Author: Don Yaeger

Mike Flynt

Written on October 1, 2008.

When All Else Fails… The truly great know how – and when – to adjust their game plan. Mike Flynt was one of the toughest linebackers in the Lone Star Conference when he was playing for Sul Ross State University, and as that team’s senior captain, he had the Lobos ready for a breakout year in 1970. Flynt’s toughness, often displayed by his willingness to scrap at the drop of a hat, became...

Michael Phelps

Written on August 1, 2008.

Ultimate Teammate… The truly great will assume whatever role is necessary for the team to win… He was the star of the Olympic Games – a young man about whom so many words were written, that coming up with a new superlative to describe him is practically impossible. And his legacy will live on even after his world records are surpassed, because one thing I’ve noticed while watching Michael...

Dot Richardson

Written on July 1, 2008.

Contagious Enthusiasm… They are positive thinkers… They are enthusiastic… and that enthusiasm rubs off. Twice during the 1996 Summer Olympics, Dot Richardson and her teammates on the US softball team had faced the powerhouse team from China. Twice, in key situations, Dot had struck out. So with the Gold Medal on the line, it was high drama when the captain of the American team stepped to the plate...

Shaquille O’Neal

Written on June 1, 2008.

Visualize Victory… The truly great see victory before the game begins Given all the changes that have occurred recently it may seem like it happened forever ago, but in reality only two years have passed since this scene played out at the NBA finals. As his 7-foot-1, 325-pound frame would suggest, Shaquille O’Neal is as dominant a player as the NBA has ever seen. In 2006, four years after O’Neal...

Brett Favre

Written on May 1, 2008.

Ice In Their Veins… They are risk-takers and don’t fear making a mistake. It was third and seven. Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers were on the Minnesota 16-yard line and threatening to score. As the play clock wound down, the veteran quarterback read the defense and changed the call on the field at the last possible second. Then came the snap. Farve dropped back and, ever the gunslinger, fired cleanly...

Pat Summitt

Written on April 1, 2008.

What off-season… The truly great are always working towards the next game… The goal is what’s ahead, and there’s always something ahead. Tennessee’s Pat Summitt is no stranger to hard work. In fact, it’s the only kind of work the legendary head coach has known over her 34-year career. Growing up on a farm with three older brothers and a father who didn’t take no for an answer,...

Swen Nater

Written on December 1, 2007.

Rubbing Elbows… The truly great understand the value of association. A community college basketball coach was getting his car fixed by a local mechanic. As he walked into the garage he noticed the guy under his car had his head sticking out one side of the car and his feet hanging out the other. That moment led to a life-changing discussion and a powerful lesson in Greatness. As I sat with legendary UCLA basketball...

Paying The Price

Written on June 20, 2005.

The end of the road comes for a figure in a recruiting scandal that refuses to die When rookie free agent Albert Means was cut by the Houston Texans last month, it likely signaled the end of his unremarkable football career. Once the most promising high school defensive lineman in the country, he’ll be remembered for being at the heart of a recruiting scandal that left one booster headed to prison, two schools...

End Of The Run?

Written on December 13, 2004.

Victor Conte’s allegation that Marion Jones was a drug cheat could bring her down — but she’s ready to fight back Olympic champion Marion Jones has been called Golden Girl and the World’s Fastest Woman, but during an interview with ABC’s 20/20 broadcast last Friday, Victor Conte Jr., the man at the center of America’s biggest doping scandal, called her a fraud.