Hypocrisy and the Media

Evidence of March Madness: Three college basketball coaches have dominated sports and "news" media coverage this week. Let's take a look at how the media has covered each one:

Jerry Tarkanian: Elected to the Hall of Fame after being snubbed for decades. Rob Dauster of NBC Sports pretty well sums up the media coverage of Tark's entry after having been snubbed for decades, and why: “Jerry Tarkanian officially was invited to join the Naismith Hall of Fame on Monday afternoon at a ceremony in Atlanta. He’ll become an actual member in September at an induction ceremony in September.

"This honor was a long-time coming. ‘Tark the Shark’ won 729 games in his 34 year career, with 706 of those coming at the Division I level. He essentially built the UNLV basketball program, creating the Runnin’ Rebels and leading them to four Final Four and a national title in 1990. His first Final Four in 1977 came just seven years after the program went Division I. His UNLV teams in the early ’90s will go down as one of the best college basketball teams of all-time.

“So why wasn’t the Shark in the Hall of Fame already?

“Well, its simple, really.

“He’s got a laundry list of NCAA issues. He’s had games vacated. He has twice taken legal action against the NCAA, with one of those lawsuits resulting in the restructuring of the way the NCAA handles enforcement. Tarkanian is one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game. An innovator. But the problem was that he was painted as a cheat, as a black mark on the integrity of the NCAA. Why would anyone want to reward one of the most notorious outlaws of amateur athletics?

“But there is a powerful anti-NCAA movement going on across the country these days. After seeing what happened with Miami, USC, Penn State and UCLA, the view that voters have of the Shark is starting to change.

“Maybe he’s not the villain.

“Maybe he was actually the guy that was fighting the good fight all those years ago.

“This honor was overdue. Tarkanian’s health is failing. Good on the voters to allow him to experience this.”

So, MAYBE, as the author writes, Tark is not a villain and his legacy can be recognized only after powerhouses like Miami, USC, Penn State, and UCLA have been sanctioned after decades of allegations that were somehow overlooked by the NCAA and the media.

Candidate number two: Former Rutgers coach Mike Rice. Steve Eder of the New York Times sums up the media coverage in part this way: “Tim Pernetti, the athletic director, knew all of that and had repeatedly tried to rein in Mr. Rice, according to a 50-page report that Rutgers commissioned outside lawyers to prepare. He personally reprimanded him, attended Mr. Rice’s practices and even assigned the university’s sports psychologist to work with the team, the report said.

“But the video was stark, a highlight reel of abuse — the coach kicking his players, hurling basketballs at them and taunting them with homophobic slurs. Those epithets were especially galling at Rutgers, where a gay freshman had killed himself.

“The video, parts of which were made public last week, was 30 minutes long. It had been professionally edited from a collection of 219 DVDs covering hundreds of hours of practices, material that Rutgers had voluntarily provided to Eric Murdock, the former assistant, after his departure.”

Wow! The media attacked a coach at Rutgers that last won a basketball championship in, well, never. But they DID reach the Final Four once, in 1976.  

Louisville coach Rick Pitino. After reviewing dozens and dozens of media descriptions of Pitino’s entry into the Hall of Fame, along with Tark’s, the media’s fawning over and bowing to this coach can be summed up by Justin Onslow of the Bleacher Report: “There aren’t many coaches with the résumé Rick Pitino boasts. With 661 wins and 17 tournament appearances spanning four decades, the legendary coach should have found a home in the Hall of Fame long before this season.

“Three things measure the success of a head coach: wins, championships and longevity. Pitino exemplifies those things, and his team’s tournament run this season is the icing on the cake.

“The 60-year-old has left an indelible mark on the sport of basketball in his 35 years as a head coach. With two stints in the NBA (New York Knicks, Boston Celtics), a national championship at Kentucky and another potentially on the way with Louisville, Pitino has put together one of the most impressive careers of any coach in the sport’s history.”

Media hypocrisy: Perhaps you noticed that nearly every article that discusses Jerry Tarkanian’s entry into the Hall of Fame includes not only his accomplishments as a coach, but a history of missteps, penalties, and sanctions against him over the past several decades.  

Regarding Mike Rice, the media must have been asleep at the switch, as their excoriation of the coach (and rightly so if the reports are even remotely correct) comes only after the cat was let out of the bag regarding the coach’s verbal and physical abuse of the players. 

And the winner is, Rick Pitino: I am sure every beat writer can justify the inclusion of Tark’s history as part of the history of a great coach who is finally rightly recognized for his accomplishments. What seems to be lacking from the media reports is the history of Rick Pitino. The media is ready to offer him sainthood for his accomplishments as a coach but his failings as a person are clearly missing from any reports in the coverage of his induction and his team’s winning of a national championship. Remember, it was just a few years ago that the Rick Pitino scandal was on the lips of every sportscaster and the fingertips of every sportswriter. Just four years ago the New York Daily News printed the following as part of an article entitled: “The Sordid Tale of Louisville Coach Rick Pitino Sex Scandal.” It reads in part, “According to a report of the July 12 interview conducted by the police, Pitino said that he met Sypher (then named Karen Cunagin) at a restaurant, and after some initial flirting was soon involved in a sexual encounter with her. Sypher asked him that night if he had a condom. He did not.

"She told him that he should (be careful) because she had just gotten out of a relationship and was not on birth control," the police sergeant who interviewed Pitino wrote in his report.

“They had sex in the back of the closed restaurant and Karen Sypher later drove the coach home, badgering him about getting tickets to Louisville games during the ride, according to the report.

“Two weeks later, Sypher told Pitino she was pregnant. According to the report, Pitino asked her if she was sure of this and she was offended by the question.

"He said that he explained that he was married with five kids, and that she had four kids, and that he didn't know what he wanted to do about the situation," the report said. "He said that if she chose to have the child that he would require a blood test to determine for certain whether or not the child was his. She told him that she was going to have an abortion, and stated that she did not have health insurance."

“Pitino admitted to giving Sypher $3,000 for the abortion, though his attorney, Steve Pence, qualifies the transaction by saying that the money was actually used to pay for the health insurance that eventually paid for the procedure. Pence has gone to great lengths to deliver the message, through the media, that the abortion decision was not something Pitino took lightly, and a voice message Karen Sypher produced for the media last week seemed to reflect that.

"I think that the best thing in all scenarios is to go through with it (have the baby), but that it has to be your call," Pitino said on the message left on Sypher's phone. "I think, I really can't give you any advice, except I have thought about it."

“Karen Sypher would accept the $3,000 from Pitino to pay for the abortion, but that, of course, was not the end of the saga. Sypher eventually married and divorced Pitino's longtime associate, Tim Sypher; allegedly demanded that Pitino pay her $10 million in exchange for her silence; accused him of raping her in their initial encounter and one time afterward; and allegedly lied to the FBI when they questioned her about the shakedown. On April 24 of this year, Sypher was indicted by federal authorities for extortion.”

How soon they conveniently forget: The purpose of this article is not to cast aspersions on Rick Pitino, nor to defend Jerry Tarkanian or Mike Rice. Rather, the purpose goes to Tark’s longtime contention that the NCAA, and to a lesser extent the media, protects certain schools, programs, and coaches, and selectively goes after others. Usually the decisions are consistent with money. The entire basketball program at Wichita State runs on less than what Louisville coach Rick Pitino makes in a single year, with money left over to purchase plenty of trophy cases for Final Four hardware.  The budget for the entire basketball program at Wichita State, which barely lost to Pitino’s team in the semi-finals, is $3.1 million. Pitino’s base salary is $3.9 million. Perhaps the Shockers should watch their backs.

A little blogging music Maestro: “Hypocrites,” by Bob Marley

Dr. Forgot

http://drforgot.blogspot.com

email: Drforgot@cox.net

Hail, Hail The Gang's All Here

Once a Clairtonian...  If nothing else, those of us from the community on the Monongahela River are true to our school and hometown. What other community has annual get-togethers in Clairton as well as in Florida??!!! Some classes are more diligent than others in getting together to celebrate reunions. My own class, 1960, has had a reunion every five years starting with number ten.

Yes, it can be depressing to see the socio-economic slide the city has gone through since the steel industry collapsed. Yes, it is sad to see the population that once numbered close to 30,000 souls dwindle to around 5,500.

But look at the bright side; Clairton High School Football has set records that will not be soon broken. They have been WPIAL and State champs more often than I can count. (Math was not my strength at CHS). Alumni have begun organizations such as Reaching the Reachable that mentors the students at our school and encourages them to strive toward post-secondary education. Those are some of the reasons we celebrate our reunions with fellow CHS grads.

Take a look at the web site myclairton.com to see some of the positive and upbeat things that are going on in our community. These positive aspects of Clairton are rarely, if ever, noted in the media. Hmmmm.

Fifty is a biggie... The fiftieth class reunion has been celebrated by each class up to the class of 1962, which had theirs last year. The class of 1964 is already planning theirs for next year and the class of 1963 got lost and slipped a cog. But they are working hard to catch up. I recently received an email from a member of the class of 1963 which reads as follows:

CLAIRTON HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1963 50 YEAR REUNION PLANS

(Politics...Protocol....Polident)

 

If you graduated from Clairton in 1963 or know someone who did, a Reunion Committee has been set up and they need your help.  They are trying to put together a data base of names and email addresses to determine if there is enough interest at this late date to plan an event to celebrate the occasion.

Additional information that was sent to me follows.

 

From Rick Weber:

Several of us are trying to put together our 50th high school reunion.  As you may know, a combined reunion is held annually at Clairton Park.  This year, it will be held on September 7.  Here are the details: http://chsreunionpicnic.com/picnic2013det.html
An email has been set up to which you may respond.  It is: ClairtonHS1963@aol.com
We would really love for you to join in on our 50th reunion.
Thank you.
Rick Weber

 

And from Mitzi Nixon Buechele:

...thoughts on Politics, Protocol and Polident!

 

As I have been corresponding with Rick Weber about getting something together for our 50th Clairton High School Reunion, a theme to my thoughts emerged.  I seem to be focusing on 3 things...POLITICS, PROTOCOL and POLIDENT!  Let me explain.

 

POLITICS...We have all heard countless politicians ask "Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?" since Ronald Reagan first asked the question in 1980.  With that thought in mind, I have asked myself  "Are you better off today than you were 50 years ago?"  HECK, YEAH, I tell myself.  But then, mine was not the brightest shining star in high school.  I hope that those who knew me remember me as kind, helpful, thoughtful and friendly, qualities we appreciate more as adults than we did as adolescents.  Yep, I say to myself, Popeye had it right....I Y'AM WHAT I Y'AM.  And I like it. 

 

PROTOCOL....Surely there is a protocol to who does what to plan a Class Reunion, isn't there, I wondered.  But if there has been no planning by this late date, no established committee meeting regularly, then let's forget about protocol and get something going!  Heck...we're all around age 68...we can do what we want to do!  That was the driving thought behind my conversations with Rick Weber.  He has willingly taken the lead to put something together so that our 50th Class Reunion will happen.  My thoughts to him were these:

Neither the venue nor the menu is important to me.  We have all been to enough fancy places in our lives, eaten enough  entrees that we had difficulty pronouncing and dressed up too many times because somebody said we had to.  What is important to most of us now is PEOPLE....remembering, reconnecting, rediscovering each other, renewing friendships and building new ones.  And we can do that wherever we meet....just so we MEET SOMEWHERE. 

 

Finally, POLIDENT!  That represents to me what we all have in common today.... lots of dental work and possible dentures, arthritic knees and elbows, hair coloring decisions and big smiles for our grandchildren if we have been so blessed.  That ties it all together for me.  If we were the class clown or the most serious, the best athlete or the least co-ordinated, academically gifted or challenged, we are more alike today than ever.  If we moved away from Clairton or remained close by, are retired or still working, prefer a shot and a beer or a Diet Pepsi, it doesn't matter.  We still share many common threads of events that are woven into our tapestry of life experiences.  And so it is my hope that as many of us as possible will get together this September to celebrate our 50th Class Reunion.  PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH ANY OTHER CLASSMATES CONNECTED TO THE CLASS OF 1963 THAT YOU ARE IN TOUCH WITH (spouses, those who moved, etc)  You and they hopefully will contact Rick at the address below and together we can make this Reunion a success. 

ClairtonHS1963@aol.com

 

I hope to see you (WEARING A NAME TAG!) at our 50th Class Reunion get together on Sept. 6 and at the All Class Reunion Sept. 7.

Mitzi Nixon Buechele

(Full disclosure: Mrs. Buechele is my baby sister)

A little blogging music Maestro... "Clairton High School Alma Mater" played by the Clairton High School marching band.
Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

Bears Basketball

We've discussed the Clairton Bears football program at length but the basketball program has been pretty quiet - until now! Several of the players did not even suit up until well into the season because of football obligations, injuries, and the like. But now it is playoff time and their mediocre record seeded them as #5. Last night they played #1 seed, Lincoln Park, a powerhouse team that has at least three starters taller than 6'6" and generally blows out their opponents by more than 40 points per game. They were predicted to annihilate Clairton by a similar score but our Bears did not get the message. What follows is a newspaper article by a Lincoln Park area writer:

By Mike Bires mbires@timesonline.com | 34 comments

DORMONT – Fans crammed their way into every nook and cranny of the gym. They came to watch some of the WPIAL’s premier athletes compete under intense playoff conditions.

Lincoln Park and Clairton didn’t disappoint Tuesday night in a thriller of a Class A semifinal game.

But, after a furious finish, it was the top-seeded Leopards who were 71-70 upset losers. The fifth-seeded Bears (16-6) joined their fans in a wild mid-court celebration when Lincoln Park’s Elijah Minnie missed a long 3-pointer just before the final buzzer.

“We’re devastated,” Minnie said. “I mean, I’m speechless.”

“It hurts. I know how bad our kids feel right now,” Lincoln Park coach Mark Javens said. “I feel like throwing up.”

Minutes before tip-off, the Keystone Oaks gym was jammed in anticipation of a game featuring the reigning WPIAL basketball champs (Lincoln Park) and a football dynasty (Clairton). The overflow crowd sat, stood and knelt in all four corners of the gymnasium.

Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch was doing radio commentary. Standing in one corner of the gym were Pitt assistant coach Brandin Knight and former Panthers star Curtis Aikin.

Every member of Clairton’s basketball team also played for the school’s football team that has won 63 straight games and won four straight WPIAL and PIAA Class A titles. Three of the Bears are headed to Pitt to play football: Tyler Boyd, Titus Howard and Terrish Webb.

Lincoln Park doesn’t have a football team. But it has a strong basketball program that was trying to repeat as WPIAL champs. It has three underclassmen on the NCAA Division I radar: Minnie, a 6-foot-8 junior forward; Ryan Skovranko, a 6-6 junior forward; and Maverick Rowan, a 6-5 freshman guard.

On this night, it was those amazing athletes from Clairton who pulled off a stunning upset.

“Man, I’m loving this,” Webb said after exchanging hugs with teammates and fans. “Everybody doubted us. But I knew in my heart, we could beat anybody.

“Call us football players if you want. We are football players. But we are basketball players, too. We’re athletes. We’re everything. We do it all. We were just ready to play tonight. We were ready to win. Everybody else who has played Lincoln Park was scared of them. But we don’t go into any game scared of anybody.”

That was obvious from the opening tip. A blowout victory Lincoln Park (19-6) is accustomed to wasn’t going to happen on this night. Even when the fourth quarter began with the Leopards up by 11 at 61-50, never did Clairton seem out of it.

And in the fourth quarter, the Bears rallied with a 21-9 run.

With 25 seconds left, Boyd made a basket that made it 71-70. Twice in the last 21 seconds, Lincoln Park had a chance to go ahead but failed to do so. With eight seconds left, point guard Antonio Kellem drove the lane and threw up either an air ball or perhaps a pass intended for Minnie. Either way, it was a botched possession.

Then, after Clairton’s Byron Clifford missed the front end of a one-and-one foul situation with six seconds left, Minnie missed on his long-range 3-pointer.

“That last shot … it haunts me right now,” said Minnie, who scored a game-high 24 points. “It’s going to haunt me for probably the rest of the season and probably next season.”

It would serve Minnie well to put that missed shot behind him as soon as possible. Lincoln Park’s season isn’t over. They won’t repeat as WPIAL champs, but they still have the PIAA playoffs to look forward to. That tournament begins next weekend.

From a more moderate reporter:

By Ryan Riordan / Tri-State Sports & News Service

Trailing by 11 points at the start of the fourth quarter against No. 1 seed Lincoln Park, Clairton could have thrown in the towel.

But losing is not in the Bears' DNA.

Led by a starting five of players who all were part of Clairton's four consecutive PIAA titles and 63-game winning streak on the football field, the No. 5 Bears (16-6) rallied for a 71-70 victory against the No. 1 Leopards (19-6) in a WPIAL Class A semifinal Tuesday at Keystone Oaks.

"These guys are used to playing in big games," first-year Clairton coach Matt Geletko said. "Not so much in basketball, but that football experience and the pressure of winning 63 games in a row, getting the other team's best shot every week. So in pressure situations, it doesn't bother them.

"They always tell me, 'We got this coach. We got this.' And so far, they've answered the bell."

The two teams were within five points of each other the entire game until Lincoln Park went on a 10-0 run to close the third quarter.

But the Bears didn't panic.

"We were just saying, 'Never quit,' " said Clairton senior Tyler Boyd, who finished with a team-high 20 points. "We were down by 11, but we fought hard and made adjustments and stayed at it."

Still trailing, 67-59, with 3:32 left, the Bears went on a 10-1 run to take the lead with 1:03 left.

Elijah Minnie scored on a lob pass to give the Leopards the lead back with 30 seconds remaining, but that's when longtime Clairton teammates and Pitt football recruits Terrish Webb and Boyd connected for the winning basket.

In the open floor, Webb found a cutting Boyd near the basket for a layup with 21 seconds left.

Minnie then had a chance to win the game for Lincoln Park, but his 30-footer hit off the back rim.

"These guys have been playing together and have been a tight group for long before I got here," Geletko said. "They play for each other and hate to lose."

Minnie finished with 24 points and Maverick Rowan had 16 for Lincoln Park.

Clairton's third Pitt football recruit, Titus Howard, had 19 points, Bryon Clifford finished with 14 and Webb added 10.

A little blogging music Maestro... "We Will Rock you" by Queen.
Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

Clairton Authors

Write right: We've spoken recently about several authors who have had works published of late. Dr. Bill King did a terrific autobiography of a lad growing up in Elrama and going to school in the "big city" of Clairton. Joann Little Angelo did a five part series of the Monongahela Chronicles which does a superb job of tracing union history and describing Wilson as it was at the turn of the century when there were little more than a few hollow where folks resided. Both authors' books are page turners.

Something new: As I was perusing the various research engines looking for something new about Clairton I stumbled across another Clairton author who had written an autobiography entitled "From Rings to Ringlets." The title captured my attention as did the fact that the author, Marcel (nee Jimmy) Haigy was a former Clairton resident, so I dug deeper.

The good news was that the first 50 pages of his book are available for free on the internet. The bad news is that after reading the first 50 pages I was hooked and made the purchase. Since I couldn't wait for a hard copy I ordered it through Barnes and Noble on my Nook. (note: Dr. William "Bill" King's book "SCHOOL DAYS: Coming of Age in the Mid-20th Century." is also available online through B&N, Amazon.com and Xlibris). The story is fascinating. Born Robert (Bobby) Haigy during the Great Depression on Clairton's Crest Street to a Turkish Muslim father and a Scottish/Welsh mother, he was the eldest of several siblings. He moved with his family to an apartment above the Blue Bird, then to an apartment above the store on the corner of Waddell and Third Street, and to a house on Toman Avenue. By his own admission Bobby was a free spirit at best and a tough little thug at worst. He was permanently banned from one of Clairton's pool halls for cracking the owner over the head with a blunt instrument, terrorized the Auto Shop teacher at CHS, left home and did a stint working for Zach Robinson at the Gold Coast, and a host of other rebellious activities before stumbling into the basement of the Colonial Theater where a rag-tag boxing gym had been set up. There he began his boxing career, hence the "Rings" in the title of his book.

Jimmy (Marcel would come later) did a stint in the Army during the Korean War but stayed stateside during his entire tenure. After being released from the Army, he followed a buddy to New York where on a lark they decided to go to cosmetology school. He became a hairdresser in New York (hence the "Ringlets" in the title) but in typical Clairton fashion he became one of the best, winning many national and international styling trophies and titles and purchasing a Cosmetology School. When he began doing hair and competing, he decided he needed a name that sounded French so he adopted "Marcel," as a handle. But there was another chapter or two in his life before he retired to Florida and wrote his autobiography at the urging of his wife. You must read the book to discover them.

I interviewed Mr. Haigy for this blog and found him to be as charming and interesting as his book was to read. He is still a dyed-in-the-wool Clairtonian who follows Bears football and returns for occasional visits. He had stories of Clairton that were not in the book, such as the Kaiser-Frazer dealership owner who kept snakes as pets. One got loose and.... well, you don't want to know what happened but suffice it to say it did not improve car sales. Perhaps that is one reason why Kaiser-Frazer went out of business.

It might be noted that if he had a rough start and spent the first chapter of his life as a ne'er do well, he spent the next chapter learning and growing and accomplished many goals he never dreamed he'd achieve, such as attending college at NYU, serving on numerous boards, consulting and helping establish rules that would enhance the safety of boxers, and many other areas of service. James "Marcel" Haigy's ledger is much heavier on the credit side than on the debit.

Don't forget: A note from CHS Alum Bev Alcorn: CHS ALUMNI & CLAIRTON BEARS FANS u r doing a great job in sending UR donations for the Championship Rings for our Fabulous Bears! Keep those donations coming. We will be accepting donations until the end of February. Remember any amount is fine, we know its a tough time for all of us, every dollar helps. Send UR donations to:
CLAIRTON Athletic Champions Club, PO BOX 303, Clairton, PA 15025

A little blogging music Maestro... "Hair" by the Cowsills.

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

What a season!

From the New York Times: Finding Hope in Football, and Providing It

By Jeré Longman

Kickoff for the Pennsylvania state championship game was minutes away. Music and a taped inspirational speech filled the Clairton High School locker room. But Terrish Webb sat outside on a set of concrete steps. He wiped tears from his eyes.

“I miss my dad,” Webb, 17, told his close friend and teammate Robby Boatwright, who gave him a hug.

“I got your back,” Boatwright said. “I love you.”

Six years earlier, almost to the day, Webb’s father had been shot to death as he drove his car in the late afternoon near the football field in Clairton, a frayed steel mill town south of Pittsburgh. Webb was 11 at the time. The case has never been solved.

“When you have tragedy like that in your immediate family, some kids tend to go the wrong way,” said Wayne Wade, a former star quarterback at Clairton who is now the team’s defensive coordinator. “They can’t handle it. They start to question themselves. Why me? They look into different avenues to go, which are negative. Terrish found a positive one in football with a lot of his friends. They vowed a long time ago that they wanted to win state championships and they did all the right things to do it.”

Clairton fell on hard times when the steel industry collapsed in the 1980s. Much of its downtown is abandoned, boarded up. But football has provided a glimmer of hope amid the civic gloominess. Webb caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in a 20-0 victory in the Class A title game on Dec. 14 at Hersheypark Stadium, helping Clairton to a fourth consecutive state championship and its 63rd consecutive win, the nation’s longest current winning streak.

A 6-foot-1 receiver and cornerback, Webb caught 16 touchdown passes, rushed for 4 touchdowns and intercepted 8 passes this season. He is also the senior class president and ranks second in his class with a 3.8 grade-point average. He is considering playing college football at Kent State, Pittsburgh or Toledo.

“That’s a special person who can come back from such adversity,” Tom Nola, Clairton’s coach, said of Webb. “He’s the best student on the team. He’s going to college. He’s going to make something of his life. My hat’s off to him.”

Nola credited Webb’s mother, Tinisha Webb, who works as an administrative assistant at a hospital in suburban Pittsburgh, with keeping Terrish from despair and stressing the importance of education. His friends, too, vowed that they would not succumb to the temptations and violence of a city where nearly a quarter of the 6,796 residents live below the poverty level.

“People think this is just football,” Webb said. “This is more than football to us. This is the way out from where we come from.”

Now What? The Bears have just finished an amazing four seasons. Now they will be given the accolades they've earned. This comes in the form of an awards banquet and awarding of rings, announcement of other awards, etc. and takes place in March. In the past the banquet has been held in the Ascension Hall in Clairton. This year, ion celebration of their fourth consecutive state title they hope to hold the banquet in a more formal setting. Also, the school district is unable to pay for all the rings. Thus we are asking that you make a donation to help. Last year donations ranged from $1.00 to $500.00. The rings (about $200 each) were paid for and enough money was left over for the purchase of capes for the players to fend off the winter weather as they stand on the sidelines.

I'm sending an email blast to alumni that reads as follows:

"HAPPY NEW YEAR CHS ALUMNI, FRIENDS & FAMILY, once again I am asking for your help. Our Fabulous Clairton Bears won their 5th WPIAL championship and their 4th consecutive PIAA Championship. I have one New Year's Wish from all my blog readers, FB friends, family, & CHS Alumni. My one New Year Wish is that each one of you send at least $1.00 to help out the non-profit organization that has been set up by members of the CHS School Board to help purchase the Championship Rings for our fabulous Clairton Bears. Your donation is tax deductible as a non-profit donation. Please send your donations to the following address:

Clairton Athletic Champions Club, c/o William Bradford, P.O. Box 303, Clairton, Pa 15025

PLEASE SHARE THIS EMAIL WITH YOUR FELLOW CHS CLASSMATES, FRIENDS & FAMILY

 

Thank you CHS Alumni, friends & family!"

A little blogging music Maestro... "We Are the Champions," by Queen.

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

Bears Win #63!

Game. Set. Match. Bravo! The Clairton Bears had a tough game against a tough opponent. Not only was Dunmore tough, they made our boys look like a pee-wee team. The lineman from Dunmore reached a height go 6'7" and weight of 275. Our kids line went 5'10, 5'10, 5,9", six feet even, and only one tipped the scales at an even 200. But once the game started the Bears that looked like cubs against their opponents played like giant Grizzlies. They gave as good as they got, even better. Dunmore, who came into the game with a 14-1 record in a would not be a team that would succumb to the Mercy rule - they only allowed CHS one touchdown per half until the last three minutes of the game. But that was enough for the Bears as they won their fourth consecutive State Championship by a score of 20-0.

Terrence Fort is amazing: Terrence is a CHS alum. Until I met him I did not believe that Terrence Fort was a real person. I thought he was just a ball of energy, as he is never in one place. He travels the country in his job and has an acute interest in his Alma Mater. Terrence, along with others who've assisted, started a group called Reaching the Reachable. It has been about a year since I was honored to be a speaker on behalf of this group. They are all about CHS students pursuing post-secondary success through education, entrepreneurship, and any other means that would enhance members of the Clairton student body. But Terrence also is a rabid Bear fan and he summed up their fourth consecutive victory as follows: "I wish I had the skills to put down on paper what I saw at Hershey on Friday. I saw a depleted team, that was undermanned and undersized. With most of their key players injured and in Pain. Some limping and some holding onto appendages, On the other side I saw a Team that looked like they were part of a College Program. They had several Goliaths that are going to Division 1 schools on their lines. They had two 1000 yard rushers. You see they came out with a 23 Square foot sign that stated the streak ends here and their team busted through it. And in their stands they had all the backing that is provided by the "Steeler Nation". One thing they didn't know. They didn't "KNOW BOUT DAT". They didn't know how much HEART the Clairton Bears have. OMG!!! I watched Time and Again David s

tep around Goliath and crush those "1000 yarders" with losses. I watched the Bears trapped back on their own 5 yard line march down the field, moving chains forward all he way down the field. At that time I was able to see David Slay Goliath. I knew then that they were broken and the Bears were on their way to their 4th straight PA Championship and a record 63d consecutive win. IF OUR KIDS CAN STAND UP LIKE THIS AND MAKE US SO PROUD OF THEM, The least we can do is Mentor them and teach them that even though you have gone out and conquered what has been in front of you for your first 18 years, you now have 60 more to pepare for. RTR Mentoring is having a meeting on Monday the 17th. Most of you know about it. We are going into the school to Mentor the 7th - 9th graders at 9:00 on Tuesday and 10th - 12th immediately following. Your Support is still needed for those that played, those that didn't/don't, and both genders. Bear Pride!! More than just the TEAM TAF/RTR/CEO" (editor's note: the Bears were constantly referred to as Goliath and their opponent David, but the Dunmore line had players who were 6'7" and 245 lbs. while the Bears had one lineman at 215 lbs. The rest were smaller.)

Jim Wessell; major factor: Jim is the former Athletic Director at CHS. He has been a guest on a radio show that went worldwide and has posted game progress of every game on his Facebook page. Now that the run is done for the year Jim has compiled some statistics about the Bears streak, as follow: 

Numbers to think about for this Clairton Senior Class...

Overall Record: 63-1 (best 4 year record ever in PA)
WPIAL Playoff Record: 16-0
PIAA Playoff Record: 12-0

Overall Playoff Record: 28-0

WPIAL Championships: 4
PIAA Championships: 4

Total Points Scored: 2,825 (most ever in PA over a 4 year period)
Total Points Against: 311
Average score over 64 games: 44.141 - 4.859
Only team in PA history to score 600 or more points in 4 consecutive seasons
Only team in PA history to score 700 or more points in 3 consecutive seasons

Only WPIAL team to ever win 4 PIAA State Championships
Only WPIAL team to ever win 4 PIAA State Championships in a row
Only WPIAL team to ever appear in 5 consecutive State Championship games
Only the third team in PA history to win 4 PIAA State Championships in a row (Southern Columbia 5, Berwick 4)
Only the second team in WPIAL history to win 5 consecutive WPIAL Championships (Braddock 5)
Only WPIAL team to ever win 6 WPIAL Championships in 7 years

Longest WPIAL winning streak (63 games)
Longest PIAA winning streak ever (63 games)
Longest current National winning streak (63 games)
13th Longest winning streak ever in the History of High School Football in the United States

Ranked #1 in the PIAA in Class A (maxpreps.com)
Ranked #5 in the PIAA across all classes (maxpreps.com)
Ranked in the top 10 of small school teams in the Nation (maxpreps.com)
Ranked #145 in the Nation across all classes (maxpreps.com)

16 Seniors going on to college, at least 3 at the D-1 level

Clairton is 613-347-41 all-time

'Nuff said!

A little blogging music Maestro... "We Are the Champions," by Queen.

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com

Bears Shine in the Woods!

Bear Nation goes national: In case you missed it, there have been stories about the Clairton Bears written in the New York Times, USA Today, Las Vegas Review-Journal a sports radio show broadcast from Las Vegas,  and a CBS national news spot on the Bears (see below)

Winning football team gives hope to struggling Pa. town - CBS News

#62 challenge: The Clairton Bears had reached the semi-final game for the PA Site Championship. Their opponent was highly touted Port Allegany whose quarterback needed one more TD to tie a state record for touchdown passes. Their star running back held several rushing records. Their record was 13-0. Yes, this would be a formidable opponent on paper. The game was played in a neutral site but the opposing fans were cordial and probably the best fans the Bears had faced in a while. No cat calls. No racial epithets. The team was much the same with no dirty ply and a good, hard-fought first half that saw CHS on the good side of an 8-6 lead. Then, in the second half the Bears awoke from their hibernation. They played like the Bears have played 61 times before and when the smoke had cleared the final score was Clairton 44, Port Allegany 12 (and that last TD came with 40 second's to play but gave their vaunted quarterback his record).

Clairton will meet Dunmore for the state championship this Friday at 1:00 EDT. Here is a clip from a Dunmore area newspaper: "Dunmore's powerful offensive line wore down Bellwood-Antis in the second half and the defense came up with three turnovers as the Bucks advanced to the PIAA Class A championship game with a 40-19 semifinal win Friday night at Central Mountain High School.Dunmore (14-1) will play defending state champ Clairton, a 37-6 (sic) winner over Port Allegany, on Friday at 1 p.m. at Hersheypark Stadium. "It's really unbelievable," said Sal Marchese, whose forced fumble early in the third quarter helped turn a close game into a rout. "All the work we put in and it really pays off. I'm glad we work this hard." Just like the quarterfinal win last week, Dunmore punished an opponent physically in the second half. Daiqwon Buckley rushed for 223 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries, while Austin Seamon added 163 yards - 101 of those and both his touchdowns coming in the second half as the Bucks pulled away from a 19-13 halftime lead."

The game will be televised on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.

Do not lose focus: Somewhere early in the second half, Port Allegany's team quit believing they had a chance to win the game. Once a team does not believe they can win it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Witness the second half when CHS moved the ball at will and scored on series after series with their second and third string playing. The fullback who scored the final CHS TD is 5'5" in his platform shoes!

The offense played well and the defense played magnificently. Long after most baby boomers are gone these kids will tell their grandkids about the magical run by the little school that could and did.... with all odds stacked against them.

That's the good news. The bad news is that CHS is ranked academically among the bottom of schools in PA. That means that even students who are academically superior at the school will struggle in college. I know this from working with college athletes who came similarly academically challenged high schools. It is crucial that two things happen in order for our fellow alumni to be academically competitive in college. First, they need to be taught  college study and survival skills. This is being worked on both in the school and through a program started by Terrence Fort, Ted Kay, and other alumni before last year's championship game. The program is called "Reaching the Reachable," and they've done a fantastic job developing a cadre of successful alumni to address the needs of the students.

Equally important is that those seniors who go to post-secondary schools select schools that will provide academic support services and, particularly for those on athletic scholarships, choose a school that provides academic aftercare. That is, once athletic eligibility is exhausted, there needs to be a program that allows the student who has not completed a degree to come back for free or reduced tuition in exchange for some sort of community service.

The season is about to end but their future is just beginning.

A little blogging music Maestro, "We Are the Champions," by Queen.

Dr. Forgot
email: drforgot@cox.net
http://drforgot.com