Local Papers Still Ignoring Tubby's Gophers

In what seems like a lifetime ago, I wrote about the lack of mainstream media coverage in the Twin Cities that is dedicated to big-time college athletics.

The fact is the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press cater to larger audiences than your typical college-town newspaper. Ann Arbor, Evanston and Columbus, for example, aren't home to multiple professional sports franchises. So, the editors at the PiPress and STrib have to make more difficult choices. Unfortunately for those of us who bleed maroon and gold, oftentimes its the student athlete who is left out. And since the papers feel some pressure to lend at least some coverage to each amateur sport, even less print space is given to the team's most of us follow: men's hockey, football and basketball.

And don't think that this isn't noticed around the country. Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News picked up on this over the long weekend:

"Here's how Tubby Smith's life has changed: Sunday night, his new team, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, went on the road to UNLV and got crushed, 81-64. It was the second loss for the Gophers, who were down 14 at the half and never really made it a game. And in this morning's Minneapolis Star-Tribune, you had to turn all the way to Page C12 to find the account of that game. You're not in Kentucky anymore, Coach."

The reluctance to provide consistent, insightful coverage of U of M athletics is a broader problem than just the placement of one story. Check out the STrib's Gopher Gold blog. Unless you are an avid Gophers hockey fan, there hasn't been much there for you in quite some time. Kudos to Roman Augstoviz for keeping the hockey coverage fresh, but where is the inside information on the men's basketball team?

Story ideas shouldn't be hard to come by. How are Tubby's Gophers going to counter team's in the future with top-notch back courts? What else ... Tubby's mention of replacing Williams Arena sparked considerable Internet discussion. That could be a very good story. Could Spencer Tollackson's troubles deserve some exploring? Why did Travis Busch get PT during the first half of the UNLV game? Who was Tubby upset with? Is the starting lineup set, or are changes on the way now that the Big Ten season is going to begin? Or, if you want to get all smart on us, how about a look at the finances of the athletic department, which finished in the red for the year.

Marcus Fuller at the PiPress has done a little better job than his competitor, Myron Medcalf, at the Star Tribune. But Fuller is at a decided disadvantage, as the PiPress apparently has him covering every Gophers sport, whereas the STrib reporters have a more manageable beat. The two papers shouldn't have excuses for the rest of the men's basketball season. The Vikings' season is over. The Johan Santana sweepstakes have died down. Nine people follow the Timberwolves. That leaves coverage of the Wild and Gophers until April when baseball begins anew.

So, hopefully the two papers step up the reporting on the Gophers men's basketball team (and the women too for that matter). If not, more and more people will turn to the message boards and the blogs for insight and information (which is one reason why newspapers are dying). And I guess that means I'll be happy either way.