The job interview went well and I had a great weekend in Kansas City. It was good to be back where your loyalty to a Big 12 North school actually matters. That said, I'll get to what little coverage I have, although I probably should be sleeping right now.
I won't be doing some of my normal features, such as the weekend roundup and the K-State Week in Review. For a good roundup of the weekend's Big 12 action, check out Burnt Orange Nation. To catch up on all the goings-on with K-State sports, go to the Official K-State sports Web site.
In the first conference game of the season, Oklahoma State rebounded from last week's drubbing at Troy to knock off Texas Tech in a game remarkably devoid of recognizable defense. The two teams rolled up 1,328 yards of offense and combined for 94 points.
The real fireworks came after the game, however, when Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy responded to an article in The Oklahoman. The video is below.
First, from a journalism perspective, the article is trash. It is basically a hit piece on Bobby Reid that questions his attitude and toughness. But it is not supported by facts and sources, the hallmark of good journalism. Instead, the substantiation for the articles claims are "rumors and rumblings", "stories told on the sly", "[what] insiders say", and more "rumblings and rumors."
The college football blog "The Wizard of Odds" takes Gundy (and those who applauded him) to task for his tirade. However, as I just pointed out, the article as written was a thorough waste of good newsprint, and is a prime example of irresponsible reporting. The Wizard wants Gundy held accountable, I applaud him for holding the Oklahoma media accountable. It was equally impressive (and maybe telling) that Gundy stormed out of the room to a smattering of applause, given he was in a press conference room presumably filled with reporters. If those claps were from reporters' hands, we may have learned a lot about the author of the article and her newspaper.
This whole story provides a great lesson for the media and, like it or not, we as bloggers need to take note. These are college kids playing this game we love. They are being given tremendous resources (scholarships, academic support, etc.), but they are also given tremendous responsibility. Reasoned, supported criticism comes with the territory. But hit jobs such as the one penned by The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson need to stay in the National Enquirer.
Did I mention The Oklahoman is owned by the same Gaylord family whose name appears on the University of Oklahoma's football stadium? Just throwing that out there.
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I'll try to get back on track this week as we get ready for the big tilt in Austin this weekend. In the meantime, check in with PB at Burnt Orange Nation to learn everything you could ever need to know about the Longhorns. I can only hope the Longhorn players are taking the same attitude as "Houston's Clear Thinkers" and look at K-State as a tuneup game for OU. Another fine example of Texas condescension.