Crossing The Line

Wining isn't everything....

Mike Leach, Texas Tech head coach, was suspended on Monday then fired on Wednesday after wide receiver Adam James and his family filed a complaint about Leach's treatment of the athlete following an injury, by ordering Adam James to stand in a dark shed at the Texas Tech football practice facility because he thought James was faking a concussion.

Texas Tech is the second Big 12 school to recently conduct an investigation into allegations of mistreatment of football players. Mark Mangino resigned as head coach at Kansas. That was related to player concerns about verbal and physical abuse, though Mangino repeatedly denied any wrongdoing regarding the allegations against him. Mangino is due to receive a $3 million settlement from the school's athletics program.

A very strong message has been sent by University of Texas Tech, that there are more important values than winning. The "Old School" days of discipline are gone. Coaches are learning there are things that just will not be tolerated by parents and administrations in this day and age - especially when it comes to physical, verbal or emotional abuse.

Treatment of players is an issue that has become very sensitive in athletics today. Administrators and athletic directors will be keeping very close watch on how coaches are handling their teams. Therefore, Keep yourself free from any possible allegations by using common sense. Treat all players with respect and dignity any human being deserves - not like a caged animal.

Local Players Make Top 100 Prospect List

Basebal America magazine has come out with its top 100 high school prospects for 2010and there are a number of OC players who made the list, led by top 10 selections pitcher Dylan Coveyl of Pasdena Maranatha (No. 6) and outfielder Austin Wilson of North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (No. 9).

Others on the list are No. 12 catcher Stefan Sabol, Aliso Niguel; No. 16 outfielder Michael Lorenzen, Fullerton; No. 24 pitcher Peter Tago, Dana Hills; No. 31 third baseman Chad Lewis, Huntington Beach Marina, and No. 46 infielder Dominic Ficociello, Fullerton.

Others are No. 49 first baseman Christian Yelich, Westlake; No. 53 pitcher Gabriel Encinas, St. Paul; No. 57 outfielder Angelo Gumbs, Torrance; No. 58 pitcher Adam Plutko, Glendora; No. 59 pitcher Jesus Valdez, Hueneme; No. 61 pitcher Cody Buckel, Simi Valley Royal; No. 68 outfielder Corey Hahn, Mater Dei; No. 88 shortstop Lonnie Kaupilla, Burbank; No. 89 pitcher Tyler Shreve, Redlands East Valley and No. 94 pitcher Scott Frazier, Upland.

The No. 1 prospect is 6-foot-7 pitcher Jameson Taillon from The Woodlands (Texas).

Baseball: National Classic Reveals Ambitious Teams

It doesn't take much guessing to figure out which high school baseball teams this spring have ambitions of winning a championship. All you have to do is see which schools decided to enter the National Classic in Orange County.

Those are the schools that think they have enough quality pitching to make it through a brutal stretch of games against top competition.

So here they are: Encino Crespi, Huntington Beach Edison, Valencia West Ranch, West Covina South Hills, La Puente Bishop Amat, Orange Lutheran, Anaheim Esperanza, Palm Desert, Peninsula, Santa Ana Mater Dei and Placentia El Dorado.

Many of the schools figure to be top 25 material. The tournament is April 3-8.

Chance Veazey Will Always Remember That Pitch.

Fastball. Low and inside. He'll always remember what it felt like, too, when his bat connected with the ball. "The best feeling in the world," he said. Veazey looked up to see the ball soaring high over the right-field fence, slamming off the top of the scoreboard with a most satisfying thud. It was only a practice game at the University of Georgia, the chance to get in some fall swings before the season began in the spring, but the rush of hitting one out of the park still surged through his body. "That's the way you want to go out," Veazey said, his face revealing both sadness and satisfaction.

Two days later, he was paralyzed from the waist down when his scooter slammed into the side of a car. In all likelihood, he'll never walk again, much less return to the sport that was such a big part of his life. Here was a scrappy 19-year-old who seemingly had it all. A scholarship to Georgia, one of the country's top college baseball programs. A starting job waiting for him at second base in his freshman season. The dream of someday making it to the big leagues. It was snatched away before he got a chance to play his first college game.

After recovering from surgery to stabilize his shattered vertebrae, Veazey was transferred to the Shepherd Center to prepare for this new, unexpected phase of his life. Despite losing more than 20 pounds, he took on rehab with the same determination he showed on the baseball field. He learned everything from dressing himself, to driving with only his hands, to maneuvering his wheelchair over curbs.

Take nothing for granted. Our lives could change in a moment.

SEC Tourney Will Try Pitch Clock

The Birmingham (Ala.) News has some exciting developments for those who wish to see the pace of play pick up in college baseball. The Southeastern Conference Tournament will experiment with a clock between pitches and between innings in 2010. The SEC will adopt clocks similar to those used in the early 1990s by the Missouri Valley Conference: 20 seconds between pitches, 90 seconds between innings. In addition, there will be no infield practice, cutting the time between games down to 30 minutes from 45-50 minutes. And the early-round games will start at 9:30 a.m. instead of 10.

The SEC projects the changes to save about two hours on days with four games. Last year, the first two days of the tournament ended at 1:54 a.m. and 1:09 a.m.

"It wasn’t just when the games ended. We weren’t hitting any of our pub­lished game times all day," SEC associate commis­sioner Charles Bloom told the News. "The clock also lends itself to a bigger issue, and that’s making college baseball more manageable to televi­sion."

This will be something to keep an eye on.

St. Thomas baseball coach Dennis Denning retires

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—St. Thomas baseball coach Dennis Denning is retiring.

Denning announced his decision Tuesday, effective Feb. 1 after 15 seasons coaching at the school. The 65-year-old led the Tommies to two Division III national titles and a pair of runner-up finishes. St. Thomas won the NCAA championship this past season, giving Denning a 522-157 career record, best among Division III coaches during that span.

Denning previously coached for 17 seasons at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, where future NFL quarterbacks Steve Walsh and Chris Weinke were two of his players.

Denning also had Twins star Joe Mauer in his youth camps and coached baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor in elementary school.

Defining Moments

Defining moments, we've all had them - specific, powerful moments in our lives that can forever reshape, impact, and change our direction in life. It is not just another point on the daily measure of time; rather, it is a moment from which all future time is forever changed. An epiphany, if you will.

I can still remember the point in my life when I decided that teaching and coaching was what I wanted to do, and even the set of criteria involved in that decision. Today, after 34 years in teaching/coaching, my greatest defining moments are not found in victories/titles, but in seeing the athletes I've coached/taught, go into our profession because of something I did or said.

We (coaches) have a tremendous responsibility beyond the game and ourselves, as our words and actions go far beyond the defining moments on the athletic field. Take some time before your season starts and ask yourself, how you are impacting, shaping or even changing the direction of your players lives?

Remember, not every player will make a living in this game - But every player will make a living at something - Be there for every player.