So much of investigative reporting on the sports pages seems to consist of little more than "Toy Department" versions of Steno Sue publishing the press releases of investigators. As you might recall, the controversy over Rick Neuheisel's participation in NCAA Tournament pools has stemmed from his claim that he believed that he was not gambling per se, and had a memo from his school's athletic department affirming that position. The school, of course, denied that, and accused their ex-coach of having lied to NCAA investigators, who have taken an absolutist position concerning pools. It remains in dispute whether the regulations in question even prohibit participation in basketball pools.

So how does ESPN.com report the story when the NCAA releases audio tapes and transcripts indicating that Neuheisel had denied betting on the 2002 NCAA Tournament, then later admitted that he had taken part in a pool after a conference with his lawyers? It states categorically that he lied to investigators, ignoring the fact that he has claimed all along that he did not believe pools were in violation !!