Gridiron Politics

The Casper Star Tribune has a heartbreaking story about what happens when you throw rocks off cliffsides. Long story short: Guy throws rock, climber dies, then rock-thrower does the unthinkable and apologizes for his actions. Hmmm. Not something you see every day. Certainly isn’t true in the wretched world of politics (see Larry Craig’s it’s-the-media’s-fault fingerpointing to account for all the hookups he’s had in mens rooms.) But it’s equally unlikely to happen in the world of football. Case in point: Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s rant against columnist Jennifer Carlson for suggesting OSU’s former starting quarterback was an emotional trainwreck. The best Gundy could do? Apologize for “raising his voice.” The best Carlson could do? Play the victim and avoid admitting that perhaps her column crossed the line. Both parties were out of line, and I guess that’s OK, it’s out of the news cycle now.

I’m not suggesting people in sports are incapable of being honest. LSU coach Les Miles, for example, had this to say about AP voters who put his team at the number one spot this week:  “Anybody that voted us No. 1 obviously didn’t get up and watch us play Saturday,” Miles said. “We have to come to work and prepare. We have a lot to improve on and a lot to accomplish.” LSU beat Tulane 34-9, but it was 10-9 at the half. Sportswriters didn’t seem to care that LSU was incapable of beating the spread and rewarded them for not sucking it up like USC did in their 27-24 win against lowly Washington.

There’s at least two sportswriters this week who don’t need to apologize: Kirk Herbstreit and Stewart Mandel. The two saw past Oregon’s heartbreaking loss to Cal and moved the Ducks up to the number 5 and 6 spots, respectively. Does Oregon deserve this treatment? Probably not. But there aren’t too many teams below them that Oregon couldn’t take on a neutral field. Sure, they’d probably lose to LSU, and you might have to flip a coin to see who would win if they rematched Cal, or played USC. Maybe USF might give the Ducks some problems, as South Florida shut down West Virginia’s spread offense without a lot of difficulty. Before this week, I thought Oklahoma might give Oregon some problems if the Ducks continued to be undefeated and they met Oklahoma in a big bowl game. But now, after Colorado’s upset, I’m not so sure. In any case, if Oregon turns out to be overrated, I’ll write a nice apology.