I was a high school baseball coach in a small Eastern WA school, 140 students. In the past we had always had good athletic teams and a good school climate. One year right after basketball season our school climate changed, it became a vulture culture. As the year progressed it got worse. The next school year started it continued to get worse. Athletics, school climate, everything in general was a constant battle. The staff and administration talked about different ideas. One of the ideas was to try to get Coach Jim Walden to come speak to the student body. We had help from Whitman County Judge Wally Friel ( judge before Gary Libey). A parent and myself (teacher/coach) set up a lunch meeting with Coach Walden and Judge Friel. CoacH Walden agreed to come talk to an assembly 7-12 students and some parents. He spoke for just over an hour, he had everyone in the palm of his hand with his stories and message. We had given him the names of the ring leaders of the vulture culture. He wove certain first names into his message. Afterwords Coach Walden met with 4 students of each class 7-12 as group for quite awhile. Later in the afternoon, Coach Walden spoke to a small group of parents and finished the day off speaking to an open forum. That Spring we finished 3rd in state in baseball, the next Fall 2nd in State Football (Kingbowl), baskeball lost in a game to go to State, and baseball won the State Championship. More importantly the school environment was awesome. It was a great place to be. It was fun. Students, teachers, parents, and community were all pulling on the same rope, or just working together to help each other.
What D-1 football coach would spend all day/evening at small school to help improve the culture. Coach Walden cared!!!!!
Kids will listen to the right message from the right person. Credit to the students, Coach Walden and to you and school officials for making it happen!
I appreciate you wanting to drive viewers to your stream but I do not have an hour to listen to anything. I come here for a daily story. Two days without one is disappointing. You have different audiences thay want different things. Please continue posting stories every day.
Don't need a "written" story every day. Not my expectation. But, I am a "speed reader" and have little tolerance for podcasts, etc. which could consume a lot of my time. So, generally, I don't listen. Doesn't matter who creates the podcast content, I just don't take the time to listen. Some podcasts guests are wordy, repetitive which just aggravates the already lengthy time commitment. Also, I find the written column much easier to quickly re-read for a nugget rather than trying to slide back and forth on a video scale to hunt and peck for the visual/audio nugget.
Don't care if the guest is Jon Wilner, Dan Lanning, Teresa Gould...I just don't want to take the time. Now MAYBE, if its Petros Papadakis...laugh.
Walden was a great color guy. Every penalty against Wazzu was unmerited, the other team held on every play, etc. ... he wore his heart on his sleeve and didn't even try to be objective. Loved him.
One of his best lines was (paraphrasing) "Oh no that's a waste of good beer!" when some student either spilled his smuggled-in can or tried to dump the contents of a plastic cup on a ref or opponent, I can't remember which.
We just returned from a trip to Seattle and it was World Cup mayhem! We stayed at a condo in Pioneer Square, two blocks from a huge watch party. Lumen Field is 4 blocks away and streets are closed 4 hours before games. When USA fans proceeded past our window it was a thing of beauty. Monday will be even better!
I’ve been napping, waking up to go to bed, we were worn out!
Hot dog eating, like the NBA, is an exhibition, not a sporting competition.
I managed/coached Little League teams when our boys played, 50 years ago. A father in the league moved his kid to another league for "more exposure." That was Little League, 50 years ago.
Walden: "No matter who you were playing each week, there was one thing bigger than all of that and it's always there. It's called getting ready to beat Washington."
Prior to the 1985 Apple Cup, in which the Huskies were favored, Husky coach Don James jovially contrasted himself to Walden by quipping, "I'm a 2,000-word underdog.” WSU won 21-20 as Huskies failed on 2-pt conversion late in game. Walden had the last word.
WSU losses: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986
1982: WSU wins in the first game in Pullman instead of Spokane in years.
1983: WSU goes to Seattle and wins again.
1985: back-to-back wins in Seattle, 3rd WSU win in 4 seasons 1982-85
I enjoyed your BFT Unfiltered, John. It provided the perfect accomaniment for food-prepping our Independence Day feast.
Teresa Gould continues to impress. You may have mentioned it before, but is she the highest level female conference commissioner out there to this date?
John, do you (or your contacts) think SEC/B1G will split off by September-ish? Michigan is pretty adamant & open about not wanting to share with "lesser" draws.
I was a high school baseball coach in a small Eastern WA school, 140 students. In the past we had always had good athletic teams and a good school climate. One year right after basketball season our school climate changed, it became a vulture culture. As the year progressed it got worse. The next school year started it continued to get worse. Athletics, school climate, everything in general was a constant battle. The staff and administration talked about different ideas. One of the ideas was to try to get Coach Jim Walden to come speak to the student body. We had help from Whitman County Judge Wally Friel ( judge before Gary Libey). A parent and myself (teacher/coach) set up a lunch meeting with Coach Walden and Judge Friel. CoacH Walden agreed to come talk to an assembly 7-12 students and some parents. He spoke for just over an hour, he had everyone in the palm of his hand with his stories and message. We had given him the names of the ring leaders of the vulture culture. He wove certain first names into his message. Afterwords Coach Walden met with 4 students of each class 7-12 as group for quite awhile. Later in the afternoon, Coach Walden spoke to a small group of parents and finished the day off speaking to an open forum. That Spring we finished 3rd in state in baseball, the next Fall 2nd in State Football (Kingbowl), baskeball lost in a game to go to State, and baseball won the State Championship. More importantly the school environment was awesome. It was a great place to be. It was fun. Students, teachers, parents, and community were all pulling on the same rope, or just working together to help each other.
What D-1 football coach would spend all day/evening at small school to help improve the culture. Coach Walden cared!!!!!
Kids will listen to the right message from the right person. Credit to the students, Coach Walden and to you and school officials for making it happen!
What a great story, thanks. I grew up on the Palouse, Jim Walden meant everything.
B school? The old State B at the Boone street barn was a thing of beauty.
I appreciate you wanting to drive viewers to your stream but I do not have an hour to listen to anything. I come here for a daily story. Two days without one is disappointing. You have different audiences thay want different things. Please continue posting stories every day.
FFS, he posted a long story yesterday about Gould and the Pac-12.
Don't need a "written" story every day. Not my expectation. But, I am a "speed reader" and have little tolerance for podcasts, etc. which could consume a lot of my time. So, generally, I don't listen. Doesn't matter who creates the podcast content, I just don't take the time to listen. Some podcasts guests are wordy, repetitive which just aggravates the already lengthy time commitment. Also, I find the written column much easier to quickly re-read for a nugget rather than trying to slide back and forth on a video scale to hunt and peck for the visual/audio nugget.
Don't care if the guest is Jon Wilner, Dan Lanning, Teresa Gould...I just don't want to take the time. Now MAYBE, if its Petros Papadakis...laugh.
Agree
Walden was a great color guy. Every penalty against Wazzu was unmerited, the other team held on every play, etc. ... he wore his heart on his sleeve and didn't even try to be objective. Loved him.
One of his best lines was (paraphrasing) "Oh no that's a waste of good beer!" when some student either spilled his smuggled-in can or tried to dump the contents of a plastic cup on a ref or opponent, I can't remember which.
Nine hot dogs and chasing it with nine beers there’s a good chance of making a fool of yourself one way or another.
We just returned from a trip to Seattle and it was World Cup mayhem! We stayed at a condo in Pioneer Square, two blocks from a huge watch party. Lumen Field is 4 blocks away and streets are closed 4 hours before games. When USA fans proceeded past our window it was a thing of beauty. Monday will be even better!
I’ve been napping, waking up to go to bed, we were worn out!
Hot dog eating, like the NBA, is an exhibition, not a sporting competition.
I managed/coached Little League teams when our boys played, 50 years ago. A father in the league moved his kid to another league for "more exposure." That was Little League, 50 years ago.
Walden: "No matter who you were playing each week, there was one thing bigger than all of that and it's always there. It's called getting ready to beat Washington."
Prior to the 1985 Apple Cup, in which the Huskies were favored, Husky coach Don James jovially contrasted himself to Walden by quipping, "I'm a 2,000-word underdog.” WSU won 21-20 as Huskies failed on 2-pt conversion late in game. Walden had the last word.
WSU losses: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986
1982: WSU wins in the first game in Pullman instead of Spokane in years.
1983: WSU goes to Seattle and wins again.
1985: back-to-back wins in Seattle, 3rd WSU win in 4 seasons 1982-85
I enjoyed your BFT Unfiltered, John. It provided the perfect accomaniment for food-prepping our Independence Day feast.
Teresa Gould continues to impress. You may have mentioned it before, but is she the highest level female conference commissioner out there to this date?
Perhaps Val Ackerman? 2013 until her retirement next month.
Jim Walden just passed on.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/wsu-cougar-football/jim-walden-wsu-cougars-hall-of-fame-coach-dies-at-88/
John, do you (or your contacts) think SEC/B1G will split off by September-ish? Michigan is pretty adamant & open about not wanting to share with "lesser" draws.
Hot dog eating is NOT a sport!
Hot dog eating contest is as much a sport Pac12 football is a sport. Both are boring as hell to watch, and at least one person will puke afterwards.
PN, you are always entertaining.