The Sweet Season (Must read book)

Editorial Review

Amazon.com
The Sweet Season is an aptly titled, vibrantly entertaining book. After a decade of fall travel covering games, longtime Sports Illustrated football reporter Austin Murphy forgoes the roadie lifestyle to move with his family and cover one of the best football programs in the nation, at Minnesota's St. John's University. With all the self-deprecating and witty style of Bill Bryson, Murphy depicts the coaches, players, monks (it is, after all, a Catholic school), his family, and himself as fallible humans and unsung heroes.

Above all, Murphy has fun here, in his silly depictions of small-town, college life, the simple delights his family brings, and the refreshment of football without superhuman egos. John Gagliardi, the 70-plus coach of St. John's, has won more games than any five active NFL coaches combined, despite a non-traditional coaching style devoid of full-contact scrimmages or hours of (useless) calisthenics. One Johnny exercise is the Beautiful Day Drill, where players flop down and stare at the sky, commenting on the loveliness overhead.

Murphy's football anecdotes are insightful, his humor relentless, and his game savvy tested. At the first St. John's game, Murphy "[watches] the kickoff transfixed, half-expecting Eau Claire's returner to go all the way. I mean, I've been with the Johnnies damned near a month and haven't seen them make a tackle. Who's to say they can do it?" As we find out, and opposing teams can attest, they hit hard, every season. Highly recommended. --Michael Ferch--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

After fifteen years as a Sports Illustrated writer, pleading for interviews with large men in possession of larger egos, Austin Murphy decides to bail out. The time has come, he concludes, to fly beneath the radar of big-league sports, to while away a season with the Johnnies. So, he moves his family to the middle of Minnesota to chronicle a season at St. John's, a Division III program that has reached unparalleled success under the unorthodox guidance of John "Gags" Gagliardi.

The Sweet Season is an account of what happens when a family pulls up stakes and spends months in a strange and wonderful place. It is also, not incidentally, the story of the most incredible football program in the country, run by a smiling sage who has forgotten more about the game than most of his peers will ever know.
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This book is a must read for all those that love their football and family and the way the game of football and life are meant to be played. In 2003 John Gagliardi led his St. John's team to another NCAA Division III Championship, defeating favorite Mount Union College in Salem, Virginia, 24-6. That 2003 team finished 14-0. To view Honors that the St. John's program has received click here.

Don Hansen

$650,000 Gift Will Bring Lights and Night Football to College of William and Mary's Zable Stadium

Williamsburg - The College of William and Mary Athletics Department has received a $650,000 gift to install lights at Zable Stadium and the adjacent football practice field. The gift, from an individual who wishes to remain anonymous, will return the excitement and economic benefits of nighttime football to Williamsburg.

"We are undertaking the permitting process required for the new lighting," said Tribe Athletic Director Terry Driscoll. "As part of that process, we will be meeting with city officials and groups of citizens within the next two weeks to explain the scope of the lighting project and the tentative plans for its use. We want to have a thorough discussion of these matters, and we will do everything possible to make sure our night games do not adversely impact our Williamsburg neighbors."

The proposed system to be installed at the stadium and the practice field will use the latest technology in lighting fixtures to meet the necessary requirements for games and practices with minimal impact from light spillage on the surrounding area.

If the permitting process is completed in time the lights could be in place early this fall. The first possible night event would be the November 5th game with James Madison University, a rematch of last year’s NCAA national semifinal game. The playoff game against the Dukes, which was a nationally televised sellout, was the first night game played in Zable Stadium since it was first opened in 1935. In future years the expectation is that there would be on average two night games per year.

"Because of last year’s success and the strong leadership of head coach Jimmye Laycock, there is a great deal of enthusiasm for Tribe football," said Driscoll. "The generosity of the donor, for which we are most appreciative - will enable us to build that enthusiasm with the excitement of night football."

The College is coming off a 2004 season in which it set the school record for wins, with an 11-3 record, advance to the national semi-finals for the first time in the 111-year history of the program and finish with a final national ranking of No. 3. In addition to the on-field success, the Tribe’s football program also fashioned a national-best graduation rate of 100%.

William and Mary will open the 2005 season on the road with a game at Division I-A Marshall on Thursday evening, September 1.

Mark J. Hoskins Jr.
Sports Information Assistant
College of William and Mary
(757) 221-3344