Staudt: Mason was perfect hockey ambassador
I've heard a lot of numbers associated with Ron Mason's storied career this week, but two stand out from the rest-- 323 and 17. Michigan State sold out 323 consecutive regular season hockey games during Mason's coaching tenure over a 17-year span. Amazing. And book it that those records will never be broken in any Michigan State sport and who knows how long they'd stand at any other school either.
In some ways I think Mason was more appreciated after he left MSU in 2007 as athletic director and sailed into retirement. Spoiled MSU hockey fans have since seen how difficult it is to win anymore, let alone win 30 plus games each season during most of Mason's 23-year tenure.
He was the greatest ambassador for his sport I've ever seen - not just Michigan State hockey, but the college game in general. And because he loved it so much I think that prevented him from exploring his options in the NHL. And I've long felt he far more enjoyed coaching than he did serving as athletic director where problems arose at will and solutions weren't as easy as dealing with just hockey alone.
I said at his retirement dinner on June 12, 2008 that his Children's Miracle Network work through the years was as big a deal as his 924 career wins if not more so. I said then and I believe it today - long after his coaching victories would be forgotten children would still be treated in state of the art facilities daily at Sparrow Hospital for which he helped build the pediatric emergency center. At the time he served as honorary chairman of CMN. Sparrow presented him its Founders Award for his work, its highest honor and I'll always believe that trumps anything else he was ever awarded in his ultra successful life.
THORN IN U-M’S SIDE: Ron Mason had a 42-29-8 record against Michigan, and the Wolverines' coach Red Berenson offered praise earlier this week. Berenson says Michigan's program was nowhere near Michigan State when he arrived 32 years ago in Ann Arbor because of what Mason had built in East Lansing. Berenson adds that Notre Dame is a good addition for Big Ten hockey in another year and he believes eventually an eighth school will be added to provide ease in scheduling.
BIG TEN LEGENDS: My standout Ron Mason memory? He told me he wanted to meet Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight and he was aware that I knew him. The introduction was arranged for a morning shootaround when the Hoosiers were in Breslin Center preparing to meet the Spartans later that night. Knight was told he was meeting "the winningest coach in college hockey history" upon introduction. That seemed to go in one of Knight's ears and out the other until Mason told him he was as polished a fisherman as Knight was and that caught Knight's fancy. The two then spent 20 minutes on that subject before Ron went back across the street to Munn Arena.
MIRACLE ON ICE: Then there was the night in 1980 when the U. S. Olympic hockey team stunned the Russians in the Lake Placid Olympics. It was a Friday night and the game was not televised. Michigan State had won a home game that same night and I called Ron for a reactionary interview for the late sports. He seemed happier for the U. S. victory than his own team's because one of his former players at Bowling Green, Ken Morrow, was on the Olympic squad.
MONDAY MOURNING: It was a tough Monday for current MSU hockey coach Tom Anastos. He was awoken just prior to 6 a.m. to receive the news of Mason's passing from an aide - the same day he was due to go into the hospital for knee surgery. He held a news conference late that morning to talk about Mason. And his assistant, Kelly Miller, had to deal with Mason's death all the while showing a recruit around campus. MSU's other longtime assistant, Tom Newton, visited with Ron's wife Marion before attending the news conference himself and composure was difficult for him in front of the microphones.
TEE IT UP: Michigan State's varsity men's golf team has quite a presence in the 105th Michigan Amateur championship, which begins Tuesday for 162 players at Eagle Eye. The qualifers include MSU head coach Casey Lubahn, his assistant Dan Ellis, former captain Carson Castellani and current players Sam Weatherhead and A. J. Varekois. Is there a golf school in the country that has two better competitive players as head coaches than MSU with Lubahn and Stacy Slobodnik Stoll?
A REAL CARD: Of course Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh needs his own baseball card. Topps is releasing its so called "Celebrity Series" consisting of well known people in baseball uniforms. Harbaugh is shown in his pitcher's glare in a Detroit Tigers uniform that was captured last July 30th when he was at Comerica Park.
TOURNEY DREAMS: Northwestern has never played in the men's NCAA basketball tournament. It must be a big deal because the school this week announced a $110 million renovation to Welsh Ryan Arena to help lure better recruits. Northwestern will have to find a temporary home for a year while construction is ongoing.
HOT SHOTS: High school basketball players who will be juniors next season could be contacted by college recruiters as of this past Thursday. East Lansing's Brandon Johns heard from Michigan (who offered a scholarship), Michigan State, Purdue, Xavier, Alabama and Iowa among others. Johns has started for East Lansing for two years and the Trojans were unbeaten this last season until they suffered their only loss in the regional tournament to Everett.
ON A MISSION: Lansing Christian sophomore Parker Jamieson will continue his golf career this summer -but mostly in the second half of the days away from school. Jamieson, a sophomore, who won the division four state title last week, is soon off to South Africa for a 12-day mission trip with eight of his classmates. His niece is Casey, also a sophomore, a 50-goal scorer for the Pilgrims' soccer team which was eliminated this week in the state tournament semi-finals.
REPORTING FOR DUTY: Kyle Haak was a standout tennis and hockey player at Okemos High School. Wanting a college scholarship in hockey, he opted for three years of junior play in Aberdeen, South Dakota. There he was noticed by the Air Force Academy and completed his freshman season this past March with the Falcons. He scored nine goals and had 10 assists as a defenseman. Haak is home for three weeks before returning to the Academy in Colorado Springs to begin his sophomore year.
BIG HOUSE, BIG FEES: High school football teams wanting to play a game in Michigan's Big House can check out what Paramus, New Jersey Catholic is paying for its game September 2 against Maryland's St. Frances Academy. The Detroit Free Press says the rental fee is $2,300 for the field and $1,000 for the locker room. Needed officials on site make up the remainder of the cost which totals $10,300. Chances are Rashan Gary will attend the game. He's the top recruit among Michigan's incoming freshman class. Gary was considered the consensus number one recruit in the nation out of Paramus and he is already in Ann Arbor preparing for his freshman season.