Nails in the coffin

Today I wake up to find a story on the front page of the San Antonio Express-News that embattled coach Dennis Franchione has stopped selling confidential player information in a secret $1,200 newsletter. Well. I feel so much better now. The information Fran peddled, apparently, was player assessments and detailed injury reports to deep-pocket boosters. Information Fran has told the media and public that it is "team policy" not to distribute.

"I knew it was probably going to be controversial," Franchione said. "I certainly didn't mean for it to be that. When I knew you guys were starting to ask around a bit, I thought, 'Maybe we shouldn't do this.'"

So, he knew it was wrong, but continued to do it until he realized he was about to get outed. Nice, stand-up kind of ethical example to set for your players, Fran. Now, while releasing injury reports and player assessments to the public isn't illegal (in fact for years paranoid Bill Snyder at Kansas State was notorious as one of the few coaches in the nation who wouldn't release this info), keeping it secret from all but a select few raises some troubling issues. Such as, um, couldn't this insider information be used for gambling?

"We asked them to sign something," Franchione said. "And for them not to do that."

Ah. Okay. That iron-clad explanation certainly lays those fears to rest.

The story was broke by Brent Zwerneman, a sports writer I've casually known for a number of years. He's vaguely aware of my existence, I believe. But he does a pretty good job for a Sam Houston graduate, despite the blistering criticism he sometimes weathers on TexAgs.com. His writing for the most part is even-handed, which guarantees he's regularly accused of being unprofessional by one side or the other. My one real criticism of his writing is that he has a habit of opening his columns with a bit of sleight-of-hand, writing about a past sporting scenario that parallels a current situation in such a way as to play "fooled you" with the reader. It's not a bad technique, as far as it goes, but he uses it far too much, so that it's almost become his default mode. My editorial advice to him would be to restrict its use to once a year, if that much, so as to not dilute its impact. But that's neither here nor there. The significance of the current article essentially throws kerosene on the fire raging under Franchione's seat, and also has the effect of embarrassing Athletic Director "Dollar" Bill Byrne, who was caught unawares by this "secret society" newsletter and most assuredly doesn't like being made to look like a fool by his coaching staff. It also explains why Zwerneman and Coach Fran's assistant, Mike McKenzie (who ghost writes the secret newsletter--very poorly I might add, judgine from the samples I've seen) got into a shouting match at a football press conference earlier this week. All in all, it appears to be a good bit of journalism on Zwerneman's part, and I can't help but offer up my meta interpretation of the situation via a different era and a different sport:

Franchione lands a decent left hook to start the fight. Zwerneman lands a little uppercut and they exchange jabs. Zwerneman catches Franchione with a stabbing right uppercut, FRANCHIONE GOES DOWN. Dennis Franchione is sent down to the canvas in the very first round. Franchione rises at the count of three. Zwerneman moves and lands three huge shots to Franchione's chin. He's bobbin right into the power punches of Zwerneman. Zwerneman lands another big right and Franchione is wobbling. Zwerneman lands a huge straight right and FRANCHIONE FALLS AGAIN!!! Dennis gets up again is trying to move away. Zwerneman pushes forward and looks for the kill, he lands another huge right uppercut, FRANCHIONE FALLS DOWN AGAIN!!! He rises at the count of 6 and goes wobbly back to his corner.

To be continued...?

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