News-Record.com

Today's story by Robert Bell about athletes transferring from one high school to another to get into a better athletic program has more angles than a Moravian star.

It's about students who love to win at sports. It's about parents who want to do what they think is best for their children. It's about fans who want winning teams. It's about fans of weaker teams watching their teams get even weaker. It's about a process that is designed to help students expand their academic options. It's about a school district with a more restrictive policy than other school systems that permit open enrollment.

Mostly, though, it's about a system that is clearly broken and being exploited.

The question is whether the school board will do anything about it.

Robert Bell's high school free agent story evoked a lot of e-mails and some attention elsewhere.

Greensboro Sports includes some other cases of students transferring from one school to another for sports. I don't know the source of his information, but he names names.

The Prep Insiders at the Charlotte Observer uses the story to talk about Charlotte-Mecklenberg, "the transfer capital of the N.C. high school universe."

We have a story tomorrow today on the initial reaction of some school board members. Suffice it to say that it is unclear if the board is going to do anything about the apparent abuse of the system.

Less than 24 hours ago, WFU Coach Jim Grobe was on the Two Guys Named Chris radio show. Chris Kelly asked him about offers he may have gotten to coach elsewhere.

"So far nothing's hit me over the head and told me I should be leaving," Grobe told them.

Twelve hours later, reports came out that Grobe had agreed to coach at the University of Arkansas.

Was he telling the truth Wednesday morning -- he apparently interviewed in Fayetteville, Ark., Tuesday -- or is it possible that sometime in those 12 hours he had suddenly gotten so interested in the Razorbacks that they produced a contract, notified everyone who needed to be told, and signed him?

We've gotten used to and even accepted politicians, entertainers and, I guess, coaches shading, spinning and neglecting the truth. I have written about Bob Dylan and his wonderfully open statement: "The press? I figured you lie to it."

The problem is that they aren't only lying to the press; they're lying to everyone who reads or views the report. I can't understand the upside. I can understand someone changing his mind; I do it with some regularity as I'm presented with more information or have the chance to think through an issue.

Perhaps all the speculation will be wrong, and Grobe will announce he's staying today. The spin will be interesting. But I am always surprised that there isn't more negative reaction to the outright falsehoods coming from the mouths of public figures.

Update: We're now hearing he is not going.

Related: Rob Daniels speculated yesterday morning about Grobe rumors at SportsExtra, as did the guys at Radio Free Sports.

All stories are not created equal. In Sports coverage, games, teams and sports are not created equal.

That's what I would have told this letterwriter (second on the page) had he asked. He was upset that during one eight-day period, we published stories about men's college basketball games on the front page of the Sports section, but not women's games.

It would be easy to dismiss this inconsistency as trivial. But sexism, in any form, is not trivial. It diminishes our understanding and appreciation for the hard work women do in our society, at every level, and perpetuates ideas of inequality that cannot be a part of the N&R mission. Your trained journalists know better.

We weigh a number of factors as we decide where to play stories. We know that there is greater interest by our readers in college basketball and football than, say, baseball or soccer. We know there is greater interest by our readers in male sports. We know there is greater interest in teams that are closer to Greensboro. We know there is greater interest in teams that are winning. We know that some days there is intense competition for space on the front page; on others a scissors, rock, paper contest is the best we have.

There are exceptions. For instance, this season we are giving more ink to the Grimsley girls basketball team than the boys because the girls are undefeated. Same with Wake Forest's men's national soccer championship despite some complaints. As the UNC women marched through the NCAA tournament to the championship game last year, we increased our coverage.

I live in a house with three female athletes. I understand the issue of equality in the gyms and the playing field. But requiring equality in news coverage based on gender? Sorry.

Robert Bell heard from a reader who, I guess, didn't care for our coverage of A&T basketball this morning:

"I am so sick and tired of the Greensboro Daily News' obvious bias when it comes to your so-called sports coverage. Whatever happened to objective reporting? And not just in the stories but in the placement of stories. Any journalism 101 class teaches that a newspaper should be fair to both sides. When will you learn that? There are more Carolina fans living in this area than any other team. Your bias should be toward Chapel Hill."

Sportswriter Jim Young predicts the ACC tournament results. I won't tell you his outcome, except to say that he doesn't seem to have the guts to drive the lane on Hansbrough.

But he welcomes your feedback.

So there you have it. And it's out in the cyberspace for eternity now. I expect to get emails mocking my picks up until the year 2045. After that, I'm closing out my account.

Are there as many empty seats in the Coliseum when the ACC tournament is played in Greensboro?

For Tar Heel junkies, we have gathered our season's worth of UNC coverage in one place, beginning with a nice sights-and-sounds slideshow of the Eastern Regionals. (All the photo galleries are there, too.)

Just to get you ready for Saturday night.

Tom Keller, our new high school sports reporter has started big with today's basketball special and a new blog called the Locker Room about -- what else? -- high school sports.

He interviews his toughest critic in his first post. And then shoots some video of last weekend's basketball showcase for his second.

Pay a visit.