Look, many of us here are regular marines... I will die as a marine because that is my dream.

You could have a player that gave you some iffiness but his talent would make a real contribution, but you had to have an overwhelming base of players so you know exactly what you had.

You don't see young men walk out and say, "Hey, let's go knock the [stuff] out of each other." You say, "Let's hit some grounders. Let's play catch. Let's shoot some baskets."

Anybody involved in sports in Missouri knows it's a great sports state. It is a great sports state, particularly in basketball and baseball. Particularly. Not to demean football, but it's a baseball state and a basketball state.

I promise you that during my life, I was more concerned about not letting people down, about doing my part, than I was ever into what it did for me. That is one of the great things about sports, and frankly, football really does instill that.

Only 7 percent of NFL fans have ever been inside an NFL stadium. Seven... have ever been inside. So the NFL is certainly about the Colosseum of Rome. It can't be a studio game.

You talk about the [armed] service teaches you how to depend on each other, the service makes you aware of the common good and strips that down. Guys who go into service get to have that. But that's a high price to pay in this day and time with going into service.