Let 'er rip Mandel

[douxpaysan]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why is it that the media is practically ignoring Oklahoma State? This team was so balanced last year they had exactly 3,161 yards rushing and passing. QB Zac Robinson had 2,824 yards throwing the ball and 847 yards running the ball. Do you feel OSU has a chance to be a dark horse and win the Big 12?
-- James White, Stillwater, Okla.
First of all, it says something about the preponderance of dual-threat quarterbacks in the game today that Robinson has managed to remain largely under the radar despite a season like that. Five years ago we would have been going nuts over a player with those kind of numbers (he also completed 60 percent of his passes and posted a 23-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio). Instead, he takes a distant backseat to guys like Tim Tebow, Pat White and Dan LeFevour.
Speaking for myself, there are two reasons I'm not giving much consideration to the Cowboys. For one, their defense last year was every bit as awful as their offense was spectacular, ranking 112th nationally against the pass and 101st overall. But mostly, there's the inescapable reality is that their head coach, Mike Gundy, is a complete clown.
I know what you're going to say. I'm only ripping Gundy because of his infamous "I'm a Man!" tirade last year. ... Well, yeah. Whether or not you agreed with the content, I can't imagine anyone who watched that charade -- which I presume is all of you -- came away from it thinking: "That's a guy I'd want leading my team." (Unless, of course, your team at the time was coached by Bill Callahan or Karl Dorrell.) Gundy is certifiably nuts. He's like the Ed Orgeron of the Big 12. And he's got a 18-19 record to his name. What possible evidence is there to suggest that one of his teams should ever be taken seriously?"

[sooner n houston]

Greatness! :D

[swardboy]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.........

[St. Louis Sooner]

To have an 'unbiased' media person from outside The Sooner State lay it down like that is totally priceless.

[NYC Poke]

Here is a letter I got into the Mailbag shortly after The Rant, along with Mandel's response.

Note: Polls after the full story came out showed people supporting Gundy for this. Now all anyone other than OSU fans remembers is The Rant.

You guys want the "Stoops doesn't win his BCS bowls" meme to go away. And it will after you win one. The Rant will follow Gundy to his grave.


Regarding Mike Gundy's postgame rant, it seems that sportswriters have almost all condemned Gundy's overly emotional defense of his player and fail to grasp the distinction Gundy was trying to make between fair criticism of on-field performance and petty personal attacks. Your response was admittedly measured, but other national writers have gone as far as to suggest that Gundy be fined or fired. Meanwhile, almost all fans, players, and coaches support Gundy. Could it be that the actual bias in sports media is actually in favor of ... other sportswriters?
--Russ, Manhattan

Ding, ding, ding. I've tried futilely over the years to diffuse the wide-spread notion that mainstream journalists hold "biases" toward certain teams in the same way fans "hate" their rivals. I gave up on that lost cause long ago, other than to occasionally point out that if you truly believe a professional journalist would let his "inner-fan" hold more sway than the most basic tenant of his profession -- objectivity -- than you might as well assume your doctor is sharing your confidential medical information over drinks with his colleagues, and that your bank teller is secretly "borrowing" half that deposit you just made.

That said, writers are humans, and we like to be treated with the same level of dignity as any other humans. So yes, when Gundy steps out in front of a podium in a room full of people, points his finger at a specific writer and screams at her for several minutes with the kind of maniacal look on his face that suggests he's so angry he could hit somebody, is it any surprise to see fellow writers rallying behind the attacked journalist? Maybe that's how he dresses down his players in the locker room or on the sideline, but what person in any other walk of life voices their professional displeasure toward someone in that manner? Gundy's certainly entitled to disagree with her, and he's certainly entitled to defend his player, but I don't believe anyone -- from writer to football coach to stock trader to busboy -- deserves to be treated with such lack of basic human decency.

From the moment I first saw the Gundy clip, I knew immediately that such extreme-reaction columns as the ones you mentioned would soon be spewing forth across the country, regardless of whether or not Gundy had a valid point. It's the same "defense mechanism" that causes many writers to hold "grudges" against schools whose coaches or sports information staff have treated them like crap. It's human nature. And it's a much more likely cause of "bias" among writers than any team allegiance.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/stewart_mandel/09/25/mailbag/2.html

[OUMallen]

That's the gheyest response ever. "I'm objective! I'm ibjective! Until it's difficult, then I'm not."

[stoops the eternal pimp]

your name is russ?:D

[NYC Poke]

That's only my porn name.

[OU4LIFE]

dude, srsly, that whole thing was staged. You can't seriously believe that Gundy was handed that newspaper seconds after the game and read it on the way to his news conference.

It was a low point in moral for that team, and it's fan base, they NEEDED something, and that's what happened. It was not a 'real' event. Even some boosters who would know have said so.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

interesting...

anyhoo to the business at hand, that rant has nothing to do with whether Gundy can coach or no...I don't think Gundy will ever be the subject of unbiased media again

[NYC Poke]

The real bias in most journalism is laziness. Doing actual reporting, research, and analysis takes a lot of work. It's a lot easier to pick out something like The Rant or the BCS bowls thing, put a few words around it, and now you've got some column inches or airtime filled.

Try not to laugh too hard at this scenario, but if we'd finished last season at 9-3 instead of 6-6, they'd all be talking about how The Rant inspired the team to another level. Take Mark Richt with the whole "dancing in the endzone" stunt. If they'd lost to Florida that day, they would have been talking about what a classless move it was.

[OU4LIFE]

I think it's pretty obvious he can flat out coach, I mean, he's gotten okie lite to a near .500 record.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

If only he had Nathan Simmons in the backfield

[badger]

Why is it that the media is practically ignoring Oklahoma State? This team was so balanced last year they had exactly 3,161 yards rushing and passing.
So is that how much you gained on offense, or how much you gave up on defense ;)

[OU4LIFE]

ah, the spitter. good times.

[SoonerStormchaser]

Gundy= bigger ijiot than "the ijiot"

[AZSOONER]

:)

[tulsaoilerfan]

I think it's pretty obvious he can flat out coach, I mean, he's gotten okie lite to a near .500 record.

:D

[cheezyq]

"Why is it that the media is practically ignoring Oklahoma State? This team was so balanced last year they had exactly 3,161 yards rushing and passing. QB Zac Robinson had 2,824 yards throwing the ball and 847 yards running the ball. Do you feel OSU has a chance to be a dark horse and win the Big 12?
-- James White, Stillwater, Okla.

Shoot. The only thing missing there was "we're a team on the rise".

LOVE the response!

[stoopified]

Mandel completed a99 YARD TD on that one.I was going to say he hit it out of the park but thought a football metaphor was was more fitting.

[Big Red Ron]

But mostly, there's the inescapable reality is that their head coach, Mike Gundy, is a complete clown.
I know what you're going to say. I'm only ripping Gundy because of his infamous "I'm a Man!" tirade last year. ... Well, yeah. Whether or not you agreed with the content, I can't imagine anyone who watched that charade -- which I presume is all of you -- came away from it thinking: "That's a guy I'd want leading my team." (Unless, of course, your team at the time was coached by Bill Callahan or Karl Dorrell.) Gundy is certifiably nuts. He's like the Ed Orgeron of the Big 12. And he's got a 18-19 record to his name. What possible evidence is there to suggest that one of his teams should ever be taken seriously?"the truth is often painful aggie.

[Piware]

dude, srsly, that whole thing was staged. You can't seriously believe that Gundy was handed that newspaper seconds after the game and read it on the way to his news conference.

It was a low point in moral for that team, and it's fan base, they NEEDED something, and that's what happened. It was not a 'real' event. Even some boosters who would know have said so.


According to Bobby Reid on ESPN, it wasn't about sticking up for him - quite the opposite. To paraphrase Reid, Gundy is a liar and a phoney. When people show you who they are, believe them.

[Mixer!]

Gundy, Holder, Hargis, Pickens...

[OU4LIFE]

According to Bobby Reid on ESPN, it wasn't about sticking up for him - quite the opposite. To paraphrase Reid, Gundy is a liar and a phoney. When people show you who they are, believe them.

and I called it staged from day one.

[Easting]

Do you think Gundy will go on a rant about Mandel's story? Will he "man" up?

[OU4LIFE]

no. I think even he realizes that the whole rant thing, while it may have worked with the fan base and some players, it was a mistake on the national scale.

He's about to be in rarefied air, he's gonna get to 20 wins in just four years!

twenty wins....Jesus that's pathetic.

[St. Louis Sooner]

twenty wins and a media whipping boy! this is classic ... totally classic! :D

[OU4LIFE]

pfffft, here's your difference:


John Blake 1996-1998 12 wins 3 years = gone
Howard Schnellenberger 5 wins 1 year = gone
Jim Mackenzie 6 wins 1 year = gone
Gomer Jones 9 wins 2 years = gone
James M. "Jim" Tatum 8 wins 1 year = gone
Lawrence M. "Biff" Jones 9 wins 2 years = gone
Lewie W. Hardage 11 wins 2 years = gone

Mike 'the miracle' Gundy 3 years 18 wins = contract extension.

[Big Red Ron]

and I called it staged from day one.
:twinkies:

:D :D :D

[Leroy Lizard]

I gave up on that lost cause long ago, other than to occasionally point out that if you truly believe a professional journalist would let his "inner-fan" hold more sway than the most basic tenant of his profession -- objectivity -- than you might as well assume your doctor is sharing your confidential medical information over drinks with his colleagues, and that your bank teller is secretly "borrowing" half that deposit you just made.

Sure, giving out medical secrets is like letting one's sports bias influence reporting.

Disclosing medical information is illegal, a serious breach of ethics, will get you sued, and possibly get your license stripped.

The writer is an idiot.

[tommieharris91]

It was a low point in moral for that team, and it's fan base, they NEEDED something, and that's what happened. It was not a 'real' event. Even some boosters who would know have said so.

Except that rant came after a comeback win.

[stoopified]

pfffft, here's your difference:


John Blake 1996-1998 12 wins 3 years = gone
Howard that old drunk 5 wins 1 year = gone
Jim Mackenzie 6 wins 1 year = gone
Gomer Jones 9 wins 2 years = gone
James M. "Jim" Tatum 8 wins 1 year = gone
Lawrence M. "Biff" Jones 9 wins 2 years = gone
Lewie W. Hardage 11 wins 2 years = gone

Mike 'the miracle' Gundy 3 years 18 wins = contract extension.While I understand the point you are making and your caoparison,it is flawed in at least two instances.Jim McKenzie was not fired,he died after his only season.Coach Switzer says that if McKenzie had lived OU would have been very good under him.He did in fact lead OU to its first win over UT in 7-8 years in 1966.Tatum also was not fired but left for UNC when he was not named AD as well as football coach.His thirst for power cost him his job at OU and opened the door for his assistant Charles BUD Wilkinson,and the rest is history.

Your point that mediocrity gets you a raise and contract extension at oSu but gets you fired at OU is a valid one.Gary Gibbs was an example of this, 44-23-2 would get a bulding named after him at TBS but at OU he resigns under pressure.

[OU4LIFE]

I never said anyone was fired. I simply said 'gone'.