Middlebury College January Term and My Next Novel, An African Rebound

One of my favorite activities over the last 13 years has been an annual trek to Middlebury College to lecture at the January term “Sport and Society” course. The compelling course is taught by Middlebury head men's hockey coach, Bill Beaney, and my coach for life, Donald "Dee" Rowe (Middlebury ’51).

This year, along with delivering the annual lecture, and with the help of former Middlebury professor and dean, Karl Lindholm, I will be working with a group of students in the class on a project that should be great fun for all.

My next book, the novel, An African Rebound, will be published in late-fall 2012/early-spring 2013. During the Middlebury January term, the Beaney/Rowe class will involve a group of students reading up to a certain key point in the novel, and then writing an essay on what they think will happen.

Karl, an old and dear friend, will work with me on the project. Karl is now in the process of reading and critiquing the book. He, too, will take part in the critical thinking exercise of guessing what will happen. The end result will be a pizza party in early-February, at which the participating students will read their essays and Karl will offer his comments. At the end of the evening, all participants will receive a copy of the rest of the book.

Alumni Anecdote

It is always great to hear from a World Scholar-Athlete Games graduate.

We just received this wonderful note from Steve Hauser, who attended the World Scholar -Athlete Games in 2006 and then went on to graduate from Wesleyan University:

"For a student-athlete, there are few opportunities that are as fulfilling as the World-Scholar Athlete Games. When I attended the Games back in 2006, the unique mix of athletics and culture was unlike anything I had previously experienced. I still remember the experience of sitting next to an athlete from Sierra Leone and hearing the stories of his childhood. I also vividly remember hearing former President Bill Clinton and political pundit Bill O’Reilly speak to us on the value of our generation. Perhaps I didn’t realize it then, but these experiences at the World Scholar Athlete Games were some of the most formative of my teenage years. I cannot recommend this event more highly and I hope to see it grow in the future."

Jerry West's Journey

I just finished reading NBA legend Jerry West’s acclaimed new book: West By West: My Charmed, Tormented Life. As a boy, I came to regard West as the quintessential competitor. I saw him play several times at the old Boston Garden, and his brilliance on the court was fueled by his unrelenting effort. Several members of the Boston Celtics, including Bill Russell and John Havlicek, regarded West as the most admirable of all Celtics opponents. One well chronicled example occurred minutes after the Celtics won the 1969 World Championship Series over the Lakers, when Russell and Havlicek visited the Lakers locker room to seek out West and convey their unqualified respect for him.

The book is compelling. It is sad, profound, honest, and surprising… but absolutely engaging throughout. West dug deep into his psyche to disabuse the reader of any notion that this is a superstar who has glided through life. On the contrary, he has faced haunting experiences that have affected him in the most profound ways. As a result of the dark place in which he has often resided, he readily admits that he was not emotionally present in the way “a husband and father should ideally be.”

West is unsparing in his criticism of his parents and several others, including Coach Phil Jackson. But I did not get the sense that this is done with any spirit of meanness, rather as a cathartic journey. As Magic Johnson points out in the book, “Jerry needs therapy, and I have to believe doing this [book] is good therapy, that it could really help him.”

Among the strengths of the book is that it causes the reader to consider the difference between the healthy pursuit of excellence and the debilitating obsession to win. In Jerry West’s case, I don’t believe he had any choice in his intense obsession - such were the demons invading him at an early age and controlling him throughout his adult life.

Readers will surely come away with an altered view of West, but I doubt, a negative one. In fact, if you admired him before you read the book, you will probably still admire him, perhaps even more so… but in a different way. You will also know him intimately, perhaps as intimately as anyone you have ever read about but did not know personally.

Bill Russell seemed to understand West’s melancholia when he appeared as a surprise guest at “Jerry West Night” in 1971 and said, “If I could have one wish granted, it would be that you would always be happy.”

I feel the same way, as do, I imagine, countless others who marveled at his skill, effort and uncommon dignity on the court.