The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those only of the writer, not reflective of his employer, family, friends or probably himself.

That disclaimer should probably precede every Internet post from here on out.

For the University of Oklahoma's Josh Jarboe, failing to acknowledge the power of the World Wide Web means foregoing the chance to be a Sooner. But while Jarboe had already exhausted his one big chance from coach Bob Stoops, make no mistake: The Internet has struck again.

If you're from Oklahoma and have been living under a rock, the incoming freshman had already been caught trying to bring a gun onto campus back at high school in Georgia. Stoops gave Jarboe the benefit of the doubt until four days ago, when a video appeared on YouTube, showing Jarboe rapping about violence and guns and AKs and Atlanta.

First and foremost, I should be clear: Bob Stoops did the right thing.

All homerism aside though: Bob Stoops has always done the right thing when it comes to discipline at the University of Oklahoma.

Coach Stoops' record of laying the hammer down when need be and offering a second chance when available is immaculate. In 2001, Stoops took a chance on Lynn McGruder after the Tennessee Volunteer was charged with pot possession.

Two years later, McGruder and Mark Clayton saved a family along an Oklahoma highway after a wreck. According to Wikipedia, McGruder "received the Big 12 Sportsman of the Year Award in 2003 and was nominated for the Football Writers Association's Most Courageous Award."

Second chances are cool, and it's great when they work out. And it takes guts to give somebody a second chance.

Third chances, though, can be a fool's game.

Jarboe's rap was innocent enough per se. However, in combination with the trouble he had with guns back in Atlanta, a rap about guns and violence was tantamount to a recovering coke addict singing about his love of the white mistress online. Even if he wasn't "doing," it was evidence enough that a real lesson hadn't been learned.

Among Jarboe's lyrics:

"Shoot you in the head and you might be dead with a halo. So hold on, don't beg for your life. And hold on, don't ask please.”

It appears that the video was shot in a University of Oklahoma dorm area, and the Sports Animal's Al Eschbach says he has it on good word who posted the video. I suspect other sports personalities in central Oklahoma know as well.

Just a day before coach Stoops and the rest of the OU staff held its annual golf outing with the print, radio and television media, and Stoops was quoted as saying (initially) that he didn't see the big deal in some video being posted online.

My suggestion to my favorite coach is that some Web journos get invited next year. Most of us aren't message board-trolling sports geeks (not that there is anything wrong with that). Most of us aren't tech-heads (not that there is anything wrong with that). Most of us have journalism backgrounds with a deep knowledge of how innocuous blog posts and videos, for example, become monster viral sensations.

Not that there is anything wrong with that. I make no judgment here. It is what it is.

We can help you, and I intend to do that right here.

Heck, I think what I'm about to write could and would help every major college coach in any sport across the country, whether they don the crimson and cream of my beloved Sooners or the burnt orange of the University of Texas. Cornhuskers could pick a little something up from this, as could my friends in Stillwater.

The trick to ensuring that the Internet doesn't claim another is in understanding the medium's power, keeping control of all messages and scouting the terrain for anything that could cause problems.

One only has to look at pop culture to understand the Web's power. From the rise of Tay Zonday to the fall of Michael Richards (Kramer), what's posted to the Web becomes news at a much higher rate than you'd ever guess over a beer at Mr. Bill's.

From a college sports perspective, the Web is used primarily to hype athletes. Videos of Jarboe in action are all over YouTube. Based on what I've seen, he looked like a capable receiver, but I was never expecting the second-coming of Mark Clayton.

Furthermore, not to take away from my brethren in the newspaper, radio or television industries, but more people will read about the Oklahoma Sooners online than on any other medium. Fact. Unfortunately, the Web is also of a "wild west" mentality as it pertains to being able to separate fact from fiction.

Most of everything on the Web is fiction.

Nevertheless, Point 1 is to recognize and respect the power of the Web. At once, it's the best global promoter available for a local entity and its biggest source of migraine headaches.

The next part of this is pretty easy, actually: Controlling the message.

University athletes should not have MySpace or Facebook pages on their own. They should not have Twitter accounts, and they should not be posting videos to YouTube on their own time.

Don't get me wrong. It is against every fiber of my personal and professional existence to fear the Internet. Personally, I make it my policy to avoid things that would cause my employer, my family and my friends embarrassment or headaches.

I don't know that I've always succeeded, but I try.

However, college athletes are targets. And, no, they're not media targets. They're the targets of bloggers, message board posters, YouTube video channel owners, anonymous commenters -- all of it. If something comes up that is deemed to be worthy of public interest, it's possible and likely that a traditional media outlet would report on it.

But being in the spotlight, among the privileged as college athletes are, makes the Web a bumpy terrain. My recommendation is that for four years they forego any Web participation at a first-person level.

On the other hand, anywhere there is a camera is an opportunity to be featured online. Take Vince Young and his buddies at that club a few months ago -- sweaty, drunk and shirtless.

Nothing is wrong with that in and of itself. However, within the context of their responsibilities to a professional football organizations and the communities represented therein, it's a headache.

Advise athletes that whether they're on the court, field or at the store, a camera is likely to be rolling. Behave accordingly.

All of this so far is common sense, right? Well, what if I were to suggest that it would be a good idea for athletic departments to work with their superstars to build MySpace, Facebook and YouTube profiles. These media could not only offer a technology and media lesson for the student, they could also provide a business lesson in marketing and public relations.

For example, the primary problem with having a MySpace page, for the popular athlete, is in having MySpace "friends." What they do or say could get you in just as much trouble as anything you might do. What if Sam Bradford had a MySpace page, even set to private, on which he had accepted a friend who espoused support for some racist organization?

Look. One of the most valuable pieces of wisdom I ever got from my parents was in their practice of paying attention to who my friends were. If I were to spend the night somewhere, they would want to meet that kid. And his parents. And know a little something about them.

The Web is a billion times more vague and sticky in this regard, and I wouldn't blame any athlete for refusing most anybody as his or her MySpace friend. My point however is thus: Don't be afraid of the medium; learn it. Respect it. Manage it.

Point 2: Control the message.

My last suggestion (Point 3) is for athletic department administrators, and it comes courtesy of Comcast. The cable giant has been in the news recently because of its practice of scouring the Web for posts, messages and videos mentioning the company.

They don't do it to be creepy. They do it to manage their brand online and also to help customers who might be having issues with their service. Heck, one national news story I saw noted a twitter message sent out by a cable customer, who noted the problems she was having. Comcast contacted her and helped her.

Brilliant. Briliant. Many times over: Brilliant.

My suggestion is to hire an intern who does nothing but scour the Web for the names of players. Document what you find. Account for rumors. Look for videos. Most of all, be aware of what's out there.

Hey, 99.4 percent of everything found will be innocent enough.

What I'm suggesting is that athletic departments manage for that .6 percent. Unfortunately, my expertise limits me from suggesting what you'd do in any situation where you'd find something untoward. On the other hand, most Web journalists are quite knowledgable in how to find it, if it exists.

All this said, I make no judgment on Jarboe's video or his situation, only to say that in this part of the country, Bob Stoops' record for off-the-field decision making, honestly, is stellar. And, I know he and 75 percent of the rest of coaches and traditional media poo-poo the Web as being not credible and not worth their time.

Heck, 99.4 percent of the time, they're absolutely right!

But, I'm telling you: It's that .6 percent of the time you have to manage.

Don't just ignore it.