Free Republic

Notre Dame has settled on Brian Kelly as the man who can restore its faded glory, just as he turned Cincinnati into a national title contender. Just 10 days after Charlie Weis was fired, it's up to Kelly to revive the fortunes of a team that just completed the worst decade of football in the history of the storied program with a 70-52 record and three losing seasons. ESPN's Chris Mortensen first reported Kelly would take over in South Bend.

Mark Mangino will not return as Kansas football coach, a source close to the situation told Joe Schad of ESPN Thursday night. The team is scheduled to be told at a meeting Thursday evening. Athletic director Lew Perkins launched an investigation into Mangino's treatment of players three weeks ago. The Jayhawks won the first five games of the season before going on a seven-game losing streak. Mangino was 50-48 in eight years -- two wins shy of the school record for a coach. The investigation began after allegedly grabbed, yelled at and poked senior linebacker Arist Wright, who had been...

Bobby Bowden will end his 44-year coaching career after Florida State plays in a bowl game. Bowden will retire as the second winningest coach in major-college football behind Penn State's Joe Paterno. The 80-year-old Bowden has won 388 games at Samford, West Virginia and Florida State, where he spent the last 34 seasons.

Cheeseburger Charlie out at Notre Dame....

Charlie Weis is out as Notre Dame head football coach, a source close to the program told the Daily News. AD Jack Swarbrick has decided to make a change after Weis finished the season with a 6-6 record and four straight losses to Navy, Pitt, Connecticut and Stanford. Weis coached Notre Dame for five years and leaves with a 35-27 record. He has told friends in South Bend he has at least six offers from NFL teams to become their offensive coordinator. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2009/11/30/2009-11-30_source_notre_dame_fires_head_coach_charlie_weis_.html#ixzz0YN6yjvNp

For the first time in his 34 seasons at Florida State as coach, Bobby Bowden seemed unsure if he wanted to continue his remarkable coaching career any longer. Only minutes after the Seminoles were demolished by No. 1 Florida for the second straight season, losing 37-10 in Bowden's final trip to the Swamp, Bowden didn't sound like he'd be coaching at FSU again in 2010. "I want to coach next year, but let me say I need to go home and do some soul searching," Bowden said. Over the last four seasons, as criticism surrounding Bowden mounted as his teams...

Angelo, look at the way your son's eyes darken now. Look how he balls up his fists and uncrosses his legs, as if he's uncomfortable, as if he suddenly remembered someplace he needs to be. Look how the smile on his face—the smile that punctuates all the stories he tells, like the one about Bear Bryant wanting a lane of traffic cleared for his team (the Pennsylvania governor said no), or the time at a coaches' convention that Dan Devine mentioned an unnamed loudmouth coach at Oklahoma, and Barry Switzer shouted, "Switzer!" and raised his hand—look how that grandfatherly smile...

Dungy thought Rush Limbaugh should have had the opportunity to go through the whole process of applying to buy an NFL team. Dungy said that the owners of the teams should have been able to vote on Limbaugh's bid. Not the general public. Dungy said judging potential owners on external things can be very dangerous. It takes a more thorough process. "We don't have any minority ownership in the NFL right now, Dungy said. "It's the same thing."

In honor of John Wooden's 99th birthday, here are 99 things you may, or may not, know about the legendary former UCLA basketball coach: 1. He was born in Martinsville, Ind., on Oct. 14, 1910. 2. Wooden led Martinsville High to the Indiana state title in 1927 and runner-up finishes in 1926 and 1928.

LOS ANGELES -- Legendary former UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden is celebrating his 99th birthday today with the release of a new book that he co-wrote. Wooden coached the Bruins to an unprecedented 10 NCAA championships in his final 12 seasons, including a record seven in a row from 1967 to 1973. ...In addition to his championships and 620-147 record as UCLA's coach from 1948 to 1975, Wooden was acclaimed for the values he espoused. He had three rules for his players -- don't use profanity, be on time and never criticize a teammate.

Title only.

HARDINSBURG, Ky. (AP) -- A Kentucky woman says her 16-year-old son was baptized without her consent when he and fellow football players were taken to a Baptist revival by their coach.

A Kentucky high school football coach used a school bus to take about 20 of his players to his church to be baptized, school officials confirmed.

"In coaching, you've got to have more discipline and you've got to be more strict and just conservative, I think. It fits with the Republicans." So said longtime Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden in an article published by the Wall Street Journal Wednesday titled "Why Your Coach Votes Republican." With the college football season just hours away from kickoff, and traditional conservative values surging throughout the nation, the Journal's piece is as timely at it is fascinating.

American politics are rich with characters and stereotypes—Joe the Plumber, Harry and Louise, Nascar dads and hockey moms, to name a few. But one persistent type hasn't gotten much attention: the Republican football coach.

----snip---- There's no evidence that coaches with a conservative bent are better coaches or more likely to get jobs. Football coaches aren't the most diverse group, which may help explain their political similarities. Still, could it be that football coaches, just by the nature of the job, are more comfortable on the right end of the political spectrum? "I'd say that sounds likely—very likely," said Bobby Bowden, the longtime Florida State coach and an outspoken Republican. Mr. Bowden, a 79-year-old native Alabaman, describes himself as a lifelong conservative who—like many white Southerners of his generation—migrated from the Democratic Party to...

In Texas this week former Colts NFL coach Tony Dungy talked about faith and Michael Vick's return to the NFL. Dungy who visited Vick while he was in prison on the dog fighting conviction asked Vick: "I asked Michael, 'Where was the Lord in all of this?' because I wanted to know about his personal faith in Jesus."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino told police he had sex and paid for an abortion for the woman accused of trying to extort him for $10 million, a newspaper reported Tuesday. The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported on its Web site that Pitino told police he had been drinking in a Louisville restaurant and had sex with Karen Sypher in August 2003. The police report said he denied allegations by Sypher that he raped her after the restaurant closed and at another time somewhere else. He said later he gave her $3,000 for an abortion. Sypher went to...

<p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A newspaper is reporting that Louisville coach Rick Pitino told police he had sex and paid for an abortion for the woman accused of trying to extort him for $10 million.</p>

The USA Today coaches poll is the first hint at who the favorites are in college football. Today, the USA Today coaches poll put the usual suspects at the top. Obviously, the USA Today coaches poll had to put Florida at the top, since they are the national champion and Tim Tebow is back.

Orlando, Fla. - Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz is mulling a run for Congress in Florida as a Republican, a GOP strategist said Tuesday. Holtz could decide in the next several weeks whether to seek the central Florida congressional seat held by Democrat U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, said the strategist who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to talk about the matter. The 72-year-old Holtz has never run for office. He has worked as an analyst at ESPN since retiring from his last coaching stint at the University of South Carolina at the end of the 2004...

WASHINGTON - After earning nearly 250 wins on the college gridiron, former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz is eyeing another competition -- as a candidate for Congress in Central Florida.

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Joe Gibbs has guided teams to three Super Bowl championships and three Sprint Cup titles, so his legacy as a sporting icon would seem more than secure. But the man still known affectionately as "Coach" around the hallways of Joe Gibbs Racing says it is more important to be remembered for words and wisdom than for wins. "I'm going to be in an old-age home saying, 'You know, I coached the (Washington) Redskins and owned a NASCAR team,' and the other guys will say, 'Get this nut out of here,' " Gibbs, 68, says, laughing. "How much...

HONOLULU -- Hawaii coach Greg McMackin was suspended for 30 days without pay and has volunteered to take an additional 7 percent pay cut from his $1.1 million salary for making a derogatory comment while describing Notre Dame's chant before last year's Hawaii Bowl. In a room full of players, assistant coaches and boosters, a tearful McMackin addressed reporters late Friday after meeting with school officials for several hours. "I just want to say I made a big mistake. I want to apologize to everyone and anyone that I offended with my remarks," he said. "I'm committed to do whatever...

HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii coach Greg McMackin apologized Thursday for making a derogatory remark while describing Notre Dame's chant during a dinner banquet leading up to last year's Hawaii Bowl. McMackin used the gay slur during a media briefing at the Western Athletic Conference football preview in Salt Lake City. After the remark, he uttered it two more times while trying to explain himself. After the briefing, McMackin returned to the reporters and apologized for using the "inappropriate" word.

Dearborn, Mich., Jul 29, 2009 / 06:09 am (CNA).- A federal lawsuit has been filed against a Michigan high school and its Muslim principal, charging that a respected wrestling coach’s contract was not renewed because of anti-Christian bias and his association with another coach who ran a wrestling camp where a young Muslim converted to Christianity.Gerald Marszalek had coached wrestling for 35 years at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan. According to the Thomas More Law Center, which filed the suit, he had achieved a “legendary status” in the wrestling community through his numerous victories and his students’ success in...

DETROIT, MI - A coach who's in the Michigan Wrestling Association Hall of Fame has filed a federal lawsuit against Dearborn Public Schools and the principal of Fordson High School. Gerald Marszalek claims he was fired after 35 years because of his Christian beliefs. Marszalek says his troubles began in 2005 when a minister lost his job as a volunteer assistant coach after introducing Muslim students to Christianity during a private off-campus wrestling camp. Marszalek, who also is Christian, said his contract wasn't renewed in 2008 because of his religious beliefs and his association with the minister. Dearborn has a...

A high school hall-of-fame and Christian wrestling coach in Dearborn, Mich., claims he was muscled out of his long-tenured coaching job by the school's principal, a devout Muslim, because the administrator was furious over a student wrestler who had converted to Christianity from Islam. Gerald Marsazalek has coached wrestling for 35 years at Dearborn Public Schools, amassing more than 450 wins and, in addition to being added to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, was named "Sportsman of the Year" by the All-American Athletic Association. Despite Marsazalek's success, however, Principal Imad Fadlallah of Dearborn's Fordson High School...

Will consult other ex-footballers who transitioned to CongressSam Wyche, pioneer of the "no-huddle" offense, is taking his time to consult other ex-football players turned politicians about running for Congress. Sam Wyche, the longtime National Football League coach who led the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl, is now looking to pursue a career in congressional politics. Wyche told POLITICO he’s exploring a campaign to succeed Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-S.C.), who is leaving his House seat to run for governor. “I’ve had a number of people ask me to consider it, which is very flattering. I just now need to see...

The soldiers expressed their gratitude over and over to the NFL coaches who made the trip to Iraq. "They kept thanking us," said the Tennessee Titans' Jeff Fisher. "We kept thanking them." Fisher, the New York Giants' Tom Coughlin, the Baltimore Ravens' John Harbaugh, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden are taking part in the first NFL-USO coaches tour over the Fourth of July weekend. A world they knew only through the distant glimpses of news reports turned very real for the coaches as they met with hundreds of soldiers in three...

(NEW YORK - June 30, 2009) - This week's July 6, 2009, issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, on newsstands tomorrow, features Ed Thomas, head football coach at Aplington-Parkersburg (Iowa) High School, with the billing A GOOD MAN DOWN - TRAGEDY IN THE HEARTLAND: THE MURDER OF A BELOVED HIGH SCHOOL COACH. It was Thomas who had led the townspeople of Parkersburg out of the rubble of a tornado last year, showed them how to live a Christian life and brought honor to a football field he mowed himself. What they can't understand is why Thomas was gunned down by a former...

PARKERSBURG, Iowa — Police say a 24-year-old man charged with murdering a prominent Iowa high school football coach was supposed to have been taken to a hospital psychiatric ward after leading police on a car chase. Cedar Falls Police Chief Jeff Olson says he was told Butler County Sheriff's deputies would take Mark Becker to the ward after taking a baseball bat to a Cedar Falls home and leading police on a chase Saturday night. The Sheriff's Office declined to comment on whether deputies took Becker to the ward. Olson says Becker was released from custody at some point but...

Aplington-Parkersburg High School football coach Ed Thomas was shot multiple times this morning at the school’s weight room and died a short time later at a hospital, officials have confirmed. Thomas was shot at point blank range, including once in the head, according to the school's business manager Pat Gosch. No one else was injured in the incident. The family of Ed Thomas released a statement through Covenenant Medical Center in Waterloo: "The family of Ed Thomas would like the media to know that Ed passed away shortly after arriving at Covenant Medical Center," the statement read. Sports secretary Sue...

Police have charged a 24-year-old former player in the fatal shooting of a prominent Iowa high school football coach.

TV's "Coach" doesn't seem too happy about Obamanomics... and he blew off some steam yesterday on Glenn Beck's Fox News show... Saying that he's considering becoming a tax protestor. EC thinks this is GREAT

Craig T. Nelson said on the popular Fox News Glenn Beck show today that he was going to stop paying taxes and was willing to go to jail for it. The conversation sounded like John Galt's famous speech in the classic 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

OC Family Grateful Editor: Saturday, April 25, 2009 was a beautiful day, and it was made even more wonderful by the outpouring of affection expressed toward Captain Robert S. Craig at his Beach Memorial Service. The Craig children and family appreciate all that was done to honor our “Pop,” a man so many in Ocean City have known and loved for so many years. The Beach Memorial was truly memorable and more special than we could have possibly imagined. We have many people to thank for their efforts in making it happen. We learned very quickly that organizing such an...

(At right) Flanked by friends and family members, a wreath is carried down the beach to be released into the ocean in memory of Craig, "founding father" of the Beach Patrol. Carrying the wreath is the current head of the organization, Capt. Butch Arbin, who is flanked by Craig's son, Robert Craig, and grandson, Christopher Craig. (Above) Sean Williams pushes a surf board, carrying the wreath and the ashes of Capt. Craig, toward a Coast Guard boat, which released the wreath farther from the shore.

Former Pistons and Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Daly died Saturday morning in Jupiter, Florida with his family by his side. The 78-year-old was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that Tony Dungy will meet with suspended QB Michael Vick in early May. Dungy is expected to be a kind of sponsor for Vick as he attempts to achieve reinstatement. Mortensen also said that Vick is very likely to be let back in the league this season.

(Butler County, Ohio) A 37-year-old marketing teacher and cheerleading coach at Butler Tech, Lori Epperson, resigned her position last Thursday after being investigated for taking four Edgewood High School cheerleaders to a gay male strip club in Dayton. Butler Tech spokesman, Bill Solazzo, said the female students were all 17 or 18 years old. According to Solazzo, the girls -- all cheerleaders at Edgewood High School -- had approached the teacher about the strip club idea. The girls were students in Epperson's marketing class offered in the Edgewood schools through the Butler Tech program. Epperson also previously served as a...

Ron Jones with CBS 13 in Sacramento has the story about a local woman who was fired from her job as a cheerleading coach after she turned up in Playboy magazine. "The girls are supposed to look up their coaches," says one concerned parent at Casa Robles High School. Carlie Christine bared all, all over the internet. Casa Robles High School officials in Orangevale confirm with CBS13 that their girl's cheerleading coach, Carlie Christine, was the one who posed nude in a playboy centerfold. Christine is also Playboy's 'cyber girl of the week.' Parents and some students, who did not...

News Release: April 8, 2009 Memorial Service planned to honor Captain Robert S. Craig Ocean City, MD – A memorial service for Captain Robert (Bob) S. Craig will be held 3 p.m. Saturday, April 25 on the beach at North Division Street. Captain Craig passed away on Saturday, March 28 at the age of 90. Captain Craig joined the Ocean City Beach Patrol in 1935 and served as its captain from 1946 until retiring in 1987. Captain Craig is credited with building the Ocean City Beach Patrol into the professional organization it is known as today. When Captain Craig turned...

(April 3, 2009) The man who not only epitomized the Ocean City Beach Patrol, but also built it into a serious and professional organization, passed away Saturday. When Capt. Robert (Bob) S. Craig turned 90 last July, a competition, dinner and slide show honored him for his 52 years as a town employee and member of the Beach Patrol. Thousands knew Craig from his years guiding the Beach Patrol and taking it from a small, relatively unskilled group of young men to a large group of highly skilled young men and women. Capt. Butch Arbin, the current head of the...

OCEAN CITY – Ocean City lost a treasured icon this week when Captain Robert S. Craig, who shepherded the Beach Patrol through decades of change and inspired his young charges for half a century passed away at the age of 90. Captain Craig, as he was known for decades not only by the thousands of lifeguards who worked with him and for him but also by the countless millions of local residents and visitors to the resort area, passed away last Saturday at the Coastal Hospice in Salisbury at the age of 90. A former schoolteacher and coach, Captain Craig...

President Barack Obama is filling out his advisory council on faith-based groups without appointing a well-known football coach, who was reportedly invited to the join the panel but drew fire from liberal groups for his opposition to gay marriage. On Monday, the White House said Obama named a diverse group of nine Americans to join the 16 designated when the board to advise his Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Initiative was announced two months ago. However, former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy is not on the list the White House distributed Monday. Dungy’s potential appointment drew flak from liberal groups such...

The White House has invited recently retired NFL Coach Tony Dungy, whose outspoken Christian faith fueled his 2007 support for a gay marriage ban and has won accolades from evangelical leaders, to join its Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, U.S. News has learned. The invitation is likely to draw praise from conservative evangelical groups and criticism from liberals and gay rights activists. Dungy has long been active with evangelical Christian charities like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Prison Crusade Ministry, along with other nonprofit groups, including Big Brothers Big Sisters and the United Way. Leading the...

SCITUATE, Mass. - The coach of a soccer team for 6- and 7-year-old girls has resigned after receiving criticism for a season-opening e-mail sent to parents. Michael Kinahan wrote in his resignation letter to the board of the Scituate Youth Soccer League that people failed to see the humor in his e-mail, in which he said "losing is for losers" and encouraged parents to feed their daughters "undercooked red meat." Kinahan, who dubbed his team "Green Death," said the e-mail was meant to give parents a "chuckle."

SCITUATE — A girls soccer coach who told parents of his 6- and 7-year-old charges that he expected his players to “kick ass” has resigned. Michael Kinahan says he “meant to give parents a chuckle” but that people took his message on a the team he dubbed “Green Death” the wrong way. In an e-mail message to parents last week, Kinahan wrote that the girls on his team would “fall, get bumps, bruises and even bleed a little. Big deal, it’s good for them (but I do hope the other team is the one bleeding). “The political correctness police are...

FOX25, myfoxboston - A youth soccer coach is off the job after sending home a shocking letter to his team of 6 and 7-year-old girls. The letter didn't go over so well with parents and the Scituate soccer board and the coach has since resigned. This is Michael Kinahan's letter: