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Wisconsin assistant coach Alando Tucker talks with guard D'Mitrik Trice during practice.(Photo: Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

MADISON The fit appeared to be perfect.

The offer was one that couldnt be refused.

Saying no didnt appear to be an option.

After all, who wouldnt want to work at the basketball program and under one of the coaches responsible for helping him develop into an All-American player?

Yet even after UW head coach Greg Gard offered the job of interim assistant coach for the 2019-20 season, Alando Tucker had to ponder the matter, weigh every pro and every con.

The process was trying to figure out how to grieve and trying to balance that with life still moving (forward), the world still rotating, Tucker said Friday during the teams annual media day. I was stuck in the middle.

Is it something that is deserved? Id have to fill a great friends shoes. So, youve got all of these different emotions you have to go through.

Including guilt.

Under normal circumstances, Tucker probably wouldnt have hesitated to accept Gards offer. Yet anyone who follows the UW mens basketball program understands the circumstances were anything but normal and why Tucker needed time before accepting challenge of working on game plans, tutoring players and wooing recruits.

Tucker understood he would be taking over for assistant Howard Moore, who lost his wife and daughter and suffered severe burns in a horrific automobile accident on Memorial Day weekend. Moore was on the UW staff when Tucker was a player (2002 through 2007). He was a mentor, a friend, a brother.

No one expected this, said Tucker, who served as UW's Director of Student-Athlete Engagement since February of 2018 before taking over as assistant coach on July 30. There was never a blueprint for this. It all happened so fast. To me, it was like I blinked and I became a coach."

Gard understood the initial reticence.

I knew that weighed on his mind, Gard said. He talked to his family about it. He talked to Howards parents about it. That was really important for him to have their blessing, that he could step into this role, knowing that he was trying to continue what Howard had been a part of.

It wasnt an overnight, easy decision for him.

Yet assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft, who was a teammate of Tuckers for two seasons, understood why the offer was eventually accepted.

Hes not replacing Howard," Krabbenhoft explained. "Hes picking up a brother. Really, Howard and Alando, that relationship, theyre family. Thats what family does.

If something bad happens, you go, you do, you jump on board, you get in your car and your drive. You dont know why, you dont know what will happen, you just do it because its family. I think Alandos had that approach."

Tucker explained Thursday he has no doubt he is wired to coach the game he played professionally for 10 seasons, the first three in the NBA and the last seven overseas.

Im a natural coach, he said. Im owning this position. I could see myself in this long-term, for sure. I dont think that is a question.

The question that Tucker, who is married and has two sons, had to ask: Do I want to spend more time on the road after I promised my family those days were behind us?

I understood the demands will require me to travel a lot, he said. I had made a commitment to my family to be there.

Am I ready for this? When I became comfortable was when my wife said: Yes, you can do this. Weve experienced where you are gone all the time. At least you get to come home and you are there to tuck your kids into bed.

Although he wasnt able to go on the road recruiting initially, he was able to get to the know the players during summer workouts.

I think anytime you walk down that road, there is always some excitement in the unknown, Gard said. It was very good to have the summer where he could be here and be in the workouts and get his feet wet. That is what I wanted to do, knowing we could ease him into this, get him on the floor first and then work through the recruiting

He knows all our guys. Hes got street cred to no end. Hes got a lot of horsepower when he walks into the gym. They know who he is.

"I knew that was a very sensitive line that we had to walk. Walking in with John Stranger out of the blue, they dont have a grasp of the emotional strings attached to all this. And what is their motive?

"Were fortunate to have Alando. He has been terrific."

Tucker's initial reticence is gone. He is home again.

"I am here for a reason," he said. "When I decided to come back to the university it wasnt to be a coach.

"But it was the easiest transition to make it comfortable for the coaches, comfortable for the players and ultimately for the families.

"Lets not be mistaken. This is an unbelievable opportunity to be able to coach on this level. Im very fortunate to be in that position. But again, it came (after) the most tragic incident anyone could ever experience."

Originally posted here:
'Is it something that is deserved?': Alando Tucker paused before choosing to join UW coaching staff - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) To some, Roy Turners storage room may appear to be filled with junk but to Turner its a room full of fond memories of the 18 years he spent coaching the Wichita Wings Soccer Team.

This was a souvenir piece we gave out, said Turner holding up a white small poster with cartoon like characters drawn on it.

These are caricatures of all the players, said Turner. Thats me when I wore glasses.

The room is filled with trophies, game soccer balls, team photos, game tapes and much more memorabilia.

I think my biggest achievement was from 80 to 86. We had one of the best records in the league and we were the smallest market and the smallest budget, said Turner. Probably the best days of my life. Packed stadiums a lot of fun.

Hell soon see his nostalgia fulfilled now that his beloved team is set to return.

I love it! exclaimed Turner. I wish I knew more about it. I dont know what league they are going to play in. I dont know who the players are but I hope they wear that shirt with the wings with the pride and the Wichita Wings legacy. They all remember that when they step on that field and who they are representing and the history of our team.

When asked if he plans to see them play he had this to say.

Without question you know I want to see that shirt on the field, said Turner. I hope so much they are very successful.

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I love it: Former Wichita Wings coach reacts to announcement of teams return - KSN-TV

When seven faculty members quit during their first week at Jordan L. Mott Middle School in the South Bronx, PE teacher Chris Astacio wasnt surprised.

The year was 2012, and the kids were out of control.

They would curse at me for no reason. I got hurt so many times breaking up fights, Astacio told TODAY Parents. There was this blatant disrespect. I remember my wife saying to me, You need to find a new job.

But Astacio, 41, refused to get discouraged. He grew up on those same streets and understood the anger. Mott is located in one of the most dangerous, poverty-stricken neighborhoods in New York City.

"I never considered quitting, Astacio told TODAY Parents. "These kids from the South Bronx have this image in their head that they're nobody. I knew they needed somebody to believe in them."

At the end of the school year, when an administrator approached the father of two about starting a girls softball team, he agreed to take on the challenge.

What happened next is a story so remarkable that it was recently turned into a book by author Dibs Baer.

That first year coaching the Lady Tigers, I felt like a complete failure, Astacio admitted. They continued cutting class, getting into fights and hanging out with the wrong people. At practice, Id ask them to run four laps, and theyd be like, We aint doing that.

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Determined to build trust, Astacio began holding unofficial therapy sessions.

There were weeks where we didnt even touch any softballs, it was just me sitting down with them and talking to them, Astacio told TODAY Parents. In the beginning, the girls were reluctant to speak, so I would share my story to show them, Hey, Im one of you. Whenever I hit a chord, someone would chime in and say, Oh, I experienced that too.

Slowly, the walls started to come down. Astacio learned that a majority of the team came from broken homes and had never met their fathers. Many had mothers that left them alone with brothers and sisters to look after.

The girls began to use softball to escape the harsh reality of their lives. Every morning, they showed up ready to practice before school. After a rough first year they lost every game but one the girls would go on to win the Bronx playoffs.

In 2015, Astacio fundraised $39,000 in 5 days to take the team on a trip to Florida State University, so they could watch a college game. At the time, Astacio was battling cancer.

"I was hooked up to machines and I get a phone call from one of my teacher friends," Astacio said. "He goes, 'You won't believe what's happening. One of the girls stepped up and is leading practice. They said, if coach won't give up, we won't give up."

Genesis Moore says it is the least they could do for Astacio.

"He was the father I never had," the 18-year-old told TODAY Parents. "He saved my life." Moore, who suffered from anxiety and depression, said Astacio would go out and buy her lunch and they would eat together in his office.

"He would just talk to me and listen," she revealed. "I never had that before."

Today, some of the girls are still finishing high school, while others, like Moore, are in college. A few "are not doing well."

But Astacio, whose cancer is in remission, tries to focus on the success stories like Johanna, who recently accepted a full scholarship to play softball at Monroe College, and Heaven, who was accepted to every university she applied to and plans to study law.

I always tell all the girls not to give me all the credit, Astacio told TODAY Parents. All they needed was to be directed on the right path and thats what I did for them. They did the work. I just turned them around.

More here:
The story of Chris Astacio and the Lady Tigers softball team - Today.com

An ill wind may be blowing for some but for Eddie Jones and England life is suddenly unexpectedly calm. Almost before World Rugby had confirmed the cancellation of their final pool game against France they were away to the airport and heading south to Miyazaki, safely out of the path of the onrushing typhoon and back to the same beachfront training base where they spent the tournaments opening days.

Given England were up and out of their central Tokyo hotel in less time than it takes to say this suits us fine mate, it was an interesting moment for the tournament organisers to be flagging up the logistical difficulties of moving rugby teams around Japan. Jones, looking as upbeat as he has done since arriving, appears rather less than broken-hearted to be fleeing the typhoon zone and sidestepping the France game.

His good humour may also have had something to do with the latest headlines out of Australia, poised to be Englands quarter-final opponents next week if the remaining pool results unfold as anticipated. It has emerged that the Canberra Raiders rugby league coach and former Kangaroos halfback Ricky Stuart will be in Englands camp before the Oita game an invitation which will not amuse the Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika, also a friend of Stuarts.

Jones has previous form in this area having invited Andrew Joey Johns along to training during Englands tour of Australia in 2016. Only last week Stuart was coaching the Raiders in the National Rugby League grand final against the Sydney Roosters and his knowledge of knockout rugby is sure to be among the areas of mutual discussion during a fact-finding mission which was apparently teed up a couple of months ago.

Englands players, either way, now have no preparation worries having been given some helpful extra leeway by the cancellation. With Billy Vunipola, Jack Nowell and Joe Marler all hoping to be back in quarterfinal contention, Jones clearly views this free weekend as a handy bonus and, unlike all those unfortunate supporters who have flown to Japan to find their match tickets redundant, he is not weeping into his beer.

It is a great opportunity for us to regenerate, refocus and put a bit more petrol in the tank, so were really happy with it, Jones said. We had an idea before we came that it could happen and therefore, in case it does, you have to accumulate points in your games to put yourself in the right position. Weve been talking about it all the time, about the possibility this was going to happen.

In other words, Jones is shedding no tears for those teams whose qualification chances have been or could be wrecked by the weather. Aside from an ill-judged quip about unforeseen travel chaos he would have been much better avoiding its typhoon season; you go somewhere else and its terrorist season the former Japan coach also has personal experience of how damaging typhoons can be when they strike Japanese cities.

Ive probably been here for about 30 typhoons, he said. Some of them are just like a big thunderstorm but I can remember driving in one in Tokyo in 1996. A sign from a 7-11 convenience store flew off and landed just in front of the car. At one stage I was looking pretty dodgy if it had kept coming. I can still remember it clearly.

For that reason he insists the organisers had little choice but to call off the France game on safety grounds. Theres a reason why everything shuts down when typhoons come because it can be particularly dangerous. This ones supposed to be a big typhoon, so I dont see any other option that the organisers had. We think its the right decision.

Yes, but what about the potential damage to the integrity of the competition? That is the way the laws are. All I can be happy with is my situation, I cant compare [it] to someone elses situation.

As Tokyo braces itself for potentially its biggest storm of the year, Jones also believes the weather should not be allowed to obscure all the positives of staging the World Cup in Asia for the first time. We are in the midst of a great tournament and we shouldnt let this cast a shadow over it, he said.

If you never try anything new, you never know anything new. We need rugby to grow and youve seen the growth in Japanese rugby here. We have got another major player in world rugby and it wouldnt happen unless you had the World Cup here.

It will take more than an ominous looking weather forecast to persuade Jones this tournament should have been staged elsewhere.

Excerpt from:
Eddie Jones and England happy to hunker down on the coast at Miyazaki - The Guardian

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BUFFALO Its no exaggeration to say Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger is the most interesting man in hockey.

The Winnipeg native describes himself as a pure hockey player who is self-educated, but he has put together an interesting resum in his 60 years.

Krueger went from being a high-scoring forward in the German hockey league to a successful coaching career with the Swiss national team.

In his spare time, he wrote a book on leadership that was a best-seller in Europe, advised top corporations on leadership, had a seat at the World Economic Forum in Davos and served as the chairman of Southampton FC in soccers English Premier League.

Team Canada coaching consultant Ralph Krueger, speaks with Sidney Crosby during a practice at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 11, 2014.Al Charest / Calgary Sun

The idea of leadership has consumed Krueger since he was a youngster. He said St. Johns Ravenscourt, a prestigious private school in Winnipeg, had a profound influence on his life and he began to think about leadership when he was the head boy in Grade 7.

When I look back on my life, that was when I felt the urge to be a leader, said Krueger. I was never really happy as a player but the first day I coached, when I was 29, 30, that was when I was the happiest man on the planet and I knew that was my calling.

One of the abilities I have is to process what it takes for a team to evolve, to create the harmony, to bring together all these diverse cultures we have in the NHL to get them to work together, said Krueger. Its like an experiment and hockey is the most beautiful platform for me.

Krueger was behind the bench for 18 world championship and Olympic tournaments with the Swiss national team. He led the Swiss to a 3-2 win over the Czech Republic and a 2-0 win over Canada at the 2006 Olympics. At the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, the Swiss took gold medallist Canada to a shootout before losing 3-2

His experience gave him an understanding of different hockey styles and cultures and it helps him in Buffalo, where he has players from six countries.

Every country in Europe has its own personality, the two in North America Canada and the U.S. have different personalities and you can see it in the way they play, said Krueger. It helps me that I can recognize those differences and then bring them into the team. The Swedish culture is a defensively-based, sacrificial kind of game. The Swedes play the most controlled hockey in Europe and the Finns are more open, run-and-gun. The Russians sit back and play 1-4 all the time and scoring chances are 10, 12 a game.

Buffalo is Kruegers second stop as an NHL coach. He coached the Edmonton Oilers in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and was fired after missing the playoffs. His contacts with the World Economic Forum led to an offer to serve as the chairman at Southampton, although he did maintain some hockey connections.

Team Europe head coach Ralph Krueger during morning practice at the Bell Centre on Sept. 10, 2016.Pierre Obendrauf / Montreal Gazette

He served as a consultant to Team Canada in 2014 and Claude Julien, who was an assistant coach with the Canadian team, said Krueger offered valuable insights into the European teams. And Kruegers experience made him a natural to coach Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup.

Krueger is happy to get another shot at the NHL, but said it wasnt a must. When Jim Rutherford moved to Pittsburgh and became GM in 2014, he talked to Krueger and Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill made his first pitch in 2017.

Ive always been a project person and I didnt feel it was right to leave Southampton, said Krueger. Once I had closure there, six or seven months ago, I knew this was my dream but I wasnt sure anyone would give me the opportunity. I was grateful Buffalo came calling.

Krueger has the Sabres off to a 2-0-1 start and Wednesday theyll take on the Canadiens, the team Krueger cheered for as a youngster.

They were by far my favourite hockey brand as a kid, but now I cant love them as much, not tomorrow.

phickey@postmedia.com

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Sabres coach Ralph Krueger: the most interesting man in hockey - Montreal Gazette

The end of the Oregon Project is the latest development in a stunning downfall for Salazar and a fissure in one of the longest professional relationships of his life. Salazar has had a close relationship with Nike since he migrated to the Pacific Northwest from Massachusetts as a teenager to attend and run for the University of Oregon, alma mater of the Nike co-founder Phil H. Knight. Knight started the company that would become Nike with the famed Oregon coach Bill Bowerman shortly after graduating from Oregon, where he was a member of the track team.

Nike sponsored Salazar as a professional, when he won three consecutive New York City Marathons and became the worlds top distance runner. His running career cratered in the mid-1980s as he battled injuries and depression. Salazar later became a sports marketing executive with Nike, and in 2001 founded the Oregon Project. The venture emulated other elite training groups that were popping up at the time, notably the Mammoth Lakes, Calif.-based Team Running U.S.A., but with far more money, access to Nikes scientific research labs, and with Americas best-known distance runner at the helm.

The biggest stars of the Oregon Project were Galen Rupp, an Oregonian Salazar discovered when he was a teenage soccer star, and later, Mo Farah, the Somali-born Briton, who won four Olympic gold medals and then left the Oregon Project in 2017. Both Rupp and Farah have denied using performance enhancing drugs. Even as those stars succeeded,others left the Oregon Project dispirited, their bodies broken and their minds damaged by Salazars intense workouts and coaching style.

For more than a decade the Oregon Project operated largely in secrecy. The wall of silence began to break 10 years ago, when a Nike scientist called USADA to report suspicious testosterone levels in blood tests of Oregon Project athletes.

Three years later, an Oregon Project scientist and coach, Steve Magness, left and began to speak publicly about experiments with testosterone and L-carnitine infusions that were in excess of antidoping limits.

Kara Goucher, the former Olympian who trained with Salazar for seven years, spoke of how Salazar pushed athletes to take prescription drugs that were unnecessary but had side effects that might prove beneficial to endurance athletes. In testimony at his arbitration hearing, Salazar acknowledged distributing prescription drugs.

I was a part of a culture that was so manipulative and so controlling and so wrong, Goucher said in an interview last week. Your entire life is dependent on the power of this brand.

Excerpt from:
Nike to Shut Down Salazars Oregon Project - The New York Times

Sober October has got people thinking about giving up booze (Picture: Getty)

This month, people across the country will be swapping ciders for cordials as they take part in the national initiative Sober October, to raise money for charity.

We often make jokes about how we are gasping for a drink or pushing through Dry January but this language raises questions about how reliant we are on alcohol and how much its ingrained into everyday culture.

Work drinks? Date night? Hen dos? The expectation for drinking is hard to escape.

To mark this national month of sobriety, we spoke to people who decided to ditch booze all together and say its the best thing theyve ever done both physically and mentally.

Dom McGregor, COO of Social Chain, realised he was drinking too much when he founded his business around five years ago. As a start-up, his business grew extremely quickly, with reasons to celebrate every week be it an amazing new client or a new starter. This culture for celebration led to weekly drinks. But with this growing business came increased responsibilities for Dom.

Instead of these weekends being celebratory I found they were self-medicating, he says.

I was spending a lot of time going out drinking, but it wasnt to enjoy the feeling of the party it was literally to get drunk so that in my head all the problems would disappear and they did temporarily.

It spiralled when I would get more and more drunk. The speed of drink would increase, the strength of the drink would increase. I would get completely out of control. There were a number of things that happened during this spiral that made me start to think subconsciously about what was going on.

Firstly I broke my ankle on a Thursday and needed to go to A&E on Friday when I had clients emailing me asking me for things which obviously I couldnt do. I also kept embarrassing myself and making a fool of myself to the team and that was something that I started to get a reputation for.

And then one day, after a full day of drinking at the races, one of the guys from work was trying to help get me home because I was uncontrollable and I was derogatory towards him. Hes one of my closest friends. When I heard what I had said to him, with no memory of it, I realised I was someone that I never wanted to be.

To me that hammered home something was wrong.

Dom decided to see a therapist who told him he had anxiety over his future, low self-esteem and Imposter Syndrome and that he was taking it out on himself by turning to alcohol. His therapist advised him to give up alcohol. The first month was a struggle but Dom pushed through and has been sober ever since.

Dom says theres been a huge rise in female sobriety over the past few years, but he thinks there needs to be more of a focus on male sobriety.

Veganism and sobriety are two things I think women lead the way in and I think the male space is massively under-represented, he tells us.

The expectation of male activities and male lifestyle choices revolve around alcohol the expectation when you go to say football or business meetings. The expectation is very common within the male lifestyle. I think theres a lot of work to be done for young men especially to feel comfortable about a life without drinking.

In terms of advice he would give to others thinking of giving up drinking, Dom says: Everything that alcohol gives you temporarily the energy, the humour, the confidence you can achieve being sober forever.

British food writer, journalist and author Jack Monroe is another person who has ditched drinking for good. Earlier this year she wrote a piece for the Guardian about coming to terms with the fact that she was an alcoholic.

She tells Metro.co.uk: Its been just over nine months since I recognised that my relationship with alcohol is an unhealthy one I was using it heavily as a coping mechanism for past traumas and low self-esteem and it was affecting my work, my friendships, and my family.

Its not been easy, and Ive admitted that Ive slipped up a couple of times, but Im definitely more emotionally stable, more productive, sleeping better than I ever have done.

I have been overwhelmed by the support of my family and friends; people making sure there are alcohol-free options at work events, friends bringing me nice sparkling grown-up soft drinks when I make them dinner. Its an all-round positive change and Id encourage anyone who might be considering it, to give it a go.

Nicole Sage, from Plymouth, gave up alcohol six years ago for health reasons following a pancreatitis diagnosis. Now, aged 27, shes a commercial director for a baby company BabyDam.

Nicole said: I unfortunately had pancreatitis when I was 17, which is incredibly rare for someone of my age, she explains. At the time I had no support, indication to what caused it or advice on what I would need to avoid in the future.

The doctors basically said I had to stop drinking and it was honestly the best thing I have ever done with my life.

My life changed for the better in my health and personal life. Along with the confidence that I gained which wasnt found at the bottom of a bottle, so did my self-worth. I know who I am now and know where I want to be in life. There is nothing that overshadows how I feel or perform in my daily life now.

Richard Maule decided to give up alcohol almost a year ago and his fianc Jade followed suit, six months later. The pair have both seen substantial health and financial benefits from their decision to go teetotal.

Richard says: The first couple of months were challenging especially during social situations but the longer I persevered the easier it got and actually it challenged me to find confidence whilst being sober and to seek out more interesting ways to spend my time with friends.

Instead of going to a bar and getting drunk, wed do things like go to low key music gigs, go rock climbing or do a martial arts class together which actually meant we had better quality time together.

This naturally started to translate into a healthier lifestyle and a better diet as I felt I also had better control over my food choices with no binges due to hangovers. Since cutting out alcohol I have also experienced much better sleep, which in turn has given me a greater clarity of mind. Its had a huge impact on my life coaching business and relationship too as I have a lot more capacity to be patient and understanding.

My fianc, Jade, has also experienced life-changing benefits. She used to regularly suffer with periods of low mood but since stopping drinking alcohol they have significantly improved and she almost never experiences them anymore.

We generally have a much happier life than before. Our decision to stop drinking has allowed us to put money aside and move to Bali this year, thanks to cheaper living cost.

We are also saving around 400 a month from not drinking so we live a pretty abundant life out here. Wed never look back.

Cai Graham, a parenting coach, saw alcohol as a de-stressor and a reward. She decided to make a change after realising she was using alcohol as a crutch.

For a very long time, booze had been a big part of my life. For as long as I can remember, most of my family gatherings and social occasions revolved around me having a glass in my hand.

As a young mum, my frazzled nerves were softened with a chilled glass of Sauvignon or my signature gin, lime and soda. Booze was daily de-stressor and my reward. I used to see these celebrities on TV saying they were sober and I couldnt even imagine my life without booze.

I convinced myself that is was a fun part of my life. The crunch came when my daughter, then aged 10, wanted a lift to see a friend and asked me to pick her up at 9pm. I begrudgingly agreed blaming her for denying me my gin.

This pulled me up short. This fun part of my life was now my crutch.

Knowing myself as I do booze had to be all or nothing for me. So after inhaling Allen Carrs book The Easy Way to Control Drink the decision to quit was a no brainer. It was as simple as just making that decision to throw my crutch away and the relief was palpable.

That was 10 years ago.

My life is great. I have clarity none of that brain fog. I have my weekends back as I used to stay in bed till midday pretending it was a lie-in. My social circle has shifted a bit, but thats to be expected I guess. I am so thrilled that I no longer have the paranoia at the weekend, wondering if I have upset anyone or made a fool of myself from the night before.

MORE: For those that can, going sober for October is brilliant, but alcoholics arent getting the help they need

MORE: How do you go sober for October?

MORE: What is Sober for October? Everything you need to know

Read the original here:
Sober October: The people who have given up drink and not looked back - Metro.co.uk

THE Script frontman Danny ODonoghue told how he had to quit his coaching role on The Voice to care for his beloved mum.

The Dubliner, 39, was part of the BBC talent shows original judging panel, alongside Jessie J, will.i.am and Sir Tom Jones.

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However, fans were surprised when he quit the panel in 2013 after the shows successful second series - with the star claiming at the time that he was leaving to focus on his music commitments with The Script.

He has now revealed that his mother Ailish had suffered a brain aneurysm and that he quit to be with her.

Speaking to Lorraine Kelly on ITV, he said: My mum had a brain aneurysm just after the second season.

I think everyone thought I just pulled off the show and just didnt want to be there.

My family were back home in Ireland. When something that devastating as that goes on, you rally around.

Not necessarily to the detriment of the band, but our star was rising so it seemed odd for me to come off the show. But I wouldnt have had it any other way.

Following her health scare six years ago, Ailish passed away in February of this year. Danny also lost his dad Shay in 2008, soon after the bands rise to fame.

The star told how the tragic loss of his mum inspired the bands new album, Sunsets and Full Moons, which he says speaks to the darkness and the light the band experienced over the past few years.

He said: Weve had a hell of a year from the birth of children to the death of parents. Its called Sunsets and Full Moons, from the finish of one thing to the beginning of something else. We believe life goes in cycles.

That to me just shows the ying and yang, the push and pull of life.

Danny also opened up about buying a round for the groups Belgian fans on St Patricks Day 2018 - revealing how the generous gesture set him back 22k.

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He laughed: We gave 8,000 drinks out to the crowd. Do you know how much it was? It was 22k and this guy had to pay for it.

The band today announced a new European tour which starts in Liverpool next February before arriving at Belfasts SSE Arena on March 3, followed by two dates at Dublins 3Arena on March 6 and 7.

Tickets for the Dublin dates are from 42.70 and on sale next Friday, October 18th from usual outlets at 9.30am.

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The Scripts Danny ODonoghue had to leave The Voice coaching role to care for his beloved mum - The Irish Sun

A series chronicling the rise of black quarterbacks in the NFL

ASHBURN, Va. As soon as retired quarterback Jason Campbell learned that Washingtons NFL franchise had fired head coach Jay Gruden this week, it was clear to him what the team must do next in support of rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

Any coach they recruit has to not just understand the quarterback position but also understand what Haskins strengths are, said Campbell, who is a former Washington first-round draft pick and has advised Haskins during his first season. They have to get one of these offensive minds, these guys who understand the age were in and the type of offense that works, who can really relate to [Haskins] and get him to where he needs to be. Right now, for Washington, thats everything.

At one time, Gruden was viewed as the quarterback whisperer Washington needed. Its easy to forget now, but team president Bruce Allen hired Gruden, whom he worked with in Tampa Bays organization, to help rebuild Robert Griffin III. (Gruden, though, quickly determined that Griffin was ill-suited to be a long-term starting NFL passer.)

But things also change when youre fighting to keep your job.

Throughout Washingtons winless start that resulted in Grudens ouster, the debate about Haskins standing on the depth chart raged on. Grudens many critics accused him of, essentially, sabotaging Haskins development because he was not high on the former Ohio State star (whom team owner Daniel Snyder was eager to draft) in part because Gruden preferred to draft a player who was more ready to contribute and help the team win. Its a familiar storyline with this bunch, illustrating the dysfunction of a once-proud franchise that has become a national laughingstock.

Regardless of Grudens handling of Haskins (well get back to that later), what matters now is Gruden has left the building, and the organization has to move on and chart the best path forward for a young, inexperienced quarterback. The man most responsible for constructing the 0-5 team is still counting on Haskins.

Were excited as hell to have him [Haskins] on this football team, Allen said at team headquarters on Monday while officially announcing that Gruden had been fired. He has a great future ahead of him.

For Washingtons vision of Haskins future to become a reality, though, senior management will have to do something it has regularly failed at for the past 20 years or so: make a good hiring decision.

Under Snyders reign as owner since 1999, the team has produced an abysmal 139-185-1 record and only five playoff appearances in 20-plus seasons. During this span, Snyder has now fired five coaches and will hire his eighth coach after the season. For Washington, the next head coach must be a game changer especially in getting Haskins up to speed as a starter.

They have to do things differently, said Campbell, who started 52 games during four seasons with Washington and has experienced the organizational dysfunction firsthand. When youve been in the league for some time and been other places you just see things are done differently than in Washington. You look at some of the coaches they had there. The young, talented coaches who got away.

These are guys who went other places and are head coaches. Sean McVay [Los Angeles Rams], Matt LaFleur [Green Bay Packers] and Kyle Shanahan [San Francisco 49ers]. Those are the type of guys who understand this age were in and the offense being played. And they all understand the quarterback position. Guys like that could really help [Haskins].

Campbell declined to advocate for anyone in particular to fill Washingtons coaching vacancy (Bill Callahan is the interim head coach). But ESPNs Ed Werder reported that a list of potential candidates would include Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who has played a key role in the development of reigning league MVP Patrick Mahomes.

No matter whom Washington hires, Campbell just wants the team to make a sound decision, because hes rooting hard for Haskins.

People want to talk about the [New York] Giants game when he had those [three] interceptions, but thats a difficult situation to be thrust into, Campbell said. Im not making excuses for him, but fans dont understand how hard it is to be ready when youre not getting the practice reps. Thats not just him. Thats any quarterback.

Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins is sacked by the New York Giants Dalvin Tomlinson (center) and Tuzar Skipper (right) during their game on Sept. 29 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Haskins threw three interceptions in a 24-3 loss.

Al Bello/Getty Images

What I know for sure is that this kid has arm talent. He can make the throws. Hes also a big, tall kid. Theres a lot to work with. No one can honestly say what he cant do yet because hes just really starting out. Anyone who looks at that one game thats just crazy. There are coaches who will want to work with him.

Where Washington officials push back on the Gruden hates Haskins narrative is that Gruden wasnt alone in wanting Haskins relegated to clipboard duty. Its evident to Washingtons football people that Haskins is not ready to start on a team with a strong roster, let alone on one with Washingtons crater-sized holes. The team is in a standoff with Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, who apparently wants out. Washingtons running game can be charitably described as ineffective. And as for the teams defense, well, Washingtons opponents are averaging 30.2 points and 407.8 yards per game, ranking 30th and 28th, respectively, in the 32-team league. One team official joked that if Gruden truly disliked Haskins and wanted to sabotage his development, he would have named him the starter for Week 1.

Of course, theres also the swim-or-sink approach.

Dwayne Haskins walks onto the field in the fourth quarter of the Sept. 29 game against the New York Giants. People want to talk about the Giants game when he had those [three] interceptions, but thats a difficult situation to be thrust into, said former Washington quarterback Jason Campbell.

Elsa/Getty Images

Many fans have argued that Haskins should start regardless of the teams deficiencies, figuring he could benefit from first-team practice reps and game experience. Thats reasonable in theory. Football, however, is played on the field. It would be foolish for Washington to risk ruining Haskins body and psyche when hes not ready to take command of the team. At least on that much, Washington officials appear to get it, which is why Callahan announced Haskins was not a candidate to start this week against the Miami Dolphins.

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Campbell, meanwhile, remains confident that under the correct tutelage, Haskins eventually will be ready to take charge for Washington.

If you get him with the right type of people, if you get him with the right type of coaching staff, he has the opportunity to be successful, Campbell said. But again, they have to make the right decision.

And for the teams long-suffering fans, thats the scary part.

Jason Reid is the senior NFL writer at The Undefeated. He enjoys watching sports, especially any games involving his son and daughter.

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How will Washington move forward in support of Dwayne Haskins? - The Undefeated