Sportswriters Are Still Annoying

A couple of weeks ago, leading up to the NCAA Tournament game between Ohio State and Xavier, I nearly re-posted one of my December rants because I heard the media and fans in southwest Ohio were reverting to a familiar whine.

After Xavier's impressive Elite Eight run in 2004, then-coach Thad Matta was refuting speculation that he was prepared to leave the Muskies for Ohio State, and accepted the better job in Columbus just a day after his most recent denial.

Three weeks ago, a Xavier upset -- which almost happened -- would have left the coach seeking cleanup on Aisle Matta for quite the egg-on-the-face coaching moment, but OSU prevailed in overtime, and any potential storm of embarrassment had blown over.

But I'm reminded of this yet again now that Billy Donovan has been offering up the standard non-denial denials the last two weeks regarding the vacancy at Kentucky. This is basically the Notre Dame of basketball jobs. A sweet, sweet plum. Donovan should take it, but having been schooled as a player and an assistant coach (at UK, no less) under savvy Rick Pitino, the Florida boss is calmly trying to keep the media pencilnecks at bay.

"Sources" may tell reporters that Mrs. Billy D was spotted house-hunting in Lexington or that an offer has been made to Donovan's people, but the coach is saying nothing incriminating, and for the media to expect him to do otherwise is incredibly selfish.

Coaching is the only profession where reporters seem to think career moves need to be discussed publicly before they're made. Think about that. The very media that blasts a coach for saying he wants to stay but then leaves the next day is the same media comprised of newspaper scribes and TV pretties who put in their two or three years in a shitty market before quietly applying for a job in a mid-sized market and then a larger market. Before one expects the Billy Donovans of the world to say, "Yes, I am thinking about leaving my current job for another one," make sure you've done the same thing once in your career.

Anyway, here's the same rant from a few months ago.

Sportswriters Are Annoying

Another thing I hate about the sports media is when they harass the hell out of coaches toward the end of a season, asking the coach of Team A if he's interested in the now-vacant job with Team B.

"No comment," the coaches will say.

"But what about--" the reporters will counter.

Do you really think Miami Dolphins' coach Nick Saban is going to speak openly about the high-profile opening at the University of Alabama right now?

I realize you don't want to get scooped by the reporter at the other paper, so you do have to ask once, but it's the sports media itself -- not those who toil in sports -- that should be accountable for some coaches and players getting painted with the ugly brush.

"Oh, you can't trust that coach. He was so full of shit during that whole Alabama fiasco."

How about this? When you're using your work computer to look for a job at another paper or TV station, and taking a "personal day" to perhaps interview elsewhere, before you hear whether you've gotten offered what you think might be a better job, why don't you start telling all your co-workers and bosses that you're looking around? Better yet, why don't you tell your wife that you got drunk covering the Sugar Bowl last year and paid a Bourbon Street hooker to whack it for you in an alley behind your comped hotel? Until then, stop holding those already overglamorized jackasses in the sports world to a completely different standard than the one you'd expect to be set for yourself.