Ron Maly has been watching the parade go by for a long time. Parades are fun, life is fun. When Ron was a kid in Cedar Rapids, he wanted to enter an essay contest, and he did. He wrote about Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees being his favorite baseball player. For finishing second in the contest, Ron won a Louisville Slugger baseball bat autographed by DiMaggio. Ron later wanted to be the first person in his family to attend college, and he was. He earned a degree in political science from the University of Iowa, and did what all political science majors do. He became a sportswriter. He had, after all, covered high school football, basketball and baseball games for the Cedar Rapids Gazette while he worked parttime during his university days. Ron wanted to sit in the press box and write about an Iowa-Minnesota football game, and he did. It happened while he was the sports editor at the Albert Lea [Minn.] Tribune, and the game was at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Ron wanted to cover a World Series, and he did. Also when he was working for the Albert Lea newspaper. Ron wanted to cover Rose Bowls, Sugar Bowls, Orange Bowls, Cotton Bowls, Holiday Bowls, a Freedom Bowl, a Sun Bowl, a Super Bowl and NCAA basketball tournaments, and he did those things after he moved to Des Moines. Ron was a four-time sportswriter of the Year in the state of Iowa [the years were 1977, 1978, 1994 and 1996]. In 2006, he was named a charter member of the University of Iowa's media Wall of Fame in the Kinnick Stadium press box. A photo of the plaque that's displayed in the press box is displayed above this story. Following Ron's retirement from the newspaper business, a publisher asked him if he wanted to write a book about the rich football tradition at the University of Iowa, and he did. The hardback version of "Tales from the Iowa Sidelines" was a best-seller, and so was the revised, softback version. Now he's been asked by his publisher to update the book for a second time. He's in the process of doing that at the present time. Ron considers being asked to update a best-selling book for the second time to be the supreme compliment, considering the Hawkeyes won just four games in the 2012 season. When Ron isn't working on books, he's busy traveling and spending time with his family. Indeed, he attends the athletic, theatrical and musical [both vocal and instrumental] events in which his six grandchildren participate. He also writes about anything that interests him for his many websites.

John Wooden

By Ron Maly

John Wooden coached UCLA in 767 basketball games, and I was on hand for nearly a dozen of them.

I was in the arena when the Wizard of Westwood claimed one of his 10 NCAA championships, and I was in the arena when he lost a game in the semifinal round of another Final Four.

I was in the arena at South Bend, Ind., in January, 1974, when Notre Dame ended an 88-game winning streak for Wooden and his Bruins, 71-70.

On that afternoon, 6-11 center Bill Walton--injured back and all--played.

Two nights earlier, I had been in Chicago Stadium to see a UCLA team methodically smash Iowa, 66-44, without Walton being in the lineup because of his injury.

Whenever I was in southern California in the week prior to the Rose Bowl football game, I always hoped UCLA was playing a home basketball game at Pauley Pavilion in Westwood so I could again closely observe Wooden's magic.

I jotted down some of the dates and scores of the games after hearing the sad news yesterday that Wooden had died at 99 years of age.

John Wooden was one of the major reasons I enjoyed being a sportswriter.

I certainly didn't know the man well. I'm not sure many writers did.

He was someone who always seemed low-key on the UCLA bench and everywhere else.

He had the reputation of never getting too excited about a victory--of which there were many--or too depressed about a defeat--of which there were few.

But maybe that low-key stuff wasn't always the case.

Wooden usually had that folded game program tailored to look like a cylinder in his hand, and people would sometimes tell me he'd occasionally let the referees know how he felt about their whistle-blowing without everyone else in the arena knowing it.

John Wooden's teams won 10 NCAA championships between 1964 and 1975, including seven in succession.

On UCLA's way to the 1969 title at Louisville, of course, it survived a major scare from Maury John's Drake team in the semifinal round.

UCLA finally won, 85-82, and went on to pummel Purdue, 92-72, in the championship game.

John Wooden has been called America's best basketball coach ever, and I believe it.

I also believe no one will ever win 10 national titles and seven straight again.

Not with players these days leaving college so they can compete professionally after one or two seasons.

The dynasties are over. They ended when Wooden retired.

He was quite a coach.

And quite a man.

Hurry, Somebody Wake Up Joe Torre and Tell Him How Bad His Dodgers Are

Save me a seat at the graduation party. I'm almost ready.

I'm planning to walk about 25 feet in a few minutes to congratulate the neighbor girl for making it through high school and to wish her good luck when she starts new pre-veterinary classes at Iowa State late in the summer.

This world needs all the good veterinarians it can get, and the neighbor girl will be an outstanding one.

Meanwhile, for those of you who choose to live in the previous century and have to depend on newspapers for your baseball scores, I have a bonus for you.

In a game I wanted neither team to win, the St. Louis Cardinals survived a feeble Los Angeles Dodgers offense and a 65-minute rain delay last night in a 2-1 victory before more than 50,000 spectators who either left the ballpark early or fell asleep in their seats.

I'd been watching the game on the Cardinals' TV network, but had fallen asleep by the time it ended. Evidently, so had Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who hasn't been awake for much of the season.

Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick, who is a perfect example of how watered-down major league baseball is these days, hit a two-run homer to win the game for St. Louis. Ten years ago, he'd have been in Double-A.

The rain delay was the second this season at the Dodgers' park, which has had 17 rainouts since the place opened in 1962 -- and none since April 17, 2000.

St. Louis is still one game behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central, which is the only thing that matters.


*

Hey, it's a good thing Iowa State doesn't need to sell any season tickets to its 2008-2009 basketball games yet. The market would be pretty damn bleak. I'm trying to figure out how coach Greg McDermott can expect anyone to have interest in his team. Players -- good players, bad players and so-so players -- keep bailing out of his program. Pretty soon the only guy left will be the ballboy. If you ask me, McDermott is a lot like mike gartner , whose time with the State Board of Regents has been a joke. Nobody has confidence in either guy.

*

The next time somebody tries to tell you the newspaper business isn't in awful shape, refer him or her to what's happening at the Washington Post.

The Post is a paper that likes to think of itself as one of the world's best. If that's the case, the business is doing even worse than all of us thought.

The Post says more than 100 reporters, editors, photographers, artists and others will take early retirement packages offered by the company as a way to cut costs, reducing the newsroom staff by at least 10 percent.

The paper says, "A number of familiar bylines will leave for good or no longer appear regularly in the paper, including those of military affairs reporter Thomas E. Ricks; feature writers Linton Weeks and Peter Carlson; health reporter Laura Sessions Stepp; science reporter Rick Weiss; the husband-and-wife foreign correspondent team of John Ward Anderson and Molly Moore; critics Stephen Hunter, Desson Thomson and Tim Page; Federal Diary columnist Stephen Barr; Weekend writers Richard Harrington and Eve Zibart; and Metro reporters Sue Anne Pressley Montes and Yolanda Woodlee.

"Political dean David Broder took the package but will remain on contract; his column will continue to appear in the paper. Sports columnist and ESPN announcer Tony Kornheiser also took the offer, but his most recent full-length column in the Post appeared in 2005. Since then, his presence has been largely limited to printed excerpts from his daily Talking Points video, which he planned to continue.

The list includes a number of Pulitzer Prize winners, including Ricks, Broder and Hunter."

Pretty sad stuff.

*

Here's an item you'll never see in Biz Buzz: In some of the strangest staffing I've heard of in years, Dan Johnson evidently will continue covering the Barnstormers for the paper. Johnson, of course, has been and continues to be the paper's horseracing expert. He previews the nation's biggest horse events, but doesn't cover them because, I'm guessing, the bosses tell him the paper can't afford it financially. So Johnson will combine horseracing and Barnstormers coverage. In his spare time, he'll handle another job at which he does very well -- covering women's basketball. To say the paper gets its money's worth out of Johnson is a huge understatement. One of these days he'll no doubt get his reward by being offered an early buyout.

*

The last time I checked the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Jim Ecker was referred to as a sports columnist and not a sports reporter. Looks to me like Ecker has been promoted. If so, good for him because he's a good guy.

*

Dogs kept on short leash at farmers' market

-- Des Moines Register headline

nothing can compare to the koehn family reunion on a hot day in july, when the food is tasty, the drinks are cold and the tales are tall

University Of Iowa Names 20 Of Us To Be First Wall Of Fame Members In New Kinnick Stadium Press Box. Thanks, Iowa. Thanks, Bob Bowlsby

The following announcement came today from the University of Iowa:

IOWA CITY, IA. -- The new press box at Kinnick Stadium will feature a Wall of Fame to recognize members of the news media and the University of Iowa’s own public relations staff.

“We want to honor those individuals who have covered Hawkeye football with integrity, accuracy, and fairness over a long period of time,” said Iowa Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby, in making the announcement. “We believe a Wall of Fame in the new press box at Kinnick Stadium is an appropriate way to do so.”

The Wall of Fame’s first class includes 20 men who will be recognized at Iowa’s football game Oct. 28 with Northern Illinois. Together, they have a total of 780 seasons covering Hawkeye football.

“This is an extraordinary group that has reported on the past 84 years of Iowa football,” said Bowlsby. “They knew all the great coaches and players during that time, and witnessed all the great games. We are fortunate to have had them chronicle the Hawkeyes.”

Listed alphabetically, they are:

Bob Brooks, WSUI Iowa City, 1943-48; KCRG Cedar Rapids, 1949-76; KHAK Cedar Rapids, 1977-2000; KMRY Cedar Rapids, 2000-present.

Bob Brown, Ft. Dodge Messenger, 1956-1993.

Gene Claussen, KXIC Iowa City, 1948-86. (Deceased)

Tait Cummins, Cedar Rapids Gazette, 1939-47; WMT Cedar Rapids, 1948-70. (Deceased)

Al Grady, Iowa City Press-Citizen, 1951-87; Voice of the Hawkeyes, 1988-2002. (Deceased)

Ron Gonder, KRNT Des Moines, 1965-68; WMT Cedar Rapids, 1969-99.

Jerry Jurgens, Quad City Times, 1945-77. (Deceased)

Ron Maly, Des Moines Register, 1959-99.

Bert McGrane, Des Moines Register, 1922-63. (Deceased)

Frosty Mitchell, KGRN Grinnell, 1960-85; WMT Cedar Rapids, 1986-96.

John O’Donnell, Quad City Times, 1925-67. (Deceased)

Gus Schrader, Iowa City Press Citizen, 1950; Cedar Rapids Gazette, 1951-78. (Deceased)

L.E. “Ike” Skelley, Associated Press, 1929-58. (Deceased)

Russ Smith, Waterloo Courier, 1955-90.

Bud Suter, UI Athletic Relations Director, 1955-74. (Deceased)

Buck Turnbull, Des Moines Register, 1952-93.

Maury White, Des Moines Register, 1946-88. (Deceased)

Eric Wilson, UI Sports Information Director, 1924-68. (Deceased)

George Wine, UI Sports Information Director, 1968-93.

Jim Zabel, WHO Des Moines, 1949-2000

Brooks, still active, will cover his 63rd Iowa football season this fall. Zabel, Grady and Schrader were on the scene for at least 50 years each.

McGrane and Wilson covered the Hawkeyes when they still played on the east side of the Iowa River and, along with Skelley, reported on the first game at Kinnick Stadium in 1929. Those three, plus Cummins and O’Donnell, chronicled the legendary 1939 Ironmen, starring Nile Kinnick.

Cummins, Grady, Maly, McGrane, Turnbull and Wine have all written books on Hawkeye football.

The Wall of Famers were selected by a committee appointed by Bowlsby. Additional individuals will be honored in future years.

* * *

Now for some personal comments from me.

Thank you, University of Iowa.

Thank you Bob Bowlsby.

Thank you, George Wine, and everyone else else who had something to do with establishing the Wall of Fame.

I am humbled.

On behalf of all of us in the charter group, I am grateful that Iowa and Bowlsby [pictured on the left] chose to honor those who were able to share the rich tradition of University of Iowa football by writing and talking about it over all these years.

"This was all Bob Bowlsby's idea," said George Wine. "He asked me one day if I'd like to get involved with the Wall of Fame in the new press box.

"It's a nice thing for him to do, and I think it's appropriate. He has an appreciation for people like you and the others who covered the Hawkeyes for all those years. Bob is an Iowa native who has followed the scene down here for a long time."

[Bowlsby is winding up 15 years as Iowa's athletic director and is taking a similar job at Stanford. He spearheaded the drive to make the $90 million improvements in Kinnick Stadium -- the new press box being a big part of it. Bowlsby's successor is Gary Barta of the University of Wyoming].

"Bowlsby explained to me earlier this year what he had in mind for the Wall of Fame, and said he needed someone to pull it all together," Wine said. "So I told him I'd think about it. I got hold of Phil Haddy and Tom Bauer. The three of us basically selected the 20 people for the Wall of Fame."

Haddy succeeded Wine as Iowa's sports information director in 1993 and has been in that department since 1971. Bauer has worked in various capacities at the university for many years.

"Once my committee got the 20 names together, we ran them by Bowlsby," Wine said. "He told me to start working on having plaques made of the 20 members. I have the plaques ordered, and I think they'll be very nice-looking.

"They will be gold, etched in black. I'm going over to the new press box Friday to determine which wall they'll be on."

Wine said the Wall of Fame will be in the press section on the fourth level at the north end of the new press box.

It's sad that all 20 members can't be present for the Oct. 27 dinner at the Iowa Athletic Club and the Oct. 28 game at Kinnick Stadium.

As I think of that, the years are on rewind in my mind as I write.

I think of those no longer with us.

I think of Gus Schrader, the longtime sports editor at the Cedar Rapids Gazette who gave me my first sportswriting job when I was 15 years of age. I once said I'd work at the Gazette for nothing. And that's about what I got. I was paid 75 cents an hour. But I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

I think of Bert McGrane, who came out of the Grantland Rice school of sportswriting and wrote such wonderful game stories for the Register. I had the pleasure of working in the same office with Bert late in his career. As a 24-year-old, first-year copy editor/one-night-a-week bowling-columnist, I'd use his typewriter to write stories -- hoping there'd still be some magic in the keys after he'd gone home for the day.

I think of Maury White, the sports columnist/reporter who was still showing up in the Register's offices in his 80s. He died the way he wanted to die. He collapsed on the newsroom floor -- probably after he'd written something clever --and went to the big press box in the sky a few days later. No one worked harder than Maury.

I think of Al Grady, the Iowa City writer and Hawkeye sports historian who defied death several times -- probably because he wanted to see one more Iowa victory over Michigan. If anyone bled black-and-gold, it was Al.

I think of Tait Cummins, the sportswriter-turned-broadcaster whom I listened to as a kid regularly on WMT-radio in Cedar Rapids.

I think of John O'Donnell, the man who knew everybody and called every one of them "Coach."

I think of Eric Wilson, the intense veteran of 44 years in the information business at Iowa.

I think of Bud Suter, who told me over lunch in 1965 that he thought Forest Evashevski would came back after his earlier success to coach Iowa again. Too bad it didn't happen.

I am honored to be included in the same list of Wall of Famers as my friend Buck Turnbull. Buck and I still exchange war stories. The best thing was that both of us were fortunate to cover sports during the golden age at the Register.

There are, of course, some talented broadcast heavyweights included in the List of 20.

One is Jim Zabel, who spent the last half of the 20th century living and dying with the Hawkeyes for WHO-radio in Des Moines. In his golden years, he still works at the station.

Another is Bob Brooks, the veteran Cedar Rapids announcer who still shows up for every Hawkeye game -- home and away. He watched Nile Kinnick and the Ironmen play in 1939, he'll be watching Drew Tate and the Hawkeyes in 2006.

Another is Ron Gonder, a man I got to know when he worked for KRNT in Des Moines in the 1960s, then went on to a standout career at WMT in Cedar Rapids. He's a master storyteller and an excellent person.

Frosty Mitchell covered the Hawkeyes for 25 years for KGRN in Grinnell, then bought WMT and did Iowa games for the Cedar Rapids station for another 10 years.

George Wine, who became Iowa's second sports information director in 1968 and later wrote a book about Hayden Fry and another about Hawkeye sports, was among those of us who suffered through 19 straight non-winning football seasons at Iowa. "As Jim Zabel says, 'There were one or two bad decades in there,'" Wine said with a laugh.

To all the others in the Wall of Fame -- Bob Brown of the Fort Dodge Messenger, Russ Smith of the Waterloo Courier, the late Jerry Jurgens of the Quad City Times, the late Gene Claussen of KXIC in Iowa City and the late Ike Skelley of the Associated Press -- I join Iowa in saying, "Thanks for a job well done."

--malyr@juno.com