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Little Rock to Montgomery to Beaumont: Black History Month in school

Trial highlights: Acquittal, anger and a curve ball

It was a Super Bowl to remember for the oldies but goodies, with 43-year-old Tom Brady winning his record-setting fifth Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians becoming the oldest head coach to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
				At 68 years and 127 days old on Super Bowl Sunday, Coach Arians was typical in his post-game remarks, giving credit to his players and maintaining that he &ldquo;didn&rsquo;t do a damn thing.&rdquo;
				Modesty and good media training aside, Arians, who didn&rsquo;t get a head coaching job in the National Football League until age 60 after decades of experience as an assistant in the NFL and coaching college football, got his team to peak at the right time. The Bucs responded by becoming the first NFL team in history to score 30 or more points four times in a single postseason run. They also set a record by beating three previous Super Bowl Most Valuable Players in a single postseason, getting the best of Drew Brees (age 42) of the New Orleans Saints, Aaron Rodgers (age 37) in Green Bay, and then the youthful Patrick Mahomes (age 25) of the Kansas City Chiefs.
				There has to be some great coaching somewhere in there to position his players to excel.
				Arians got his first head coaching job at Temple University from 1983 through 1988, but his first opportunity to lead an NFL team wasn&rsquo;t until 2012 when he stepped up as interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts while head coach Chuck Pagano was being treated for leukemia.
				The Colts won nine games and lost three with Arians in charge and made the playoffs a year after going a dismal 2-14. The Associated Press named him the NFL Coach of the Year, the first interim head coach to be so recognized, and he followed that up as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for a five-year run that included a second Coach of the Year award, two playoff teams, a division title and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
				After the 2017 season and at age 65, he &ldquo;retired&rdquo; from coaching and spent some time away from the pressure of the NFL as a game analyst for CBS Sports. Deep down, though, Bruce Arians is a coach, and in January 2019 he came out of retirement to become the 12th head coach of the Buccaneers.
				The rest, as they say, is history. And despite speculation that he might accept the Super Bowl trophy and ride off into the sunset, Arians says he will be back at the helm next year as his Bucs try to win two championships in a row. After that, he says, he doesn&rsquo;t know.
				His leadership qualities were evident early, during his days as quarterback at Virginia Tech in 1974 where he not only set a school record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 11 (since broken), but set an example for his teammates and others off the field as well.
				Arians was the first white player in the university&rsquo;s history to share a dorm room with a black player, James Barber. You may not remember James Barber, but most football fans are well aware of his twin sons, Ronde and Tiki Barber, and their successful playing careers in the NFL. To this day, Arians remains a visible and outspoken advocate for inclusion and equality.
				Other reasons his players respect him and why he&rsquo;s been successful throughout his career include an undying belief that you can&rsquo;t live scared either in life or in football. &ldquo;No risk it, no biscuit,&rdquo; Arians often says to explain his coaching philosophy.
				High risk and high reward, but also the significant chance of failure.
				Arians is known to take chances during football games, often calling plays not considered safe. He says that shows his players he believes in them, their ability, heart and desire. He is big on communication, trust and accountability, and will stand in front of the cameras and take the heat when things go wrong. He picks players up after they make mistakes and coaches them for future success.
				Given his style, Arians must have a quarterback who can quickly and accurately read defenses, check down and determine the best option for each play.
				He certainly got that in Tampa when the Bucs signed former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in March 2020. Football experts debate various statistics and scenarios while discussing players, but with 10 appearances in the Super Bowl and seven wins, it&rsquo;s hard to argue against Brady as the greatest quarterback ever. Standing on top of the football world with more individual Super Bowl titles than any NFL franchise has won, it doesn&rsquo;t look like Brady is finished either.
				Arians and Brady setting records reminds us of other oldies but goodies at the top of their game despite advancing years (at least for athletes). At 39, Roger Federer hasn&rsquo;t played competitive tennis in a year due to injury and is missing the Australian Open, but has announced he will be back on tour next month. With his track record, there&rsquo;s no reason to doubt him.
				Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, nearing their mid-thirties and at the top of the tennis rankings, await Roger&rsquo;s return. They&rsquo;ve been the big three in men&rsquo;s tennis for a long time. On the women&rsquo;s side, Venus (age 40) and Serena (39) Williams are still playing, and Serena continues her quest for a record-tying 24th career grand slam title. Martina Navratalova won a Wimbledon championship at age 38, and the oldest male Wimbledon champion was Arthur Gore who celebrated his win in 1909 at age 41.
				The baseball Hall of Fame is celebrating 50 years since Satchel Paige was inducted. He played in the Negro Leagues beginning in 1926 but didn&rsquo;t get a chance to play major league baseball until 1948 when, at age 42, he made his debut for the Cleveland Indians. When asked about his advancing years, Paige would turn the question around and ask, &ldquo;If you didn&rsquo;t know your age, how old would you think you were?&rdquo; He pitched a game in 1965 for the Kansas City Athletics at age 59, throwing three innings, giving up a double to future Hall of Fame Red Sox left fielder Carl Yastrzemski, and retiring six batters in a row.
				Then, there are the New York Mets fans who still talk admirably of the home run hit by Bartolo Colon on May 7, 2016. A longtime pitcher in the major leagues, he set a record that day as the oldest player to hit his first career homer, just three weeks before his 43rd birthday. Nicknamed &ldquo;Big Sexy&rdquo; in reference to his less than svelte physique, Colon perhaps put the exclamation point on the &ldquo;you&rsquo;re never too old&rdquo; mantle.
				Given the physical demands, there&rsquo;s something to be said for the youth factor in sports. Take a look around, though, and you&rsquo;ll see there&rsquo;s also something loud and clear about the value of veteran presence and experience.
				Chalk another one up for the oldies but goodies.

David A. Jolley: Chalk another one up for the oldies but goodies, especially Arians, Brady