*

*
Paul Daugherty
Enquirer columnist files news and observations

Paul Daugherty
Paul Daugherty has been an Enquirer sports columnist since 1994 and has been chronicling Cincinnati sports since 1988. He has covered almost every major sporting event in America, as well as five Summer Olympics. Along the way, he has been named one of the country's top-5 sports columnists four times, and Ohio columnist of the year on seven different occasions. Last year, he was voted 2nd-best sports columnist in the country, by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

Powered by Blogger

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Levi Jones off limits to reporters

That's what Enquirer Bengals man Mark Curnutte wrote this morning. It's something I've never understood. Jones is a grown man. Can't he make that call? What does the team think Levi's gonna say? It's like with Rich Braham's "deep bruise'' last year. Man broke his leg. What's wrong with simply saying that? It's just a very weird thing. Football coaches are generally the most paranoid, secretive people on the planet, but the Bengals occasionally "take it to the next level'' as they say.

And: As for kids being disillusioned by M. Vick... get over it... I always liked Charles Barkley's take on the athlete-as-role-model, and I'll say this until they cart me off to the home:

Athletes aren't role models. Most of them need role models.

Why do we persist, in the face of so much evidence, to think that athletic skill equals social grace? Never has. Never will. Tell your kid to admire his parents or a good teacher or two.

Live big, Gil Thorp.


9 Comments:

at 7:29 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Paul,

Fair point re athletes as role models. In a perfect world, kids would look up to their parents and every parent would be worthy of being looked up to.

But we don't live in a perfect world. A lot of kids look up to athletes whether we like it or not. As such, I don't think it's too much to ask that sports fans should expect that millionaires should be able to get it together and stop doing things that reflect poorly on themselves and the organizations they represent.

 
at 8:46 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess Levi is off limits because the coaches are afraid that one of you reporters is really Dr. McCoy and your tape recorder is really one of those doo-hickeys that can scan Levi and find out what is really wrong with him. But if that were true, they should encourage it, because didn't that doo-hickey also have a way to repair the damage with nothing more than the making of some strange warbling sounds?

Live big, Bones.

 
at 11:15 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's like they're admitting that their medical staff is awful. Probably just another famous Mike Brown Cut-corner to save a few bucks.

Russ H.
Mt. Lookout

 
at 11:44 AM Blogger Ryan Dempsey said...

Are you trying to get a charachter named after you by dropping Gil Thorp into you blog post?

http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/bozich/2007/04/bluffton-baseball-and-gil-thorp.html

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/custom/gilthorp/

 
at 7:33 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Information is power. You don't concede anything that could give your opposition any more power than they have. No matter how insignificant a detail may seem, you just don't make it available for opposing head coaches. Whether we're talking about info that could affect the opener against Baltimore, week to week during the regular season, draft day in April, or pertaining to the waiver wire, I never fault Marvin for playing it "close to the vest". This is due to the fact that it may even slightly disadvantage opposing teams' game-plan scheming or personnel moves(draft day/waiver wire) by not tipping the Bengals "hand".
Yes, I don't see why he couldn't answer a question last year whether or not he thought Peyton Manning would play in the Bengals pre-season game against Indy. That affected nothing and at this time I will concede Doc; was "taking it to the next futile level".
I'm concerned about Marvin's game management. Use of timeouts, "challenges", kick or not, etc. That's the purest way for Joe-Arm Chair like me to assess for himself (without judging by what he reads/hears from the media) some of Marvin's important coaching skills. Because it's happening right now; live; in front of your face.
I'll give a new NFL head coach a year or two to work out his/her game management growing pains IF THEY NEED IT, but last year was Marv's 4TH and he didn't show any improvement from his first that I can remember.

 
at 4:31 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

PD:
Actually, athletes ARE role models, but they shouldn't be. But I think the distinction needs to be made. To say they aren't is to ignore the obvious...kids who are seriously ill in the Make-a-Wish foundation choose to meet their favorite sports idols more than any other individuals in any field of work...the world's best surgeon, best teacher, etc. are not asked to be met. Skewed? Yup. But they ARE role models. I think the more correct angle is to ask how things got this way, and finding that out, we're all better equipped in changing it if that's the goal.

My take is that the reason has a lot to do with 24/7 sports coverage, replays of highlights, football camps for 5 and 6 year olds, etc...Consumers and parents have placed sports up on that pedestal, and kids absorb the "this is what the REAL successful people do...people who REALLY matter get on TV and have their best plays shown all over the world..." If our adult culture didn't push things the way we do, our kids might look to more authentic, objectively good people as their role models. But, alas, that's probably the case for so many of our problems. We don't live in a vacuum...choices we make have consequences...kids hear their parents complain to the coach about the playing time their kids are getting, and something not good gets passed on to that kid. Good show topic, I think...especially here in the 'Nati..." We the adults have made the choice to make sports figures into role models for our kids--perhaps unwittingly--but literally nevertheless.

 
at 8:51 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Huge Bengals fan, but now live in Boston (as I always say, you can never shake your DNA!). These coaches and players must be looking at the success the Pats have had because they NEVER EVER talk about injuries. Belichik would rather babysit Tom Brady's new son on the sidelines during a game than give out injury info! Guess this trend is making its way through the league!

 
at 2:55 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Marvin Lewis is paranoid and he will not win a playoff game coaching the Bengals. Bill Cowher is what the Bengals need.

 
at 7:05 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey paul---could you ask the mgr.why he batted Ellison on Sunday,when he had keppinger,hopper and cantu on the bench???----stupid move---this manager is toast---dumbest move I've seen !!!!
White oak jack

 
Post a Comment*

* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.

By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site. << Home


Blogs
Jim Borgman
Today at the Forum
Paul Daugherty
Politics Extra
N. Ky. Politics
Pop culture review
Cincytainment
Who's News
Television
Roller Derby Diva
Art
CinStages Buzz....
The Foodie Report
cincyMOMS
Classical music
John Fay's Reds Insider
Bengals
High school sports
NCAA
UC Sports
CiN Weekly staff
Soundcheck