My turn to rant: Lousy SIDs

i used to deal with some SWAC schools although not as a regular beat. i always thought it was a miracle that anything ever got done at those athletic departments. basically the inmates were running the asylum. the incompetence was just incredible.

my favorite was the post-game media session that the football coach held in a bar adjacent to the stadium. you not only had to walk from the pressbox through tens of thousands of fans streaming out of the stadium (then fight the flow of the crowd to walk back to the pressbox to write) you had to contend with the sound system from the boosters' post-game party with the coach. you'd think they'd at least set the coach up in a quiet room for a quickie with the writers, but no. i only covered one game there but i pitied the beat writers.

 

I'm still waiting for my season pass. Good thing they are on the road this week and he has an extra seven days to get it ready.

Of course, during basketball season last year I didn't get my season pass until there were five games left on the home schedule. Good thing I'm well known enough by that arena crew that I can just walk in and say hello.

 

This is going to sound juvenile, and maybe it is. When I was SE at my college paper, we had a pretty high-profile coach take off after a couple good years. I never really got along with the SID that well, although he's nowhere near as bad as some of these guys mentioned.

Well anyway, I got a tip this guy was elsewhere interviewing, so I tried to confirm with teh SID. This was a week after coach said he was there for the long haul, they hadn't done anything yet, same old bullshit. In the same season-ending presser, he said he was set to hit the recruiting trail, which, due to logistics, consisted of Ohio, Pa., Michigan, Georgia and Florida.

So when I get this tip that he's in a mountainous region, picked up at the airport by school's AD, I call the SID and say can you tell me what's going on with this situation. So when he says, "he's recruiting," I say OK.

The story runs the next day. (paraphrasing here)

The coach was greeted at the airport by Mountainous Region school AD.

The coach said last week at his season-ending press conference that he'd be recruiting only in Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Pa. and Michigan.

Podunk State SID Johnny Johnson said he was recruiting this week.


I thought that made it pretty easy to see who might be telling a little lie.

 

Idaho, we should pray that your SID and the one we've got at a local school here never get together.

Got all the same problems. No media guide. The website rosters and info haven't been updated since last year. The only time the guy ever does a practice report is when I go over to do a story. He listens in on my questions and then bangs one out, which I've attempted to explain to him defeats the purpose -- if I'm writing a story, we don't need yours.

On top of all that, though, this guy here knows just enough about the SID job to be a pain in the ass. There are two, maybe three reporters who cover this school's home games. A week ago, this guy sends out an email announcing the school's "New Credential Policy." Every media outlet who plans to cover a game is supposed to submit a credential request, in writing on company letterhead, 10 days prior to each game they wish to cover. Seriously. Prior to this, the three people who planned to cover the game simply called the guy a few days before the game or sent an email and asked to have a pass left for them at the media gate. Seemed to work OK.

Also had this jackass attempt to submarine me on a story the other day. Compliance guy ruled two players ineligible because of a university mixup. Compliance guy blames the coaches for the thing. SID calls and tells me not to call the coach about it. Then calls the coach and tells him not to take my call. Dumbass. Luckily, the coach has a good idea who the moron is and did take my call.

 

The SID I wrote about above is so clueless he thought my correspondent was me. Dumb fuck took the contact info I put on the pass request, slapped my name on it -- ignoring the name I instructed them to put on it -- and gave it to my correspondent thinking he was me.

They never caught on, until we were both at a press conference. They were calling him Bubbler and me the correspondent's name. This despite the fact that I had covered this school on my own (same state) beat as a "visiting" writer.

Fucking dumb asses. I count it as progress they got his name right on the pass this year.

 

woohoo, the online roster has just been updated. It's labeled the 2005 roster, but it includes the new recruits and transfers. So I think he finally got around to asking the equipment manager for a list of uniform numbers.

He promised the game notes would arrive in my inbox this afternoon. I'm guessing this evening is more accurate.

I can't imagine how pissed the writers of the opposing team are trying to find out a little info for their advance stories. At least I'm familiar with this team and can do an article without much SID help. But the opponent writers trying to get a release or even a two-deep of this school must be truly happy.

 

Idaho, I did some online research and found out which school you're talking about. Don't worry, I won't tell.

 

A wealth of information you must have found.

 

This SID, who I know well, was once seen yelling obscenities at a referee for blowing a call during a basketball game from press row. He's very classy.

 

Once? Try every game. He sits himself directly in front of the print reporters (which are about 12 feet from the sideline) and screams at the refs during EVERY game.

I like the guy on a personal level. He's a good person (I think) but he's got no business being the media relations guy at a D-I school. But because the school is a complete afterthought even among the local media, he's not really held accountable because no one really cares.

 

I think they should hold a school to teach people how to be SIDs and it should be taught by Claude Felton...

 

How about Jeremy Foley?