Mailbox: On Joe Burrow, a man of many academic degrees

Joe Burrow at the Ohio State spring game in 2017.

Have more comments, questions? Reach out to me at bwhite1@dispatch.com

To the sports editor: Not mentioned much when talking about Joe Burrow transferring out of OSU is that he has a degree from OSU. After winning the Heisman, he received his master’s from LSU. Smart guy on and off the field. As far as his journey though OSU, should have, could have, would have? Hindsight is always 20/20.

David Kulich

Dec 1, 2021; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Newly named LSU Tigers head football coach Brian Kelly gives the ÒLÓ sign for LSU as he answers media questions after being introduced in a press conference at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Dennis-USA TODAY Sports

On Brian Kelly, Lincoln Riley

To the editor: Many fans are left scratching their heads with recent coaching moves. Have we ever seen a Notre Dame coach leave for another program? Or an Oklahoma coach winning Big 12 titles leave for another school? We certainly do live in odd times. But after you get past the initial shock and really take a closer look, I think these moves make sense. Why? I personally think that these coaches want to compete for and win national championships.

I think Lincoln Riley recognized that the move to the SEC is going to destroy OU. They are going to go from a perennial power in the Big 12 to the third, fourth or fifth best in the SEC. So when USC comes calling, the Pac-12 looks like a pretty easy conference to win. Now, whether or not he can revive a dormant USC program is a different story. He inherited a top-tier program from Bob Stoops at OU and has never had to do a rebuild. Time will tell if he’s up for the challenge. But I can see why he’d do it.

Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame for LSU? Again, I think Kelly wants to win championships and can’t recruit the personnel to compete at Notre Dame. So he’s going to jump in with the sharks of the SEC and show the world what he can do with superior talent. It’s a tough move, as the SEC is loaded. But I like it. He wants to go out with a bang. And if he fails, he retires a multimillionaire. What’s he got to lose?

FILE - Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden speaks with the media following an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sept. 19, 2021. The former Raiders coach has sued commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL, alleging that a "malicious and orchestrated campaign" was used to destroy his career by leaking old offensive emails from him. The suit was filed in district court in Clark County, Nev., on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, exactly a month after Gruden resigned as Raiders coach following the publication of his emails by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. (AP Photo/Don Wright, File) — FILE – Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden speaks with the media following an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sept. 19, 2021. The former Raiders coach has sued commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL, alleging that a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” was used to destroy his career by leaking old offensive emails from him. The suit was filed in district court in Clark County, Nev., on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, exactly a month after Gruden resigned as Raiders coach following the publication of his emails by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. (AP Photo/Don Wright, File)

On Jon Gruden

To Brian: Ray Eichenberger wrote you stating that Jon Gruden and others should not lose their jobs for making derogatory statements about “any ethnic group, any sexual orientation group, or even female sports referees.” In his letter, Mr. Eichenberger used the terms “freedom of speech,” “rights,” “constitutional rights” or “inalienable right.” While I agree that the First Amendment is vitally important, it does not apply in Gruden’s case since the “right” relates to only government, not private, control of speech. For example, a person making vile, racist public statements on a street corner or in front of a crowd cannot be stopped by the government, and, in fact, can be elected to become part of that same government, even to “lead” it, and an athlete making a peaceful statement regarding equality also cannot be stopped by the government but can have his career ended by private enterprise. As for the “political correctness” that Mr. Eichenberger criticizes, this phrase is one made up and used by those in response to things that are truly incorrect, then used as a political issue instead of offering thoughtful solutions. Brian, I also agree with you and I would not have the type of person Gruden as my coach either.

Greg Ward, Dublin

On deadlines

To the sports editor: Michael Arace’s Feb. 15 column on MLB commissioner Rob Manfred started off on the wrong foot, whether you agree or disagree with his contention on the ongoing owners’ lockout of big-league players. His lead paragraph mentioned how “news feeds Friday night are in the papers Saturday morning. . .” Yet we all know how the Saturday edition of The Columbus Dispatch over the last couple of years never includes news from the night before. In fact, it has become more and more likely that Dispatch readers won’t read about Friday night events until Monday’s edition.

You would think 2022 technology would improve a paper’s deadline concerns, not worsen them.

Steve Burkley, Newark

To Steve: You hit where it hurts, with the absence of old-time print deadlines. I’ll tell Mr. Arace that he should have written “news feeds Friday night are online at Dispatch.com that very same evening, as well as on Saturday morning.”