Good coach, bad coach — both in the sports section. First the bad:

“Patriots’ Belichick Apolgizes, but Does Not Explain.” Well at least he apologized for breaking NFL rules by videotaping the opposing coaches’ signals, or we think he did. In his written statement, the coach didn’t really say what he was apologizing for. “Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of all ownership.” Nothing about the fans or the Jets, the team he cheated against (and the one who lost the game).

But then during his daily news conference, Belichick refused to answer questions about the issue, and walked out when pressed by reporters. Even worse, in his statement he claimed he had misinterpreted the NFL rule. Yeah, right.

Now, some Eagles players and another from the Steelers are questioning past games they played against the Patriots, and whether they cheated in those games as well. Other teams are sure to follow.

So now the man who has led his team to three Super Bowls in the last five years is a cheater waiting for his punishment. The super genius has become a super cliche: The higher they go, the harder they fall.

Thank goodness for the good: “Coach, QB take blame for loss.”

It’s been a long time since professional football fans in Arizona have heard their home town coach blame himself for a loss. (And there have been a lot of losses — The Cardinals have had only one winning season since moving to Phoenix in 1988). During his three years of running the team, the ex-coach, Denny Green, blamed everyone and everything — except himself — for the team’s 32 losses.

That’s why today’s headline was so surprising — and refreshing! Ken Wisenhunt, the brand new coach in his first year as a head coach, with tons of pressure on him and lots to prove, willingly says he made a mistake. His offensive game plan had too many passing plays, he said, with not enough time for quarterback Matt Leinart to practice them.

For fans who haven’t had much to cheer about in a long time, that’s a glimmer of hope.

I liked Dr. Phil a lot — until I met him. Just goes to show, you can’t always believe what you see on TV.

Like many people, I knew Dr. Phil McGraw from the Oprah show. I liked his style — down home, straightforward — and he seemed to really care about people. By 2002, he had become so popular that he was going to get his own syndicated show. I was actually looking forward to it, and even better, I found out I was actually going to see him in person.

I had been hired to emcee a women’s conference at the University of Illinois in the spring of 2002. And who did they get as the featured speaker? Yep, Dr. Phil. The event drew a couple of thousand women, most of them, like me, thrilled for the chance to hear the man they’d seen on TV.

Right away, I saw signs of trouble. The production company was in a tizzy — they’d had a difficult time dealing with Dr. Phil’s “people,” who had been extremely demanding, then unresponsive to requests for information. Hmmmm. Must of just been a misunderstanding.

The morning of his appearance, Dr. Phil was scheduled to do a news conference with local media before his presentation. The time came, no sign of Dr. Phil. He hadn’t even left Texas yet and was flying in on a private jet (charged to the University). Not only did Phil not make the news conference, but he kept an audience of 2,000 people waiting an hour for his arrival. They were patient, but I wasn’t.

Since I was the emcee, I had planned to introduce him. But when he got there, we spent precious minutes waiting for him to decide that he wanted his son, Jay, to introduce him instead. Okay, but before that, I said, I need to go out and do some “housekeeping” with the audience, like telling them what to expect for the day, when the book signing would be, etc.

Phil got in my face and screamed loudly, “Forget that. I’m not going to be part of any housekeeping,” then turned to his staff member and his son, and yelled at them. “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you get this all arranged?” I was stunned. This was the man who was so good at giving advice on relationships?

The show went on, but again he kept us waiting. Could we announce that as planned, he was going to do a book signing? He wasn’t sure.

The last time I saw Dr. Phil, I was standing back stage after his appearance. He walked up to me smiling and said, “You guys put on a good conference.” Again I was speechless. I couldn’t think of anything to say until he was gone. Dr. Phil, I said to myself, you’re not fooling me. You behaved very badly.

Needless to say, I haven’t watched the show much. The other day I happened to see it, and was appalled. It has turned into “The Jerry Springer” show with better dressed people, and without any punching. But still with plenty of yelling and sensationalism. I wonder what Oprah thinks?

I’ve also been interested in the Dr. Phil business machine — books, tapes, etc. He even has his son and his wife involved. What credibility do they have for giving advice? On TV, Robin looks like a stepford wife, and the Jay I met was a scared kid overwhelmed by his father’s shadow.

By the way, Dr. Phil isn’t a medical doctor, he just plays one on TV. He’s a Ph.D. who’s a little chunky around the middle. What’s he doing giving dieting advice?

It’s taken me a while to write this because I just haven’t been sure what to make of Steve Jobs’ most recent announcements about the iPhone. I’m still not sure.

I have to reveal I’m a long-time Mac user, so I’m a bit prejudiced in favor of the company. But even looking at things objectively, you have to admit that during the last few years Jobs has been a smart marketer, and a genius at using the media for free publicity. That makes me believe he must have had some strategy in mind for lowering the price of the iPhone when he did. But what was it?

I can understand lowering the price before Christmas, but why so much of a drop? Also, why so long before the holiday and why so soon after the Apple diehards paid full price to be first on their block to get the new gizmo? Even though I admire the company, I’m not usually an early adapter, so I didn’t buy the phone — if I had, though, I would be furious, especially if I’d spent hours waiting in line to get one. Not a good way to keep your most loyal customers coming back.

So Jobs did the right thing by giving them the $100 credit. But why didn’t he do that immediately rather than waiting a day, after the inevitable angry reactions on blogs and chat rooms? And why did he do it at the same time he announced the new iPods, thereby assuring that the news would be buried by the juicier, more controversial iPhone announcement?

Obviously I’m confused, or maybe just not much of a marketer. What was Jobs thinking? Has he just become so arrogant he doesn’t care how his customers feel? What do you think?

The Wall Street Journal has raised some interesting questions about whether Mattel is really as forthcoming with the public about faulty products as we think they are. Many observers — including me — have praised CEO Bob Eckert and his company for their effective crisis management during the two toy recalls in August. The company has been open about its problems, with Eckert doing media interviews and apologizing to customers. But now I’m wondering how much Mattel really cares.

The Journal reports that in at least three major recalls since 1990, including the one last month because of dangerous magnets, Mattel took months to gather information before notifying the Consumer Product Safety Commission of potential hazards. The CPSC says those delays break federal laws requiring manufacturers to report all claims of possible dangerous defects within 24 hours. Since 2001, the CPSC has fined the company twice for withholding information. Mattel settled without admitting any wrongdoing.

Mattel’s CEO claims the federal law is unreasonable, and that the company discloses problems after evaluating them internally. Maybe he’s right, maybe the law is overly stringent, but does it make sense for us to allow companies to make their own rules when children’s lives may be at risk? When that much money is at stake I sure don’t trust them to do the right thing.

Unfortunately, the CSPC, the watchdog agency that is supposed to protect us, is weak and ineffective. With limited resources and staff, and the ability to impose only relatively small fines, it’s like David fighting Goliath. We can only hope the agency somehow finds a powerful slingshot.