Oklahoma State’s coach Gundy blackmails media to keep mum

Gundy tells reporters: Don’t ask or write about Jalen McCleskey if you want future access

When Jalen McCleskey, starting wide receiver for Oklahoma State, decided he would transfer, Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy tried to stifle the story.  Gavin Lang, Gundy’s media relations coordinator, gathered the Stillwater press corps together on Tuesday afternoon and informed them that if any of them ask any player anything about McCleskey, then all the university’s football players will be declared off limits to journalists for the remainder of the year.  After Lang departed the room, the reporters decided as a group to surrender to Gundy’s assault on the First Amendment.  When they conducted their player interviews during the designated period, nobody asked about McCleskey.  But then Gundy had another demand: The reporters must not mention Gundy’s threat in any of their articles.  The Tulsa World decided that was a step too far and published an article detailing Gundy’s new media policy.  

Dear Coach:  Your AD has said you need to recruit better.  Consider your public image.  You’ve been the center of 2 or 3 previous bizarre controversies.   Now this. Who wants to play for a coach who might shut his players off from all publicity?

8-year-old Astros fan scolded for making too much noise at Minute Maid Park

Chloe Beaver, 8-year-old fan of the Houston Astros, has a rare emotional illness, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD).  She has difficulty expressing appropriate emotions.  Her mother, Monica, takes her to Astros games so she can yell.  “We don’t get to scream and holler at home,” Monica told Houston’s KTRK (Channel 13).  But during a game at Minute Maid Park on Sunday, Chloe screamed so loud that another fan – an adult woman — scolded her, and the girl broke into tears.  Chloe told KTRK that the woman made her feel “a little bit guilty, ‘cause I’m annoying and nobody says that to me.”  Astros pitcher Lance McCullers saw the TV report and tweeted: “Chloe, don’t you EVER stop cheering.  I would love for you to cheer us on, as LOUD as you can, during ALDS Game 1 in MMP.  I would be honored to leave you a ticket.”

Dear Chloe:  If there’s any place in America where you can make as much noise as you want, it’s a sports stadium.  Anyone who feels differently needs to spend more time in a library.

Vikings star Everson Griffen in mental crisis, jumps from ambulance, afraid he’d be shot

Everson Griffen, 3-time Pro Bowl defensive end of the Minnesota Vikings, was rushed to a Minneapolis mental hospital after a series of bizarre actions.  A Vikings staffer called police on Saturday morning to say Griffen was screaming at people at the team’s practice facility.  Later that day, he was reported to be at the Hotel Ivy, threatening to shoot someone.  Cops called Griffen’s wife Tiffany, who said he’d been “fighting demons in his head,” that he was not on medication “but he should be.”  Shortly thereafter, she received a phone call from the fiancée of Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes, who said a shirtless Griffen “broke into our home.”  When confronted by police, Griffen agreed to go by ambulance to a mental hospital.  But during the ride, he panicked and jumped from the vehicle when several deer crossed the road.  He said he feared someone was going to shoot him. Could a hunter mistake him for a deer?  In his usual state of mind Griffen is amiable and well liked by teammates, coaches and media.  Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told reporters, “Everson has always been a really good model for us; obviously he’s going through some tough times now.”

Between the Lines: Griffen is showing symptoms of bipolar disorder 1, which afflicts 6 million Americans (including, most notably, Johnny Manziel), causing extreme mood swings.  It’s successfully treated with a combination of drugs and weekly counseling.

Earl Thomas skips practice, and a headache would cause him to skip others

Earl Thomas is playing for the Seattle Seahawks and practicing when he feels like it.  He’s still not happy with a contract that pays him $8.5 million this season but makes him a free agent when it’s over.  When he was questioned about skipping practice Friday, he said, “If they invested in me, I’d be out there playing.  But if I feel like anything – I don’t give a damn if it’s small – I got a headache – I’m not practicing.”  He’s 29 and trying to preserve his body for the free-agency market.  “I don’t want that to be taken the wrong way,” he said, as if there’s another way to take it.  “I know I’m going to get fined, but that’s just where I’m at with that.”  He said that during warmups for Sunday’s game, a couple of coaches for the Dallas Cowboys approached him and asked, “You ready for the trade tomorrow?”  He wondered if they were serious or joking or just trying to distract him.  Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he has not talked with Thomas about missing practice or wanting a long-term contract.  “What I do know is that he gave everything he had today.”  In fact, Thomas intercepted two passes and was instrumental in Seattle’s 24-13 victory.  “He was in every step of the way, every aspect of the game, the communications, the focus and the adjustments,” Carroll said.  “He played his tail off and he had a blast playing.”

Dear Earl: All of us who have worked for employers who took us for granted appreciate your position.  But not showing for work is not raising your value.

Luck’s arm not at full strength, Colts call on Brissett to throw Hail Mary

When it was time to try for a desperate Hail Mary pass in the final seconds of Sunday’s game against Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich pulled his starting quarterback and sent in the backup, Jacoby Brissett.  A 55-yard pass was needed to get the ball to the end zone, and Brissett made the distance easily, although the pass fell incomplete.  Colts fans were shocked that Andrew Luck, the overall No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, was not used for the final shot of the game.  “It took me a second to figure out what was going on,” Luck said.  But he said he agreed with the decision because “Jacoby has a stronger arm than I do.”

Between the Lines: Before a shoulder injury that caused him to miss all of last season, Luck was seen throwing the ball 75 yards.  He obviously does not have the same arm strength now.