Is there a gay fraternity yet at Missouri State?
According to
http://www.youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=1323"There are about two-dozen gay fraternities around the country providing friendship, support and commonality for its members, much like a surrogate family. The truth is, sometimes members' real families do not support their sexuality and their fraternity becomes the only family they have."
On another subject, Dane Bradshaw has just published his new book "Vertical Leap." (His brother suggested the title "Gravity Wins.) Dane is going to be at a bookstore in Memphis on June 19 to sign the book. I will try to be there with my digital camera to capture the essence that his cute face, smile, and body intrudes into the bookish atmosphere.
Check out
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/basket...5558819,00.htmlDane Confesses All"Dane Bradshaw was a very busy man last winter. In addition to starting at power forward for Tennessee, the former White Station standout was studying for a master's degree in sports management and writing a book, "Vertical Leap: Inside the Rise of Tennessee Basketball," which chronicles the Vols' 2006-07 season.
In a recent interview, Bradshaw talked about the book, which is now available at most area bookstores and through Tennessee Valley Publishing (tvp1.com), the writing process, his health and his future plans.
Q: What was your motivation for writing the book?
A: It was about this time last summer, when I was about to get out of my cast from having wrist surgery, I mentioned it to coach (Bruce) Pearl. We were having our summer camps up here in Knoxville, and I ran it by him. He was like, 'Yeah, yeah, that sounds great.' He sent me over to Craig Pinkerton, our sports information director. I ran it by him, and he thought I should do it because when he was at Kansas, Jerod Haase, who's now the director of basketball operations at North Carolina, did something real similar and he was real successful with it. So I figured I'd start keeping a journal-type thing. Worst-case scenario, I'd have a diary of the season for myself.
Q: So it's safe to say you weren't doing it for the money?
A: Yeah, that's not something I'm completely banking on! That definitely was not my motivation. I really thought that, more than anything, it'd be great to say I wrote a book, to say I was an author. And I thought the fans would appreciate it. It would help build a bond between players and fans, give them something they couldn't read in the media -- you know, the inside jokes, the inside stories. Even if you're not a Tennessee fan, I feel it's a good book on college basketball, showing fans the rigors of a season.
Q: How did your teammates react when they found out you were writing a book?
A: Well, they would see me in the back of the bus, typing away on my laptop, and I remember Chris Lofton was like, 'What are you doing?' 'I'm writing a book.' He didn't really believe it. Then I scrolled down my computer and showed him about 200 pages of text. Some reporters were thinking I was just sitting around with a pen and a pad at team dinners. It wasn't like that. It was more like keeping a journal.
Q: What was the process like of putting together the finished product?
A: I had a couple people start helping me with the editing before the season was over. But after we lost to Ohio State, I just sat there and was like, 'I don't even want to finish this project.' But it was actually kind of therapeutic in the end. The biggest challenge was trying to reach our goal of the deadline; we wanted to have it out by the end of May. It sounds a little easier said than done, because you have to go through and edit, design the cover, talk to distributors, everything else. The printing part of it usually takes 46 weeks. But we went through a local publisher and were able to get the printing part of it done in 31/2 weeks. That's a heck of a turnaround.
Q: What was the biggest surprise?
A: How much of a percentage the book store will take, about 40 percent. And if you have to go through a distributor, it's 55 percent. Golly, who's writing the book here? So that's why I'm telling people to order it online, because it comes with an autograph -- and I get a bigger portion of the funds!
Q: Did you give coach Pearl an advance copy?
A: As busy as he is, it's hard to go up to him and say, 'Hey, read this 200-page book.' So I actually handed his wife a disk before the season was over and said, 'Tell me what you think.' Apparently, he was able to read through it while he was on a plane. He loved it. He wrote the forward for it.
Q: You dealt with shoulder tendinitis throughout much of the season, so how's your health these days?
A: It's funny, I've got a bag of ice strapped to my shoulder as we speak. Last week, I was back in the gym for the first time after trying to get rid of my tendinitis, and it's been a long process. It just requires lots of rest. Earlier on, I'd try to take a week off and then come back, but that wasn't working. So I pretty much shut it down after the season, and really this book gave me the opportunity to keep my mind focused on something else. But now I'm back in the gym and working out again.
Q: What's next for you?
A: I just signed with agent who deals with the European leagues, so it's been a learning process. The agency I'm with, Courtside, they actually hold a camp in Frankfurt, Germany, at the end of June, and different teams from leagues across Europe will be there scouting. So that's kind of my next big basketball date. Until then, I'll just keep working hard.
Q: How'd you come up with the title for the book?
A: My sister came up with it, we both thought it was catchy. And I figured if I ever wanted 'Vertical Leap' next to my name, this was my chance. My brother suggested 'Gravity Wins.'
See Dane sign
Dane Bradshaw is scheduled to appear at several area stores to sign copies of his book, "Vertical Leap: The Rise of Tennessee Basketball"
Barnes & Noble, Wolfchase Galleria, June 19, 7 p.m.
Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 387 Perkins Ext., June 21, 6 p.m.
Tennessee Sports Zone, Cordova, July 21, 11 a.m"