Meta: Tim, Tom, & how this affects recruiting info @ mgoblog

Submitted by StephenRKass on

So, with Tim moving on to the Wolverine as their recruiting specialist, and Tom moving on to something as yet not made public, changes are coming (sadly) to mgoblog.

When are these changes happening? When is Tim/Tom's end date at mgoblog? For how long and to what degree can we expect to see information from Tim/Tom? Will there be a "Friday Night Lights" feature, or is that toast?

I'm not sure whether or not I would want Michigan to poach anyone from Miami, given their (possible) implosion. But I would like to hear from Tom or Tim as to whether and to what degree current events will have an affect on Michigan's recruiting. Tim/Tom's silence could mean they have nothing to report. It could also mean they are busy transitioning from mgoblog to their new respective employers. It could also mean that hey are collecting said recruiting information, but will release it only behind respective paywalled sites.

I am greatly looking forward to the coming season. However, I'd like to know if there is any anticipation from Tom regarding commitments coming over the next 2 - 3 months. Tom has been known to have us "fasten our seat belts," but I haven't seen any such word lately.

James Burrill Angell

August 17th, 2011 at 3:20 PM ^

Glad we have most of our 2012 class already. It'll give Brian some time to find replacements for Tim & Tom with only so much commitment news for 2012 (since there are only about 4 spots left).

Best of luck to Tim & Tom in your new gigs and best of luck to Brian trying to find replacements.



I'll miss the Tom VH signal.

MAgoBLUE

August 17th, 2011 at 3:40 PM ^

No, I'm serious.  Sometimes on the front page there will be posts by a user named "Tom" and I always thought that he was different from "TomVH".  When Brian made the post earlier this week about Tim and Tom leaving I was relieved that at least TomVH was staying.  Now this is an unmitigated disaster.

wlubd

August 17th, 2011 at 3:23 PM ^

Not Tim or Tom but I can try and answer your recruiting questions.

Re: Miami, we'd only offered one of their 20+ commits (LB Raphael Kirby). It's safe to say with our LB numbers, we won't be putting a press on him. As for current Hurricanes, keep in mind that the NCAA hasn't even sent an NOA yet. Any punishments, whatever they are are not coming in the immediate future so people can probably put the Canes transfer talk on hold.

As has been said, the biggest impact might be with the Good Counsel kids Brown and Diggs. Brown is an elite enough talent that I imagine the coaching staff would take him. Scuttlebutt on Diggs is we aren't recruiting him even though he reached out to us not long ago. Maybe that changes, we'll have to wait and see.

Re: future commits...I'm guessing we either get some in the first two weeks of the season since most remaining targets are coming then or we have to wait until the season ends. Darboh visits for WMU and there have been rumours that a commit watch should be in order. Garnett, Payton, and Banner among others visit for ND and while I don't know if any are looking to commit then, I wouldn't say it's a 0% chance. With only 4 spots left and elite kids (4* consensus and up) forming most of the remaining targets, we're going to have to do some waiting around on that front.

BrewCityBlue

August 17th, 2011 at 8:24 PM ^

but just for the record.... you and DGDestroys would have my vote to replace Tom and Tim. I realize both of you have downplayed other users suggesting each of you, and i understand that. But i think it's important you each know how appreciated you both are. So that is the only reason for me posting this. So, like, thanks and all that stuff!

Farnn

August 17th, 2011 at 3:59 PM ^

I'd so much rather pay Tom directly than pay ESPN which would give Tom only a fraction of my money. Somehow I just don't see a regional ESPN site being very profitable when you have something free like mgoblog.  Plus they would compete with 247/scout/rivals team specific sites.  And we all know how successful ESPN has been with their recruiting rankings and such. 

Beavis

August 17th, 2011 at 4:33 PM ^

You are only one person.

Tom could start his own site and charge.  He'd probably get 500-1,000 people willing to pay him (based on about 10% of his followers on Twitter).  He could probably get $10 a month for his services.  So, $5-$10 grand per month.  Seems reasonable for the work he does.

But that's just top line.  Expenses of running a website are something I know nothing about, but I assume a small capital investment ($10 grand?) at the beginning, and basically nothing per month ($100 max) to keep it running.  

I bet he's getting around $80-$120 per year from ESPN and he doesn't have to put in the capital / effort to start his own site.  Not to mention take on the risk / "be a dick" about charging a fee.  

profitgoblue

August 17th, 2011 at 3:42 PM ^

I think that 1 or 2 MGoMembers need to step up to be the angry members that bash Tom and Tim for leaving.  You know, like when a professional athlete switches teams or a college athlete transfers or switches committments, there's always an angry and very vocal group that bashes them.  I think we need 1 or 2, just for fun.

(Not that I would volunteer - I'm keeping the company line of "we appreciate their years of service and will miss them.")

 

brandanomano

August 17th, 2011 at 5:27 PM ^

I HOPE OTHER REPORTERS IN MICHIGAN GO FOR TOM AND TIM'S KNEES. LET'S THROW STINKY BUTTER AT THEM. THEY'LL COME BACK ONCE ALL THE SHITTY POSTERS GET OFF MGOBLOG, BUT WE WON'T WANT THEM BECAUSE OUR NEW RECRUITING NINJA WILL BE INFINITY TIMES BETTER.

Did I miss anything? I apologize for the all caps but I feel it adds a nice touch.

Michigasling

August 17th, 2011 at 3:56 PM ^

have non-compete/exclusivity clauses?  Sam Webb has his WTKA show and his DetNews column, and also writes for that other paywalled site, keeping some of that material exclusive, but not all.  Why can't Tim & TomVH hold down 2 or 3 alleged jobs on our behalf? 

Farnn

August 17th, 2011 at 4:04 PM ^

I just can't see ESPN letting Tom keep writing free stuff on Mgoblog.  And I know at least scout doesn't let anyone use the names rivals or mgoblog on the forums, they actually edit them out like a profanity filter.  I don't know if Rivals is the same, but for new hires I just don't see Tim having the leeway that Webb gets.

StephenRKass

August 17th, 2011 at 3:59 PM ^

Anger with Tim & Tom would be too strong. I'm irked, disappointed, frustrated, worried, but not angry with them for looking for more money.

HOWEVER . . . there is something more annoying:  lack of support from mgousers for mgoblog. Back in June, I posted regarding "beveled guilt," Brian's wedding, and supporting the site. (http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/mgonuptials-beveled-guilt.) Several of the responders to that post (I'm looking at you, MAgoBLUE,) wrote:

I've rehashed this a few times already on the blog so let me just quickly and respectfully say that I don't donate, I will never donate, and I don't like being prodded to donate.

MAgoBLUE, you get what you pay for. Or, in your case, what you don't pay for. This "unmitigated disaster" in Tim & Tom's departure COULD have been mitigated if Brian (& mgoblog) had more resources with which to pay Tim & Tom. That ship has sailed, and now Brian will have to break in someone else.

This site is getting better than 2 million page hits a month, from more than 225,000 users. If you visit, and never even consider supporting mgoblog, you have only yourself to blame. And don't give me BS about "not having money." If you have money for beer and pizza, you can support mgoblog. For the cost of giving up 3 six packs and 3 pizzas over a year, you could donate $50 to the blog. And if Brian gets wealthy, more power to him. I benefit more from this site than I do from Groupon or Ebay.

profitgoblue

August 17th, 2011 at 4:12 PM ^

You're treading on thin ice here . . . I started a thread over a year ago about donating funds through Bevealed Guilt to let people know about it (because I'd never even noticed the link was there) and got hammered for it.  Proceed with caution . . .

 

MAgoBLUE

August 17th, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^

MGoScapegoat?

I'll direct you to this article which says Brian and MGoBlog are doing just fine.

There are plenty of worthy organizations and causes to donate money to.  In my opinion, sports blogs aren't one of them.  You are welcome to do whatever you want with your own money though.  Maybe if your donation back in June was just a little bit larger it would have caused Tim and Tom to stay.  We can only wonder.

I don't donate, I will never donate, and I don't like being prodded to donate!

joeyb

August 17th, 2011 at 4:43 PM ^

You make a lot of assumptions with this post. You assume that Brian didn't offer them money before they left. You also assume that if Brian had more money to pay them, that he would still feel the need to match whatever Rivals/Espn will pay them. I'm sure that Brian thought very highly of both of them, but if their salaries are hypothetically tripled by their moves, I could definitely understand why Brian wouldn't be able to match that. You also assume that money is the only factor in these decisions. Tom has a baby on the way and he might want more stability and/or benefits from a job that MGoBlog can't necessarily provide.

Tim came from another blog and Tom just started interviewing recruits for fun for this site. It won't be impossible to find replacements. Their replacements might not offer everything that Tim and Tom do, but they also might offer something that Tim and Tom don't. Every once in a while it's fine to clear cap space and make room for the new up-and-comers. Everything will be fine. Just relax until the dust settles a bit.

umich_fan1

August 17th, 2011 at 5:32 PM ^

 It's sad that T & T are moving on but that is life. We should be thankful of the outstanding services that they provided (free of charge) and wish them luck on the next phase of their careers. Who's to say that their replacements won't do as good as a job or better? Trying to point fingers @ the mgoblog community is totally fruitless @ this point. More donations doesn't necessary mean that these 2 would have been compensated more.

Unmitigated disaster? Stay away from the cliff buddy. Brian set this shit up, have the faith that he will make the right choices going forward.

 

StephenRKass

August 17th, 2011 at 5:42 PM ^

It is a fact of life that things change and people move on. And compensation isn't the be all and end all.

Re:  ref to unmitigated disaster, this was just a quote from MAgoBLUE further up in the thread. My OP was really just asking how long we can expect to receive information from Tim & Tom, in light of their impending departure.