Missed Call

Coach Wooden

I think this past week more people were caught talking about sports than usual. Sports affectionado or not, everyone seemed to be moved by Umpire Jim Joyce's botched call and the grace and character that followed. Both the pitcher and the umpire gave us all a lasting lesson on how to handle life when it gets really unfair. I learned this past week that there have only been 20 perfectly pitched games - this would have been game 21 - but it didn't happen - all because of a missed call. I don't remember any of the other guys that pitched a perfect game. (Well, with the exception of Sandy Koufax - any kid that collected baseball cards in the 60's knows that one!) But I have a feeling this missed call will go down into infamy because of the excellent life lesson it taught all of us that witnessed it ( and what it will teach to future children as coaches tell and retell this inspiring story). Someday, we will probably forget the name Armando Galarraga - it will probably show up as a question on Jeopardy about five years from now - but I don't think we will forget how he humbly accepted the umpires call and how he took it like a man.

And speaking of "missed calls", I already miss Coach Wooden. What a guy he was, eh? I've seen many pictures of him in the news lately as the sport's world remembers this great man that passed away on Friday, but I chose the one above because that's how I remember him best - with a rolled up program in his hand. Did you know that he also had a "missed call" and it made all the difference in his career?

He was waiting for a call from the University of Minnesota to be their head basketball coach. The call never came. The call from UCLA, however, did come through and Wooden, thinking Minnesota didn't want him, accepted the offer from UCLA. The next day, the offer came in from Minnesota. Apparently the lines were down because of a bad snow storm and that is what caused the delay. How different college basketball would have been if Coach Wooden would have received the all from Minnesota first!

I am in no way a HUGE sports fan - just a little one - but this past week was a good week for sports. It showed us its good side!

Oh, and one more thing...when Coach Wooden was interviewed for his 92nd birthday, he was asked what he wanted to hear from God when he arrived at the pearly gates. Coach's response?

"Well done!" I think he got his wish, don't you?

Rest in peace, Coach Wooden. And thank you for all that you taught us - on and off the court.

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