Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 16, 1991 TAG: 9103190377
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Allen encountered a difficult coaching situation: his status at first as only "interim" coach, an NCAA-imposed cutback in basketball scholarships, tightened academic standards for Tech student-athletes, uncertainty about the Metro Conference's future. Still, it was a situation he entered with eyes open.
If Allen's fate reflects the truth that coaches are hired to be fired, his four years at Tech illustrate another truth as well: The quality of a coaching career cannot be measured by won-lost records alone. The grace and dignity with which he left coaching - Allen, with a year left on his contract, will move into athletic administration - are qualities that he also displayed as coach.
Perhaps that explains why Allen, even as his program floundered and interest dwindled in Tech basketball, remained respected and well-liked.
TIME FLIES. Only a few weeks ago, at the top levels of our government Saddam Hussein was considered another Hitler. President Bush was publicly inviting his overthrow. As chaos threatened postwar Iraq last week, a Bush administration official said: "We could do worse than Saddam." Another said insurrectionary unrest in Iraq was "unhelpful." So maybe another Hitler can be a moderate, relatively speaking. And maybe Saddam would leave power if only he were asked nicely.
EIGHT-YEAR-OLD Anthony Henderson isn't the gullible kind. After George Herbert Walker Bush had spent some time at Barcroft Elementary School in Arlington, the youngster asked: "Are you really the president?" I really am, the leader of the free world assured him, and whipped out his driver's license and other ID. Cute and amusing. But Barcroft appears to be preparing its charges well for the outside world. Educated people ask questions. Realistic people are skeptical. Right on, Anthony.
LAST YEAR, when fire swept through Universal Studios - maker of "The Last Temptation of Christ" - evangelist Pat Robertson implied it could well be God's judgment on Hollywood. Recently, fire caused $1 million damage at Robertson's radio station in Silver Spring, Md. His talk show was forced off the air for a week, which may explain why he's not been heard from about the hidden significance of this blaze.
***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on March 19, 1991.
In the late '80s, Virginia Tech's basketball program was subject to an NCAA-imposed ban on post-season play. But the cutback in scholarships was for football only, and not for basketball as mistakenly stated in an editorial Saturday.
Memo: CORRECTION