Why journalists are driven insane

Over nearly two years, the Daily Egyptian told the story of a precocious little girl whose mother was dead and whose father was fighting in Iraq.

Members of the newspaper staff befriended the girl known as Kodee Kennings and she was given an occasional column in the DE. The column, at times funny and at times heart-rending, talked about her father in the military, her fears about monsters under her bed and her life with her guardian, Colleen Hastings.

None of it was true.

The Daily Egyptian and its readers were taken in by a bizarre, elaborate hoax.

There was no Kodee Kennings. There was no Colleen Hastings. And there was no father named Dan Kennings in Iraq.

Edit: Another take on the whole mess.

Obcomicgeek moment

The Legion of Super-Heroes gets rebooted again. Actually, this time, just their letter column. I've officially lost count of reboots. Though my personal jury on LSHv5's still out, this three-page sequence is brilliant.

All you of Bismarck are IDIOTS

BISMARCK, N.D. -- Dave Bliss was hired as the coach of the CBA's Dakota Wizards on Friday, two years after he quit as Baylor's coach amid a scandal after one of his players was shot to death.

"I made a mistake and I'm grateful for the second chance," Bliss told The Associated Press before a news conference. "I'm humbled about what I did. Selfishness and ambition played a large role in what I did."

Bliss and athletic director Tom Stanton resigned from Baylor in August 2003, two months after the death of player Patrick Dennehy. Former teammate Carlton Dotson pleaded guilty in June to killing Dennehy and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Baylor found that Bliss improperly paid up to $40,000 in tuition for Dennehy and another player, and that the coaching staff had not reported players' failed drug tests. Bliss also asked players and an assistant coach to lie to investigators by saying Dennehy paid his tuition by dealing drugs.

There are not four human beings in the universe, alive or dead, who are less-suited to run a basketball program than Dave Bliss. The man should not be walking the streets, let alone the courts. Wizards: I hate you and I want you to die.