Three today

Three suggestions that are in no way connected to each other.

1. Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press ads his voice to the many on Willingham. I thought this passage made a lot of sense on where race fit into all of this.
Let's avoid the word "race" for a moment, since that word is kerosene on any well-intended conversation. Let's use the word "appearance."
Most people, subconsciously or consciously, think they know what a college football coach looks like. Bear Bryant, Bo Schembechler -- now those were coaches! Most of the great coaches in movies have a certain look about them -- firm jaw, glare in the eyes and, uh, light skin.
You're supposed to look the part. Schools avoid black coaches for the same reason they would avoid 400-pound coaches, 5-foot-2 coaches and goofy-looking coaches. That's not a joke. Check the record.
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis underwent gastric-bypass surgery a couple of years ago, partly because he believed his weight was costing him head coaching jobs. Weis is white.
When Ralph Friedgen was the offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, he applied for almost every head coaching job in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Those schools should have known about him, since his offenses regularly scored in bunches against them.
Friedgen was passed over many times before Maryland, his alma mater, took a chance. He has had extreme success there. Friedgen is white and, by his own admission, not the most telegenic guy in the world.
Weis and Friedgen have suffered from the same mentality that hurts black coaches: They don't fit the mold.

I have a soft spot for the Army-Navy football game. This story would have been sad at anytime, but particularly so coming on the eve of the annual game.

You need to be a Sports Illustrated subscriber to get the final story, but as a Red Sox fan, I loved it. It runs in this weeks Sportsman of the Year magazine.