Reminder for front page interview posts
Tom sends the kid he interviewed a link to the MGoBlog page where the interview appears. The kid (and often, the parents) will read the interview and the comments. Thus, it's not the greatest when half the comments are "whatever, he will probably decommit" or "we have enough receivers already" or whatever. Let's keep it respectful. If we want to discuss depth issues/de-committments and other depressing shit - that's what this board is for.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:49 AM ^
sorry, its just that my heart has been hurt too many times already
February 9th, 2009 at 12:49 AM ^
If I was Brian - I'd be much more concerned with the boards being hijacked with political discussion as well as excessive flaming and inappropriate adult content.
If a kid really wants to come to Michigan, I don't think anonymous posters in the comment section are going to derail his future plans for the next 4-5 years.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:58 AM ^
I can anticipate pretty much every response to every post I write on here. My posts will become longer as I just start to preempt every argument in advance.
I never suggested the kid is going to decommit because of some goddamn comments on a blog. I'm just asking for some basic decency. I'm not stifling discourse either - just asking people to discuss it in the appropriate area. FWIW, Lewan's dad (I think it was his) mentioned how great the Michigan fans were to Tom after reading through the comments on one of Tom's interviews with Taylor on here.
I definitely agree with the adult shit - it's simply got to stop. This is a football blog. There are plenty of other places for that. Agree also with politics, though I am partially to blame on that one. I have never initiated a political discussion on here but I find it difficult to stay away once they exist. That's my bad.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:34 AM ^
My comments from the other thread are at least partially what provoked you to write this one.
I don't view my comments as being disrespectful at all. My point was simply that we don't know for certain what any 17 yr old kid is going to do until he signs that LOI. That's not an unreasonable argument since we've seen this sort of thing backfire many times.
I find the political commentary far worse, but I wasn't going to start a thread scolding others like some self promoted moderator.
As far as I'm concerned - the adult content, political content, excessive mudslinging should be of much greater concern to you and especially Brian since it is his blog.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:03 AM ^
All of it needs to become a concern. The Op makes a good point about us censoring what we say for the "Good" of the blog. Now I know that some of you might say that we don't know if a kid is coming on here and reading the comments made by the board...true. But lets look at the facts. Fact, a kid that calls Tom with the news that they are going to commit. Then Tom interviews said recruit/commit. It is now a safe bet to assume that they are familiar with Tom, what he does and who he writes for. Fact, by Tom's on admission we know that he sends the recruit a link to the interviewee (sp?) So it becomes a safe bet that, at the very least, the recruits that Tom interviews sees the interview and I am willing to bet that they read the comments, possibly to see how stoked M fans are about them. So maybe on Tom's interviews we tone down our apprehensions just on that thread and reserve the disenting comments for our own threads.
February 9th, 2009 at 7:51 AM ^
and now Magnus (and another 1 or 2 people) is on the interview comments, already giving him a pink slip for not making plays and looking like every other WR. No matter that RR and his staff evaluated the kid and gave him a Junior year offer, I saw one play on one highlight reel and know he's going to be a bust.
This is what I am talking about. You feel that way? Fine - come to the message board and start a thread. I'm sure the kid and his parents will be thrilled to read a chorus of posts that suggest he will decommit, or, if he stays, probably not amount to much.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:26 AM ^
Excellent point PRR. We're discouraging kids from attending the University that we love. It's called kicking against the prick gentlemen.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:20 AM ^
PRR. it must be kind of annoying for any player that get criticized by anonymous fans, but doubly so for a high school kid that is (more than likely) fully aware that he's not a finished product.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:00 AM ^
I am not saying you are wrong but OTOH, recruiting today is business. Many of these kids put out tapes, websites, and market themselves. No one is forcing a recruit or his parents to come here and read a message board. And if they are influenced by what anonymous people on a message board think, then that should be more troubling in itself. The only thing a recruit needs to be concerned with is that a big time coach and program wants him. End of story. One more thing, as any kid climbs up the ranks of sports in a public setting, the scrutiny is only going to get worse. Better that he get use to it now and learn how to deal with it because because like it or not, it won't get any better.
And one other point. Why is not ok to critique a HS player's tape yet ok to rip on current UM players such as Sheridan or Stevie Brown that many do? Heck, they are UM players who work their tail off yet they aren't afforded any respect at all.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:56 AM ^
Where do I start on your post. I'll just sum it up by saying this. No one is saying that you shouldn't share your opinion, whatever opinion that may be. The point that is trying to be made is why not reserve your opinion to the board. When a kid reads his interview and comments to said interview maybe that isn't the time to say how you think the kid is "meh" of a recruit. You can come here start a thread and accomplish the same goal without the kid or his parents having to see it after what they would consider and by most accounts a pretty positive thing.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:26 AM ^
then by all means share your opinion on a recruit's strengths and weaknesses. but a lot of people watch the highlight reels and say "he looks like another slow outside WR and won't fit in our offense" just because the kid gets tackled in his highlight film.
thats the main difference between critiquing high school players versus college players. We can all go point and counterpoint on Sheridan to at least some basic degree because we watched him in 12 games. making those same judgments based on 3.5 minutes of tape is unfair.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:24 AM ^
I have no problem with being fluffy on the interview posts and saving more serious discussion for the boards.
Maybe a few "welcome aboard" posts directly to the recruit would be in order.
We have a lot of varying tastes, disagreements, and egos, but essentially, we are all Michigan fans and we all want what is best for the program.
And I have to agree wholeheartedly that congratulating someone for being offered and welcoming them aboard is more beneficial to the program than well-founded but mislocated speculation on whether or not the recruit will follow through.
In a small way, those articles are actually a chance for us to help RR "recruit" those who have already committed.
I am more than willing to subjugate my, uh, healthy ego for the good of the program.
Maybe, in the future, Brian could delete posts that are not beneficial to the program. It is his blog and he is obviously a pretty big UM fan.
It is certainly food for thought.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:49 AM ^
Does anyone really think that reserving criticism for the boards and keeping it out of the comments will somehow hide it from the recruit? The last five board threads get posted on the front page....if the front page has a TomVH interview with Jerald Robinson and then someone posts a "Jerald Robinson" topic, you don't think maybe Jerald Robinson, if he reads the blog, might also click over to the boards to see what people are saying there too?
I'm not suggesting we should all be cheerleaders all the time, nor that every Jerald Robinson reference anywhere on the site gets uplinked to Jerald Robinson's brain the moment it's typed. Just, don't assume the board is somehow hidden and that it gives you carte blanche to say whatever. Inappropriate comments are inappropriate comments no matter where they are.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:44 PM ^
but I had to draw the line somewhere. I still want everyone to give opinions and discuss recruits and prospects (preferably in respectful terms no matter where the post appears) to the full extent. If some recruit does click over to the message board portion of the site, they should expect to find - what else - a discussion of various shit. The front page interview threads serve a different purpose - to inform of good news and welcome the kid.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:25 PM ^
You're the same guy who engages in inappropriate political rants, juvenile name-calling, and profane language - but you are going to lecture the rest of us about respect?
Give me a break.
I didn't insult the kid in any way, shape, or form. My point was simply that we need to be cautious considering this program has been burned in the past for counting on kids who have given their verbals.
In truth, no commit is 100% in the bag until they sign that LOI. Rich Rod himself will tell you that.
I hope the kid stays and becomes an All-American. But making a reasonable point in that interview thread wasn't really worth starting a new thread to lecture the rest of us about what is appropriate on the main page and what is not.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:33 PM ^
is consistent with my message in this thread.
All the stuff you mentioned - I do it on the Board. Never in an interview thread.
As I'm sure you know, the respect I am referring to is respect for the players and recruits that are gracious enough to offer our website an interview - ON THE INTERVIEW THREAD. I don't care about respect for one another on here, with reasonable limitations. I bash other posters, they bash me back. It's all good.
By the way, I don't engage in idiotic namecalling unless you think calling idiotic posters idiots is juvenile. I'm not going to stop swearing. And, as I said before, I apologize for the political comments. I don't initiate them but I have responded to them. I shouldn't have.