I have three observations about Bo Pelini's sideline decorum:

1. Pelini is getting a bad rap. He's been a very good boy on the sidelines all season. He had a relapse last week, but until then, he has been noticeably calmer and more in control. I know. I've been watching him. I recall two instances, against Virginia Tech and Missouri, where I thought Pelini would explode and he didn't. He calmly walked down the sidelines the other way.

2. Pelini should have been a college basketball coach. There is absolutely a double standard when it comes to coaches' antics in football and basketball. For some reason, we expect our football coaches to be stoic and robotic. But basketball coaches can throw their jacket, get in the face of officials, and use every word in the Sailor's Dictionary. Boorish behavior, if that's what you want to call it, is the norm in basketball, and that's norm as in Stewart. Does anybody out there remember when Nebraska coach Joe Cipriano shot a starter's pistol during a game to get the referee's attention? It happened. I was sitting behind Norm Stewart one game when I heard him call the referee over and ask for a technical. The ref was confused but gave him one. Why? Who knows? Norm wanted to make a point with his team and it cost him two free throws. So Bo called the official a bad name? Johnny Orr did it every five minutes and everybody laughed. Johnny was a comedian. Maybe Bo needs to tell more jokes. I talked with Doc Sadler about this earlier this week and he agreed. Doc has been known to put on a show or two himself. Why doesn't anyone call him out for that? Because it's basketball. I have no problem with Pelini's behavior. None. I like a little fire and I don't mind the coach getting on the refs. Will the Big 12 officials hold a grudge? Maybe, but they seem to be incompetent enough without a reason. They must hold a lot of grudges because the Big 12 has several teams with mega penalties. The only problem I would have with Bo is if he cost his team a game with a personal foul penalty. That's where I draw the line.

3. Pelini was born 30 years too late. Coaches were a lot more colorful in the 60's and 70's, for a reason. There weren't cameras focused on them the entire game, no internet, no YouTube, etc. I've heard great stories about some stuff Bob Devaney used to say and do on the sidelines. What would Bob do today? I wonder how Tom Osborne would react to today's culture. Tom liked to control everything and get the last word in with the media. That would be impossible today. Pelini is a regular guy, a throwback, who likes talking football. The news conferences are more about sound bytes. Pelini needs to learn to play that game. I spoke with him this week about not saying "What do you think?'' I told him the media and fans want to know what he thinks. He seemed very agreeable to that. I think/hope he'll get better. There's a learning curve for Pelini. He'll either grow or he won't and he'll push the wrong button one day. I'm betting that he grows. He's already grown a lot since last year. But there's still some work to do.

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