Released players on Women's BB team wanted to stay

[jjysuwin]

BTW: you will find that most valley sports media are on this board ...it is the best place to get info. We have some very knowledgeable people and we love our Guins.

I agree 100% IAA fan. People like YSUIndy are the reason I read and post. They give some good info. I really do miss Italian Penguin. He had more insight than all of us combined. I would love to hear his opinion on the media in the Valley. We surly would get an earful.

[Lets_Talk]

Sorry, I do not buy the sour grapes argument. I'd buy that if we were talking about 1 player, but not 3. I also am not giving Barnes the benefit of the doubt, or believing he took the high road by not commenting. To me, by not commenting further, or clarifying what happened, he makes himself look more at fault. He comes across as arrogant, a control freak, and a person who believes he has accomplished much more than what he actually accomplished this season. Also comes across as a coach who believes any success the program has is because of himself and the coaches, not the players.

As for the comments about the players not belonging at D1, I do not see how anyone can say that about Shar'Rae Davis. She proved in 2012-13 she belongs at this level. As for Barger, hard to give a fair assessment because of injuries, and then lack of playing time this season.

With Hvisdak, she is likely more suited to D2 or D3. But, she walked-on. Bolden chose to give her a scholarship, likely because of a scholarship being available, and him finding her an asset to the team.

For me, the problem is the way this was handled by Barnes. It is very clear all 3 of these girls want the fans and those who support YSU to know it was NOT their choice to leave. As I said in my first post on this thread, I know this type of thing happens with coaching changes. The issue is more about how things are handled by the new coaching staff.

[edpuskas]

I disagree completely. And trust me, I'm a fan of media and subscribe to many news papers. Pete Mollica was the best writer this area has ever seen. No one was better at his job than he was. Look at all the coaches who felt he gave them fair coverage that attended his services. They all loved him, not because he was filling space in the paper, but because he was fair.

Ed knows my views on his sports section. He gets an email far too often from me regarding factually inaccurate statements his writers write. Honestly, I got tried of editing his writers work. I don't read much of it.

But like Valley Talk said, it would be interesting if the Vindy writers earn credibility and give both sides of the story. Saying coach Barnes was not available for comment is lazy. Pete would never end a story like that. He earned respect and would get an interview from the coach.

R.I.P. Pete, they don't make em like you anymore.

Loved Pete. Spent some of my best years in the business working the YSU football beat with him.

But this isn't about Pete. It's about your inability (refusal?) to read a story and comprehend what is written. Nowhere in that story does it say Barnes was unavailable. Here is what was written:

Barnes declined an interview request for this story. Through a YSU spokesman, he released this statement:

“Any time there are coaching changes, it’s common that some changes in personnel follow for various reasons, regardless of the school and sport. I’m proud of what we accomplished this past season, and I appreciate the effort that all of our student-athletes gave, whether they’ll be returning or not next season, in achieving a top-three finish in the Horizon League and a berth in the semifinals of the league tournament. We wish nothing but success for everyone who has been a part of the YSU women’s basketball program.”


Again, reading comprehension can be your friend.

[jjysuwin]

As Valley Talk said, it will be interesting to see if instead of attacking readers, the Vindicator gives the fans what they want, and gain an insight into Coach Barnes reasoning for releasing the players.

[IAA Fan]

Heck I have already forgotten about it. It is a paper ...not a magazine. Next week is spring game & KP starts the PI this week. As far as the Vindy. I have been on this board for over 20-years & people constantly complained about this town's love of HS sports & how the Vindy never gave YSU the coverage a DI institution deserves. I have lived in Columbus that entire time & we have just the opposite problem ...EVERYTHING is scarlet & gray.

Now the Vindy has at least one article every day, they have a blog. Even in the summer they fill with senior articles and our large pro baseball alumni,etc. Like you, I think that members of the local media have an obligation to the university ...and should not try to attack it. At the same time, this was the other side of a story that we never would have heard of otherwise. However, the Vindicator used to go to an extreme and only print releases and an occasion feature on football players. Not anymore ...

You should read the "hatchet job" the Dogpatch did on Tressel's application to YSU. They insulted the man and the Valley. Said that clearly winning was the only thing important ...then brought up, in a negative manner, the OSU championship team hoisting coach T up in the air at halftime over a year ago. I honestly do not think the man even realizes he writes for a Columbus paper. Then I read the excellent coverage in the Business Journal about Tressel. How about that story on Tanner Garry doing well in the Vindy? Sure most of us saw him last year & had a hint of a smile ...knowing there is something there to pay attention to. Now, everyone knows that (does not read this board) because the Vindy printed it.

[jjysuwin]

Hey Dan - I subscribe to the Dispatch. It does a great job covering Ohio politics. Don't really pay much attention to their sports coverage.

To compare the Vindy to the Dispatch is the greatest insult the Columbus Dispatch ever received. But to each their own.

My problem with the Vindy is their ability to sensationalize a non story. They do this all to sell papers. I compare Scalzo and Bertram to to Rush Limbaugh. Say and do anything just to get listenership/readers. Much like Rush Limbaugh, I ignore the Vindy outside of the times I have to read it.

I read the article, many things wrong with it from a journalistic integrity standpoint. But as Valley Talk pointed out, it will be interesting to see if they lock down Barnes for an interview. 

[IAA Fan]

Yes JJ, but nobody attacks the integrity of the Dispatch. Hunter and Oller are always at odds when it comes to Tressel; the former dislikes Tressel, the later loves coach T. Both are extreme, but they serve a need. You know that the largest number of Michigan fans (outside of greater Ann Arbor) in in Columbus. Likewise, the greatest concentration of OSU fans (outside of Columbus) is around Ann Arbor. Some people gotta love & others gotta hate. Tressel being forced to resign lends a sense of credence to Hunter. If coach T was still around, or left under good terms ...with an article like that, the locals would "run him out of Dodge".

The only thing that the Dispatch does differently than the Vindy, is that they call these articles "special" and they are not really the two Buckeye football beat writers. This seems to offer some sense of isolation to the paper. Perhaps if the Vindy did something similar people would take it as editorial? I mean this is sports we are talking about ...not serious news. Heck most Buckeye fans here in town get their sports news from the Beacon-Journal. Great sports department.

[jjysuwin]

The Akron Beacon Journal runs a fantastic sports section.

My biggest gripe with the Vindicator is the misinformation in many stories they write. They have a one sided slant, which is either malicious or incompetent.

There were once three straight stories that Joe Wrote in which I had to correct a factual statement made. Ed said it was a typo. Incompetence should not be an excuse!