EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 Television
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

Off-season? What off-season?

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Wednesday March 01, 2000 03:37 PM

Got a comment or question for Dr. Z? Click here.

Serious stuff first. I have received a few queries about my new bride (of almost three years) -- Linda, the flaming redhead whom I have mentioned from time to time in my columns. What does she look like?, etc. So I asked my boss if it would be possible to run a picture. He said O.K. My redheaded bride told me to forget it and hid all the pictures. Does anyone really care or am I just diddling myself? All those who want to see Linda's picture, raise your hands. Or your fingers to the e-mail machine. Now that I have degenerated into the depressing arena of Wholesome Family Entertainment, let me get on with the matters at hand.

Mail Call Selected letters from users to Dr. Z: I just finished reading your "Trio" article. Your insight is refreshing -- no fluff, or rah-rah. My brother and I eagerly await your commentaries, and we believe you have no equal. You are our true hero in the wasteland of sports reporting, an oasis of athletic commentary, heavily saturated with integrity. What you wrote about Thomas and Landry was super. We are lifetime Cowboys fans, raised by a father who was a fan from the beginning. I won't go on about how much I admire Coach Landry, but I appreciate your story. It meant a great deal to me. And coming from a person who is able to transfer his personal integrity into words with power, it means even more. -- Patrick Hodges, Columbus, Ohio Your column about Derrick Thomas, Tom Landry, and Jack Scott was absolutely beautiful. When people ask me about sportswriters who are worth reading, meaning (a) they know what they're talking about, (b) they're possessed of a degree of sympathetic imagination, and (c) they have some respect for the Queen's English, I'm surprised how few names I can come up with. You're at the top. Thanks. -- J. Basset, St. Louis Paul, I just read your piece on Tom Landry, Jack Scott and Derrick Thomas, and your observations about the Cowboys locker room then and now really points out the differences with the game, its structure and the players. I also seem to remember that while Landry was constantly re-loading talent, he had a very strong veteran base that helped set the tone and tenor of the team -- Lilly, Jordan, Lewis, Staubach, Pearson etc. I remember reading your book on Duane Thomas (still have it} and thinking about what a talent he was and how pretty he ran -- what might have been! I also recall reading Dave Meggesey's book and that whole 60's anti-authority outlook about football. I'm sure there was more than a shred of truth in what he was saying, and I applaud you for pointing out your feelings about Jack Scott -- it's amazing to me how we now look back at those days and see things a lot differently. I love your work and hope you'll be doing a book soon on the game. -- Dave Rosenbluth, West Hartford via Bayside Queens Thanks for your most recent column regarding Derrick Thomas, Tom Landry and Jack Scott. It's refreshing to read a sports column from a writer more concerned with getting it right, even when that includes setting the record straight on something they have previously written. What is most apparent to me in your writing is your genuine love and respect for the game and, in this the time of the sports shock journalists, your knowledge of it. --Bill Foster, Greenville, S.C. Your column was among the most moving pieces of work I've ever read, in any field. Try not to beat yourself up too much about Jack Scott. Yes, you made a bad decision. However, you're a commentator and a critic, and as such, to misquote my favorite movie, you are "essential to football." I haven't been reading your columns very long, but I've yet to see you be anything but fair in them. Sometimes harsh, yes, but always fair. You manage to strike a balance between the two that many other columnists don't bother with. I'm not religious, but I truly believe that Derrick Thomas, Tom Landry, and Jack Scott are in a better place. And Jack Scott knows how you feel now. -- Jim Longo, New York City I've just read your weekly column and I enjoyed it, as usual. Naturally, I had never met any of your subjects this week and had never, in fact, heard of Jack Scott. I was often amazed by Thomas's swift destruction of an opponent's passing schemes but really had no other impressions of him. Your personal look was illuminating. As a long-time 49ers fan I only found Landry a glacial obstacle to be overcome. But what REALLY impressed me was your recounting of your history with Jack Scott. As I stated, I was unfamiliar with the name or the man or his work. But it is refreshing to read someone who is willing to admit he made a mistake and to genuinely apologize for it. That is so rare today in this "I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything" society we have become. My hat's off to you, sir. -- Ted Underberg, Sterling, Va. Dr. Z, nice story on the three -- a little weepy there at the end, you almost got a sniffle from me as well. Question: How do you rate Dan Reeves as a coach? I have lived in Dallas, Denver and Atlanta, have admired him for many reasons but he seems to generate as much criticism as he does kudos. Will he be a Hall of Fame coach? His numbers would seem to put him into consideration. Thanks, and have a healthy off-season. --Rick Bowles, Atlanta Why is there no mention of the seven children Derrick Thomas fathered with different women, and how he had no contact with them, or involvement in their lives? For a man who was perceived as so "wonderful" and "compassionate" he is little more than a coward who didn't have the courage and fortitude to be a father. I respected his abilities as a football player, but as a man he gets no respect from me. -- Jim, St. Louis Since I read history I really enjoyed a passing reference you made recently to Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 300 men of the 20th Maine who prevailed at Little Round Top at Gettysburg and won the war. I actually have a license plate holder that honors them: "Gettysburg -- 20th Maine". I wouldn't expect anybody out here in Southern California has any understanding of it at all. I always enjoy your enthusiasm for the old AFL. I've been with the Bills since I was 10. Billy Shaw was more than deserving. Thanks for rooting for him along with Ron Wolfe. I enjoy your work. Your wife sounds very understanding. -- Peter Del Nagro, Tustin, Calif. I'm a big fan. I read your column (and SI, cover to cover) every week. Keep up the good work. I'm wondering what your take is on the Bills salary cap maneuvering. There are all of these people who are pissed at John Butler, but I think he's doing a great job. The Big Three are all past their prime, and to keep them around would have sacrificed the future. I think that the Bills will once again come up with a solid draft to fill the holes, and have the cap room to sign next year's key free agents like Eric Moulds. -- John, Buffalo

Many thanks for the kind words about my last column. I could answer all the letters individually, but it would look like some kind of ego-driven hall of mirrors. So all I can say is thank you to the following: Pat of Columbus, Ohio; Rick of Atlanta; J. Bassett of St. Louis (Great art museum in St. Looie. My wife, who's an artist, and I spent a terrific day there. Easy parking, too); Dave of West Hartford and Bayside; Bill of Greenville, S.C.; Jim of NYC; Ted of Sterling, Va.

Above-mentioned Rick of Atlanta wants to know how I rate Dan Reeves as a coach. Very good with the X's and O's, stubborn when it comes to personnel. It gets a bit personal with him.

Doug of Waukesha, Wisc., and Jim of St. Louis point out the negative side of Derrick Thomas (seven children by five different women), but I think it's unfair to say he abandoned the kids. I never heard Thomas accused of that. They want to know why I didn't mention it in my piece. Well, first of all, I only found out about it later, when the matter of his estate came up. And even if I had known, what am I going to do, write a rip? I mean the poor guy's dead, for goodness sake. I don't admire it, either, but ... well, my column last week was not the time nor place for it. And after all that copping out, let me say that I, too, had creepy feelings when I read about the seven kids. Sooner or later I'll deal with it, in a subsequent piece devoted to athletes and their role in society. But I really think it would have turned last week's column into a yes-but, and I wasn't going to do that. It was just a few personal memories.

Lots more Hall of Fame questions:

Michael of Sioux Falls thinks Swann and Stallworth should both be in. The question is phrased in an interesting way. He says "How can Lynn Swann or even John Stallworth not be in the Hall of Fame?" See that, he has to qualify it with an "even." That means Stallworth is a bit of a reach. I lobby very hard for Swann at the selection meetings. Stallworth? Yes, I think he's deserving, but let's get Swann elected first, then we'll worry about him. I keep telling their presenter, Eddie Bouchette of Pittsburgh, "Bring them up one at a time. You're fighting the odds by introducing them as a paired entry." He never listens.

M. Boro (is that a name or a location?) of New York thinks Dan Hampton is more deserving than Howie Long. I'm all for Hampton for the same reason I was for Long. Both guys were complete players, very sturdy against the run, able to spend a day fighting the double-team. They weren't just sack specialists. Being a TV star actually works against a guy, Dan Dierdorf being the prime example. The selectors are mostly newspapermen, not favorably disposed toward the darlings of the screen. Joram of Hartford wants to know why Jack Youngblood keeps getting passed over. Beats me. I spoke on his behalf in January. Maybe it's because there are too many defensive linemen to choose from and the selectors want to spread it around among other positions -- a weak reason, I know, but I can think of no other one.

Steve of Omaha wants to know what the rap is on Bob Brown. Inconsistency. Someone always points out that yes, he was great, but then adds the kicker, "when he wanted to be."

William P. of Durham asks about Roman Gabriel. I think he made the short list once, but I could be wrong. First of all, few of the selectors, who are mostly young guys, saw him play. The L.A. presenter, Bob Oates of the Times, is the guy to lead the lobbying, but he had his hands full, first with Tom Mack then with Youngblood. When Youngblood makes it, I think Bob will start collecting Gabriel votes. I'm not sure how I'll vote. Probably yes, but it'll depend on who else is on the ballot.

Here's an easy one to answer: Rob of Lexington, Ky., asks why Chuck Noll has been slighted. He hasn't. He's in the Hall of Fame. Why isn't his name regularly included in the roster of alltime greats? Because some of the writers are still mad at him for at times giving impression that he thought they were a bunch of dumb bunnies. It's the same reason why your faithful narrator is not well liked, either.

Peter Del Nagro of Tustin, Calif., shares my feelings about General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the hero of Little Round Top. Well, Pete, he's my alltime favorite military commander, closely followed by Lord Cardigan, who led the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava. (Only because he was so goofy. Do you know what he did after the infamous Charge, in which, incidentally, he managed to penetrate the Russian gun batteries? Retired to his yacht moored in the harbor and spent the evening drinking Champagne). If you ever get up to Portland, Maine, please visit the Chamberlain Museum and give them a donation. They can use it. The place is broke. They've even got tenants living in the upstairs rooms. When I was there I bought all the trinkets they had to offer -- T-shirts, mugs, postcards, military miniatures, the works. Where can I get that license plate holder you mentioned? I'm not kidding.

John of Buffalo defends John Butler, who cut the Big Three. I like John. I think he's one of the really solid GMs in the business. The sad fact about life under the cap is the rude treatment afforded declining superstars. Someone always picks them up, usually for less money. And yes, occasionally they light it up for a year, just to show everybody. Then it's clunk! Finito.

Jeff of Victoria, Texas, is getting himself worked up over the Saints' free agent signings. Let's see what happens in the draft, and further free agentry, before we get too excited. Many knowledgeable people felt that they were a playoff team last season -- firmed up O-line clearing the way for Ricky and away we go. Didn't quite work out that way. My feeling? Well, I'm not sold on the organization, or Tom Benson, the dancing used-car salesman.

Tough question from Joe of Cleveland regarding possible racial motivation behind Dennis Green's quarterback rotation in Minnesota. I don't agree. Don't forget, he benched Cunningham for George. But it does puzzle me why they're so ready to unload George when all we were hearing last year was how he saved the franchise, etc.

Finally, a call for more off-season output from Donovan of Pasadena. I don't mean output by Donovan. I mean output from me. Wants to know what I have to do, anyway? O.K., here's how it us: From late July until the Pro Bowl in February I do not take a day off. Not one. Let's see, figuring two days a week of accrued time, that would earn me 56 days of down time to take care of the hogs and taters and work the stallions on the south 40. Based on a five-day work week, that's 11 weeks I have coming (I'm donating the extra day). I work the league meetings, plus the draft. I get five weeks vacation.

So if I wrote zip in the off-season, it would just about be a wash. Do I demand that? Hell no, I don't. Well, let's put it this way, I whine a little, to no avail. You want me to write more than I do? Explain that, please, to the flaming redhead I'm married to, who'd like to spend some time with her aging, portly husband. Why, I don't know.

Dr. Z's Mailbag will return in two weeks. Got a comment or question for the doc in the meantime? Click here.

 

Related information
Stories
Previous Mailbag: Inside Hall voting
Multimedia
Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.

Copyright © 2000 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.