For me, though, the most memorable moment in sports in 2008 was Phelps out of the water, cheering on his relay teammates to victory. Phelps was as intense and focused during his two relays, and being a part of a team, as he was in his six individual races. It would have been very easy for Phelps to talk about all the great things he did, which were simply amazing. Phelps, though, went out of his way to praise his relay teammates.

While it's not always easy for superstars to acknowledge the efforts of others, it's often harder to show true emotion while rooting your teammates on. In the 4 X 100 freestyle relay, in which Phelps swam the first of four legs, his reaction after teammate Jason Lezak made up ground on Alain Bernard of France, the world record holder in the 100-meter freestyle, was one of pure joy. The fact that this gave him the second of what would be a record eight gold medals in one Olympics seemed to be the furthest thing from Phelps' mind.

The beauty of this to me is that Phelps showed an example of true sportsmanship that was seen by many millions of kids. Very few youth sports athletes will play competitively beyond high school, but Phelps' reaction on the pool deck illustrated one of the great things of sports: contributing to the success of a team.

It's a good image for players and coaches alike to take into 2009.

This creates some confusion on the part of both the coaches and the parents of the players, who have to rearrange their schedules based on the new information. In the end, though, most of the kids were able to make it.

One of the keys to coaching 5th and 6th graders is being flexible. As the situation with the rosters illustrates, things will happen that are out of your control, and you just have to deal with them as best you can.

The same goes for practice itself. I did not know most of the kids who are on our team, so while we had prepared a practice plan in advance, we ended up changing it so we could spend more time on certain fundamentals based on what we saw on the court.

Planning for future practices will be easier as the season goes along, but the good news is that we've got a good group of kids, and they seemed to enjoy the first practice. Coaching at this level is all about the kids improving their skills and having fun, and we're off to a good start.

Curry broke onto the national scene during last year's NCAA Tournament, where he almost single-handedly led Davidson past the likes of Gonzaga and Georgetown to the Final Four, where it lost by two points to eventual champion Kansas.

He is one of the game's best shooters, and his range extends well beyond the NBA three-point line. With Davidson's point guard of a year ago gone, Curry has moved to that position from off-guard, where the focus of the offense was to get him open jump shots.

The point guard's prime role is to run the offense, and Curry has made this transition well. In the game against West Virginia he had 10 assists, many on great passes. He also handles the ball very well, and is a great foul shooter, so the ball is in his hand a lot at the end of games when Davidson has the lead.

Curry is also a very good defender. He is quick and moves his feet well, and the players he guards have to work hard to score.

His real strengths, though, are shooting, and working to create his shot. This year he's averaging 30 points a game despite constantly being double teamed, a tribute to his finding a way to get open.

This is especially true with the game on the line, which is when Curry really excels. In the game against West Virginia Curry didn't shoot well until the final few minutes, when he scored 12 points against constant pressure to lead Davidson to the victory.

To put it simply, Curry is one player I'll rearrange my plans to watch play. He does things the right way, is very fundamentally sound, and makes those players around him better. As they used to say about NBC's Thursday night television lineup, he is must-see TV for true basketball fans.

Recently, though, when I asked them if they wanted to take part in a four-mile fun run, they both said yes. It was a rainy day, but the kids were excited. My 11-year-old son tried to run as much of it as he could, and he turned in a very respectable time. Better yet was how good he felt about his effort, and how much he talked about it afterward.

Our local running club offers a lot of fun runs for kids, so I'm encouraged that we will participate in more of these in the future. The key with so many things is having a good initial experience, and that was certainly the case in this instance.

I think it's safe to say that no major college football program will ever again have a head coach for more than 40 years. Despite being 82, Paterno is showing no signs of slowing down. He's led Penn State to an 11-1 record this season, and a spot in the Rose Bowl.

Although Paterno underwent hip replacement surgery this week, he vows to run out of the tunnel with his players before the first game next season, and I wouldn't bet against him. As a Penn State graduate and fan, and someone who got to know Paterno as a reporter in the mid 1980s, I'm continually amazed he's able to keep it going both on and off the field. His teams have been very successful, and his teams are always near the top in terms of gruduation percentage, a rare combination these days.

Whether he coaches for one, three or five more years, he will be nearly impossible to replace, and will be truly appreciated once he retires. My guess is that Beaver Stadium will someday be renamed for the feisty Paterno, who taught me several life lessons while covering the team for the Penn State student newspaper.

There will never be another coach like him.

• Our kids who play youth sports.
• All those who volunteer their time to coach, officiate, organize leagues, etc.
• Good youth sports parents, including ourselves, who set a good example for our kids.

Participating in youth sports as a player, sports parent and coach has been a great experience for me, as well as for my kids. If you feel the same way, let those who make this possible know you appreciate their efforts -- especially your children. Few things are as rewarding, or motivating, as sincere thank yous recognizing one's contributions.

I was very into playing sports as a kid, and assumed my kids would be as well. They have been, but they've chosen the sports they want to pursue, and, with the exception of basketball, they are not the so-called traditional sports.

This bothered me initially, but I quickly realized that the kids' motivation and interest are essential to their enjoyment, and that I was better off to support and encourage their interests.

I also have a tendency to be a hands-on coach, offering instruction at every opportunity. Here again, I came to understand that while my kids take instruction willingly from other coaches, they don't want it from me.

My approach now is to introduce them to as many different sports as possible, and to make sports fun. The kids enjoy sports much more if they have some say in what they do and when they do it, without constant coaching or urging to play a particular sport from dad.

I feel I've become a much better sports parent thanks to this blog, which has largely focused on my experiences with my kids. I've also learned how to ride a RipStik, witnessed the benefits of karate and gymnastics firsthand and figured out how to coach my kids in a way that works for all of us.

I'm looking forward to sharing more of my learnings in my next 100 blog posts.

I, for one, think that is a good thing.

I play basketball with a group of guys my age on Wednesday nights, and it's one of the highlights of my week. The reasons I enjoy hoops are many, but here are a few:

• It gets my competitive juices flowing, as you need to win to play the next game.
• To be successful you need to work together/function as a team.
• It's a great workout.
• It takes my mind off of whatever else I was thinking about before stepping onto the court.

I suspect Obama likes basketball for some of these reasons, and others as well. Given the pressure and demands of the presidency, an activity like basketball can help him stay relaxed and sharp both on and off the court.

And if he's ever looking for another player for a pickup game, I'm just a few miles away.

Miller is also calling the World Series on ESPN Radio, and he's reason enough for me to listen to the games. Miller is one of the rare announcers who makes the game come to life, and he sets the scene so well that it almost feels as though you are there.

Baseball, with its slow pace and plenty of time between pitches, is a sport that lends itself very well to radio, and for my money, no one is more fun to listen to than Miller.

I've also recently learned another way to make my kids more willing to listen to and try my advice -- by having them teach me to do something.

My son is very into a two-wheeled skateboard called a RipStik. He mastered it right away, and can make it do pretty much whatever he wants. I, however, have not had much success with it at all. I decided I needed my son's help and advice, and he was very willing to teach me. He's been surprisingly patient, and has done a good job of teaching me the basics. I'm still no master, but I've gotten a lot better, thanks to him.

I've mentioned to him how helpful his teaching has been to me, and made the larger point that knowing how to do something right can improve your skill level and enjoyment as well. Since our RipStik lessons he's been more receptive to my teaching, and I'm looking for more situations for him to teach me to do something. 

Most Wednesdays during the school year I play basketball with a group of similarly aged men, which is one of the high points of my week. I have always loved playing basketball, and have played on and off since middle school.

Wednesday night hoops is about me. It's very competitive, and a chance for me to test my skills against others. I often head home thinking about what I can work on to improve my game, and I'm just glad to have the opportunity to play on a regular basis.

I think it makes me a better sports parent, but more importantly, it fills my need for competition, and to be a part of a team.  I can't wait for next Wednesday.

A counter argument is that since the boys tend to be more aggressive and dominating, girls on coed teams get less opportunity than they would on an all-girls team.

In short, I feel coed teams are right for some girls, and some boys, but that the kids should be making these decisions and not the parents. After all, our kids get many benefits for participating in team sports, and we should do all we can to encourage and support them.

A few years ago I took my kids to see Penn State's spring football scrimmage, but they had never been to a regular season game.

This was the year that was going to change. We picked yesterday's game against Temple, were able to get nine tickets for other members of my extended family, and we rented a 12-passenger van for the 4-hour trip to State College, Pennsylvania.

The weather was perfect -- 70 and sunny -- and we parked on one of the vast grass parking areas surrounding Beaver Stadium, arriving moments before the noon kickoff. The kids were amazed at the vastness of it all -- more than 40,000 cars, RVs and all other types of vehicles, many of which had something showcasing the owners' Penn State spirit in what was a sea of blue and white. The same could be said for the clothes, as almost everyone, except for the few Temple fans, were wearing someting with blue and white.

Walking up the tunnel to our seats was something my kids will always remember. There they were, in the middle of more than 107,000 fans, who were doing the wave, waving pom-poms and generally rooting on the home team. The kids wore their Penn State football jersies for the occasion, and they quickly became an active part of the crowd, cheering all positive Nittany Lion plays, while always keeping an eye out for Penn State's Nittany Lion mascot.

The game was very one-sided -- Penn State won, 45-3 -- but the kids enjoyed the game and the surroundings very much. They also were very interested in our 3-hour postgame tailgate, which ended just about the time the sun went down on what was a very memorable day for my family.

This was one of those outings I had thought about a lot, and that really lived up to my expectations. I'm hoping it becomes an annual event. Now to teach them the words to the fight song ...

I took my kids to a Baltimore Orioles game last night, and they really enjoyed it. And unlike our previous trips to baseball games, they were very content to sit and watch the game. They also asked several questions about what was happening on the field, and I was able to point out some fundamental-type things as well.

They also liked the surroundings, such as the between-innings entertainment, the foul pops that came near us, watching, and imitating, the vendors hawking their wares, and observing the mannerisms of the players, especially the batters in the on-deck circle.

Most of these are things you miss by watching the game on TV. When it came time to leave at the top of the eighth, the kids wanted to stay. I was always that way, not wanting to leave until the game ended, and it was nice to see them share that enthusiasm.

1. The Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays have never had a .500 record in their history, but with just over 20 games to play, Tampa Bay is 32 games over .500 and has the best record in the American League. Who would have thought they'd be leading both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in the American League East at this point in the season? 

You'll learn more about their many young stars, such as pitchers Scott Kasmir and Matt Garza and position players B.J. Upton, Rocco Baldelli and Evan Longoria come playoff time.

2. The Chicago Cubs. It's been 100 years since the Cubs won a World Series, but this could be their year. The Cubs have the best record in the National League at 31 games over .500, and have shown that they can win games with their hitting, pitching and defense.

The Cubs have the veterans needed to make a deep postseason run in players like first baseman Derrek Lee, third baseman Aramis Ramirez and outfielders Alfonso Soriano and Jim Edmonds. Chicago also has great starting pitching led by Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden and Ryan Dempster, and a talented bullpen featuring Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood.

I'd love to see these two teams meet in this year's World Series. You may have different teams you'd like to see reach this point, but I find it fun to have a rooting interest in two teams going into the playoffs. It will be fun to see what happens.