Sandpoint coaches remember Lyon

By ERIC PLUMMER

Hagadone News Network

SANDPOINT - His football coach remembers him as a warrior on the field and a gentle giant off it.

His track coach recalls a tireless worker and the kind of student-athlete you want your kids to emulate.

His basketball coach remembers someone who led by example, to say nothing of setting a mean screen.

The Sandpoint Bulldog family suffered a big loss recently when David Lyon, 28, was killed in action in Afghanistan. Formerly David Lissy, Lyon left a lasting impression on many people in Sandpoint, including three coaches who saw firsthand the talent that led to his induction into the Bulldog Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

There are lots of three sport athletes in high school, but select few who excel at an elite level in all three, as Lyon did before graduating from Sandpoint in 2003.

"It was his humility," said Sandpoint football coach Satini Puailoa of what he remembered most about Lyon, a three-year varsity starter. "Off the field he was a gentle giant, the consummate gentleman. But if you put him in a competitive situation, he was a warrior."

Lyon, 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds in high school, was physically gifted, able to clock 4.8 seconds in the 40 yard dash, a rarity for a lineman. His senior year he was named the Inland Empire League Offensive and Defensive Lineman of the Year, also earning first team All-State honors as a starting center.

As good as he was at football, his best sport may have been track, where he won two state titles in the shot put and one in the discus, helping lead the Bulldog boys to the state track and field team title in 2003. Despite his natural strength and athleticism, throwing coach Tom Albertson said it was his work ethic that set him apart.

"You would have to tell David 'that's enough for the day.' He never wanted to leave," recalled Albertson, noting Lyon's willingness to help all of the team's throwers get better. "The individual like David was is kind of a measuring stick for who you would want your kids to emulate."

Lyon saved his best for last at the 2003 state track meet, heaving the shot put 55-2 on his final throw to win, setting not only the SHS school record that still stands today, but the state 4A record at the time. Lyon led a shot put podium sweep for the Bulldogs, as Tanner Aunan finished second and Troy Watson third in an incredibly brilliant and rare accomplishment.

Albertson coached Lyon for four years, and counts the emotional state meet in 2003 as one of his greatest coaching memories.

"David got really nervous when his mom watched him throw. She was hiding in the BSU (Boise State University) stadium and he didn't know she was there until that last throw," described Albertson. "She came down out of the stands and there was a lot of tears, hugging and celebration. It was a pretty neat moment in sports."

While not an all-state caliber athlete in basketball, like he was in the other two sports, Lyon was still a solid starter and valuable member of the team. SHS assistant coach Bill Adams called Lyon one of his favorites, and remembers a big and intelligent player on the hardwood.

"He led by example and everybody looked up to him. He just got out there and worked," said Adams, lauding the man-sized screens Lyon would lay on opposing players. "He set a wicked high screen. I saw more than one guy bounce off him. He'd go to the block with either hand. He was a force down there."

Lyon's athletic exploits earned him enshrinement in the SHS Hall of Fame, and he was on hand to receive his honor at halftime of a football game at Barlow Stadium in 2012.

After high school, Lyon went on to leave his mark at the Air Force Academy, where he eventually won a Mountain West Conference indoor title in the shot put in 2008. His mark of 57-11 is third on the Air Force all-time list. He also played one year of football, but struggled to put on the weight required to play offensive line in college.

"They wanted him to get to 280 pounds, and he struggled to put weight on," said Puailoa. "He wanted to switch to tight end, but they wanted him to play center, so he focused on track and field."

Puailoa is hoping Sandpoint High will retire the No. 64 jersey that Lyon wore while at Sandpoint. The jersey number, worn by Sandpoint great Jerry Kramer in the NFL, was given to Sandpoint's top offensive lineman.

"We would talk to the team and coaches, and we put (the jersey) on the best lineman," recalled Puailoa, noting Kramer's high school No. 38 jersey is already retired. "That's how David got to wear No. 64. He wore it for two years."

And on his first day as a member of baseball's elite, Thomas said the living members among the 306 Hall of Famers don't want those with sullied reputations.

Seattle designated hitter Edgar Martinez received 144 votes (25.2 percent) of the vote to remain on the Writers' ballot next year. Richie Sexson, who played with Cleveland and Seattle, was one of four players on the ballot that failed to receive a single vote.

Making their second appearances on the ballot, Clemens dropped from 37.6 percent to 35.4 in voting by senior members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, Bonds from 36.2 to 34.7 and Sosa from 12.5 to 7.2.

Bonds, baseball's career home run leader, is the only seven-time MVP in major league history. Clemens is the lone seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

Mark McGwire, appearing for the eighth time, fell from 16.9 to 11 percent - down from a peak of 25.6 in 2008. Rafael Palmeiro will be dropped from future ballots after falling to 25 votes and 4.4 percent - below the 5 percent threshold necessary to remain eligible. One voter submitted a blank ballot.

Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard, saying interested fans were more qualified than voting reporters, said he turned his ballot over to Deadspin.com, which allowed readers to vote on how it should be cast.

"I hate all the moralizing we do in sports in general, but I especially hate the hypocrisy in this," Le Batard said in remarks posted by Deadspin. "I always like a little anarchy inside the cathedral we've made of sports."

BBWAA Secretary-Treasurer Jack O'Connell declined comment.

Maddux and Glavine become the first primarily starting pitchers to enter the Hall whose careers began after Bert Blyleven, who debuted in 1970. Maddux reached the major leagues in 1986 and Glavine a year later.

They also are the first teammates on a starting rotation to be elected together since 1946. Add in Cox, and the induction will be dominated by Braves.

"It's fitting, given the influence those two guys had on my career," Glavine said. "The thing that would have disappointed me the most had it not happened would have been a lost opportunity to go in with Bobby and Greg."

Maddux, eighth on the career list with 355 wins, was picked on 555 of 571 ballots. His 97.2 percentage was the eighth-highest in the history of voting.

Glavine, a left-hander with 305 victories, appeared on 525 ballots and received 91.9 percent. Thomas, who hit 521 homers, is the first Hall of Famer who spent the majority of his career as a designated hitter.

He was at 478 and 83.7 percent.

Maddux and Glavine will be the first pair of living 300-game winners to be inducted in the same year.

"It's exciting for me to go in with my teammate," Maddux said.

Biggio received 427 votes and 74.8 percent, matching Nellie Fox in 1985 and Pie Traynor in 1947 for the smallest margin to just miss. Traynor made it the following year, and Fox was elected by the old Veterans Committee in 1997.

Biggio, who spent his entire career with the Houston Astros, appeared on 388 ballots last year in his initial appearance - when writers failed to elect anyone - and appears to be on track to gain election next year.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed to come that close," he said in a statement. "I feel for my family, the organization and the fans. Hopefully, next year."

Mike Piazza had 62.2 percent, up from 57.8 last year. Jack Morris was 78 votes short at 61.5 percent in his 15th and final appearance on the writers' ballot, a drop from 67.7 percent. Morris replaces Gil Hodges (63 percent in 1983) as the player with the highest-percentage of the vote not in the Hall. Lee Smith dropped to 171 from 272 last year, his percentage falling to 29.9 from 47.8.

Next year's vote will be even more crowded when Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield become eligible, five years after their retirements. The steroids group appears to creating a logjam.

Glavine, a leader of the players' union in the 1990s, wants to view how opinions evolve.

"I understand what's going on right now, and I think in time it's going to be interesting to see if the feeling on all those guys changes at all," he said.