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Baseball legend ‘Yogi’ Berra once ambiguously remarked how ‘‘sport is 90% mental, the other half is physical’’, but how much of a game is actually won or lost in the mind? Interestingly, some leading sports psychologists across the globe say the answer to who will usurp Australia’s crown and become cricket’s next No. 1 team might lie in the minds of the players themselves. They believe the churning in the game’s order of dominance has been brought about by India and South Africa’s clarity of vision, even as the declining Aussies continue to lose cohesion due to frequent changes in personnel. Dhoni and Graeme Smith’s squads, say psychologists, are on a ‘confidence-performance spiral’: a rare occurrence in team sport in which the uncluttered minds of in-form individuals creates a ‘modelling effect’ on the rest, boosting performance and making the team well-placed to win the key moments. It’s here that skill sets are put to the test: this ‘spiral’ is what motivates a team member to play above himself in a tight situation.

Agree or not, it’s an interesting debate which stretches across the full spectrum of sport — Roger Federer’s travails against Rafael Nadal are a case in point — but instant-reaction team games like cricket are as dependent on individual ‘situational’ factors as, say, tennis is. Batsmen out of form push at the ball harder because their mind is confused and muscles tense, denying the team crucial momentum. Conversely, like in Dhoni and Gary Kirsten’s case, smart captaincy or coaching can induce confidence and team harmony, leading to a winning run.

For example, within 18 months of Roger Bannister’s breakthrough sub-four-minute mile run in 1954, 16 other athletes followed suit. Did they suddenly get faster and train harder? No. Bannister had simply breached the psychological barrier and runners were no longer limited by their minds. By shredding Australia’s long-perceived aura of invincibility, India and SA might have created a similar ripple effect in cricket.

Renowned sport performance expert John F. Murray, the ‘Roger Federer of sports psychology’ who first introduced the concept of the MPI or ‘Mental Performance Index’ in sport and helped Vincent Spadea recover from one of the longest losing streaks in tennis history — 21 games — and climb from No. 229 to No. 18 in the rankings, spies some interesting mental battles currently underway in cricket.

He says Australia, hampered by the retirement of a clutch of once-in-a-generation players, are ‘‘trying too hard and becoming overly aware of their struggles, leading to lower confidence, changes in strategy and an attempt to force things’’. He suggests such teams need to look at “specific, individual mental ratings and performance-related factors� to boost team results. India, on the other hand, are on the cusp of building a ‘collective aura’ in New Zealand — much like SA are at home — with Dhoni’s clarity of thought and flexible strategies, along with a clutch of ‘champion mentality’ players, creating a bold and aggressive approach.

‘‘Winning habits are initiated in the brain. The difference between individual and team sport is actually less than it appears on the surface,’’ Murray told TOI, ‘‘Players with the champion mentality can rise above external distractions. This is not to suggest team harmony or smart coaching is not effective. Coaches can turn teams around mentally and conversely, a coaching change can also be disastrous for a well-oiled outfit. But individuals foster team habits. Players who don’t perform well negatively influence others.’’ Winning teams, suggests Murray, develop “resilience� and “consistent visualization routines,� helping them to turn a game around from impossible situations.

Dr Bob Grove of the School of Sport Science at the University of Western Australia believes Australia are suffering from ‘‘paralysis-by-analysis’’ because they are a team in transition. ‘‘Australia had a high benchmark. Sports performers in general tend to be concrete thinkers who believe the harder you try, the better you do. But paying attention to every little detail can be counterproductive. Also, with so many new players coming in, you can’t really expect the same degree of personal comfort and group-level confidence in Australia anymore.’’ Mental attitude, in essence, is more important than mental capacity, explaining why India’s natural strokeplayers like Sehwag and Yuvraj can play with such arrogant freedom. This is where Grove believes India and SA are getting the mental basics right: ‘‘In a fastpaced, reactive sport like cricket, it isn’t possible to focus on more than two key elements of a skilled physical performance. ‘Uncluttered’ doesn’t mean ‘blank’, it means focusing on one or two aspects of the skill. In time, this permeates through a group.’’

This is the ‘confidence-performance spiral,’ but it’s not just pure instinct. In New Zealand, where conditions are unfamiliar to more than half the squad, the collective mindset could play a crucial role. India’s move to induct five pacers has found favour from psychologists as it suggests a bold, confident approach. Murray, however, warns: ‘‘No team can remain static or it will fall by the wayside.’’

Dr. Murray has worked with division I teams and players, and NBA players. He has consulted with players privately, given pre-game speeches in the locker room, and consulted with the coaching staff. The mental game can no longer be ignored in basketball.

His audience laughed and cheered, and Orgeron’s face lit up.
“The only difference is,” he continued, “when the whistle blows, you have to come back!”

His punchline was met by the sort of deafening applause that was largely absent from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium the past two seasons. And for some members of his audience, who had only known Orgeron from his terse interactions with reporters, they found him to be charismatic and charming. In other words, nothing like what they expected.

“Everybody I talked to, they loved his speech,” said Kelly Lomax, outgoing president of the Rebel Club of Memphis.

As Orgeron heads into his third season at Ole Miss, the pressure to win — and endear himself to the public — is mounting. After guiding the Rebels to a 3-8 record his first year, Orgeron saw his team lose a pair of overtime games last year (to LSU and Alabama, both on the road) en route to a 4-8 season. On the surface, the Rebels showed marginal improvement. But the team was far more competitive, losing four games by less than a touchdown, a statistic Orgeron emphasizes whenever he speaks to audiences.

“Those games could have went either way, and you have a winning season,” he said. “Just looking at our program, I think we have a lot better team this year.”

With that in mind, Orgeron said the focus throughout preseason camp will be on “finishing” games. Greater depth, he said, should help.

His imprint is all over this team. Just two of the team’s 22 projected starters are holdovers from the last coaching staff, so if he had ample margin for error during his first two seasons — everyone from the administration to the team’s fans were aware that Orgeron was “rebuilding” — that cushion has lost some of its bounce.

Athlon, CBSSportsline, Lindy’s and Phil Steele all predict Ole Miss to finish last in the SEC West this season. On the bright side, Blue Ribbon, Street & Smith’s, The Sporting News and College Football News forecast the Rebels to wind up fifth, ahead of Mississippi State.

Orgeron said he pays no attention to preseason polls, but there seems to be greater optimism about the 2008 season. Quarterback Jevan Snead, who has to sit out the 2007 season after transferring from Texas, will be eligible, and Orgeron should benefit from an additional year of growth. He played 17 freshmen last season.

Athletic director Pete Boone said Orgeron has his support. Boone was asked if this is a make-or-break season for Orgeron.

“Oh, absolutely not,” said Boone, who signed Orgeron to a contract extension over the winter. “He’s the right guy for our program. We have to look at fundamental issues of how they’re developing, and I think he’s done a great job. And I think that you’ll see a lot from the team this year, next year.”

High-profile coaches face so much scrutiny these days, many often withdraw from public view when they struggle to achieve immediate success, according to Dr. John F. Murray, a Florida-based sports psychologist. Murray referred to this tendency as “distraction control” –eliminating elements that create additional anxiety. Murray said a primordial aspect is at work here. He likened it to “retreating back to the cave” or “throwing up sandbags” when problems arise.

And Orgeron has, in some ways, isolated himself. During his first year at Ole Miss, reporters could wander through the football offices and chat with members of his staff. Practices were open. But after a season rife with turmoil — Orgeron was annoyed that Internet-based reporters were posting detailed practice reports online, and he also dealt with dissension among his coaching staff — he closed practices and limited access to his staff. In other words, he constructed a wall.

“Perception is everything,” Murray said, “and the community will give you a longer leash if you’re able to articulate your struggles and fans perceive that they’re part of the team and involved in the process.”

Orgeron has faced obstacles during his tenure in Oxford. Critics questioned his readiness when he was hired– he had never been a head coach — and he has been easy fodder for satirists who poke fun at his thick Louisiana accent. To wit, “Colonel Reb Is Crying,” the popular product of Memphis-based sports-radio host Chris Vernon, has been viewed 285,434 times on YouTube.com. Orgeron’s gruff image has been hard to shake.

Like Alabama coach Nick Saban, who also has a topsy-turvy relationship with the media, Orgeron sometimes lacks the sort of charisma that ingratiates other coaches with the general public. Saban said he has never quite adjusted to his high-profile position. At SEC Media Days last week, he explained how he was “just a country boy” who grew up in West Virginia pumping gas. Sure, now he makes $4 million per year, but he said once made $1 an hour cleaning windows, checking oil and changing tires.

“To me, I’m still that way,” Saban said, “but maybe sometimes I don’t realize that. Sometimes the things I say mean a lot more than what I would intend them to be. Sometimes, because I’m a little bit shy, maybe that’s misinterpreted as not being outgoing. But I try my best, and I’m getting better and I’m trying to improve every day.”

When Orgeron is surrounded by people with whom he feels comfortable, he can be lively and funny. That much was obvious at the Rebel Club of Memphis meeting, where he averaged rousing applause every 15 seconds or so. He captivated the crowd with stories about meeting his wife, having baseball coach Mike Bianco as a neighbor and offering former linebacker Patrick Willis life lessons.

“I remember last year, right around this time, he told me about how one of his friends who had just graduated had gotten a job making $100,000 a year,” Orgeron said. “And Patrick goes, ‘Can you imagine making that much money a year?’ And I said, ‘Oh, my God. Patrick, we need to talk.’”

(Willis, who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the 11th pick in the recent NFL Draft, is negotiating a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.)

But when Orgeron tried out the Tony Fein story at SEC Media Days, his delivery was flat, his language stilted. Nobody laughed. Still, there were times when he allowed some candor to seep past his steely expression. When prodded about his decision to name Brent Schaeffer his starting quarterback months before he even arrived on campus last year, Orgeron conceded he had made errors born of inexperience.

“You learn,” he said. “I made some mistakes … and hopefully I’m correcting those things.”

The grand tour of: Ole Miss

Rewind: During coach Ed Orgeron’s second year at the helm, the Rebels went 4-8, but four of their losses were by less than a touchdown. They struggled at quarterback, where junior starter Brent Schaeffer was inconsistent at best (47.1-percent completion rate) and woeful at worst. Things got so bad, Orgeron benched him in favor of former walk-on Seth Adams during the second half of each of the team’s final two games. A bright spot was the play of senior Patrick Willis, who won the Butkus Award as the nation’s most outstanding linebacker. He was selected 11th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the recent NFL Draft.

Fast forward: The Rebels will have to figure out how to replace Willis and fellow linebacker Rory Johnson, both of whom are in the NFL. Their defense is thin and largely inexperienced, and Orgeron also has to unearth some solid play at quarterback. Adams seems a likely choice to start the season opener against Memphis on Sept. 1. Orgeron has praised his decision-making and solid work ethic while, at the same time, criticizing Schaeffer’s “lifestyle.” Pundits are not favoring Ole Miss to be very competitive this season. Eight major publications, such as The Sporting News and College Football News, tabbed the Rebels to finish fifth or sixth in the six-team SEC West division.

John “Bluto” Blutarsky used a much different approach, asking his Delta Tau Chi members if it was over “when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.”

Although both were successful, neither motivational speech has been uttered in a Super Bowl locker room, not that we’re aware of, anyway.

So what does a head coach actually say to his team minutes before they play in the biggest game of their lives?

It all depends on who you ask.

SHULA’S SUPER BOWLS: III, VI, VII, VIII, XVII, XIX

No one has been a head coach in more Super Bowls than Don Shula. So what better expert on pregame Super Bowl speeches than the coaching legend who took six teams to pro football’s ultimate game?

“What you try to do is do the things that got you to where you are,” Shula said. “You don’t want to be someone that you’re not. The thing I tried to do is summarize what it took to get there.”

Shula also reminded his team there will be only one winner.

“Once you reach the Super Bowl, both teams are talked about during the week,” Shula said. “But when the game is over, [the media] only go to one locker room. I told them to make sure it was our locker room.”

As a head coach, Shula was in the winning locker room twice and in the losing locker room four times. After losing Super Bowl VI, Shula delivered the same message to his team from the first day of practice until minutes before Super Bowl VII kicked off.

“We lost the year before, so my message from the beginning of training camp was that our goal wasn’t to get to the Super Bowl,” Shula said. “Our goal was to win it.”

His 1972 Miami Dolphins did just that. The Dolphins defeated the Washington Redskins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII. Not only did the Dolphins make good on Shula’s goal, they also capped the only perfect season in NFL history.

SUPER BOWL XXXV: BALTIMORE 34, N.Y. GIANTS 7

After the Baltimore Ravens set the NFL record for fewest points allowed during the 2000 regular season, Coach Brian Billick knew if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. His message before the Ravens ran onto the Raymond James Stadium turf for Super Bowl XXXV was brief.

“He said to approach this like any other game,” said Peter Boulware, a four-time Pro Bowl selection and the 1997 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year from Florida State.

“We took a very businesslike approach. That’s what helped us. We didn’t get tight. We just worked the same way.”

Despite the Ravens’ dominating defense, they still had their doubters. At least, they believed there were doubters as they used the always popular no-respect card.

“No matter how good you are, you always think you’re being disrespected,” Boulware said. “You just have to find one person, one writer, one broadcaster that doesn’t think you can win. And then all of sudden it’s no one is giving us a chance.

“And it’s funny looking back at it, because even if it isn’t true and you do get the respect, it still motivates you to do better.”

SUPER BOWL XXXVII: TAMPA BAY 48, OAKLAND 21

Ryan Nece couldn’t play in the Bucs’ only Super Bowl. He was sidelined for the 2002 season with a left knee injury in late October. But Nece was in San Diego in the locker room before the Bucs’ historic win under Jon Gruden.

“Coach Gruden always was a great pregame [speech] guy. He was always good,” Nece said.

“I remember him saying, ‘This is the time of your life,’ and, ‘Go out and take what’s ours. It’s destiny. Just go out there and take what is ours.’

“We all believed in our mind we would win the game. That’s what he preached all week, telling the guys to really enjoy every moment of it. Take in the national anthem, take it all in. It’s the greatest stage.”

Nece said the key for any speech is respect.

“There’s definitely a place [for a motivational speech], but it’s all how much the players respect the coach,” Nece said. “If guys are just out there and don’t respect the coach, they’re not going to ‘win one for the Gipper’ or anything like that.”

SUPER BOWL XX: CHICAGO 46, NEW ENGLAND 10

Coach Mike Ditka didn’t wait until Sunday to provide his Super Bowl pregame speech. He delivered it to the Bears the night before the game.

“I gave the speech on Saturday night,” Ditka said. “Basically I said this was not about me and not about the city of Chicago. I told them this is the one memory you will have of each other for the rest of your lives.”

And what a memory it was: The Bears danced all over the Patriots in what was then the biggest rout in Super Bowl history.

“I told them you won’t remember the money, but you’ll remember the championships,” Ditka said. “Because it was a special group of guys that bonded and made something special happen. That 1985 team was a very unique group of men.”

NOLL’S SUPER BOWLS: IX, X, XIII, XIV

The Steel Curtain. Lambert. Bradshaw. Harris. Swann. Bleier. Stallworth. With that core group there probably wasn’t much Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll needed to say before each of the Steelers’ four Super Bowl trips in a six-year span in the 1970s.

“It’s a coach-by-coach thing,” former Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann said. “Tony Dungy, who had his team in the Super Bowl, I don’t know what kind of speech Tony gives, but when you look at his demeanor you don’t see a fire-and-brimstone type of guy. You see a guy that’s very focused that can communicate without having to shout and scream. We can all imagine Bill Cowher and what that locker room might have been like before Super Bowl XL or Super Bowl XXX.

“Chuck was a very level, low-key kind of guy, not a fire-and-brimstone type of guy. Very directed in terms of what he wanted to get done. We didn’t get those type of speeches from Chuck Noll.

“But we didn’t lose a Super Bowl, either.”

THE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST

For the past 25 years, John F. Murray has been involved in the motivational aspect of sports. As a sports-performance psychologist, he has worked with athletes on performance enhancement, mental health, general psychology, fitness, wellness and lifestyle. Murray, who lives in Palm Beach, has been a licensed psychologist in Florida since 1999.

Murray said the pregame pep talk or motivational speech at the NFL level can be very effective – or disastrous.

“I think it’s never going to go away,” Murray said. “Certain coaches have a certain way of saying the right thing at the right time or the wrong thing at the wrong time. You can’t discount the impact of a leader.”

Murray said the pregame speech is “an inexact science.”

“The team that gets too hyped has a disadvantage in the Super Bowl,” Murray said. “One of the more traditional theories is when you get too pumped up, you don’t perform well. I think the lower-key approach at the Super Bowl, a more cerebral, intelligent approach, might be the more effective approach.”

“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”

Photo credit: The Associated Press

Photo: Mike Ditka’s Bears made lasting memories, just as he wanted them to.

Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Photo: John Belushi had quite a way with words in “Animal House.”

Photo: Knute Rockne

Photo credit: McClatchy/Tribune

Photo: Jon Gruden told his Bucs to “take what’s ours.”

Photo: Brian Billick

Photo: Shula had a lot of practice making Super Bowl speeches. He coached in six and won two.

Photo credit: Miami Herald

Photo: Don Shula got the ride of his life after his undefeated Dolphins beat the Redskins in January 1973.

Enjoy the article published in Palm Beach magazine with photos of Madoff’s homes in New York and Palm Beach, and a description of his personality from the perspective of a clinical psychologist. You can read this Palm Beach magazine article about the mind of Madoff at this link