Bo's bluntness

It doesn’t quite rival Jim Mora, Dennis Green or Mike Ditka. It does not come close to rivaling former Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan, who when coaching the Oakland Raiders referred to them as “We’ve got to be the dumbest team in America in terms of playing the game,” after a 22-8 loss to the Denver Broncos.

However, current Husker head coach Bo Pelini has been known to be on the surly side with the media at various times after Nebraska has a subpar practice. One of those days was Wednesday, August 26, in which Pelini publicly chided the team’s performance in practice as the team continues preparation for its season opener on Sept. 5 at home against Florida Atlantic.

“Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” which is hosted by Kevin Kugler and Mike’L Severe on Omaha radio station 1620 AM KOZN, played the unedited version of Pelini’s post-practice briefing with local media:

Pelini: “We're just not a real good football team right now. For a lot of reasons.”

So what about the offensive line competition?
Pelini: “No one's stepped up and taken control. Bunch of average guys running around out there right now.''

Is it a matter of losing focus toward the end of practice?

Pelini: “It doesn't matter whether it's the beginning, end, middle. It doesn't really matter, does it?''

Do they get it?

Pelini: “Apparently not.''

Did he say anything after practice to let them know?

Pelini: “What do you think?''

Of course, it should also be dually noted that players and fellow assistant coaches also echoed Pelini’s sentiments on the team’s subpar practice. Thursday’s effort was much better: http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=1&SPID=22&ATCLID=204782705&DB_OEM_ID=100

Nebraska Statepaper Husker beat writer Samuel McKewon, one of my former Daily Nebraskan cohorts, addressed Pelini’s personality with the media: http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2009/08/27/4a96aa2938b68

As one who works as a sports reporter/photographer myself for two small-town weeklies in Northern California (St. Helena Star and Weekly Calistogan), I know what media members go through. I have also had the experience of covering pro and college sports, which has a massive volume of people covering the team daily. So much so that you lose that intimacy with the players and coaches.

In general, I like Pelini’s honesty and forthright personality. That’s where he is a refreshing change. Granted, Frank Solich was not the most well-spoken coach. Callahan was but what did that get him other than a 27-22 record and a ticket out of town?

Pelini is who he is. Nebraska knew that when they hired him. There’s no turning back.
Pelini, however, needs to realize that no coach wins when he gets cross with the media. There are too damn many of them and they feed off each other. One little soundbite can reverberate for years.

In general, I think what McKewon is trying to get across is that you can't judge Pelini's interactions with the media simply by the soundbites that come when he's fired up. The press is getting a great deal of info regarding what's going on inside the team, it's just not all rhetoric from the head coach. Pelini gives an honest opinion, and allows the assistants and players to speak freely. Believe me; I understand that it is better than Callahan and/or Pederson blowing sunshine, then wheel out the coaches and players to speak from a script.

However, as the head coach, Pelini needs to understand that part of the job is being the front man for the media. It’s not like the local media had printed negative stories on the program. Granted, printing the stories on running back Quentin Castille’s suspension for what Pelini indicated was a “clear violation of team rules,” was not a pleasant topic but I think the media as a whole supported Pelini’s decision.

In a nutshell, I’m completely on board with Pelini venting after the team has a practice that does not please him. After all, it’s part of his way of letting players know that they need to earn their keep.

He just needs to realize that even if he is pissed off, part of his job is to answer questions at least respectfully. After all, we are talking Lincoln, Nebraska, media – not the New York Times.

It’s a matter of balancing being tough without being surly.

Good riddance Matt Perrault. Exit stage left

According to a report on omahacityweekly.com, KXSP-590 AM sports talk show host Matt Perrault will be leaving his post at the end of the month.

It’s never a joyous occasion when someone loses their job. Trust me, I’ve been there. However, to Perrault, I say good riddance.

Given that his show had reportedly dipped near the bottom of Omaha radio station ratings with the exception of during Creighton basketball season, I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that he is gone. Of course, I have not heard the “how” part (dismissal or resignation) of Perrault’s departure.

As a 1997 University of Nebraska alum in Northern California, I frequently keep up on Husker news via the internet whether it is the newspaper’s internet site, fan blogs and podcasts.

I even decided to start my own fan blog for recreational purposes to go along with my full-time job as a sports reporter and photographer for two weekly newspapers (St. Helena Star and Weekly Calistogan) in Northern California. The blog is primarily about Husker football but I will touch on other topics when the spirit moves.

Anyhow, just a little more than a year ago, my wife and I got a computer that was compatible with the podcasts of Perrault’s show along with Unsportsmanlike Conduct (hosted by Kevin Kugler and Mike’L Severe) and Sports Nightly (hosted by Lane Grindle). Well, since I know Kugler personally having worked with him when I lived in Nebraska, I knew I would likely gravitate toward his show but wanted to keep an open mind.

I generally enjoy listening to Grindle but after a week of listening to Perrault, I personally wanted to stick my head in an oven. In a nutshell, I stopped listening to Perrault entirely and have primarily listened to Unsportsmanlike Conduct and Sports Nightly.

Based on reading some message boards, Perrault was often criticized for being a “Creighton homer/anti-Husker” in a state that is Husker dominated. Granted, Nebraska and Creighton fans have some condescension for each other but let’s be honest – we’re not talking North Carolina-Duke or Auburn-Alabama here.

Personally, I didn’t have a huge problem with his promoting Creighton. After all, one key to having a good product is offering someone something that cannot get anywhere else. Plus, sports 590 AM airs Creighton broadcasts.

My biggest issues with Perrault were that he came off as an arrogant pipsqueak who belongs in a fraternity. Perrault, who is from the Boston area, also shoved his love for Boston teams (i.e. the Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots) down our unwanting throats. OK, we all have our favorite pro sports teams. I get that. We often refer to them as “we.” Again, I get that. However, this is not Boston. People in Nebraska do not tune in to your show to hear about the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and Patriots.

In the meantime, I’ll keep listening to Kugler. Keep up the good work, Kevin.