A first-person account follows. Beware.The pinnacle of my journalism career came when I was 23 years old and in my fifth week as beat writer of the KU football team. Sad.I should’ve quit on the spot, because what I witnessed that day will never be topped. I’ve since come to grips with that.Of course, I’m referring to the infamous [That’s right, BCS][1] rant that Mark Mangino went on following [a 27-23 loss to Texas][2] in 2004. Mangino started it slowly enough by saying “it’s called BCS” to radio sideline reporter David Lawrence, who’s not there to ruffle feathers and moved on to another question.Mangino then urged the rest of the media to follow-up with questions on what he thought of Charles Gordon’s pass interference call. I’m proud to say that my bland query on what the official explained to him is what prompted Mangino to ask “You know what this is about, don’t you?” before he made soundbite history.Ahh, those were the days. Now, Kansas is the team in position to give the Big 12 “dollar signs” with a BCS berth, while Texas could be going to the Gator Bowl. What a weird world.With that as my inspiration, I went to YouTube in search of other classic coaching rants across the Big 12 Conference. They are worth your time to take a trip down memory lane:**Mike Gundy** made English teachers everywhere quit on the spot after his [I’m a man! I’m 40!][3] outburst was ripe with god-awful sentence structure. The rant on Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson became an instant headline grabber, and even after the commotion has died down, it’s well on its way to being a classic.**Mike Leach,** on the same day in the same stadium, [called his team][4] a bunch of mama’s boys (remember, Gundy was the winning coach that day). Leach is hilarious, as [his take on Lubbock][5] and his [weather report][6] also shows.**Dan Hawkins** of Colorado goes [crazy on an anonymous parent.][7] God I love this one.**Mack Brown** will never melt down. Never. Here was a great chance to [with 1920’s reporter guy][8] but Mack acted as if the question was completely normal. Oh well.A couple of more things to get off the chest:**- The Big 12 Conference released its players of the week** Monday morning, and there’s not a Jayhawk mentioned even after they dropped 76 points on Nebraska.In what caused me to double-take, Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel (421 yards, 5 touchdowns, 1 Interception) beat out KU quarterback Todd Reesing (353 yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions) for the honor. Comparing those numbers, it’s pretty obvious what stat gave Daniel the edge, though the level of defensive competition may have also played a part.Defensively, Iowa State cornerback Chris Singleton (six tackles, two interceptions, one for a touchdown) beat out Oklahoma State’s Jacob Lacey (four tackles, three interceptions, one for a touchdown). Presumably, Singleton got the edge because his team won.On special teams, Ryan Bailey (game-winning 40-yard field goal) beat out KU kick returner Marcus Herford (six returns, 33.8 average).As you may know, I [am one of five voters][9] for these weekly awards, and I think we dropped the ball this week. I picked Reesing and Lacey and thought they were obvious choices, then went with Bailey by an eyelash over Herford. I chose Bailey because I thought his performance was more clutch in a game that could have huge Big 12 South implications if Oklahoma ever trips up. Herford was a big help to KU’s field position throughout the day, but I think the Jayhawks would’ve scored an ungodly amount of points either way. The offense was that good.Anyway, see you tomorrow with the tidbits from Mangino’s Tuesday press conference. [1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuCqE8tMfEs [2]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2004/nov/14/meltdown/ [3]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VytIZZzee0 [4]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfs_RnGbk6g [5]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69emr28eqxo [6]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSPcMXWJjUg [7]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S3RbRifTSk [8]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKkZTX4AzWc [9]: http://www2.kusports.com/blogs/sawin_wood/2007/sep/02/sawinwood090207/