Sloan reads up on antiques

Now in his 19th season as head coach of the Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan recently notched his 1,000th NBA coaching victory. The former Chicago Bulls player now is on track to pass Larry Brown and become the fourth-winningest coach in NBA history. In the offseason, the avid antique collector stays on a farm just outside McLeansboro, Ill., and enjoys restoring John Deere tractors.

Game rules: Sloan says he didn't read a great deal as a child — "I didn't feel like I had a lot of time to read when I was hitchhiking back and forth to school," he said. But the father of three and his late wife, Bobbye, set rules for their children.

"They had to be in their room a certain time every night, and they couldn't watch television. They could either read or go to bed. I think that was the thing that helped them more than anything else. They learned how to read, and they got a lot out of it." The youngsters later became a teacher, a doctor and head of the Hand-in-Hand Foundation, which gives money to help people and organizations reach their potential in disciplines from athletics to arts.

Kiddie picks: Son Brian, now an emergency room doctor, was always reading sports books and magazines. And all three children read newspapers by the time they were 10 or 11 years old.

Sloan's stars: "I like (tractor and farming magazines), and I also read a lot of antique books. I love that. That's what I've done since coach (Dick) Motta coached me in Chicago. He said I need to get a hobby outside of basketball, and I started reading those kinds of books."

On reading: "I think it gives you a good background for anything you decide to do. When I look back on it, just watching my kids, I think it will help you tremendously."