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Most people in the state of Alabama probably know who Hoover High School is. For those that aren’t, go back and watch the MTV show Two-A-Days.. They have been called Hoover U for a long time. They have won multiple state championships, received much national recognition and been featured on ESPN and MTV, of course.

In the last few weeks and months, a grade changing scandal has taken hold at Hoover. When the report was released, it said the following:

- Some football players received preferential academic treatment. One administrator has been reassigned over this.
- There is a need for tighter controls of finances for Hoover football camps and broadcasts.
- The coach, Rush Propst, has been providing income for a second family.
- Accusations that Propst had an affair with a former assistant principal were “hardly baseless.” This is the same assistant principal that was reassigned for the grade changing.

Additionally, in the aftermath of these allegations, you hear stories from people inside Hoover and out that generally give you the picture that Propst is not all that great a guy. Profanity laced tirades to players, that kind of thing.

Add that to Hoover’s propensity over the years for players from other high schools to transfer to Hoover, at a high frequency, and you start to get a picture, clouded though I’m sure it still is from the outside, that things are not well with the football program there.

Many people in Birmingham and Hoover are calling for changes, for Propst to be fired or reassigned. And I have to say at this point I agree. I don’t see anything redeeming about him. I don’t see anything but a boat anchor at this point, sinking fast. It’s just the right thing to do. And I assumed most people would agree.

But, alas, in the south, winning is more important than character. It started for me when a former player two years removed called Paul Finebaum last week, and begun spouting about how Rush was his role model and how he had taught his players how to be men. When Finebaum rightly challenged him on exactly what Propst taught, given these allegations and the kind of person most people see Propst as, the player responded by saying he had two championship rings, and that he thought this was all a dirty scheme by Spain Park High School and Vestavia Hills to take Hoover down.

What???

Then today, 65 players delivered a letter of support for their coach. That’s admirable. It would have been something great in a movie such as ‘Remember the Titans’, where a black coach was mistreated because of his race. This is different altogether and honestly these kids are misguided and blinded by being part of the Hoover U machine. I can’t really blame them.

What makes me angry is that when someone from the Hoover School Board basically called the parents out in the situation for caring about winning more than character, the parents and players got upset, and even accused the school board member of, again, wanting to cause harm to Hoover because her child attended Spain Park.

Look people. This isn’t a scheme to destroy the mighty Hoover machine. This isn’t people in Birmingham who just can’t put up with your success. Me personally? I enjoyed the run Hoover has been on. I rooted for the state championships. I wanted them on ESPN. I think building such a success is great. And I even run laps around the football field, with the state of the art field turf… it’s great.

But that’s not what this is about. It’s not jealousy. It’s not about your rings or your MTV show or the ESPN game of the week. It’s about 65 high school kids that believe in their heart that this man is their role model. This man that has a second family, likely had something to do with the grade changing issue through the now removed assistant principal he was having an affair with, prefers language that causes people to carry their kids away from the practice field, and who knows what else, a few things that I’ve heard second or third hand, and probably much more I’m not aware of because I am nowhere near close to the program…

This man is not a role model. You are confused. You’ve confused winning with becoming a man. It’s not the same thing. This man taught the 65 of you how to win at football… apparently at great cost if necessary. I’m sorry that it’s gone this way, but character is more important than winning, and that’s going to last long past your time at Hoover.

And as for the parents that are buying into this… take a minute and look at what this coach has done. Think about if this was happening in your home.. or in your family.. or in your church. And yet, because he has won a lot of games, you gloss it over, and continue to let your children think that this is the ok way to handle yourself in a high profile position? Shame on you for caring more about winning a football game on Friday night than the example set by the coach of your team. Are you guys serious??

Propst has to go. He should already be gone. Perhaps Mike Price can hire him on his staff at UTEP. Somebody needs to step up and stand up for character being more important than winning, and it needs to happen soon.

If anyone is reading and would like to comment further feel free..

And just that fast. The season is over.

Seems like just a few hours ago we were talking about matching up with the Rockies. Now we’re headed home. That’s baseball. A beautiful, beautiful game of little things, and inches, and strategy and momentum. I love it so. And I hate it so. I mostly love it.

Congratulations to the Red Sox. We really got a big time butt kicking the last 3 games. You guys got it done for sure.

I’m heart broken. Again. I want nothing more than to share the World Series with my dad and my brother, and Buddy Haber, and Joel… I want to listen to Cleveland radio on the internet as they celebrate the first championship since 1948. Feels like we’ve waited so long, and lost in so many ways, brutal, nasty ways. And it totally stinks because we had the team to get it done this year, and we came up short when it counted in a lot of ways.

But I love this team. And I love how they’ve been built. And I love their future. And I’ll take my chances with them, win or lose.

Ben… Dad… I’m sorry, wish they’d have gotten it done.

But it’s been a fun coupe of weeks. And hopefully the first of a few long October runs for this team in the near future.

GO TRIBE!!!!!!

Here I am, back in front of my PC.

The last 50 hours:

Packed the car. Drove for 11 hours through the night to Cleveland. Arrived at Buddy and Howard Haber’s yesterday morning. Had breakfast with them and talked baseball. Then Benji and I both napped about 2 hours or so. We got up in time to eat lunch, and then my cousin Joel arrived. We spent the afternoon catching up and talking baseball and football and marathons and family. Joel has done a lot of research into the family tree and it’s awesome to listen to the Habers and Joel talk about that.

We went to the park and took a 2 mile walk. (Buddy is 74 and I could barely stay with him walking. Pretty darn impressive if you ask me.) Then we got our stuff together and drove to the RTA station. We boarded there and rode the train in to downtown Cleveland.

We arrived at Terminal Tower, which is kinda like Brookwood Mall except in the middle of downtown. We ate some Subway, then walked through the Gateway terminal to the Gateway square where Quicken Loans Arena and Jacobs Field are. The atmosphere was electric, nothing like the other games I had been to. We got to the gate and presented our tickets, and got our ‘It’s Tribe Time Now’ towels, the ones you’ve seen waved on the TV coverage if you’ve been watching. We went into the stadium.. the Jake is just the most wonderful place. I don’t know how else to describe it. I feel strangely home in those seats, rooting for the Tribe..

I wanted one of the shirts that also said ‘It’s Tribe Time Now’. It’s kinda been the slogan for the playoff run, and there’s a huge banner on a building in downtown too. But we couldn’t find one initially. So we went to our seats and watched pre-game.

Benji went back to the souvenir stand by our section, and he found me one of the shirts. Yeah! So I am wearing it now, and may wear it at some point every day until the season is over. :-)

I talked a little about the game this morning. It was a 3 and a half hour adrenaline rush. I screamed and yelled and waved my towel and clapped until I think I blistered my hands. I wanted to do my part! And it was cool that Buddy was there because he and I got to discuss the strategy of the game and how all the different plays and decisions affected things. It was just a blast. I’ll never forget it.

We left the stadium when the game was over and headed back. Took the (packed like sardines) RTA back to our car and made our way home. We got back in time to watch the last 3 innings of Colorado’s victory over Arizona to clinch the National League pennant, and Buddy and I talked through that as well (kindred souls, me and Buddy and baseball). We also ate about half of a cake that Howard had made. Great cake. :-)

Then finally after the game was over I headed to bed. I slept ok but not great considering how long I had been up.

We woke up at about 8 CT this morning. The original plan was to get up really early and head home, but we were just too tired, and it was way better to spend breakfast with Buddy and Howard and Joel, so we did. We finally took off closer to 9 CT. We had traffic jams and rain on the way back, but we made it slowly but surely.

We had expected to be back in Birmingham in time to watch game 4 tonight. We made it back in the top of the 5th inning. This was great timing because no sooner than we walked in the door the Indians came to bat and promptly scored 7 runs in the 5th, on the way to taking a 3-1 series lead.

50 hours. Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio. One baseball game. 1400 miles. Two tired tired Gottliebs. It was one of the best trips I have ever or ever will take. I will never forget any of it.

And so… tomorrow I am back at work. Which means I should potentially start catching up on my sleep… starting…. now :-)

We’re stuck in a little bit of morning traffic on I-271 in Cleveland. On the way home. We put a lot of effort and planning into what was also a pretty spontaneous and off the cuff trip. And it was really worth it!

The game was electric. From the first pitch to the last was amazing. Some of my biggest memories here…

When Lofton hit the home run in the second inning. It’s hard to describe the love for Kenny… because he played on the Tribe teams of the past, the city absolutely loves him. And when that ball went over the wall, the place went nuts. Only the last out was louder.

Jake Westbrook was awesome. He wasn’t afraid and challenged the toughest hitters. A huge moment was forcing a double play on Manny Ramirez after a 3-0 count. He got out of a bases loaded with nobody out jam in the 2nd. He kept the sinker down, and went after people, and that was just what the Tribe needed.

Borowski with a 1-2-3 inning. He pitched really well. It’s funny that his entrance video is based off Rocky, with Eye of the Tiger playing. I think that was perfect. He usually wins.. but only after he gets punched in the head a lot. But last night he got the knockout!

The Jake is just so beautiful. What a stadium, and what a place to be. I’ve been 3 times and it’s more beautiful every time.

Wish dad had come with us too.

Doesn’t look like we’ll get World Series tickets if we make it. That’s ok. I’m so unbelievably grateful that we got to come here for this game. You don’t get that many chances to do this. I’m glad we took hold of the chance.

GO TRIBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m sitting in the passengr seat of my car. We are driving through Nashville at 11:44 PM. We’re driving in shifts, and this is Benji’s first shift. It’s nice not to have to concentrate for a little while. Over 11 hours that can get tedious for sure!

My dad gave me the Indians. My dad also gave me Phil Collins. I think that maybe I ended up loving both potentially even more than him, but he gave them to me to begin with. But things really changed for us all in 1995.

That was an interesting time. The Indians, for the first time, became good. I was graduating from high school, and getting ready to head to Auburn. My life was changing forever. Then the Indians made the playoffs and eventually the World Series.

Dad and Benji and I watched every game. And when we lost, I might have cried a little bit.

Over the next few years, I hit a low point in my life. I had to come home from Auburn. I felt nothing. No direction. No meaning. But the Indians were something to look forward to. They were always challenging. There was the 97 team that came within one strike of winning the World Series before losing the game and series in extra innings. And I always had October baseball to look forward to. It seems like the Indians were something wonderful in an extremely rough patch of my life, and I’ll always remember that.

In 2002 the Indians began to dismantle and rebuild. No more Octobers. That time was gone.

Somewhere between then and now, I made a pretty decent recovery in my life. I’ve found Christ. I have a career, and I feel like I have that direction and meaning that I was missing for those years. And I feel like there’s definitely more to come.

I’ve been in a valley lately though for sure. 2007 has been a challenge, way more than I thought. Since I started school and started helping mom, it seems like everything that can go wrong has, and I’ve dealt with just a general hardening of my heart it feels like. It’s something that I feel like I should have control of. It feels like I should just start realizing how blessed I am and just be better. But I don’t think it really works that way sometimes, and that is frustrating.

So I’m sitting here, on the way to see that rebuilt Cleveland Indians team playing to get to the World Series, and something feels a little full circle. Feels like I should be reminded of my previous valley. Feels like I should take comfort in the cycles. Feels like baseball has become a metaphor. Feels like I should get ready to scream my head off too!

So we’ll be there in about 8 more hours. We’re listening to DVDs and emailing and chatting and having a wonderful time. Wearing all our Indians stuff. :-) It’s very very good to be here.

I had the Auburn game and the Indians game on Picture In Picture.

In the span of five minutes, I watch Arkansas drive straight down the field. Meanwhile the Red Sox are loading up the bases… again. Bad things are happening so fast I cannot keep track, and all at the same time.

Then Arkansas scores a touchdown with a minute and a half to go. Almost at the same time, Manny Ramirez hits a 3 run homer to tie the game, and then Mike Lowell hits one right after. I thought about covering my head with a pillow. :-)

But Brandon Cox led Auburn back down and Wes Byrum hit the game winning field goal. And now, here at 12:37 AM Central, the Indians scored 7 in the 11th inning to tie the series.

Guess I’m glad I didn’t turn the TV off and cover my eyes. :-)

So Cleveland should be rocking Monday night with a chance for the Indians to take the lead!

The Cleveland Indians just finished off the New York Yankees in the first round of the baseball playoffs… that means 2 things..

#1. The Indians move on to face the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.

and

#2. My brother, cousin and I will be in Cleveland for Game 3 of the series!!!

Man I am so excited, we’re going to drive through the night Sunday, spend the day being super fans, attend a great game in an amazing atmosphere, and then whirlwind back home. :-)

Go Tribe!!

I have to immortalize this game in the blog somewhere. There have been plenty of odd games in my life, most of them were bad for Cleveland, and have names, such as ‘The Drive’, ‘The Fumble’ and ‘The Shot’. But no matter what happens, I now have ‘The Bug Game’. Ha Ha. Check this out

CLEVELAND — The word “bizarre” doesn’t do justice to some events on a baseball field. Randy Johnson once struck and killed a seagull with a fastball. A black cat walked in front of the Chicago Cubs’ dugout in the summer of 1969, portending the team’s late collapse against the Mets. And 15 years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates actually enjoyed a winning season.

Then you come across games like the one that took place in Cleveland on Friday night. They haunt the losers’ dreams, make the winners feel blessed, and force the rest of us to scramble to make sense of it all.

With the New York Yankees on their way to pulling even in their American League Division Series with the Indians, Jacobs Field turned downright Biblical. Plagues of insects dropped from the sky, swarmed the infield and turned New York reliever Joba Chamberlain into an “Off”-drenched monument to distraction.

While Chamberlain was looking itchy, the Indians scratched out a run to tie the game. Three innings later, Travis Hafner’s bases-loaded single off Luis Vizcaino scored Kenny Lofton to give Cleveland a 2-1 victory, and you could only wonder where this thing might be headed.

Full Story

Good: Had 3 good runs this week, and woke up early 3 times to do it.

Bad: I’ve been uncontrollably tired all week because of the odd work schedule I’ve had..

Good: My niece turned 1

Bad: Missing the Auburn game for the birthday party. :-)

Good: Indians bashed the Yankees and are up 1-0

Bad: Takes more than one win. But I am confident.

Good: Lebron plays for the Cavs

Bad: I don’t care anymore because Lebron is a selfish goof that doesn’t realize that he is a representative of the city of Cleveland, and showed up the baseball team by attracting all kinds of attention by wearing a Yankees hat.

Worse: I actually won’t be sad when and if he leaves and goes somewhere else. Root for the Yankees if you want, but don’t show up the Tribe on national TV jerk. Please just demand your trade now. Thanks..

Feels so good for those kids what happened tonight. It’s always a long season, and we’ve struggled, but the talent is there. Tonight, after injuries, mistakes, getting punched in the mouth in the 4th quarter on the road. Auburn showed that this team has a huge heart. Freshman kicker, 3 freshman OL, freshman running back, freshmen everywhere. And a win in the Swamp. Oh and look what the other teams that we played did as well. Great, great game Tigers!

Kansas St. 7 17 10 7 41 Final

(7) Texas 7 7 7 0 21
—————————————————————–
(5) West Virginia 0 3 3 7 13 Final

(18) South Florida 7 7 7 0 21
—————————————————————–
(22) Alabama 0 0 0 14 14 Final

Florida St. 0 0 7 14 21
—————————————————————–
Auburn 7 7 3 3 20 Final

(4) Florida 0 0 3 14 17