Bob Costas is always interesting, often funny... The Jimmy V don't give up winners are amazing... some have passed on... Terry Hoeppner most recently was quite a guy...

I enjoy older players who are so humble...I think WITHOUT A DOUBT Artis Gilmore should be in the HOF...I am trying to start a campaign to get him in, and am so impressed with how graciously he deals with the obvious slight...

Oh, and Buck O'Neill... wow...
Actually, as i can't change people's perceptions that there is a "weirdness" to that shift I don't try...what I have found is there are people out there just going about their lives---driving trucks, security guards, overnight store employees--who are just average Joes and enjoy sports as much as the 9 to 5 guy. Plus they are INCREDIBLY loyal... I think they see me as one of them, and I am happy to be so...
The Rutgers story is absolutely true...as is another one of the first day of practice where he had to use his shirt in the restroom since there was no TP, locked himself out of the gym, finally got up there, shirtless and late for HIS FIRST PRACTICE as the JV coach...to see his boss, Bill Foster, waiting for him, arms clasped, foot tapping, wondering who was this idiot he hired...it all worked out, he and Foster became close friends...
Easiest? Write a check...and for many, that is enough, as well it should be.  But as someone who does that AND has gotten involved with many projects including our own, the CELEBRITY BOCCE TOURNAMENT in Louisville, I find that gives me the most satisfaction...
At his funeral, I was sitting with my family in the front of the church, watching the parade of people make their way past his casket to pay respects...the line went out the door of the church, and as I looked I saw coaches like Mike Krzyzewski and Dean Smith chatting, while standing in front of a guy who looked like he just came off his shift at Wendy's with the catsup stains, etc....the line was like that all the way out the door...rich man, poor man, famous, not so famous, young, old, North, South...I loved that about him.  He "connected" and it was seemingly without bounds.  He was always humbled when he was around the "celebs", never took it for granted.  Took me with him when he did Letterman because he knew I was like him, a fan and would get a kick out of it.  Yet to this day, people come up to me at ESPN and say, "I started here as an intern (or some other entry position) and your brother was here then, and he was great to me...I loved him."  He treated everybody like they were his best friends. That is among the things I am most proud about him.

One other story, Costas told me.  When Costas got the broadcaster of the year award, he asked Mickey Mantle to present it to him. Knowing that Jim idolized Mantle and never met him, Costas invited Jim to the banquet.  Jim was thrilled, like a kid at Christmas. All through dinner he kept saying, "Wait until Bob Schweiger gets wind of this.  (Schweiger was his HS buddy.) He's gonna go nuts"  All throught the meal, Jim would hound Costas, "When are we gonna meet him...when are we gonna meet him", interspersed with, wait until "Bob Schweiger hears about this..."
Finally, at the end of the meal, with Jim still chirping about Bob Schweiger...Bob Schweiger...Costas says, okay now let's go meet Mickey.
They make their way up to the dais, and Costas says, "Mick, I would like you to meet Jim Valvano." Mantle with those bad legs, struggles and clamors to his feet, and sticks out his hand...and Jim panics.  He shakes his hand, looks at Mickey, and says, "Bob Schweiger says hello..."
Opposite the benches about 20 rows up.
Our dad, who loved sports. Never pushed us, but played everything, coached, refereed, umpired, ran summer leagues, basketball camps...it was just all around us, and such great fun, all of it.  I wish parents would spend more time trying to make it FUN for the kids instead of worrying about trophies, and money and all the rest.  You'd give them a gift that lasts a lifetime, like my Dad did.  Still love sports, all of them, and always will, I think.

You also spent 19 years as a college coach: How did your style compare to your brother's?

Well, he certainly had more success on a grander stage of course.  But I took a lot of things from him, from my Dad, from other successful coaches.  I thought Jim could "manage" a game as well as anyone I have ever seen, and I took a lot of that from him.  How to organize your system so you can communicate clearly, easily, and players can grasp concepts easier...that is an important skill, and Jim was good at it.

Who was the better basketball player - you or Jimmy?

Him by far.  He played at Rutgers and scored over 1,000 points.  I played two years at a good Division III school, Virgina Wesleyan, and only started a few games.
But, in fairness, I was a three letter winner in college (basketball, soccer, and golf) and soccer was my best sport.  I was all conference and team MVP on three straight Conference Championships.  After my sophomore season trying to play all three was a little tough, and as I was one of about 10 guards all comparable, I knew I wouldn't be missed in hoops. So I started coaching.  Assisted the Varsity as a Junior, and then added the Head JV coach as a senior.  The varsity went to back to back NCAA tournaments, and my JV team won its last 7 games in a row to set a school record for wins.  I had SO much fun... Glory Days... thanks Bruce Springsteen.
It was the time period.  Jim and I took an all star team to Europe right before my third season at Catholic U.  I had two losing seasons there coming into that year. We played with GOOD US players (guys from Georgetown, Illinois, ex-NBA guys, etc.) and while we were 3-1, we couldn't guard them.  Their concepts of spacing and using the 3 point line were WAY ahead of us.  I took some things I learned from Jim about "managing" your team, completely revamped our offensive strategies in two weeks, and that year went 20-6, won the conference regular season title, and kept playing like that the rest of my coaching career.
It is not that unusual now, though.  The US has caught up in terms of strategy to use the arc, and spacing (Coach K was at the forefront here, and I believe one of the reasons for his great run of teams...he embraced it before others did.)

You cover UL hoops regularly - What are your expectations of the Cardinals this season? 

If Padgett and Palacios stayed healthy, I would have been shocked if they weren't a SWEET 16 team, conservatively, and EASILY could have been a FINAL FOUR team. With them out, they are still good, but the margin for error is SO much smaller.

Who do you think will be the team to beat come March?

I hate to go with chalk, but I love UNC, Duke, Memphis, and UCLA.  Did you know that the average strength of schedule for the National Champion over the last decade is about 68th?  I think this sets up well for Memphis who is playing a fine non-con schedule but should ROLL through C-USA.
Bethpage Black, and Bethpage Green.  (The green course is the same designer and a little (!) easier.  Must have played each of them about 50 times.)

I love Donald Ross' courses, so I love Pinehurst #2 as well.  Simple elegance and no BS...just a fair test of golf, like most (all?) of his courses.
Pebble Beach is gorgeous of course but I only broadcast from there... never played it.

I enjoyed Winged Foot a lot, and a great course, maybe the most underappreciated course in the country is the Robert Trent Jones course at Montauk Point on long island...

God, I hate to sound old... I think they are dangerous, I really do... the further "objectify" the PEOPLE that are involved in these games, and that filters down, down, down... I hear people talking about 10 year old kids like they are pros, and part of that is the great anonymity of the web... that and the UNBELIEVABLE amount of information out there, and to be "heard" the temptation is to scream, or kill, or attack, or denigrate... sometimes it is in the name of fun, but I think it does the game harm...

Sports were not on TV 24/7 when I was a kid... the Knicks were on on Wednesday night, the Rangers Saturday, and that was IT.  New York football games were blacked out at home, and not all the baseball games were on either.  You looked forward to the games... it felt special.
Now I am not saying we should deify the athletes and coaches.  Quite the contrary... they're just people.  Ordinary people with an exceptional ability to run or jump or throw.  But people nonetheless, and the "blogosphere" reduces them to "things" a lot.  I think that is a shame.  I like sports to be special... but that's just me.

Lastly, we're always making bold predictions here at FanIQ. Do you have one for this college basketball season?

Yes... Joe Lunardi will already be working on his brackets for 2011, Digger Phelps will have 116 teams "in" the field, at least 30 commentators will say "the committee's thinking on this is..." when they have NO IDEA what the committee was thinking, and if all goes well, I will get to interview the national championship coach one-on-one right after the game for the 10th straight year, and think how lucky I am to be even that small part of one of the great sports events in the world.

Thanks for the kind words...

Thanks Bob for taking the time. Always a fan.