Physician’s presence will be missed on HHS, Tabor sideline

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 23 August 2011 14:56

One person has been on the sidelines at more Hills­boro High School and Tabor College home football games than anyone else I know during the past 24 years. Whoever is in second probably isn’t even close.

This person isn’t a coach, football player, newspaper reporter or statistician.

This person never even played sports competitively while growing up.

Technically, Dr. Randy Claassen wasn’t required by the rules of football to be on the sidelines, although it’s advisable in a sport as violent as football that someone with his skills should be. Maybe that’s why HHS and Tabor did the prudent thing by having Dr. Claassen available on the sidelines since 1986, just in case something unfortunate happened.

Dr. Claassen is much...

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What if nobody knows your name after all?

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 09 August 2011 15:53

How is it possible that the most gifted and talented people in the world may be household names and recognizable to observers of their respective careers, but virtual nobodies to those who don’t share a passion for what they do?

Believe it or not, not everyone would know Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, LeBron James, Tom Brady or A-Rod if they met them on the street.

Even though these famous people would be recognized by millions, there are millions of people who wouldn’t know them if they showed up at the front door.

Early one morning on Jan. 12, 2007, a young musician wearing jeans, long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap took his position against a wall in a Washington, D.C., metro station.

In the book...

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Take a spin on the coaching carossel

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 26 July 2011 17:48

Carousels have been around for a long time—in fact, much longer than I realized. The carousel, or merry-go-round as it is called on the playground, dates back to about 500 A.D. But that’s not the carousel we’re considering today. Rather, it’s the coaching carousel in college athletics.

Every school faces challenges when coaching positions open. For some, like former coach Dean Smith at North Carolina, the question is how to replace a legend.

Whenever a coaching position opens, especially in prominent programs, the coaching dominoes fall faster than raindrops during a Kansas thunderstorm. Consider what transpired when longtime Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams announced his retirement about a month after the basketball...

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Being the best pays off (usually)

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Tuesday, 12 July 2011 15:54

Anytime an athlete is the best at his or her sport, good things tend to happen to that person’s annual income.

A recent column on ESPN.com listed the best-paid athletes in 30 sports. I found the information enlightening, not only in terms of the amount of money some athletes are paid, but the sports named on the list.

Making a list of sports isn’t as easy as you think. In some cases, there seems to be a fine line between what’s simply a game or activity and what is considered a sport.

In any case, the list represents official base salary or earnings from the most recently completed season or calendar year, and excludes endorsements, appearance fees, sponsorship money and other sources of extra income, unless otherwise noted...

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