Why doesn't Stoops favor an injury report? Vegas, baby
Published: 9/20/2012 10:55 AM
Last Modified: 9/20/2012 10:55 AM
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott is considering the value of conference-wide injury reports, which some league coaches favor to put everybody on equal footing as far as disclosure. Other coaches don't feel it's anybody's business but theirs. Then there's Mike Leach, who thinks the divulging of injuries is "journalism at its most pitiful level."
(Which proves that if Leach has genius tendencies, there's a trace of idiot inside him as well.)
Anyway, the Norman Transcript's John Shinn figured the Pac-12 debate was worth asking Bob Stoops how he'd feel about a Big 12 injury report. It turned out to be a great idea, given Stoops' response.
"I don't mind it if everyone wants to do it," Stoops said to start with.
Not that he really believed that, based on what followed:
"To me the problem is it's all about gambling. They're the ones that have the true interest in it, and this is college sports. We should not contribute to those who are gambling on college sports. The NFL? Have at it. Go to Vegas, bet on them all, whatever. But gambling is the issue.
"Gambling becomes the issue when Joe Schmo down there loses a big chunk of change on the last play of the game, when we've got out threes in, giving them some snaps. And all of a sudden we don't cover the spread. Now it makes them more angry. It changes people.
"Or you've got your young guy that's playing ball for you, he drops a touchdown pass that would have changed the bet. He's playing for his college team, he's 20 years old, and now he gets all of this venom. It just feeds that. And I just don't believe in that. I say to heck with 'em.
"I don't believe that a kid who's going to participate, the other team ought to know where he's limited. Because now they're going to take advantage of them. If he's definitely out, I have always said if he's definitely out. When I knew. It might have not been till Thursday or Friday, but when I've said it he's out.
"Other than that, I don't think you should have anything to say. Because you're handicapping the young man. Again, he's not playing for the Vikings. Whether people want to say this is big business or not, 95 percent of these guys aren't going anywhere but here, then to a job somewhere. They don't need to be handicapped or put in a position to be taken advantage of because they're trying to play for their team and they're hobbled."
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
