[Baldspot]

Lang has done a nice job in his reporting on LU athletics but his superiors must be complete morons. Media outlets have taken some extreme measures recently to keep their local teams and more importantly daily news material generating stories that people want to buy. In my neck, the Pittsburgh paper donated dollars to keep the Penguins from leaving (and their 2-3 articles per day) and the Sixers and Flyers are both owned by media outlets because the media know they need daily stories to sell, if they don't make the sale to the general public, advertisers don't buy. Maybe the N/A would like to see how much they can sell by following my alma mater, the mighty Hornets of LC, or better yet, the equestrian teams over at the ladies school. The advertisers would love that.

For my interests, I go to Flamefans first for LU news (you guys are great), Libertyflames.com second (the SIDs have really stepped it up) and rarely do I go to the News and Advance site for LU related articles. They are like all the other papers across the country - who needs them anymore.

[grm]

One quick thought on the game... I really hope that Sanders can return to the lineup soon if not its gonna be a tough road to hoe!

Any road, especially a paved one, would indeed be very tough to hoe.

"tough row to hoe" might be the idiom you want.

Just trying to help....no fights on FF these days...

[givemethemic]

No help needed it was 2am and I really could care less... To busy on my end to give a rats A%$ if I mistype a word... you got the point You could do that all day long after people's post on here...

[Cider Jim]

Good point, grm, but I'm just happy that he spelled "hoe" correctly.

[Rooster Cogburn]

woo hoo a fight

[grm]

No help needed it was 2am and I really could care less... To busy on my end to give a rats A%$ if I mistype a word... you got the point You could do that all day long after people's post on here...

Sorry I offended you.

[Hold My Own]

Good point, grm, but I'm just happy that he spelled "hoe" correctly.

There are good reasons for that CJ

[givemethemic]

I don't think I could ever be offended... Just thought it was kinda pointless for you to be the spell police, but whatever... I will try to keep the board PG and not expand on the word "hoe" sorry HMO, I know that is surprising! I don't think there is going to an e-fight here... Too much work to do...

[grm]

I hope we're not going to talk about the hair style of that particular farming implement.

[grm]

To go back to seriousness again, and not to in any way qualify my apology, I was not trying to be the "spell police"
nor was I pointing out what I thought was a typo. I was commenting on an idiom that I have seen wrongly used on a frequent basis.

I'm still sorry for any offense.

I'll go back to my farming tools & keep my mouth shut.

"God bless" - "peace out dog" - or whatever ought to be said at this point.

[RagingTireFire]

Spell police are necessary. Frnakly, Imm saprised GMTM speeled 'police' korrektly.

[thepostman]

gmtm you have got to be used to this by now

[grm]

Bye guys - I have to go to Riverside to the National Cemetery to officiate at an interment.

[JMUDukes]

Here is the rest of the story for anyone interested. I have been receiving complaints from a number of students and faculty over the last few months about the irresponsible comments that the News and Advance allows to be posted anonymously on its website. Many of these comments were forwarded to me and I agree that they are out of line. For example, one reader wrote earlier this month that "It is OK to attack Christians (and other believers) simply because they are a danger to the world. Their beliefs have to be treated as viruses and eradicated." This was one of the kinder comments actually and the comments often have nothing to do with the subject matter of the the pertinent article. A small group of LU political enemies seems to be using this free forum to bash LU students, their religious beliefs and even their character without any factual basis. We complained to the newspaper editors several times. Even after all the complaints, the News Advance allowed a reader to post a comment this past week about LU's women that was very similar to the comment that Don Imus made not so long ago about the Rutgers women's basketball team. Actually, it was worse in some ways. We decided to stop cooperating with the newspaper in its coverage of LU and the newspaper deleted the comment. We appreciate their action and regret that we had to take such drastic measures. We will be discussing the matter with the newspaper this week and hope to resolve it quickly. We do not want the newspaper to delete all posts that are negative to LU but we do think there are some boundaries and, while we have no right to tell the News Advance what to post on their website, we also do not have to assist the News Advance in its coverage of LU. We appreciate the relationship that LU has enjoyed with the LNA, especially over the last four or five years, but there are plenty of other news outlets that LU can use to keep the public informed about LU especially in this age of the internet. Regarding the comment that LU administration doesn't understand or care about athletics, I can only say that the eight figure amount we invested in athletics last year speaks for itself. ODU has a great basketball team. I hope Jesse heals soon.

The President of LU posts here?!?

Yes, he does occasionally, and the newspaper beat writer Chris Lang is a regular here, and although he maintains a certain professional distance, in many ways is "one of the guys" on FF.

what an interesting place you guys have here.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Wow, I didn't see his post till now. Thanks JJ for your stance in this matter.

[Chris Lang]

My only statements on this issue will be:

1. When this is resolved, I will cover the university's sports teams the same way they were covered before. I am a professional and I will not allow the events of this weekend to cloud how I go about doing my job.

2. On the comment about newspapers being useless, that's fine. You're entitled to your opinion. There's a reason why things are "broken" on this fan site and other fan sites around the country. A random poster can put something on a message board and hope it's right. If it's not, who cares? If I operated the same way, my credibility would take a giant hit. Make enough bad guesses and mistakes, and I'll lose my job. I am not allowed to run with anonymous sources. Company policy. And ethically, putting something out there and "hoping" the information is correct doesn't sit well with me.

You can read box scores and game write ups on the school's web site. They do a fine job of that. But if you want depth in reporting, interesting story angles, compelling features, and anything contrary to the company line, you need to find a source outside of the school, whether it's a newspaper or another media outlet.

Sorry if I feel the need to defend my profession. But if there were no newspapers/mainstream media, your Seth Curry buzz thread would be about three pages long, not 10.

[Baldspot]

Chris - just today the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News declared bankruptcy. That's not just from an anonymous source hoping it's true, its a fact. The market for dailys is changing across the country and your company's position in this instance is not only deplorable but is sending more and more readers away when they need to give them reason to buy.

BTW - my compliment of your work still stands, your employer is a different story.


http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_up ... uptcy.html

[Chris Lang]

Baldspot ... no worries, and I appreciate it. I read about the Inky's problems on another site this morning. No doubt newspapers are in trouble. I live it every day, trust me.

The comments about anonymous news-breaking wasn't meant to be sour grapes. Just trying to share the reality of why something might show up here before it shows up in the paper. There's a certain protocol I must follow. The posters on this board are a bit more astute than most, and much of the information is reliable, because people who are very close to those affected tend to post stuff before it ever enters the public domain.

[jinxy]

Chris, I think you do great work as well. I dont question anything you write or say on the board or the paper. I also think its great to have coverage from the news and advance. I just dont like that some of the folks get away with murder for their postings on the LU related articles. Just like you said, if you posted false information like any of those folks do you would get fired. I enjoy reading your articles as much as the next guy. I do not think the media has no use, I just dont agree with the vast majority of newspapers stances in general. I feel bad that you get caught in the middle of something that has nothing to do with you really. Keep doing your job well, we appreciate it.

[grm]

I would also like to say that my (limited) association with Chris has been great, and I consider him to be a true professional.
Somebody or somebodies can solve this problem to the benefit of both LU (Administration) & theN/A, and probably to the delight of FF & RMK (as a coach) as well.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Chris, if it helps your articles are the only part of the print edition I don't line my bird cage with.
I do read some of the on-line stories and especially love your articles and blog. Keep it up!

[thepostman]

i love your articles too Chris, you do a great job and I always make it to point to read anything you write. So take that for what its worth

[Rooster Cogburn]

i love your articles too Chris, you do a great job and I always make it to point to read anything you write. So take that for what its worth

But if you are really a postman you rely on printed stuff, so you don't count! haha

[thepostman]

haha, i'm not a postman at all..i don't even remember how i got the name...it came from something my freshmen year. when i was in college...but i don't remember...

all i know is I always deliver!! haha

[Rooster Cogburn]

haha, i'm not a postman at all..i don't even remember how i got the name...it came from something my freshmen year. when i was in college...but i don't remember...

all i know is I always deliver!! haha

haha then I stand corrected.
Did you go to LU? If you don't remember a nickname from college you are either old or went to a state school, haha.