Kevin Whaley shows great fight -- with police officers

No one can suggest that Gophers football coach Tim Brewster can't recruit speed and toughness.

LB "Hacksaw" Gary Tinsley, according to a police report, was seen "swinging around a wood board during the fight" with an Augsburg football player late Saturday night. Scouts take notice: Tinsley ran from the scene “extremely fast” when a uniformed University police officer arrived. He eventually was tracked down and cited for underage drinking and fleeing from police. Random question - the better swinger of a foreign object: Tinsley or Viking Bryant McKinnie?

RB Kevin Whaley, in a separate incident from last November in downtown Minneapolis, absorbed not one, not two, but three strikes with a taser. That's impressive resiliency. Not impressive: the police report. Click here for the details and scroll halfway down the page.

Some of the more frightening details:

• After punching a guy working the door at a nightclub for not letting him in, Whaley was given an opportunity to walk away. He did. For not very long though. He came back and turned into Kimbo Slice.

• First-hand account from one of the officers (grammar fixed in some instances): I grabbed onto Whaley and informed him he was under arrest. Whaley immediately tried to flee from officers, but I was able to grab onto Whaley and put him in a headlock as he continued to try and get away. As another officer and I were ordering Whaley to place his hands behind his back, he refused and continued to fight with (us). Whaley was fighting to get away from 1 officer so hard that as we were trying to gain control of him, we both fell into the street on Hennepin Ave. when there was gridlock traffic. As officers got Whaley to the ground, he continued to fight with us and kept trying to push himself up and get away. I gave Whaley several knee strikes to the side of his torso in an attempt to get control of his left arm.

• Whaley at one point hit an officer in the top of the head with his elbow, stating *&^@#*&^@#*&^@#*&^@# you bit*^. He repeated those words multiple times.

In February, Whaley pled guilty in Hennepin County District Court to assault in the fifth degree and obstruction of the legal process. He was placed on two years of probation.

As a diehard college football fan, I understand that incidents are happening all across the country. Florida has had 24 players arrested since Urban Meyer took over. Reporters in Iowa City and State College (PA.) can't keep up with the number of players being cited. The overwhelming belief I'm convinced of is that ... most fans don't care.

A take on popular site GopherHole.com from a biased observer, GopherHomer, but I think more fans than not support this opinion: Why do we care what happened last year? Did the NCAA suspend him? Did the coach suspend him? Kids get into trouble. Non-story. We landed on the moon!!!!

I happen to wholeheartedly disagree, and wonder how Whaley is still on the team, but I bet I'm in the minority ... big-time. So, how is Whaley still on the team? A.D. Joel Maturi from a phone conversation Wednesday night said that no legal action was taken. A reminder: he pled guilty and was placed on two years probation. Maturi is a very bright individual. If you want to take him at face value, he's fine with the due diligence carried out by he and his staff on this matter. It sounds like the case is closed and will now just be a punchline, no pun intended.

Frankly, I believe that most Gophers fans would gladly welcome players being cited by police if it meant a trip to Pasadena. Reclaim Paul Bunyan's Axe on Saturday for the first time since 2003 and these details will become almost an afterthought. This isn't me speaking; it's me believing this is how most fans feel. They care way more about the won-loss record. What would you rather have: a win over main rival Wisconsin or no players arrested next weekend? I guarantee most, if not 99.9 percent, would choose the former.

Hey, it could be worse ... right? At least these "U" athletes (student-athletes makes me chuckle) weren't fighting amongst themselves like at the University of Kansas.