Second thoughts

— Petrino embraces softer side

Bobby Petrino’s Apology Tour stopped in Nashville, Tenn., where the newly hired Western Kentucky coach continued professing to be a changed man.

Petrino, theformer Arkansas coach, said his April firing has changed his outlook when it comes to dealing with players, which tended to be confined to a strictly professional view while leading the Razorbacks.

“I just really like to be able to coach a person more, not just the player,” Petrino told 3HL on WGFX-FM in Nashville. “I can help young men when they have obstacles to overcome.”

Petrino was dismissed after an Arkansas State Police investigationrevealed the coach had an undisclosed female passenger on board his motorcycle when it crashed April 1 in rural Madison County. An internal investigation by UA’s athletic department revealed Petrino had an extramarital affair with the woman and gave her $20,000 before hiring her to a position on the football staff.

Now, eight months later, Petrino says the incident has allowed him to be more empathetic.

“I’m going to be looking out for that more,” Petrino said. “I’m going to be watching kids as they walk away from dinner and knowing when there’s trouble at home.” Explain yourself

After spending a year professing his allegiance and spouting bold promises, Gus Malzahn bolted from Arkansas State back to Auburn three weeks ago.

Malzahn left plenty of miffed Red Wolves fans behind, and Wednesday he tried to soothe some of those hurt feelings while speaking on Sirius XM College Sports Nation, a satellite radio show.

“Auburn is the only the job I would have left for,” Malzahn said.

During his lone season inJonesboro, Malzahn repeated often his desire to build the Red Wolves into a Top 25 program, one based around heavily recruiting Arkansas players and expanding its footprint outside the state’s northeast corner.

Two weeks prior to his departure, he reiterated that commitment to ASU during a speech at the Little Rock Touchdown Club.

But Malzahn, who served as the Tigers offensive coordinator for three seasons, said he couldn’t pass on Athletic Director Jay Jacobs offer to come back to the Plains.

“When this thing came open, because of my experience in the past, I just felt like this is what I need to do,” Malzahn said.

That will be of little consolation to ASU, which hired Texas cooffensive coordinator Bryan Harsin a week ago to be its third coach is as many seasons. In fact, many have circled Sept. 7, 2013, on their calendars.

That’s when ASU travels to Auburn for a reunion that might be far from friendly.

Nice gesture

A host of professional and college teams have honored victims of the Sandy HookElementary School shootings on their uniforms.

Providence College took an extra step Tuesday against Colgate. They left their traditional blackand-white duds on hangers and wore green and white uniforms - the official colors for the Newtown, Conn., school.

Friars Coach Ed Cooley said he felt compelled to show some gesture and support after 26 victims were killed. So he rang up Nike, who supplies uniforms, and asked if the company could provide the uniforms and put SANDY HOOK in the space traditionally reserved for players’ surnames.

“It was more about us thinking about people who are going through a time that none of us would want to go through,” Cooley said.

Cooley also has another reason to feel close to the tragedy. Before joining Providence in 2011, he was head coach at Fairfield University, which is only a 35-minute drive away from Newtown.

“I bring my kids to the bus stop every day,” Cooley said. “You tell them you love them and you give them a kiss and you take it for granted that they’re going to come home.”Quote of the day “I visited other schools, but visiting other schools I found out what those schools

had to offer and what Arkansas had, and I still liked Arkansas.” Linebacker Myke Tavarres on why he signed with the Razorbacks

Sports, Pages 18 on 12/20/2012

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