The passing of John Wooden, a personal hero of mine, seems like a really good time to pause and reflect on whether we (as a society or the sports industry in general) live up to the standards of excellence he helped establish. On second thought, that might be a pretty depressing analysis.

I was born in southern California and though I didn’t live there very long I was a huge UCLA basketball fan. The Bruins, if you don’t recall, were pretty dominant back in the 1960s and early 70s so it wasn’t as though it was tough to be a fan. The Wizard of Westwood’s success on the court is legendary. He has no peers in any sport. Ten NCAA championships, including seven straight from 1967 to 1973; an 88-game win streak; four perfect 30-0 seasons, are some of the more jaw-dropping records the great man amassed. (more…)