A slap on the wrist for The Birmingham News?

On The Birmingham News Web site Thursday is this story about Alabama football:

Alabama self-reported its own violation of textbook disbursement policy and then punished the wrong-doers. Will that be enough for the NCAA?

UA officials acknowledged today, after more than a year of adamant secrecy, that it has been discussing its violation of textbook disbursement policy with the NCAA. There was a meeting in front of the Committee on Infractions in San Diego recently, and a release today.

Also released -- after UA declined to respond to countless public records requests from me -- were documents pertaining to the investigation. In the documents, the NCAA alleges "failure to monitor" the way athletes received textbooks, and UA officials acknowledge that. It also mentions possible "major violations." This could mean more penalties for Alabama, though the NCAA has not decided that.

Here's the accompanying photo and cutline:



Will Alabama get a slap
on the wrist? Or more?




Am I the only one who thinks this photo illustration is horribly cheesy and High School Harry, like this is some kind of dramatization on America's Most Wanted?


Link to page here:

http://blog.al.com/rapsheet/2009/03/ncaa_alleges_and_alabama_admit.html

 

That pic looks like something from a Kung-fu movie. I have no problem with it. Pics in blog posts add a visual element and sometimes draws a laugh. Blogs without pics are boring.

 

What does this have to do with the Birmingham News?

 

yeah, the thread title could be clearer ... i thought the paper was committing NCAA violations or something

the illustration doesn't even look like somebody getting a slap on the wrist

 

I'm not a moderator but I definitely think this is on the wrong thread.

 

BLOGS!!!!!!

Ian Rapaport, the author of said weblog, covers Alabama football for the B-News. His blog is perhaps ground zero for breaking Tide news -- even moreso than the hometown rag. He often injects a wee bit of humor in the form of illustrations.

Nothing to see here, peeps, except an example of quality journalism practiced online.

RB

 

Did any boosters lend money to the beat writers?

 

NICE!

 

That was more or less my point. It was their cutline, not me, who first used the term "slap on the wrist," and I did a poor job of poking fun at that. To me the cutline didn't work with the photo, and the photo didn't really work with the story. That is, until I figured out that The Rap Sheet was the name of the writer's blog. I thought this was one of those network TV BIG HEADLINE GRAPHIC things to tell you WOW, THIS IS BIG. HERE IS THE RAP SHEET ON ALABAMA!

My bad. Yeah, I see the fun in it. Not sure I'd call it quality journalism (and I'm not knocking the writer), but I see it for what it is now. It's a blog. Cool. It was late. I was tired.

I'll go take my punishment now.

 

Good one, Mizzou. If that happened on my watch, I sure as hell know what MY recommendation would be.



RB

 

But....what your recommendation mean anything in the grand scheme of things? Or would it fall on deaf ears?