[eDebate] another late night TV debate reference

[Les Phillips]

I was a high school debater in Connecticut, then as now a vast debate wasteland
-- but at least there were *some* teams at that time.  I was an undercoached
high school zealot who had found likeminded crazy persons, and we were
determined to run a tournament that would draw teams from the rest of New
England and New York.  We'd attracted a few.

Then, four days before the tournament, our home phone rang, and it was John
Sexton.  I didn't know who he was until he identified himself as the St.
Brendan's coach.  I certainly knew his teams and had been their victims (only
in presets) once or twice.  

And, because the deadline had passed, he said:  "I'm going to get down on my
knees and beg you to let us into your tournament."

That was a bit of rhetorical overkill.

  They came, and they conquered, conquered, conquered.  I watched them as much
as I could -- they were the first really *professionally* coached debaters I'd
ever seen.

And I'll never forget that phone call.  Needless to say, it was a great
pleasure to meet President Sexton at Emory, several years ago.

Les Phillips


--- "Hingstman, David" <dbhingst at blue.weeg.uiowa.edu> wrote:

> John Sexton came from very modest circumstances.  He was the debate  
> coach at St. Brendan's High School in Brooklyn, NY, an all-girls  
> school that is now closed  He coached some of the finest policy teams  
> in the country in the mid-70s, and they traveled across the country.   
> It was rumored that he convinced the nuns in charge to require every  
> girl at the school to cut cards as part of their homework!   He then  
> went to Harvard Law School and participated in some of the events  
> which are chronicled in the book "One-L."  John also started an  
> extremely successful LSAT prep course that was eventually bought by  
> Kaplan for several million dollars.  He clerked in the federal  
> judiciary after law school, and then became a professor and later  
> dean of the Law School at NYU.
> 
> Dr. Dave
> 
> 
> On Dec 7, 2006, at 3:02 PM, Steve Mancuso wrote:
> 
> > Fresh off the mention of debate and Brett O'Donnell on The Daily  
> > Show this week, check out Colbert's interview with John Sexton last  
> > night.
> >
> >>
> >> http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/videos/ 
> >> most_recent/index.jhtml
> >
> > John Sexton coached high school debate through the mid-1970's  
> > (which was before my time).  He was widely regarded as a brilliant  
> > coach of some of the nation's best teams.  Maybe some of you older  
> > than I can offer details.
> >
> > He was great on Colbert.  Check it out.
> > _______________________________________________
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"I have a theory . . ."  -- Miss Anne Elk
"Nobody needs French theory."  -- Jean Baudrillard, 11/20/05

IWLAIWDFY

Guesses based on what each set of time and change is touching . . .


 
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