most bizarre post-game encounter?

i'm covering a big prep game last night -- there's guys from four or five papers at this one, about seven of us total, i'd guess -- and after the game we go to interview the winning coach. teams kept the ball on the ground for the most part, and it ended in about 1:45, so we were all thrilled to be done so quickly and maybe make deadline without having a heart attack.

i'm there, along with three guys from our bigger competitor, trying to talk to the winning coach.

first thing he asks: "who is from [bigger competitor]?"

one guy raises his hand.

coach starts tearing into that paper's main preps guy (who was not there), using curses as adjectives and nouns. apparently he felt this guy had written something snarky about his overall win-loss record.

i mean, this went on for five minutes, and while we were doing OK with the clock, the coach's diatribe was killing my colleagues who had insanely tight deadlines.

one of the other rag's reporters even got into a back and forth with him about the issue, which kind of pissed me off since we all had jobs to do.

i cut in, asked a question about the game, got him back on track for about two minutes, then he went back off on the other paper's guys, apologizing to them for going off on them but still ripping the dude who was not even there.

i didn't mean to interrupt dude, but he was making our jobs even more difficult.

either way, it was the most bizarre post-game scrum i've been in, and that says a lot.

anyone else got good war stories like this?

 

the coach for the main school I cover rips us a new asshole almost every other week. I've pretty much given up on getting quotes from him. I talk to him after the games, but 99% of my quotes come from players from each team. Just not worth getting yelled at each week.

 

I was the only other reporter present years ago as a noted high school coach ripped an up-and-coming columnist named Geoff Caulkins a new one in the bowels of Auburn's coliseum following a state basketball tournament game.

All I wanted was a quote from the winning coach, and this douchebag wanted to waste time bitching about something Caulkins had written earlier that week (nothing major, just Title IX violations if I remember correctly). It was very uncomfortable.

My only other encounter with this buffoon came a few years later when he wouldn't let players participating in a summer all-star game speak to the media after a Thursday practice session.

One quick call to the AD of the host institution ended that media blackout.

 

Yeah, some asshole named Gundy had just won a big game but instead of talking about it he went on this screaming, five-minute rant about some lame-ass column in one of the local papers.

 

Good thing they don't have a video or record of him doing this

 

I don't care if you're close to blowing deadline or not. If the coach decides to pick a fight with a reporter after a game, he's a moron and deserves what's coming to him. You write the story the best you can and include the fact that he spent the majority of his post-game interview talking about coverage (whether it's your paper or not).
Let's see how well it's recieved the next day, because too many coaches think they can get away w/ this shit.

 

Dear Penthouse Forum:

My first assignment at the University weekly was a women's volleyball game...

 

The coach invited me into her office and she said she wanted more coverage...

 

As she uncrossed her legs, I served, set and spiked all in my pants.

 

She begged for a second match, so I had to dig my way in. I'm not going to say it was a kill, but I have strong feeling I aced it.

 

And boy, was it libero-ating...

ouch. That was awful.

 

A wrestler from City High won the state championship last winter. He was on a completely different plane of existence from anyone else, completely elated, and -- I shit you not -- the guy hugged me.