Unbuckling the mailbag:
Question: Do you get paid for writing (##$%$) like that? Did the USC coach say something to you and hurt your feelings? Your article screams of self-pity. Why don't you just go to Fox News and throw your 2-year-old tantrum on TV? "I want the coach to tell me about injuries. It's not fair? I want to know!"
Wah Wah Wah!
Jim Dunmyer Jr.
Answer: Get your facts straight. My tantrum was not 2 years old…I threw it two days ago.
I don't need any coach to tell me about injuries, but if I see one in broad daylight or discover one on my own I'd appreciate not being punished for it.
The good thing about Pac-12 football, unless you have DirecTV, is most of the games are on television.
There is no place for a coach to hide on television. Lane Kiffin can't walk off after 28 seconds because the ref called holding.
Game day is where the real competitive advantages and disadvantages are sorted out.
If Team X has a quarterback who doesn't throw many passes of more than 10 yards, well, that sort of information can leak out, without violating any policy, and become a chart in a newspaper.
I know, you're asking: why can't coaches ban television, radio and newspapers? Why can't games be played in secret, in underground bunkers, without the distractions of fans and nosy reporters?
That could be "Item A" on the agenda at next spring's Pac-12 coaches' meetings.
Q: If I'm running a team that is limited by scholarship (less players and back-up players) why would I ever want to help the opposing team by telling them players are hurt and possibly cannot play?
Bruce K. Middleton
Santa Fe Springs
A: Fine, then just shut down practice to the media the way most other college teams do. But if you are going to let media into practice, how are we supposed to ignore a top player getting injured?
Look, social media has changed everything. Coaches can't control events the way they once did.
We, as reporters, should have the same access to information as the pencil-neck sophomore who sees Matt Barkley's arm in a sling and sends out a text during English class.
People forget we work for our readers, not the Trojans or the Bruins. We are in the information business. Coaches are more interested in disinformation.
