"Howie Thompson shares his insights about the game he loves. Wow He even uses me in his story. Unbelievable Hey, this story is fascinating as it depicts the love for the game by the local PTPer, a prime time performer and a superstar, who comes back from being a player to coach at his alma mater." Dick Vitale Trey 'Shooter' Parrish looked at his coach of four years and said, "Get me the ball, Coach, I can make it." Dripping from sweat, exhausted beyond his thoughts of what he could endure, the star high school senior was ready for his day in the sun. The aged and revered coach of South Willow High School designed a play that would set a triple pick for Trey and bring him out to his favorite spot just beyond the three point line at the top of the key. Coach Jones was seventeen seconds away from his nineteenth straight state high school boys' class 4A title, and it all rested on the talented hand of his senior shooting guard. He had seen Trey make this shot many times before, and every time he knew it was good when it left his hand. That's why he had no trouble drawing up what he believed would be the final winning play of his storied career. Coach Jones, after twenty-five years at South Willow High School, was hanging up his whistle and giving up coaching the game he so loved. After twenty-five years and eighteen State Titles, he was saying farewell to the hardwood and taking his wife on a long cruise. The school had thrown a party for him about two weeks before the state playoffs, and this was to be the final play of the last game of a storied coaching career. He looked at all of his players, a trace of a tear in the right corner of his eye, as he said, "Men, you are the best group ofplayers I have ever coached. Whatever happens now, I will never forget you. Thank you." With that, Jones brought his players' hands together, and like he had done an uncountable number of times before, looked them all in the eyes and said, "You're the best. Go get 'em " The hands broke as they all yelled, "We are...TEAM " Off the five players went to mid-court. As they trotted out onto the hardwood floor, Trey glanced up at the scoreboard. Any doubts he had during the timeout huddle that there wouldn't be enough time to run Coach Jones' play disintegrated as Trey realized they still had seventeen seconds left in this second five-minute overtime. Trey would take the ball out and then circle behind two concealed picks and come off a third pick at the top of the key to receive a pass from his middle school and high school teammate, Ron Gentry. Ron was one of the best passers in high school and led the nation twice in assists. Trey thought to himself how perfect this would be for him, his coach, and Ron - how they would all celebrate yet another state title after the game.

This is a fiction murder/mystery novel about 2 women and 4 men who were a hit team in the 70's-90's. They topple governments, begin and end WWIII and WWIV.

"Howie Thompson shares his insights about the game he loves. Wow He even uses me in his story. Unbelievable Hey, this story is fascinating as it depicts the love for the game by the local PTPer, a prime time performer and a superstar, who comes back from being a player to coach at his alma mater." Dick Vitale Trey 'Shooter' Parrish looked at his coach of four years and said, "Get me the ball, Coach, I can make it." Dripping from sweat, exhausted beyond his thoughts of what he could endure, the star high school senior was ready for his day in the sun. The aged and revered coach of South Willow High School designed a play that would set a triple pick for Trey and bring him out to his favorite spot just beyond the three point line at the top of the key. Coach Jones was seventeen seconds away from his nineteenth straight state high school boys' class 4A title, and it all rested on the talented hand of his senior shooting guard. He had seen Trey make this shot many times before, and every time he knew it was good when it left his hand. That's why he had no trouble drawing up what he believed would be the final winning play of his storied career. Coach Jones, after twenty-five years at South Willow High School, was hanging up his whistle and giving up coaching the game he so loved. After twenty-five years and eighteen State Titles, he was saying farewell to the hardwood and taking his wife on a long cruise. The school had thrown a party for him about two weeks before the state playoffs, and this was to be the final play of the last game of a storied coaching career. He looked at all of his players, a trace of a tear in the right corner of his eye, as he said, "Men, you are the best group of players I have ever coached. Whatever happens now, I will never forget you. Thank you." With that, Jones brought his players' hands together, and like he had done an uncountable number of times before, looked them all in the eyes and said, "You're the best. Go get 'em " The hands broke as they all yelled, "We are...TEAM " Off the five players went to mid-court. As they trotted out onto the hardwood floor, Trey glanced up at the scoreboard. Any doubts he had during the timeout huddle that there wouldn't be enough time to run Coach Jones' play disintegrated as Trey realized they still had seventeen seconds left in this second five-minute overtime. Trey would take the ball out and then circle behind two concealed picks and come off a third pick at the top of the key to receive a pass from his middle school and high school teammate, Ron Gentry. Ron was one of the best passers in high school and led the nation twice in assists. Trey thought to himself how perfect this would be for him, his coach, and Ron - how they would all celebrate yet another state title after the game.

The night air was crisp, even at the 72 degrees that enveloped the 2000 fans that sat and watched as the Westland Dragons took on the Dallas Sting for the U-21 Women's National Soccer Championship at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Field. Both teams had battled to a 1-1 tie over 90 minutes, and now both were coming to the end of the second 15-minute overtime tied at one goal apiece. A shoot-out was inevitable, and how ironic I thought. This is how it all began for this team; this is what set this team apart from others when they were only 12 years old back in the fall of 1994. The whistle of the center official sounded and I knew what lie in store for our girls. They had been here before; they had all been through so much. Ashleigh, Jessie and Kendall were all on the bench due to injuries, and our back-up keeper, Christa, was asking me why she had to do this. I knew this time was different, this time it was for so much more than a trophy or a title. This time it was for all the games, all the seasons and all the players that had come and gone. This was going to be a game of a lifetime - this was their game for all seasons. The Lady Dragons were born on July 7th, 1994, and I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a warm night, and the heat of the day had parched the already dry field to a golden brown, with spots of green, as 45 young 12 year old girls showed up in mass to a tryout for the "New Premier team" about to be formed. Forty-five young girls all with the same dream: to someday play Women's Major League Soccer. But now, it was a much smaller dream that lie ahead, they were all very sure that they would be the one, the one out of 45 that would catch the Coach's eyeand be chosen to be part of the 18 player roster.