A look ahead: 2015 African Scholar-Athlete Games

I am so pleased to share news that the Institute for International Sport is moving along to launch the 2015 African Scholar-Athlete Games. Please visit the News & Announcements page of the Institute to learn more.

Rosh Hashanah

Thanks to my Mum and Dad, I grew up in a home where prejudice of any sort was unwelcome.  Over the last two and a half years, my Jewish friends have defined friendship. I am lucky to have been reared in an environment where the immorality, not to mention the utter illogic of prejudice was made clear. I am also lucky to have so many wonderful friends of the Jewish faith.

Shanah Tovah  5775 

The following letter needs no explanation

At some point in September, I will provide an update on the following projects:

·        The Namibian Scholar-Athlete Games, and where it will lead.

·        The “An African Rebound” Trilogy (I am about 65% done with the second book).

·        The Shoeless Joe play, including the date for the next stage reading.

·        The Love and Forgiveness in Sport Curriculum, which has now been completed.  This update will include information on the Executive Committee we have formed to help move the program forward, and how the Curriculum will link with National Sportsmanship Day. 

·        Other Institute for International Sport initiatives.

Music Project

One preliminary project update I will provide at this point is based on a number of inquiries I have received over the last few weeks, and in need of clarification.  I will expand on this particular project in September.

As some of you know, I have written and have now recorded a series of ten songs.  Many of the songs are directed at Boomers.  Others include a song regarding the Grand Jury system, a song about Single Moms and, for better or worse, a rap song!

The project has been a joy from the outset, especially due to the magnificent group of musicians and the terrific producer who make up the team.  We have finished the recording of all songs, and we are now in the process of final editing and production.  The CD will include the 10 songs, along with three songs that relate to the Shoeless Joe play (Take Me Out to the Ball Game, You Are My Sunshine and Dixie).

When I first met with Rob Gottfried and Dianne Mower about the project, two music mavens and great friends, I asked that we try to put together a group of very high level musicians.  Due to Rob and Dianne’s diligence and belief in the project, the following individuals have participated on the team. Rather than list their achievements, which would fill many pages, please feel free to Google any of them to get an idea of their level of proficiency.

Sax and trumpet: Billy Holloman

Steel guitar: Terry Sutton

Drums: Rob Gottfried

Pianist: Matt DeChamplain (Matt also played a key role in the musical development of each song)

Organist: Joe Grieco

Mandolin: Bill Walach  

Violin:  Bruna Myftaraj

Co-rapper: Annika (at 16 years old, Annika is also a brilliant singer).

Guitar: Norman Johnson (Norman has also worked his magic as the producer)

Bass Guitar:  Don Wallace

Back-up vocalists: Dianne Mower and Joe Grieco.

My voice teacher and "overseer" of the project: Dianne Mower

The Process

Many of the queries have expressed interest in the process.  Without going into too much detail, the process has involved my writing the song and then creating, in my mind, the melody.  I would then work with Dianne Mower and Matt DeChamplain, singing the song to the melody in my mind.  Within minutes, Matt, who is a brilliant young pianist, would be playing the chords.  From that point, the three of us would work together to develop each song and accompanying music.

More on this project in September.   

Happy Mother's Day

My first attempt at writing verse of any sort was in my mom's hospital room as she approached death.

A few years later, I read about a famous South Central Bell Telephone  Mother’s Day commercial in which legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant asked the question: "Have you called your Mama today?"

After posing the question, and all on his own, “The Bear” looked into the camera and added, "I sure wish I could call mine."

I knew exactly what he meant.

Mummy

She lies unstirring, awaits her reward

“A matter of hours,” says Dr. Jim with tears

I do what sons do at this fated hour

I confront the harsh truth

Never again will my mum

Make the April drive to Ocracoke

Gaze at a Monet

Display her works at the Annisquam Gallery

Go to Mass

Receive the Sacraments, save the last

Design her Christmas cards

Amass Green Stamps for four years

To take her family abroad

Eat chocolate too late at night

Welcome her grandchildren

Use her bare hand

To mat my sister’s blazing hair

Put out other fires

Will her wishes into being

Scold my Dad

Tell him she loves him

Tell me she loves me, as she has so often

The Parkinson’s has made enemy death her friend

I do what son’s do at this fated hour

I kiss her forehead

Tender deep thanks

And wish her peace

I am grateful to so many of you who reached out to me after my last posting on January 18.  A quick update on some of the points addressed in the last posting.

The Sequel to An African Rebound

And A Toronto Book Club Exercise

(www.africanrebound.com)

I am about sixty percent done with the sequel to An African Rebound, the second book of the trilogy.   Based on contact with various book clubs who either have or are reading An African Rebound , we selected one book club in Toronto, Ontario to read the first half of the sequel, critique it, and even guess what will happen!  The group includes M.J. Donohue, widow of the late Jack Donohue.  Jack was a dear friend who coached Lew Alcindor – who soon became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - at Power Memorial High School in New York City.  Jack became the head coach at Holy Cross, where he compiled an outstanding record.  He then had a brilliant career as head coach of the Canadian Men’s Olympic Team.  M. J.’s group – all women over 60 -- are in the process of reading the first half of the sequel.  I plan to be done with the sequel within the next several months and am looking at Spring, 2015 as the publication date.

The West Coast agency working on the novel to movie project is in regular contact with me.  We continue to clear hurdles in what will likely be a long process.  The fact that there are two more books forthcoming in the series is proving to be helpful in the discussions. 

Shoeless Joe Play

I recently met with actor, Marc Carver, who did such a magnificent job in the December 2013 stage reading in Hartford.  We are planning one more stage reading, to be followed by the premiere of the play.  The stage reading will take place at some point in August in Hartford.  Marc and my daughter Meg, who is an actress in New York City, will be part of the reading group. The initial performances of the actual play will be held on college campuses in a two-day format -- the performance of the play followed in day two by a seminar to discuss the issues raised in the play such as race, war, illiteracy, labor,  justice and redemption.    

The African Scholar-Athlete Games

We have narrowed the potential host sites for the African Scholar-Athlete Games to two locales.  Both locales are represented by graduates of the World Scholar-Athlete Games.  We expect to make a final determination on the site for the African Scholar-Athlete Games within the next several months.

Recording of Songs

I have enjoyed working with some wonderful professionals in the music industry.  Since the last posting, I have written eight new songs, one of which (believe it or not) is a Rap Song.  We will be recording these eight songs at some point in mid-May.   More on this project to follow.

 Love and Forgiveness in Sports Curriculum

I have been working with a distinguished team of educators to finalize the Love and Forgiveness in Sports Curriculum.  Recently, Dr. Eileen Angelini, a Fulbright Scholar and Professor at Canisius College, has joined the team.  Eileen has been a teacher and coordinator at a number of Scholar-Athlete Games.  She has done fascinating research on the 1955 Montreal Riots, and the role that Maurice “Rocket” Richard played in quelling the riots, and forging peace.  Eileen and I are now working on a component of the Curriculum that compares what “Rocket” Richard did in 1955 to what the Detroit Tigers, then owned by Mr. John Fetzer, founder of the Fetzer Institute, did in 1967 to quell the Detroit Race Riots. Another team member, Bill Gaertner, is focusing on the Curriculum being utilized in various prisons. The Institute for International Sport is collaborating with the Fetzer Institute on the Curriculum project.

New England Basketball Hall of Fame

With the help of Tom McCarthy and Jim Nelson, we are working to bring the Chinese Junior National Team to New England as part of the 2015 New England Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony.  The plan calls for the team to tour New England for two weeks and then be special guests of honor at the Hall of Fame dinner.  We will announce the date of the dinner, and, hopefully, China’s participation, within the next several months.

Thank you again for your interest in these projects.  Be assured I will keep you posted.  

Statement of Work

February 5, 2012 – January 14, 2014

It was Thursday, February 5, 2012, when the first story broke about alleged financial issues at the Institute for International Sport. I confess that over the first two months of this ordeal, I visited places in my mind I had never been before. But at about the two-month mark, my lassitude abated to the point that I began to heed Neitzsche's salient observation, “He who has a why to live, can bear almost any how.”

At that point I decided I would make this the most productive period of my life, and called upon another pertinent maxim, this from T.S. Eliot, “For us, there is only trying. The rest is not our business.”

In other words, I decided to turn my umbrage into productive purpose… healthy outrage is the term I have used to fuel my resolve.

By May of 2012, I was back on my schedule, writing and working out each morning, working through each day and evening. I have focused on projects I felt would be good for others, and, in a spiritual sense, good for me as well, and would, in all cases, take the Institute for International Sport to a new level.

Working with many wonderful people in a variety of settings, I spent much of the rest of 2012 laying the groundwork for projects that I would initiate, and in many cases, complete in 2013. I went to the Institute every work day.  Since January 1, 2013, I have been pleased and privileged to do what I set out to do in 2012: complete some projects and initiate new ones – all of which link to the future of the Institute for International Sport.

Project 1: The Fetzer Institute

Since January 2013, and due in large measure to my dear friend, Dr. Richard Lapchick, I have spent a great deal of time on a project with The Fetzer Institute, a remarkable organization which focuses on love and forgiveness. My job has been twofold: organize and administer a symposium and develop a curriculum.

The Symposium

First, I organized and oversaw a symposium in Orlando which was held November 21-23, 2013, was entitled, "Love and Forgiveness in Sports," and was hosted by the Institute for International Sport, the DeVos Sports Business Management Program, and the Fetzer Institute. A wonderfully eclectic group representing the United States and several other countries gathered for the program. This sampling of comments from participants captures the reaction to the seminar.

The Curriculum

The second part of the project has been extremely stimulating. I am writing an age-based curriculum, elementary through college, which incorporates love and forgiveness into the sports culture. With the help of an old friend who has just been released from prison, I am also incorporating into the curriculum a special focus on the prison population, a focus that I feel has significant merit and potential.

I presented the core concepts of the curriculum at the November symposium and expect to wrap it up in February, in time for our 27th anniversary of National Sportsmanship Day (NSD), which will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 4 (always the first Tuesday in March). In February, well in advance of NSD, the curriculum will be published on the Institute for International Sport website, as well as other websites.

Project 2: National Sportsmanship Day

The Institute for International Sport founded National Sportsmanship Day (NSD) in 1991. It remains one of our most important projects. Over the course of 2012 and 2013, I devoted considerable time to the further development of NSD. We administered highly successful National Sportsmanship Days on March 6, 2012 and on March 5, 2013 in the United States and in a number of foreign countries.  

Ghana – An Example of NSD’s Reach

For the last 21 years, a special component of our National Sportsmanship Day Program has occurred in Ghana. Emmanuel Annan, a graduate of the 1993 World Scholar-Athlete Games, started National Sportsmanship Day upon his return to Ghana in 1993. Since that time, Emmanuel has done admirable work in coordinating our National Sportsmanship Day, impacting the lives of many students, coaches and educators in his country. He is already planning the 2014 Ghana National Sportsmanship Day.

The Love and Forgiveness in Sports Curriculum and NSD

Going forward, a focal point of NSD will be the Love and Forgiveness in Sports Curriculum heretofore addressed. This curriculum will connect the NSD core objectives relating to non-violence, and will link directly to the NSD principle of competitive self-restraint… don’t punch back, play harder, as The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting defines this objective.  

Project 3: Helping Haiti

In 2012 and 2013, the Institute was privileged to help with a wonderful project in Haiti. Our principle role is and continues to be the donation of equipment. This statement from from the recipients of our donations captures how much this project helps youth in Cite Soleil.

Project 4: The Center for Sports Parenting and The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting, Volume II

In 2002, I initiated the Center for Sports Parenting at the Institute for International Sport. The Center provided free on-line advice to sports parents. The interest in the Center was so strong that I decided to write The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting. The first Volume was published in 2008, and won two book awards: The ForeWord Book Award and The Independent Publisher Book Award.

In 2012, as I was wrapping up An African Rebound (see below), I decided to write The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting, Volume II, which updated chapters from the first Volume and added new chapters. Through my literary agent, Jake Elwell, I was fortunate to have Skyhorse Publishing publish the book.  This book review appeared in the Sports Literature Association Journal, and one new chapter. Also, here is one new chapter titled “A Single Mom, a Son and a Guardian Angel”.

Key Next Step for The Center for Sports Parenting

We are now in the process of creating a detailed sports parenting website that will connect sport parents to the concepts presented in Volume II. The website will be finalized within the next several months. I am confident that the website will provide a meaningful service to sports parents on both a domestic and international scale.

Project 5: Africa - The Institute’s Relationship with Africa (Leading to the 2015 African Scholar-Athlete Games)

The Institute’s relationship with Africa began in 1990 when, at the invitation of US Ambassador Cynthia Shepard Perry, I traveled to Burundi, a small land-locked country in Central Africa. That trip led to many Institute projects in Burundi, and also helped me to crystalize the plan to create the World Scholar-Athlete Games, which we launched in 1993. You can read more about the trip to Burundi, including its direct connection to my novel, An African Rebound, here.

Continued Work in Africa

Since 1990, the Institute’s relationship with various African countries has led to a number of initiatives, beginning with Project Burundi, which, as noted in the link above included the Burundi National Basketball Team, made up of Hutu and Tutsi players, traveling to the United States in 1992. In 1995, the Institute co-sponsored another major initiative with Richard Lapchick’s Center for the Study of Sport and Society. Our two organizations joined forces to host an American Tour of the South African National Basketball Team. The project was featured in the New York Times article, “First Flight of An African Dream Team”. And at each World Scholar-Athlete Games, we welcomed large delegations from various African countries, and have since forged on-going relationships.

The African Scholar-Athlete Games

Since February 2012, we have dedicated significant time to the future success of the Scholar-Athlete Games, with specific focus on what is surely among one of the most compelling projects in our 27-year history - The African Scholar-Athlete Games.

Since 1993, we have welcomed well over 1,000 African Scholar-Athletes to the World Scholar-Athlete Games and in many cases we have forged many strong and lasting relationships. One of my most gratifying experiences since we initiated the Games was to help Rommel Padonou attend my alma mater, Bates College. I wrote this tribute to Rommel, who tragically passed away in 2013, but is a driving spirit behind the African Scholar-Athlete Games movement.

First Step: The 2013 Namibian Scholar-Athlete Games

As a result of this “African Support Group,” we took the first step toward the African Scholar-Athlete Games when we collaborated with the wonderful team of Scholar-Athletes Games supporters in Namibia, in the administration of the first Namibian Scholar-Athlete Games in June 2013. The event was a great success in every way. I sent Paz Magat and Andrew Hippert to serve as administrators. This report on the event includes includes a photo gallery and a beautiful poem written by Andrew about his experience.

Second Step: The 2014 Namibian Scholar-Athlete Games

We are now working with our Namibian colleagues in planning the 2014 Namibian Scholar-Athlete Games. The Namibian Scholar-Athlete Games committee is sending a representative to the Institute in the near future to finalize details.

Third Step: The Nigerian Scholar-Athlete Games

As we continue to prepare for the full-scale African Scholar-Athlete Games in 2015, along with the 2014 Namibia Scholar-Athlete Games, we will collaborate with Scholar-Athlete Games supporters in Nigeria on a fairly large-scale Nigerian Scholar-Athlete Games. This event will be held in July 2014 and will include participants from Nigeria, as well as delegations from neighboring countries such as Ghana, where we have many Scholar-Athlete Games graduates and supporters. This event was consummated when Nigeria sent a Scholar-Athlete Games representative to the recent Love and Forgiveness in Sports Symposium that I ran in Orlando.

As is the case with Namibia, a feature of the Nigerian Scholar-Athlete Games will be that much needed sports equipment will be sent over to Nigeria. In addition, American coaches will travel to Nigeria, representing the Institute in the day-to-day administration of the event.

A Positive Experience

We had a very positive experience with our Nigerian colleagues in 2005 and 2006 when we administered a major exchange program between Nigeria and the United States through the sport of volleyball. The program involved a significant number of American volleyball coaches traveling to Nigeria, bringing equipment and conducting clinics. The program also involved a return visit by Nigerian volleyball players and coaches to the 2006 World Scholar Athlete Games. Many of the Nigerians who worked with us in 2006 are working on the Nigerian Scholar-Athlete Games project.

Fourth Step: Moving Toward a Full-African Scholar-Athlete Games

We have developed an African Scholar-Athlete Games Executive Committee. The Executive Committee includes Yacouba Traore. Yacouba is a graduate of the 1997 World Scholar-Athlete Games. Following the 1997 World Scholar-Athlete Games, Yacouba, who hails from Senegal, went on to attend Lehigh University. He has achieved great success in private equity and he still resides in Senegal. Yacouba has joined several other Scholar-Athlete Games graduates residing in Africa in working with me on the development of the full-scale African Scholar-Athlete Games, which, as noted, will take place in 2015.  In the near future, we will hold an international Skype call involving representatives from a variety of African countries, each of whom will contribute ideas and support to the project.  More details on this major event will follow.

Fifth Step: An African Rebound Series – First Novel of a Trilogy

Some years back, my experiences in Burundi, as well as the forging of so many relationships in various African countries, caused me to develop ways that we could enhance our long-term goal of more Institute activity in Africa. Incorporated into this goal was my decision to write a trilogy series which would address African issues such as AIDS, tribal warfare, poverty, race and hope.

As a result of these thoughts, I wrote the first novel in the trilogy, An African Rebound. With the help of my fine editors, Nicole Frail at Skyhorse Publishing and Rhode Islander Bob Stiepock, the novel was published in April, 2013. Anyone interested in the reaction to the novel may visit the novel’s page on Amazon or the novel’s website, for critical and reader reviews.

Linking the Trilogy to the African Scholar-Athlete Games

As those who have read the novel will know, the book addresses the aforementioned issues, as well as others. The trilogy series will, in the third and final novel, lead to a fictional African Scholar-Athlete Games.

An African Rebound has already helped in rolling out the “African Project,” as we have termed it at the Institute. The novel has been read by many Africans, including those who are helping move the African Games forward. Here is a statement by Yacouba Traore:

Shining A Light on Africa: In the context of a powerful story, Dan Doyle showcases the power of teamwork, the love of sport, courage, diversity, hope, life, and peace in the An African Rebound trilogy. All of this is a basket of deliverables, which the 2015 African Scholar-Athlete Games will convey as well and more. The ASAG will bring together all African countries and other countries around the world as one to share the same passion for world peace, the same love of sports and the arts. It is an important objective that will impact positively the African continent and especially the lives of thousands of young people as we go forward into the future.

Movie Discussions About the Novel: Clarification

It is well-known among many of my friends, that discussions are taking place with a prominent West Coast agency regarding An African Rebound becoming a movie. At this point, the novel has passed through several early and critical “markers”, but there are still other hurdles to clear. The fact that a key executive at the company is a graduate of the World Scholar-Athlete Games and a person whom I have mentored since his early youth has helped the process. I am well-aware of the impact that the book becoming a movie will have on our work in Africa and recognize that the process will take time, but it is well worth the effort that many of us are putting into it.

Second Novel of the Trilogy

I am now in the process of writing the second novel of the trilogy. If all goes well, the book will be finished in September 2014 and published in spring 2015, prior to the African Scholar-Athlete Games. I am about 35% done at this point and enjoying every minute of the process.

Project 6: Shoeless Joe Play

Since the mid-90’s, at well over 100 colleges and universities in the United States and abroad, I have delivered lectures that drew on my experiences at the Institute for International Sport. During this experience, I could see that the most meaningful part of each speech related to vignettes with a theme. I thus planned my speeches accordingly. Reflecting on the appeal of stories and specific anecdotes, it occurred to me that a play which, through the lens of sports, focused on subjects of societal importance would appeal not only to college students but to broader audiences as well.

Writing of the Play

By June 2012, seeking inspiration from people who have dealt with adversity, I read three baseball biographies by historian Charles Alexander on Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, and Tris Speaker. I decided on this course because I knew that people living in the early 20th century, including my late dad, faced difficulties that would make many of our present challenges seem trivial: World War I, the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, the Great Depression.

I then read the biography of Negro Baseball League great Josh Gibson, after which I came upon one of the most fascinating characters I have ever encountered, Shoeless Joe Jackson. I read books and many articles on Shoeless Joe, and realized that this was a man one could build a play around, a play that would deal with issues important to me: illiteracy, race, war, justice, redemption, labor and aging; themes that coalesce with the themes and goals of the Institute.

I began to write the play in late summer 2012 and finished the first draft in December 2012, at which time I called upon fellow Bates graduate Barry Press, a distinguished actor and director who studied at Yale and who has accomplished much in his field.

While writing the play, and despite never acting, I decided that I would attempt to play the role of Shoeless Joe. When the first draft was completed, I invited Barry to the Institute for a reading, and to seek his honest feedback. In a South Carolinian dialect I had worked on, I read the part of Shoeless Joe. When finished, Barry said simply, “Tell the playwright not to fire the leading man” - a statement that I appreciated!

Since that session, I have refined and edited the play to what will be a one-hour and forty-five minute production and will include three dance routines, each choreographed to three songs I have recorded: “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”, “You Are My Sunshine”, and “Dixie”. The three songs are backed-up by three wonderful photo galleries.

You can read a synopsis of the play by Dr. Mark Brodie here.

Songs

Regarding the aforementioned songs, many years ago, as an eighth grader in the Men's Choir at St. Peter's Church in Worcester, my late and great Mum encouraged me to take voice lessons, a crusade that never took hold. In autumn 2012, in memory of Mum, I went to a recording studio in Hartford, recorded five songs, and sent the CD to a few close friends, including “Rob The Drummer” Gottfried. Rob had performed brilliantly at our 2011 World Scholar-Athlete Games, and he is known as a sage advisor on matters of music.

After listening to the CD, and perhaps unintentionally inspired by Mum, Rob suggested that I take voice lessons and put me in touch with Dianne Mower, a sterling singer and voice teacher. He also encouraged me to write a song.

I trained once a week with Dianne, decided on the three songs that would be incorporated into the play, and wrote the lyrics to a fourth song dedicated to Boomers (click here for song lyrics).  Not knowing how to write music, I developed the harmony for the latter song in my mind. I then sang the song to Dianne and pianist Matt DeChamplain. Matt did a terrific job listening to the harmony, and was playing it within minutes. I am now relying on the advice of professionals in the music industry regarding next steps for the Boomer song.

 The First Shoeless Joe Stage Reading

After Dianne, Matt, and I worked on the four songs for several sessions, Rob put together an outstanding group of musicians and we recorded the four songs in late October, 2013. On November 22, 2013, we held the first stage reading of the Shoeless Joe play at the Love and Forgiveness Symposium in Orlando. During the stage reading, the songs were performed by a magnificent dancer and actress, Casey Weems. DeVos graduate Andrew Hippert, a brilliant young man, put together four wonderful photo galleries to back up each of the four dance routines. After the reading, Andrew compiled this series of reactions on YouTube to the play.

The Second Stage Reading

The second stage reading took place on December 28 at the Carriage House Theater in Hartford. As was the case with the inaugural reading, a key objective was to elicit more feedback.

The Next Stage Reading

There will be at least one more stage reading in spring 2014. The stage readings are proving to be most helpful in making appropriate edits and changes to the play.

Key Objective

Among the objectives of Shoeless Joe will be to stage the play on various college campuses throughout the United States and, we hope, eventually abroad. The school program will involve a Day One (evening) performance of the play followed by a Day Two Seminar in which the themes raised in the play will be discussed with students and faculty. I am presently in discussions with a university regarding the school program premiere.

Long-Term Plan

With the help of theater professionals, we will set “the game plan” for the roll-out of the play, which will encompass the school program, as well as other performance options.

Project 7:  New England Basketball Hall of Fame (Held June 22, 2013)

One of my favorite projects, which I started in 2004, is the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. I love the event for many reasons, primarily because it reconnects me with basketball and with many, many old friends. Moreover, the event has become a major reunion, bringing together families, former teammates, and old friends at what many honorees have said is either the “greatest honor of my life” or in some cases have even said “the greatest day of my life.”

It is an event that requires a great deal of planning and I was lucky to work with two old and dear friends throughout the process, Mark “Pathfinder” Epstein, with whom I grew up in Worcester, and Rod Steier, my tennis partner and great pal. Since 2004, we have found that proper planning of the event requires sixteen to eighteen months of preparation. Ironically, after we did the preliminary work in December 2011 and January 2012, we held our first New England Basketball Hall of Fame conference call on the very day – February 5, 2012 – that the first story broke about my present situation.

The Largest Dinner in the 31-Year History of the DCU Center

With the help of Mark and Rod, who serve as members of the Executive Committee, and with past inductees, like my old friend, ex-Bowdoin great, Bo McFarland, who served as the Chair of the Maine Selection Committee, we worked together to bring 1,850 people to the June 22 event at the DCU Center (formerly the Worcester Centrum). The DCU Center announced that evening that in the 31-year history of the Center, ours is the largest dinner ever held at the facility.

June 22 Event Program Activities

The program began on Saturday afternoon with panel discussions featuring the likes of famed novelist Harlan Coben, who was inducted that evening for his outstanding play at Amherst; renowned basketball journalists Bill Reynolds and Bob Ryan; and Chris Herren, who I am proud to say worked at the Institute, and who is now doing great in every way.

Because of the travel restrictions placed upon me, I was not able to attend the dinner, but I felt as if I was there. Beginning with the panel discussions, and throughout the evening, I received many calls on my cell phone from inductees, family members, and in many cases, people I did not even know (as cell phones were being passed from one person to another). Two of my daughters, Meg and Carrie, represented me, and I truly felt as if I was present.

Expanding the Concept of Using Basketball as a Bridge

We are now already planning the next ceremony which will be held in June, 2015. Tom McCarthy, who was inducted in 2013 and has had a distinguished career as a sports administrator and entrepreneur in China, is working with 2013 Icon Honoree Jim Nelson and me in planning a new project for the New England Basketball Hall of Fame – a two-week New England tour of the China Junior Men’s National Team which will end up with the team being special guests at the next ceremony.

By the way, Tom McCarthy, Jim Nelson, and “Pathfinder” Epstein were presenters at the recent Love and Forgiveness in Sport Symposium in Orlando about the role of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in bringing people together, and fostering life-long friendships.

Project 8:  The Basketball Times – A Piece and A Possible Long-Term Project

I also published a piece in Basketball Times entitled, "The Backbone of Basketball." Based on feedback from various sources, I have conversed with my literary agent about possibly turning the piece into a book that would serve as the basis for seminars similar to those we are planning through the Shoeless Joe play. The period of time covered in the piece, 1947 – 1960, presents some interesting opportunities to achieve such an objective.

Project 9: Book on my Present Dilemma

On a daily basis, I am working on the outline of a book about my present ordeal and will have further comment about this book at a later date.

Project 10: The 2016 World Scholar-Athlete Games

Perhaps of greatest importance, I am spending considerable time organizing the 2016 World Scholar-Athlete Games. More information on the 2016 World Scholar-Athlete Games will follow.

This is the first statement of any sort that I have made since February 5, 2012. As you would expect, there is a lot more I would like to say and will surely do so at the right time and in the proper forum. For now, my gratitude to those of you who have accorded me the presumption of innocence.

Best wishes,

Dan