Morning Report: Madden’s secret to success

Pat Summerall said he knew that longtime broadcast partner John Madden would be something special the first time they worked together.

"He didn't talk down to people," Summerall told the Associated Press yesterday, after Madden announced his retirement. "He talked as if he was sitting next to you and explaining things to you."

Works every time. John Calipari's plan for rebuilding Kentucky's fading basketball tradition is simple: Get better players.

The Wildcats' new coach landed his first high-profile recruit Wednesday when DeMarcus Cousins signed with Kentucky. Calipari had recruited Cousins to Memphis, but the power forward transferred his allegiance to Lexington when Calipari moved there.

Even after his success at Memphis and Massachusetts, Calipari has been impressed at the impact of Kentucky's name nationwide.

"The best juniors in the country are calling us, 'Are you recruiting us? We need to know,' " Calipari told the AP. "That's something we didn't have at Memphis."

Sticks and stones. You've got to love the NHL's disciplinary policy.

Delivering a smashing blow to an opponent's head gets you a one-game suspension.

Making an off-color remark about former girlfriends means six games off the ice.

Winning tradition. And if you like successful franchises, look about 90 miles to the west. The Hershey Bears, who beat the Phantoms, 4-1 last night, are in the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs for the 60th time in 71 years.

Names to remember. One of the interesting subplots in the NFL draft will be watching quarterback Graham Harrell of Texas Tech.

Nothing shows more dramatically the difference between college and pro quarterbacking than the fate of one of the college game's greatest passers.

In his dramatic career, Harrell became the only quarterback in NCAA history with two 5,000-yard passing seasons. He had "only" 4,500 as a sophomore.

Harrell won 28 of his 39 career starts, and completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 15,793 yards and 134 touchdowns - an NCAA career record.

Yet he is rated no better than 15th among quarterbacks in the April 25 draft because his team plays a pass-happy system that has the quarterback taking a direct snap from the shotgun formation.

NFL coaches tend to shy away from guys who have never lined up under center for the snap, then backpedaled into passing position.

Tech coach Mike Leach offered a zesty opinion on that to reporters earlier this year.

"Any NFL coach who can't teach a good athlete to take three steps backward ought to be fired."

Another interesting case is Pat White of West Virginia. Considered smallish in stature at 6-foot, White set an NCAA record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 4,480.

But he did something more significant. In January, White became the first quarterback in NCAA history to win four bowl games.