Bennett and Blogs don't mix

Five years ago, the word "blog" wasn't even a word. Now, it's getting thrown around when it comes to just about anything associated with the internet. I always thought a blog was exactly what I'm doing right here, but it has gone beyond that. So I did a little google work and came up with this definition:

Web LOG is a journal kept on the internet. This journal is often updated daily and contains all information that the person maintaining the BLOG (Blogger) wishes to share with the world. Also applies to websites dedicated to a particular topic and being updated with the latest news, views and trends.

I have to admit that I get a chuckle whenever Coach Bennett talks about bloggers. The first time he made a bold statement about how he doesn't value what bloggers have to say and what people are posting on the internet, my heart actaully sank to my stomach. Coach Bennett writes a weekly column for Palmetto Pigskin Preview. It also gets posted on his website. I tried to come up with a catchy name for it, something with a little bit of alliteration and I came up with Bennett's Blog. Technically, it was a weekly newspaper column, but it really was sort of a personal diary and it was posted on the web so I thought I had a little bit of creative freedom in using the name "Bennett's Blog". As soon as I heard his first "anti-blog" rant, I quickly changed the name. If you pick up the PPP, you will see it is now Coach Bennett's weekly column. Coach and I had a good laugh over this.

At the Stony Brook press conference, Coach Bennett actually got into more detail about his disdain for blogs. When it gets down to it, he doesn't have a problem with the traditional straight forward blog (like this one). It's the message boards where people lurk in anonymity and make random posts with no consequences because no one really knows who they are. This is a part of the new age of journalism where the lines can easily be blurred between credible reporting and a simple spread of rumors. Someone can post on a message board any kind of rumor and it will take on a life of its own. We saw this first hand when Buzz Peterson was rumored to be the College of Charleston's next head coach.

I can promise you this - David Bennett doesn't read blogs (not this one, or any of them). He writes his weekly column on a piece of legal paper and either has me or one of his administrative assistants type it in and email it to me. I've never seen him duck a question or a tough issue in six years. Every single athlete in any sport would be well served to never read a message board as the majority of it is simply stirring the pot in a cauldron of negativity.

"Who's on the blog? Put your real name on the blog!"

That's what Coach Bennett said at the press conference. So I'm here to say this is Rich Chrampanis, on the blog, signing off and taking Coach's advice to find something more productive to do!