A tribute to the recently deceased.

Within the past 10 days, the world has seen its greatest living coach, a black midget famous for saying "whatchu talkin bout Willis," and a true master of over the top, crazy acting pass on. Unlike MJ and Farrah Fawcett, I don't really feel like making cruel jokes at the expense of the deceased. John Wooden won ten NCAA titles without cheating (try teaching that to Calipiari). Dennis Hopper never hit the highs or lows Jackson did, and could actually act unlike Farrah. And Gary Coleman is a great example of why some targets are just too easy.

Wooden was Basketball's Lombardi, a dignified image of what a great coach should be. He wasn't crude. He wasn't a high strung Larry Brown type. He wasn't a Coach K/Pitino like shithead. He wasn't a deranged maniac like Bob Knight. He was the model coach in attitude and in success. Any coach with an undefeated season becomes a legend. Nobody's had more than one except Wooden. He had 4. He won 88 straight games once, lost one, then won another 40 or 50 or so. He was also one of the first great players, a star of pre-NBA pro basketball and as a college player at Purdue. John Wooden was the definition of class and success in sports, a combination that doesn't exist too often, especially in college basketball. Look at the big names of the past 30 years. Coach K. Pitino. Calipiari. Knight. When I think about what's wrong with the sport it's those guys. Calhoun and Boeheim are good guys. Dean Smith was a class act. But no one will ever be John Wooden.

Dennis Hopper is one of those guys who is my kind of actor. Never afraid to go completely over the top, watching him you often get the idea that his roles are scarily close to reality. However, nobody could, and will ever, be able to play a crazed, often under the influence, maniac like Hopper. After "I love the smell of napalm," Apocalypse Now starts to drag until Hopper's insane photojournalist comes in. He keeps Hoosiers from being feel good goop. And Blue Velvet has become self-explanatory.

Gary Coleman was really fucking short of stature.