Well….out to Phoenix with our friends the Fords. Yeah he is a grad of the University of Arizona. We are Sun Devils! Well, we went over to watch U of A play against our Devils in basketball.
Have to give it to those guys from Tucson they beat us by seven. But, the Devils fought back from an 18 point deficit to go ahead. Not enough horsepower to maintain and win the game though.
U of A has two seven footers – they are pretty good. One freshman and one senior. But I really think that the Devils are on the right track. Bobby Hurley the coach – obviously his name will bring ASU some positive recruiting buzz. Now, can we keep him away from the NBA?
With all the problems in college athletics the pro game gets more appealing to successful college coaches in all sports. Coaching is one of the best jobs you can have….but there are so many pitfalls that can put a coach in jeopardy in the college landscape.
The beauty of the pro game is just that….they are pros. Sure there are issues you have to deal with. But the athlete’s are in charge of their own lives. You don’t have to give lectures to them about how to act….what to do in their personal lives etc. They are responsible for what they do….not you as a coach.
In college as a coach you have to constantly be aware of an athletes actions – not only on the field – but off the field. Often problems are brought to your attention after the fact. Sometimes you don’t even know about a problem until it is too late.
There are many people who judge coaches without even knowing the entire situation. As a coach you might not know the circumstances yourself…..the next thing you know some unknown staffer has supplied ESPN with documents and everyone thinks you are a jackass.
Coaching is hard enough – trying to keep track of 90 plus athletes (football) off the field is incredibly difficult. Plus you might be off campus recruiting – something goes wrong and suddenly you are stupid and accused of not controlling your program.
Yeah pro sports might be a better path for coaches.
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We had a great time in Phoenix and had to concede to Tom that the “kitty cats” from U of A were better than our Devils. I’m thinking ASU will whip up on them for the next several years.
I think this might become an annual trek to the “Grand Canyon” state for the Ford’s and us. Maybe we should make it a little more interesting by making the loser pay for the trip???? Hmm…might be good idea.
Love to see the strength in both Tom and Kathy. So glad to see that their faith is so evident. We are lucky to count them as our friends..
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Hop on the next jet to Albuquerque and off to the “Land of Enchantment” – the great state of New Mexico. Going to spend about ten days here visiting and getting our fill of the best chili in the US. Personally I just can’t get enough of the stuff!
Spending time in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen – Santa Fe!
Santa Fe, not Albuquerque, is the capital of the great state of New Mexico. The city was founded around 1610 by Spanish 
colonists and it is the OLDEST state capital in the United States! So as we say out here “New Mexico is not NEW and it is not MEXICO”.
Santa Fe is very unique with it’s southwestern architecture and truly special cuisine. 
I have suggested many times to friends to visit the state….but to especially explore this fantastic city. You can’t go wrong here!
Although New Mexico is the fifth largest state in the union it only has about two million people residing there. This ranks it as the 36th most populated state. Very large – but not not that many people. But, if you want to see the stars at night and see the most beautiful blue sky during the daylight hours you have to go and visit!
Oh yeah state bird – the ROADRUNNER!
When you look at the Roadrunners “footprint” it is an “X”. Legend behind that is – that way when the devil was looking for the roadrunner he (she or it I guess) could not track him down because he wouldn’t know what direction to look!
*****You know that I have a lot of strange information rattling around in my head!*****
Many people from the east think that New Mexico and Arizona are vast deserts. But you have to watch what you define as a desert. Trust me – the deserts of the southwest are not vast swaths (nice college word there) of sand and cacti.
There are rocks, canyons (snakes…scorpions…Gila monsters etc) mesas, arroyos etc. It is a fascinating landscape. But, northern New Mexico, Northern Arizona are mountainous. For instance Taos, New Mexico has tremendous skiing opportunities – it is at nearly 7000 feet (Denver is 5000!). So trust me northern New Mexico is not in the desert as you may think of it!
Well anyway we are here now!
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Football-wise some things are percolating in Europe and perhaps we can get Sound Mind Sound Body into an “international” mode pretty soon!