tavis: and good evening from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. a conversation with the outgoing head of the fdic sheila bair. she has done and therefore one of the most tumultuous eras in u.s. history. banks were deemed too big to fail. a conversation with longtime basketball executive pat williams on the labour situation in the nba that could lead to a lockout has week's end. the collective bargaining agreement is set to expire.

he is out with a new look gang of about john wooden. sheila bair and pat williams coming up right now. >> a he is james and he needed extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all lived better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide works with tavis to have an economic empowerment one step at a time. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> sheila bair is the chairman of the fdic that has served under presidents bush and obama during one of the most tumultuous times in american history. she steps down after winning bipartisan praise about her handling of the banking crisis. delighted to have you on this program. >> i am happy to be here. tavis: because it is breaking news, i will not be surprised thank you cannot say anything about it. bank of america announced plans to set aside $14 billion to pay investors who bought securities assemble for mortgages that later soured. without talking about the case specifically, what should the american people make of this move? >> i can only talk about this decision. i never comment on operating

institutions. i think it is important for all banks that have involved in the origination and servicing of these troubled mortgages to identify where their legal exposure maybe and quantify it. i think this litigation has the potential of being a big drag on the recovery of the housing market. the sooner that we can identify, address kept, and that beyond their, the better. tavis: what is it like to have sounded the alarm like you did and apparently nobody listened. >> some people listen, but perhaps they did not an knowledge or act. we did things right during the crisis. to the government and the regulators and the treasury department, that should be acknowledged. we never addressed the problem

at the loan level, the borrower level. that is where the problem needs to be tackled. tavis: does that mean that the borrowers and nonbanks are to be blamed? >> not at all. it takes two to make a loan. there were an lot of bad lending practices. there were some bar wars that took advantage of the situation. at the end of the day, we had a lot of trouble mortgages. sometimes the mortgage was structured badly. in other cases, they have lost jobs. they will see as a bank that can qualify for mortgages modification. the slang they cannot qualify for that, that should be -- if if they cannot qualify for that, that should be explained to them. i think there is 2.3 million

loans in the process of foreclosure right now. it is becoming a dysfunctional market. for those who do not have the economic wherewithal to stay within their house, to support an economic alternative to get the house back into the hands of somebody who can afford a it. short sales, those are the types of strategies we should pursue. it is in everybody's economic interests to tackle this. our economy needs to have a healthy housing market. the final column until we start clearing this tremendous overhang of foreclosed properties. tavis: i am preaching to the choir raising this issue with you. there have been in flux -- books and documentary is done about

this. why is it that nobody has paid? the banking industry and everything that was done to rape and pillage the american taxpayer. nobody to this date has paid. is that not an untenable? >> there are different ways to pay. we have seen some criminal prosecutions. those have worked out. colonial bank is one where we have had some criminal conditions. there -- some his behavior was not criminal, but it may have been of egregious. bringing civil suits, we bring back a lot against officers and directors. we are quite aggressively suing them and seeking not just to recover money from insurance needs, but also other assets. in some cases, there are cases

that are easier to prove as well. throughout this crisis and the gut to the crisis, the lack of accountability was a key problem. that -- that allow people to make short-term decisions without thinking about the consequences of their actions. you need to pay for your mistakes. tavis: why is it that we should believe that this will not happen again? there are a lot of us that do not see the evidence that we are protected from this ever happening again? >> we have a better consumer protection is now. we have stronger lending standards. there is more on that. you will have a consumer agency focused on consumer protection. the disclosures are understandable, the legal rights are understandable. our consumer laws have been too complex.

we are making progress. we are raising capital standards for larger institutions that will hinder some of their risk- taking. we are offering better derivatives oversight. i hope that your viewers out there will support the continuation of this process. regulators are not always popular. we get to a lot of push back from the industry's sometimes. they sang the generals population supports us, we will get a lot -- the thank the general population supports us, we will get a lot done. i think that there are still some challenges ahead. the loan quality have span receding. that is improving. there were a lot of bad loans that should not have been made that were unaffordable to

borrowers. that situation has improved. there are still a lot of challenges. the housing market is one. the instability in europe this something that we need to keep our eye on. there needs to be a long-term plan to deal with our fiscal problem. those who borrow far as government that, the confidence of our strength and will behind our u.s. government obligations. that could have a negative impact on interest rates. tavis: regulators are often not that popular in washington or new york. >> like california. tavis: how about from california to carolina. i ask you this in all seriousness, how difficult has it than to be the champion can fight for the little guy-and

given what you are up against? >> the has not always an easy. not everybody in the industry is bad. their husbands some disagreements. and the fdic, we have not made ourselves popular with a lot of thanks, but we have their respect. this crisis was brought on by a lot of excessive risk-taking. we are not completely popular with everyone. is our job to protect the public. that has been true of my tenure and i hope it will be true of the future. >> there are a lot of folks in washington, you have done bipartisan praise. a lot of people are concerned the if she is not selected. sheila bair now accepting the

fdic. who is going to look out for average americans? have you decided what you are going to do next? >> my successor has been nominated to be the chairman. he will be the acting chairman when i leave. he has a long track record of consumer protection. i do not know what will happen with the bureau. i and the people that she has recruited are under consideration to be nominated to be the bureau head. there will be a strong consumer protection. that is important and essential. i am going to be writing a book and i will continue to speak out on this issue. i will still be involved in financial policy with the foundation, not the government.

i am still committed to these issues. we need to make sure that consumer protection kept the focus. tavis: the if there is a book coming, we will make sure that we talk about it. thank you for your time. we appreciate it. and look the labor trouble between the nba with long time orlando magic executive pat williams. we could have the nfl and the nba in both houses that the same time. -- nba both out at the same time. pat williams is a longtime nba executive who co-founded the orlando magic's effort this time in philadelphia. he is a public speaker. his book is called "coach wooden: the seven principles

that changed his life and will years." i want to start with a clip from john wooden. i have the privilege of interviewing him a couple of times. i wanted to share a club. i ask him a question of what he wanted his legacy to be. >> just to be a person that was considerate of others. the important things are your face, your family, and your friends. if you have the, you have everything. tavis: i did not know john was in as well as others. i am and in the annex i bang. it was an honor to meet him because we are both hoosiers. he was consistent. what you saw is what you've got. he was the most consistent and divan.

>> that fall triggered from has dad. her was his hero. he laid the foundation of his life. little john wooden was graduating. she said, he lived by these principles and you will do well in life. she did. that is quite a story. tavis: what do you think it is that makes these principles in during? of all of the years that he coached, many of his players, if karim was here today, the if bill walton was here, they was talk about the impact that these principles have on their lives. >> even though they will tell you during the golden years, they were worried about playing time and graduating and girlfriends. as older men, they said that

coach what it was really teaching them about life. he never refer to him as a coach, but as a teacher. i was teaching the men under my supervision. tavis: he despised that level, the wizard of westwood. he did not like that, in part because it cut against his belief of the humility. >> he is the most humble famous person i have ever met. when i first wanted to write in a book about him, high wrote him a letter asking for his blessing. a few days later, the telephone rang. mr. williams, this is john wooden, the former basketball coach at ucla. i am thinking, i know who you are. i am not worthy of such a project. testing you like to do that, you

can go on ahead. in every poll, he is rated poti number 1 coach in the history of sports. by all rights he could be arrogant and impossible to get along with. there was just this week, humble spirit to him. every time you left them, there was a desire, i want to be more like coach. tavis: one of the things i found fascinating about him, he was an unapologetic and abiding christian. one of the seven principles was loving the bible and love in literature. when you talk to the folks who knew him, amongst all of these players over the years, christians, agnostics, atheists, kareem goes another direction. i never got the sense from his players or anybody else that he

was into proselytizing. >> he was not found his only stephanie studies throw to. he left his face out in front of us. we saw great consistency in his life. we saw an incredible marriage in front of their eyes. the only woman he ever had in his life. a great father. a great-grandfather. he just missed being a great grandfather. i think that really touched his life. bill made it clear, we tend to think of coach as a loving grandfather figure. let us never forget that he was an intense competitor and he loved to winning. -- to win. he used to work the referees. he was in control.

you did not see him racing up and down the floor. he wanted those w's as much as anybody else. the evening was over and it was time to go. he said that i am very much aware that if we had not won all of those games, i will not be here tonight. at thatn his 90's point. what does the key to your ucla's success? he said callan, calendar, thailand. i never wanted to go into a -- talent, talent, talent. he won -- i never wanted to go into a game when i did not have better players than my opponent. tavis: does that diminish his opponents? there are those who have knocked coach jackson for years and others who have had a talent. it is easy to win when you have

michael jordan, kobe bryant, bill walton. does that diminishes his accomplishments, the talent that he happened to have? >> we got into that one night. he said that no coach can win without talent. not every coach can coach talent. i would argue that coaching michael jordan, scottie pippen, that is the easiest job in the world. kobe and shaq, it will take the wizard of oz to handle that. the wall center back in his day and all of those guards. then bill walton came along. coach to his last breath it would always kid and joke

about bill walton. it was not easy with vietnam and all of the protests. they ended up as close as a player and coach could get. he knew how to make talent to work together. to play as a team, that is the the big job. tavis: are these the principles that resonate most with pat williams? >> make sure -- make each day your masterpiece. not formally educated. a farmer in the midwest. he had a way with words. i think about that every day. we are going to makes this day the best it can be. strive for perfection each day. you probably will not kit it. you should strive for it. make each day your masterpiece. tavis: since that is one of your personal favorites, let me get personal with you. let me ask about something.

you have cancer. you have learned that since you were last on this program. i am told that it is incurable cancer. there is about a 70% chance that it might reverse itself and some point. you get up every day still trying to make each day your masterpiece telling you have something that is incurable. >> i was diagnosed in january by your yearly physical. let me put in a word to men. do not recollect your yearly and physical. i do not want to know. i am afraid. do not do that. i was diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow. that was about six months ago. one thing i have learned, keep on with life. you battle to it and you get the

treatments. it triggers the sixth principle, bill shelter for a rainy day by the way you live your life. that rainy day is going to come to all of us. your fitness and all of the marathon is that you run and your faith and optimistic spirit, they will come in handy when the storm hits. there are going to be storms in your life. do you have a foundation that will hold up when the storm hits? i feel like the foundation is holding. tavis: can we say that i am praying for you. >> i am grateful. the lord is still in to prayer. tavis: the storm has hit in los angeles in the laker organization. one of the things that we might think makes the storm go away sooner would be to land a

player, say some guy named dwight howard. what the make of the fact that there are those in this town that would love to see him live your-leave your town to make his way west? thoughts about 15 years ago, it happens. my first year in the league, we had a big center that ended up out here. here is what i can say. he has said twice now this summer that his first choice is to stay in orlando. his roots are there. the free agency thing is tempting. we are hopeful and confident that the they all worked out. he has had a wonderful seven years in orlando. he is all of 25 years old.

tavis: it is possible that he will not be in orlando or los angeles. none of these guys will be anywhere in a matter of days. we are just hours away from what may be shoved down in the nba. the commissioner sounds like he is optimistic. we heard that during the nfl strike. what will happen to the american sports fan to have the nba and the nfl how have the same time? >> it is a sensitive issue. the commissioner has said that the dust not relish comments from other people. i am an optimist by nature. i remain permanently optimistic. let's help for the dust. we have had wonderful year. i have them here for 43 years. what a finals and was. it was a really nice year. maybe as interesting of the year

as i could miami started a lot of it. there was so much interest and antagonism hand anti-miami stuff. tavis: the books by pat williams. i will attest to that. we wish you all the best and we are honored to have you on this program. >> great to see you. tavis: that is our show from tonight. the night from l.a. as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today'show, visit tavis smileyat pbs.org. tavis: join me next time from chicago with four men debts in a

combined 50 years in prison despite their innocence. >> his name is james and all i know is that he needs help with his reading. >> i am james. >> to everyone making a difference, you make us all better. cuts nationwide support tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide is proud to wear improving economic literacy. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

it is rather, yes. it's quite ugly, to be honest. - you don't like it? - i don't like it. no, i inherited it about 21 years ago, but i really don't know much about it, except that it was-- i know louis wain's famous for cats. well, you're quite right. louis wain is very famous as an illustrator of cats, cartoon cats, in particular. but what's interesting is these funny little models made in ceramic. some of them are made on the continent in hard paste porcelain. this one was made in the u.k. it's made in england. it's in lovely condition. but isn't he odd? yes, he is very odd. in fact, he doesn't even look like a cat to me. i rather thought it was just like a warrior lion. - do you know what he's for? - no no. he's a match holder. he sits there by the fireside. take your match out, strike it on the wall.

it's a shame he hasn't got a match strike down the side. sometimes they do, but i think he's marvelous. were they made in sets? were there quite a few characters? i think there are around somewhere between 10 and 15 different shapes. he dates from around about 1910, 1915, that sort of period. he is really quite an unusual one. - is he? - yeah. - in what way? - you haven't done any homework on this before. not a lot, except that my son did find something out about a similar cat, and he thought it was valued at about £200, but that was a few years ago. - that's one of the common ones. - right. i'm not sure exactly how uncommon this one is, but he's certainly somewhere around the £1,000 mark. really? well, that does surprise me. - john axford: could be more. - foran ugly character. he's not. he's marvelous. he is a marvelous cubist cat. right, now i know. early model of me, yes, yes. they did a lot of them in those days. well it-- it's pretty accurate, isn't it? - not bad, really. - sideways on.

- look. - when i had more hair. no, i'm looking at the other bit, actually. - yes, it is me. - very good. lampeter husband as the big fat man. - oh, it's henry sandon. - henry sandon. yes, it might be-- i'm related to royal lampeter. in shape. - and in the genes. - yes, the jeans are very difficult to get on now, but i-- i am sure i am. which was a great art deco factory in the 1930s-- from designs by mabel lucie attwell. so they're really quite collectible. where do you get them from? they were given to my daughter by an aunt. well, she was jolly lucky. aren't they lovely? - no. not particularly. - oh. - you don't like them? - no. well, i could-- i'll give you the good news. even if you don't like them, they're still worth about £600. all right, that's okay. i'll live with them, then.