Your agenda is duly noted

I always find it amusing when members of the media beat a drum until there’s a hole in it. In some instances the beating may be legitimate. After all, when somebody breaks rules, it should be exposed to the world, or at least the world that cares.

I’ve never been a stickler for rules, but blatant cheating does bother me. It bothers me most when coaches and players/recruits are the ones doing the dirt. When something like this happens, I have no problem when it gets printed on every newspapers’ sports section.

Prior to his arrival at Kentucky, I was always one of those people who looked at John Calipari as someone who could not be trusted. I wasn’t completely sure he should be considered as coach at UK because with the sordid past of Kentucky athletics, the Wildcats couldn’t afford to be in any NCAA trouble.

Now that he’s the main man at UK, I still have moments of discomfort. I don’t claim to be a complete fan of Coach Cal, but you can’t argue with his results and based on everything that I’ve seen, Cal has run UK in an ethical manner, despite some outcry from a few media members and a former coach who will someday reach the Hall of Fame.

Still, there are a couple of writers for ESPN and another at the New York Times who seem to get paid to search for dirt on Calipari (and other coaches) and by extension the Kentucky program.

As an up-and-coming sports writer, I pray that I’m never so obsessed with one program that I chase any lead, no matter how shady, just so I can stick it to somebody I don’t like.

I’d like to believe that I’m better than that and that the actual game and the kids playing are more important that the possibility of exposing a scandal.

It’s the off-season right now for football and basketball and with all this extra free time, student-athletes often get in trouble, but not all of them. Many of them are graduating this month. Some of them are finishing their first year of college with good grades and making their friends and families proud. There are some who are graduating a year early due to all their hard work during the summer months.

Where are the stories about those kids?

As a reporter you have to talk about the good and the bad to paint a clear picture. However that doesn’t mean you should ignore the good. But that’s what many of these writers do.

Do they cover games? Do they cover practices? Do they talk about team camaraderie? Do they ever write about the charities that these athletes participate in?

The answer is likely a resounding, ‘no’.

Where is your joy?

Why do these people cover sports when it’s obvious they’d be much better suited for the business section of the paper or some sort of political journal? Maybe even TMZ, since it’s obvious that scandal is their expertise and not the actual games.

I will reiterate that I am fine with somebody being exposed. But as a sports writer, your mission in your career shouldn’t be made or broken because you’re trying to tear down a university, coach or athlete. Vendetta’s are not needed in this business. If you have one, it’s time to check yourself.

As an aside, I’d like to thank Paul Jordan for allowing me to participate here on Wildcat Blue Nation. I have been given a new opportunity with Fox Media/Scout.com that has put me in a nice position to kick off my career. This will be my last column here, but it’s been fun and thank you all for reading.

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