Up to Date in Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY-----The 2009 Maxwell Club dinner in Atlantic City was outstanding,the best I have attended and I have attended every Maxwell Club Dinner but one since 1963 when I was the Executive Sports Editor-Columnist of the Trenton N.J> Times.
Held at Harrah's Casino Hotel, the Maxwell Club drew a full room of 800, selling most of the tickets before Bad Times struck America. Attendance at other sports dinners will not suffer, but already sponsors are pulling out of sports events. The National Football League has cut its staff, reduced even the Commissioner's salary. Ticket prices have been frozen, and could even be reduced.
The Maxwell Club selects its honorees before the Bowl games and national championship game as does the Heisman, which has its dinner after the regular season ends. In 2009 the Heisman will make its announcement on the second Saturday in December, and will compete with the Army-Navy game for headlines. Army-Navy is a week later because of television.
Tim Teebow of Florida won the Maxwell for the second time and this fall will be shooting for his third Maxwell and his second Heisman.
At 6this year's dinner I sat on the Dais next to Bert Bell, Jr., the former NFL Commissioner's son. Because of our age we have many of the same pals. Ron Jaworski continues to do a fine job as President of the Maxwell Club which has a year round of recognition programs, including high school standouts. Bob Clark is the veteran Executive Director of the Maxwell and does an out-standing job in this capacity.
Jaworski's Arena League national champions from Philadelphia will not have a chance to try and defend their crown this year because Arena League football has been suspended this year.
The All-American Football Foundation, after a successful February Dinner in Jackson, has scheduled Banquets of Champions in Dallas June 2, Chicago July 28, Cape Cod Oct. 7 and Princeton Dec. 7.
Houston Nutt has a Memphis speaking engagement the same date as the Jackson Dinner and will receive his Johnny Vaught AAFF Head Coach Award at the Red and Blue game April l8. Nutt will go abroad with other coaches in June to visit the Troops as will Mack Brown, who once coached at Southern Mississippi. We wrote Mack and told him that General Larry Harrington Jr., son of the veteran trainer Larry Harrington, Sr., had just left with over 1300 Mississippi troops for overseas duty and might be reachable in Iraq.
Mack Brown was named the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year.His Texas team was one play away from being unbeaten, the pass play against Texas Tech when Michael Crabtree made his sensational snare to beat the Longhorns.
Spring practice begins across the country and unfortunately State,Southern and Ole Miss all have their spring games on the same day, April 18.
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