By RACHEL BLOUNT, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Hal Tearse became a hockey coach for the usual reasons: He loves the game and he loves teaching it to kids. There was one other motive, however. When Tearse sat in the bleachers at youth games, he couldn't stand listening to otherwise sane people saying ridiculous things.

St. John's is used to being No. 1 in football, so two seasons of mediocrity have fans on red alert.

Bob Stein began his NFL career in 1969, long before player salaries were comparable to the gross national products of many small countries. So he was thrilled at the prospect of making a little extra money at Super Bowl IV in New Orleans.

Deborah Olson didn't just buy the best seats in the house at the University of Minnesota soccer stadium. She bought the benches and the grass and the goalposts, too. In the late 1990s, Olson donated $900,000 towards the construction of a $2.1 million facility, which was named Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in memory of her trailblazing mother.

It's too early to tell whether Mark Emmert has the stomach to pursue meaningful reform in college athletics. In his keynote address to the NCAA's annual convention Thursday, the organization's new president plucked some low-hanging fruit, promising swift action in response to two high-profile scandals in college football.

Rashanda McCants hopes to shake Marion Jones' hand on Saturday, when the Minnesota Lynx open the season at Tulsa. Though Jones is 34 now, and the oldest rookie in the WNBA, McCants still doesn't want to take her on in a footrace on the basketball court. "If you have the fastest woman in America coming after you, you can't outrun her," McCants said, laughing.

Even though the return of Tiger Woods last week at the Masters seemed to gain all the media scrutiny, another sports figure demonstrated even more chutzpah. Congratulations go to Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes, who managed to make an amazingly tone-deaf statement and gain relatively little attention for it. In case you missed it, here's what Barnes told ESPN The Magazine:

We can't say he didn't warn us. Last summer, Tiger Woods ignited controversy and outrage by -- gasp! -- cursing on the golf course during the British Open. His behavior scandalized a nation that had bought into his mythic perfection, and when it demanded an answer, he said, "Unfortunately, I do make mistakes."

Bob Stein wants the league to own up, and pay up, for its role.

Despite an expanding body of evidence linking brain damage to violent collisions on the football field, Bob Stein can still indulge in a little gallows humor. "The good news," he said, "is that I can't remember how many concussions I had."

Jess Jackson is not afraid to lose to a girl. He's been there before, when his horse Curlin was defeated by the filly Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont Stakes.