tomsoto’s posterous

Sporting News' 50 greatest coaches of all time

Jeff D'Alessio

Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2009 - 11:53 a.m. ET

John Wooden, SN's No. 1 coach, won 10 national championships at UCLA.

Headlining the new issue of Sporting News Magazine: our list of sports' 50 greatest coaches of all time, as selected by a panel of 118 Hall of Famers, championship coaches and other experts.

John Wooden, who at UCLA won a record 10 Division I men's basketball championships in 12 years, was a runaway winner. SN's 1970 Sportsman of the Year picked up 57 first-place votes from the panel, which includes seven World Series-winning managers, four Super Bowl champion coaches and the winningest coaches in the NBA, NHL and college basketball.

"When I think of Coach Wooden, the first word that comes to mind is execution," said Gail Goodrich, who wrote an appreciation of his former coach in SN. "We never worried about the opponent, only about how we were going to play."

Green Bay Packers great Vince Lombardi came in second place in SN's rankings, picking up 20 first-place votes. Wrote Bart Starr, Lombardi's Hall of Fame quarterback: "(He said), 'Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it because in the process we will catch excellence.' He paused for a moment, got up even closer to those of us sitting up front, looked us in the eye and added, 'I am not remotely interested in being just good.' Wow."

Related Links

• Who made the list? SN's panel of 118
• Magazine: Subscribe to Sporting News
• More rankings: Top 50 current MLB players

SN turned to former players of the top 20 coaches on the list, asking each to relive a moment that best defined their greatness. Among those joining Goodrich and Starr as guest authors: Hall of Famers Dwight Stephenson, Paul Warfield, Tommy Heinsohn, Luc Robitaille, Mike McCormack, Gale Sayers, Lynn Swann, Isiah Thomas and Roger Staubach.

SN's greatest coaches

1. John Wooden, college basketball

No. 2 Vince Lombardi

2. Vince Lombardi, NFL
3. Bear Bryant, college football
4. Phil Jackson, NBA
5. Don Shula, NFL
6. Red Auerbach, NBA
7. Scotty Bowman, NHL
8. Dean Smith, college basketball
9. Casey Stengel, MLB
10. Knute Rockne, college football
11. Pat Summitt, women's college basketball

No. 13 Joe Paterno

12. Paul Brown, NFL
13. Joe Paterno, college football
14. George Halas, NFL
15. Chuck Noll, NFL
16. Bob Knight, college basketball
17. Joe Gibbs, NFL
18. Tom Landry, NFL
19. Mike Krzyzewski, college basketball
20. Bill Belichick, NFL
21. Adolph Rupp, college basketball

No. 19 Mike Krzyzewski

22. Joe McCarthy, MLB
23. Eddie Robinson, college football
24. Bobby Bowden, college football
25. John McGraw, MLB
26. Bill Walsh, NFL
27. Woody Hayes, college football
28. Connie Mack, MLB
29. Bud Wilkinson, college football
30. Pat Riley, NBA
31. Pete Newell, college basketball

No. 30 Pat Riley

32. Joe Torre, MLB
33. Bill Parcells, NFL
34. Tom Osborne, college football
35. Walter Alston, MLB
36. Bo Schembechler, college football
37. Toe Blake, NHL
38. Sparky Anderson, MLB
39. Al Arbour, NHL
40. Amos Alonzo Stagg, college football
41. Tony La Russa, MLB

No. 41 Tony La Russa

42. Geno Auriemma, women's college basketball
43. Dick Irvin, NHL
44. Ara Parseghian, college football
45. Chuck Daly, NBA
46. Bobby Cox, MLB
47. Hank Iba, college basketball
48. Tommy Lasorda, MLB
49. Gregg Popovich, NBA
50. Herb Brooks, NHL

Yes, I am a UCLA alum and biased, but he is the greatest!

Massive waves, massive wipeouts and massive scores highlight a true test of mettle at Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach roared to life today, making for one of the most exciting days of surfing ever witnessed at Huntington Beach. With a massive, 10- to 15-foot swell scraping the bottom of the pier and soaking spectators, the world's best surfers were truly put to the test. "This is definitely the biggest I've surfed Huntington," said three-time US Open champ Rob Machado, who won his heat today. "It's kind of survival out there. The current's like a river, big old closeouts, but it's a fun challenge."

A few competitors rose to that challenge and reached a level never seen in Huntington Beach. Nine-time world champ Kelly Slater, after breaking his board on a big set at the beginning of his Round of 24 heat, went back out and pulled an unfathomable carving 360 on a 10-foot face.