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.

Good For Patrick Reusse

As I reported the other day, Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse was the subject of some criticism from our passionate basketball friends in Kentucky for incorrectly reporting that Jai Lucas and Patrick Patterson had given "verbal commitments" to Tubby Smith while he was in charge of the commonwealth's beloved Wildcats.

But in a article titled "Merry Christmas, Big Blue Nation," Reusse admitted that he made an error in the article and spelled out for us how he came to make said error. Kudos to Reusse for settling this for the record. In the article linked above, Reusse states that he was told by the University of Minnesota SID that Tubby was never given a commitment but felt "very confident" Lucas and Patterson would be coming to UK.

Here's Reusse:

So, I stuck with "verbal commitment,'' figuring that "very confident'' was simply another version of "VC'' in recruit-speak.

Several hundred e-mails later, and a short item in a Kentucky newspaper with Patterson denying a "verbal commitment'' to Tubby, this goes down as an error.

While I commend the correction, I got more enjoyment out of what came next. Reusse pointed to the top-10 recruiting class Tubby has inked to come to Williams Arena, and ... well, I'll let Reusse speak for himself.

Meantime, we would like to let Big Blue Nation know that up here in the Frozen North we're just as happy as pigs in slop with what we're seeing from Tubby as a coach -- and as a recruiter, with his five-player group of early signees.

In fact, Billy G. should bring his anticipated endless supply of four-star recruits up here to see us in our old Barn one of these next Decembers. Tubby will show his successor the proper etiquette for stool-sitting on our historic elevated floor, and we'll all have a good old time.

A correction, a challenge and the use of "pigs in slop" in the same article! God bless Patrick Reusse! That brightened my Christmas before it began. I think UK fans and Minnesota fans could agree on this fact: A home and home between the Tubby-led Gophers and Gillispie-led Wildcats make for some good viewing.

UPDATE 12/26, 2:30 p.m.: Tru at A Sea of Blue didn't enjoy Reusse's correction quite as mich as I did. It's worth a read.

Reusse Has Egg On His Face For Holidays

I'm going to review the Gophers' eighth win of the year later today, but first I'd like to pass along a little tidbit that surely has made Patrick Reusse's holiday season a little less cheery.

Earlier this week Reusse reported that Patrick Patterson and Jai Lucas had given Tubby Smith a verbal committment, but reneged when Tubby left to coach the Gophers. Eventually, Patterson signed with Billy Gillispie at Kentucky and Lucas signed with Billy Donovan at Florida. Reusse's article was the subject of criticism from various UK blogs, who were rightly upset with Reusse because he A) called UK fans "wackos" and B) was apparently dead wrong when he suggested Lucas and Patterson had given verbals to UK.

Criticism from the blogs is nothing new for sports writers. Hell, I have first hand experience with this. As a former political reporter, the agenda-driven blogs on the left and right enjoy nothing more than taking a reporter to task. But getting smacked down by your own crowd stings. And that's now what has happened as the Louisville Courier-Journal, in their Sunday College Basketball Notebook, bitch slaps Reusse for flat-out being wrong.

In criticizing UK fans for blaming the current team's woes on former coach Tubby Smith, Minneapolis Star-Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse pointed to what he saw as an inconsistency regarding freshman forward Patrick Patterson.

"What's interesting with these Wildcats wackos is that, in their world, Gillispie gets the credit for recruiting Patterson, even though he had made a verbal commitment to Kentucky and started to vacillate only after Smith found a new home in Minneapolis," Reusse wrote last week. "Smith also had a verbal commitment from Jai Lucas, who reneged after Tubby's departure and is now a freshman starter at point guard for Florida."

Told about that passage, Patterson was surprised. "I just started laughing when I heard it," he said.

For the record, Patterson said, he never gave UK a commitment when Smith was the coach.

It's certainly true that Tubby Smith was recruiting both Lucas and Patterson when he was at Kentucky. It was even reported that Tubby reached out to both talented players after he arrived in MInnesota to see if they'd come north. No such look. And we will never know if Tubby would have landed one or both of those players had he stayed at Kentucky.

All we really know here is Patrick Reusse, who I usually defend here, has egg on his face for the Holidays.

If the Star Tribune hasn't run one already, a correction is in order.

Bryce Webster Says So Long To Minnesota

A week or so ago I posted about the mysteries surrounding Bryce Webster's rumored decision to leave the Minnesota basketball team. Now it's official according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press piece linked to above, like all the reporting on Webster's departure, is completely lacking of any insight into why he decided to leave. The AP suggests he was overmatched in the Big Ten: "Webster often looked overmatched against Big Ten competition. He appeared in 28 games last season, starting seven ties on a 9-22 team, and averaged 1.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 9.3 minutes per game."

Minnesota blogger Down with Goldy also suggests Webster was slightly overmatched.

I won't go that far, considering he was a true freshman last year playing limited minutes.

But I would like to reiterate what I said in my previous Bryce Webster post. The reporting on this situation has been embarrassing. Rumors have circulated on message boards that pointed to various factors contributing to Webster's departure. But no solid reason has ever been given. The rumors made Webster so umcomfortable he apparently contacted the message board to put some rumors to rest.

In any real college basketball town, the reporters would be fighting over this story no matter the real reason Webster decided to leave. If a sophomore leaves Billy Gillespie's team at Kentucky, I'd wager just about anything that the papers across the state would get to the bottom of the situation.

It was previously reported that he wanted to step away from the team--not transfer--because of academics and family issues. A transfer smacks of something more than a desire to hit the books and "family issues."

Did he feel outmatched? Did he want to concentrate on academics? Does he want to travel to Cali to play for Dan Monson? Is he not a Tubby Smith type of player? Does Tubby have plans that don't include him?

Or, does he want to transfer to Normandale Community College to be closer to his girlfriend? That might sound silly, but no one has reported any solid reason. Hopefully the Star Tribune andPioneer Press will pick up the slack.

UPDATE: Our two local periodicals continue to tell us next to nothing. Here's the Star Tribune's nothingness. The Pioneer Press at least tried, with this article by Marcus Fuller. The reporter quoted Webster's coach from his days with Howard Pulley as saying Webster didn't like the social aspect. But it's not clear if he meant that concerning his Gophers teammates. It was also reported he could be off to Harvard to play for Tommy Amaker.

Oh, and by the way, Charley Walters, in this series of blurbs published Friday, is still citing his famous birdies. Can someone tell Mr. Walters that once a press release is out about the situation, one need not cite unidentified sources to get out the same material? Sheesh. Correction: I read Walters' blurb wrong. He was citing a birdie that indicated Webster might head to Harvard. My bad. I still see no need for a 'birdie,' considering Fuller cited a source and reported the same thing. But I hereby take back the "Sheesh."

Whatever the real reason, I wish Webster well. If he's off to Harvard, I say congratulations.

The Bryce Webster Mystery

As many Gopher fans know, sophomore power forward Bryce Webster apparently plans to leave Tubby Smith's maroon and gold. Unfortunately, there has been more rumor and innuendo than actual substance to report on the mysterious decision by Webster.

I've hesitated to discuss the scuttlebutt in the local papers that the Minnesota forward is planning to leave the team. The GopherHole served as a home to considerable gossip about the cause for the Webster's departure, eventually forcing the sophomore to contact the message board putting some rumors to rest.

But this week the Star Tribune's Sid Hartman and Pioneer Press' Charley Walters weighed in again. Walters wrote that Tubby Smith indicated publicly for the first time that Webster would not be back this upcoming season. Hartman cited anonymous friends of Webster's who indicated it is unlikely the former 3-star Rivals forward will be back next season. Both of the columnists reported Tubby would talk with Webster again soon to try and convince him to stay.

There has been an incredible lack of reporting on this situation, which has lasted now for more than a month. Sid Hartman and Charley Walters, for non-Minnesota readers, are columnists who print more rumor than fact. I'm not doubting the information they've provided here, but this is a situation where the sports editors at the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune ought to realize their readers want facts, or as I like to say, the closest possible version of the truth. Both newspapers have let us down.

Webster, according to Hartman was the 2006 Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year. Rivals indicates that he had offers from Marquette and Boston College. He started seven games as a true freshman last season under Dan Monson, averging 9.3 minutes in 28 games. He is certainly a player that has/had the potential to blossom into a quality Big Ten power forward.

The best information about Webster comes from the aforementioned email he apparently sent to the GopherHole. He apparently indicated that his decision to leave the team centered around academics and family issues. I'll take him at his word, but because other rumors floated around, it might be a good idea for the local rags to have their beat reporters ask a few questions and put any and all rumors to rest once and for all.

Covering University Of Minnesota Sports

The announcement at the Gopher Hole that the STrib's longtime Gophers basketball beat writer Jeff Shelman is moving on to another endeavor gives me the opportunity to talk about the coverage our two local periodicals lend big-time sports at the U.

To be kind--and this isn't an attack on Shelman, who I've enjoyed reading for a long time--I've felt Gophers sports coverage has been lacking.

The Star Tribune and Pioneer Press sports staffs have daunting tasks. On any given day they have to deal with the Vikings, Twins, T'Wolves, Wild, Saints, Gophers football, basketball, baseball, hockey, men's and women's this and that, other small colleges, high school sports that demand coverage and an expanding AAU scene. Getting everything in a tightening news hole is a daunting challenge. Ad revenue is declining. Papers are being run these days by corporations interested only in the bottom line, not in providing a service.

As someone who works in print journalism, I try to understand the choices our periodicals make. But as the Star Tribune endures a hefty reshuffling, I hope they will take the time to make more choices in sports coverage.

The odd man out usually has been Gophers football and basketball. The papers will jump on the bandwagon, as they did with Janelle McCarville and Lindsey Whalen a few years ago, and Bobby Jackson and Sam Jacobsen in the late 90's. But day-to-day coverage of even men's basketball and football is sparse. On most days, the only printed items on major U of M sports comes from Charley Walters and Sid Hartman.

And don't think that college coaches from cities like East Lansing, Ann Arbor, South Bend and Columbus don't see this as an advantage. In those towns, the college athlete is the star. The college athlete is the toast of the town, not the NHL or NBA multi-millionaire. Now, there is nothing the STrib and PiPress can do to change that. They must cover the Vikings, Twins, Wild and T'Wolves. But, in my opinion, they need to cover those sports more efficiently and lend more space to big-time college sports. And because actual print space in the paper's hard copy is declining, the STrib and PiPress ought to do a better job providing information online.

Let's take the recent story by the STrib's Chip Scoggins on Brewster's football camp as an example. The article is essentially five paragraphs and tells us that Brewster is holding a camp, mentions four names who will be in attendance and adds a random quote talking about why camp is important. Scoggins wrote this story, it would seem, for a news hole. His editor probably told him he had 10 inches, or 400 words of space. Even if Scoggins had more information that diehards want, it wasn't included in the print or online editions. The Internet, these editors need to learn, is the future of newspapers. The online product shouldn't be dictated by hard copy space limitations.

Scoggins could have, had his editors asked, given us far more to digest online. Instead, the STrib loses readers to a pay service like Rivals, where many Gopher fans seeking information go--and pay these days--for the best recruiting information.

And then there is the choices the newspaper editors make. A quick look at the STrib's Gophers page--which includes links to additional Vikings information but not Gophers--illustrates my point. Today, as one scrolls down and looks through the online offerings, a reader gets far more coverage on non-revenue college sports than might be necessary. Stories on golf, baseball and track dominate the page.

While those sports deserve some coverage, and their seasons were winding down, the majority of readers don't go to the STrib for college golf or track coverage. And while it may anger those involved in the programs, for the good of the paper, and to appease the majority of its readership, I'd like to see the STrib and PiPress make better choices. And by that, I mean more men's basketball, football and hockey.

I'll miss Jeff Shelman's work as the Gophers men's hoops beat writer. But I hope his move to the STrib's metro section gives sports editors and the new beat writer a chance to review its coverage.

The lack of coverage is one of the reasons I started this Web site. At some point I might actually report here, instead of offering opinion, insight and the occassional gossip. I'm partially hoping that will never be necessary and our local periodicals step up to the task.

Disgusted With Gopher Hoops Coverage

There were two reports today in Minnesota's perodicals indicating that former Dan Monson recruit Andrew Brommer has decided to re-open his recruitment. Brommer, a junior from Rosemount, Minn., had committed to Monson but now, according to a bare-bones report from Jeff Shelman of the Star Tribune, Brommer is reconsidering. More on Shelman's weak reporting in a second, but here is a pullout from the article, including a quote from Brommer's father.

Much has changed since Brommer gave the Gophers a commitment last fall. Dan Monson was still the Gophers coach and the idea that Smith would trade Kentucky for Minnesota seemed far-fetched. "It's important for both Andrew and the University of Minnesota to look at the situation and see if it works for both sides," Rob Brommer said.

A few things about the article by Shelman bothered me, but by comparison, all the PiPress gave Gopher fans was a blurb in Shooter Walters' column.

Shelman fails to tell us, for instance, how tall Brommer is or what position he plays. For the record, Brommer is a 6-9, 215 pound center. I don't consider myself a casual Gopher fan, but little information like that, and a description of what kind of player Brommer is, would help the general public understand what is going on. Is Brommer a can't-miss prospect? What are his strengths and weaknesses? You wouldn't find that in Shelman and Walters' offerings today.

Shelman and Walters also fail to shed any light on whether the new Gophers coaching staff is upset about this. It's true, Tubby and the coaching staff aren't allowed to comment on recruits until they sign a letter of intent. But, Shelman and Walters have other sources--like high school and AAU coaches, recruiting analysts, among others--who could help Gopher fans understand why Brommer is taking a step away from the University. Tubby has four scholarships available, now that Nate Garth has declared his intent to enroll in Minnesota, so it's plausible that Tubby is shooting for higher-rated players than Brommer.

It may very well be that Tubby doesn't want/need Brommer. Or, Brommer might have wanted to play for Monson. With the reporting Minnesota Gopher fans received, we're left only to wonder and draw our own conclusions. It would seem there is a difference between 'We report, You decide,' and the clearly poor effort demonstrated by our local sports reporters.

Gossip Maven

My daily tour through the 'Internets' has pit stops for sports--real or fantasy--politics, news and mostly-naked young celebrities.

From time to time, in my daily stop at the Star Tribune, I'll see that their columnist dubbed the 'Gossip Maven' has written somethign that might make for a decent time killer at work. Usually I regret clicking on CJ. But in two stops at Minnesota's version of Wonkette this week I had completely different reactions.

The first was priceless.

Titled Mellencamp hurts McHale so good with smokin' comment, CJ picks up on a throw-away comment by performer John Mellencamp in a Blender.com interview that leaves a reader to believe he used to hit the bong with Wolves GM Keving McHale. CJ quotes Mellencamp from Blender:

I've known Larry Bird since we were kids. When he was on the Celtics and I was playing in Boston he and Kevin McHale would come to my dressing room after the show and smoke me under the table.

Now, that comment alone is completely priceless. So, being the pesky gossip maven she likely is, CJ sought out McHale for a clarification. She got a public relations lackey, who said McHale smoked cigars and Larry Legend smoked cigarettes. That certainly explains Mellencamp's 'smoke me under the table comment.' Um, no.

The last thing McHale needs is for his detractors in the Twin Cities to get wind of the possibility he was-and then presumably maybe currently is-a stoner. Too late. KFAN radio's Dan Barreiro is on the prowl. More from CJ:

KFAN's Dan Barreiro told me he devoted about three minutes of his Thursday show to "the Mellencamp throw-away quote. I wasn't using it to take any kind of moral stance on McHale. For me it was [an opportunity to take this] shot: 'If this is true, this might explain a series of spectacularly bad management decision years later.' "

Ndudi Ebi comes to mind. So does cheating and Joe Smith.

Thursday evening, after Barreiro had signed off his radio show, a reportedly screaming McHale "called me on my cell. First time we've had any kind of conversation in years," said Dan. And by years, Barreiro said, near as he can recall the last time McHale tracked down Dan at home was during the J.R. Rider era. "I've been hard on him, for some time so I don't expect him to be warm and bubbly to me," said Barriero.

According to Barreiro, McHale "called and said You can't go on the air and say I'm breaking the law and he's just screaming. Eventually I got him to calm down enough to [explain what was said on the radio]. I did offer, 'You're upset. Come on the show, I'll let you talk about it as long as you want. Or I'll bring up your concerns, shall we say.' "

I think we can all agree that is priceless.

Then, today we have another CJ effort, this time one that swings and misses. Titled U athletic department staffer seems mighty inept handling good PR, CJ takes out her wrath, in a completely unamusing way, on some random University of Minnesota athletic department public relations flak. CJ writes that she was slated to write a story that was "sure to make you say Awwww."

CJ reports she asked this PR guy for verification that Tubby Smith was on a plane last Sunday. She was trying to verify a story some unnamed source gave her that the old ball coach helped out a woman and her child. It was going to be positive pub. The public relations flaks should jump when a gossip maven calls. In this case, communications guy Kyle Couglin did not.

"Here's the thing," Coughlin said. "I've already talked to him a couple different times today. I'm going to stop bothering him now. This is something that isn't really pressing. If I call him with this he's going to look at me and go Why are you calling me with this?"

Since Coughlin didn't seem to know his job, I reminded him that he was calling Smith because a media member had made a request for information. When media are wrong, I'm guessing Coughlin is one of those guys who stands around talking about how irresponsible we are.

"I'm trying to do the best I can for you. We are talking about probably the busiest
man in Minnesota," said Coughlin, whose title should be senior associate athletic communications obstructionist. Stonewaller for short. I asked Coughlin to call the next day. He didn't.

Strike one, Mr. Coughlin. But there's more. During a previous event, CJ , doing that hard-hitting journalism she is known for, wanted to write about the suit Tubby was wearing. Again, Coughlin wasn't helpful.

What kind of suit was Smith wearing for his Williams Arena debut, I asked Coughlin that day.

"Pinstripes," said Coughlin, sounding uncertain. "Gray pinstripe."

Very good. But that question is usually an inquiry into the label.

"I have no idea," Coughlin replied.

A few minutes later, I asked Coughlin, who was mainly escorting Smith from one corner of Williams Arena to another for sit-downs with local TV stations, if he had found out what kind of suit Smith was wearing.

"No, I have not asked," Coughlin said. "I don't think I should open up Tubby's suit and look on the inside."

When Smith came near me I asked him to open up his suit.

"Oxxford," Smith said off the top of his head, as Coughlin ventured a guess that it was an Armani.

Oxxford it was. "Oxxford is big time," said Smith, who seemed to like answering that question. "Huge. Probably the best suit ."

Now, sure, this Coughlin character sounds like a weenie. I'll give you that, CJ. But maybe, just maybe, Coughlin had more pressing things on his mind than what the label said under Tubby's coat. Surely a certain segment of the population would have an interest in the compelling 'Tubby helps lady in airplane' and 'Tubby wears expensive suit' stories. Smith is new in town. Perhaps Coughlin doesn't feel comfortable askign the multi-millon dollar savior of Minnesota basketball about his clothing. Perhaps, Coughlin's job tyipcally requires sports reltaed inquiries.

CJ? Love her? Hate her? I know the feeling.