I’m totally on the side of Dianna Russini in this generated controversy over her being caught holding hands, hugging and lounging in a hot tub with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel.
Seriously, what sportswriter isn’t holding hands, hugging and lounging in hot tubs with coaches they cover?
Just last week, for instance, Ryan Odom, the UVA Basketball coach, and I were holding hands, interlocking fingers, as I was trying to get him to share his thoughts on roster construction for 2026.
Nothing unusual there.
And then, Tony Elliott, the UVA Football coach, he grabbed me in a warm embrace as I quizzed him on his QB room after a recent spring practice.
Big deal, right?
And, for reals, the best place to get UVA Baseball coach Chris Pollard to open up about his pitching staff is in a hot tub, just the two of us.
I thought everybody knew this?
Sportswriters and coaches, sportswriters and players – the best way to get a sense of how cerebral, say, Thijs de Ridder is, is to lock eyes and recite Shakespearean sonnets.
I think this is all overblown, personally.
The shot of Russini and Vrabel interlocking fingers, for example, totally out of context.
They were getting ready to thumb wrestle, quite obviously.
I did that all the time with Tony Bennett when he didn’t want to answer a hard question about the hard hedge.
I never did get the answer; TB is the most competitive guy you will ever run into.
One piece of advice: don’t try to hug Bronco Mendenhall; dude will not only not let you go, but you’ll get an earful about the five smooth stones.
(I never made it past the first one.)
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Everybody’s always wanting to make everything sexual all the time.
Grow up, people!
Dianna Russini hasn’t been getting scoops from Mike Vrabel since his days coaching down at Tennessee entirely because she cleans up rather well for a sports journo.
Speaking as a fellow hot piece of ass sportswriter, it’s just coincidence that some of us cause traffic jams when we walk down the street and have the ability to set the media agenda for the teams that we cover.
Don’t hate us because we’re beautiful, is what I’m trying to say here.
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Chris Graham
