This is an interview I did for Review Magazine, with Fresno State’s legendary coach, Jim Sweeney, over a couple of days in late August of 1996. At the time, his brilliant career at Fresno State University was coming to a close, in what was his 20th season with his beloved Bulldogs. His 201 Division One victories, stretched over 32 seasons put him in an elite group with friends of his, like Bear Bryant of Alabama, Woody Hayes of Ohio State and Joe Paterno of Penn State.
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Basketball transforms buddies into family
This was a great moment. I knew I was experiencing something I would remember for a long time. My Sunday afternoon basketball buddies and I had just finished another two-hour session of full court, action-packed (at least in our eyes) serious, full-court basketball. Most of the time (we’ve been playing in the same junior high gym in Clovis, California, on Sunday afternoons, for over 17 years) we stagger out after some cooling down and conversation. This particular Sunday however, it seemed1ike everyone was in a hurry to leave, and the 14 or 15 participants emptied out pretty ·quickly, leaving ·just me sitting there on a bleacher bench, staring at an empty gym. As the voices from the departing players faded into the small-town evening, I sat there by myself, blissfully soaked ·in sweat, and zeroing in on the moment.
It Was Only A Dream
Who knows how long dreams really last? I guess there are some different opinions on that question, but who really knows for sure? Some say the dream state is a relatively short period, others say they can seemingly last for hours. Well, whether they last for a short time or not, I recently woke up from one terrific dream, and I have to say that I’m truly sorry that it didn’t last longer, like forever, for example.