Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, High....
Posted April 22, 2007, 8:47 PM ET

I know the NFL Draft is this week, and it will be the most talked-about "sporting event" of the week.

But, I'm still having a tough time letting go of the tragedy at Virginia Tech last week. We'll never forget what happened in Blacksburg, the same way we'll never forget the date 9-11. Perhaps it is all the people that I know who have ties to the Hokies that has me in this frame of mind.

Everywhere I've turned, it seems as if I run into somebody who has a fondness for the school and the people who make it special and unique.

In the sports world, the maroon and orange VT has been ubiquitous. It doesn't matter if you were watching NASCAR, Major League Baseball, or the PGA Tour...Virginia Tech is front and center....and it should be.

I had the good fortune to talk with Hokie football coach Frank Beamer on my radio show last week, and you could hear the pain and anguish in his voice. You could also hear the determination, that there was no way that one lunatic was going to change the work of the men and women who preceded him in making the institution such a wonderful place.

Beamer's words, direction and focus seem to be contagious with Hokie Nation. I mentioned to Beamer that, despite these trying times, there will be more Hokie fans than ever before rooting on his team this season....and I believe he and his guys know that. Virginia Tech will be tough enough on the gridiron, but it is easy to say that the Hokies have become America's Team. No disrespect to the Saints or Cowboys.

While Hokie Nation continues to heal, I was utterly disgusted with the media coverage from Blacksburg. The day of the tragedy was hard for all of us to understand, and no thanks to the national news jerks. They seemed to be more interested in the "blame game" towards the school's president and security force.

I was embarrassed for my profession. Don't get me wrong; I'm a sports talk show host and not a "journalist"...but for people who I would put into that category, I wondered aloud if they could sleep at night. I'll bet you anything you want, if any of those "hairdos" had lost a child or a friend in those mindless murders, there's no way they would have approached their work and coverage in the same manner.

Considering how the country reacted to the Don Imus controversy, watching this coverage was worse. In fact, it wasn't even close. When I touched on this subject on the air, I was at least comforted to know that I wasn't alone in the outrage.

This past weekend, I ran into one of the country's finest broadcasting executives. His name is Jim Babb. He had just returned from the National Association of Broadcasters' convention in Las Vegas. We had a great discussion about this very topic. He was also stunned at the tabloid approach by some of the traditional news outlets. It was also a hot topic on the Strip. Maybe those discussions will make it back to the network suits that want a story, no matter who they happen to smear to get it.

Like Hokie Nation, I'm glad I'm not alone.

God Bless Virginia Tech.