And then there is the growing fungus of sportswriters becoming the news as opposed to reporting the news. Kevin Scarbinsky comes to mind. I like Kevin a great deal. We have been acquaintices for 30 years. As the newsprint business started and now continues its decent into nothingness sportswriters have put themselves into the center of controversy. That would be okay if they didn't create the controversy themselves.
Phillip Marshall late of the Huntsville Times is a perfect example. For years his inability to keep his love for Auburn hurt his credibility. Phillip wrote not only pro-Auburn stories but could barely disquise disgust for Alabama. Now I know something of the Marshall family, brother David and I were roomates in college, and because of that I got to know Benny Marshall, the father very well. Mr. Marshall was what sports writing was actually about. Tell the story good or bad, but tell it nonetheless. And tell as an impartial witness and don't inject yourself in the center of the story. I miss my friend David, who is no longer with us, and his father, Benny, whose observations about college sports are sorely missed. We need more Benny Marshalls and Ben Cooks and fewer people like Jim Rome and Lou Holtz.
Today, everything must be controversial and it must fit within a news cycle. Last night ESPN went out of there way to show this years Heisman winner wasn't the first time a winner of the Trophy teams suffered 3 losses in season. That led me to believe that ESPN, the spin doctor for RGIII, was trying to justify his winning. Griffin, who certainly isn't short on ego wearing Superman socks was a worthy winner. Just not the correct winner when Trent Richardson was on the ballot. The fact that Richardson didn't carry the Southern Region of Heisman Voters expresses the hatred toward the University of Alabama, the SEC, and the State of Alabama. 27 voters in the South didn't have Richardson on their ballots at all.
Three weeks before last night's award show the name RGIII was not even one of the top five players mentioned in the award. One game, more specifically one pass, won the Heisman vote for him. The Baylor quarterback may well wear superman socks but there was only one candidate who is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings at a single bound. His name is Trent Richardson. He probably could do all those things as well as run over linebackers, carry half a defensive football team 10 yards on his back, and send defensive backs into counseling when they were forced to think about Richardson heading their way under a full head of steam. He was either going to embarrass you with a move so wonderful words would not describe it, or the would take your manhood and crush it like a bug.
Let me offer this as an example. I sincerely believe that Richardson could have put up some legendary numbers as a running back in the Big 12. How many of you think that RGIII could have done the same if he played in the SEC? You can't blame RGIII for accepting the trophy anymore than you could blame Richardson for wanting to win it. Give Trent the choice of winning the Heisman or winning another National Championship and his genuine nature to share would have choosing the game. If Griffin's socks said Superman on them, I bet Trents said "just a man". But what a man he is and the next time he visits New York it won't be to be cheated out of a Trophy. It will be to help his team win a trophy with his on the field play where only broken tackles and not broken ballots count.
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