Former Coyotes Quaye and Logan to Meet on Friday Night in Cleveland

It is 916 miles from Sioux Falls to Cleveland and 854 miles to Detroit.

Not exactly the hop, skip and a jump away that makes a weekend junket feasible -- well unless you own an airplane. No, I am not planning a trip to those cities, although it would be fun.

On Friday night, the Tigers and Indians open a crucial (baseball) series in the American League Central division at Comerica in Detroit. The battle for first place promises a lot of balls flying all over the park this weekend. Yet, it is a nondescript preseason football game in Cleveland that will capture my attention.

When the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns gather for an exhibition NFL game on Friday, a pair of former University of South Dakota Coyotes -- Stefan Logan (Lions) and Ko Quaye (Browns) -- will have a chance to reacquaint themselves. 

Quaye who spent parts of last season with both Jacksonville and Buffalo practice squads was signed to the Browns active roster in December. A 6-1, 307 pound defensive lineman, Quaye of Brooklyn Park, Minn., was a four-year letter winner at USD from 2006-09.

As a Coyote he recorded 99 career tackles, 5.5 sacks and an interception.  In his freshman season, he was a reserve lineman (eight tackles, one sack) on the playoff-bound Coyotes in 2006. It was during that year that he first came into contact with Logan.

At the time, Logan was in the process of becoming arguably the greatest running back in USD school history. A finalist for the 2006 NCAA Division II Player of the Year Award (finished eighth in the voting), Logan was the only player in school and North Central Conference (now defunct) history to rush for 1,000 yards for four consecutive seasons. Logan exited USD after the 2006 season as its all-time leading rusher with 5,958 yards and was just the 11th Division II player to  rush for 5,000 yards and gain 6,000 all-purpose yards (7th, all-time in DII with 7,770 yards). As a senior he had 1,707 rushing yards (3rd all time at USD), totaling 13 TDs, including both a punt and kickoff return for a score. 

When he left the Vermillion campus, Logan had set 15 school records. As a senior, he averaged 7.4 yards per rush and 132.6 rushing yards per game which ranked 25th all-time in Division II. A player with a quick burst and surprising power, Logan set the NCAA record for yards in a quarter with 184 (Truman State, 2005). In that 2005 game, he rushed for a career-best 295 yards, averaging a school record 22.6 yards per carry.

During his stellar career as a Coyote, Logan had a school-record 34 100-yard rush games, which also tied the Division II record.  He had 14 career games with 160 yards or more, four, 200-yard rushing games and two others in which he totaled 199 yards in his career.

A 5-6, 180 pound wide receiver and kick returner, Logan has electrified the NFL for the past two seasons as a returner. In 2009, he set the Pittsburgh Steelers single season kick return record with 1,466 yards, finishing second in the league with his 26.7 per return average. Logan, who was signed by Pittsburgh after a standout year with the British Columbia Lions, was surprisingly cut at the end of training camp in 2010. He was almost immediately grabbed by Detroit. For the 2010 Lions, Logan, named a Pro Bowl alternate, had 55 kickoff returns for 1,448 yards for 26.3 yards. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week Oct. 13 after an electrifying 105-yard kickoff return TD in week five against the St. Louis Rams. The return was the second longest in Lions' history and the sixth longest in NFL history. On the season, he also had 15 rushes for 95 yards. He will be back again this year read to keep  Ford Field buzzing.

While Logan and Quaye will rekindle their friendship, the Detroit-Cleveland games, USD, as well as SDSU, have past connections with both NFL franchises.

For example, did you know that SD Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Rasmussen was in the same starting Lions defensive backfield as current Pittsburgh defensive coordinator and NFL Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau? Or, that SDSU great Pete Retzlaff was drafted by the Detroit Lions but never played a down for them?

Retzlaff, who set 16 SDSU records in football and track, is originally of Ellendale (N.D.) High School. A 1953 graduate of SDSU, Retzlaff tried his NFL fortunes after leaving the military service but his contract was sold by Detroit to the Philadelphia Eagles (1956-66). He played in five Pro Bowls and set an Eagles record for the most receiving yards in a career 7,412 with 47 TDs. He received the Bert Bell Award as NFL MVP by the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia in 1965. His uniform number 44 was retired. While a great receiver for the Eagles, he was a fullback for the Jacks where set a then SDSU single-season rushing record with 1,016 yards in 1951.
 
Rasmussen ranks as one of the greatest athletes ever at South Dakota State University. A Howard, S.D., native, Rasmussen was a three-star athlete at SDSU before being drafted in the ninth round of the 1964 draft by the Lions.

A retired Citibank executive, Rasmussen played three sports for the Jacks (football, basketball and baseball), earning All-NCC honors in each of the sports. As a starting point guard, he led the Jackrabbits to the 1963 DII championship team and was named the national tourney's outstanding player.

A South Dakota Hall of Fame honoree, he played nine seasons in Detroit (1964-72), accumulating 16 career interceptions and had a pair of TD returns in 1965. While in Detroit, he played for George Wilson, Harry Gilmer and Joe Schmidt. His teams had a 60-55-11 record, including a 10-4 mark in 1970. 

Then there is the case of USD's Jamel White and SDSU's Steve Heiden, who were teammates in Cleveland from 2002-03.

White, who starred for head coach John Austin's Coyotes during the 1999 season, played in eight NFL seasons, including four with the Cleveland Browns (2000-03) where he served as a team captain. White had 1,423 yards rushing and nine nine TDs in his NFL career. In addition, he caught 172 passes for 1,294 yards and two TDs.

His best season in Cleveland was 2003 when he had 470 yards rushing and 452 receiving (63 receptions) with three TDs.

At South Dakota, White set a record with 1,796 rushing yards  (now second all-time) and also had 607 yards rushing in 1999 with 19 rush TDs (second most ever at USD) during the 4-7 campaign. One memorable game was a 43-30 loss to SDSU in which White and Josh Ranek traded yards and TDs in a classic match up.

Heiden was the 69th selection of the third round of the 1999 season by the San Diego Chargers. At SDSU he had 112 receptions for 1,499 yards and 8 TDs. In NFL, he played three years (1999-2001) with the Chargers and played for Cleveland from 2002-09. Heiden finished with 201 receptions for 1,689 yards and 14 TDs. Released in March of 2010 by Cleveland, his best season was 2005 with 43 receptions for 401 yards with three TDs.

Former Coyotes Josh Stamer (2003-07) and running back Carl Johnson (1957) spent time with the Detroit NFL franchise. Stamer played with the Lions in the 2009 season and Johnson was with Detroit in 1958.

Notes --

Meierkort closes in on third all-time...USD head football coach Ed Meierkort needs four wins to pass Joe Salem and move into third on the school's all-time coaching wins list...Meierkort is 48-30, .615, at USD while Salem was 51-39-2, .565, from 1966-74. Meierkort has had only one losing season in 7 years at the school. His .615 win percentage. ranks 7th all-time at USD....

Flashy Blount...At USD's media day this week, head coach Ed Meierkort said that USD will try and get the ball frequently into the hands of Coyote WR/KOR Jeremy Blount, who has run a 4.38 40-yard dash (for NFL scouts last spring). The electrifying senior, who is the distant cousin of Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount, sits on the verge of setting USD's Kickoff Return record. With 48 yards, he will break the mark of Jimmy Vann (1985-89), who had 1,353 yards on 58 returns. Blount has 57 KOR for 1,306 yards.

Schable trying hand as Seahawk...A.J. Schable, an All-American at South Dakota in 2005, is trying to hook on with the Seattle Seahawks. He previously played with Arizona, playing tight end. Now at 290 pounds, he is trying to make it on the defensive line. At USD, he set career records in sacks with 27.5 while ranking third all-time in tackles for loss with 44.5.

Stiegelmeier Ranks 2nd at SDSU... With his 88-66 (.571) career record, Coach John Stiegelmeier, originally of Selby, S.D., is second on the Jackrabbits' career wins list. Ralph Ginn is the career leader with 113-89-9 record and nine NCC titles. Stiegelmeier's string of eight consecutive winning seasons was snapped with the 5-6 campaign in 2010.

"Amazing" Things and Likes

Sometimes during the evening hours, a TV show will draw out something that I had not thought about or considered previously.

That is, when I turn away from the entertaining pointless comedy (OK, sometimes bad comedy) for a show that offers a bit of substance.

The other night I was watching an old episode of the Waltons, Earl Hemmer Jr., series from 1971-81 about a Virginia family during the Depression and WWII. It is a TV show that still feel warms my heart. After watching reruns of According to Jim and King of Queens, the Waltons show, which I watched years ago as a kid, provided me insight about groups.

The episode centered on John Boy Walton (Actor - Richard Thomas) delivering a sermon after the local minister had just tied the knot with a local teacher and they were off on a honeymoon. It was John Boy's message of family and friendship in the Church setting that grabbed me. As I observed the Church congregation singing "Amazing Grace," it made me marvel at how a group of friends and neighbors can come together as a group and pull off singing a hymn in rhythm and flow and in a soothing way. It is amazing that some in the group might otherwise make the dog howl but when mixing the hearty tenors with the softer soprano and alto voices, a wonder in music takes shape.

I had not thought about how a Church Congregation is a special group, who by repetition and adherence to structure are able to make beautiful music. I get it, recording studios aren't headed to the local church to capture the sweet music of a congregation but, the congregation at a church is one of those experiences that just makes me smile and appreciate "love of God," family, friends and neighbors as John Boy reminded us that we should do in his sermon about everyday life.

As I reflected on congregations, it stirred some other thoughts about things I like or find "amazing."

Some other things I like or find "Amazing --

~ How friends are always friends no matter time or distance. Earlier this year, I was at a basketball tournament at the Sioux Falls (SD) Arena, and as I headed to the concession stands for a bit of the salty popcorn, I met a friend of mine from college years ago. He lives in Rapid City now and I haven't talked to him since the early 1980s. But as we meet in a corridor, smiles appeared, and a hearty hello was followed by conversation about our lives. I have found that happening more recently of late and places like gas stations, book stores, coffee shops etc. It still makes a person feel good to know that the passing of years doesn't dampen friendship.

~ Fireplaces stir the soul. When I go to Coffea here in Sioux Falls, my local coffee haunt, for a cup of brew every morning, I find a spot near the fireplace because it soothes me. The fireplace is like those bonfires I attended while a teenager when the beverage wasn't coffee but a grain of some form and how we always seem to share stories -- yes, sometimes flinging tall tales. Embellishment is part of the game around the fire. Regardless of the stories, it is a pleasant experience to be with others in heating up the night.

~ No matter where you go, your hometown will always be home. I haven't lived in my hometown of Gettysburg since 1986 when I moved to Mitchell to take a job with the Daily Republic. Yet, every time the weather reports pop up I take a peak at what is going on in the 'Burg. Same holds true with news items. When there is an accident or a blizzard or something else, I always read it. I still look at the Potter County News from time to time. When Gettysburg was making one of seven trips to the SD High School Football Playoffs and doing well (4th in 2011) at the SD Track Meet, I felt proud - even if I don't know any of the young people performing on the field, in the arena or on the track. Every Friday I watch the local sports scoreboard to find out if the Battlers won or lost. I am frustrated if they don't post the score for Gettysburg. When I hear somebody mention Gettysburg, my head always jerks toward those comments. Where you are from always stirs passion.

~ The pleasure of a good Sunday morning breakfast. Maybe it is just me but I love my eggs, toast and Canadian bacon with a side of fruit every Sunday. In fact, I look forward to it. I suspect it is because when I was young Sunday breakfast was always a big deal in the family. It was good grub mixed with a sharing of what everybody in the family was doing. It is good people time.

~ Start of the fall sport season, specifically  football. I always find that the start of fall brings a renewal. Inside, you get a little excited about this new start, about the opening of school and its sports season. I find a little pep in my step wherever I am. 

~ People who greet you with unsolicited hello. For me I find a lot of good in people that are willing to say hello without being prompted. The courtesy of welcoming someone is "great humanness" that we all need. It doesn't take any more energy in being happy and welcoming than it does being grouchy or obstinate.

~ Unconditional love of a dog. I have owned dogs or had them in my family since I can remember to walk. There was Blackie, Sam, Laddie, Scamper, Duke, Cheyenne and Velvet and now the lovely Sierra. Add to those names are those of my brother Don's dogs, Dusty and Rusty, and my younger brother Jeff, who has had Tonka and Maggie Mae. Many of those "family members" are gone but never forgotten. Every day I come home, Sierra greets me with a smile and a bunch of kisses. Dogs are truly your best friend even when they greet you with an occasional "where in the heck have you been?" Priceless.

~ Soothing feeling of a good movie. I love going to the movie theatre, grabbing a water and a box of buttered popcorn, grabbing a seat about 15 rows back and sliding down into the chair for the previews and then a movie. Everything about you goes quiet and you have the opportunity to take in the spectacular of the theatre. The moments that you spend connecting to that experience provides stress relief and gives you pause to laugh, cry and think a little. As Jimmy Valvano said, "that makes a full day."

Former USD SID Mike Mahon to Work at World Track and Field Championships

In a basement office with no windows, newspapers and media guides are stacked in piles atop the desk, nearly hiding the outdated laptop and even the SID as he focuses on a project until a noise breaks his concentration. Flipping his chair around, he doesn't move but a few short feet as the SID  turns to greet a guest to his abode. As he speaks, his feet smack into the boxes of game programs that eat up the office's limited space. Three of the five drawers in the file cabinet are open with old scorebooks opened on top. "Sorry about the mess, I am glad you stopped by, we need to talk about..."

For sports information directors, space is rarely a concern. Except, maybe for the space between periods in a sentence, or the white space that is utilized in designing the "perfect" notes package (eye of the beholder) for the media and others who eat up the useless facts that fill up the PR documents.

Rather, SIDs value the space needed to do their sports PR job.

Many in the sports information business are defined by space and piles -- of helping athletes get the proper media attention in the right newspaper or website space and for garnering piles and piles of recognition on TV and radio and across the entire media spectrum. The athletes, coach and institutions are appreciative and often give a follow-up thank you or pat on the shoulder. Still, many don't understand the long hours and unyielding dedication these SIDs make to push and ensure coverage for those organizations and its players.

Today a former SID is using his "little" blog space to encourage media friends and colleagues to do likewise in finding a little space in recognizing a former University of South Dakota and Drake SID, who will be taking on a major role at the World Track and Field Championships later this month. Yesterday, I found out the Mike Mahon has been appointed as a press officer by USA Track and Field for Team USA at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Aug. 27-Sept. 4.

It is great news that that Mike is taking on the role but not unexpected. He commands great respect among among track and field media, coaches and athletes. His reputation defines a person who goes the extra mile or so to ensure that the media coordination goes off without a hitch.

Mahon's selection for this role is right and not hard to figure.

As he takes his place at the Worlds, he will find some "friendly" company in South Korea. USD grad and coach Derek Miles will be in the men's pole vault competition. Over the years Mike and Derek's path has crossed many times including at the Drake Relays, where Mike was the media coordinator. They also crossed at Olympics Games. And now, they will be in the same space again - this time a "world away" in South Korea.

While we will be cheering for Derek Miles to win the men's pole vault. He is highly ranked and won the U.S. Championships early this summer, there won't be a lot of cheers directed Mahon's way. That is the way it is with sports information professionals like him. Mike's passion for sports led him into the sports information field. The only attention he seeks is for the athletes and coaches, which in turn, put increasing positive glare on institutions and countries.

The West Des Moines native, who got his knuckles cut in the sports business under another SID legend Ron Lenz (USD, SDSU)  in sports information as a student at USD during the 1970s, will be helping American athletes and coaches work through the throng of media attention. He will find the right space to take care of that pile of business. The athletes and coaches will appreciate that space Mike provides them as they strive for championships.

The World Championships is just another of a long line of big time events that Mahon has worked. In a long career, he has been involved with the U.S. Olympic Committee, serving as a press officer for the U.S. track and field teams at the 1992, 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics. He also served as a press officer for the U.S. at the 1991, 1999 and 2003 Pan American Games.

"I've been very fortunate to work with both USA Track and Field as well as the U.S Olympic Committee over the years and I'm excited about working my first World Track and Field Championships. This is a great opportunity to renew some friendships with media from around the world as well as working up close up with those athletes who will be competing in the 2012 Olympics," Mahon told me today.

At the World Championships, he will coordinate media interview requests with both athletes
and the coaching staff from Team USA along with reporting results back to the media in the U.S.
Mike's sees this as an opportunity - indeed. But like so much of his work in his sports information life, he will do it with optimum professionalism and a hard focus. He will shine.

At Drake, he was deeply involved in making the Drake Relays one of the truly outstanding international meets. As a result of all of Mike’s hard work he was named the recipient of the Sam Skinner Award in 2006 by the Track and Field Writers of America. He was honored for showing “exemplary cooperation with the media in track and field.” How prestigious is that honor? He was the first SID to receive that honor.

Inducted into the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame, the 1976 USD graduate has served as the local media coordinator for the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also served as the media coordinator for the Drake Relays from 1989 to 2010 and was inducted into the Drake Relays Wall of Honor this past April.

Mahon was also inducted into the College Sports Information Directors Hall of Fame in 1995 and was cited for a quarter century of service in CoSIDA in 2002. He served as chairman of the CoSIDA Membership Services Committee from 1990-93 and also was chairman of the CoSIDA Olympic Liaison Committee in June of 2002.

I want to congratulate my good friend Mike Mahon for being selected for this opportunity. I am envious but proud of a good friend.

Mike was my mentor while I attended USD in the 1980s and he helped encourage my interest to go in college relations and later sports information. As a student, he showed me the importance of responding accurately, honestly and immediately to media requests. I learned from Mike how to work with athletes and coaches. When I received my chance at USD, his guidance served me well in nine years on the SID beat.

So Mike, it is easy for me to find a little space in The Genz blog to recognize you. Believe me you have a lot of friends and colleagues cheering for you. I know the track and field media, athletes and coaches will value your significant experience in dealing with media from all over the world.

Kudos and keep us informed, per your job. Yes, I will yell a cheer for Derek as he competes. But I think I will also feel a little tickle that a friend of mine is helping those competing have a "pro" taking care of their media business and ensuring a pile of coverage. As I watch the Worlds on TV, I know I will look for Mike in the background - even if it is just a glimpse of him at work.

Yep, Mike Mahon will be background -- where SID types like him thrive and relish the chance to do it.

What Would Jane Austen Say About Restive Sports Fans?

For some reason, I was thinking the other day about what 18th Century English novelist Jane Austen might say about the rabid behavior of sports fans. Why you ask, I am not sure? Just choke it up to my rambling mind. I am a rambling man, you know.

Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and other books, wrote of realism and often offered biting social commentary in her work. If she observed some of the conduct in stadiums and in bars or home surrounding sporting events, her thoughts most likely would not be positive, nor viewed favorably by the sporting community, especially fans that lose themselves in game and exhibit less than socially acceptable behavior.

A female philosopher of her time, she wrote with a comical slant at times. So maybe, her commentary might poke sarcastic (and deserved) fun at some of the fan behavior of today. More likely Austen, who writings were controversial during her life, would just shake her head and ask all of us quirky sorts to chill and relax, perhaps read more and act less. Tend more to your families, she'd say (I think.).

Austen might suggest to those unordinary fans to settle down and think of the women and children. And, I might say, there are some women and children that act a bit over the top during sports events. She would undoubtedly have some controversial flare in her words, whatever that would be.

A home body, her social behavior entailed reading works to friends or just visiting and talking.  I don't believe that she would have put paint on her face, dress in old worn jersey and badly coordinated colors and make loud and ludicrous statements during those social gatherings.

Now, let's be straight up about this, a lot of sports fans head to the ballparks for the experience and to offer occasional blasts of enthusiasm. They are normal in their thoughts and actions. Rabid, highly emotional and over the top actions are not part of their behavior.

For many others, me included, the quirks of our sporting rabidness probably has mental health professionals shaking their heads. It obviously has some of our own families,, wondering what kind of beverages we consumed prior to game time. And, the behavior has dogs running for their little houses at one corner of a living room.

Paranoia and superstition are part of the makeup for the quirky fans.

Take for instance, the occassional bad baseball play by my Detroit Tigers, which causes a sudden and vocal reaction which has my English Springer Spaniel starring at me in bewilderment - who are you mad at? Nobody is here but me? What did I do wrong? Then, she is off hiding somewhere.

I have been known to talk to the TV or radio or even my computer after one a "bad" mistake by the Tigers, Steelers, Coyotes or whatever team I want to win. Don't they know they are disappointing me? Don't they know that there are thousands of me out there, not understanding that mistakes and misplays are part of the game just like home runs and touchdowns?

When I am sitting around watching some baseball, it is often better if I turn the game to Atlanta or Philadelphia rather than watch my Detroit Tigers. It seems that every time I watch the Tigers on TV, they get the crap beaten out of them. Or, they make a rash of errors. A little paranoid, right?

To help my blood pressure and deal with sporting events highs and lows, I use technology to easy the trouble causes by games. The advent of the Internet many years ago has allowed me (and others) to sneak looks at games through the gamecasts app or just by refreshing the box score - when we are home or at a coffee shot.

That internet business is one part of the quirky behaviors. Some fans, like me, also wear the same clothes every Sunday for NFL games or always don the hat on game day we were wearing when the team struck gold with a World Series title or Super Bowl win. We even go to lengths of eating breakfast at a specific time or ordering take out at exactly the same moment as that special day. Of course, we always sit on the couch in the same spot or pace like one does waiting for an appointment.


Sound a little quirky? Yeah it does.

I often sit back and work on a project or look at Facebook or even read a book, then every few minutes I click the box to see the update. If I am on the road, the Blackberry serves the purpose. Even if I know the game is on radio, the Blackberry updates better serve my interest and my psyche.

Otherwise, I will sit there watching the game and end up talking to the TV (sometimes even my computer), like those I am observing can actually hear me. What follows a Tigers' or Steelers' loss is irrational carping or complaining through cyber devices. Clearly, I know they can't hear my voice yelling in my townhouse.

I let those in control or playing for those teams know through online posts what I am feeling -- like they actually are reading what I post. I go to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Detroit Free Press websites, Twitter or Facebook, and offer up my less than positive thoughts about the game just played. Sometimes, though, I am upbeat. Always, a little like Austen, I am controversial or at least aggressive in my writings (so I say).

It might be interesting what Austen would say about my quirkiness and sad sack behavior as a fan. She might offer more biting commentary than I offer in my ramblings about managerial mistakes or less than intelligent decisions by those playing the game.

And, she might say, think about your poor Sierra, who has to listen and observe less than proper social behavior. Think about your family, friends and neighbors, OK, Dan? When you do, the games may become more enjoyable, Austen might say.

Remember Adam Sandler's punishment in Anger Management? Maybe Austen saw that in the movie theatre of the heavens and now might suggest some similar therapy for quirky or restless sports nuts (like me). I wonder if an angelic Austin has contacted Jack Nicholson about the lead role as fan therapist?

It might be a good movie. It will at least have some laughing at us quirky types - Sandler can play me.