More on the Gregg Doyel-Coach K Love Spat

Because I'm all about fair and balanced -- and reader MDT pointed it out in the comments -- it probably bears mentioning that CBS SportsLine.com writer Gregg Doyel -- you know, the guy who offered his eye glasses to Mike Krzyzewski in a recent conference call -- has a history with the Duke head coach.

You see, before landing his national gig, Doyel covered the ACC for the Charlotte Observer. Following the 1999 season, he wrote a book about Coach K but there was a problem: Krzyzewski refused to be interviewed. But it didn't stop there. Via the Googles, I stumbled across this March 18, 2002 article by Dave Glenn of the ACC Sports Journal:

Subjects often decline to participate in unauthorized biographies, but Krzyzewski went a step further, actively discouraging the project. Doyel once told a colleague that he had been making do by interviewing former Blue Devils such as Kenny Dennard, Jay Bilas and Antonio Lang - but that sources stopped returning calls. One can only wonder if the author ever learned the reason: Krzyzewski had another one of his designated pit-bull guardians send a letter to former players and coaches, asking them not to do interviews for the book.

Now, I don't know if Doyel and Krzyzewski had a history prior to this 1999 incident, but -- and as a UNC fan, it pains me to type this -- the Duke Basketball Report makes a cogent point:

We didn't understand [Krzyzewski's -- and his player's -- refusal to cooperate] at the time, but in retrospect, he must have had a pretty good idea about Doyel's character. Listen to the audio and ask yourself how this sort of questioning would go over in a bar.

So there you have it. Doyel looks like he has an ax to grind, and Krzyzewski comes off as somewhat arrogant and in no hurry to make the media's job easier (hence the ax-grinding). Just something to keep in mind as the cat fight hopefully continues.