Dierking Internet buzz sounds like sour grapes

Rumor has it that former Wheaton Warrenville South superstar running back Dan Dierking scored on a 30-yard run in Purdue's 52-24 win over Toledo last Saturday.

It's right there, on the Internet.

And it's a fact.

Also out there somewhere on the Internet are rumors that Dierking, the 2006 all-area football captain from the Class 8A champion Tigers, was not only using steroids but had been kicked off the Purdue football team because of it.

That runs right smack into the freshman's 3 carries for 37 yards with the touchdown run in his first college game.

This is a case of jealousy rearing its ugly head, another example of the hypocritical American pastime of trying to demean those who are successful.

According to Dierking, who was reached on Labor Day in West Lafayette on an "off-day" -- just weight-lifting and an evening study group -- the disparaging rumors first surfaced last spring, well after WW South dispatched Mt. Carmel for the 8A title.

The "Facebook" diatribe included what Dierking called "a bunch of ridiculous remarks", including the steroid accusation.

"All that is completely false," said Dierking, who said he passed the two drug screens given the Boilermakers thus far by Purdue.

"This summer is the first time I've taken protein," he said. "That's (a legal nutritional supplement) whey protein that you put in milk, like a healthy milkshake."

After the initial rumors subsided they were renewed toward the start of this football season, according to Dierking and his mother, Erin, who initially reported her frustration to the Daily Herald's Bob Frisk.

This is not the first time rumors of Dierking's demise have been exaggerated. This writer heard one yarn in the summer of 2006 that had Dierking on the lam from police after a party, hiding in a neighbor's back yard.

Dierking brought up a good one he'd heard, about suggestions of his using cocaine before games so he wouldn't be tackled so easily.

The argument could be made that it's best to avoid even acknowledging these steroid rumors.

It became sufficiently bothersome, however, that Dierking said some of his friends formed their own Internet group in his defense.

"That (group) pretty much said whoever believes these rumors is dumb and if you knew the kid you never would have believed them in the first place," Dierking said.

"I think there are like 600 people in that group."

When you've gotta go…

As an aside, Dierking never thought he'd get into that football game at Toledo as a third-team, true freshman running back.

Still, he drank "loads" of Gatorade on the sidelines to stay hydrated. Perhaps too much. By the fourth quarter he needed to unload.

"I was just trying to hold it," he said. "Then coach (Joe Tiller) told me if we score again he was going to put me in."

Of course the Boilermakers scored on a 91-yard kickoff return. Dierking asked his coach if he could quickly sprint to the locker room for a pit stop. Absolutely not, was the answer.

So before he took the field Dierking assembled a group of his teammates who huddled around him on the sideline while he sought relief -- much to the vocal displeasure of some Toledo fans.

Dierking meant no disrespect, but he further rubbed their noses in it with that 30-yard touchdown run.

Among the best

The United States Sports Academy Director's Cup ranks the top overall athletic departments in Divisions I, II and III, plus NAIA, based on the success of their teams.

The final NAIA standings for 2006-07 had McKendree College and Olivet Nazarene at Nos. 10-11. Azuza Pacific (Calif.) led the way.

Illinois Wesleyan, at No. 30, and No. 31 North Central showed the best locally in Division III, which was led for the ninth straight year by Williams College (Mass.).

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville topped local Division II entries at No. 11. Usual leader Grand Valley State (Mich.) headed that group.

You have to go down to No. 42 to find Illinois among the top Division I colleges. Stanford led that list.

Pick 'em

Sticky-fingered football defenders may be interested in the UPS Delivery Intercept Challenge Video Contest.

The contest, featuring former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning as its spokesman, seeks videos of the country's best amateur football interceptions. Submissions are accepted through Dec. 3 with eight finalists advancing to the finals to be voted on from Dec. 17-Jan. 4.

The grand prize is $25,000 cash, a $10,000 donation to the submitter's favorite team and a tailgate party with Manning. Watch current videos and find contest details at www.ups.com/challenge.

Entrants must be 21 to submit a video. The cavalcade of parents bearing video cameras will see to that.