He’s staying put! As well he should! He’s where he belongs!
But enough about Kwame Kilpatrick not going to Boot Camp! Let’s all get in the Izzone!!! Thank you Tom! A grateful Michigan State thanks you and for that matter a grateful State of Michigan thanks you.
(Photo Courtesy of clickondetroit.com)
Sure, the ordeal lasted an excruciating nine days, but when Green smoke billowed from the Breslin Center on the campus of MSU Tuesday night we finally knew that the Spartans had a basketball coach for life. And we finally were informed why it took 9 days. And I loved it. The Coach said his daughter, a freshman in high school, was in the middle of finals and he didn’t want her to be distracted! He said he didn’t talk about the coaching decision with his family for four days because of that! (Talk about a critical time out!) You want to talk priorities?
School finals or no school finals, make no mistake, Tom Izzo earned the right to think about it. This wasn’t a question of loyalty; Tom had already given MSU 27 years of blood, sweat and tears. This wasn’t just a question of money; although Tom is going to have to make due on $3 million dollars a year instead of $6 million a year. Tom Izzo used the same values and principals in making this coaching decision that he used protecting his daughter. He knows what really matters. Tom is a father for life and now he’s Michigan State’s basketball coach for life. And Coach Izzo’s kids and the kids he teaches about basketball and life - both on and off the hardwood - are better off for it.
Look ladies and gentlemen, do you realize how many times New York and L.A. radio stations came calling during my tenure with Dick Purtan? Do you realize how easily I could’ve bolted, leaving hundreds of thousands of adoring fans behind? Do you realize how many offers of millions of dollars, lavish homes, beautiful women, and expensive cars I turned down to stay with Dick Purtan and Purtan’s Peop….
WE INTERUPT THIS BLOG TO WAIT FOR THIS FANTASY OF BIG AL’S TO COME TO A CLOSE. STAND BY, PLEASE………
Hello? Oh. Okay, I’m back. Sorry, I went a way for a awhile but I’m back now. Let me see, uh, oh yeah…
Folks, when we lost Ernie Harwell, our community lost a man of great integrity, honesty, loyalty, passion and compassion; a shining example of what a person should be. And now a man, who in many ways is cut from that same cloth, albeit rougher around the edges, is here to stay. This is not just a win for MSU, it is a win for all of us. Whether you wear Green & White or Maize & Blue, there’s no denying that Coach Tom Izzo, born and raised in Michigan, is one our State’s most valuable “Natural Resources”.
One final thing. As Dick stated on his Facebook late Tuesday night, I do have one surprise to reveal. More than a surprise really, more like a secret that I kept to myself on the air for 14 years. No, not THAT secret. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The other secret?……
I’M A MICHIGAN STATE GRAD!!! IT’S TRUE! COMMUNICATION ARTS MAJOR CLASS OF, OF, OF…NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! GO GREEN, GO WHITE! AND GO TOM IZZO!… Big Al over and out.
(Photo Courtesy of msuspartans.com)