CLEARWATER, Fla. - It was Legends Day at the sprawling slice of baseball heaven the Phillies call home during spring training: The Paul Owens Training Facility at the Carpenter Minor League Complex next to Bright House Field.
And, yesterday, playing host to greatness in two sports.
Two living legends were in the house on a glorious late December morning. One legend has lived a lot longer, done a lot more. The other legend remains a work in progress. But what a work. And what progress.
Roy Halladay was well into his killer workout when the gates to the players and officials parking area at the Bright House swung open. Three of Clearwater's finest on motorcycles led three Penn State team buses onto the grounds. The buses stopped in front of the weight room, where the Cy Young Award winner was working his toned body into a fine lather.
The coaches parked in the lot and walked down the road in groups of twos and threes. Longtime defensive coordinator Tom Bradley did not appear aware he had been passed over for the Temple University vacancy.
Joe Paterno was the last to walk down the road. He is a magnet for back-channel cross talk, even at age 84. Fourteen years after I met him in State College to interview him on his 70th birthday, he was celebrating another one. They gave him a cake at the Clearwater Hilton Resort Tuesday night.
He had no trouble blowing out the candles or hearing the lusty rendition of "Happy Birthday."
And Joe heard every word when we reminisced before yesterday's relaxed "availability," even though we were standing at least 5 feet apart and I was not shouting.
There was a rumor floating that third-string quarterback Kevin Newsome will go the Pat Devlin route and transfer. Newsome, a mobile athlete in the Michael Robinson mold, was favored to win the job going into spring practice. But when a disappointing 7-5 season began, he was third on the depth chart behind true freshman Rob Bolden and redshirt sophomore walk-on Matt McGloin.
And a few hours after the Lions practiced on the Steve Carlton and Robin Roberts fields, JoePa received another honor. The NCAA announced that Paterno is the ninth winner of the NCAA's Gerald R. Ford Award. He is the first football coach to be so honored on a list that includes John Wooden, Billie Jean King and former Notre Dame President Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh.
