READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
Swamp Things, Sgt. Hulka and the Gator-gate controversy
Published: 3/26/2010 4:43 PM
Last Modified: 3/26/2010 4:49 PM

Seen the video of Florida football coach Urban Meyer scalding Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler?

Rather than pick sides in regard to who was right and who was wrong (which seems to be the new national pastime today), let’s go a few different directions with this:

1, The next time a coach threatens a member of the media, I think they should actually go at it instead of just rattling sabres.

The media guys (usually out of shape or overly nerdly) would have nothing to lose. But can you imagine the embarrassment level if the coach got whipped by the media guy? Some of these coaches are no spring chickens and they need to be careful about challenging guys who have less tread on the tire.

2, Meyer has been accused of “bullying” tactics. I’m not going to go there, but the general rule is that bullies tend to pick on people that they CAN bully.

Let’s apply the “Cowboy” Bill Watts rule. Watts is a former pro wrestler, ex-sports radio host and perhaps still one of the baddest men on the planet. Ask him about the ear he ate following a brawl.

What if Watts had written the story that got Meyer riled up. Would Meyer have handled it the same way, with a face-to-face dust-up?

Let’s take Meyer out of the equation and say that EVERY coach would have handled it differently if Watts was the guy who wrote it.

The post-practice monologue would have gone something like this: “Hello, Mr. Watts. Sure is nice to see the sun out. By the way, I didn’t agree with everything you wrote today, but maybe some time I can buy you an iced tea and we can discuss it. Have a good day!”

3, It’s honorable to defend kids. Really. But, for any coach, it’s hypocritical to defend some kids and pull scholarships away from those who were your recruiting mistakes. Do you defend only the kids who can win games for you? Probably. That’s not coach nature. That’s human nature. I don't know if Meyer runs off his recruiting mistakes, so I'm not accusing him of it.

4, A receiver that Fowler quoted allegedly feels horrible about his choice of words regarding Tim Tebow – or at least the context in which his words were used by Fowler.

Meyer asked Fowler if he had talked to the receiver’s family. Know what? If I was in Fowler’s shoes, I would call the receiver’s family and apologize, even if I thought I was 100 percent right, because life’s too short to make somebody else feel miserable.

5, The Orlando Sentinel’s Florida Gators blog site is called “Swamp Things.” C’mon now. Let’s give a little copyright respect to Len Wein and Berni Wrightson.

6, If you see anything above that makes you so mad that you need to fire off an angry response, just stop it already. If you're not having fun today, you're doing today all wrong. To quote the great Warren Oates (Sgt. Hulka in the movie "Stripes"), Lighten up, Francis. And you too Urban.




Reader Comments 1 Total
Bart78 (3 years ago)
You are absolutely on point on items 1-3. I viewed the video and read the article -- don't see the need for Meyer to get in the writer's grill. Perhaps Meyer needs to teach his players about interacting with the media with your brain engaged.
1 comments displayed


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


Games People Play

Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

Follow Jimmie Tramel on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog


Archive

 
Jimmie Tramel's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.