The Larry Kane Report

He may be going to the Super Bowl, but New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is not super.

What is the one moment you may remember about Sunday night’s Giants win over Green Bay, broadcast to millions of people around the world?

Could it be the moment when the Giant’s kicker missed a field goal, and returned to the bench. His greeting from the Giant’s coach was a screaming tirade. It was enough to throw the words “we play as a team” out to the trash. Coughlin showed what he was about. Instead of patting the kicker on the back, and cheering him on. he degraded him in front of the world.

Sure enough. minutes later, the kicker, Lawrence Tynes, missed another field goal, perhaps freaked-out by his selfish coach. Ironically, the same kicker won the game in overtime, but no thanks to the coach.

This is not the first time Coughlin has dumped on his players in public. He trashed the quarterback, Eli Manning, almost the entire season of 2006.

Why I am writing this? Because his actions diminish sports in general, and promote the concept that anger and emotional abuse in managing people is a horrible American trait, in any profession, including pro sports.

Real leaders are managers by example, by positive motivation, and by setting standards high. A manager should be a teacher, a mentor, and a real leader, not pompous or self-indulgent, or ready to shame his employee in public.

Would you ever see Andy Reid do that to a player? Or Charlie Manuel?

The toughest football coaches in the world are also great motivators of people, bringing the best out in them.

That “Tom Coughlin” moment was a disgrace to all of sports. It was a toxic moment in the world of sports, which is, as you know, is all about fun and games. How you lose is as important as how you win. How you win, and the grace you show under pressure, really tells you more about a person than his talent.

This is not sour grapes because the Giants are going to the big show, and not the Eagles. This is a commentary on what counts, for the young people who were watching this moment, and the rest of us who enjoy sports and hate to watch someone take the joy out of it.

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So, I’m sitting in he barbershop when the barber, Joe Donahue, tells me that a customer of his has decided to stop buying Starbucks coffee because he “heard” that there was an internet report that Starbucks refused to send packages of coffee to soldiers in Iraq because the company is anti-war.  NOT TRUE -NEVER HAPPENED.

What a bunch of information garbage. I don’t blame the customer, but I DO blame people who read very bad rumor and innuendo on the web and decide that it has to be true. The phony report on Starbucks goes back to 2004. Old story – new spin. Also being featured on the web – those phony reports on Barack Obama’, John Edwards, Mike Huckabee and of course the Hate Hillary sites, and the attacks on Mitt Romney’s Mormonism, and so many more.

These reports are laughable and at the same time scary, because people spread them like wildfire.

The web is a great resource, but edit your information carefully. Many sites and messages are filled with hatred and distortions that are fueled by political manipulators .

One thoughtful writer, to this space, suggests that Bush and Cheney have a plan to cancel the elections and continue their grip on power . Rudy Guiliani wanted to do that after 9/11, to stay on as Mayor, but New Yorkers said enough is enough, even in times of peril.

America is a unique place. We have almost total freedom of speech, which means that some people will use that freedom to spread anything and anywhere until it becomes such a common thread that people actually believe it is true.

Rumors and fabrications are easy to accept if you want to believe them. Otherwise, check things out.

Don’t believe everything you read, unless, of course, it is printed here!

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A year from today we will have a new President. That’s a guarantee, if there ever was one. Seven years ago, freezing rain was falling as I stood shivering on a camera stand hovering above the west front of the U.S. Capitol where George W. Bush was being sworn in. New beginnings are always exciting, no matter what your political views might be. I know that the President seemed very excited that day to become leader of the free world. Who could know about 9/11, although some experts in our government feared a day like that for years. No one could possibly envision that the President would go to war in Iraq, and let the perpetrators of 9/11 regroup, probably in the nation of our ally Pakistan.

Few of the pundits could see an administration fractured by war and abandoned by its own party. But that is what happens when leaders sometimes choose personal relationships over really talented people. As we mark January 20th of this year,  it might be a good idea for all those well-intentioned Presidential candidates to start thinking how they would govern, if they win.

The world is not as simple as many of them make it sound.  I find it so amazing that so many of you, who write to this space, have such a visionary outlook for the future, and yet, there is so little vision coming from the top-tier candidates. A lot of puff, so many promises, and nobody really thinking about tomorrow.

NOW TO THE “REILLY FACTOR.”

No, I am not talking about the Fox guy Bill O’Reilly. I’m talking about a local guy who goes unsung as a hero to so many young people. Will Reilly is the head professional at Twining Valley Golf Club in Upper Dublin. This past Thursday, the Professional Golf Association of America honored him with a second national award in three years. The award was for “growing the game of golf.” In 2005 he was honored as the number one advocate of youth golf in America.

All of his work is volunteer. He is involved in the Police Athletic League, First Tee, and so many efforts for so many young people in this area that it would take hours to report them. In local golf, he is a legend. In  national golf, and to the young people of this area, he is a great man, a symbol of how volunteerism can change lives.

Golf is a difficult sport. But so is life. And because of efforts by Will Reilly and other volunteers, there are thousands of young people learning the challenges of the game, and concurrently, of life itself.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Will and the organizations he represents, along with the Reilly family. his wife. his Mom and Dad, their seven children and 20 grandchildren.

Will has done something that no other golfer has ever done: win two rare national service awards from the PGA.  And that is the Reilly Factor,

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After the Martin Luther King observance on Monday, Congressional leaders should call the House and Senate back, with no days off, until they negotiate and maneuver an economic stimulus plan for the nation. The situation could worsen even more in the weeks ahead. The Fed chief and the Treasury Secretary have been extremely tepid and inconsistent on the state of the economy. It is now up to Congress to get this done.

I’m concerned that without a sense of real urgency, the downward spiral will continue as Americans start to believe that their central government is incapable of dealing with crisis. This speaks to the issue of government competence.

I don’t know about you, but it seems like it is business as usual in the lobby-infested Capitol. The President finally admitted that we may have a problem and has vowed to work rapidly with the Congress to get a stimulus plan into action. Most economists thing it is already too late.

My point is: The Congress must work continuously for the people to make sure every move is made to keep the economy on track before a recession sets in.

We send these people to Washington to take care of business. And they should be working overtime to get this done.

There is nothing more important than the economic health of the nation. Jobs, opportunity, the threat of more mortgage foreclosures, are all at risk.

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It is obvious that the Federal Reserve Chief has little understanding of how to communicate in fast-paced media environments. His public comments are good and transparent, but his STYLE makes him look indecisive and not in command. That, along with the President’s decision to travel and therefore prolong a stimulus package, makes it apparent that no one in Washington gives a hoot about the dangers to the economy. And you can put the Democratic Congressional leadership in that camp. These people are the Slowsky’s of economic policy.

I mean, give me a break. It will take months before a stimulus package goes into effect. Most economists say it is too late. Talk about a Bush legacy? Where’s the beef?

In the meantime, a majority of Americans have something. either IRA’s or 401 plans that are impacted by stocks. As the market declines, people, feeling less wealthier or a lot poorer, stop purchasing discretionary items. I am not a financial adviser, but I understand the nuances of communication and the sense of duty that our leaders have toward the economy.

The sense of urgency for a solution is not there, yet. The Federal Reserve Chairman, although earnest and well-meaning needs to be more decisive.

The President, while admitting challenges, still thinks the economy is in good shape. This is scary, in itself. That’s why they made the FED independent of all governments. Meantime, Mr. Greenspan is telling the truth and insisting on action.

If we are not in recession, then there a feeling that we might. The psychology of that sensitivity is enough to cause anxiety for a lot of Americans.

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