2011年1月18日星期二

18 Jan 11 Mark Dantonio's Heart Attack Unlikely to Change Coaches' Lifestyles

Al Messerschmidt/Getty ImagesWhat happened to MSU football coach Mark Dantonio was sobering, but about as surprising as tomorrowsunrise.What should be causing chin rubbing and head scratching is why this doesnhappen more often.The heart attack that Dantonio suffered following Saturday Reebok Pittsburgh Steelers #86 Hines Ward Realtree camo Jersey
thrilling victory over Notre DameANY victory over Notre Dame is thrilling in my bookhas brought coaches to their public all over the country, mainly in the form of their weekly press conferences.Theyve all said the same thing, basically.Theyve offered their best wishes for Dantonio and his family. Theyve acknowledged that this is a tough business that theyre in, and full of pressure. They dondeny that they could be the next victim, though they hope not, of course.Then theyve gone back to their 18-hour days and sleeping on the couch in their office and watching film until theyre bleary-eyed.The head football coach at the college and pro levels is like the race car driver. No matter how many of their brethren are struck down, theyre right back at it the following weekend.Im grateful but amazed that this doesnhappen more often. Coaches in football and basketball, especially, drive themselves bonkers. Train your eyes on the basketball coach next time youre at a game. Watch nothing else. Youll be witness to a series of tantrums that would put a two-year-old to shame.How more of them donkeel over is a wonder.Not long after Northwestern football coach Randy Walker tragically passed away in 2006, I was on the phone with then-MSU coach John L. Reebok Pittsburgh Steelers James Harrison Realtree camo Jersey
Smith.Smith gave me the usual somber analysis about his fallen colleague.That when I hit him cold.But coach, youre not going to change the way you do your job, are you, despite what happened to Coach Walker? Youre going to keep working 18-hour days.Smith sheepishly chuckled and admitted that I was right; he wasn about to change one iota.Not to be morbid, but half of the Division I-A coaches could drop dead tomorrow, and it wouldnchange how the other half go about their business.Mark Dantonio was lucky. Sometimes the human heart gives you a warning sign to change your ways, whether it diet, exercise, smoking, what have you.Sometimes it just quits on you, leaving a widow and a grieving family.The procedure that Dantonio underwentthe placement of a stent to open up a closed arteryis fairly common nowadays. As far as heart episodes go, this one was on the lower end of the danger spectrum.So how will Dantonio respond to this warning sign? Will he take his foot off the gas pedal a little bit? Will his Reebok San Francisco 49ers #21 Frank GORE Realtree camo Jersey
return to work be a return to work as before, or will normal take on a new meaning?But Dantonio isnthe proper gauge of the response to this incident. It happened to him, and you canhit closer to home than that.The bigger question is, how will his coaching comrades respond to what happened?My guess is that theyve already responded. Theyve taken their moment to speak to the local press, maybe say a prayer or two for the MSU coach and his family, and reflect.Then itback to the office for another 18 hours of film, practice, and recruiting.You can take a man out of coaching, but you cantake coaching out of a man.

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