The Pros And Uconns Of Coaching
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma was sorry, but it was too late. The school slapped Auriemma with unspecified sanctions after the coach launched into a 20-minute harangue following an ugly 79-54 win at Boston College last week.
“If you want to write it was sloppy, yeah, it was, but there’s a reason why,” Auriemma had said, before ripping into BC and the refs. “You put bad players and bad officiating together and that’s what you get.”
Add bad judgment, and you get sanctions.
No Fun League
Does the NFL have a sense of humor? Don’t kid yourself. “They’re a stiff group,” said Andy Rooney, resident satirist on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” discussing his forfeited spot at Thursday’s NFL 75th anniversary gala.
Rooney was given the boot from the TV special for some mildly caustic comments on the game. When the diehard New York Giants fan and seasonticket holder submitted his remarks to the NFL, Rooney was flagged for interference.
Rooney had proposed organizing the Forgotten Fans of Football (FFF) - a union that would demand a ticket price cap, better halftime shows, the end of TV timeouts and a new form of instant replay.
“Run the replay on big screens that all the fans can see and WE’LL decide,” Rooney said. “You remember how the Romans did it with gladiators? It was thumbs up or thumbs down, that simple.”
Thumbs down, said Joe Browne, NFL veep of communications: “The remarks were inappropriate for the evening, which was a celebration of the NFL’s 75th anniversary, its players and fans.”
Unfazed, Rooney aired the remarks on Sunday’s 60 Minutes. “We’ll have a rating 19 times as big as the (NFL) show,” he predicted.
Charged with emotion
Jason Whitlock’s recent column calling the San Diego Chargers “pathetic” made it from the pages of the Kansas City Star to Southern California, drawing the ire - and faxes - of many fans.
The best, from an anonymous San Diegan: “Us surfing, dope-smoking, long-haired, beachgoing, yogurt-eating, Shamu-loving, hippie Californians are in Miami … while you sit on your fanny and watch your herd move from one side of the pasture to the other.”
Whitlock’s response? “Honestly, I was surprised that so many people in a gang-ridden, marijuanainfested, second-rate California city knew how to operate a fax machine.”
The last word …
“The Chargers have a chance because Douglas beat Tyson and Cher won an Academy Award.”
- Orange County Register columnist Mark Whicker, on Super Bowl XXIX