If Your Mother Says She Loves You...

Missouri coach Mike Anderson is apparently in shock over
the rumors that he's heading to Arkansas.

In this age of getting information out to the public almost as soon as it comes in, journalists are constantly under the gun to beat everybody else. It is the thing that makes a low-paying job like this fun.

But at what cost are reporters willing to risk everything for the inside scoop?

If you follow the sports world or even the NCAA Tournament, no doubt you have obviously heard a rumor that Missouri coach Mike Anderson will be leaving for Arkansas. The story has spread through the twitter universe like wildfire after a Tulsa – that's Oklahoma, not Missouri or Arkansas, for you folks not from the Midwest – television reporter tweeted about Anderson's departure.

This is apparently news to Anderson and those in the Razorback athletic department. As of early this afternoon, Anderson was actually at Mizzou Arena watching a little high school hoops while hoping to attract Scott County senior Otto Porter to join the Tigers' roster next fall.

Of course, you can't blame the Tulsa reporter completely. Arkansas seems like Anderson's dream job. He was an assistant there for 17 years under Nolan Richardson before getting his first coaching job at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Still it makes you wonder, what was he thinking? Did he even try talking to Anderson?

When the job first opened up, Anderson stood his ground saying that he was happy in Missouri. He continued to stand firm after Missouri lost to Cincinnati in the first round of the tournament saying, "I thought we dealt with that."

Ironically, fact checking is one of the major core values taught at the Missouri School of Journalism. The school's newspaper, The Missourian, even goes as far as saying "If your mother says she loves you, you should check it out." Even the Columbia Tribune's Missouri football beat writer Dave Matter even weighted in on the subject via twitter saying "Twitter can be (a) fun, helpful tool for journos, (but the) industry gets (a) black eye when rushed to tweet (a) 'scoop' that's still an infant."

It is still unclear what Anderson's future is, but this is certain. Everything that comes across twitter – even the musings of a Dave Matter or Tribune Sports Editor Joe Walljasper – should be taken with a grain of salt. Although in the case of Matter and Walljasper, perhaps a salt block would be more appropriate.