CSNbbs

A few things here-

I was very happy to see online today a tremendous amount of articles concerning ETSU athletics in the Johnson City Press today. Two on the A-Sun Tourney (including the one with Bartow's infamous quote), a second reporter to cover the women's game (and trust me, some papers will ask for one reporter to cover both of them), and even a story on the NAIA Track and Field Tournament at Memorial Center.

Now, there was some discussion of how Kelly Hodge should have handled Bartow's quote. I've called him "Lap Dog Hodge," and I do think he has been less than critical of the fall ETSU athletics has taken.

Also, his personality is at times so non-revealing it can be taken to be rude. I sat next to the man in the press box at Heinz Field for the ETSU-Pitt game a few years back. You know me- the ham that loves attention.

I could NOT start a conversation with the man.

But today we saw what an old pro can do as compared to the wannabe who thinks he knows it all.

And I know this because, as veteran readers of this forum back to the Buccaneer Bible days can attest to, I have been the wannabe who thinks he knows it all.

Hodge's article stresses the history of the tournament- the host team's lack of success, the fact the women are now a part of it, etc.

He also goes into detail and effectively highlights the Bucs' defensive strategy of the season and what it will likely be in the tournament.

http://johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?C...S&ID=61874

While Brian T. Smith covered some of these topics the day before, he does not highlight them.

http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/sp...-0044.html

He insults the reader by telling us the conference tournament will DEFINE the season for ETSU!

WHOA! NEWS FLASH! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THEY CAN MAKE THE NCAA TOURNAMENT IF THEY WIN THE THING? WOW!

And he spends his first five paragraphs telling us something we already know.

Smith's "information" is helpful to the nine-year-old who is watching his first conference tournament. Unfortunately, the nine-year-olds who need that information haven't developed the habit of picking up the sports page yet.

And he even takes liberties telling us that "The future of ETSU basketball will once again look bright" should the Bucs win the thing.

Really?

Gee, what was that nine-piece series saying what everyone already knew all about then? You mean Paul Stanton and David Mullins will suddenly become geniuses if the Bucs win three games to get into the 16-17 play-in game?

By the time Smith gets into any real news, the defensive allignments, we've lost it. It's so buried in the article and not presented with any sort of flow that the reader passes over the two paragraphs where Bartow says his team can't play man defense for 40 minutes.

Two paragraphs on the pressing question concerning ETSU basketball on the court- why they play so much zone- Five telling us what a conference tourney does.

And tons of Courtney Pigram quotes with such telling statements as "It's all about The Dance!"

By the way- the BHC does deserve some credit. They had a game story on the ETSU baseball game yesterday. Nothing on the track meet (which is real reporting)- they didn't send Smith out to cover the Lady Bucs in the Tournament- but they did send Smith out to cover a couple of baseball games played in front of 100 folks.

Well, give 'em credit. I love baseball and hate hoops, so this is progress, right?

Except, well, would somebody like to tell me the score of the first game? Or even if it WAS a doubleheader?

I didn't get the fact the Bucs lost until the 10th paragraph.

I did, however, learn Tony Skole likes to use the word "Gosh."

http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/sp...-0015.html

Now. Blogs.

I have to give some credit to Wes Holtsclaw down at the Star. Their website is a disaster, an absolute disaster, but you can get his blog on it.

He's a little light on the ETSU stuff right now, but at least he's acknowledging it and giving us some good stuff on the local schools.

And his take on the great Adams-Fulmer war was refreshing. Fantastic point that sports talk shows were talking more about Adams' column than Tennessee basketball beating Memphis to become the No. 1 team in the land, and the subsequent loss to Vanderbilt.

After listening to Bill Meade do his best Will "Dub" Jones impersonation concerning the situation (He was the bass voice of The Coasters- 'Why is everbody always picking on me/The Vols?'), it was nice to actually get a unique, journalistic point of view out there.

Also linked up at the Star website for me to enjoy is Kevin Lewis' Erwin Record blog, which covers UCHS sports well, though truthfully there aren't that many things going on in Unicoi County, so occassionally he has to dip into national sports talk.

My new favorite, though, is Matt Hill up in Mountain City for The Tomahawk. Great piece on the former Johnson County basketball coach who is now at Bearden, and Hill is my new favorite sportswriter because Myron's Little Birdie tells me he thinks the Arby's Classic is as big of a joke as I do!!!!!!

Wes in the IT dept is bigger than you Pitt, and Jim is jealous of your mullet. I do feel bad for Holtsclaw though, he's doing all he can do out there, and is just stuck.

PittsburghBucs Wrote:Now. Blogs.

I have to give some credit to Wes Holtsclaw down at the Star. Their website is a disaster, an absolute disaster, but you can get his blog on it.

He's a little light on the ETSU stuff right now, but at least he's acknowledging it and giving us some good stuff on the local schools.

And his take on the great Adams-Fulmer war was refreshing. Fantastic point that sports talk shows were talking more about Adams' column than Tennessee basketball beating Memphis to become the No. 1 team in the land, and the subsequent loss to Vanderbilt.

After listening to Bill Meade do his best Will "Dub" Jones impersonation concerning the situation (He was the bass voice of The Coasters- 'Why is everbody always picking on me/The Vols?'), it was nice to actually get a unique, journalistic point of view out there.

Also linked up at the Star website for me to enjoy is Kevin Lewis' Erwin Record blog, which covers UCHS sports well, though truthfully there aren't that many things going on in Unicoi County, so occassionally he has to dip into national sports talk.

My new favorite, though, is Matt Hill up in Mountain City for The Tomahawk. Great piece on the former Johnson County basketball coach who is now at Bearden, and Hill is my new favorite sportswriter because Myron's Little Birdie tells me he thinks the Arby's Classic is as big of a joke as I do!!!!!!

Well, since nobody else is going to mention it.........

"But I never get those kinds of questions...."

Quote:“[ETSU’s critics] are the people we try to work with. We try to help them. We try to answer questions for anybody who has a complaint. We do our best. Are we a perfect organization? Maybe. Maybe not. But we do everything we can to accommodate our fans.”[quote]

So let me get this straight-

On Tuesday, Wardrobe by Jim Ignatowski writes that if ETSU wins the A-Sun Tournament the future will look bright.

On Friday, Wardrobe by Jim Ignatowski writes a "I'm Going to Getcha!" column saying five fans believe the program is in ruin- including one "requesting anonymity"!

When one is so inconsistent in his writing, how can he expect his criticism to stick?

I had my football shirt on last night, Dave knows and SAW ME last night, and barely wanted to acknowledge that I was there. He sort of nodded his head.
Pitt, get off the crushing Brian Smith thing. We know you love his hair, and wish you could be him, but that ship has sailed. He almost had to give you a beat down at the Arby's, and now the psychological damage is irreparable. Seriously though, why aren't you crushing the Star for not helping Cool Wes (sports Wes) out? Plus we haven't heard anyone making fun of Avento lately. I miss picking on that little short man. I think in an attempt like you tried with the red pleather boots, he should dress up like a leprechaun when he's at the press table.

Wow, Pitt, I'm surprised. You hate Brian Smith so much for whatever he did to you that you've even resorted to giving Kelly Hodge props. My how times have changed...

And doc, what in the world was Mullins talking about? "I never get those kind of questions" - are you kidding me? He never gets them because he never lets anyone ask. Just like they say in the Bristol article, anytime anyone has a complaint, they just get blown off and ignored. That department seems like it's always on the defense these days for some odd reason.

Lum- Hey, he's been beating Iggy lately on the ETSU coverage. Gotta give him props.

Iggy's resorting to writing stories about elderly fans. It's like reading George Costanza!

"The senior ETSU fans are angry- as if sending back soup in a deli!"

They're so angry they won't reveal their names to the Super Sleuth!

That said- and I'm dead serious about this- I'd like to thank Wardrobe by Jim Ignatowski for his childish and unprofessional display towards me in the Viking Hall media room.

Bless you, oh inconsistent one! For my employers paid me the same, and without travel costs to Bristol MORE, for writing staff reports from the radio broadcast!

More importantly- you saved me from the torture of having to watch any more of the hideousness that is known as the Cordon Bleu Classic- which surely would have had me EATING MY OWN HAND by the end of the event had I been forced to watch any more of it.

And also, I'd like to thank the overgrown blowhard that is Dale Burns for his contributions to the American government.

He has created an event that has truly made waterboarding obsolete.

Why can't it be the Market Fresh Classic? I could go for a Turkey Ranch and Bacon right now with curly fries.
Seriously though, giving Kelly props?

The man's personality seems so indifferent that he can be scary (and Kelly, if you're reading, really, I don't have a personal animus to you- but I know one other sportswriter who named you "Rocky Balboa." ALL WE ARE ASKING FOR IS A FEW MORE SMILES- HONEST!) and I do think he should have been more critical of certain ETSU decisions.

But he also is beating the BHC's self-described answer to Shirley Povich.

Today he had the ref's name who made the call in his story- Doug Sirmon. Okay, that's standard operating procedure in a game story heavily influenced by an official's call, but there are a lot of guys around here who wouldn't.

It can be the Market Fresh Classic.

How about the David Putty Classic?

No. That won't work. Even he has enough sense to spend his time watching the Devils than high school basketball.

It could be Beef and Cheddar Classic. Anyone else like the red ranch sauce that comes on that sandwich?

The 4 for $5 Classic with curly fries.

I totally dispise the Arby's Beef and Cheddar.

By the way, Arby's is giving away curly fries on Monday because Matt Kenseth won. I'm considering going there to kill their profit ratio.

Go to the one on North Roan in Johnson City, ask for Staci, flirt with her, she needs the morale boost.

In high school the Arby's on South Roan employed many women I went to high school with who were drop dead gorgeous.

However, they were not promoted to management and given shares of the company. So I am now more motivated than ever to see this resturaunt go the way of Schlitz Beer.