Competition

Fathers can give, but kids still have to take the wisdom and fit into the puzzle they use to beat dad.

Former football great and current Allstate Insurance shill (among other activities) John Elway sounds sincere in expressing his hope that his son will succeed as a quarterback. He brags of the physical attributes, but there seems a little more hope than belief when he refers to him as a "late bloomer." The high school senior threw seven interceptions in one game and either he is a real diamond in the rough that only dad can see or the Arizona State football scholarship was a two-for-one deal.

And Erika Ford learned a great deal from playing under her basketball father coach Larry. But either not quite enough, or not enough to do more with her players as her Davison (Mich.) Cardinals fell to dad's Flushing (Mich.) Raiders 49-46. Of course, to be fair, the younger is the coach of a team that was 2-19 last season and taking on a team that earned a 19-2 record and second straight league championship.

"I tried to get into his head a little bit," said the losing coach. But like most kids, she only succeeded a bit and, for at least another game, dad is still more successful.

** The tension of dad son/daughter competition. You want them to win, just not to beat you. **