Do SIDs know anything?

Louisville's basketball SID, Kenny Klein, is great. Football is OK, but not on his level.

Kentucky's football and basketball SIDs have their on and off days (three years in a row, they have "supposedly" forgotten our request for two seats at annual Kentucky-Louisville basketball or football game although we got confirmation both by phone call and e-mail).

Western Kentucky emeritus SID Paul Just, who has been involved with the Toppers since like 1872, has been great to deal with.

 

The funny thing is sometimes the most overworked ones are the best. I covered a division II school in Texas a decade ago and the SID there was great. The college didn't have a journalism or public relations program so help was nearly impossible to find. I couldn't find stringers and he couldn't find people to help keep stats at games. This guy had a dozen sports to keep up with and always seemed on top of it.

The best part is he was great to me despite the fact that I was only there for six months (better job came along). We even carpooled to a basketball game in Oklahoma that would determine whether the school made it into the postseason. My paper didn't have the ability to transmit stories at the time, and the game went to double overtime. So I wrote the story out longhand while he drove and then called it in from a pay phone somewhere between Oklahoma City and Dallas. Funny how neither the school nor the paper felt an overnight stay was warranted!

I think what it came down to was he knew most of the town only cared about the h.s. football team--so he was happy to get whatever coverage he could.

 

Hey now, my brother is an SID and he knows plenty.
He also helps with compliance, generates 95 percent of the content and then lays out the media guides for all the sports and maintains the sports portion of the school's website.
He also gets 10 p.m. calls at home from cranky-ass reporters who don't remember to call during the afternoon when he is at work, as they are trying to put together a preview story or some such nonsense and don't have the clue needed to realize that all the information they need is already on the school's website.
Reporter: Hey man, I was looking to see if you have any starters out for the game and if you have a contact for the opposing team
My brother: Did you check my website?
Reporter: No
My brother: It is all up on the site
Reporter: Since I got you on the phone can you go ahead and tell me?
My brother: Let me think, is your computer on?
Reporter: Yes
My brother: Okay, whispers sorry honey, its the paper, I know its after 10. And I know he woke up you and both kids. I'll put them to sleep. Don't worry about it. Do you have the internet up?
Reporter: Yes
My brother: go to www.myschool.edu/sports
Reporter: Okay
My brother: In the upper right hand corner, you'll see a link that says game notes. It is an injury update, I did it before I left, so that's the most update that I have and if you scroll down you'll the contact info for the other school
Reporter: Okay, I see all that.
My brother: You should have gotten this in your e-mail. Did you?
Reporter: Yeah, but I didn't look at it. I get so many worthless e-mails, I hardly read them anymore
My brother: Well, thanks
Reporter: Click
My brother: Stupid motherf*****
Reporter: That guy is worthless

 

Sometimes I think the SIDs at some of the schools in the BCS league I cover are devout practitioners of plausible deniability and only know what they need to know. But most times I think there's no way they can possibly be that clueless.

Or can they?

 

I'm curious. What do you expect these "clueless" SIDs to tell you? Do you plan to interview them and quote them in the newspaper?

 

Given that the AD, you know, runs the fucking athletic department the SID should be under his/her control.

That's like saying 'this guy's a good reporter because he doesn't have to answer to his SE."

 

Oh, just general stuff, like which player is banging the coach's spouse. And, yeah, I'm a great believer in quoting SIDs. Isn't everyone?

 

The SIDs I work with know their stuff, they can pretty much spew the entire record book out on command. I just think the coaches I deal with are playing them like puppets.

 

I never depend much on SIDs at all. But the ones I've dealt with so far have been alright. They know the games, but don't really go out of their way to provide a lot of help with tidbits and notes, which is fine because I can do that myself. Every once in awhile, they'll come through with a prized note or tidbit that might make a notebook or game story richer.

 

Site's down again.

Your useless fuckin brother better not bitch when I call him at 11 pm.

 

I'd be more scared of his wife. Wake her and the kids again, and it is your ass.

 

I would never quote an SID. In fact, I think many of them are told they cannot be quoted, a message they relay to the reporters. But there are certain times when I'd just like the SID to be able to either write a complete press release/game note/whatever or at least fill in some of the gaps so I don't have to waste mine, the other reporters' and the coach's time asking basic things like, "where did Joe Dipshit have his surgery?" It's just basic um, sports information I'm looking for, not quotes. But I actually think the guy I deal with wouldn't know, and would act all put out if I asked him.