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Sports Illustrated columnist Stewart Mandel writes that coaches challenge their players' attitudes all the time. Urban Meyer called his tailbacks 'trash' before their title run, but nobody called to chastise him. Yet, a reporter offers some criticism and fans rush to the defense of the poor student-athlete. Mandel writes: "As I wrote on Sunday, Gundy's general point about treating college athletes differently than pros -- one which might have been taken seriously if not for all the SCREAMING, STARE DOWNS and FINGER POINTING -- is a valid one. But let's not kid ourselves about the real reason much of the public is siding with Gundy. It's certainly not lost on me, a columnist, that there's a wide-spread resentment amongst most college football fans toward the media. I'm sure for many people it was a treat to watch a football coach put one of us "know-it-all" writers in his/her place. Because that's the only possible explanation why Gund...

Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy makes a fool of all the rational coaches out there, which is most of them. Don't think this coach's spewing is normal, or acceptable. Gundy unfairly attacks the woman columnist for the Oklahoman in a three-plus minute tirade, saying the writer can't understand the issue because she does not have kids. This rant was clearly spit out by someone who has no clue about journalism, modern media, or YouTube, where more than 200,000 people have watched his childish bombast. This is also someone who has no clue that kids get picked on, teased, and called names far worse than ''fat boy.'' Kids, and adults, get their hearts broken all the time. We've all been kicked when we were down. It's the getting back up that defines us. Like athletes, student-journalists get their fair share of criticism. Just last week some egocentric, petty graduate students posted 'graded' copies of the staff editorial all over campus b...

Writing a game on deadline can be a challenge no matter what sport you cover. But high school football may be the most challenging of all. First, night games typically end less than an hour before deadline. That means getting quotes from players may be more difficult, unless you grab a player before he heads in to hear the coach’s post-game speech. You might also be forced to walk the sidelines in severe weather, thanks, in part, to press boxes filled with announcers, stat assistants, and friends of the program. Press box is a misnomer at many fields across the country. However, compiling stats on deadline may be the most daunting task of all, something that confounds most new sports reporters. Unlike college and NFL games, high school football stats are not hand delivered between quarters. In many cases, the stats are poorly recorded by student managers or volunteer parents who care little about the visiting team’s stats. More and more, newspapers are starting to put more emphasis on ...

The other day, a student asked how to score points during change-overs in volleyball , when, for example, the serving team hits the ball out of bounds. He did not realize that high school and college teams no longer use the side-out format, where only the serving team could score points. That system was discarded six years. Colleges (and now high schools) use a rally scoring system where a point is scored on every single serve, regardless who serves. Teams still get to serve after winning points and must win by two points. College teams also must play to 30 points now in all except the final game in the best-of-five scoring system. (Fifth games only go to 15 points.) High school teams typically play to 25 points in a best of three or five game setup, with the final set also going to 15. Those who have not watched volleyball over the past several years might be surprised by a player wearing a different colored shirt than her teammates. The libero, meaning free in Italian, is a relative...

Here's a shameless plug for a story I wrote that ESPN.com just posted. CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Jamaris DelValle had never heard of rugby before she started playing three years ago in Jupiter, Fla. Like most Americans, the teen knew little about the sport's rules, traditions or strategies. Still, she was drawn to a sport where she has the opportunity to hit someone in a game, just like the boys do over on the football field. You can read the rest of the story by clicking here . photo/Brian Poulter -30-

Michigan fans want Lloyd Carr's head. And why not? Michigan sucks right now , losing to Appalachian State and Oregon to start 0-2. This is Michigan football, after all, a team rich in tradition, a team that just doesn't lose to Division I-AA schools. Go big Blue! What the hell has Carr done for Michigan lately? Sure, he won 113 games entering this season, but what of those 36 losses. He's lost 24.2 percent of games he's coached. Plus, he has captured only one national championship (one more than Bo Schembechler .) But you'd think he'd have more titles after guiding the team to bowl games 12 straight years and being ranked in the AP Top 25 for all but seven games. Sure, he is the first Wolverines coach to win four consecutive bowl games, but what has Carr done this season? He has to go , absolutely. The only fans who might be more rabid than Michigan's reside in Philadelphia, where fans have booed Santa Claus and thrown garbage at players. But why do fans ge...

Buzz is building for the first sanctioned NCAA women's rugby team. Perhaps, buzz is the wrong word. Instead, it's more like a low hum. USA Today wrote a brief story on the match-up between Eastern Illinois University and West Chester (Penn.) University, a game that might attract more than 1,000 fans to Charleston, Ill. EIU coach Frank Graziano says that several local newspapers have also called, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and some Chicago area newspapers. I will be covering the game for ESPN.com. I may be more excited than most, having spent two years covering the team for a project I hoped would result in a book on these women pioneers. I am still writing and working and hoping. Women's rugby is on the NCAA's emerging sports list , along with squash and handball and a few other sports. Typically, a sport must build enough programs (usually 30) to have a national championship within 10 years. Right now, the sport has about four more years, meaning the spo...