not her decision and she admits it took her a couple of years to move on.

When I came out of the relationship, I realised Id devoted everything to it and I struggled to transition to being alone, Dutton says.

This was especially true as she had moved from her hometown in the north of England to Birmingham in order to be with her husband, saying: All I knew was him, his family and his friends so I had to start a new life.

However, for the past six years, she says she has not been interested even in the slightest in getting into another relationship.

Ive spent the time getting to know me, she says. I love my own company.

During this time, Dutton has thrown herself into her career, starting her own business teaching mindfulness and relaxation to children in her local area. Shes also launched a blog,Mum in the Moment.

While Dutton has no single friends, she says she feels no qualms about going out with a number of couples.The way I see it, theyre all just my friends, she says.

READ MORE:Marriage makes men happier than women

Still, she faces some pressure from well-meaning acquaintances who pity her single status.

I tell them Im happy at the moment, but theyre all trying to set me up with their friends, she says. They want me to be in a relationship more than I do.

Then theres the questions from family members and even from strangers. Weddings, christenings I go to pretty much any social occasion and people ask, Why are you single?

She says her mindfulness practice, as well as being part of her career, has helped her deal with anything negative feelings associated with being single.

I started going to mindfulness after my divorce and its really helped me to learn to be with myself, she says. If I get lonely or bored I can help myself out of it.

Rebecca Shapiro has been single for four years. [Photo: Supplied]

Rebecca Shapiro, 26, who is from London and lives in Toronto, Canada, has been single for four years. Her last serious relationship was in 2015.

Since then, she says shes had long-distance romances, travel flings, and one night stands, where sex and feelings have been involved. But, nothing shed consider to be a formal romantic relationship.

Shapiro, who works in marketing for the travel industry, says she considers her life happy and full.

My focuses are career, travel, friends and family. Im not half a person. Im not looking for someone to complete me, she explains.

She has travelled to more than 40 countries and believes her single status has allowed her to have the mental energy to focus on her travel and career goals. I likely wont be able to have this focus forever, she adds.

READ MORE: Science explains why people stay in unhappy relationships

Does she face pressure to settle down? Certainly. She says: Im Jewish, so loving family pressure to settle down with a Jewish man is always going to exist.

However, shes managed to convince her elder relatives to come around to her lifestyle. Ive reached the point of stressing my independence where my grandparents get excited to see pics of my recent solo trip to Japan and not to hear information about my dating life, Shapiro says. Same with my parents.

While many of her friends in Toronto are single, Shapiro says most of her closest friends, whom shes known since her school days, are in long-term relationships.

Yet, she feels they are happy to support her lifestyle. My friends are more explicit and liberal in wanting whatever is best for me - traditional lifestyle or not, she explains.

Her attitude towards single although consistently positive has changed over the years. While she once enjoyed the sexual freedom that came with it, she says shes now jaded of so-so casual sex which comes with its limitations.

The worst is when youre tired/ down and want to be looked after but you know the casual sex/ cuddles wont fill the emotional intimacy void, she says.

Yet, for Shapiro, the trade-off for now is more than worth.

As for future romances, she says she wouldnt get into a long-term relationship unless it was someone she thought she might spend [her] life with.

Theres interested men, sure, but Im pretty specific with what Im looking for, she adds.

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Singles Day: Three women explain why theyre happily self-partnered - Yahoo Lifestyle

Seven Central Michigan players earned First Team All-Mid-American Conference honors.

Led by Herb Deromedi, the 1979 Chippewas finished 10-0-1 overall and won the MAC championship.

Quarterback Gary Hogeboom recorded 1,404 passing yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 417 yards and nine scores. He was selected as the MAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Hogeboom finished his four-year career 208 of 395 through the air for 3,088 yards, 19 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He carried the ball for 957 yards and 16 scores. The quarterback went on to play 11 years in the NFL.

Those First Team All-MAC members were Hogeboom, offensive tackle Marty Smallbone, wide receiver Mike Ball, running back Willie Todd, defensive tackle Bill White, defensive back Robert Jackson and linebacker Tim Hollandsworth.

The 1979 season came just five years after Central Michigan jumped from Division II to Division I, and it marked the turn of the program at college football's highest level.

"It was Central Michigan's first football championship in the Mid-American Conference," Deromedi said. "It was an impressive football team."

The Chippewas picked up wins against Western Michigan (10-0), at Bowling Green (24-0), against Miami (19-18), against Ohio (26-0), against Northern Illinois (31-11), at Ball State (31-30), at Kent State (44-21), against Eastern Michigan (37-14), at Northwestern State (28-0) and at San Jose State (34-32).

Central Michigan's only blemish was a 7-7 tie against Toledo on Nov. 3 at the Glass Bowl.

"We kicked a field goal at the end but according to officials, we had an illegal number on the field," Deromedi said of the tie to the Rockets. "We had the right number of people, 11 people, but we didn't have the right 50-79 (numbered jerseys). We made that field goal, got penalized 5 yards back and missed."

The opponents Central Michigan faced were outscored by a combined total of 291-133.

"Defensively, the team had four shutouts, but it also held two teams to only one touchdown," Deromedi said. "That's six of 11 games."

That memorable campaign created a brand and continued a dynasty that formulated under prior coach Roy Kramer and continued through Deromedi.

Forty years later, the gang got back together in Mount Pleasant to be inducted into the CMU Athletic Hall of Fame. Central Michigan Life spoke to members of the 1979 football team to discuss the legendary season, what made them special, Deromedi's greatness and more.

Central Michigan Life: What did the 1979 team mean to you?

Herb Deromedi, head coach: "We didn't have a lot of time to worry about how far we'd go, but our first game was against Western. We just played one after another. There was an emphasis on toughness."

Gary Hogeboom, quarterback: "We had a team that was tough. We loved to work, and we loved to have fun. We were really close. We had fun doing it, and we had a bunch of studs. Man, we had some tough dudes. The coaches recruited great. We wanted to win, so we just went out and did it."

Tom Grobbel, defensive tackle/offensive guard: "For the guys that went through the service and war, that's what these guys are to me. These are the guys you invite to your wedding and will be the pallbearer at your funeral. You wish their kids marry your kids so you can be closer. When we get together, you start a conversation we finished 20 years ago picking up where you left off."

Mike Ball, wide receiver: "Forty years later, it's amazing that it's been that long. You can't help but smile."

Marty Smallbone, offensive tackle: "Forty years goes fast. We really came together as a group. I know that's cliche, but we were pretty tight."

Tom Grobbel hugs a teammate Nov. 1 at McGuirk Arena.

What was the atmosphere like during that era of Central Michigan football?

Deromedi: "We wanted to make the athletes we had better. Fundamentally, we were sound. We might not have been as complicated as some, but that's because it was more about doing things right."

Hogeboom: "The whole atmosphere was fun. We had great fans, and the band was killer. I don't have great memories of a lot of things, but when we walked from our dorms across the parking lot and to the stadium, everyone was going crazy. It's something you can't replace."

Ball: "We had a lot of great players and great depth. We had a lot of guys that played together and we were all friends. When you play for each other, it makes a big difference. Chemistry is a big part of what you do. It's part of who we are."

How did the triple-option wishbone offense produce that season?

Deromedi: "Gary Hogeboom was not your typical option quarterback except he was smart and could read it. He had all the skills, but he wasn't the type of person that you'd think of if you were going to be an option team. We became very physical, but the option helped us to be physical. Hogeboom was so efficient. He did so many things right. He also was a pinpoint passer. We probably didn't take advantage of that as much as we could've."

Hogeboom: "To play quarterback (at Central Michigan) was a little easier than at other schools. Our offensive linemen we're studs. We ran the triple option. I threw the ball like 10 times per game, so we ran the ball a lot. I was a runner, but I wasn't fast just fast enough. We never ran out of bounds or slid. It was just a different era of football. My teammates were phenomenal. We had a blast together. There were no problems, and it showed in our team."

Ball: "Being a wide receiver, I would've loved to play in today's game rather than back then, but that's what everybody did. You defended against the triple-option and ran the triple-option. My goodness, our quarterback played in the NFL for 12 years and held the CMU rushing record for quarterbacks until Dan LeFevour came around. What a great quarterback. He could throw the ball, but he also ran the triple-option."

What were some of your favorite memories of the 1979 season?

Deromedi: "The '78 team was beaten soundly by Ball State in our own stadium, so that was a big game for us. We went down there on their homecoming and were down 24-0 in the first half. We had the ball one last time before the half, and we said we had to score. We did. We came into the locker room, and in that moment, we basically said we had the chance to have the greatest victory in the history of the school. We said how we were going to do it. Amazingly, it worked. We won on a field goal from Novo Bojovic."

Hogeboom: "We played Ball State and were down by 24 points, came back and won. That was big. We had a really big game against Miami (Ohio) here at Kelly/Shorts, and that was an exciting last quarter to win the game. Those were my most memorable times."

Grobbel: "Everyone just got along with each other. There were no fighting or clique groups. Hogeboom was our quarterback, and he was a great leader. Everyone followed his lead. That's how the seniors took care of the freshman every year."

Ball: "We came back from three touchdowns against Ball State. We had a tight group of players that played for each other. That's what was so cool about it. That's the thing I remember most. The whole season, being undefeated week after week, was a big deal."

Smallbone: "I don't think we were picked to win the MAC. We lost a couple of games the year before. We had some tight games, but we got to the point where we just expected to win. That carried us through the season, but it's probably the same thing that got us the tie against Toledo. They were inspired, and we figured we would win. We knew we had something special after the Ball State comeback. It wasn't like there was a whole lot of panic. Confidence carried us."

The 1979 Central Michigan football team waits to receive its CMU Athletic Hall of Fame honor Nov. 1 at McGuirk Arena.

Does the name Herb Deromedi hold a special place in your heart?

Hogeboom: "I'm glad he came in. He was a good guy, and we had an open line of communication. We'd meet every Sunday and talk about what I thought went well or what didn't. He was young but confident in what he could do, and we did it."

Grobbel: "I thank God for what he did to allow me to come here and play football for the four years I had. Herb came to my high school when I was a sophomore. He said, 'I can't talk to you until you're a senior, but you're a big kid and have been in the weight room a lot.' I said, 'Yes, coach.' He said, 'You have the potential to play college football.' Well, nobody ever told me something like that before. Herb then said to me, 'If you don't work on your grades, you aren't going anywhere.' I was smart, but I just didn't give a hoot. He turned the lightbulb on. He drove me back from my recruiting trip because his parents lived two blocks from mine. On the ride back, I said, 'Coach, what do you expect of me?" He said, "As a freshman, you probably won't play a lot, but you'll start as a junior and senior.' My family didn't have any money, so I said, 'If I can get a full ride, I'd love to play here, but if I can't get that, then I'm going to enlist in the Marine Corps.' Sure enough, I got it. I'm sure there were guys that had more accolades."

Ball: "Herb's a coaching legend. We were unique because we got him halfway through. We had another legendary coach in Roy Kramer. Herb stepped right in and never missed a beat. He did a great job back then and for many years following. He's always been a good guy."

Smallbone: "He was such a motivator. To follow his career after we left was inspiring. The College Football Hall of Fame was well deserved."

What set the 1979 team apart from others?

Deromedi: "We had coaches that connected well with the players. There was a genuine appreciation. The offense appreciated the defense; the defense appreciated the offense. We could take the clock (down) seven minutes. We were a good, sound, physical football team that displayed skills. Our offensive line was solid. You didn't want to be Western when you played our teams."

Hogeboom: "Football is the ultimate team sport. I'm all about (the) team. We were the ultimate team. We were close, worked hard, fought and had fun. When you get that combination of young athletes, you're successful."

Grobbel: "It was so good to come to a tradition of winning, and everyone expected it. Everyone was a team player. All 11 players were doing their job, and that's how we excelled. You don't make mental mistakes. We were more scared about letting our teammates down than having the coaches scream at you in the film room."

Ball: "We had a bunch of leaders on that team, you could name a dozen guys. We had guys that played in the NFL for several years, and they were all team players. Gary's the most humbling guy. Robert Jackson was a stud, and he played for the (Cincinnati) Bengals for many years."

Smallbone: "We all hung out. There were rules, but the drinking age was 18 (years old) back then, but we were not allowed in bars. When we would get together after a game and party, we were all together. Everybody stood up for everybody."

What does Central Michigan mean to you?

Deromedi: "What a great opportunity I was given. I was a high school coach and met Roy Kramer when I was a high school coach, and he gave me the opportunity to come here. I was with him for 11 years. I was his defensive coordinator for nine of those 11, but I started as the offensive line coach. There are a lot of people that love this university, and I had a chance to be a part of where our thinking could take us. This place has meant a lot to me. I feel like I've been a part of where we are today. It's not done yet."

Hogeboom: "Means a ton to me. My four years at Central were a great four years. I had a blast and developed a lot of character as a young man growing up."

Grobbel: "I had the privilege of playing here. It wasn't a right. It was a privilege to play football, go to school and get a degree from Central Michigan. It's done nothing but give me steps up for the next phase of my life."

Ball: "We raised our family here, and our kids graduated from Mount Pleasant High School. Central Michigan means a lot to be beyond sports. I made lifelong friends, and we get together with our families and now our grandchildren. It's one big family."

Smallbone: "I had other offers, but I was set on Central Michigan. I have no regrets. I met my wife up here. Central Michigan is everything to me."

What was the best team in Central Michigan history?

Deromedi: "We used to play that game, but you can't do it. The players will do it, saying, 'If we played you, we would've beat you.' But I just can't do it."

Hogeboom: "Everybody knows '79 team."

Read more:
Q&A with Central Michigan's 1979 football team: On Herb Deromedi, continuing a dynasty, building a brand - Central Michigan Life

Reina is entering his 22nd season at the helm By Tyira Bunche 8 hours ago

After coaching at Penn from 1986-2005, Roger Reina returned to lead the program in 2017.

Forty years ago, freshman Roger Reina stepped foot on Penns campus as a starting member of the wrestling team. That was only the beginning of his lifelong commitment and dedication to the sport that has made him a legend in the wrestling community.

After graduating in 1984, he served as head coach Larry Lauchles assistant at Penn for two years. In his time as an assistant coach, Reina was thinking about his future, which at the time did not include wrestling.

I had no intention to coach full time," Reina said. I was taking some final classes I needed to take to apply to veterinary school, and thats what I thought I was going to be a veterinarian."

After Lauchle announced his retirement in 1986, Reina was presented with what he thought was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to become the head coach of his alma mater. He jumped at the chance, and with that move he became the youngest Division I wrestling head coach at age 24.

I was young enough to have absolutely no fear, so I probably shouldve had some fear, but I was too young, and maybe a little too bold. It was tough because there were guys on the team who were teammates of mine, Reina said. It was a really special opportunity to be able to contribute to the program that I came through and to future generations of Penn wrestlers.

In his first coaching stint with Penn from 1986 to 2005, he notched a program-high 205 wins and a .649 winning percentage. During that time, he led the Quakers to eight Ivy League titles and four Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships. Along with overall team success, he also recruited outstanding individual talent, including NCAA champions Brett Matter and Matt Valenti and Olympic gold medalist Brandon Slay.

While 2005 was the end of his first stretch leading the Quakers, his engagement with the wrestling community at large continued. He next helped launch the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center, a wrestling program whose "mission is to create an ecosystem for elite student-athletes to strive toward national and international success in wrestling and in life." He still serves as the program's board chairman.

Reina would return to Penn in 2015, but in a different role. Until 2017, he served as Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs for Penn Athletics. In 2017, Reina was once again presented with the opportunity to coach at Penn and couldnt turn it down.

I got asked to consider coming back to take the program over and here was a twice-in-a-lifetime kind of thing," Reina said. I was like, Holy smokes, how did this happen again?'"

Throughout his long career in wrestling, Reina has been lauded time and time again for his accomplishments and dedication. In 2008, he was inducted into the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame, then one year later was inducted into the EIWA Hall of Fame. Credit: Yosef Robele

Coach Roger Reina

Most recently, in 2017, he was also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fames Pennsylvania chapter. While the accolades are a tremendous achievement for him personally, the presence of having a Hall of Fame coach in college is not lost to the Penn players.

Seeing his passion for wrestling and Penn and the broader community in Philadelphia just really inspires all of us to A, give back, and then B, compete at our best, and really perform under his reign, fifth-year senior captain A.J. Vindici said.

For Reina, the intricacies and details involved in wrestling are what drives his passion to stay involved in the community as much as possible.

Wrestling always captured my fascination, the individual aspect of it combined with an overarching team aspect, Reina said. The intensity that comes with our sport, I really appreciate that and the people that tend to choose this sport. That community I think is a really special community of people.

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When he is not involved in wrestling, Reina likes to get out of the gym and enjoy the outdoors.

I climbed Mount Rainier once, when I first stepped down from coaching the first time in 2005, Reina said. Im set to do that again next August, so thats kind of my target.

Now entering his 22nd season overall as the programs winningest coach with 219 victories, Reina hopes to continue to guide the Red and Blue to continued success, while simultaneously building on his Hall of Fame career.

Originally posted here:
From student to coach, Roger Reina has lived and breathed Penn wrestling for 40 years - The Daily Pennsylvanian

(WTNH) Time is critical when life dangles. Its a foggy reality for people caught in the opioid crisis.

Substance abusers eventually make their way to emergency departments of hospitals like Saint Francis.

The Suboxone gives us a chance to start somebody who fits the criteria and so we can start that in the ED, said Dr. Steven Wolf. The problems with ERs is that we are all limited with what we can do for treatment, for substance treatment in the ER.

While the lifeline is cast, Michael Serrano is on standby for the warm handoff.

We want to have a connection made with a coach so a patient understands the importance of treatment, said Dr. Wolf. Theyve just been revived and normally we would take more time in the medical things but as soon as they are coherent, we try to get our coaches in.

Serrano is a recovery coach trained by the Connecticut Community For Addiction Recovery, CCAR.

Related: Saint Francis offers one-on-one coaching to help people start recovering from addiction

I was using prescription pills, abusing them and alcohol, both were my addictions, Serrano said.

He added,Ive seen a lot of people where theyre covered and their faces are covered in the sheets and as soon as I tell them that Im a recovery, they take their sheets off and they want to see who I am. Most likely they want to see what recovery looks like.

I always tell people to ask themselves three questions. How is this working for you? Is change possible? And are you worth the change? Im not asking the questions. Im asking them to ask themselves, Serrano said.

Not everyone listens.

Serrano said, Im open minded to the outcome but I cant get attached to the outcome because if I get attached to someones outcome, the next person that Im going to see in a room, Im not going to give him 100 percent.

Getting back to living life comes from within.

It doesnt matter what it is you connect with as long as you connect to something, you have a fighting chance, Serrano said.

Dr. Wolf said, We have this moment that we can connect with the patient but we dont have the ability to keep on connecting with the patient and so this gives us that opportunityand save lives.

I wish I had a coach because for two years of my life, I isolated myself and it wasnt fun, staying away from people and not living life, Serrano said. Living life but not leading my life and I needed to lead my life.

Michael Serrano just celebrated five years of recovery last month.CCAR now has five recovery community centers in Connecticut.

Read more:
Saint Francis and CCAR working together to help navigate victims of opioid epidemic - WTNH.com

Looks like Voice coach Kelly Clarkson will be singing "Viva Las Vegas" come 2020.

The American Idol winner announced on her talk show last week that she has scored her very own Kelly Clarkson: Invincible residency in Sin City at the Zappos Theater in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Her 16-show residency is slated to run from April 1-September 26.

"Not only am I getting to perform, I'm gonna get to play all the Wheel of Fortune slots, which is really my reason for going there," she joked during a "Kellyoke" segment of The Kelly Clarkson Show. "The gambling, the shows, the all-you-can-eat buffet and crab legs, I love all of it."

On social media, fans exploded with excitement and started declaring their intent to buy tickets for the show. "I finally have a reason to go to Vegas!" one fan wrote on Instagram. "You so deserve this! You are such a gifted singer and I love listening to you take on all the songs on your show. You still give me chills girl," another said on Twitter.

Speaking of tickets, sales officially began on Friday, so hurry up and head to Ticket Master to snatch up seats before they sell out.

Sounds like Kelly is going to be quite the busy bee next spring. Assuming she decides to stay put on The Voice, she may have to juggle her coaching duties on the hit NBC show with this new residency not to mention, also filming her talk show (unless the program goes on hiatus). But a crazy schedule that doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Or, something like that.

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View original post here:
'The Voice' Fans Are Losing It Over Kelly Clarkson's Big Career Announcement - GoodHousekeeping.com

The 2019 calendar for the U.S. womens national soccer team is over, but for new coach Vlatko Andonovski, who has strong ties to Kansas City, the work is just beginning.

Andonovskis coronation by U.S. Soccer as the new coach of the womens team was held, Oct. 28, in New York. He won his first two matches with the team, beating Sweden 3-2 and Costa Rica 6-0. The international friendlies are helping prepare the team ahead of the Olympic qualifiers.

I knew coming into it that it will be extremely important to win all the big tournaments, said Andonovski, 43, during his introductory news conference.

The way everyone sees it, thats the way it should be. Andonovski is charged with the duties of keeping the U.S. team in its place as the worlds No. 1 ranked team. The U.S. Women won their fourth World Cup title this summer in Paris, half of the eight since the womens World Cup started in 1991.

Andonovski, who was born in Macedonia, first came to Kansas City in the early 2000s to play professional indoor soccer for the Kansas City Comets.

A legacy of winning

Andonovski succeeds Jill Ellis, who stepped aside after the team completed its victory tour with matches around the country on the heels of winning this years World Cup over the summer in France.

What this team has done and what Jill (Ellis) has done is, I think, absolutely amazing, said Andonovski. Jill was hired to win one World Cup and she won two. It pushed the standards even higher.

Defender Becky Sauerbrunn played for Andonovski on FCKC, the National Womens Soccer League team in Kanas City between 2013 and 2017. During that time, FCKC won the NWSL championships in both 2014 and 2015. Sauerbrunn, a starter on the U.S. national team, said shes pleased with Andonovskis appointment as the new national team coach.

I had him five years in Kansas City, so I know what he can do, she said in Columbus last week. I know how much I developed with him as my coach. I got really excited for the players I played with on the national team.

Before last weeks match against Sweden, Sauerbrunn had a meeting with Andonovski, and she was reminded of her FCKC days of how he guided the team. to a championship level.

He basically showed (me) on his computer that he had these work-ups on every single player, and he had all these characteristics and things he wanted them to work on and also things that make them special, said Sauerbrunn, who now plays for the Utah Royals FC in the NWSL. Its just a little detail of how much he puts into it.

Hes a coach

For the past two seasons in the NWSL, Andonovski was the head coach of Reign FC, which was in Seattle before moving to Tacoma, Washington, this year. During a break in the Reigns schedule last summer, Andonovski returned home to Kansas City to coach one of his three kids at a soccer camp held at Rockhurst University.

He (Andonovski) loves to do it. Hes a coach, said former FCKC technical director Huw Williams, who ran the camp at Rockhurst. Long before their FCKC days, Williams knew Andonovski from his youth coaching around the Kansas City area.

We saw each other on the soccer fields and I actually hired him for my company (Global Sports International) and I really didnt have a job for him. I just knew that he was a good guy and somebody that we needed, said Williams. GSI is a locally-based youth sports managing company.

On the first day, he came over and asked, What am I doing? (I said,) I dont know. Well figure something out, said Williams. Then he became our director of our winter league. That was our first connection together.

Theyve remained close since.

A surreal trip

When the rest of Andonovskis family joined him in Columbus for his first match as the national team coach, it was Williams who drove them there.

As the national team traveled to Jacksonville, Williams was back on the road to Kansas City for the return trip, which he called surreal.

They are very proud of their dad and husband for sure, said Williams. Its stressful for B. (Biljana), his wife, in particular, because it changes their life, too.

Olympic qualifying between North American and Caribbean nations begins Jan. 28 in Texas and concludes Feb. 9 in California. But while the U.S. team will be idle until then, Andonovski will be figuring out a way to maintain his squads top ranking over the long haul.

Greg Echlin is a freelance sports reporter for KCUR 89.3.

Continued here:
Meet The Kansas City Coach Hired To Win Olympic Gold For The U.S. Women's Soccer Team - KCUR