Sculpt
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Speaking of Summitt, just saw this at the trib. Not super in-depth or insightful, more of a trip down memory lane.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...mmitt-lincicome-spt-0703-20160702-column.html
Buddy Ryan, Pat Summitt were tough coaches, but does that always work?
Death should not be an endorsement for bullying, for using fear as a hammer and spite as a spur, not to say that it doesn't work as we collect old school tales of Buddy Ryan and Pat Summitt.
Tough coaches these two, fierce and unrelenting, demanding and controlling, toughening up their players by breaking them down. That's the way.
It's an old tactic, and survivors swear by it. Thanks for staying on me coach. I needed that.
When a coach is described as "hard-nosed" it is meant to be a compliment, meaning, I guess, that he or she can take a punch, though what it usually means is stubborn, strict and generally pig-headed, qualities that are not compliments outside of sports.
Coaches are mean, every one I've ever had and most of whom I've covered. Coaches must be tough. Go back to Rockne and Stagg to find it has been always thus.
Nice guys finish last. So do tyrants, but they do seem to hang around longer.
The coincidence of the passing of both Summitt and Ryan link them and emphasize their similarities — rigid, overbearing, demanding — when the differences are more important.
Summitt had the longer, more demanding road and much greater success, leaving a legacy where none had been. Ryan was basically an old cob who wouldn't listen.
Each became celebrated and emulated, in Summitt's case establishing the blueprint for a sport that pretty much did not exist before her.
What this brings to mind is the question of the best way to win, the best way to lead, the best way to be the best. Tough is easy. Flexible is hard.
Buddy Ryan and Pat Summitt: Two greats, gone
Without doubt the most venerated coach ever in Chicago is Mike Ditka, the one title wonder. Ditka fits the sport and the city, or at least the idea the city has about itself — big shouldered, hard, unflinching, all that — and Ditka will dine out on that notion forever.
Ditka's relationship with Ryan, his defensive coach, was contentious, as it was with his quarterback Jim McMahon, who did what he wanted, making one wonder just exactly what Ditka contributed to the '85 Bears other than image. Hard-nosed netted one Super Bowl.
The greatest of all Chicago coaches is without argument Phil Jackson. Six championships without insulting or ranting or publicly rebuking his players, his owner or fate.
My favorite moment of Jackson's time in Chicago was the night he drew up the final play for Toni Kukoc and Scottie Pippen pouted his was to the bench. Refused to play.
Jackson, and most coaches, would have berated Pippen, would have made sure that the world knew who was in charge, would not have allowed such mutiny to go unpunished. Jackson did none of that. He kept everything within the team and peace prevailed. No one had to choose sides. Rebellion was moot.
And what has Jackson gotten for his even-handed, big picture, cosmic overview of things, other than 12 titles? Grudging applause but generally derision as some sort of lucky fluke who was blessed with great players (some of which is true).
Probably the most decent coach I ever knew was Ray Meyer with DePaul, who managed to keep his job for 42 years with only medium success. Nice guys do finish in the NIT.
I liked Lou Holtz, though I could see how calculating he was. Holtz was a hand-wringer and a manipulator, but Notre Dame has not won a national title since. Better a phony who knows it than a bully who enjoys it.
My favorite baseball manager to pass through Chicago was Jerry Manuel, a man with diverse interests and a healthy perspective, not that any of that helped much in succeeding with the White Sox. It took the fire of Ozzie Guillen to do that.
I liked the idea of Tony La Russa, who went on to be Chicago's great regret. I will say that touchy Don Zimmer, who once charged me in the Cubs clubhouse directly from the shower, all naked, pink and outraged, has a special place among the missed. I don't know Joe Maddon at all, though I see traces of Zimmer.
Whatever works, I guess.
Bernie Lincicome is a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune.
